What’s Going Wrong At CF Montreal?

The team is off to the exact same start as last year, but the prospects are way different.

Last season CF Montreal started their MLS regular season with three losses too, but the circumstances were different. The team was also playing Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League and history proves MLS teams who participate in continental competition get off to slow starts.

The team also had more threats in the likes of Djordje Mihailovic, Ismael Kone, Alistair Johnston, and Kei Kamara as Montreal made an impressive run to the MLS semifinals.

They broke every single team record with 20 wins, with 11 on the road making them the best away team in MLS.

The offseason following 2022 proved to be turbulent with the mass exodus of players with Mihailovic, Kone, and Johnston moving to Europe to pursue the next step up in their careers.

There was also the departure of head coach Wilfried Nancy who left due to disagreement with ownership and an unfortunate event that left him hurt with no choice but to leave.

See Also: Is Nancy’s Exit A Sign Of Bigger Problems At CF Montreal?

Then there was the Kamara situation, where contract negotiations hit a snag and the forward asked to be moved, eventually packing his bags for the windy city of Chicago.

A couple of signings were made in Jules-Anthony Vilsaint and Ousman Jabang, but these are players who have no MLS experience and have yet to play a game.

There was also an influx of young homegrown talent in Sean Rea and Nathan Saliba. Rea had played in the CPL, but Saliba had made the jump straight from the PLSQ.

The main issue with that is there is most likely a major gap between the PLSQ and the MLS and it could take a year to make a proper adjustment for Saliba.

Both players are eligible to play the CPL and could be loaned out which is something I would highly suggest for CF Montreal to do to get some proper seasoning.

Sean Rea: ‘I Don’t Think I’ll Return To CPL

There is no issue with a team bringing in young rookies, but when a team uses up to five in their roster it can cause a bit of an issue, hence the team not scoring a single goal in three games.

The lack of experience can really hurt a team unless they decide to take a year off to develop players, and Losada has mentioned he has no issues if the majority of his team was up-and-coming young players.

The majority of MLS analysts had CF Montreal finishing the season near the bottom of the standings and it is starting to look like they were right unless something changes and fast.

The team from last year recovered after losing three games by going on an eight-game unbeaten streak. The main issue is that new head coach Hernan Losada is sticking to his guns saying he won’t make drastic changes to his formation.

Joel Waterman even mentioned in his post-game press conference after the team lost to Nashville that the team would be better if one or two key pieces were added to make up for the losses.

See Also: ‘No Panic Button Just Yet’ As CF Montreal Suffers Third Straight Loss

After talking to a source I was informed that unfortunately, technical director Olivier Renard is not the type of person to go out and spend huge amounts of money on talent.

Renard even had the gall to go on a French radio station and mention that Montreal is just a pit stop for players to develop and grow and move on.

This proves that there really isn’t potential or future for CF Montreal, as the last three coaches have lasted less than three years with the club currently a coaching carousel.

Despite the fact, CF Montreal made some record amount of money with the three transfers it doesn’t look like Renard will go look for another designated player to aid Romell Quioto.

The team was also hurt when Kamara left and Rudy Camacho made it clear that the team needed help, but it remains to be seen if that help will be coming anytime soon.

Mason Toye is another ongoing situation, as he only has played 10 minutes so far in three games. Last week, Losada confirmed it was due to a lack of confidence.

CF Montreal will play their home opener on Saturday, March 18th at the Olympic Stadium against the Philadelphia Union.