Kevin Long has given Birmingham City exactly what they needed to see: “They were a dire mess.”

Kevin Long is recognised for having played a pivotal role in Toronto FC’s turnaround from “a dire mess” to an MLS contender.

Long was permitted to join the Canadian team by Birmingham City in February following the Irishman’s decline in play under Tony Mowbray.Mowbray’s choices were strengthened by Krystian Bielik’s move to centre back, and Blues decided to take Long’s salary off the books four months early.

Long accepted Toronto’s one-year contract with a one-year option to extend, and the Englishman John Herdman’s team has benefited from having him at the back. With 19 points from their first 11 games, Toronto is third in the Eastern Conference, behind only FC Cincinnati and Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami.

As a new member of the Toronto FC team, John Molinaro is a welcome addition, according to his report for TFC Republic.Remember that Toronto placed last in the MLS league table the previous year. Their poorest season to date. They had the second poorest defensive record in the league, only managed to win four games and total 22 points, both franchise lows.

“Kevin entered and assisted them in securing the back. They are far more reliable defensively and have already earned five clean sheets in their opening 11 outings. He’s just given a club that was a complete wreck last year some much-needed leadership and stability. He’s been a terrific presence both on and off the pitch, as well as a pretty steady hand.

“This is a team that was a complete mess the previous season, with cliques and internal infighting. All he has truly done for the team is provide some composure. In addition, they have a new coach in John Herdman, but Kevin has been a reaffirming force. It has been so wonderful to see him lead a club after they blatantly leaked goals the previous season.

Within two weeks, the Blues’ choice to let Long go came back to haunt them. Dion Sanderson’s red card against Southampton left the Blues with just one available center-back for their encounter against Hull City, since Bielik and Marc Roberts were both sidelined.

Long, 33, had a strong season debut under John Eustace before losing his spot in the Blues starting lineup under Wayne Rooney.With 72 percent of his duels won, Long was one of the Championship’s most aerially dominant centre backs; just eight players in the league had a greater percentage during the season.

Towards the conclusion of the season, Blues lacked Long’s aerial abilities as set piece goals against Millwall, Southampton, and Hull City lost the team crucial points. Furthermore, it begs the issue of why they let go of a leader when they were unable to find a replacement during a season in which multiple managers lamented the absence of leaders in the team.

“He goes about his business quietly and has been really effective, and I think Toronto fans have been appreciative of that,” Molinaro continued. It has been truly appreciated to see players like Kevin step in and quietly and unassumingly correct the ship.

Similar to all Major League Soccer teams, Federico Bernardeschi and Lorenzo Insigne, two Italian players, are Toronto’s stars. After switching managers and strengthening their defence, Toronto is now a contender for the postseason.

“That’s how it appears to be,” Molinaro stated. “I doubt anyone could have foreseen that. There weren’t many off-season changes for this team, who placed bottom in the standings the previous season. It’s essentially the same club that finished last year at the bottom of the standings, with the exception of Kevin Long and a few others. They are undoubtedly overachieving right now, and a big part of that may be attributed to their better defensive play.

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