Football Season Review

Montreal Impact had to pay the price for their slump in form in the second half of the campaign as they missed out on the playoffs for a third straight season, finishing ninth in the Eastern Conference, four points short of the final playoffs spot, though they did end the season with some silverware after winning the Canadian Championship Montreal began the campaign with optimism under Remi Garde and, after initial hiccups, they looked to be hitting their stride but a major dip in form in July saw them pick up just four points from seven games and, despite the club still in the top seven, Garde was let go in favor of Wilmer Cabrera by the end of August. Their form did not improve despite the change on the touchline and Montreal could only manage two more wins to finish ninth in the Eastern Conference. Key to their drop in form was injuries to central defenders with Garde and Cabrera both being forced to juggle with their options and Montreal ended the season with a leaky defense, keeping just one cleansheet from their final 15 games and conceding at least two goals on 10 occasions. Up front Ignacio Piatti endured another injury hit campaign which limited him to just nine starts though the slack was picked up by Saphir Taider, who ended the campaign top of both the goals and assists charts, while Okwonkwo and summer signing Lappalainen also chipped in with goals from the flanks. Montreal do have a solid offense but will need to reinforce at the back before the start of next season if they are to sustain their challenge for the playoffs spot. Cabrera was let go at the end of the season and Thierry Henry has been appointed as his replacement and the Frenchman will be keen to bounce back from a poor introduction on the sidelines, lasting just over three months in his first job at Monaco where he won just four of the 20 games he was in charge of.

Player of the Season: Saphir Taider