The 2022 Player’s Shield winners could not muster anything close to a defense of the top finish in 2022. Winless since early July, the second-half skid sent the Kickers to an 11th place finish.
Multiple key pieces of the 2022 squad departed in the off season. Defenders Stephen Payne, Jalen Crisler to fellow USL1 sides Forward Madison and One Knoxville respectively; Stuart Ritchie sold to the Columbus Crew. Midfielder Ethan Bryant sold to Sporting Kansas City, and winger Jonathan Bryant sold to Nashville FC. Such is life in the lower leagues. Players capitalize on their growing stock after a successful season and take higher offers elsewhere, and young players receive offers that place them closer to the top tier and net the club a bit of cash in return.
And while a few notable off-season signings brought in fresh talent, overall, the biggest problem in Richmond was a lack of depth, and an inability to effectively replace those lost from 2022.
What Went Right
MVP: Nil Vinyals
At the start of the season we said that the success of Nil Vinyals would be the success of Richmond. The Spanish midfielder certainly did his part, putting up six goals, four assists and creating 66 chances, good for second in the entire league. This is exactly what is expected of a solid central midfielder. Vinyals also stepped up to captain the squad in the final two matches, perhaps giving us a glimpse of a senior leadership role he may play in 2024. While his success did not translate to the rest of the team, with so many chances missed, Vinyals did everything he could.
Second MVP: Michael Hornsby
Hornsby signed with Richmond as an off-season free-agent to take over the left-back role from Stuart Richie. He immediately became a fixture on the left side, known for his defensive talents, but more-so for his ability to push the ball up the left side of the pitch. Most of the season, he acted as both a defender and a midfielder, even a winger. By the end of the season, he was officially moved up to the left midfield, with Academy product Beckett Howell taking on left back duties. Did the experiment turn around the season? Not exactly, as the club still went 0-1-3 during this time. Was it fun to watch Hornsby showcase his many talents and put up more chances? Definitely.
Hornsby is a free-agent once again, and may seek opportunities closer to his native Germany. The left back spot may fall to an off-season signing, who will have some pretty big shoes to fill. That is unless Richmond can convince him to stick around for one more year.
Will Palmquist made the most of his increased opportunities in net, putting up three clean sheets in 11 appearances.
What Went Wrong
With disappointing 11th place finish, and winless since early July, it’s easy to say that a lot went wrong with this club in 2023.
Creating and converting chances
Vinyals put up 66 chances, second best in the league. Hornsby added another 29, with right back Simon Fitch adding 27.
Fotmob classifies 33 of the club’s chances as “big” but only three of the big chances converted into goals.
In comparison, second place NCFC had 66 big chances to go with their 58 goals, while table winners Union Omaha had an efficient 54 big chances to go with their league leading 61 goals. Both squads effectively spread out chances. Four players each with both Omaha and NCFC created more chances than Hornsby or Fitch to support respective team leaders Luis Gil and Rafa Mentzingen.
On a bright note, Fitch returns in 2024, and João Gomiero has a strong chance of picking up another year. Gomiero created 21 chances this season, and both are young and should continue to develop and improve. But in 2023, Richmond was missing the pieces to create chances like the more successful clubs.
And let’s talk about converting the chances the squad did create. With 30 of 33 big chances missed, it seems that even when big chances were created, they did not convert.
Emiliano Terzaghi experienced a show start, scoring just once in the first nine matches. During this time, the club only scored seven. Terzaghi would score nine over the next 16 matches, but missed the final eight matches with injury. However, five of his ten goals were penalty or free kick conversions.
With Terzaghi not playing at levels seen over the past three seasons, the squad lacked the depth needed to contribute badly needed goals and help convert the chances that did exist.
Off-season signing Kharlton Belmar, a veteran of the USL Championship and MLS systems did not pan out, appearing in 21 matches and only scoring 2 goals. The right-winger had previously contributed 43 goals over 200 appearances in the Championship. Veteran Owayne Gordon only provided one goal and one assist, after providing five goals and three assists in 2022. By July he only appeared sporadically, if even on the roster at all.
Matt Bentley saw increased appearances and minutes this season, but scored just once. Instead, secondary goals came from Nil Vinyals, Ryan Sierakowski, and João Gomiero, who met or exceeded their expected contributions with six, four and four each.
The summary of this: Nil Vinyals and Michael Hornsby could not carry the squad; a badly needed secondary scoring threat never materialized, which became critical when Terzaghi was injured; but the future may be bright as Fitch and Gomiero continue to develop.
Injuries and Bench Depth
We previously mentioned the loss of multiple key players from the 2022 squad, and the lack of suitable replacements. While the roster appeared somewhat strong at the start of the season, with several young players having the potential to break out, we found out by mid-season that they just weren’t there yet.
This was compounded by the fact that most of the clubs finishing in the top half of the table made some huge roster moves, signing or retaining players as good as or better than those Richmond lost. Suddenly the league became more competitive, rosters became deeper, and Richmond was caught unprepared. Injuries forced an over-reliance on academy players and pushed bench level players into the starting 11.
Who’s Likely Returning in 2024
The following players are known to be under contract for 2024, per pre-season and recent announcements indicating multi-year deals:
Goal
Akira Fitzgerald
Defenders
CB Nathan Aune
CB Dakota Barnathan
RB Simon Fitch
LB Chris Cole
Midfielders
Zaca Moran
Nil Vinyals
Forwards
Landon Johnson
Emiliano Terzaghi
Academy
GK James Sneddon
CB Beckett Howell
CB Otavio Zebrini
MF Gabe Cox
FW Nick Simmonds
Who’s Questionable for 2024
The following players are thought to be on expiring contracts or options at the end of 2023.
Goal
Will Palmquist: put up postive numbers in his appearances, but the re-signing of Akira Fitzgerald lends to speculation that Palmquist may be looking to explore other options in the off season.
Defenders
Michael Hornsby: the season’s regular left-back and a standout ball-mover and playmaker on the left side; as he is not yet re-signed, he may also be exploring other options for next year.
Jake Mecham
Midfielders
João Gomiero
Chandler O’Dwyer
Justin Sukow
Forwards
Kharlton Belmar
Matt Bentley
Owayne Gordon
David Olsen
Luke Pavone
Ryan Sierakowski
Ethan Vanacore-Decker
Predicted Returns
João Gomiero
Chandler O’Dwyer
Richmond saw the highest average attendance in the league this year, and the front office would love to see that continue in 2024. However, it may not continue without fielding a more competitive squad in a league that is increasingly competitive. Off season additions of secondary goal scorers and chance creators, and further development of some of the younger players who showed potential this year may do the trick.
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