The kids are(n't) alright
But for TFC to be successful this is the year they need to be
Toronto FC fans have heard the claim for years.
“We are sitting on a goldmine!”
“Just wait to the kids develop!!”
“One of the best academies in North America!!!”
It’s never quite worked out, has it? It doesn’t matter how much I, or others, point out that TFC’s hit rate on academy kids is a bit better than the average in MLS, most fans see Toronto’s development history as a failure.
That belief runs even deeper in actual GTA development circles. There, the TFC academy has long been seen as predatory and careless in what they do with the players once they have poached them. Part of that is just pettiness. Some of you reading might not like to read that, but it is. There are plenty of situations were it is in the player’s best interest to go to the MLS academy. And the local club scene is far from perfect here either.
However, TFCA has made mistakes in the past. That’s both in the relationships that they have failed to establish with other clubs and in the way that they handled certain players.
Then there’s the issue of converting players to the first team. They move a lot to TFC2, sure, and they even sign more players than most to MLS contracts, but actually playing them in MLS is a whole other issue.
There are plenty of examples of players that have generated excitement over the years, only to never get a true chance.
Jordan Hamilton plays for Forge now. Jacob Shaffelburg is in Nashville. Ralph Priso is a Rapids player. And, those are the ones actually still playing.
This isn’t a sustainable model in the current era of MLS (I think we are in MLS 4.0 now, but the whole x.0 numbering thing is confusing). What ever point oh we are at now, it’s a different one from when TFC won in 2017. That was the era of big DP spends resulting in championships. Now, we’ve evolved where you need greater depth as well as the DPs.
We saw that play out in the 2022 MLS Cup final, when Philly and LAFC had both star power and rosters 20+ deep.
Right now, Toronto still seems to be looking to build the 2017 way. There is little doubt that the high end talent is there for this team, but the depth is a serious question.
So, we need the kids to show up. As stated, the club’s history doesn’t give fans much confidence that they will. Even the recent history. After all, outside of Jayden Nelsen, no one looks that close right now. Even he faded a bit last year and it’s hard to see how he improves on a decent, but ultimately middling (and below average, defensively) 2022.
I’m including Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty in this list, despite his top prospect label. He might one day live up to that hype, but will it be with TFC in 2023?
I have doubts. So, you sell him if you can cash in.
That said, they will need someone to step up and they will need more consistent production moving forward if they are to get back to where TFC and the fans want the club to be.
Time will tell if they can…
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