Finding goals is Herdman’s next challenge
For much of last Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Sporting KC, the only people who looked like they might score from the Toronto side were a couple married in the stands prior to kickoff. Thankfully, a late Jonathan Osorio tap-in prevented Toronto FC from being shut out.
Putting the ball in the goal is the hardest thing to do in soccer, which is why strikers generally get the big money. But TFC is built slightly differently, with the chequebook thrown at two marauding wide players in Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi. Nothing wrong with that — many teams rely on star wingers — except most who buy into this strategy stick a decent centre forward in between. It is here that TFC has struggled this season and last.
Yes, it has been a bright start for the men in red. But with Insigne sidelined for six weeks with a hamstring injury, the need for another scoring threat could not be more clear.
Management will point to the previous regime. The much-maligned Bob Bradley, former coach and sporting director, traded their last legitimate centre forward, although Jesús Jiménez had begun to falter when he played briefly as the No. 9 between the Italians toward the end of the 2022 season.
The hope was that Adama Diomande would fill the void and become the target man the club had been searching for since Jozy Altidore’s decline began. Diomande did not pan out, missed most of last season and was released before this season kicked off.
Do you see a pattern forming? It is not easy to find goals.
Coach John Herdman is essentially holding a combine to see if any of his incumbent strikers can win the job. The early evidence is disconcerting, and that is no criticism of the talent available. Prince Owusu, Deandre Kerr and Ayo Akinola are young and inexperienced, still learning the intricacies of the job. The effort is there; the goals have not been. Owusu has the group’s solitary goal.
With the MLS spring transfer window closing April 23, there is some urgency to do something. Reports suggest ownership is not prepared to spend aggressively and even if it was, the pickings are slim. If there is a deal to be made within MLS, why wasn’t it made before the season?
Europe is operating outside its transfer window, so that only leaves players out of contract. and a quick fix does not exist. While names such as Alex Pato and Simone Zaza would have checked many boxes once upon a time, there is a reason why they no longer do.
TFC’s solid start to the season might well continue, but this is still a team in the midst of a rebuild. And unless a solution to what ails up front is found soon, struggles could well be on the horizon once again.
The show in Vancouver
TFC is in Vancouver on Saturday to take on the Whitecaps, second in the West with three wins, a draw and a loss. Vancouver has dynamic players such as Ryan Gauld, Ali Ahmed and Fafa Picault, but it’s the coach who is box office.
Vanni Sartini returned to the sidelines after a four-game suspension for his meltdown following the Whitecaps’ playoff loss to Los Angeles FC last season. And he quickly reminded us what we were missing with his comments on the Vancouver win.
“If it were a city, it would be Florence,” he said. “This is the first half, how beautiful it was. If it would be a person, it would be my wife, how beautiful it was … If it would be an idea, it would be socialism, how beautiful it was.”