Run ragged, Reds talking about regeneration
Season exposed issues with defending, durability
TORONTO — Change is on the horizon at Toronto FC, but the Reds’ front office will stick with the current core group of players for at least another season in hopes of returning to the top of Major League Soccer.
“This team isn’t done, and this roster isn’t done,” general manager Tim Bezbatchenko said at Tuesday’s post-mortem on the 2018 season. “I think there’s a drive and a collective mentality from this group that they want to go out and compete, so it’s not going to be a massive overhaul on the roster that needs to take place.”
After capturing the MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield in 2017, TFC fell to ninth place in the Eastern Conference.
Bezbatchenko, team president Bill Manning and coach Greg Vanney talked about distractions and disappointment, an “unacceptable” finish below the playoff line, “crippling” injuries and “colossal” mistakes.
The Reds started dissecting what went wrong long before Sunday’s season finale, in particular whether the push for a second-place finish in the CONCACAF Champions League and a Canadian Championship hurt their chances in league play. The autopsy, as Bezbatchenko puts it, will continue as the club tries to learn from its mistakes, making this past season a blip rather than the start of a trend.
Thirteen of their 29 roster players are on guaranteed deals, while 11 are entering team-option years. Two others are finishing contracts but not free-agent eligible, one will become a free agent and two are on loan options, the GM said.
Three of those guaranteed contracts — all with one year to go — belong to designated players Michael Bradley, Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore.
Bradley, 31, remains the heartbeat of the squad, logging a career-high 2,857 minutes in league play. Giovinco, 31, scored 13 goals — his lowest tally with TFC — and added 15 assists in 28 league starts. Altidore, 28, who suffered multiple injuries, managed seven goals in 877 minutes.
Together, they commanded more than US$18.6 million this season and they’ve all expressed interest in staying.
Bezbatchenko and Manning said they plan to sit down with each of them to discuss their goals for next year and beyond.
If they don’t re-sign, the expiring contracts would signal the start of a much more dramatic change than what lies ahead this winter. Manning says that if it plays out that way, he expects Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment to make a similar investment in the next group of designated players.
“There will naturally be a transition period over the next three or four years, and the commitment from our ownership has always been, ‘We want to win soccer games and we want to be a team that competes for championships, and what do we need to do that?’ ” he said. “We will be amongst the highest spending teams in the league, and that’s just the nature of MLSE and who we are.
“With that said, we have to make the right decisions. You’ve got to get the right players … the three players helped this team win multiple championships … I expect some of these guys to be here longer term, but at some point, like anything, you will acquire new designated players.”
To compete for championships in the interim, the Reds will also have about US$4 million in discretionary targeted allocation money to help bring in new talent — though some of that is already tied up in current contracts.
The Reds hope to bring in a vocal centre back, another attacking option and some veteran depth.
To do that within the salary cap, some current players will be shown the door, Bezbatchenko said.
“Next year, if you want to add players, you’re going to have to subtract from the current roster — tough decisions we have to make over the next few weeks.”