The 2023 MLS season was the worst in Toronto FC’s history, with the club finishing bottom of the Eastern Conference and bottom of the league as a whole with only 22 points through their 34 league matches. The season was a complete disaster, with Bob Bradley being sacked and the futures of Italian designated players Federico Bernardeschi and Lorenzo Insigne being very much in question.
To replace the departed American manager, Toronto did not look outside of Canada, with John Herdman being appointed as the club’s new head coach, less than a year removed from guiding Canada to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. This hire definitely came with its risks, as all do, with Herdman never managing at club level before.
However, the early results of the Englishman’s reign have been positive, with Toronto the only side in MLS not to have conceded yet this season through three matches while also already gaining just under ⅓ of the clubs point total from last season. He also seems to have gotten the entire squad to buy in, with Insigne and Bernardeschi also having great starts to the season. This tactical analysis will analyse a few of the early-season tactics that Herdman has implemented, as well as some trends that are beginning to show up in Toronto’s style of play.
The build-up shape looks to cause problems
In Toronto’s first three matches of the new MLS season, John Herdman has opted to set his side up in a back three system, with it tending to start as a 3-4-2-1 before shifting as the match progresses and in different phases of play. Through their first three matches of the campaign, Toronto have looked to have a bit of a mixed attacking style, with points where they have looked more possession-oriented and moments where they have tended to be more patient and hit on counterattacks. This has resulted in a more balanced attacking style, though being more clinical in front of goal is something they are still looking to find, with only two goals scored so far, an xG of only 2.30, and the lowest xG per shot in the league with 0.077.
While this is not the topic of this section, a lot of Herdmans goalscoring trouble this season has been caused by the lack of contribution from the #9 position early on in the season, with most of the goalscoring chances coming either from Insigne, Bernardeschi, or Jonathan Osorio.
The pass map above shows all the successful passes of John Herdman’s side this season through the first three MLS matches. As we can see, width has been a huge factor in ball progression into the final third in the early stage of this season, with the ball tending to be circulated out to the wide channels. This topic of creating width in attack will be covered more later on in this tactical analysis.
While goalkeepers Sean Johnson and Luka Gavran have sometimes looked to play long from goal kicks, Toronto has tended to try and build from the back using their three centre-backs. The two deeper-lying midfielders tend to drop in as well, with Toronto looking to build with a 3-2 shape.
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