2019 record: 6-6-22, 12th in the Eastern Conference
Coach: Yoann Damet (Interim)
Key Acquisitions: Jurgen Locadio(Loan-Brighton), Yuya Kubo (KAA Gent), Siem De Jong (Ajax), Maikel van der Werff (Vitesse), Adrien Regattin (Free Agent), Saad Abdul-Salaam (Sounders FC), Brandon Vazquez (Nashville SC), Tom Pettersson (Ostersund), Rey Ortiz (Portland Pilots), Haris Medunjanin (Philadelphia Union), Joris Ahlinvi (MLS Superdraft), Andrew Gutman (Celtic)
Key Departures: Fanendo Adi (Columbus Crew), Leonardo Bertone (FC Thun), Eric Alexander (FC Dallas), Victor Ulloa (Inter Miami), Emery Welshman (Hapoel Haifa)
The Big Question: Will the shocking resignation of manager Ron Jans derail what looked to be an optimistic season?
The positive thing for FC Cincinnati: It can’t get any worse than last season.
The combination of an anemic attack (31 goals in 34 fixtures) and turnstile defending (conceding a league record 75 goals), led the Orange and Blue to the worst record in the league.
However, coming into this season, there was hope on the horizon. The prospect of a new stadium coming next year and an infusion of new talent with a new manager had Cincinnati hoping for a run to at the very least, respectability.
However, the positivity train got derailed last week, as manager Ron Jans resigned following an investigation by Major League Soccer, for allegations that the manager used a racial slur in front of his players, while singing along to song playing on the radio.
In his stead, interim manager Yoann Damet will take over the reigns of the club. This is a position that Damet is all too familiar with, as he served as the interim manager last year when then manager, Alan Coe, was fired after a dismal showing.
The good news is that the front office has brought in an abundance of talent to turn the losing tide of the team.
The star import comes in the form of Jurgen Locadio, the PSV Academy product, by way of Brighton. The Dutchman, who was a highly touted prospect in his time at the Eredivisie, struggled mightily in the Premier League and he hopes to get his stock rising again in MLS. At just 27 years old, he is still in the prime of his career and he is hoping to find his form on North American shores to springboard his career back to Europe.
Locadio is not the only key import the Orange and Blue brought in to infuse their attack. Cincinnati brought in Yuya Kubo and Adrien Regattin, likely to provide some skill/depth out wide. Pairing these three new imports with the other MLS quality on the roster up front (in the form of the capable if not wholly spectacular Joe Gyau, Kekuta Manneh and Brandon Vazquez), should give the team a talented and relatively deep group of forwards. If nothing else, compared to the production (or lack thereof) from the forward group last year, the team has nowhere to go but up.
The one other new addition that should provide an instant upgrade will be the signing Haris Medunjanin, the midfielder Cincinnati signed away from the Philadelphia Union. He won’t be of much use on the defensive end but Medunjanin should be a key cog that will push play forward and create scoring opportunities. If he is able to find a consistent relationship with the new attacking talent, it should be a cure for what ailed the Orange and Blue attack.
Areas to keep an eye on: Defense
Giving up a record 75 goals last season means that whatever changes that have been made defensively can only improve this side.
Coming in from Eredivisie side, Vitesse, Maikel van der Werff should become a steadying presence in the Orange and Blue back four, and immediately slot into one of the starting center back slots. With their fullback talent being more skilled in pushing forward than defending, van der Werff and last year’s holdover, Kendall Waston, will need to be especially tough since more often than not, Cincinnati will likely settle into having three in the back.
Behind that group of defenders, at keeper, there doesn’t appear to be a true out and out starter but there does seem to be a collection of decent talent between the posts. Between Spencer Richey, Przemyslaw Tyton, and even young American Bobby Edwards, the team will have a steady hand in goal.
Outlook: Tenth in the Eastern Conference
While Ron Jans’ exit before the season starts definitely didn’t help this team, I don’t think it hurt the squad that much either. This is a better team on paper than it was last year and with the new infusion of MLS quality talent to the side, they should see a much improved on-field product.
However, everyone else got better too and there is a lot of new talent that will need time to gel into a cohesive unit. The Orange and Blue are likely to get off to a rough start to the season but I definitely think the new additions, over time, will bring out more on field success that can turn into momentum for next season when they open their new park.
