Toronto FC parts ways with six players

After finishing dead last in Major League Soccer, Toronto FC has started its massive rebuilding project by declining the club options on six players.

On Thursday, TFC announced that it will not be picking up options on defenders Adrian Cann, Ty Harden, and Dicoy Williams, along with academy graduates Nicholas Lindsay, Oscar Cordon, and Keith Makubuya.

Cann, 32, is the most experienced of group, having appeared for the Reds 65 times in all competitions. He joined his hometown side after a stint in Denmark with Esbjerg FB, and his has amassed nine caps for Canada's national side.

The central defender missed much of 2011 and 2012 recovering from a knee injury.

Harden and Williams are the other two veterans of the six released players, with both also struggling with injuries and form in their time with the club.

The three TFC Academy graduates released Thursday - Lindsay, Cordon, and Makubuya - all saw very little playing time under Aron Winter and Paul Mariner this season. Lindsay signed with TFC in 2010 and, after a bright start to his professional career which included a two-assist game versus D.C. United, he missed the entire 2011 season recovering from a knee injury suffered in the offseason.

The 20-year-old winger spent most of 2012 training with the first team, although his only competitive appearance came in the 88th minute of Toronto's CONCACAF Champions League match against Santos Laguna in October.

Cordon and Makubuya both signed in early 2011 and were used sparingly over the ensuing two seasons.