Since being bounced out of the playoffs in an epic, overtime, PK thriller of a game last season by Orlando, New York City Football Club has undergone some soul searching and reinvented themselves in Ronny Deila and David Lee’s image. With the season opener scheduled for this Saturday, one question is at the fore-front of every fan’s mind: Is it enough to finally break through in the playoffs and live up to the expectations of the club? Here is a look at some problems and possibilities facing the team for 2021.
THE CHANGES
The core of the team that has been so good the last five years remains, but key players have been shipped off and new ones brought in. Team Captain, Alex Ring, was traded to Austin. Starting left back, Ronald Matarrita is now in Cincinnati and the club declined the option on Gary Mackay-Steven. Those are three big sets shoes to fill, but the club has brought in some good talent to replace those they lost.
Alfredo Morales is probably the biggest signing and an obvious replacement for the fire and bite Ring brought to the middle of the pitch. He is a USMNT player and has played in the top flight in Germany for most of his career. He is a quality player and no doubt will find his way to the starting eleven sooner rather than later.
Chris Gloster and Malte Amundsen were brought in to compete with Gudmundur Thorarinsson for the vacant left back spot. Thorarinsson has started there all of pre-season but it may be just because Gloster and Amundsen were late to join the team. This is probably the highest contested and deepest spot on the squad with all three players legitimately having the talent and an argument to be the starter. Who Deila starts on Saturday may not be the starter we see in June or July. We will have to see who emerges as the top pick but for now it is a good problem to have.
Upfront, the picture is a bit more cloudy with the team recently signing Thiago Andrade from EC Bahia in Brazil. he is a player with pace who can shoot on either foot and he can slot in at striker or on the wing. Homegrown Andres Jasson has also made a case for himself this pre-season by looking dangerous on the pitch and drawing a number of fouls from opposing players. He has been involved in many of the goals NYCFC has scored in their warm up games and Deila has talked highly of him in press conferences.
THE POSSIBILITES
Jun 6, 2019; New York, NY, USA; New York City FC midfielder Ismael Tajouri-Shradi (29) celebrates his goal against FC Cincinnati with defender Anton Tinnerholm (3) during the first half at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
With all these new additions and the pending return of Heber from injury, NYCFC look stacked at almost every position. The club is deep and strong with a core in tact that has a proven skill and energy. Deila has talked extensively about the energy of the team and the chemistry on the pitch being greater than last season. If they can right their scoring woes like they had started to do at the end of 2020 then the team is a tough match up for anyone in the league. Their defense is strong anchored by Anton Tinnerholm, Maxime Chanot, Alexander Callens and Sean Johnson in goal. Those four players have been together a while now and have proven themselves again and again. The midfield is stacked with Keaton Park and a healthy James Sands combining in the center and Ismael Tajouri-Shradi and Jesus Medina on the wing. Maxi Morales is one of the best assist men in the league when he is healthy and he has looked every bit of that in this spring’s warm up games. In fact, the whole team has looked dangerous in the pre-season. After losing their first preseason match to Chicago, the team went on to beat Orlando, Columbus, DC, and Hartford convincingly in their next four games. Now, results do not really matter in pre-season but there is reason for optimism going into Saturday’s season opener. The team has looked dangerous and stored two or more goals in each of their four wins.
Also, NYCFC are not done signing players. They still have two Designated Player spots to fill and the money to fill them with. The infusion of two DP level players in the summer transfer window could prove to be a spark to push them into the playoffs and beyond.
THE QUESTIONS
But even with all this optimism, prognosticators across Major League Soccer have NYCFC projected as either barely making the playoffs or missing out entirely this year for the first time since 2015. There are many challenges to the club this season that could make it either fun or frustrating for fans.
The first of which is the rising power of the Eastern Conference. Not only have reigning champs Columbus gotten better, but so has every other team in the league. New England came on strong last year and Cincinnati have spent big money to bring in players to compete. Philadelphia won the Shield last year and Orlando proved to a very dangerous team. Atlanta is back. Toronto has always been tough and Miami seems to be righting the ship. The first seven games of NYCFC’s season are brutal facing DC United, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Orlando, Toronto, Columbus and LAFC. This is not an easy stretch to begin the season with and how they do in this stretch may set the tone fore the season.
Another problem is that Maxi Morales is getting older and at 34 he is in the last season of his time at NYCFC. Last year he was constantly hurt and his numbers dropped precipitously. With him goes the team. If Maxi is at full strength then he makes it hard for an opposing team in so many ways. He can spray balls over the top or create and hold off the dribble. If he gets hurt or goes down, who replaces him. The team may have some more answers available to them this season with the return of Gedion Zelalem from injury and the addition or Alfredo Morales. Zelalem is technically gifted and has simply not been healthy enough in past seasons to live up to his potential. This season seems like it may be different and at 24 he could be a like for like replacement for Maxi. The other solution is to push Keaton Parks higher up the pitch and allow Morales to Partner with James Sands in the defensive mid roles. Hopefully Maxi stays healthy for the season but if he goes down the club has options they did not have last year.
Another question also involves Morales in the midfield. Deila seems to have a surplus of riches when it comes to defensive midfielders with Park, Sands, Morales and Nicholas Acevedo all vying for minutes. How does Deila get three obvious starters like Parks, Sands and Morales all on the pitch at the same time? We saw a possible answer in the pre-season match against Hartford Athletic this last weekend. In the second half the teams dropped out of their 4-3-3 formation and went to a 3-4-3. James Sands dropped to center back flanked by Callens and Chanot in a back three. Morales then slotted into Sand’s normal position with Parks in the midfield. The result was sloppy and inconclusive but it gave the team a new look and an option of formations to use against different squads.
The last glaring question is at the striker position. Taty Castellanos is the team’s only true striker until Heber returns. Will that be enough? Will he be able to score goals consistently? Will Thiago be able to slot into that position effectively as well? When Heber returns will he be the player he was in 2019 when he scored 15 goals in just half a season with the club? This has to be a position David Lee is looking at with one of the DP slots this summer. Until then, only time will tell how it will work up top. Castellanos has the talent to and passion to score and it could be a huge season for him if he can. The club is already receiving offers for him from around the world and if he starts to score in large numbers those offers will only increase. He knows this is a big year for him not only at the club but also in his career. So far in the preseason he has looked up to the task, but can he do it consistently?
THE CONCLUSION
Despite the predictions on the club from other pundits and publications there is reason for cautious optimism from the fans and from the club. The recent additions to the team make the squad much stronger and fill some glaring holes in the make up of the club during the off season. If Ronny Deila can get the team fit and playing together and David Lee can bring in some top level talent for the DP slots in the summer then 2021 could be a stellar year for NYCFC. Those are some very big “ifs” and there are more questions than answers at this point. The answers will start rolling in, however, starting on Saturday night against DC United.
