By Timothy Nyangacha
There was substantial buzz around New York City FC as it began its inaugural season in the MLS in 2015. The franchise, backed by European club Manchester City, made headlines by signing David Villa, the Barcelona forward, in the summer of 2014 and assembling a formidable squad that also included former legendary Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard. Needless to say, expectations were quite high for the new expansion team located in the center of one of the premiere cities in the United States.
At best, their inaugural season in 2015 could be considered up and down; at worst, disappointing. They finished the season with 10 wins, 17 losses, and 7 draws. The team failed to qualify for the playoffs and finished eighth out of ten teams in the Eastern Conference. An ugly stretch of eleven winless matches from late March into early June indicated a long, difficult season awaited them. The team was swept in their season series against their local rival, the New York Red Bulls. Villa, one of the few bright spots on the team, led with 18 goals in the season. As the team was wrapping up its season, head coach Jason Kreis was quoted as saying that their season “was a massive challenge but I’m proud of what we did” (Firsttouchonline). On November 2 ,the team decided to part ways with Kreis and later appointed Patrick Vieira as the new head coach.
Through four games in the 2016 season, the team has won 1 game, drawn 2 games, and lost 1 game. They currently sit in 5th place in the Eastern conference. The team roster is virtually unchanged and aging stars from overseas have another year under their belts. It remains to be seen whether the change in head coach will inspire the team and help them to fulfill the lofty expectations set by the media as well as the fans when the team was first announced. Like so many New York teams before them, the pressure and the scrutiny may eventually cause the team to elevate its form and turn its fortunes.
Bibliography
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“Major League Soccer Announces New York Expansion Team: New York City Football Club .” MLSsoccer., last modified 05/21/2013, accessed 04/09, 2016, http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2013/05/21/major-league-soccer-announces-new-york-expansion-team-new-york-city-football-club.
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I think a lot of the problems with NYCFC have to do with the fact that it’s an expansion team. When the MLS Expansion Draft occurred, each team was allowed to protect 11 players. Naturally, that meant that a lot of the potential players for NYCFC ended up being non-first team players from the remaining teams in the MLS. Even though Villa, Pirlo, and Lampard are great players, it’s hard to expect them to carry the entire team, especially since they’re getting older each season. Add that to the fact that the players on the team have only played together for one season and have little team chemistry, and it makes sense that NYCFC is having a hard time fulfilling the public’s high expectations. I think given a few more seasons in the MLS, the team will eventually have the time to create a consistent system and improve the quality of its players.