Toronto FC 2024 MLS season preview: Can Herdman fix a broken club?

Your level of confidence in the 2024 edition of Toronto FC probably depends on your level of confidence in John Herdman.

After a transformational stint with Canada Soccer, Herdman has plenty of credit in the bank. The task he faces as he enters club football for the first time, though, appears enormous.

Herdman inherits a TFC team coming off what can reasonably be described as the worst season by any club in MLS history relative to spending and expectations. Off the back of that four-win, 22-point campaign, the roster has not been overhauled to a significant degree and the breathing room available under the cap for further changes appears limited.

Ultimately, it boils down to this: Can Herdman fix what most in Toronto regard as a team broken beyond repair?

State of play

At times over the past couple of years, it has felt pointless to dissect TFC’s tactics because of the lack of quality and/or effort on the pitch.

In a bid to create more accountability amongst his players, Herdman has spoken about establishing a system in which individual roles are clearly defined by quantifiable metrics.

Preseason has indicated that system will be some variation on a 3-4-3.

On paper, this would make sense. A persistent – and frankly mystifying – problem last season was Insigne and Bernardeschi’s tendency to hug the touchline, reducing their interactions with each other and the frequency with which they were receiving the ball in the most dangerous areas of the field.

Assigning responsibility for providing width to a pair of wing-backs should allow them to drift inside – as Insigne did on the only goal they combined for in 2023 – more frequently.

What do they need?

With the clock ticking down to the season opener at Cincinnati, TFC has addressed two major needs this week.

Any back-three system depends on dynamic wing-backs, and the return of Richie Laryea provides a much-needed boost there to go along with the No. 1 overall selection of Tyrese Spicer in the draft.

At the back, Herdman will hope Kevin Long can be his Steven Vitoria, with the Irishman's experienced head and organizational qualities making up for what he lacks in pace at age 33.

Earlier in the window, Honduras international Deybi Flores was acquired to introduce some sorely need ball-winning ability and legs to the midfield.

TFC's problem now is depth. It's not that they don't have it; the squad is bloated. The question is how many of the names beyond the first XI are capable of making a meaningful contribution.

Nowhere is this more pertinent than up front, where Herdman has no fewer than seven potential No. 9s. Deandre Kerr, promising but still just 21 with a career-high of five goals, appears the surest thing.

Burning question

Most of the important questions revolve around Insigne and Bernardeschi – specifically, in their performances and off-pitch behaviour.

We have seen both players make public declarations of a renewed sense of purpose before. It has never lasted very long and there is little left to say. They will be evaluated on the pitch.

So here’s another question: What will Toronto get out of Cassius Mailula and Prince Owusu?

Herdman says Toronto FC players are ready for redemption after dismal 2023 season. #TFCLive https://t.co/4ssgnjFCZU

— Neil Davidson (@NeilMDavidson) January 11, 2024

Both players appeared on a gameday roster for the first time with 10 games remaining but were subsequently limited by injuries. Owusu logged 257 minutes out of a possible 900 while Mailula was held to just 68 across three appearances. Neither has featured prominently during preseason.

On the surface, it seems a strange decision for TFC to have added approximately $1 million in salary (Mailula also commanded a transfer fee) to their cap sheet midway through a season in which they had nothing left to play for and no coach. Do they figure into Herdman's plans for 2024?

Outlook

Bill Manning has won a championship as president of this club but to many at BMO Field his legacy will rest on this current team.

Rightly or wrongly, the combination of Manning’s arrival in Toronto two years after Tim Bezbatchenko – and Bezbatchenko’s subsequent success elsewhere – has meant that the now-Columbus Crew president, along with then-coach Greg Vanney, is viewed as the primary architect of the 2017 treble winners.

At many clubs, a season like TFC’s 2023 campaign would have already brought a total cleaning of house.

Herdman, surely, is Manning’s final roll of the dice.

It's not difficult to imagine Toronto being fitter, more tactically coherent, and focused under the former Canada boss' leadership.

The question is whether that will be enough to close what was a 21-point gap between TFC and the play-in game last year. It is a daunting entry into the club game.