‘They were a horrible mess’: Kevin Long has showed Birmingham City precisely what they needed

Kevin Long has been credited with playing a key role in Toronto FC’s rise from ‘a terrible shambles’ to MLS contenders.

Birmingham City permitted Long to join the Canadian club in February after Tony Mowbray dropped him. Mowbray’s choices were bolstered by Krystian Bielik’s switch to centre-back, and the Blues chose to pay Long’s wages four months early.

Toronto, led by Englishman John Herdman, offered Long a one-year deal with an option for another 12 months, and the club has benefited from his presence in the back. Toronto is third in the Eastern Conference, trailing only Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami and FC Cincinnati, with 19 points from their first 11 games.

“He has been a really welcome addition to Toronto FC,” adds John Molinaro, who covers the club for TFC Republic. “Keep in mind that Toronto finished at the bottom of the MLS league table last season. This was their poorest season ever. They only won four games, scored 22 points, all franchise lows, and had the league’s second worst defensive record.

“Kevin has come in and helped them solidify things in the back. They’ve already kept five clean sheets in their opening 11 games and are far more defensively sound. He’s merely brought much-needed leadership and stability to a club that was in disarray last year. He has been a rock-solid player with a strong presence both on and off the pitch.

“This is a team that was a complete disaster last season, with infighting and the team divided into cliques behind the scenes. Kevin has simply provided the team with some stability. There are other elements at work; they have a new coach, John Herdman, but Kevin has been a steadfast presence. His leadership on a team that completely leaked goals last year has been incredibly refreshing.”

The Blues’ choice to allow Long to leave backfired within two weeks. With Bielik and Marc Roberts ill, Dion Sanderson’s red card against Southampton left the Blues with only one available centre-back for the encounter against Hull City.

Long, 33, lost his place in the Blues’ starting lineup to Wayne Rooney following a strong start to the season under John Eustace. Long was recognized as one of the Championship’s most aerially dominant centre-backs, winning 72% of his duels – only eight players in the league had a higher percentage throughout the season.

Blues missed Long’s aerial skills towards the conclusion of the season, when set piece goals lost to Southampton, Hull City, and Millwall cost the club crucial points. And, in a season when many managers lamented a lack of leaders in the group, it’s unclear why they let one leave when they couldn’t replace him.

Molinaro continued, “He quietly goes about his thing and has been quite effective, which I believe Toronto supporters have appreciated. “To have players like Kevin come in and right the ship in a quiet and unassuming manner has been greatly appreciated.”

Toronto, like every other MLS team, boasts star players in the form of Italians Federico Bernardeschi and Lorenzo Insigne. Toronto is now in contention for the playoffs after changing managers and strengthening their defense.

“It’s certainly looking that way,” Molinaro remarked. “I don’t think anyone would have predicted that. This was the club that finished last in the table last year, and there were little off-season changes. Except for Kevin Long and a few others, the team remains mostly unchanged from last year’s bottom-of-the-table performance. They are obviously overachieving right now, and a lot of that can be attributed to their defensive improvements.”