It took Jeremy Brockie 10 minutes to convince his wife to put their holiday plans on hold.

At the conclusion of the A-League season, Brockie received a phone call from TFC bench boss Ryan Nelsen, a fellow New Zealander and former teammate.

A few days later, Brockie arrived in Toronto late Monday night as TFC’s Band-Aid midfield solution, a player whose intention is to help bring a dead TFC attack to life as head honcho Kevin Payne continues to search for permanent solutions.

“(Nelsen) pretty much gave me a phone call,” Brockie nonchalantly said following 30-something hours of flights. “He asked if I wanted to swap a Wellington (New Zealand) winter for a Toronto summer and come and score him some goals.”

Brockie just missed claiming the A-League’s Golden Boot in March, scoring 16 times in 24 appearances for Wellington Phoenix.

The 26-year-old, who can play anywhere in the attack, said he’s expecting to play on Saturday against the visiting Columbus Crew.

“It’ll be my first professional game outside the A-League, so I’m looking forward to that,” he said. “I’ve watched a little MLS on TV back home in New Zealand and there’s obviously some good players in the league.

“It won’t take me too long to adapt to the boys and how they play. There’s been a bit of bad luck in the previous games. Hopefully that turns pretty quickly and we can start getting some wins.”

Most TFC supporters would settle for simply a win at this point. The Reds haven’t claimed maximum points since topping Sporting Kansas City in early March, TFC’s only win in its past 24 league games.

Which brings us to Nelsen’s second recourse: Steven Caldwell.

The former Birmingham City defender, who was in training Tuesday, is billed as a no-nonsense centre back, someone who Nelsen believes will cut down on the laughable defensive errors and late-game let downs that have plagued this club for two years.

“I always put pressure on myself to improve a football team that I’ve joined,” Caldwell said of the current discontent among BMO Field fans. “I feel pressure and enjoy the pressure.

“I just try to do my best. Hopefully that will be good enough. I try and play hard. That’s all I know.”

Unlike the Brockie loan, which the club admits likely won’t be extended beyond the second half of this season, Caldwell, 32, said Tuesday he’s interested in a permanent deal depending on how the next few months pan out.

“My good friend Carl Robinson played here and I speak to him often,” Caldwell said. “He had great things to say about Toronto.

“I know it’s a great club and a well-supported club. It’s a club that should be doing better, should be in the playoffs and should be challenging for the championship. Fingers crossed we can get it right and have a very successful few years.”

The decision to employ Caldwell could be seen as an indication of Danny Califf’s permanent demotion from the lineup, especially after Nelsen elected to sit the MLS veteran in favour of Doneil Henry last weekend in San Jose.

“We’ve got a guy like Gale Agbossoumonde, who’s been doing well,” Nelsen said of Califf’s lack of first-team minutes. “Doneil Henry was superb in San Jose for a young man. It’s all about what we do in training. But Danny’s been great. He’s been training and training hard. He’ll have a major impact as the season progresses. There’s going to be injuries.”

Before the season, however, Califf was billed as Toronto’s elusive centre back solution. After dropping a good chunk of change on him this past off-season, the Reds are again left reconfiguring their back four two months into the season.

And while it’s something that undoubtedly had to happen, supporters can add another name to the growing list of over-paid TFC defenders who, under a cap system, aren’t good value for money – or for the results they’ve produced.

To revisit Caldwell’s happy-go-lucky words, “fingers crossed” Nelsen has finally found the solution.

SO LONG, FAREWELL

In order to make room on its 30-man roster for Caldwell and Brockie, TFC announced Tuesday it waived forwards Ashton Bennett and Taylor Morgan.

“It’s really tough,” Nelsen said of the dismissals. “There were roster spots we had to fill by a certain time ... We needed some experienced guys around.”

Bennett, 24, was selected in the first round of the 2013 MLS Supplemental Draft from Coastal Carolina, making a single appearance. Morgan, 22, was selected in the fourth round of the 2013 MLS Supplemental Draft out of George Mason University, also making one substitute appearance.

The Reds will have to make more decisions upon Danny Koevermans’ impending return.

NOTES

Nelsen confirmed Koevermans will play in Saturday’s reserve game, and could return to first-team action shortly after ... Nelsen also confirmed talks are ongoing with Israeli defender Tal Ben Haim ... Richard Eckersley is inching closer to a return from a hamstring issue. Nelsen reported his starting fullback is about 80% fit.

TFC: Welcome aboard, Caldwell and Brockie

Reds release two, Koevermans close and much more

It took Jeremy Brockie 10 minutes to convince his wife to put their holiday plans on hold.

At the conclusion of the A-League season, Brockie received a phone call from TFC bench boss Ryan Nelsen, a fellow New Zealander and former teammate.

A few days later, Brockie arrived in Toronto late Monday night as TFC’s Band-Aid midfield solution, a player whose intention is to help bring a dead TFC attack to life as head honcho Kevin Payne continues to search for permanent solutions.

“(Nelsen) pretty much gave me a phone call,” Brockie nonchalantly said following 30-something hours of flights. “He asked if I wanted to swap a Wellington (Australia) winter for a Toronto summer and come and score him some goals.”

Brockie just missed claiming the A-League’s Golden Boot in March, scoring 16 times in 24 appearances for Wellington Phoenix.

The 26-year-old, who can play anywhere in the attack, said he’s expecting to play on Saturday against the visiting Columbus Crew.</