Metro Lions Football Club 2002

Metro Lions FC was formed in 2002

to participate in the Canadian Professional

Soccer League (C.P.S.L.) Arnold Milan was

the Owner, and Anthony Ayo, the President.

Bill Dixon was the club’s, General Secretary

and Treasurer and the pendulum by which

the business revolved. Francois Glasman was

part of the Administration of some capacity and

although his involvement ran under the radar

based on run-ins with the soccer establishments,

he proved a valuable asset to Mr. Milan in the

long run. Metro Lions Head Office was at 3881

Chesswood Drive, North York, and the Astros

the franchise already played out of the stadium in

North York. Therefore, the need for a home field

was a top priority for the Lions. Anthony (Tony)

La Ferrara was the Coach of the Lions franchise,

and Aldwyn McGill was brought in as the Club’s

Promotions and Liaison person. His main

the assignment  was to use his prior relationship

and influence with the Scarborough Soccer  Association

(SSA) to secure Birchmount Stadium. A meeting

was arranged with Metro Lion’s ownership and

SSA Board and Birchmount became the Metro

Lion’s home field.  The owner learned a little

more about Aldwyn McGill’s experience in sports

administration from the meeting with the Soccer

Association (SSA) and McGill ran a the Caribbean

Stars franchise of the Canadian International Soccer

League (CISL), better known as the Puma League.

and was a member of the Executive that helped

promote the game and secure sponsorship with Puma.

McGill recalled how he had to temper the

expectations of the business minds of Lion’s

administrators for them to conform

to the reality of the time it took to  develop

a marketable soccer product before it could

be added as a tangible asset to their

other businesses. Metro Lions was accepted

as a member of the SSA and Birchmount

Stadium became Lion’s home field. The

Caribbean Stars usually puts on its Annual

Indoor Soccer in the second week of May

at Mount Joy Arena in Markham and as a

member of Metro Lions, Mr. McGill, extended

an invitation to Lion’s ownership. Bill Dixon

attended the event, and although he seemed

impressed with the event, when on the next

workday, Aldwyn McGill was called into Club’s

Head Office and offered the  Presidency.

Within weeks McGill was also offered the

General Manager (GM) position. and he recalls

that it was from that point onwards was when

he negotiated a contract. “It was from that

vantage point that I monitored the internal

workings of the soccer operation. The team

was not together as a unit. I had attended

games from the time I was the Liason of the club,

and the team’s lack of indiscipline was noticeable

and it had to be addressed for the team to be

successful. It was very noticeable from an away

game against Vaughan Shooters. It was

impossible to remedy the situation without

coach Tony La Farerra, and with the lack of

corporation, the problem began to fester.

After a blatant refusal by the coach for

the meeting, there was a coaching change.

The decision was surprising to some who

probably looked at the decent team record

of a .500 club with 3 wins and 3 losses for a

new franchise and wondered what could have

created such a decision. However, little did

they know that there was a serious breakdown

in communication between the coach and GM;

In most organizations, that would not be livable,

and in Metro Lions at the time, it was not a healthy

situation and the coaching change was made.

However, taking over the coaching duties seemed

to only resolved the communication problem with

an upcoming home game against Shooters in a

matter of days. That’s when all hell broke loose.

There was an altercation after the game that

was headline news.   The incident occurred just

days after the coaching change, and it was for

all the wrong reasons with a loss and the blame

seemingly towards the Metro Lions team, without

an investigation that was for all the wrong reasons.

The Lions lost the game, and there was an altercation

after the game. The new coaching staff lost their first

three games and eventually won a game on the back

end of a weekend road trip. The Lions lost the first leg

of the road trip to a strong Ottawa Wizards team 3-1

on Saturday and found solace on Sunday from a 5-3

win against the Montreal Dynamites on an extremely

hot sunny day in Montreal. From the coaching staff

perspective, the trip to Ottawa and Montreal

was the defining moment of Lion’s 2002 season.

Several players were cut from the roster after the trip.

It showed which players were willing to fight for the

team and those who were just around to market their

skills for individual glory. However, there were positive

moments to build on, and one of those moments was

at the end of the trip from Montreal when the team

Captain O’Neil Brown went to the front of the bus

and congratulated the coaching staff on their first win.

“As the new coaching staff, we were under the microscope

after the coaching change, but the weekend road trip to

brought the team together, said Coach McGill.

Not many players knew who I was, but they found

out and were challenged regarding team discipline.”

Quite a few players were cut from the roster after the trip.

Some lacked the talent, and those that did and were cut

did not rise to the occasion regarding team spirit.

The loss to a strong Ottawa Wizards team was

a huge test, but the team found solace in the win

against Montreal on an extremely hot sunny day.

It was just one of the many positive moments of 2002.

Another defining moment was when Captain O’Neil

Brown went to the front of the team bus and congratulated

the new coaching staff on their first win.  It occurred

as the team was traveling back to Toronto after

enjoying a hectic but enjoyable weekend that ended well 

Stay Tuned!

Aldwyn McGill CPSL Coach of the Year

Assistant Coach Junior Parker Middle Row: Trainer Paolo Paccione,

Rob Defaveris, Peter Firebrace, Kevin Golindo, O’Neil Brown, Kevin

Ricketts, Anton Skerritt, Carlos Redman, Mike Glasgow, Jermaine

Coleman, Mishel Levkov, Courtney Dennis Front Row: Patrick

Bradley, Jason Baker, Caswain Mason, Emil Calixterio, Carmen

Allegranza, Fernando Tantalo

Stay tuned for Metro Lions 2003 season.