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Introduction

Toronto FC lost 2-1 at home to Houston Dynamo in a very disappointing home opener both in terms of the result and performance. The manner in which they conceded their goals wasn't necessarily down to the shape of the team but the dominance shown for long patches by the visitors was certainly down to the poor execution of Greg Vanney's 4-4-2.

System

Vanney has switched between a number of formations this system but none have been dramatically different from the other (more of this shortly). On Sunday he kept the same team with Jackson (No. 11) and Robbie Findley (No. 55) playing the wide roles but not really operating in wide positions.

Average positions of Toronto FC's starters

The biggest problem the team had in this three-band system was tempo. It is clear the four straight away losses, coupled with the first half performance in the win in Vancouver, has haunted this team a little and brought the two banks of four significantly deeper than the way they operated during the first few weeks. On Sunday the back four were too deep, the central midfielders subsequently were also too deep to close the gap between the lines and the wide players came deeper to receive the ball from the back six. They played too slow out of the back, the speed of passing was poor and it was all too predictable for Houston to defend against.

System Change

This is not an article that will concentrate on the role of Michael Bradley. Many others have been written about this. What is clear to me, however, is this team needs key connections between the lines, something that isn't happening at the moment despite intelligent players operating in the side. Benoit Cheyrou and Bradley are too aware of what is behind them before they penetrate and inevitably they don't connect enough with the forwards. A Collen Warner in behind them would allow Bradley to do what his manager wants when he shows the energy and power to drive from a number eight position and link up. Although the Frenchman can open up the field with his left foot, when in possession Bradley and Cheyrou drive forward centrally. Ahead of them Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco play centrally, wide midfielders and lately the full backs don't get forward enough and the shape is too narrow.

The style of football needs to change, likely through a formation switch, but above all else they need to get the ball more to Giovinco.

So far this season the Italian has played at the top of a midfield diamond, as a central striker in two and in a central role in front three flanked by Findley and Altidore and the common theme among them all is that his starting position is always central.

Giovinco heatmap from Sunday vs Houston

The issue with all of these positions is that the Italian isn't linking up enough with teammates; instead he is often ending a possession either with a shot (he leads MLS in shots per game) or an interception.

The positioning of Giovinco

It was clear that last season at Toronto FC combinations on the field were a massive problem. The two star DP strikers were a terrible match and rarely made players around them better. It is fundamentally essential to the team's success that Giovinco does not do the same. Giovinco is nothing like the players Jermain Defoe and Gilberto were. The issue for TFC is that when things don't go well he looks worryingly similar, making runs in behind the last line of the defence, often not picked up, or coming deep into a congested central area to attempt to link up with far few players available to play with him in the final third. What a waste. Giovinco's resemblance to failures of the past is the biggest sign that the balance and identity of the club still needs a lot of work. Watching another high-priced, (far more) talented strike partnership starve for service and quality around them on Sunday is enough to make fans shudder.

Giovinco's qualities

Following the Gilberto and Defoe mistakes there was an incredible amount of discussion publicly and privately all winter about the club's desire to find a number ten. Then they signed Giovinco from Juventus who is absolutely not a number ten. The 28-year-old has magnificent close control, is lethal in the dribble, can turn quickly and wants to open up defences by playing passes into feet of teammates before quickly receiving the ball back and often firing a lethal shot. He is not a player comfortable, nor would a team want him, dropping deep with three or more teammates sometimes ahead of him to be outlets.

Toronto FC are known fans of Pedro Morales in Vancouver and watched on with incredible admiration at how the Chilean pulled the strings for the Whitecaps last season. Giovinco is far from the ideal comparison to Morales but he is a talisman who needs space to operate into and who the club should want to see on the ball using his skill and intelligence to open up games. Space will always open up somewhere and it is essential for Toronto FC that he finds it in the final third without coming too deep with his back to goal.

Giovinco and Altidore vs Obafemi Martins and Clint Dempsey

Toronto FC has spent enough money to expect their forward line is up there with the best in Major League Soccer. They only need to look at the dynamic duo in Seattle to see what is going wrong for them. In Dempsey the Sounders have a strong forward comfortable at coming deep - something Giovinco doesn't do much of. They are very different players playing in a very similar position and so far this season the American international has been far more involved in Seattle's attack than Giovinco.

Clint Dempsey – 7 MLS starts, 7 goals, 282 passes at an average of 40 per game.

Sebastian Giovinco – 8 MLS starts, 4 goals, 187 passes at an average of 23 per game.

Dempsey is a tremendous player at this level who scores a lot of his goals arriving late from deep positions but there is no way he should have that many more passes per game than a player as good as Giovinco.

Giovinco needs to be in a semi-free role

So how does Toronto FC answer all these conundrums? How do they get Giovinco the ball more in areas he can play with teammates and do damage? Play him wider.

The team is screaming out for a central midfield three and can still use Cheyrou and Bradley's defensive attributes to slide over and cover full backs when the opponent has the ball. This can free up Giovinco to roam into wide areas where he can do far more damage. In this role he gives centre-backs more to think about, comes up against full backs more who are traditionally not as good at defending and gets him away from the deepest midfielder, a player who too often against TFC has a good game because no one ever presses him. Without a number ten to sit on him, in a midfield three, he can be pressed by Bradley more who – like he did against Darwin Ceren in Orlando – can then start transitions high and link up more with Giovinco.

Giovinco has scored four goals this season. Two from direct free kicks and two from cutting in from the left. His best performance came in the second half in Dallas when he moved to the left more.

Compare his touches against Houston...


 

To the ones against Dallas...

 

Giovinco heatmap in Dallas

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Giovinco can be what Alexis Sanchez is to Arsenal

We must remember what forced Toronto FC to go shopping for a player like Giovinco in the first place. They didn't just want a goalscorer. In Major League Soccer he can be a star operating at a level than many top complete forwards are currently doing across Europe. In time he is good enough to play on either flank, through the middle off a centre forward or, even, as the main front man and is good enough to be a true difference maker that can give opposing coaches nightmares. Right now he is in a team that is far from settled on its shape or system and the club cannot afford to let him drown with them. It's time for him to move wide to get the ball more and take over games.

Those concerned a move to the left would take away some of Giovinco's finishing qualities need look no further than the Premier League where a player doing exactly that – Eden Hazard – recently won Player of the Year. A better comparison, though, is Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez. The Chilean is a better player than Giovinco but the Italian should easily be able to do to MLS what Sanchez can do in the Premier League. At Udinese Sanchez often played the way Giovinco is being used at Toronto FC right now in a front two and then later operated as the main front man in front of Lionel Messi at Barcelona. At Arsenal he is under a manager in Arsene Wenger who is obsessed with playmakers who play just off a front man and has blossomed out wide, cutting in and connecting well with others because you cannot man mark a player in that position.

It was Wenger who once said: 'For me the complete player is the player who gives the ball when it has to be given in the final third'.

Right now Giovinco isn't getting enough opportunities to do that. While he waits for the balance of the team to come together a move into space out wide will allow him to start dictating games a lot more than we have seen so far.