Progress on the field gave hope to the Montreal fans until the club’s brass decided to take complete charge of the situation, dismissing the coach and putting the short term success in doubt. Here are 13 questions that will probably be answered in the next 12 months.
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1) Will Davy Arnaud return and can still he be captain of Les Bleus?
The American veteran was Jesse Marsch’s guy. He was his staunchest supporter in the locker room and the coach’s choice for team captain. Now that Marsch is gone based on what the club’s management said was a difference in philosophy, so how can Arnaud stay on as the first team’s captain? If he’s no longer captain, how can the club justify his large salary on a squad where his time of play is expected to be reduced? Will he be an Impact after the SuperDraft? Arnaud still has value on the market and if Montreal was able to pick up Perkins for Ricketts, Nick De Santis sure can find a buyer for Captain Davy.
2) What will be Richard Legendre’s next mandate?
The club’s and Saputo Stadium’s vice president Richard Legendre is a former PQ leadership candidate and Quebec Sports Minister who was brought in to benefit the club with his political contacts for the required public sector’s involvement in the MLS’ expansion bid and also his experience in supervising the rebuilding of Jarry Stadium for the National Tennis Centre in Montreal as a leader at Tennis Canada. Now that every bolt and screws are in place in the Impact’s expanded home, will he be seeking a new challenge?
3) Is there a second and even a third DP on the way?
The temptation will be very, very strong. Remember that it’s about at this time last year that the Impact started discussions with Marco Di Vaio. All kinds of names have circulated since MDV’s arrival: could it be Totti, Pirlo, perché no? There are too many variables at this point to speculate on the coming of another DP in town.
4) Who’s the next coach?
This is ZE QUESTION at the turn of the New Year. All bets are off and the answer is a few days away with the Combine and SuperDraft fast approaching. Is there a desire to go your own way and go against the odds with a European coach? Could it be that the candidate is already working within the club and will walk in line with the “club’s philosophy." The upper management kept their cards well hidden on this one so we’ll discover that one at the same time you will.
5) Can Marco Di Vaio & Andrew Wenger work productively together?
With the coming of attacking midfielder Andrea Pisanu, a man with the reputation of supporting the strikers, it will be interesting to see if the DP and the MLS First Pick in 2012 will benefit, hoping this will be for more than 15 games due to the shaky health of the newcomer. Di Vaio should come out of his shell after scoring five goals at the end of 2012, while Wenger will finally spend the whole season in Montreal. The table is set for an increased offensive production for the two men.
6) Will the players take the Voyageurs Cup seriously?
We never felt a true passion for this tournament in 2012 and with the minimum three Canadians on duty in 2013, we can only hope for better. If MLS Playoffs are open to your conference’s top five teams, only two teams are in your way to the CONCACAF Champions League.
7) Can the team do better outside of Montreal?
If making the MLS Playoffs is the spoken objective for the Impact, the team will have to pick up points on the road. Montreal dropped a few wins away from La Belle Province last season so if they do just a bit better the nine point gap between elimination and qualification in 2012 could be bridged in 2013.
8) Full house at Saputo Stadium without giveaways?
The club gave away tickets last season to cope with the low sales and the Impact sales team has been valiantly working in overdrive since to make sure Saputo Stadium’s seats are filled as much as possible for 2013. Montrealers have no reason to pout with the best available soccer in North America now in town. Ambiance in the expanded stadium is simply electric. If the club has much to do in many other issues, this one is yours to deal with.
9) Will there be more than three Canadian players?
Probably not, unless we count the one or two Academy graduates to complete the 30-man roster. How many times last season did we see Sebrango, Bernier and Ouimette together in action? Of course, this is a much larger debate. How can a MLS club stay competitive and develop soccer in Quebec and Canada at the same time? Is all the charge of development resting on the pro clubs? Every party involved in this discussion have good points. At the same time, this could be put to bed if the club spent as many dollars and energy chasing guys from the Italian leagues as they did on say, a top player from Quebec currently playing across the, ahem, Occean in Germany’s top flight. After being the top scorer in Germany’s D2 last season he has said he has only had one or two conversation with Montreal in the last decade.
10) Who are the next graduates from the Academy to join the first team?
There are only good words coming out of the development file for midfielder Wandrille Lefevre, goalkeepers Jason Beaulieu and Maxime Crepeau as well as striker Anthony Jackson-Hamel. It will all depend on the openings and needs of the first team when training camp will open.
11) Will the club brass’ micromanagement affect results on the field?
Many new Impact fans discovered the way things went for years with the minor league version of the club after Jesse Marsch "mutually agreed" to leave his head coaching position after a not-too-bad first season in charge. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the club’s president and sporting directors are the one running the show in town. The nomination of the next head coach does not seem to be a pressing matter and many decisions are taken without the next coach being in place. This way of doing things can be a double-edged sword. It opens a direct line between influential players and upper management above and behind the head coach. This has been the case throughout the club’s history and it seems to be going this way again. How can the best of coaches sit his authority in the locker room in that context?
12) How will the club celebrate its 20th Anniversary?
When Joey Saputo said he never felt he was running an expansion club, this is why: the Impact turns 20 in 2013. Already the club missed the opportunity to underline the 20th anniversary of the original meeting leading to the club’s creation in December 2012. It will be interesting to see in the coming months if and how former players and coaches will be honoured for making the Impact what it has become. There’s not been that many alumni around Saputo Stadium these past years although many of them still live around Montreal. Let’s hope the Impact will take example on the Canadiens and Alouettes who did a great job in that sense recently.
13) Will the team make the playoffs in 2013?
This is another big existential question, right? Montreal could compare itself to others, but that’s not the way to look at this issue. Toronto will certainly do better, but still in a rebuilding mode. Philly will greatly improve, if only from the return of Sebastien Le Toux. Columbus, New England, Chicago and the rest? The Impact must concentrate on its own performance and do just as good at home as in 2012 and improve on the road. Playoffs are a very possible destination for Les Bleus in 2013 if they learn to fight through the disagreement in this very “distinct” locker room.