Can Villa and Lampard lead NYCFC to MLS playoffs in 2015?

Yes, they’re only two players out of 11 that will take the field in the Bronx when the MLS expansion New York City FC debuts in March 2015, however former Barcelona star David Villa and Chelsea’s all-time leading goal scorer Frank Lampard were signed by NYCFC simply to win and lead this team to success in year one.

The 36-year old Lampard joined Villa as NYCFC’s second international player after the club announced his signing on Thursday morning in Brooklyn.  (Villa was their first signing in June.)

Lampard joins the likes of other great English players like David Beckham and Theirry Henry who jumped from the Barclays Premier League to Major League Soccer.

While the main question with this team focus more on the surrounding parts around both European stars (NYCFC has also signed MLS vets Josh Saunders and Jeb Brovsky), one can only wonder how NYCFC head coach Jason Kreis will use both Villa and Lampard on the field.

Villa and Lampard are expected to start for NYCFC and should be able to support each other easily with Villa as the main striker up front and Lampard backing him up as the attacking midfielder. However, Kreis may see things different.

Depending on who else NYCFC signs leading up to the team’s debut next year, Villa might not be the lone striker if they can pickup another quality striker which would push Lampard back into what some say may be a diamond midfield with Lamps at the point.  Adding another striker in the winter could actually benefit Villa down the road, taking some of the defensive pressure off of him, or adding more to him, opening up more scoring chances for the other attackers.

Jun 7, 2014; Landover, MD, USA; Spain striker David Villa (7) shoots the ball against El Salvador in the second half at FedEx Field. Spain won 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

It will become a lot easier to predict who will play where and what formation Kreis will deploy when the team has a more complete roster, something that is expected to take place after the 2014 MLS season with the MLS transfer window and the SuperDraft in the winter, along with their upcoming expansion draft.

However, for now, NYCFC has a solid core to build upon going forward. Both Lamps and Villa have scored a combined 548 goals with their respective clubs in their career, along with 88 combined career international goals.

In short, these guys can score, know how to score and can probably teach the young players who will arrive later in the year how to score.  So expect goals, lots of them.

Lampard had just eight goals in 40 total appearances with Chelsea during the 2013-14 campaign, his lowest amount of goals scored since 2002-03 where he also scored eight. He scored 13 or more goals every season for Chelsea from 2003-13 and scored 20 or more goals in five straight seasons from 2005-10.  He was a crucial part of the Chelsea dynasty that won three Premier League titles (2004-06, 2009-10), four F.A. Cups (2006-07, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2011-12), a Champions League title in the 2011-12 campaign and a Europa League title in 2012-13.

The 32-year old Villa scored 15 goals (along with four assists) in 47 while leading Atletico Madrid to a La Liga title last season and has scored 20 or more goals in 10 straight years between four different teams from 2001-11.  He;s won three Copa Del Rey titles in his career with three different teams, three La Liga titles, a World Cup in 2010 with Spain along with a Euro title in 2008.

There’s no question, that NYCFC will be a very competitive team in their first year in the MLS.  How good this team will be mainly depends on how far Villa and Lampard can push them.  However anything short of the playoffs will be unacceptable even in the first year.