With Justin Mapp as the latest signing, Montreal have 21 players on their roster.
The Montreal Impact were among seven other MLS teams who did not make a selection in either round of the Re-Entry Process earlier this month. In a pot of players that featured only a few interesting names, the Impact decided pass and re-sign one of their own.
The re-signing of Justin Mapp, on December 12, was the club's latest transaction. With Mapp, Montreal's roster now sees 21 players under contract for the 2013 season.
Since the beginning of the off-season, the Impact have made no new signings. To date, they lost eight players including Eduardo Sebrango, Greg Sutton and Bernardo Corradi to retirement and Miguel Montaño, Bryan Arguez, Evan James and Shavar Thomas, who have all been released. The club made one trade, sending Josh Gardner to Sporting Kansas City for a second round draft pick in the upcoming SuperDraft.
Perhaps the biggest loss is the head coach. Montreal is still looking for someone to lead the squad, seven weeks after letting Jesse Marsch go.
Looking ahead to 2013, the Impact will need to add more depth to their roster, and of course, find somebody to manage the group for next season. In terms of players, Montreal's roster is technically acceptable. According to MLS roster rules, the club is only required to have 18 players. The maximum roster size is 30 players. Twenty players count towards the team's salary cap while every additional player does not.
As a result, the Impact have nine more roster spots at their disposal. Chances are they will not all be filled, but a majority of them will be.
The first chance the club will be able to sign players is through the January transfer window which opens up in a couple of weeks. Seeing how Montreal likes to sign foreign players, there's a strong chance the Impact will find a player or two to bolster their squad.
In the same month, the club will have a chance to potentially sign four more players at the SuperDraft. Montreal has two first round picks and two second round picks at their disposal. Their first pick is the eighth pick of the draft, followed by the 18th, 27th and 32nd picks. Of course, the team may not use all their picks, as trades are always a possibility.
For the 2013 season, the Impact will be allowed to use nine international roster spots. They currently have seven in use, giving them two to work with. Interestingly enough, the club also has two empty Designated Player spots.
The Current Squad
Montreal's current roster consists of two goalkeepers, eight defenders, nine midfielders and two strikers.
In terms of goalkeepers, the club will need to add one more player. Typical football squad's have at least three keepers, maybe even a fourth. Fortunately for the club, their core from last year is intact. Troy Perkins will most likely remain as the number one. Evan Bush, the number two choice, should be able to keep this spot. The loss of Sutton to retirement shouldn't cause the club too many headaches. The Impact have plenty of options when it comes to the third keeper. Whether they choose to graduate an academy player or acquire a veteran, be sure to expect another shot-stopper to be signed by the time the season starts.
The back line is also relatively unchanged. In 2012, the team was rolling with 10 defenders. The loss of Gardner and Thomas brings the total down to eight. Considering what happened last season, Montreal needs depth at the back. They used all 10 defenders last year and at times, they were short due to injuries and suspensions.
Out of the eight remaining players, the Impact has five center backs and three full backs. Two center backs, Hassoun Camara and Karl Ouimette can easily be used on the outside. But, the addition of another outside defender could help Montreal. The center back position seems to be covered with Alessandro Nesta, Matteo Ferrari, Nelson Rivas, Camara and Ouimette. Nesta, Ferrari and Rivas are all injury-prone, but the chances of all three being out at the same time are slim. Even though it did happen this past year, it shouldn't happen again. On the outside, Jeb Brovsky, Zarek Valentin and Dennis Iapichino should be rotating. Adding another defender capable of playing either flank will help balance and add depth to the position.
The midfield remains solid. The team only lost Montaño and Arguez, two players who spent most of the season on-loan to Deportivo Cali and FC Edmonton respectively. In the middle of the park, the team has Felipe, Patrice Bernier, Collen Warner, Calum Mallace and Sinisa Ubiparipovic. Felipe and Ubiparipovic are more attack-minded central midfielders, while the other three are more conventional central or defensive midfielders.
As addressed by the club already, the Impact will be looking to add another creative midfielder. Felipe proved he is more than capable of handling the number 10 role. Ubiparipovic had a few flashes of brilliance in his 12 appearances, but was rarely considered once Felipe found his form. Adding another attacking midfielder will make the club more dynamic and obviously support Felipe. When the Brazilian was having an off-day or when he was out of the lineup, Montreal struggled. The new addition would prevent this from happening.
However, the extra support should come on the flanks. This is an area of the pitch the Impact were weak on. Davy Arnaud, Justin Mapp and Sanna Nyassi were primarily used, with Lamar Neagle coming on mostly as a substitute. All four players failed to give the club any much-needed width while attacking. Montreal would often play through the center, as their flanks were unreliable. In order to have success on the flanks, teams need players with great pace and stamina, a player to take control and threaten with a dangerous cross or a shot. Nyassi certainly had speed, but he was used as a striker most times he played. Arnaud and Mapp both lacked the required pace. With the addition of one or two skilled wingers, Montreal could continue to play a 4-2-3-1 or even move on to a more attacking 4-3-3 with one striker and two wingers.
The most help is needed up front. Montreal only have Marco Di Vaio and Andrew Wenger to rely on for goals. One of the team's earliest problems was playing a 4-4-2. Montreal did not and still does not have enough players to play with two strikers. Since Wenger was finishing school until May, Nyassi was used as a second striker to support either Justin Braun or Corradi at the time. With Sebrango and James, the team technically had a decent amount of forwards, but these players were reserves, barely able to make it on the substitute bench, let alone the pitch.
Montreal needs to acquire at least two good forwards. Di Vaio's career is coming to an end, while Wenger is still unproven. The Impact cannot rely on these two to be the major source of the offense. Two or more proven strikers will give the next head coach more freedom to juggle with his lineup. Having the ability to play with one or two strikers at a time is a valuable resource for a manager, as opponents will have no idea what to expect in the match.
Conclusion - "If I were manager"
It's a role everybody would love to have. If I was manager or in-charge of signing players for the Impact, my main priority would be adding strikers. Since I have two DP spots at my disposal I would definitely use spot to buy another striker. My ideal striker would have to be younger than 34-35 years and would have to be a proven goalscorer. Basically somebody I can count on for a few good years. The player's nationality is not an issue. Whether it is a European, a South American, an African, etc., this player just needs to know how to beat a keeper.
My next concern would be the wingers. My wingers would need to fit the position's mold, which is having good speed, dribbling abilities and flair. Most attacking wide players in modern football possess these attributes. This type of player in the MLS should find success as not many clubs have players like this. To me, the MLS style-of-play is slow and physical. I believe a team capable of attacking with speed and creativity would be able to win games on a consistent basis solely because few teams would be able to defend this type of attack properly.
Since the Impact are solid in the middle, adding good wide players will reinforce the structure already in place. This will therefore give the team better attacking options. Not only will Montreal be good in the middle, but now with the flanks in play, the team can easily switch up their attack if things aren't going right.
In my opinion, the back line is alright the way it is. But, even with the big names defenders, Montreal were poor at times at the back. I think adding another class defender either with MLS or outside experience should solve these problems.
In the end, if the Impact can add the proper missing players, I believe the team could have success in 2013. Montreal was missing two or three quality players in last year's squad. With these players, I don't think the team would have started off so poorly and would not have run out of gas in the final matches. The Impact only started to find their identity late in the season. The key to a strong season is to start the league flying and to collect a good number of points early to be able to count on should the season take a negative turn somewhere down the road.
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