New York City FC – Too Much, Too Soon?
When the official word was given that New York City FC were to be the latest club to join Major League Soccer, things were extremely optimistic. They had the backing of Manchester City and the New York Yankees. They had huge financial resources, a talented coach in Jason Kreis and what they believed to be a strong brand capable of not only securing the New York market contested with the New York Red Bulls but a global market too.
Yet that optimism has not been translated onto the field quite as they had expected. For starters, the arrival of Frank Lampard has been nothing but disastrous and also distracting. It started with his decision to remain on-loan at Manchester City until the end of the Premier League season rather than arrive in New York for pre-season as originally planned.
This not only attracted the ire of the supporters but has now led to Lampard being sidelined with more injury issues due to his lack of pre-season in order to prepare for life with New York City. With Lampard out, the other DP spot is occupied by Andre Pirlo who is still yet to fully reach his full-level of ability that we are so used to seeing in Italy.
David Villa is undoubtedly one of the best Spanish players of all time, but since pulling on the New York City FC shirt he has struggled in the difficult surroundings of Major League Soccer; and with his new teammates who of course are not on quite the same level as Villa.
Speaking after the heavy loss to LA Galaxy, Villa was clearly frustrated and said he could not do it alone.
"I need teammates at my side that can help me. I can't do it alone." -David Villa. Woof. #NYCFC #LAvNYC https://t.co/d2PwjetKCE
— Pablo Iglesias Maurer (@MLSist) August 23, 2015
This does seem rather selfish but it is simply reinforcing the propaganda that New York City as an organisation promulgated themselves. They billed Villa as the star of the team and the one who could make it all happen. This leaves the rest of the team out in the cold and clearly shows that New York did not properly think about the technicalities surrounding a Designated Player fitting into a team.
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Other teams in the league have been able to do this – LA Galaxy showed this clearly against New York. However some have accused LA of bending the rules, but that’s a different story. The point is no team should depend solely on their DP’s but that is exactly what New York seem to do.
New York have been beaten three times by New York Red Bulls this season, with the New York Derby being very one sided. But is shows how difficult it is to arrive on the scene as an expansion team, but even more so as a team completely from scratch.
Although Orlando have struggled too this season they at least had a pre-existing team to build from. New York had to do it from the ground up which is partly why they have struggled so much. The struggles of NYC FC proves that it’s not that easy to win in MLS and that teams have to be built and not bought.