jloome
10-12-2009, 05:22 PM
After getting some of the initial ranting out of my system, I decided to sit down and give this season some thought.
This is speculative, so if that offends you, go read something else. Some of it is harsh, but what I believe is likely the case. However, I'm also going to touch on some reasons for serious optimism here, otherwise it's all too bleak to bear.
I'll start at the head office and head on down from there.
First, Mo. Mo's personal footballing history is notable for several moments of controversy, notably the Celtic-Rangers incident. There is ample belief out there, right or not, that he's a shifty guy. There have been other players since who've played for both clubs but ask Celtic fans why Mo is the one they hate.
When John Carver arrived, there were a couple of stories right off the bat that seemed to indicate Carver thought he was effectively the Manager, English-style. Mo brought that down to Earth saying he was still in charge and even suggesting he'd be actively involved with the team.
Within a few weeks, it had been clarified to "I'll handle the business, he'll handle the team."
Later in the year, Mo was seated next to Paul James on a Gol TV panel and James just ripped the organization for both personnel and tactical reasons, with Mo getting progressively redder and more stone-faced by the minute. Anyone who thinks James' dismissal around the time of the station acquisition might've been based on his overeagerness in critiquing TFC? It occured to me Mo didn't look like he was the cricitism as, uh, constructuve.
Then, towards the end of Carver's tenure, we have the incidnet involving Carver wanting to sit in the box. Go back and read the clips: Carver appears convinced, after talking to Mo, that the league won't let him coach from there.
A few days later, MLS releases a statement saying it had nothign to do with it. Then, Mo comes out and clarifies that it was his decision, although by then Carver is already gonzo alonzo.
All of this reeks of Mo being shifty.
It may also be crap. But I've been a student of human nature for a long time, and if you check the clips, the pieces fit.
Having said that, sometimes shifty is good, especially when it comes to player acquisitions, at which Mo is, I'll admit, pretty damn good. And that's most of his job.
My concern is that if he is still involved in the first team, it could be creating a situation where there's intersquad animosity and blame gaming, if certain players are guaranteed roles or other players are being held off the field at Mo's request. A team with that kind of intereference can't develop a system and will lack late -game cohesion and confidence, which is pretty much what we suffer.
I thought it telling that Cummins supposedly "forgot" about Sanyang on Saturday. He comes from a culture where fans would think there was something a little deeper to that, like that fact that Sanyang has had four European scouts after him already and is on an unguaranteed contract. Maybe Mo decided they can't show him this year until he's under new terms.
That kind of interference could also explain why Garcia keeps playing over and over, even though Cummins has publicly criticized his play. I'm not suggesting that grooming Ashley Young makes him Einstein, but the man can't be a total idiot. ANd only a total idiot keeps Garcia out there. Again, Garcia was Mo's teammate and buddy at KC, and Mo's talked about trying to get him here for quite a while.
Or maybe not.
Anyway, most of these ideas have been bandied about already on the forums, but when you chain them together, you get an idea of how front office failures might have contributed to the team's poor performance.
Onto Chris Cummins. Here's a guy who has not coached men's football. He was a youth tech director and briefly a technical director in England. At neither point was he forced under game pressure to make important calls. And based on what I've read, he's never had to coach professional grown men. So he's vastly unqualified. Even in areas where there wasn't interference (maybe even all of them) he may have just wilted under the pressure.
I'd suggest that there's likely more to it than that. He may have been in youth programs but he worked in professional football organizations for a long time before coming here. That couldn't have been pressure free.
It's a shame that this has probably been so bruising on the guy that he wouldn't stick around for a lesser role, such as technical director, where his technique training might best serve the club. But there's no way we could go forward with him as coach, particularly with guys with more MLS experience like Paul Mariner and John Spencer out there.
Lastly, the players. And what a bunch of talented headcases they are.
As fans, we tend to react passionately about the most dramatic moments in a game. But the fact that time management is so important in football , and other smaller, less-tangible factors as well, mean that those moments often weren't really the sole deciding factors.
They do make for good forum fodder. Whereas, suggesting that there's a reason DeRo has wound up benched on some very good MLS teams gets you yelled at.
But it's true. Because he's a ballhog and thinks too highly of his own skills.He's also our best offensive weapon, no doubt. But a) he had the most shots, by far, and he's not a striker; and b) he gave the ball away more than anyone on the team, by insisting on carrying the team and dribbling full speed ahead without even looking around at times.
This isn't the most crippling problem we face. But it's indicative that signing a star player guarantees you're going to play things his way.
A few moons ago, DeRo suggested he could play in La Liga. Then, when we got unsurprisingly thrashed by Madrid, he seemed genuinely embarassed, as if they should've been able to compete.
I think he's a great player to have. But his ego is out of wack. And so are several on this team. Garcia, obviously, thinks he should still be out there and he's just awful, maybe the worst professional centre half I've ever seen. I have absolutely no doubt that 39-ish Rick Titus would've done a better job than Garcia this year.
Jimmy? Never seems perturbed. He's the captain. Why havent' we seen at least Roy Keane-esque moment where he ripped into his teammates to get them moving? Is that why they immediately made Robbo co-captain when he signed, so we'd have someone to do that? If so, he's been out half the season and a step slow the rest, so that wasn't going to work.
Brennan's own mental lapses defensively (he's one of our worst offenders at dropping back too early and pinching in too tight to the box, leaving the sideline free for crosses) also set a bad example.
Serioux is not a team player, because he can't control his temper. He's a fine defender 75% of the time, but he gets caught up in what's bothering him, as evidenced by his red in Seattle and that Beckham incident, and that same tendency leads to foolish passes and lapses.
Attakora is an example of what the entire team should be, as is Cronin: hard workers, team players, constantly busting ass defensively and improving, and thinking quickly coming forward. Both of the Gambians are arrogant about their individual ball skills, but on the whole were almost as confident-yet-humble as Attakora, as was Stefan Frei, until a few bad cross issues later in the season. Plus, they're young enough to be reined in.
Marv Wynne would be in that group on work ethic, but again, he allows arrogance over his speed to get the better of him. His inability to track back surely can't be ignorance: even coaches have mentioned it publicly. So he must be cocksure he can always get back.
And he can. Problem is "getting back" isn't enough to ensure a good cross doesn't come in.
Vitti and Barrett have the same basic problem, despite their differing skill sets: no confidence and a slow release on their shots. Without that confidence, they'll contribute to the team malaise.
Amado is: seriously religious, seriously family values, seriously angry when done wrong. Passionate guys work well when surrounded by a majority of strong characters. But we don't have that. As such, he'll either implode next year or simply move on.
Gerba is a good poacher but again, strikes one as arrogant. He's been in trouble for his physique throughout his career but hasn't changed a thing.
What does that say? He believes he's right, they're wrong. He needs intensity and passion, which will lead to improved off the ball movement.
OB White, it's too early to judge. His skills man-on-man look good, and he's finished a couple of nice ones.
JDG, too early to judge.We haven't seen much from the rest, but that essentially leaves us with two strong characters (Attakora and Cronin), three fairly dependable/occasionally shaky guys (Frei, Gomez, Frei, Sanyang) and one guy, Marv Wynne, who sometimes shows and sometimes blows. Plus, Fellinga and White look decent prospects, as does Ibbe, when he plays.
The rest of our team has a ton of individual skill, but very little to contribute to the TEAM part of the team, the character.
We have strong players with weak character.
Two telling quotes from players over the last week. First was Jim Brennan guaranteeing the playoffs. It may have just been a bold gambit to get his teammates under some pressure, or it may have been overconfidence. Either reflects badly on the team's passion.
Second was Brian Edwards this morning in the star. ""As a group, we're angry. We're hungry now and we're not going to throw in the towel.""
Let's repeat that with the appropriate bolding.
"As a group, we're angry. We're hungry now and we're not going to throw in the towel."
Shouldn't that have come after the Charleston Cup?
This is speculative, so if that offends you, go read something else. Some of it is harsh, but what I believe is likely the case. However, I'm also going to touch on some reasons for serious optimism here, otherwise it's all too bleak to bear.
I'll start at the head office and head on down from there.
First, Mo. Mo's personal footballing history is notable for several moments of controversy, notably the Celtic-Rangers incident. There is ample belief out there, right or not, that he's a shifty guy. There have been other players since who've played for both clubs but ask Celtic fans why Mo is the one they hate.
When John Carver arrived, there were a couple of stories right off the bat that seemed to indicate Carver thought he was effectively the Manager, English-style. Mo brought that down to Earth saying he was still in charge and even suggesting he'd be actively involved with the team.
Within a few weeks, it had been clarified to "I'll handle the business, he'll handle the team."
Later in the year, Mo was seated next to Paul James on a Gol TV panel and James just ripped the organization for both personnel and tactical reasons, with Mo getting progressively redder and more stone-faced by the minute. Anyone who thinks James' dismissal around the time of the station acquisition might've been based on his overeagerness in critiquing TFC? It occured to me Mo didn't look like he was the cricitism as, uh, constructuve.
Then, towards the end of Carver's tenure, we have the incidnet involving Carver wanting to sit in the box. Go back and read the clips: Carver appears convinced, after talking to Mo, that the league won't let him coach from there.
A few days later, MLS releases a statement saying it had nothign to do with it. Then, Mo comes out and clarifies that it was his decision, although by then Carver is already gonzo alonzo.
All of this reeks of Mo being shifty.
It may also be crap. But I've been a student of human nature for a long time, and if you check the clips, the pieces fit.
Having said that, sometimes shifty is good, especially when it comes to player acquisitions, at which Mo is, I'll admit, pretty damn good. And that's most of his job.
My concern is that if he is still involved in the first team, it could be creating a situation where there's intersquad animosity and blame gaming, if certain players are guaranteed roles or other players are being held off the field at Mo's request. A team with that kind of intereference can't develop a system and will lack late -game cohesion and confidence, which is pretty much what we suffer.
I thought it telling that Cummins supposedly "forgot" about Sanyang on Saturday. He comes from a culture where fans would think there was something a little deeper to that, like that fact that Sanyang has had four European scouts after him already and is on an unguaranteed contract. Maybe Mo decided they can't show him this year until he's under new terms.
That kind of interference could also explain why Garcia keeps playing over and over, even though Cummins has publicly criticized his play. I'm not suggesting that grooming Ashley Young makes him Einstein, but the man can't be a total idiot. ANd only a total idiot keeps Garcia out there. Again, Garcia was Mo's teammate and buddy at KC, and Mo's talked about trying to get him here for quite a while.
Or maybe not.
Anyway, most of these ideas have been bandied about already on the forums, but when you chain them together, you get an idea of how front office failures might have contributed to the team's poor performance.
Onto Chris Cummins. Here's a guy who has not coached men's football. He was a youth tech director and briefly a technical director in England. At neither point was he forced under game pressure to make important calls. And based on what I've read, he's never had to coach professional grown men. So he's vastly unqualified. Even in areas where there wasn't interference (maybe even all of them) he may have just wilted under the pressure.
I'd suggest that there's likely more to it than that. He may have been in youth programs but he worked in professional football organizations for a long time before coming here. That couldn't have been pressure free.
It's a shame that this has probably been so bruising on the guy that he wouldn't stick around for a lesser role, such as technical director, where his technique training might best serve the club. But there's no way we could go forward with him as coach, particularly with guys with more MLS experience like Paul Mariner and John Spencer out there.
Lastly, the players. And what a bunch of talented headcases they are.
As fans, we tend to react passionately about the most dramatic moments in a game. But the fact that time management is so important in football , and other smaller, less-tangible factors as well, mean that those moments often weren't really the sole deciding factors.
They do make for good forum fodder. Whereas, suggesting that there's a reason DeRo has wound up benched on some very good MLS teams gets you yelled at.
But it's true. Because he's a ballhog and thinks too highly of his own skills.He's also our best offensive weapon, no doubt. But a) he had the most shots, by far, and he's not a striker; and b) he gave the ball away more than anyone on the team, by insisting on carrying the team and dribbling full speed ahead without even looking around at times.
This isn't the most crippling problem we face. But it's indicative that signing a star player guarantees you're going to play things his way.
A few moons ago, DeRo suggested he could play in La Liga. Then, when we got unsurprisingly thrashed by Madrid, he seemed genuinely embarassed, as if they should've been able to compete.
I think he's a great player to have. But his ego is out of wack. And so are several on this team. Garcia, obviously, thinks he should still be out there and he's just awful, maybe the worst professional centre half I've ever seen. I have absolutely no doubt that 39-ish Rick Titus would've done a better job than Garcia this year.
Jimmy? Never seems perturbed. He's the captain. Why havent' we seen at least Roy Keane-esque moment where he ripped into his teammates to get them moving? Is that why they immediately made Robbo co-captain when he signed, so we'd have someone to do that? If so, he's been out half the season and a step slow the rest, so that wasn't going to work.
Brennan's own mental lapses defensively (he's one of our worst offenders at dropping back too early and pinching in too tight to the box, leaving the sideline free for crosses) also set a bad example.
Serioux is not a team player, because he can't control his temper. He's a fine defender 75% of the time, but he gets caught up in what's bothering him, as evidenced by his red in Seattle and that Beckham incident, and that same tendency leads to foolish passes and lapses.
Attakora is an example of what the entire team should be, as is Cronin: hard workers, team players, constantly busting ass defensively and improving, and thinking quickly coming forward. Both of the Gambians are arrogant about their individual ball skills, but on the whole were almost as confident-yet-humble as Attakora, as was Stefan Frei, until a few bad cross issues later in the season. Plus, they're young enough to be reined in.
Marv Wynne would be in that group on work ethic, but again, he allows arrogance over his speed to get the better of him. His inability to track back surely can't be ignorance: even coaches have mentioned it publicly. So he must be cocksure he can always get back.
And he can. Problem is "getting back" isn't enough to ensure a good cross doesn't come in.
Vitti and Barrett have the same basic problem, despite their differing skill sets: no confidence and a slow release on their shots. Without that confidence, they'll contribute to the team malaise.
Amado is: seriously religious, seriously family values, seriously angry when done wrong. Passionate guys work well when surrounded by a majority of strong characters. But we don't have that. As such, he'll either implode next year or simply move on.
Gerba is a good poacher but again, strikes one as arrogant. He's been in trouble for his physique throughout his career but hasn't changed a thing.
What does that say? He believes he's right, they're wrong. He needs intensity and passion, which will lead to improved off the ball movement.
OB White, it's too early to judge. His skills man-on-man look good, and he's finished a couple of nice ones.
JDG, too early to judge.We haven't seen much from the rest, but that essentially leaves us with two strong characters (Attakora and Cronin), three fairly dependable/occasionally shaky guys (Frei, Gomez, Frei, Sanyang) and one guy, Marv Wynne, who sometimes shows and sometimes blows. Plus, Fellinga and White look decent prospects, as does Ibbe, when he plays.
The rest of our team has a ton of individual skill, but very little to contribute to the TEAM part of the team, the character.
We have strong players with weak character.
Two telling quotes from players over the last week. First was Jim Brennan guaranteeing the playoffs. It may have just been a bold gambit to get his teammates under some pressure, or it may have been overconfidence. Either reflects badly on the team's passion.
Second was Brian Edwards this morning in the star. ""As a group, we're angry. We're hungry now and we're not going to throw in the towel.""
Let's repeat that with the appropriate bolding.
"As a group, we're angry. We're hungry now and we're not going to throw in the towel."
Shouldn't that have come after the Charleston Cup?