Some burning questions come to mind as Toronto FC enters the off-season following a failed 2018 Major League Soccer campaign…
What do they do about the 3 DPs?
All three of TFC’s designated players – captain Michael Bradley, and forwards Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore – will enter the final years of their respective contracts in 2019, which raises questions about their futures in Toronto.
As all three have been key figures in the Reds’ success the past two seasons, conversations with the DPs are expected to take place this winter.
“It’ll be a priority to sit down with and talk with those three players. …. Those players have been with us for the past few years and helped build what we built. So, it’s important that we sit down and have a conversation [about] what their expectations are for next year and beyond next near,” general manager Tim Bezbatchenko said this week.
Extending Giovinco’s contract should be a main objective for TFC. In four short years, the Italian has established himself as one of the best players in MLS history, providing Toronto with a glut of goals (73) and assists (57) in 125 regular season and playoff appearances. He was also named league MVP in 2015.
Giovinco turns 32 in January, and his goal production has dipped each year with Toronto. But he’s still on top of his game, and is widely regarded as one of the most feared players in the league. Quality forwards and genuine game-breakers are at a premium in MLS, and that’s why Giovinco needs to be re-signed.
Bradley, 31, has been a workhorse since coming to Toronto in 2014, logging more playing time than any of his teammates. A modest stat sheet — just nine goals and 26 assists in regular-season appearances — doesn’t provide a full picture of the midfielder’s wide-ranging influence.
Bradley is the heartbeat of this franchise, the central figure for a TFC side that over the course of the last three years has won an MLS Cup, Supporters’ Shield, three consecutive Canadian Championships. By all accounts, he is keen to stay in Toronto, so it’d be shocking if he didn’t re-sign.
Altidore is coming off an injury-plagued year that limited him to just 13 regular season appearances. Still, he scored a respectable seven goals, offering a glimpse of what might have been had he remained healthy.
At 28, Altidore has the greatest market value of the three DPs if Toronto wanted to trade or sell him. But you have to wonder how likely another club would be to make a move for Altidore considering injuries have dogged him during his four years in Toronto.
Regardless, locking up Altidore would be smart business. Even with his track record of injuries, he’s a proven goal scorer in MLS, and his commitment to TFC has been exemplary.
Does TFC hold on to Drew Moor?
While Bezbatchenko and coach Greg Vanney revealed this week that wholesale roster changes won’t be made, the reality is that MLS is a salary cap league, which means TFC must release some players in order to be roster compliant next year.
Bezbatchenko confirmed that 13 players are on guaranteed deals for 2019, and 11 are entering the option years on their contracts. TFC has the option on all of those 11 players, and must decide who stays and who goes. Even if Toronto declines the contract option on a player, it can still negotiate and sign him to a new deal for lesser money.
Drew Moor is among the 11, but he is a special case. If Toronto decides not to pick up Moor’s option, he would be available for unrestricted free agency, and could sign for any MLS club.
But considering his age – he turns 35 in January – it’s unlikely that another team would sign him at the same money that TFC offered, even at a lower pay rate (he made US$350,000 this season).
The question is, though, should Toronto keep Moor?
So long as they can reduce his salary cap hit, TFC should retain Moor’s services. Moor and Chris Mavinga combined to play 51 games as the quarterbacks of a TFC back line that conceded just 37 goals during its 2017 MLS Cup winning campaign, the second-best defensive record in MLS. This year, Mavinga and Moor played only 20 league games due to injuries, and Toronto’s defence coughed up a franchise-worst 64 goals.
To underscore the importance of Mavinga and Moor, TFC conceded 37 goals in 27 MLS games (a goal every 65.7 minutes) when at least one of them was on the field, but the defence was breached 43 times in 20 games (a goal every 41.9 minutes) when both of them were missing. The two only played together twice this year, in both legs of its Concacaf Champions League series versus Tigres.
Moor isn’t the quickest centre-back. But he’s a veteran with a wealth of experience, a solid organizer of a defence, and can read the game and snuff out danger before it develops. His leadership skills on the back line can’t be discounted either. That said, he is getting on in years, and who knows if he’ll be able to avoid injury next year.
Notably, management has already said that adding more defensive depth will be a top priority this off-season, so it makes sense to bring back Moor.
Do they make an upgrade at goalkeeper?
Club president Bill Manning said this week that TFC is committed to undergoing a “very thorough review” of the roster over the off-season in order to determine where upgrades are needed.
One of the more interesting decisions will be what, if anything, the club does at the goalkeeper position.
Alex Bono was a key figure in the Reds’ treble-winning season in 2017 when he firmly established himself as the starter ahead of the more experienced Clint Irwin. Bono started 29 games during the regular season and then all five playoff contests last year, making excellent saves at key junctures. Toronto rewarded the young shot stopper by signing him to a new, improved contact in June.
It’s fair to say, though, that Bono regressed in 2018. He looked far from sharp, making a series of high-profile gaffes and errors throughout the campaign. He had 10 shutouts last season, this year only three, and was in net for 45 of the 64 goals Toronto conceded during the regular season.
That’s not all on Bono. Playing behind an ever-changing defensive lineup from week to week didn’t help. But it was clear that he was off his game.
Bono admitted he struggled mentally, dealing with a crisis of confidence that didn’t escape his coach’s attention. Noting that Bono was “living in his head,” Vanney benched him and started Irwin for two consecutive games, on Aug. 29 and Sept. 1, before letting him finish out the season as the starter.
Does TFC try to bring in another goalkeeper? Does it cut its losses with Bono and see if they can trade him?
Bono wasn’t the only one on the team who had a poor season. Several payers did. Given Bono’s age and that he was just re-signed to a new deal, moving him and then bringing in another goalkeeper would be too costly.
Chances are that the poor year was a one-off. Let him rest and mentally recuperate during the winter and allow him to come into training camp in January with a clean slate.
But, make it clear to Bono that he has to win the starting job back during the pre-season. Hopefully, some healthy competition with Irwin will bring out the best in him again. If not, he’d still be a more-than-suitable backup option.
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