Founded in 2013, Orlando City SC managed to achieve their best result in the inaugural season of 2015, when they finished 14th overall. That season they also qualified for the U.S. Open Cup, however, failed to get further than round 16 a year later. Looking at the last season Orlando City finished last in the Eastern Conference with an overall record of 8-22-4. With a disappointing season, the head coach Jason Kreis was dismissed and replaced by James O’Connor who is not only rescuing a sinking ship but rather excavating a wreck of what Orlando has become.
Head Coach: James O’Connor
Former professional soccer player, who played for Stoke, West Bromwich Albion, Burnley, Sheffield Wednesday and at the end of his career at Orlando City has started his coaching career in 2013 when he was appointed as an assistant for Orlando City team. A year after he left to coach Louisville City where he won the USL Championship in 2017. Last season James O’Connor was appointed as the head coach for Orlando City.
Transfers
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| Date | Name | Moving from | Moving to | Mode of Transfer |
| January 16, 2019 | Ruan | Ponte Preta | Orlando City | Free |
| December 28, 2018 | Jhegson Méndez | Independiente del Valle | Orlando City | Transfer |
| November 27, 2018 | Amro Tarek | Wadi Degla | Orlando City | Transfer |
| December 9, 2018 | Tesho Akindele | FC Dallas | Orlando City | Trade |
| December 11, 2018 | João Moutinho | Los Angeles FC | Orlando City | Trade |
| December 28, 2018 | Danilo Acosta | Real Salt Lake | Orlando City | Loan |
| January 10, 2019 | Alex DeJohn | Dalkurd | Orlando City | Free |
| January 11, 2019 | Santiago Patiño | FIU Panthers | Orlando City | SuperDraft |
| December 19, 2018 | Greg Ranjitsingh | Louisville City | Orlando City | Free |
| December 19, 2018 | Kyle Smith | Louisville City | Orlando City | Free |
| December 31, 2018 | Benji Michel | Portland Pilots | Orlando City | Homegrown player |
| December 27, 2018 | Joe Bendik | Orlando City | Columbus Crew | Trade |
| December 19, 2018 | Earl Edwards Jr. | Orlando City | D.C. United | Trade |
| December 11, 2018 | Mohamed El Monir | Orlando City | Los Angeles FC | Trade |
| December 27, 2018 | Yoshimar Yotún | Orlando City | Cruz Azul | Transfer |
| December 12, 2018 | Tony Rocha | Orlando City | New York City | Trade |
| December 11, 2018 | Amro Tarek | Orlando City | New York Red Bulls | Trade |
| December 14, 2018 | Donny Toia | Orlando City | Real Salt Lake | Re-Entry Draft |
| January 22, 2019 | Stefano Pinho | Orlando City | PT Prachuap | Free |
| December 9, 2018 | PC | Orlando City | Vancouver Whitecaps | Trade |
| January 30, 2019 | Scott Sutter | Orlando City | Vancouver Whitecaps | Free |
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Expectations for the 2019 season
First, we need to ask ourselves what went wrong last season. Well, in short, everything went wrong. Orlando finished the season with 28 points. 28 points in the span of 34 games! There is no way to explain why they ended the season with such a bad record, and while there was surprisingly a team that performed worse (San Jose with 21 points), this should not be an excuse. So what was the cause for the bad performance, Orlando’s offence or defence? To be fair it was both. Team conceded 74 goals while only scoring 43. 43 goals in the whole season is the 4th worst record in the league, while 74 goals conceded is the most goals any team has conceded in the season. So what does Orlando need to do to end the season 2019 better? Basically, anything. They fell so low that only winning 9 games would be an improvement. Still, I do believe their ultimate goal is the playoffs, which is fair after all the money they put into the team. At the end of the day, Orlando’s success will come down to consistency, injuries or better yet lack of those and a lot of luck. Whichever way we look at it, they will need to find a way to start winning.
