It’s finally here: the 2017 MLS Season. This means New York City FC enters with plenty of unfinished business on the table.
NYCFC enters its third season in MLS with some unfinished business to attend to.Coach Patrick Vieira and league MVP David Villa took the team from preseason doormat to year-end contender in 2016. Despite that incredible improvement, one that should be applauded, NYCFC’s 2016 season ended horribly in the MLS Cup playoffs.
After a slew of offseason signings and in their second year playing in Vieira’s system, NYCFC will look to add some hardware to their currently bare trophy case in 2017.
2016 Overview
NYCFC had a strong second season in the MLS winning 15 games and earning 54 points. The five-win and 17-point increase season-over-season from their inaugural 2015 campaign to their sophomore 2016 was an incredible accomplishment.
After finishing in second place in the Eastern Conference, three points behind the regular season champion NY Red Bulls, NYCFC advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals of the MLS Cup tournament. Unfortunately, their season ended when they lost 7-0 in aggregate to MLS finalist Toronto FC.
The MVP
David Villa came to the Bronx as NYCFC’s first ever player. The free transfer from Atlético Madrid was given a three-year, six million dollar contract in June of 2014 to leave Europe. Signing the international superstar gave the expansion team instant credibility in football circles and across MLS.
The acquisition of Villa has paid off in a big way. In the 63 games he’s played in the MLS since his arrival, he’s scored 43 goals on 304 shots. By comparison, all other NYCFC players combined have scored a total of 78 goals over those same two seasons.
Villa was named MVP of the league in 2016 for his dominating 23 goal performance. He will be returning in 2017 and a repeat of last season would be huge for NYCFC. Villa himself though is expecting more.
Via Kyle Schnitzer of the New York Post:
“We need to improve everything,” Villa said. “We were way better in the second year than the first. But the first objective is to be fighting for the cup. We need to improve, we need to be better than last year.”
The Coach
After a lackluster 2015, NYCFC fired its first coach, Jason Kreis, and replaced him with Patrick Vieira.
Before his arrival in the States, Vieira, a Frenchman, was better known throughout the world as a player than a coach. The long-reigning captain of Arsenal had led his team to three Premiere League titles in his 10 seasons, but had never coached a professional game.
Vieira cleaned house as soon as he arrived in New York. He released 10 players and brought in 11 new ones before the 2016 season even began. Most of those moves would turn out to be positives for the club.
Vieira has a willingness and a confidence to make the tough, and sometimes, even unpopular decisions. He has not been afraid to change formations or the starting lineup when he feels it is needed.
Several times in 2016, NYCFC deployed a three-man defense and/or a three-man attack. His lineup decisions are often even more unorthodox than his tactics, as evidenced by the benching of national team regular Mix Diskerud for extended periods of the season.
Despite his inexperience and unpredictability, Vieira turned a losing expansion team into a legitimate contender for the Supporters Shield and MLS Cup in only a single season. If he can keep progressing as quickly he did from 2015 to 2016 NYCFC could become a champion as early as 2017.
The Offense
David Villa is the NYCFC offense. That trend should continue in 2017 with the departure of second leading goal scorer Frank Lampard whose contract ran out following the 2016 campaign.
Second-year winger Jack Harrison, the number one overall selection in the 2016 draft, will be expected by Coach Vieira and NYCFC fans to make significant strides in 2017. The Manchester United Academy product simply must stay healthy and improve on his four-goal, seven-assist rookie season.
Jonathan Lewis, the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s SuperDraft will join Harrison up top. He is expected to join the attack and contribute immediately.
if the kids don’t work out, veteran Sean Okoli was brought in as a lottery ticket. After two unsuccessful seasons in MLS with two different clubs, Okoli played in the USL in 2016 and won the MVP scoring 16 goals in a successful show-me season.
The Midfield
NYCFC’s midfield was not a strength nor was it a weakness in 2016. It just was, well blah.
Besides the often inspired play of its elder statesman and team assist leader Andrea Pirlo, there wasn’t much consistency in the middle of the pitch. City midfield struggled to find a rhythm in any of Coach Vieira’s formations and never really established an identity.
Coach Vieira will look to remedy those ills by deploying an almost entirely new midfield in 2017. Oft injured Federico Bravo, defensive midfielder Andoni Iraola and Stiven Mendoza will not be returning. In their place are a slew of offseason signings who we expect will compete throughout the season for minutes.
In mid-February, City brought in their third designated player, midfielder Maxi Moralez. Moralez comes to New York from the Mexican Series A league with a ton of expectations. An offensive minded, left-footed playmaker, Moralez will immediately be plugged in to the NYCFC starting XI. What spot he’ll fill in that XI is still anyone’s guess since Coach Vieira has not yet made public whether he’s start the season in a 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 formation.
Panamanian National Team midfielder Miguel Camargo is also new to the club. Here on loan from Chorrillo Futbol Club in Panama, Camargo brings even more offensive promise to the City midfield.
At a recent press conference, Coach Patrick Vieira said, “Miguel brings a versatility and tactical intelligence which will give us a number of options in his area of the field going into next season. I’m looking forward to working with him in the new year on our training camp.”
Camargo has chosen to wear number 99 for the Bronx Blues. To soccer fans, and hockey fans for that matter, the double nines come with scoring expectations. Camargo may slot in as an attacking midfielder or up top as wing partner to David Villa.
Finish National Team player Alexander Ring has left the German league to run for NYCFC in 2017. He will be another exciting midfield prospect for Coach Vieira to utilize in 2017. The 25-year-old midfielder will, according to Vieira, “contribute on both sides of the game,” and is, “a great option either at base of midfield or box to box.”
Manchester City has loaned midfielder Yangel Herrera to City for the 2017 season. The captain of Venezuela’s U-20 team, Herrera will look to improve his craft by learning from new teammate and midfield legend Pirlo while also being coached from all time great midfielder Vieira.
Finally, preseason superstar John Stertzer will hope to carry some of his early goal scoring results in to the regular season and should compete for time this season.
The Defense
NYCFC’s biggest issue coming in to 2017 is the defense. Their awful back line surrendered the most goals in MLS last season (64). Seven of those goals came in one particularly putrid outing against the Red Bulls.
Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be many new options on the back line. Rodney Wallace can certainly start at the left back. However, he may be more a midfielder in Coach Vieira’s system. Wallace won the MLS Cup with Portland in 2015. He has a winning pedigree and even scored the game winning goal in the final that season.
Maxime Chanot seems locked in at left center back. Frederic Brillant an/or Ethan White will play right of center. Either Shannon Gomez or RJ Allen could win the right back spot with a strong preseason.
None of the defenders are particularly special and will need to improve for NYCFC to have a legitimate shot at a title. They’ll have to become masters at rope-a-dope tactic employed by Vieira. In his system the defense is asked to complete tons of short passes, drawing the opposition in to their defensive third, and then when they see an opening spring an attacker.
Sometimes the best defense is a good offense.
The Keeper
Sean Johnson has come to New York via trade from Chicago for cash. The former US National Teamer has been one of the best keepers in MLS since his arrival. In 176 starts over seven years, he has a 1.42 GAA and 36 shutouts.
Returning Josh Saunders will do his best to retain the starting role but it will be hard for him to make a case coming off of a 1.66 GAA and the most goals allowed in the league in 2016.
The Pitch
The tiny pitch squeezed into the baseball diamond at Yankee Stadium may not be a home field advantage for NYCFC. Last season, the club was much better on the road than at home.
While the Bronx Blues do attract a nice crowd, the Stadium pitch still needs some work.
The Prediction
NYCFC takes another step forward in 2017. On the strength of another MVP year from David Villa and a breakout from Jack Harrison, NYCFC will score the most goals in the league.
The defense, shiny new midfield and an experienced keeper, will be able to provide just enough goal prevention to win a lot of games.
NYCFC will be the first professional team other than the Yankees to win a championship in the Bronx, and it will happen in 2017.