FC Tulsa have represented a lot of the positive changes that USL Championship have undergone in recent years. They chose to implement a significant rebrand ahead of the 2020 season that, despite seeing the demise of the historic “Roughnecks” moniker, was seen as a step in the right direction. It offered some unique changes to their color scheme with gold and “Patina Green” next to black and white. It offered one of the most unique crests in USL as well, with the scissor-tailed flycatcher against an art deco background. This was coupled with the signings of a handful of really impressive signings to back manager Michael Nsien. Lebo Moloto, Eric Bird, Marlon and Joaquin Rivas all in the same side seemed like a winning formula and many tipped Tulsa to be in and among the best teams in USL Championship. Yet, Tulsa have never put this together into a truly top-tier team in either conference.

After 4 seasons, across two different conferences, Tulsa have really failed to reach the heights they were probably expecting. They had two playoff appearances, barely qualifying for both, in 2020 and 21 but failed to make it out of the first round each time. Since then, they have not made the playoffs for two years running, even in USL Championship’s recently expanded format. There have been high profile signings, big marketing pushes and a lot of it has been led by one of the most well-known, young executives in the League, Sam Doerr.

A lot is changing for Tulsa in 2024. The unfortunate end of San Diego Loyal and Rio Grande Valley Toros along with the return of North Carolina FC and the addition of Rhode Island FC has necessitated the move of FC Tulsa to the Western Conference along with Memphis 901. With Sam on his way to the League office and a big rebuild now underway it was announced that Blair Gavin would be departing as well. He accepted an assistant role with New England Revolution in MLS. Can Tulsa get the 2024 project on track with the talented roster they are building or will the change be too much for them to overcome

Clipped Wings

FC Tulsa’s 2023 campaign had to have been difficult for those around the club. The start was dismal, to put it kindly. They won their first match on March 25th at home to Loudoun and did not celebrate their second until May 24th in Louisville. The home crowd did not get another taste of victory until June 30th against Detroit City. They lost three games in a row on four separate occasions while they won three in a row only once. In fact that run from June 30th to July 21st where they won five straight would be the only time that FC Tulsa would win consecutive matches. The whole season.

The start was the main catalyst between the biggest call FC Tulsa made all season when they decided to trade away Rodrigo Da Costa. Da Costa had become a fixture in Tulsa, playing 128 times and contributing to 61 goals between those he scored and assisted. It felt like the sort of move to try to shock the team into better performances and in their return for Da Costa it looked like Tulsa had.

Phillip Goodrum had an absolutely unbelievable 2022 campaign in Memphis, scoring 22 goals. In the aftermath of that season, however, the relationship between Memphis and Goodrum soured. The club had him under contract for another year and were reluctant to see their top scorer leave. Goodrum publicly made it known that he felt the club had held him back from opportunities in MLS and Europe. In 2023, Goodrum started rather slow, and by the time he traded places with Da Costa in Tulsa, he had not registered a USL Championship goal for Memphis. The match seemed to fit a need as well. Tulsa had started with 14 goals in their opening 11 matches and if you took away the 3 from their lone win, you had a squad that had scored just 11 in 10 and felt in desperate need of a shot in the arm up top. Thing of it was that Da Costa had accounted for a third of those. A 4-0 loss in Memphis was enough for Doerr to pull the trigger on the deal and the swap seemed fruitful.

Goodrum celebrates with his teammates. *Image courtesy of FC Tulsa*

Goodrum scored on his FC Tulsa debut, a dramatic winner in the 89th minute against Lou City. All the signs pointed to it being the exact change needed but then Tulsa went on a four match winless run. Goodrum got back firing during their five games they won in a row but despite a decent goalscoring run through the end of the season, only one of his last five goals altered the result, the other four coming in losses. Despite the change, Tulsa just did not have the defense for a decent goalscoring run to be enough. They kept just 8 clean sheets and in doing so only converted five of them into wins, three of them ending goalless draws. Michael Nelson, on loan from MLS’ Goalkeeper Pool, was tied for fourth in the League with 94 saves but as he faced 140 shots on target this figure was only good enough for a 65% save percentage and conceded the fourth most goals of any team in the League. Tulsa were exposed too many times for any keeper to be the difference at the back.

As a result, Tulsa have responded to this campaign by signaling huge changes. 13 players have already been announced as leaving the club with Bradley Bourgeois, Milo Yosef, Nate Worth, Ruxi, Patrick Seagrist, Rashid Tetteh and Angel Bernal announced as returning so far. The mix of players makes a lot of sense given that a rebuild is on the cards. Bourgeois has been a fixture at the club, Yosef was the 3rd most involved player in Tulsa’s attack behind Goodrum and Marcus Epps, Ruxi is a very versatile defender who contributes in attack, Seagrist was purchased for a fee from Switchbacks, Tetteh is one of the most experienced defenders in the League. Nate Worth and Angel Bernal are 16 and 18 respectively so they represent much of the future for Tulsa. The big name missing from the list is Goodrum. That being said, there has been no announcement regarding him or his contract situation so all the options are on the table. For anyone who follows me on twitter, I’m sure by the time you’re reading this, Goodrum will have been announced as returning to Tulsa.

The Wings of Change

Tulsa’s movement to rebuild has been slow but steady. They are reporting returning players one-by-one rather than in a batch so there could still be news on that front from Tulsa. They’ll obviously be keen to take a step up in 2024 so just how are they going about it? The signings so far have been almost exclusively about improving the quality in the midfield with a couple of additions on the wings to add another element. Quality in midfield is almost certainly what can take Tulsa from an also-ran to a contender as it will be what keeps them from facing such a high shot volume as they did last year.

Their first step right out of the gate was to announce the signing of Justin Portillo who checks a lot of boxes for Tulsa coming over from New Mexico United. He scored one non-penalty goal and assisted five from midfield last season despite being deployed almost exclusively in central midfield. He steps almost directly into the void that was left by Eric Bird who scored four and assisted three for Tulsa last season. His presence in New Mexico’s midfield was often one of a confident passer. He averaged about 91% completion in 2023 including 62% of his long passes and 78% of his passes into the attacking third. He progressed play well for New Mexico, making about a third of his passes forward per match. He also was classy from set plays, getting a decent amount of his assists from corners. The quality of delivery, and assuredness from the penalty spot will not hurt.

The addition of Portillo from New Mexico United could pay big dividends for Tulsa. *Image courtesy of Justin Portillo’s IG*

They added to that move by signing USL League One Defender of the Year Arthur Rogers. The right back was absolutely instrumental to Trevor Amann’s ridiculous year for Northern Colorado Hailstorm, as Rogers tallied 11 assists. That being said, a good portion of his assists did come from set pieces much like Portillo. The big number for Rogers is that he completed about half of his crosses last year, a ridiculously high percentage for the literal toss up that a cross is. He is also handy defensively, winning 63% of his duels and winning the ball back from the opposition about eight times a game.

Charlie Adams from San Diego Loyal followed to again add to that midfield unit. Primarily deployed on the left side of SD’s midfield, he made his living as a very steady and even distributor of the ball. Per 90, almost exactly one-third of his passes went backward, one-third sideways, and one-third forward. His progressive passing was effective though, with 77% of those completed. In his position in central midfield but trending left, it did also allow for him to look for the odd cross as he added two open play assists to four from set pieces. A third player who will be lining up to take free kicks for Tulsa but having the solidity in midfield combined with quality delivery from set pieces have made the foundation of many very good USL sides.

On the more attacking side, they announced Diogo Pacheco, who had been playing for Minnesota United II in MLS Next Pro. Primarily used on the right wing, Pacheco had eight goals and five assists in MLS’ reserve league. He uses his big frame to his advantage often, either to set up his teammates or to hold off the opposition. He scored a good variety of goals last year with either foot and his head while drifting in off that right wing to be a menace. He is the type of versatile attacker who could make a difference at the Championship level but it will be intriguing to see if he can maintain volume like that at a higher level.

Most recently, Tulsa announced Jeremy Kelly from Memphis would be joining for 2024. Kelly has been a difficult player to classify as his job for Memphis in 2023 could just be, “midfield.” He played on the left wing early in the season before deputizing in defensive midfield, then into central midfield and finally playing as an attacking midfielder on both the left and right towards the end of the season. He maintained a high level of quality throughout, completing 86% of his passes and 40% of his through balls. He also carries the ball well, completing about three dribbles per 90 and they just about always progress the ball. Kelly’s goals last year were a bit opportunistic but depending on how he is deployed in Memphis he is a good technician in the box and is a sneaky good header of the ball as well. I think there are a lot more goals in his game if Tulsa do use him consistently in attacking areas where he will be in and around the box.

Can They Rule the Roost?

The season is quickly approaching (can you believe it’s less than two months away?) but a lot can happen in a relatively short amount of time when it comes to player signings and announcements. Tulsa have what seems like a solid foundation as they make the return to the Western Conference in 2024. Blair Gavin had also assembled an impressive coaching staff, with himself, Richie Ryan, Matt Watson and Donovan Ricketts making up the main staff. With Gavin on his way out, Tulsa have relatively little time to react to the change. Who is available to step into that huge gap at head coach?

Your author is a huge believer in the long term ability of Richie Ryan to step into a head coaching role, but taking that step after a single season of actual coaching experience after an illustrious playing career feels like it might come a bit too soon. He absolutely should be part of the next manager’s staff as the main assistant and I believe he is close to a head role of his own. If they look elsewhere, while it would contribute to the managerial carousel, they could be tempted to pry Dominic Casciato from Union Omaha. His team won 20 of their 35 matches under Casciato in his managerial debut season and he worked with Ryan in his two seasons at El Paso as an assistant under Mark Lowry and John Hutchinson. If they look a bit further south they could target Brett Uttley, who is currently the manager of Austin FC II in MLS Next Pro. Young and getting a decent return out of that reserve side after spending time as an assistant at RGV he could be the sort of candidate who looks for some first team management experience of his own.

Tulsa will still need some big free agent signings to contend. Goalkeeper is a gaping hole with Nelson now a true free agent after his MLS deal expired. They have added some pieces in midfield and defense but will need some top class center backs as well to make this stick. For forwards, the Goodrum saga will be telling as that will likely inform whether they go out and try to snag one of the high profile scorers still on the market.

FC Tulsa have been a lot of hype without a lot of performances to back it up since they became FC Tulsa in 2020, but whether they can make the right calls this offseason will determine whether they are able to be a force at the top of the West in 2024.

- Phil Baki