'Enough is enough': John Herdman brings tenacity back to Toronto FC

The picture couldn't be more different in 2024. Toronto picked up four points from its first two games of the season, holding Supporters Shield winners Cincinnati to a scoreless draw and beating New England 1-0 with a Lorenzo Insigne wonder strike.

What changed? Suprisingly, very little. Toronto only made one big move during the offseason: signing English coach John Herdman. His leadership has turned Toronto from the laughing stock of MLS to a genuine playoff contender in five months flat.

"There was a new feeling when Herdman walked through the door," said Toronto goalkeeper Sean Johnson. "For me, it was a big shift, a shift in energy, a shift in mindset."

Toronto's 2023 season was hampered by underperforming, overpaid players, many of whom were new to the club that year. Italian veterans Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi were the biggest disappointments, and they blamed their lack of form on Toronto's subpar coaching. 

Herdman's first job as coach was to quiet the Italians down and figure out if they had a future with the club. Both Insigne and Bernardeschi assured Herdman they wanted to stay.

"What I really took out of the conversations is there's a deep willingness to come back and make it right," Herdman said. "I expected more players wanting to jump ship and go somewhere else where maybe they could start fresh. But I was surprised at the number of players that wanted to be part of bringing this back."

From there, Herdman took Insigne, Bernardeschi and the rest of the Toronto squad through a no-nonsense preseason regimen. 

"Enough is enough," Herdman said. "What might have been tolerated in previous preseason arrivals won't be tolerated for this team."

That focus on fitness and professionalism paid off immediately. Toronto's first game — against last season's Supporters Shield winners FC Cincinnati — was expected to be a blowout. But Toronto held its nerve and earned an unexpected 0-0 draw.

From there, everything exploded. Toronto's next game, against the hyped New England Revolution, proved that it was capable of doing far more than just holding the opposition off. Toronto ran riot through the New England defense and looked utterly reborn — with Insigne and Bernardeschi, last season's problem children, the engine making it all happen.

"You see his magic," Herdman said of Insigne. "He really does bring a different tempo to our game and quality."

There's plenty more to come for Toronto as the season rolls on. But with Cincinnati and New England — two of the best teams in the East — already vanquished, things look promising for the squad. 

Toronto, according to goalkeeper Johnson, has "a new profile."

"We have players who put in the hours, who have committed to being the team that we want to be," he said after the New England win. "It's a new look; we're proud of the team we are, but we're going to remain humble through it all. Everything that we get, every result we get, we have to earn it, we have to put the work in.

"Today we'll enjoy it [the victory], but in a couple of days we'll be right back in to get ready for the next game and put in another performance."