by Friday, July 5th, 2019 – Detroit City FC 1 Grand Rapids FC 1
Sunday, July 7th, 2019 – Detroit City FC 3 AFC Ann Arbor 1
Depending on your level of indoctrination into the support of Detroit City Football Club and your knowledge of its lore, you may be aware of the odd year phenomenon.
As the term suggests, City tends to have its best seasons in odd years, while even years are less successful (records listed in W-D-L format):
2012: 5-5-2, L in Midwest Regional Semifinal
2013: 11-1-0, L in Midwest Regional Final
2014: 8-3-3, Missed playoffs
2015: 8-2-2, L in Midwest Regional Semifinal
2016: 4-4-4, Missed playoffs
2017: 9-3-2, Midwest Regional Champions
2018: 5-3-4, Missed playoffs
The term is a bit misleading; 2012 was a pretty solid first season for a brand new club, and the 2014 team juuust missed the playoffs on a PPG technicality, but there’s a clear overall trend.
The causes for this season’s success are wide and varied, but I’ve narrowed it down to a few I feel are most prominent:
(1) Roster stability
I haven’t done a statistical comparison with previous seasons, but City seemed to be hit with far fewer mid-season player departures this year. A few guys have left in search of more playing time or other opportunities, but the starting XI has remained intact.
Speaking of the starters, the consistent lineups and tight rotation appeared to have the effect of greater team cohesion and unity. It’s logical that the same group playing together, week in and week out, would build familiarity and perform better as the season progressed, and that’s precisely what’s happened.
Finally, up to this point, there have been a low number of injuries, and none of the particularly serious variety.
(2) Pro-style training schedule/City Fieldhouse
I’m putting these two together because they go hand-in-hand, and it’s unlikely Trevor James would’ve been able to implement his regimen without City having its own dedicated training space.
As much as we like to ascribe City’s beautiful play to new tactics and players, the main cause is likely the fact that they now train together every single day, rather than on a part-time basis as in years past.
The Fieldhouse & Clubhouse have also undoubtedly contributed to the fantastic team chemistry. Many players live together in the nearby apartments that are within walking distance of the facility, they eat multiple meals there each day, and they hang out in the player lounge in their downtime.
These things may all be typical for most professional and college programs, but this is City’s first foray into this level of player support, and the positive effects are evident.
(3) Coaching
Trevor James’ tactics have been nearly flawless, and he’s shown a willingness to adapt. He stuck with the 3-5-2 for most of the season, but when injuries/matchups dictated a change, he went with a four-man back line on Sunday at Ann Arbor, which turned out to be the absolute right call.
On another note, one of the main responsibilities for a manager or head coach in any sport is to put his/her players in the best positions to be successful. In this, James has excelled:
He’s encouraged Shawn Lawson to crash the 6-yard box more, and as a result Lawson now owns the DCFC single-season goal scoring record (11) with one more match to play.
He’s found the best spots for Danny Deakin and Max Todd, allowing them to roam the midfield while Abdoulaye Diop and Bakie Goodman focus more on ball-winning and the transition of play from defense to attack.
He’s set up a back line where the mobile, aggressive Stephen Carroll is bookended by two towers who are both comfortable with the ball at their feet.
He’s implemented wingbacks as a critical part of the attack. Kervin Kenton in particular has become an offensive force and one of City’s main chance creators.
Maybe less noticeably than the the points above, he’s successfully mananged two very young goalkeepers; both have looked confident, and neither have made any memorable errors.
The division has been won, but one more match remains: a revenge date on Saturday against Kalamazoo and their curly-headed prick of a goalkeeper.
After that comes playoffs, where anything can happen. Unfortunately for the other teams who will be competing, 2019 is an odd year.
There has got to be something to the years City does well are years they are not participating in the Open Cup. I’ve not really looked into it or mapped it out. I mean, didn’t City play like 5 games in 10 days (2 of which went 120 minutes) last year? I don’t know, maybe there is nothing there.
I think that’s definitely a factor. Their worst two seasons (2016 and 2018) were also the years of their deepest Open Cup runs. Having such a congested schedule right at the beginning of the season seems to have a negative effect on the rest of the year.