John Herdman was not happy after Toronto FC lost 4-1 to the Chicago Fire on Saturday evening.
He made sure the players knew it too.
“They’ve had it before,” explained Herdman. “They had it at half-time in one of the home matches, but this was different. This was different. This was more disappointment, raw emotion about the performance, more from the heart.”
Sometimes a coach’s anger is performative – a shock to the limbic system, attempting to rouse the side. This was not that.
“They heard some things that were not said before, but we had a great day on Monday,” explained the TFC coach. “You're like a parent. You're angry with your kids in the moment and then you go in, reflect, you feel a bit guilty for the things you've said to them because deep down you know that they're hurting.”
“We came back Monday, Lorenzo [Insigne] had a great moment with the team. He was very emotional and we got a reset in, focusing on what we want our fans to feel after this game, what we want Nashville to feel, and what we want to feel,” said Herdman. “That's what's in our control. There's things that we absolutely hold true to, our core values, and they have to show up – they will show up on Wednesday.”
Key principles were absent for the first time this season.
“Intensity. Effort,” listed Herdman. “There was a feeling on reflection that the intensity levels have dropped and the response after the second goal wasn't strong enough.”
“When we looked back at the game, we did have good moments – it wasn't a game where you were dominated by an opponent, but [Chicago] definitely took their chances. When you come out of the emotion, it's a disappointing loss, but for this group they have to clean up defensively,” he stressed. “We've made a commitment, to our fans, to each other, to make sure that it's more disciplined in all areas.”
“And then with the quality that we can add into the game,” Herdman added. “Players coming back into the lineup gives us a bit more edge and threat.”
TFC were not just missing quality players, but vital ones.
“That lineup was missing our leadership group,” said Herdman. “Bar Lorenzo, our most experienced players that can manage the moment – [Jonathan] Osorio, Sean Johnson, experienced players like Prince Owusu, Richie Laryea, Shane O'Neill, Bernardeschi – that's a group of men that you need in and around your starting XI when it gets tough.”
“There wasn't much in the game at 1-all at half-time. We had enough good chances, we limited their opportunities, but we couldn't really bounce back from the second goal and we went into a bit of a pit. That's where that leadership is required,” he continued. “When you peel the layers back, you started to recognize that there was a real caveat in the leadership, that ability to have that winning mentality and that tempo that we've seen when we've gone behind against Cincinnati or New York where the team just keeps fighting and pushing back.”
“We discussed this in our meeting this week,” said Herdman. “Getting that feeling, that competitive spirit, the fight that these fans expect, to bring that back, a commitment to be right in the game because all of these games are going to be tough. With Bernardeschi back, Owusu back, that brings a solidity, another element of leadership to our team.”
The loss to Chicago was not the return to action the club wanted with a crucial stretch of matches ahead.
Just past the halfway point of the season, the nine matches that began with that defeat and lead into the Leagues Cup break at the end of July will be important. When MLS resumes at the end of August, TFC will have just eight matches left to play.
Of the 27 points on the table three are gone, now it’s about the next three.
Toronto and Nashville have already met once this season with Nashville winning 2-0 at GEODIS Park on May 15.
A makeshift TFC lineup nearly held the home side at bay with an excellent defensive road performance, only to concede twice inside the final ten minutes.
Herdman expects this game to be “very different.”
“The game in Nashville was probably our thinnest squad, I don’t think we had a DP on the pitch,” he recalled. “We had Osorio off, Fede, Richie, Lorenzo, Sean – all those guys were out. The group that went in did a hell of a job right up until the 80th minute, it was a real defensive effort. We limited them to three shots on target and their second shot on target came in something like the 81st minute for the goal.”
It was a result that kicked off changes in Nashville. Coach Gary Smith departed, replaced by Rumba Munthali on an interim basis. They come to town in good form, having gotten results in four of the five matches since that previous meeting, including a win over FC Cincinnati in Cincinnati. Their only loss came against a resurgent New England Revolution at the start of the month. They drew 0-0 at the New York Red Bulls on Saturday.
Sam Surridge leads the side with five goals on the season, while Hany Mukhtar has four to go with his six assists.
“That performance [in Nashville] was definitely an away performance; this one has to be a home performance,” compared Herdman. “What I've seen from Nashville, they've got a new coach. He's brought them back to that identity of a 4-2-3-1 and found ways to get Mukhtar more involved in the game.”
“They look more like the Nashville from last season with the rhythm that they have. You can see they're on a bit of a roll,” he closed. “They beat Cincy, which I don't think many teams get the chance to do, so they'll come here with a lot of confidence.”
