Joseph Lowery
Where we left off last year
2024 season: 37 points, 11th in the Eastern Conference, 22nd in MLS
Make that two full seasons of Lorenzo Insigne being almost a total non-factor for Toronto FC.
Insigne, the second-highest paid player in MLS behind Lionel Messi, looked just as unmotivated and injury prone in 2024 as he did in 2023, producing just four goals in his 17 starts last year. Without anything resembling high-level production from their Designated Players, Toronto FC had the worst attack in the league, based on FBref’s non-penalty xG metric. The result? Toronto missed the playoffs for the fourth year in a row in what ended up being manager John Herdman’s first and only season on the sidelines.
While the season was a failure, it did spark change: club president Bill Manning left Toronto FC in July. Manning, who had been much more hands-on than most team presidents, certainly appeared to be a negative presence on the sporting side of the team.
How quickly Toronto will rebound in the post-Manning era is an open question. Ownership has spent a lot of money over the last few seasons without that money providing any sort of on-field return and doesn’t seem eager to throw a ton more good money after bad. The road back to being one of the better clubs in MLS certainly isn’t helped by a slew of undesirable contracts that seem to be stuck on TFC’s books, either. Maneuvering in the transfer window has been oh-so rare up to this point.
