FC Cincinnati: Kyle Scott move signals team’s impatience for wins

FC Cincinnati have announced their decision to terminate the contract of midfielder Kyle Scott. The media mostly parroted the team statements that the decision was mutual. The reason given for the action was to allow Scott to continue his career and be closer to his family.

When Cincinnati signed Scott in 2021, he looked promising enough to take options through 2024. But he played only 91 minutes in four starts in 2021.

Upon the signing, the 23-year-old’s credentials looked strong. He came up through the Chelsea Youth Academy, before debuting for the Blues in an FA Cup fifth-round match against Hull City for a shutout win 4-0.

He played the 2018-19 season for SC Telstar in Dutch Eerste Divisie, before spending time with the U23 side of Newcastle United.

Once-promising midfielder Kyle Scott has been released by FC Cincinnati

The FC Cincinnati decision to terminate this contract doesn’t impact just this one player. It’s a signal that the entire organization has lost patience awaiting everyone to deliver on their potential.

Cincy started MLS play in 2019 after years of success in the USL. During those seasons, there were few weeks that the team didn’t outdraw most soccer teams in North America. In their last USL season, they seated 437,197 fans, averaging 25,171 and going 23-8-3 (W-L-D) in that year.

With that momentum, the team averaged 27,336 attendance entering MLS competition. But they’ve not yet won more than six games in an MLS season.

It’s as if the organization was propelled by outstanding momentum by supporters and players in the USL. Then, upon entering MLS, they hit a wall and each season just can’t recover from the collision.

The latest action to stop awaiting players to deliver on their potential signals something. It says the organization will no longer practice the type of patience that leaves them stopped at MLS’ wall.

Now the front office intends to go over that wall, and they’ll only have players on the roster who show commitment to go over it with them. The Scott action is only the first of more decisions by FC administration in line with this focused strategy.

With Pat Noonan at the helm as head coach and a solid assistant in Dominic Kinnear, the team has the leadership they need in technical staff.

They’ve got some more whittling yet to do with players. Making those decisions will ensure the team has the troops for them to lead. We’ll stay tuned.