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Aaron Nielsen ,

March 1, 2016 Email

Aaron Nielsen



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This off-season, almost all the Montreal Impact talk was surrounding whether Didier Drogba was going to stay with the club after getting opportunities to return to Chelsea for a coaching position. To the Impact and Drogba's credit, they were able to make a deal which looks to see the 37 year old return to Montreal for at least one more season. This could raise some concerns about motivation and one would always question the fitness of a striker at that age, although Drogba has been making doubters eat their words throughout his career, including his introduction to MLS where he scored 11 goals in 11 games. Taking this into account, I look at Montreal as a quality club this season and one that can challenge for the top of the Eastern Conference, which is a huge turnaround from last year’s analytical preview where I saw Montreal finishing out of the playoffs. Drogba is the main reason for the change of fortunes, however, the Impact also made some interesting and I believe quality moves this off-season in acquiring Harry Shipp from Chicago and also signing former Real Madrid, AC Milan and Tottenham Hotspurs youth player Lucas Ontivero. The club did lose a lot of experience in Nigel Reo-Coker, Justin Mapp and Dilly Duka, and also traded GA player Eric Miller, so for Montreal to be successful other key players need to perform well and remain fit. Goalkeeping



Montreal has kept the keeper tandem of Evan Bush and Eric Kronberg, although new Canadian International Maxime Crepeau will also be challenging for playing time. In 2015, Evan Bush won the number one goalkeeping spot and performed well, achieving a 1.26 goals against average, having nine shutouts and a save percentage of .717. He was also awarded the top keeper award for the 2014-2015 CONCACAF Champions League. Bush was part of the Impact’s original NASL outfit and has been with the club for six seasons, and although a veteran, he is not always regarded as an MLS quality keeper, yet proven he is more than adequate in the position. At 6'5, Kroneberg is athletically a typical professional keeper, although he has failed to take opportunities when given to him. Kronberg did reasonabley well at Sporting KC, but was never a difference maker and last year Montreal saw him as a potential number one, yet he struggled in his opening game against Orlando and finished the season playing only three games allowing five goals and making only six saves. Crepeau is short for a keeper but has strong reflexes, which make him a good shot stopper. The 21 year old has established himself as Canada's up-and-coming keeper and made his senior debut against United States this month and played a strong game. He is penciled in to be the FC Montreal starting keeper at the beginning of the season in USL, although I wouldn't be surprised if Impact coaching staff try to give him his MLS debut this season. Full Backs



Montreal expects more out of their defense in terms of maintaining possession, and they acquired three young, but talented, full backs last year who return for the 2016 season. From Chivas USA, Donny Toia played 2700 minutes for the impact last season and contributed almost 40 touches of the ball as well as making over seven key defensive contributions per 90 minutes. He is also a smart defender, limiting his fouls and is not a player who will take a stupid yellow or red card. With Eric Miller now moved on, it looks as if Ambroise Oyongo will be the starting right back. There was some controversy last season about not wanting to play with the Impact, but he eventually joined the club making his debut in May. Oyongo played in 22 games and is potentially one of the more offensive full backs in the league. Last season he touched the ball 45 times per game took 13 shots and was fouled 30 times. The concern regarding Ambroise is his commitment to defense and he can sometimes get caught out or make a questionable tackle. The Impact still have Hassoun Camara who could play right back, while Canadian Maxim Tissot adds added depth in the left back position. Centre Back



Before Drogba joined the club last season the Impact top player in 2015 was Belgian center back Laurent Ciman, who recently committed long term for the club. Ciman was both a hard-man and leader in defense, but also a contributor on offense including taking 35 shots at net. Ciman made 45 touches per game and was also responsible for almost 11 key defensive contributions a match. His determination is noticeable when he plays, although this can also get him in trouble including three red cards from second yellows last season, which also led to game suspensions by the league. Ciman’s main partner last season was Argentinian Victor Cabrera, who joins the club on a full-time contract after being on loan with the club last season. Cabrera played both right and center back last season and although didn't contribute on offense as much as Ciman, he is comparable in defense averaging over 10 key defensive contribution per 90 minutes. Canadian international Wandrille Lefevre also played well paired with Ciman, and could start games at center back or can also be played in a defensive midfielder role. Finally, Montreal drafted and signed Kyle Fisher who was the defensive leader at Clemson University who made it to the NCAA Division National Championship game in 2015. Holding Midfield



Based on the moves this off-season it looks like Montreal may potentially leave the 4-2-3-1 formation which they have primarily played, instead playing a 4-1-4-1 with Marco Donadel penciled in as the starting holding midfielder with Patrice Bernier, Kyle Bekker, or Calum Mallace playing in more of a support role. Donadel played an integral role last season with over 60 touches a game, he contributed to the offense with five assists and was willing to take shots from distance. Donadel did get caught out and was targeted by the referee, which resulted in the Italian getting 13 yellow cards and two red cards last season. Bernier, Bekker and Mallace can have influence in the game. Bernier’s value as a player was shown through a strong performance during Montreal’s playoff run where he has the ability to contribute both to the offense, maintain possession and help on defense. The concern at 36 years old is does Patrice have the stamina to challenge as an everyday starter, or is he more valuable coming off the bench? Long-term Bekker potentially has the most upside and played well in the four games with Montreal after the move from FC Dallas, where he scored his first career MLS goal and seems to be embracing his role playing deeper. Mallace has proven to be a solid midfielder, although relies on short passes to maintain possession. Attacking Midfield



The biggest change this year will be in the attacking midfield role with the additions of Harrison Shipp and Ontivero, who will join Ignacio Piatti and Johan Venegas in potentially one of the most dynamic attacking midfields in MLS. Piatti has continued to improve since joining the Impact and looks like a player this year who could score double digit goals and assists this season. Playing in midfield, Piatti has a greater influence on the game than many other attacking players in the MLS and actually had more touches per game last year than Sebastian Giovinco. Piatti’s partner in the center comes from the most surprising move of the off-season in Montreal being able to attain one of the league’s top young players in Harry Shipp from Chicago. In two MLS seasons, Shipp has played 66 games and has contributed 10 goals and 14 assists. In 2015 he had close to 50 touches per game for the Fire and led his team in key passes, crosses, through-balls, dribbling success and success from set plays. With what looks like a very strong center midfield, it allows Montreal to take more risks on the wing and in these roles the Impact have quick, talented and tricky players, although yet to be proven as game changing players. Venegas will be with the club from the start of the season after joining the Impact late last season from Costa Rican side Alajuelense. Venegas has his faults - he doesn't want contribute defensively, doesn't do well in battles for loose balls, and dives at contact, although where he can be effective is he is very hard to mark. Venegas has a great skill set on the ball and the capability to cut inside setting up great shot opportunities or being fouled in a dangerous area. The Argentinian 21 year old Lucas Ontivero has been brought in to play the other wing and has shown great potential playing in Real Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur, AC Milan and Genoa youth clubs before signing with Galatasaray of Turkey. He has struggled to establish himself in Turkey and was loaned to four other clubs before joining Montreal. Ontivero is left footed, has great agility and balance, as well as good speed and dribbling ability, so hopes are high he will do well despite no proven track record as a pro. If Venegas and Ontivero fail to impress, Montreal can look at players with past MLS experience in Andres Romero, who when healthy has proven he can be a goalscorer in MLS. Also, Eric Alexander who had a very disappointing 2015 season although was a key player for the New York Red Bulls in 2013 and 2014 including 9 assists during the 2014 season. Dominic Oduro is also a wide option or can play up front with Drogba, and despite not being the most consistent player, he does have 56 career MLS goals including eight goals in 2015 and it doesn't seem he has lost any of his greatest asset, which is his speed. Forwards



Didier Drogba was successful in MLS last season because how active he was. He had 44 touches a game, almost 20 more than the average forward in the league, and also took 47 shots on target in 11 games - numbers only in comparison to Giovinco. It does seem unrealistic for Drogba to maintain this pace of a goal per game or these other statistics, however, even if he can achieve half these numbers and remain healthy he should score 18-20 goals this season. Drogba is a versatile goal scorer who can score with his head, inside and outside the box and may be the best free kick taker in the league. Cameron Porter returns from injury and he is joined by homegrown player Anthony Jackson-Hamel and GA draft pick Romario Williams as Drogba backups. Porter became part of Impact folklore for his late goal in the CONCACAF Champions League last season. While Jackson-Hamel should have a greater influence and although he didn't score, proved to be a handful for defenders in limited games last season and also scored two goals in four games well on loan to FC Montreal. Williams was drafted second overall in 2015, although at the time I felt was a poor pick and I don't expect him to make an influence and will be released from the club when his contract runs out after this season. Analysis



With a healthy and motivated Drogba, the Impact can challenge for the top of the Eastern Conference. They are also a team who have room to grow and if everything works out I feel are realistic MLS Cup contenders. With Drogba in the line-up, my statistical model sees them scoring 56 goals and allowing 48 goals for a plus eight goal differential and challenging Toronto, Columbus and New York Red Bulls for the Eastern title. What is noticeable in the model is it doesn't expect many goals from either Venegas or Ontivero, so if either player proves they can score in MLS that could be a difference maker. I think it is important when speaking of Montreal to mention Joey Saputo is a Canadian owner, who also understands and is a great fan of the game of soccer. He has a coaching staff that is almost all Canadian, including the Vice President Nick De Santis, General Manger/Technical Director Adam Braz and Head Coach Mauro Biello, which should show the Canadian public and world soccer our understanding of the game is as good as anyone. The club also has seven Canadians in their squad and although it may take a superstar like Drogba to be a difference maker, the Impact can show, for example, the ownership of Toronto FC it doesn't take foreigners to build a potential winning soccer side in Canada.



Aaron Neilsen is a co-founder of Prospect XI (Prospect Eleven), a scouting network and online magazine dedicated to tracking/highlighting young players that refer to as "prospects" as well as their development pathways both within North America and worldwide. Follow PXI via www.prospectxi.com or on twitter @ProspectXI.