With Nick De Santis Out, Montreal Impact Can Finally Move Forward
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Frank Doyle
Nick De Santis wasn’t the problem with the Montreal Impact, but as this awful MLS season has progressed, it’s clear he wasn’t the solution either.
The Impact removed De Santis from his role as sporting director Wednesday, with club president Joey Saputo handing the reins to coach Frank Klopas – for now, at least. The Impact are a team that appears to be falling apart at the seams and while all the blame shouldn’t sit at De Santis’ door, he ultimately didn’t improve a squad that was on its last legs last year.
Montreal jumped out to a tremendous start last season but absolutely collapsed in the second half of the schedule, going 1-6-1 down the stretch, to miss the playoffs. In the offseason, De Santis did little to repair a clearly broken team and this year has been a total write-off. Montreal is 3-12-5 and in a dogfight to stay out of last place in the entire MLS. So, changes were coming one way or another. Now, it’s clearly Klopas’ team, for better or worse, while De Santis will remain with the team in an administrative role.
“He will have the responsibility to tweak this team according to what he feels he needs to be more competitive for the remainder of this season, the 2014 CONCACAF champions league and the 2015 season,” Saputo said of Klopas.
This shouldn’t be viewed as a short-term fix either. Klopas has been assured his job is safe through the 2015 season, giving him full range to change the Impact as he sees fit. To begin with, the Impact need to get younger overall and significantly better at the back and in midfield. Montreal struggles to maintain possession or keep pace with quicker attacking squads. The Impact should also look into some help at striker, since Marco Di Viao isn’t exactly getting any younger.
“It’s good to know I have some time to work and try to fix it,” Klopas told reporters. “I still have confidence in the group and the players we brought in. Even though we’re dropping games, I think were playing a lot better. We’ll continue to work hard every game to the end and try to find solutions.”
This major move comes just before a big test for Montreal as the team gets set for a home date against Toronto FC on Saturday. Sports Interaction has the Impact set as +134 underdogs as the club tries to snap a five-game losing skid.