Toronto FC is going all in on its youth movement
GM Jason Hernandez is trying to turn TFC into a younger team so that it can better deal with the demands of the modern game.
It was former Toronto FC coach John Herdman who hinted at the future direction of the club during last October’s locker clean out day.
Hired the previous summer, Herdman had to deal with persistent injury issues that left him short-handed at times and didn't allow him to field a consistent starting 11 during the 2024 MLS season. Small wonder that Toronto only won consecutive league matches on three separate occasions over the course of the entire campaign.
Even more disturbing was it conceded 61 goals, two more than they did in 2023, and sported a minus-21 goal difference. Shooting themselves in the foot was elevated to an art form by TFC last year – they had the worst disciplinary record amongst all 29 MLS teams with 98 yellow cards, and coughed up 23 goals in the final 15 minutes of regular season matches.
Herdman laid the brutal truth bare at the club’s end-of-season media availability, saying that TFC needed to rely on younger and athletic players to help turn around their fortunes, arguing that it's those types of talents who are better equipped to deal with the rigours of a long season where teams are playing in multiple competitions.
