The Montreal Impact have to move on from Didier Drogba now
There was a time when Didier Drogba could probably get away with the antics he pulled over the weekend. Coach Mauro Biello informed the Ivory Coast striker that he would not be starting on Sunday, so Drogba refused to dress at all for the match.
But the time for Drogba to get away with such a me-first attitude was probably years ago. Now, it's time for Montreal to cut their losses and move on from Drogba, whose behavior and high salary outweigh his contributions on the pitch.
The biggest problem with Drogba's temper tantrum is that it actually makes the most tactical sense to bring him in as a late substitute. With Drogba starting this year, the Impact have gone 2-7-8 for an average of 0.82 points per game. When he hasn't played at all, the Impact's record has been 6-2-4 for an average of 1.83 points per game. When he has come on as a substitute, the team has gone 2-1-1 for an average of 1.75 points per game.
The 38-year-old striker just simply isn't fit enough to do what Montreal needs from a striker in tough games and, when he is on the field, the team tends to force direct long balls his way, which makes them play worse. He doesn't defend either and it makes the Impact too easy to play through. If Drogba is going to force himself into the starting line-up, it's going to cost Montreal points.
But as a substitute, when defenses are worn down and if Montreal are chasing a game, having Drogba as an outlet up top makes sense. It's not exactly crazy to think a 38-year-old forward is best used as a late substitute rather than a starter. That's what Biello apparently wanted to do, and Drogba shut him down.
The league did some analysis over the summer and found that with Drogba on the field, Montreal averages fewer goals scored, more goals conceded and less possession versus when he is not playing. The increase in crosses by the Impact and shots conceded with Drogba playing jibes with everything we see in how the Impact change the way they play to suit him. The team starts playing too direct when he is there, and their defensive vulnerabilities are exacerbated, too.
So if Drogba won't allow Biello to use him in the best way, which is off the bench, why should Montreal keep him at all? It's the best move for Biello tactically and the Impact should move forward into the playoffs without Drogba. His contract expires in December, which makes it an easy separation.
Despite the team's poorer performances with him on the field, it doesn't mean Drogba isn't still a good player. This season, he has 10 goals and 6 assists in 22 games, two of the goals penalty kicks. That's not nothing and it puts him 17th overall on the league's goal-scoring leaderboard. The former Chelsea striker's name also has serious cachet that has excited fans and given the Montreal club some prestige. Drogba still has value, but there is a point when a player is no longer worth whatever they bring to the table, and the Impact may be nearing that point.
Although Drogba perhaps is used to being a superstar, MLS is very much a league where it takes a strong team rather than a single superstar to be successful. Look at FC Dallas, the top team in the league — they don't even have a goal-scorer in the league's top 20. Instead, theirs is squad where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts and team chemistry is a key ingredient.
It wasn't exactly a surprise to find out that maybe Drogba isn't fully committed to the Impact. He left the team hanging in the offseason and no one, including the front office, was sure if he'd be returning. Rumors were flying that he was going to go to Chelsea in a coaching role and he finally cleared up speculation with a tweet about preparing for the 2016 season. But even then, the Impact weren't sure if Drogba would stay for the entire year.
Drogba makes more than $2 million and is the highest paid player on the Impact roster. That is plenty of money for the Impact to bring in another striker who can score just as many goals without the negative impact on the team. For perspective, Ignacio Piatti, Montreal's top scorer, is paid less than $500,000. Bradley Wright-Phillips, the league's leading scorer, makes less than $1 million.
The Impact are one of the oldest teams in MLS and should probably start investing more in younger players, whether it's an up-and-coming Designated Player or academy prospects. An extra $2 million if the Impact part ways with Drogba could go a long way toward that.
In the short-term, it's not an easy decision to leave the star out of the 18, but it's clear that Drogba isn't a good fit in Montreal. He isn't helping the Impact win and, with playoffs around the corner, there's no margin for error. Drogba shouldn't be starting and he shouldn't even be given the choice to refuse to dress either. It's time for Montreal to move on altogether.
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