For the Tampa Bay Rowdies to be MLS worthy, they need to become road warriors

There’s no more time for excuses after three straight years of poor road results

from the Tampa Bay Rowdies Facebook / Matt May

The first point astute road commentators make when the Tampa Bay Rowdies come to town is how talented the roster is. They spend the rest of the game gawking at the Rowdies inability to either defend or score.

The 2017 Tampa Bay Rowdies roster is thin, top heavy, but very formidable when in form. It’s like the Rowdies are lost in the twilight zone, signing uber talented veterans like Joe Cole and Marcel Schafer. Cole is a Premiere League legend, plagued by injury in his later years. Schafer had a 10 year career with the elite German Bundesliga club, VFL Wolfsburg.

The Rowdies also have two talented wingers in fan favorite Georgi Hristov and the pacey young playmaker Alex Morrell. After a short loan spell from the athletic Deshorn Brown, Martin Paterson has stepped in admirably with 9 goals in 15 starts. The Rowdies have a dynamic attacking lineup in 2017.

What the Rowdies don’t have is an elite defense or seemingly any competence on the road. The latter point is rather disconcerting due to the fact that if the Rowdies are to make an MLS bid in the coming years, they need to prove they are an MLS caliber team.

That would mean not giving up 4 goals to the New York Red Bulls SECOND team (dominant USL Cup champions last year, 11–5–12 record this year).

The 2017 USL season for the Rowdies has been great for a team nearly locked into a playoff spot for the first time since 2012’s NASL championship run. The Rowdies road form didn’t plummet until after 2014 where their road record (4–5–4) was better than their home record (3–4–7).

I’ll get to contributing factors in a moment, but let’s fall out of our seats for these numbing numbers:

(Wins-Draws-Losses)

2015 away results: 1–6–9

2016 away results: 3–5–9

2017 away results: 2–6–7

Overall away results: 6–17–25

In 3 years time, the Rowdies have won 6 games on the road in 48 matches. Over half the time, the Rowdies are going to lose.

When a team loses, fans clamor over who is to blame. Often times the first person in an organization to get heat for a loss is the coach. The next target is the owner if the roster is deemed poor or lacking at a position. Players aren’t often singled out unless their performance was enough to warrant criticism.

So where is the criticism warranted with the Rowdies poor road outings?

Is Head Coach Stuart Campbell not tactically superior on the road?

Has ownership not put together a sufficient roster deep enough to sustain season success?

Is the Rowdies' roster stuck in a position where they’ll be the farm for other clubs?

All three aspects play a factor, but there’s no one direct cause.

The truth of the matter is, building an American soccer team to be competitive is difficult. To the Rowdies’ credit, they’ve built a nice team, but there are still roster limitations and deficiencies.

In the past, the primary goal scoring threat was Hristov, who has found the net often, including a hat trick in 2016. But the 2015–2016 roster didn’t get enough out of guys like Tommy Heinemann or Corey Hertzog. Hertzog is currently 5th this season for the USL Golden Boot with 13 goals, after finishing 6th last year with 14.

There’s no time for hard feelings if you’re a Rowdies fan, because the Rowdies have not only an array of goal scoring threats, they have a quartet of guys that can create chances. Schafer, Nanchoff, Cole, and Morrell have made key passes and runs to make the Rowdies very dangerous in the attacking third.

The Rowdies have struggled to score on the road up until this recent stretch where they are scoring at will. Now the attention shifts to the defense who have been conceding at will. The Rowdies have given up 12 goals in their last 4 road games.

The road frustration stems from the amount of winnable games the Rowdies have given away in the dying embers of matches.

The Rowdies were in the drivers seat to win on the road versus Orlando before a penalty was conceded in the fifth minute of extra time. They also had a win locked up against the Richmond Kickers before a last minute goal drew the match. The Rowdies also conceded an 89th minute game winner to St. Louis in a 4–3 loss in August.

Coach Campbell has harped that the team has played well on the road and have received unlucky or unfair results, but results are results. The lack of discipline to finish road matches late and not give up points is the reason the Rowdies are not at the top of the Eastern Conference standings. The Rowdies given away five points in the span of a couple minutes that would place them in 2nd instead of 4th.

Why is confidence lacking when the Rowdies hit the road? I’ve detailed the basic points above, but let’s add some more context to each point.

Is Coach Campbell to Blame?

from the Tampa Bay Rowdies Facebook / Matt May

If I was going to give my casual fan hot take analysis, I would remark that Campbell runs a team that plays not to lose. The Rowdies bide their time, they wait for a really good chance to develop, and they strike when the defense is napping. The Rowdies play possession ball. At home the Rowdies wear teams down by making them chase and chase and chase.

On the road the Rowdies have struggled to hold possession. The passing isn’t as crisp, especially as the team tires late.

My main concern with Campbell is not adjusting the team’s style of play if it’s known that the team struggles with possession on the road. Add on a lack of fitness towards the end of matches, and poor defending, the Rowdies are a completely different team on the road.

At some level, Campbell needs to instill pride in the Rowdies road performance. There’s been a share of bad luck, a lot of deflected shots off defenders that become easy goals, but excuses don’t win matches or championships.

The point being, the Rowdies have a championship roster, but at some point Campbell will have to prove he can tactically outwit teams in their stadiums in the USL playoffs.

My only other concern with Campbell this season is his use of substitutions. Namely for Joe Cole. I’m a huge Cole fan and he makes the Rowdies exponentially better for 70 minutes. While it can’t be easy to sub Cole off, for Cole’s sake, Campbell needs to get him off if the team is going for a win or draw. There’s capable defensive mids on the bench that can give Cole a breather and preserve his health for a deep playoff run. Cole’s ritualistic 5-minute nap at the 82nd minute of ever game needs its own hashtag.

I have faith in Campbell to continue to improve as a coach. He’s passionate yet tactful, and has the Rowdies in position for the playoffs. In his first playoff campaign, we’ll really see if Campbell can keep his composure and make the most out of the Rowdies first USL campaign.

Is roster construction to blame?

from the Tampa Bay Rowdies Facebook / Matt May

I said earlier that building an American soccer team, especially in a second division capacity is very difficult. Just looking at the player turnover from year to year has to be stressful from a management standpoint, whether you’re owner Bill Edwards or Coach Campbell.

In 2017 alone, the Rowdies have transferred 12 players out, including starting centre back Damion Lowe, and brought 11 players in. There were 30 players brought in over the 2015–2016 seasons including Collins, Chavez, Nanchoff, Cole, and Vingaard.

Pickens, Mkandawire, and King joined the team in 2014. Hristov came to the team in 2013. Savage is the only player on the Rowdies on the 2012 championship team. Coach Campbell was also playing for the team at the time.

The Rowdies re-debuted in 2010 so the team is leaving its formative years and barreling toward adolescence. The Rowdies dodged a bullet leaving the decrepit NASL league and entering into the USL for the 2017 season.

The 2017 roster is a lot thinner simply by number of bodies than the previous two years. Add on injuries to Fernandes, Chavez, and Nanchoff and the subs bench becomes a scary situation.

With the departures of Deshorn Brown and Damion Lowe, the response was to start signing whomever plays for the New York Cosmos. Restrepo, Gorskie, and Guenzatti were all signed late in the USL season to bolster every position on the field and all three have seen playing time.

As far as the roster being road contingent? That’s where the Rowdies are missing a key two to three players that can give a solid output on defense. It’s been a carousel season for the right and left backs and there’s been a lot of inconsistent performances at the position.

The Rowdies have proven they can sign talented veterans, and the results have shown what having Marcel Schafer and Joe Cole in your lineup can accomplish. It’s going to be finding the Alex Morrell type prospects and holding onto them that will help the Rowdies improve their sluggish road outings.

Is the defensive quality to blame?

from the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Facebook

The Rowdies have very rarely conceded goals at home in 2017. Since giving up 3 goals to Charleston in April, the Rowdies have allowed 3 goals at home since in 11 matches.

The only road game the Rowdies haven’t conceded a goal in was against the Ottawa Fury in a very, very… very ugly 0–0 draw.

The Rowdies began 2017 with a fairly stout defense early in the season, and the brakes have come off recently towards the end. Defensive lapses have been plentiful and they’ve come in all different forms.

Getting beat by pace, bad turnovers, set pieces and corner kicks, deflected shots, you name it.

The Rowdies were well on their way to a 2–1 victory over the Bethlehem Steel when Hristov gave away an easy turnover that led to a spectacular individual run by striker Seku Conneh. This was a game the Rowdies were dominating against a young Bethlehem team with only two players over the age of 30.

The defensive struggle is not on the back line alone, the midfield plays a role with how they pace the game and keep possession. When home teams can wear on veterans like Collins or challenge on the wings against Porter, King, or Portillos, it puts Rowdies keeper Pickens in compromised situations as seen in the Bethlehem Steel matchup.

The Rowdies have solid defensive players, but the roster is still very thin and needs a couple additions on the back line and in the defensive mid role to keep Pickens net protected.

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All that’s left now is to trust the process. The continued development of the Rowdies roster, Stuart Campbell as a coach, and St. Petersburg as a soccer city can push the team towards an MLS bid.

But the Rowdies can’t stand for poor performances on the road, and chalking it up to bad luck or playing for the draw isn’t going to do the Rowdies any favors.

One reporter was texting their friend before a post-game press conference and she said that she couldn’t stand soccer because the game ended in a draw. If she’s not impressed by the results, we can’t be either.

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Stats and info in this article gathered from us.soccerway.com, uslsoccer.com, nasl.com, and rowdiessoccer.com