The Montreal Impact front office can’t afford very many vacation days this off-season, not with all the work that needs to be done to improve the team for 2015.
The Impact’s core roster has been largely the same for most of the last three MLS campaigns, but next year’s team will be very different. Very few regular starters from the squad that made the playoffs one year ago remain on contract for 2015.
Alessandro Nesta and Davy Arnaud are long gone. Jeb Brovsky and Collen Warner were traded away, and Hernan Bernardello left for Mexican club Cruz Azul in June.
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Adding to the list of departures are Marco Di Vaio, who retired at the end of this past campaign, and Matteo Ferrari, whose contract option wasn’t exercised. Troy Perkins’ contract expires in December and will likely leave as well.
All who remain are Felipe, Justin Mapp and Hassoun Camara (the last two turn 31 next year), and team captain Patrice Bernier, who’s now 35—and his future at the club remains uncertain, as discussions over the renewal of his contract are still ongoing.
And so, less than four months before the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal showdown with Mexican side Pachuca, the Impact find themselves dangerously thin or devoid of viable talent in many positions, especially down the middle.
In goal, Evan Bush will likely replace Perkins, and deservedly so, but the Impact will need to add another goalkeeper to the roster.
Without Ferrari the Impact don’t really have anyone that offers very much assurance in central defence, least of all Adrian Lopez, who is recovering from a second ACL tear.
The Impact are even more lacking at left fullback, where their best option currently remains the right-footed Camara—which isn’t at all ideal.
Central midfield is another position where Montreal needs a lot of help. It’s probably been the team’s biggest weakness this year, an area where many of their games were lost because they were often overrun and outplayed.
If Bernier returns, he won’t be able to play every week. Calum Mallace has grown a lot, but he’s probably not quite reliable enough to be a full-fledged starter. Coach Frank Klopas sees Felipe as a central midfielder, but he’s much better higher up the field. Jeremy Gagnon-Lapare looks promising, but he’s only 18.
With Di Vaio gone, the Impact will also need another number nine, and preferably one that can offer a physical presence in the box, because the Impact need to start getting some goals on crosses and dead ball situations (they didn’t bag a single goal on set pieces all season long). The Impact still have Jack McInerney, who has been an upgrade over Andrew Wenger in the attack, but he’s not very adept at leading the line on his own. He says he’s better off in 4-4-2, but there’s only a slim chance the Impact will line up that way very often next year.
All in all, to be competitive next season, the Impact will likely need six new worthy starters: two central defenders, one left fullback, two central midfielders, and one forward. They will also need to get younger and more athletic—lack of athleticism has been the team’s Achilles heel over the last two MLS campaigns.
Though there is a sense of urgency within the Montreal organization about addressing these needs, trying to do so all at once in one off-season might be an unrealistic and somewhat risky course of action, especially for a club that isn’t very organized and that now has to make do without Matt Jordan.
However, Klopas doesn’t have time on his side. The Impact finished last in MLS this season and ticket sales have sharply declined—factors that inevitably heap pressure on Klopas to instantly turn the Impact into a winner. He will likely feel compelled to move swiftly, and sign whomever he can sign.
At least, he’ll have designated player Ignacio Piatti available from the beginning.
Nick Sabetti is a Montreal-based writer. Follow him on Twitter