After recording their worst season record since 2012, Toronto FC have moved on from interim head coach Javier Pérez and general manager and senior vice-president of soccer operations Ali Curtis.
In hopes of rebuilding the club, TFC hired the experienced American coach Bob Bradley—the father of TFC midfielder Michael Bradley—who was successful with MLS club Chicago Fire but dreadful with Welsh side Swansea City.
Which version of Bob Bradley will TFC get? Perhaps a mixture of both.
Bradley has a lot of experience coaching soccer. He knows how to build a strong team, has shown he is capable of winning games with strong tactics and has an extensive resume.
Bradley gained experience managing the US Mens National Team from 2006 to 2011 and the Egyptian National Team from 2011 to 2013. He also has a wealth of experience in the MLS as an assistant coach with DC United, and as a head coach with the Chicago Fire and LAFC.
He won two MLS Cups as an assistant coach and as a head coach. He won an MLS Cup, two US Open Cups, a Supporters’ Shield and a CONCACAF champions league runner-up medal. He was also named coach of the year three times.
But Toronto FC are not like the clubs Bradley has managed during his successful tenures; TFC is in much rougher condition.
Head coach Chris Armas was fired on July 4 after his team’s abysmal 1-2-8 start to the season. Pérez took over as the interim head coach and despite several injuries to key players, the team made significant improvements even without having a dominating roster.
Pérez’s good run as interim coach got him the role of head coach on Aug. 9 and he finished off the season with 23 points from 23 games (5-8-10).
Toronto FC did not look like a playoff team at any point this season, but they performed a lot better under Pérez than Armas. They started to win more games and were significantly more competitive in games they lost.
Pérez lead the team on an unbeaten five-game run to start his tenure before TFC went winless in its next eight games.
Inconsistent performances and goals conceded in the first and last 15 minutes of matches were less of an issue under Pérez than under Armas but still plagued the team. This resulted in a season to forget and a mess for Bradley to clean up.
For a team that is in rough condition—lacking depth and talent on their roster—a good coach is the first step to becoming a title contender.
However, Bradley is by no means a perfect head coach. In 2016, Bradley took the job as head coach of the Welsh team Swansea City, becoming the first American to manage an English Premier League club.
He led his club to a 2-2-7 record (8 points) before getting sacked. His team conceded a record 29 goals in 11 games and struggled to convert chances on the attacking end.
His 85-day reign at the club was the second shortest of any manager in Premier League history.
The disastrous run with Swansea City wasn’t entirely his fault as the Swans weren’t the crème de la crème of the Premier League.
His run with Swansea showed that without adequate talent, he was unable to adapt and create a consistent winning formula for a team that could not score a lot of goals.
Will that be an issue for a mediocre squad like TFC? Possibly.
Toronto FC is entering a pivotal offseason with several key players entering free agency, such as Nick DeLeon and Tsubasa Endoh. TFC also has multiple players who are on the option year of their contract, like centre backs Omar Gonzalez, Eriq Zavaleta, forward Patrick Mullins and midfielder Jonathan Osorio.
With the potential of so many players departing within the next two seasons, Bradley will be put to the test. He will have to find a formula to win games with the players he has entering the 2022 season. If not, he will have to start rebuilding his roster using the MLS SuperDraft, developing TFC academy players and signing free agents during the transfer window.
Bradley is a great coach and TFC has a solid roster on offence and defence. However, they are going to face a lot of change over the next two seasons.
It’s unlikely TFC will regain their 2017 MLS Champion form, but with Bradley at the helm, they might go on a few winning streaks and capture a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. I foresee a 13-10-11 record for 49 points, placing seventh in the Eastern Conference.
Featured image by Paul Bica via Flickr. Photo used under CC BY 2.0 license.
