The 2024 season officially closed for Toronto FC on Thursday with the year-end media availability.

MLSE President and CEO Keith Pelley, TFC General Manager Jason Hernandez, TFC Head Coach John Herdman, and TFC Captain Jonathan Osorio all spoke at BMO Training Ground.

Much was discussed, but Pelley laid out the mission ahead early in the proceedings: “TFC now is in what's called a full rebuild.”

“We will, over the next couple of months, evaluate all facets of our operation and start the transition into providing a contender, somebody that can win, somebody that can get back to the glory years,” he continued. “What that means is we're going to look at everything and that's what we're doing right now. We're in the midst of it. We've started it. The only positive factor about missing the playoffs, and I was devastated by the way that we missed the playoffs through the last five games, was the fact that we could start the rebuild already.”

“Making the playoffs is not our goal – that is not our goal. I’m going to make it perfectly clear: our goal is to be a contender on an annual basis, for us to be a preeminently operated team in, not only MLS, but seen worldwide as an efficient, well-run club in all aspects, on and off the field,” Pelley underlined. “We're not there yet, but we will be there. It won't happen overnight, but it will happen. We're committed to getting back to where we should be, where our fans want us to be, where they deserve it to be.”

The full organizational review conducted by Marco Neppe, formerly of Bayern Munich, over the past two months and the rebuild it will inform as TFC looks to define their identity going forward will be conversations that carry on over the coming months.

Before then, Herdman put a bow on 2024.

“This season was a roller coaster,” said the TFC coach. “Started strong, finished weak, and didn't meet the expectations of what a club like Toronto FC should be producing for its fans,” he continued. “We made progress, but we don't want to be celebrating progress when you're not in the playoffs or you haven’t got a Canadian Championship in the trophy cabinet here.”

“We got close, but close wasn't enough this season,” underlined Herdman. “We're in a review, looking back and learning and developing to get ready for next season, but a massive thanks to the fans who were outstanding this season. They kept showing up right until the end, nearly pushed us over the line, but we didn't quite get there. Now there is work to be done in the next four months to get us ready for next year.”

The club knew this was always likely to be a year that came with challenges, both expected and not.

“The season unfolded in ways that we had anticipated and in some ways that we didn’t.” outlined Hernandez. “For the project that we took on to start the season and the different variables we were looking to manage, we set out on a road map that we understood would be a roller coaster at times, would be bumpy at times, with different stretches where we thought we would find some joy and stretches, we knew we would find some challenges. We all felt confident that we had the group and the strategy in place to take something from the season, whether that be the Canadian Championship or, given where we were on the table for the majority of the season, a playoff berth.”

“In the end we came up short,” he continued. “That is the reality of where we are in this moment. There are no moral victories in our business, specifically at this club. Now the focus shifts away from what was to what is to come. Part of that, which is very energizing, is the insertion of Keith, his ideas and his passion for the game, his passion for our club, and a really exciting opportunity to work with someone who has a lot of ambition for us as a group.”

“It's bittersweet,” reflected the GM. “As you know, this time of year we'd like to be doing something else, but to have the opportunity to embark on a new version of our project is something that I can get behind. The work will be done.”

Progress was made, but not enough.

“We outperformed [previous TFC sides] over the last four years, whether it’s points or wins, etc,” levelled Herdman. “We spent a third of the season in the top four. We spent half a year in the top six, and all but one game in the playoff positions.”

“We knew this was a three-year project. It was going to take time to transition, but not making the playoffs or bringing the trophy home stings,” he continued. “When you look at the gaps, there was a significant sink in that second half of the season. And when you look at MLS stats, we're in the top six for the first half of games and we're in the bottom six for the second half of games. It's a season of two halves and, for Toronto FC, a game of two halves as well.”

Take nearly any result this season, barring a few exceptions, and the margins are thin. A win here, a draw there, and TFC are in the playoffs this year.

“We’re three points away. Not too far [off] being a playoff team,” replied Osorio. “Saying that, to being a contender, we have work to do for sure.”

“Playoffs, analyzing the season and how everything went, was a very realistic goal and a goal that we should have got. Unfortunately, it didn't happen,” he continued. “We got close to the Canadian Championship. Playing better than the other team is not good enough in finals, you have to get the job done. Next year, which it should always be, the objective at TFC is to make the playoffs and to win the Canadian Championship.”

As 2024 ends, 2025 begins.

MLS has released the schedule for offseason roster building mechanisms.

The deadline to exercise options is November 27, free agency opens on December 12. The MLS Expansion Draft with San Diego FC entering the league is set for December 11. End of Year waivers, the Re-Entry Process, and the 2025 MLS SuperDraft will follow in quick succession.

Toronto look towards next season with more flexibility.

“As far as cap space goes, we are in a much better position. Not to put a number on it, but it’s more than double what we had last year,” said Hernandez. “We did quite a lot of work – in the primary window mostly – on, from MLS standards, a limited amount of salary cap space. All that is to say the space that we do have is only as relevant, as good, as smart, as we use.”

“We held a lot of cap charges for players who are no longer in this building, that creates a ton of inefficiency and makes it difficult to do all the things you want to do,” he continued. “With some decisions coming in the offseason, with some expiring contracts, and also being able to procure a healthy amount of cap space going into next season, we feel quite positive that we'll have some room to address some of the needs of the roster and it will be the work now to understand exactly who we want to join us.”

Hernandez anticipates being active in the free agent market.

“Free agency is a place where we try to maximize ourselves over the years,” he said. “There is a level of credibility for MLS products. We've been really fortunate for a guy like Sean Johnson to elect to stay with us and be a big part of what we've done. We've gotten more clean sheets this year than in a while.”

“Free agency is something we're going to leverage, for sure,” Hernandez continued. “This is a place where people in MLS feel very fond of and if there's opportunities to join our club and be a part of the city, people typically listen. I think we'll be active.”

And Toronto have not yet decided which Designated Player model strategy they will elect to follow next year.

“That's something we have to declare by roster compliance,” laid out Hernandez. “There’s two different ways to look at it. From the third Designated Player strategy you can obviously acquire one more high-end spend over the max charge, whereas if you go with the two DP model you allow yourself more flexibility in the U-22 space and allow yourself $2 million in GAM to apply to the cap.”

“Most clubs will look at it year-by-year: where are we at? What are the needs? Is there one big piece that's missing to turn the tide? Maybe that's the three DP model versus actually we're going to invest a little bit more in the youth space, in the U-22s, and the $2 million in the cap is going to allow the rest of our team to be more robust,” he balanced. “It's an evaluation that we'll go through to understand what makes the most sense for us in ‘25, how does that set us up for ‘26, and all those things. Those discussions are ongoing.”

Much work remains to be done, but the lessons gleaned from this season will inform those conclusions.

“What I've seen on the pitch, defensively this year we've certainly struggled. That's been an area that's been a challenge in terms of goals conceded and goals conceded in the last 20 minutes of the game,” highlighted Herdman as one area of need. “Second half of the season and second half of games has shown [the need for a higher] level of durability.”

“The big learning out of MLS for me is players have got to be able to push through back-to-back 90s,” he continued. “This is a gruelling schedule. You throw in [the] Canadian Championship, you throw in all those factors, and you know that players have to be durable. There's a youthfulness that is going to be important and then an athleticism around certain profiles that allow any identity to be driven through 34 games-plus.”

2025 will be here soon enough. The team will report for preseason in January and using the past as a guide, opening day will arrive towards the end of the following month.

“I have faith,” said Osorio. “There's a new regime here with Keith Pelley. The things that I heard from him and the vision that I'm hearing, I have a really good feeling.”

“This offseason, as everybody knows, is very, very important,” he closed. “If we want to turn this club around, this offseason is important in starting that.”