Toronto FC doesn’t need a major roster overhaul or another managerial change. It’s only a few tweaks away from becoming a playoff contender.
That was the overriding message delivered by general manager Tim Bezbatchenko and coach Greg Vanney during Wednesday’s end-of-season post mortem with local reporters.
“Obviously our goal was to make the playoffs and we didn’t achieve that goal. But at the same time I think there’s a lot of positive things to talk about,” Bezbatchenko asserted.
He later added: “We fell short [by not clinching a playoff berth]. We’re not making excuses for it. It’s not good enough. But I think we have a lot to build on.”
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A 2014 Major League Soccer campaign that began with such hope and great expectations ended in bitter disappointment for TFC, as the Reds failed to qualify for the playoffs for an eighth consecutive year. Bezbatchenko, though, chose to see the glass as half full, pointing to the club setting franchise records for most wins (11) and points (41) in a season.
“Could we have made the playoffs? Absolutely. Should we have? I think with the talent on our team, we certainly put ourselves in a position to make the playoffs. That’s the first time in a while where our fans had something to care about down the stretch. The last five games of the year, we were still in the mix,” Bezbatchenko offered.
Fair enough, but whether Bezbatchenko wants to publically admit it or not, the only metric that mattered this year was qualifying for the playoffs, especially after the team’s major over-season spending spree that saw it sign Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley, and launch a high-profile marketing campaign that heralded the team’s makeover as a “Bloody Big Deal.”
With TFC sitting in third place in the Eastern Conference and mired in a terrible freefall, Bezbatchenko fired coach Ryan Nelsen on Aug. 31 and replaced him with Vanney because he felt his former assistant GM could get more out of the team. The hope was also that Vanney could lift the Reds out of their slump and get them into the playoffs.
Instead, the team continued to struggle, and won only two of its final 10 games (with six losses) and collected a measly eight of a possible 30 points to finish seventh in the East. But Bezbatchenko defended the team’s play under Vanney, despite the lack of results on the pitch and the team ultimately failing to cinch a post-season berth.
“You saw a team that was more committed, understood the purpose of the team, they were more prepared and they were living out the values of the club. That to me is progress. That should mean something,” Bezbatchenko offered.
“Did we make the playoffs? No. If that’s your only barometer of success then we failed your test. I have to look at things in the long term, not just one year, and I think we’re set up to do very good things next year.”
Vanney is the ninth manager in TFC history, and though he lacks experience—he was previously an assistant coach with Chivas USA but this is his first head coaching job—Bezbatchenko insists the rookie coach is the right man for the job.
“Greg has the ability both tactically and to set up the team technically to win this league,” Bezbatchenko stated. “He’s committed to a certain style that is ultimately about winning, but it’s also about how you win. I think he’s the best person to lead this team and help build a consistent contender in this league.”
Vanney is confident he can set TFC on the right course after presenting to the club’s ownership and management a plan about his long-term vision for the team.
“I understand this league—I’ve been around this league for many years both as a player and as a coach. I understand what it takes to be successful in [MLS]. In the 10 years that I was a player, I missed the playoffs one time,” Vanney said.
Vanney and Bezbatchenko will conduct exit interviews with the current crop of TFC players over the next few days to let them how and if they fit into the team’s plans going forward.
“There’s a plan for everybody that’s in place, and our objective is that we are going to get better in the off-season,” Vanney said.
Vanney did admit TFC needs more players who “have a clear knowledge of how to win and have been successful in this league,” but stressed that a major roster turnover isn’t required in order to build a winning team.
“I don’t think there’s a ton of turnover that’s needed. We have a good core group to build from. There are some positional things [we need], just because of the way I would like to play the game is different than the way the team was originally set up to play the game,” Vanney explained.
Vanney feels if TFC can do that, it will go a long way to building a culture of success and changing the mindset of the club. Otherwise, he warns that “if we act like a team that it isn’t successful then we’ll fulfill that.”
TFC’s coach pointed to D.C. United—who finished dead last in the league last year and was first place in the East in 2014—as an example of team turning things around by adding MLS-experienced players instead of loading up on international stars.
By Bezbatchenko’s count, the team added 16 new players last off-season. He doesn’t think TFC needs that many reinforcements this time around.
“I certainly think we have a lot more depth than we had last year. Do we need more? Absolutely. Changing your roster in one season is difficult but I do think we now have a core group of a number of players … that they can be the team that we want to build around. You just need to add depth,” Bezbatchenko said.
