Toronto FC: 3 reasons to abandon the back three

2. Impact on the attack

Toronto FC’s methodical approach in attack combined with their slow, unreliable backline has allowed opponents to devise a simple strategy against them this season.

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The opposition concede position, clog the middle of the pitch, which compacts the space with which the key Alejandro Pozuelo can work in, force Toronto to the flanks, create numerical advantages to win the ball, and then bomb forward on the counter against an exposed and slow defense.

TFC’s offensive deficiencies are partially structural. The Reds outside center-backs are not confident enough on the ball to carry it up-field to create a spare man and draw opposing midfielders out of position and that means that there is a numbers problem in attacking areas.

Bearing that in mind, Vanney should remove a defender from his line-up in order to accommodate an additional attacking presence if he wants to achieve numerical superiority in the attack on a consistent basis.