Ives: Preki to Chicago likely

[Oldtimer]

From Ives' live chat:


I was planning to tweet it, but I'll say it here. I'd bet a pretty penny that Preki is coaching the Chicago Fire when the 2011 MLS season begins. You heard it here first. http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2010/09/sbi-live-qa-sept-16th-edition.html#more

One more reason for "us Canadians" to dislike the Fire?

[menefreghista]

I hope this happens. This way he can ruin some other MLS team.

[wzhxvy]

Freddie is leaving Chicago then I presume

[JonO]

Freddie is leaving Chicago then I presume
Ha! you beat me to it

[tfcleeds]

Hope we piss out the Fire...

[Pachuco]

Oh my god, please say it is so. Preki going to a conference rival. I'm loving it. Garcia, Peterson and the rest of you guys get ready to put on a Chicago jersey soon enough. Man this is the best news we could have heard.

[tfcleeds]

This would be the first time a former manager faced us as well...

[DangerRed]

Oh my god, please say it is so. Preki going to a conference rival. I'm loving it. Garcia, Peterson and the rest of you guys get ready to put on a Chicago jersey soon enough. Man this is the best news we could have heard.

It'd be awesome to have our loser bunch follow Preki, but that ain't happening. They're not about to blow up their payroll so that Preks can have his goof troop join him in Chicago.

Garcia is just done. Period. Nowhere else to go.

[Roogsy]

And when Preki doesn't get to blow up the Fire and rebuild every little piece he wants and the team tanks, then he can complain that ownership didn't give him what he needed to succeed.

I also hope it happens. But only if TFC get their act together.

[scooterTFC]

Am I crazy for thinking that he could do pretty well with that team.

[Roogsy]

At the beginning...sure...then his act will tire out. He is the Mike Keenan of soccer, except with an even shorter lifespan and even less success.

[wzhxvy]

I hope this means that MLSE will not have to pay out the rest of his contract as they will surely have to do with Mo (brilliant move Anselmi you business genius you)...and hopefully they will use the money (and a lot more) to get us a proper manager and coach.

[ensco]

Listen, let's be honest. Everyone knows our FO has been a circus. Washing out here in 7 months is not going to hurt Preki that much. Kreis is right - whatever you think of him, Preki never got a fair chance here.

Personally, I think he's going to DCU. They wanted him last year.

[pekduck]

Listen, let's be honest. Everyone knows our FO has been a circus. Washing out here in 7 months is not going to hurt Preki that much. Kreis is right - whatever you think of him, Preki never got a fair chance here.

Personally, I think he's going to DCU. They wanted him last year.

so are some of the DCU fans are speculating now

[dclaro]

preki versus ljunberg, that should be interesting too watch

[JonO]

whatever you think of him, Preki never got a fair chance here.
Can't argue with that, but unfortunately for him the circumstance dictated he leave. Such is life as a coach I guess...

[ensco]

Can't argue with that, but unfortunately for him the circumstance dictated he leave. Such is life as a coach I guess...

Yup. He didn't do his homework before he took the TFC job.

[ExiledRed]

Listen, let's be honest. Everyone knows our FO has been a circus. Washing out here in 7 months is not going to hurt Preki that much. Kreis is right - whatever you think of him, Preki never got a fair chance here.

Personally, I think he's going to DCU. They wanted him last year.

Which basically means that Kreis will never come to TO to coach, and he's definitely not the only one who'll be viewing coaching prospects in this organisation as dismal to poor.

No coach wants to take on a team if it means theyre going to get mauled by the fans and then thrown under the bus by the FO, when the real issues go undiscussed and get covered up.

I doubt that there is a long line up of willing, experienced professional coaches, capable of turning our fortunes around in MLS. Preki's treatment, has ensured that line just got shorter.

I'd want a lot of money to come here (money i can retire on). 5 coaches in less than 4 complete seasons, not one coach has been given a fair shot, they've all left unamicably, theyve all been derided by the fans and they've all left a mess behind them.

Preki wasnt that bad, he's been better than Mo, Carver and Cummins hands down. Like kdot said, he took all the shit out of the carver/cummins shitsoup but that doesnt mean the soup wont taste like shit anymore.

Bad form not to let Preki complete the season, and ridiculously timed. Preki might have gotten us out of the group stages, and we will never know. What we do know is that it will take a small miracle for Daso to accomplish this now. We had a slim chance and Preki's dismissal has quashed it.

I dont expect a decent coach next year, unless of course serious cash, and the kind of deal Bill Shankly had with Liverpool's board, and Fergie has with Glazer (Dont fucking interfere, or try to influence signings based on your perception of the fans wishes) is on the table.

[Beach_Red]

^ TO will probably be Ron Wilson's last stop as a coach and the Raptors haven't exactly been a great place for coaches.

Not doing his homework may the key to getting a good coach in here.

[Oldtimer]

Ives is so well connected with the MLS FO, I would suggest that the DC possibility is passed, and that Chicago is indeed where he is going to go.

[DichioTFC]

As soon as Preki was released, Fire fans pretty much *knew* he was going to be their next coach. I would be surprised if Preki went anywhere else.

But from what I hear, Houston fans are not happy with their coach and wouldn't mind a Preki coaching their squad.

Is there any one man with a reputation that is bigger, and less justified, than Preki?

[backbeat]

Which basically means that Kreis will never come to TO to coach, and he's definitely not the only one who'll be viewing coaching prospects in this organisation as dismal to poor.

No coach wants to take on a team if it means theyre going to get mauled by the fans and then thrown under the bus by the FO, when the real issues go undiscussed and get covered up.

I doubt that there is a long line up of willing, experienced professional coaches, capable of turning our fortunes around in MLS. Preki's treatment, has ensured that line just got shorter.

I'd want a lot of money to come here (money i can retire on). 5 coaches in less than 4 complete seasons, not one coach has been given a fair shot, they've all left unamicably, theyve all been derided by the fans and they've all left a mess behind them.

Preki wasnt that bad, he's been better than Mo, Carver and Cummins hands down. Like kdot said, he took all the shit out of the carver/cummins shitsoup but that doesnt mean the soup wont taste like shit anymore.

Bad form not to let Preki complete the season, and ridiculously timed. Preki might have gotten us out of the group stages, and we will never know. What we do know is that it will take a small miracle for Daso to accomplish this now. We had a slim chance and Preki's dismissal has quashed it.

I dont expect a decent coach next year, unless of course serious cash, and the kind of deal Bill Shankly had with Liverpool's board, and Fergie has with Glazer (Dont fucking interfere, or try to influence signings based on your perception of the fans wishes) is on the table.


i think the turnover can be easily explained as having too much patients in our director of soccer who was the one who turned the coaches over so fast - not the FO. they were too patient. I don't think this will be hard to sell to anyone looking. If fact I think they can show that they actually give people lots of time to develop. Rather they got rid of the one who was impatient.

as for Preki potentially getting us through the group stages, i don't think so he totally blew it imo in Panama - we should have had at least a result if not 3 but he started a 'B' team.

I think the FO this time was right to move both MO and Preki now and leave a clean house for the next manager/director

[Kevvv]

Ives is so well connected with the MLS FO, I would suggest that the DC possibility is passed, and that Chicago is indeed where he is going to go.


He has a kid in Uni in Chicago, so it's the logical choice

[JonO]

Which basically means that Kreis will never come to TO to coach, and he's definitely not the only one who'll be viewing coaching prospects in this organisation as dismal to poor.

No coach wants to take on a team if it means theyre going to get mauled by the fans and then thrown under the bus by the FO, when the real issues go undiscussed and get covered up.
As I said in my previous post, Preki is a victim of circumstance. Mo was let go and to make sure we could attract a GM worth anything he had to have a relatively clean slate to work with. Should we have kept Preki until the end of the season? Certainly debatable, but I think most coaches will understand what was done.

In fact, anyone coming in now should realize they will have a lot more room to err than Preki did, given Mo's position this year...

[TFCREDNWHITE]

Well Chicago is basically blown up anyways...Mcbride is retiring and Most likely Ljunberg is also...Ljunberg keeps complaining about his knee...

[ag futbol]

^ Probably .... But those two guys aren't the biggest part of the team right now, they have a pretty talented roster with Nyarko, Conde, and Pappa probably being the most important parts.

This seems like the anti-thesis of the type of place where he could do well. I hope he goes there, we can pick up the best parts of their team for pennies on the dollar and he can have his guys back.

[Shakes McQueen]

And when Preki doesn't get to blow up the Fire and rebuild every little piece he wants and the team tanks, then he can complain that ownership didn't give him what he needed to succeed.

I also hope it happens. But only if TFC get their act together.

Likewise, if he has success with Chicago, I look forward to a bunch of posts saying that he just rode a good team built by someone else, to success.

People will continue to see what they want to see, and the world will keep on turning.

- Scott

[Yohan]

But from what I hear, Houston fans are not happy with their coach and wouldn't mind a Preki coaching their squad.

If Houston doesn't Kinnear, we'll take him! :D

[zamperina]

I was listening to the FAN590 with McCown and friends where they interviewed Anselmi after the firings that afternoon. The question was asked if Anselmi got any e-mails of any new propective GM/Coaches and he replied that his inbox was full. I also got the impression that they would again lean on MLS for there help in finding a successor (ala MOJO)

[Section 117]

Likewise, if he has success with Chicago, I look forward to a bunch of posts saying that he just rode a good team built by someone else, to success.

People will continue to see what they want to see, and the world will keep on turning.

- Scott

Scott. Question for you, have you seen Preki's complete body of work as a coach? When he took over Chivas and one coach of the year it was basically Bob Bradley's team that he inherited. As he exerted his control over team year after year the results started to slide down hill. Is that a coincidence or proof that he can't be trusted to build a squad? I don't think Preki is a horrible coach, he IMO can't coach in a town where people actually give a shit as no fan who enjoys and loves their team will settle for this shit he calls soccer.

[maninb]

Good riddance......and as far as Garcia is concerned...Preki would take him in a second...perhaps not as a player but as an asst coach....those 2 are best buds....and I think they don't have a good football brain between them...

[supersaint]

Am I crazy for thinking that he could do pretty well with that team.
dunno....you might be

[Ossington Mental Youth]

i kinda feel like hes going to do well there, i guess we will see

[Shakes McQueen]

Scott. Question for you, have you seen Preki's complete body of work as a coach? When he took over Chivas and one coach of the year it was basically Bob Bradley's team that he inherited. As he exerted his control over team year after year the results started to slide down hill. Is that a coincidence or proof that he can't be trusted to build a squad? I don't think Preki is a horrible coach, he IMO can't coach in a town where people actually give a shit as no fan who enjoys and loves their team will settle for this shit he calls soccer.

This is all irrelevant to the point I was making. People see what they want to see. If he goes to Chicago and they subsequently suck, people will explain how that justifies their beliefs about him. If he has success, people will explain how that success was not his doing. He literally will not, and cannot win this.

- Scott

[v00d00daddy]

Scott. Question for you, have you seen Preki's complete body of work as a coach? When he took over Chivas and one coach of the year it was basically Bob Bradley's team that he inherited. As he exerted his control over team year after year the results started to slide down hill. Is that a coincidence or proof that he can't be trusted to build a squad? I don't think Preki is a horrible coach, he IMO can't coach in a town where people actually give a shit as no fan who enjoys and loves their team will settle for this shit he calls soccer.

If Preki is so bad then why didn't Chivas implode when he inherited the team? Why didn't they shit the bed when he employed his "negative" tactics?

We fired a coach that:

a) knows this league very well
b) has succeeded in this league (even if it is only a couple of playoff appearances...we'd take it)
c) was given 3/4 of one season to take one of the worst teams in the league last year and turn it around.
d) is likely going to land a coaching job with another team in MLS and may, in fact, be in high demand right now.

But of course....because you're a fan who loves this team (whatever the fuck that means) you won't settle for this "shit he calls soccer".

Give me a fucking break. You don't like his style? Fine. Not impressed with the results? Fine.

But please don't try and say he was given a fair shot at succeeding here. Because he wasn't.

We are NOT better off for the remainder of this season with Preki gone. Just my opinion of course.

[JonO]

But please don't try and say he was given a fair shot at succeeding here. Because he wasn't.
Not sure where anyone has said this... A lot of people didn't like him and are happy he is gone. As ensco said in another thread, Preki didn't do his homework before signing with us. Either that or he knew that he had only one shot to crack the playoffs and thought he could do it. Either way, it is what it is. Welcome to professional sports....

[v00d00daddy]

Not sure where anyone has said this... A lot of people didn't like him and are happy he is gone. As ensco said in another thread, Preki didn't do his homework before signing with us. Either that or he knew that he had only one shot to crack the playoffs and thought he could do it. Either way, it is what it is. Welcome to professional sports....

Well, doesn't being happy that he's gone imply that one thinks that he had his fair chance?

Or are there people that think he wasn't given a fair shot but they're happy he's gone anyway?

[J .]

Preki thought he was going to have time to build the squad here. Like was done in RSL with Kreis. Hopefully he will get that chance in Chicago.

Whatever you guys think, he turned a team without talent and one star (no super stars) at the beginning of the year into a solid squad.

Its crazy people will not blame Mista, DeRo, Obw, Labrocca, for not scoring goals, realizing without Barrett our offense was nothing and Santos got injured but showed potential for the team...

Yeah its Prekis fault our top two strikers got hurt, that Mista is liability, that OBW is useless, that Labrocca is doing nothing creatively etc.

Definately Prekis fault our offensive minded players didnt score. Yup. All Prekis.

I hope you guys enjoy watching wave after wave of opposing teams running at our backline. Thats not football. Thats bullshit.

Good times.

[J .]

Good riddance......and as far as Garcia is concerned...Preki would take him in a second...perhaps not as a player but as an asst coach....those 2 are best buds....and I think they don't have a good football brain between them...


Garcia isnt the one who hasnt scored in in months, DeRo is.

Garcia isnt the one who is a DP and hasnt scored. Mista is.

Garcia isnt the one who is a DP but get bossed by guys making nothing. JDG is.

Garcia isnt the top rated drafted striker and shit the bed every time hes out there. OBW is.

Buddy, Garcia is shit, but Garcia isnt the one who cost us the playoffs. Those clowns above are.

But yeah, dont blame the players who havent scored in months. Definately not their fault. Had to be Prekis. But wait we were scoring earlier... Naw still the coach.

Dont blame the players, give them oranges at half and whip Garcia more.

Unoriginal and untrue.

[ag futbol]

Buddy, Garcia is shit, but Garcia isnt the one who cost us the playoffs. Those clowns above are.

But yeah, dont blame the players who havent scored in months. Definately not their fault. Had to be Prekis. But wait we were scoring earlier... Naw still the coach.

Did it not comically hit you in the face how much better RSL was than us across the field Wednesday? Other than Frei we do not have one player who plays their position better than the opposing teams number.

This isn't basketball, one guy isn't going to score all the goals and do everything without the support of a strong system. Replace JDG and Dero with any two players of your choice, this team will still suck.

[Pookie]

This isn't basketball, one guy isn't going to score all the goals and do everything without the support of a strong system. Replace JDG and Dero with any two players of your choice, this team will still suck.

For DeRoasrio's 400k salary you could replace him with 2 very serviceable players ($200k each)

For JDG's 400k cap hit and $1.7M salary, you could presumably scrap the DP idea altogether and find another 2 very serviceable players ($200k).

You could also replace DeGuzman with a player whose market value is $1.7M (as for the type of player available at that salary, consider Angel is at $1.6M, Ljundberg $1.3M, Donovan is $2M, Castillo is $1.4M)

3-4 new players, assuming we have a decent scouting group to identify them, could in fact make a difference.

[ag futbol]

That's my point Pookie, we need more talent across the field.

Two guys is not enough. But RBNY manages to field a talented roster while using three DP slots. LA does the same with two (one of which hasn't played all year). So i don't think paying someone over 200k is necessarily a determent to your team.

[J .]

Did it not comically hit you in the face how much better RSL was than us across the field Wednesday? Other than Frei we do not have one player who plays their position better than the opposing teams number.

This isn't basketball, one guy isn't going to score all the goals and do everything without the support of a strong system. Replace JDG and Dero with any two players of your choice, this team will still suck.

Our best players in two months havent performed.

The end.

[ag futbol]

Our best players in two months havent performed.

The end.
Team sport, the team sucks. I hope you're saying that everyone on this team is bad, as opposed to the idea that two new guys in JDG and Dero's spots would somehow make us good. The first one, I can almost agree with. I wouldn't be disheartened if we showed up next year with no Dero or JDG, providing we have some adequate replacements. A couple guys cannot make you successful if everything surrounding them is bad.

Look at RBNY. Everyone shit on Richards last year for under-performing and criticized angel for disappearing for large chunks of the season + scoring nothing but penalties others earned. One year later, surrounded by a few extra guys like Lindpere and Tim Ream + with a coach that actually knows the game, they look much better. They were winning well before Henry and Marquez showed up, that just makes them scary.

I just think people hold too tightly onto a lot players on this team that have very little to offer. Ok, we replace JDG and Dero (fine with that) who realistically has enough quality to start?

Frei - for sure
Cann & Nana - I'd take one.. neither can pass well and they are both physical. We need the other CB to balance them out.
Gargan - maybe....

That's it... we have nobody else who is a suitable starter. And that will always be a problem regardless of who's playing JDG and Dero's spots.

[TFCRegina]

For DeRoasrio's 400k salary you could replace him with 2 very serviceable players ($200k each)

For JDG's 400k cap hit and $1.7M salary, you could presumably scrap the DP idea altogether and find another 2 very serviceable players ($200k).

You could also replace DeGuzman with a player whose market value is $1.7M (as for the type of player available at that salary, consider Angel is at $1.6M, Ljundberg $1.3M, Donovan is $2M, Castillo is $1.4M)

3-4 new players, assuming we have a decent scouting group to identify them, could in fact make a difference.

Alternatively, you could not pay two eastern european piles of poo in excess of 100,000 dollars each. Give our centre-halfs raises, and start searching for replacement left and right backs. Also, Robbo's salary (or a significant chunk) still counts against us, we have Garcia making a lot of cash (bad as he's been at times, he's still better than Uselessnov and Hscanovic) and he'll be retiring soon. Unfortunately, TFC is the victim of a manager who couldn't deal with a salary cap and grossly overpaid players who should have been bench players at the best of times.

Once the salary problems are flushed down the toilet, the next Director of Soccer is going to have the tools they need to rebuild the team. The problem is we need to find someone who can clean things up properly.

We can afford to pay De Ro and De Guz big money, but we can't afford to pay bench players a hundred thousand a year.

Alternatively, we can't be paying starting guys like Attakora a mere 40,000 a year, because they'll want to get the hell out of dodge for better pay.

The team has a backwards salary structure and things really need to be rebalanced, but canning De Ro isn't going to help anything, because he's underpaid relative to what he has produced this season.

[Roogsy]

Team sport, the team sucks. I hope you're saying that everyone on this team is bad, as opposed to the idea that two new guys in JDG and Dero's spots would somehow make us good. The first one, I can almost agree with. I wouldn't be disheartened if we showed up next year with no Dero or JDG, providing we have some adequate replacements. A couple guys cannot make you successful if everything surrounding them is bad.

Look at RBNY. Everyone shit on Richards last year for under-performing and criticized angel for disappearing for large chunks of the season + scoring nothing but penalties others earned. One year later, surrounded by a few extra guys like Lindpere and Tim Ream + with a coach that actually knows the game, they look much better. They were winning well before Henry and Marquez showed up, that just makes them scary.

I just think people hold too tightly onto a lot players on this team that have very little to offer. Ok, we replace JDG and Dero (fine with that) who realistically has enough quality to start?

Frei - for sure
Cann & Nana - I'd take one.. neither can pass well and they are both physical. We need the other CB to balance them out.
Gargan - maybe....

That's it... we have nobody else who is a suitable starter. And that will always be a problem regardless of who's playing JDG and Dero's spots.



THIS! OMG THIS!!!

It's like fans have blinders on or something. I can't believe people really believe the team needed to be blown up the way Preki did at the beginning of the year. He practically fielded a brand new team except for 3 or 4 players and STILL didn't perform and we're going to blame the players that were leftover? So hilarious.

A GOOD coach would have been able to take last year's team, make some small changes at some crucial positions, installed a successful system and then achieved results. The fact that Preki felt he had to blow the team up, filled the team with his talentless hacks and then still failed is NOT proof that he wasn't given a chance, it's proof he is a poor coach!

Blaming DeRo for not scoring? How about blaming the coach for not installing a system that would help ANYONE on the team score? If Buddle showed us anything it's that even a mediocre striker can score in this league. Buddle sucked here under Johnsons magnificent tutelage and went to play for a REAL coach and shined. DeRo has proven to score in this league on a regular basis and struggled on THIS team. Is it the player or the coaching? The proof is widely available, but people choose to see what they want to see. Mista has more talent in his little thumb than almost any player on this team and he struggled. JDG has played and had success against the BEST players in the world and he can't find his place on this team. Really? It's the players? That's what we are concluding? Remind me never to recommend anyone on this board for any analytical position openings in my firm...

[Thrillos]

THIS! OMG THIS!!!

It's like fans have blinders on or something. I can't believe people really believe the team needed to be blown up the way Preki did at the beginning of the year. He practically fielded a brand new team except for 3 or 4 players and STILL didn't perform and we're going to blame the players that were leftover? So hilarious.

A GOOD coach would have been able to take last year's team, make some small changes at some crucial positions, installed a successful system and then achieved results. The fact that Preki felt he had to blow the team up, filled the team with his talentless hacks and then still failed is NOT proof that he wasn't given a chance, it's proof he is a poor coach!

Blaming DeRo for not scoring? How about blaming the coach for not installing a system that would help ANYONE on the team score? If Buddle showed us anything it's that even a mediocre striker can score in this league. Buddle sucked here under Johnsons magnificent tutelage and went to play for a REAL coach and shined. DeRo has proven to score in this league on a regular basis and struggled on THIS team. Is it the player or the coaching? The proof is widely available, but people choose to see what they want to see. Mista has more talent in his little thumb than almost any player on this team and he struggled. JDG has played and had success against the BEST players in the world and he can't find his place on this team. Really? It's the players? That's what we are concluding? Remind me never to recommend anyone on this board for any analytical position openings in my firm...

Couldn't agree more, there is a reason why the coach is the one to go. Even top coach's for top teams go in and make a few changes. Because they know starting over with a whole new team takes time to build chemistry and flow with players who have never played with each other. Hence our great opening few games this season.

J. no offense but your thoughts on garcia not being the problem and everyone else is pretty far off, in my opinion. Garcia has cost us many goals this season, a few that were the goal that beat us in yet one of the many 1-0 games. The reason for us not scoring is that our players were restricted from moving out of our own fucking half.

Listen to Peterson's pre-game interview on tfc tv. Like he says preki had told him to stay central to the field, when he is a winger playing as a winger!!!! that is disgusting tactics and his width was the reason we were playing so well in the first half against RSL.

I guarantee tonight we will see a much better TFC, a more free flowing TFC, a more wide playing and counter attacking TFC, and a much more attractive style of football from TFC tonight.

[J .]

THIS! OMG THIS!!!

Remind me never to recommend anyone on this board for any analytical position openings in my firm...

Must be nice to work in a place where you never have to accept responsibility for your actions.

[J .]

Couldn't agree more, there is a reason why the coach is the one to go. Even top coach's for top teams go in and make a few changes. Because they know starting over with a whole new team takes time to build chemistry and flow with players who have never played with each other. Hence our great opening few games this season.

J. no offense but your thoughts on garcia not being the problem and everyone else is pretty far off, in my opinion. Garcia has cost us many goals this season, a few that were the goal that beat us in yet one of the many 1-0 games. The reason for us not scoring is that our players were restricted from moving out of our own fucking half.

Listen to Peterson's pre-game interview on tfc tv. Like he says preki had told him to stay central to the field, when he is a winger playing as a winger!!!! that is disgusting tactics and his width was the reason we were playing so well in the first half against RSL.

I guarantee tonight we will see a much better TFC, a more free flowing TFC, a more wide playing and counter attacking TFC, and a much more attractive style of football from TFC tonight.


Im not saying Garcia isnt a problem, he has to move on. But he isnt the guy tasked with scoring. JDG, DeRo, Mista and OBW were while Santos and Barrett were hurt. Aside from NYRB which was a blow up, every game was 0-0, 1-0....

The players scored before, but all of a sudden it was the "system" not them.

Easy excuse and thats what it is, an excuse.

In this league, you need your best players, to do their jobs game in and game out.

[Thrillos]

Maybe the reason we were scoring before was because Dero was doing what he wanted to do, by not following preki's system so perfectly, and maybe the locker room blow up was when Preki told Dero to do what he was told to do. Purely speculation, but from my experience I would say when a player stops scoring, its the player who is not in form. When the team stops scoring, its the manager who is not in form.....

[J .]

Maybe the reason we were scoring before was because Dero was doing what he wanted to do, by not following preki's system so perfectly, and maybe the locker room blow up was when Preki told Dero to do what he was told to do. Purely speculation, but from my experience I would say when a player stops scoring, its the player who is not in form. When the team stops scoring, its the manager who is not in form.....

How about our offense made DeRo the center piece and had been given a lot of leeway in an attacking role or how about Mista/OBW/Peterson/LaBrocca/JDG etc not supporting?

The goals falls on our attacking players who have failed. Our defense was just as good aside from one game. Our attacking players were happy when they were producing, but they started to falter and instead of elevating their play, they blamed other people.

[Thrillos]

Our defense was great because our wingers weren't allowed to move out of our own half on the counter attack, I think you should reserve the comments on the players not doing there job until we see a couple games under a new coach that wants the players to use the width and explore the space of the field.

Which also I think alot of our opponents realized that our only play was to stick to the middle of the field, therefore our opponents just clogged up the middle of the field, thus inhibiting any counter attack.

[Roogsy]

Must be nice to work in a place where you never have to accept responsibility for your actions.


:lol:

Considering professional firms like mine compensate SOLELY based on performance...this statement is incredibly ironic. Don't blame me if your argument falls flat in the face of logic.

[Roogsy]

Our defense was great because our wingers weren't allowed to move out of our own half on the counter attack, I think you should reserve the comments on the players not doing there job until we see a couple games under a new coach that wants the players to use the width and explore the space of the field.

Which also I think alot of our opponents realized that our only play was to stick to the middle of the field, therefore our opponents just clogged up the middle of the field, thus inhibiting any counter attack.


This, this, this!!!

People seem to think Preki was some sort of defensive genius. He wasn't. He got defensive results because he insisted on keeping offensive players in defensive assignments and then scratched his head why his offensive players weren't scoring...and some of you guys here are wondering the same. It isn't rocket science.

[ag futbol]

J
The players scored before, but all of a sudden it was the "system" not them.

We've gone through the same pattern every year as a club:

phase 1: duff some games while a team that was put together way too late in the off season gets organized

phaze 2: team gells, things start to work out, TFC gets some good results

phase 3: (answer to your question above) teams start to scout *new* TFC, they look at what we're good at and what were not. The ones with a clue take steps to minimize the things we do well and try to exploit the ones we do poorly. Team starts to struggle and we all go ape shit.

The only way we get past the third part is if 1) This team actually acquires enough talent it becomes more difficult to exploit 2) the manager finds new ways to tactically adapt to what other teams are trying to do to us. Preki to this point was an epic failure. There's a reason why Dero is surrounded by three guys every game going forward and OBW is left by himself. There's also a reason why all our wing backs from Gargan to Garcia to Usanov get tested every game.

Being cowardly and losing 1-0 every game is not progress unless there is improvement down the road, and by my best guess (and MLSE's) there was going to be none. He wasn't developing young players, he wasn't adapting to the way other teams were playing us, and he certainly sucked balls at identifying talent and bringing it into the team.

If MLSE even gets the GM / coach decision half right we will forget this guy existed as fast as his time here went by.

[Thrillos]

^

Couldn't agree more

[Roogsy]

We've gone through the same pattern every year as a club:

phase 1: duff some games while a team that was put together way too late in the off season gets organized

phaze 2: team gells, things start to work out, TFC gets some good results

phase 3: (answer to your question above) teams start to scout *new* TFC, they look at what we're good at and what were not. The ones with a clue take steps to minimize the things we do well and try to exploit the ones we do poorly. Team starts to struggle and we all go ape shit.

The only way we get past the third part is if 1) This team actually acquires enough talent it becomes more difficult to exploit 2) the manager finds new ways to tactically adapt to what other teams are trying to do to us. Preki to this point was an epic failure. There's a reason why Dero is surrounded by three guys every game going forward and OBW is left by himself. There's also a reason why all our wing backs from Gargan to Garcia to Usanov get tested every game.

Being cowardly and losing 1-0 every game is not progress unless there is improvement down the road, and by my best guess (and MLSE's) there was going to be none. He wasn't developing young players, he wasn't adapting to the way other teams were playing us, and he certainly sucked balls at identifying talent and bringing it into the team.

If MLSE even gets the GM / coach decision half right we will forget this guy existed as fast as his time here went by.

QFFT...

[twistedchinaman]

Ha! you beat me to it

You can also add Nery Castillo to that mix too...

EDIT: And oh yeah...don't expect Fat Blanco to return either.

[twistedchinaman]

If Houston doesn't Kinnear, we'll take him! :D

Dude, no more with the Brits! Seriously...this means no Nicol, no Kinnear, etc.

[Oldtimer]

Dude, no more with the Brits! Seriously...this means no Nicol, no Kinnear, etc.

What does nationality have to do with it?

[ExiledRed]

Dude, no more with the Brits! Seriously...this means no Nicol, no Kinnear, etc.

Nicol would be the best thing that could possibly happen to this team.

One of the most decorated players in english football history and also one of the most respected MLS coaches with a track record that is the envy of the league?

Oh I forgot that he's Scottish, so he must be crap like Mo Johnston.

Dude, if I assumed you drive like a blind man because of your nationality what would you think of me?

[Wull]

he played for that shower so that's enough for me not to want him

[Juanito]

Nicol would be the best thing that could possibly happen to this team.

One of the most decorated players in english football history and also one of the most respected MLS coaches with a track record that is the envy of the league?

Oh I forgot that he's Scottish, so he must be crap like Mo Johnston.

Dude, if I assumed you drive like a blind man because of your nationality what would you think of me?

I would LOVE Nicol! He's my number one choice. Not sure he'd come here unless he is given assurances that he has COMPLETE control though.

[maninb]

His BIGGEST mistake(s) IMO was getting rid of your best CURRENT leader, Robbo...and best FUTURE leader, Cronin...

[Beach_Red]

Nicol would be the best thing that could possibly happen to this team.

One of the most decorated players in english football history and also one of the most respected MLS coaches with a track record that is the envy of the league?




But this is MLSE we're talking about so it will depend what kind of a sales job his agent gives him. Will MLSE see him as a guy who took an underfunded NE team to the MLS Cup four times (which would mean thinking negatively about Kraft) or will they see him as a guy who lost four Cup games?

Will they look past NE's diminishing points totals over the last four years and will they look past the fact that NE will likely finish worse than TFC this year?

It's really hard to see how these guys evaluate talent.

[rocker]

Will they look past NE's diminishing points totals over the last four years and will they look past the fact that NE will likely finish worse than TFC this year?

It's really hard to see how these guys evaluate talent.

So what would you do? Go with Nicol even though his biggest successes were in an earlier, smaller MLS? Even though he's only coached 1 MLS team and hasn't repeated the success elsewhere? His teams have declined considerably the past few seasons.

Is Nicol just in a bit of a funk? I don't think he's a slam dunk.

Now, if we were talking Sigi or Bruce, I'd say those guys are slam dunks -- had success recently and with different clubs over the course of their careers. But there aren't many guys like that around.

It'd be interesting to do what the shite bulls did and get somebody from Europe. In the past you always wanted an MLS experienced coach because of the strange nature of MLS. But with the opening up of the DP rule, I wonder if things are really that different anymore. If you can sign Angel, Henry, and Marquez, any good coach can deal with those good players and add some MLS-regular filler.

[JonO]

^ Nicol is still widely regarded as one of the top coaches in the league - even with the position NE is in this year. I'm not familiar enough with the situation in NE to know why their on field talent is so weak though...

[ArmenJBX]

^ Nicol is still widely regarded as one of the top coaches in the league - even with the position NE is in this year. I'm not familiar enough with the situation in NE to know why their on field talent is so weak though...

No Twellman and a couple crucial players retiring/being traded. Basically they're rebuilding this year.

[TFC07]

What does nationality have to do with it?


Nicol would be the best thing that could possibly happen to this team.

One of the most decorated players in english football history and also one of the most respected MLS coaches with a track record that is the envy of the league?

Oh I forgot that he's Scottish, so he must be crap like Mo Johnston.

Dude, if I assumed you drive like a blind man because of your nationality what would you think of me?

I think he was just joking! lol

Anyway, I get the feeling MLSE is looking in Europe to get their next GM/director of soccer (whatever that suppose to mean) who will then hire his own coach (probably a foreign coach).

[Beach_Red]

So what would you do? Go with Nicol even though his biggest successes were in an earlier, smaller MLS? Even though he's only coached 1 MLS team and hasn't repeated the success elsewhere? His teams have declined considerably the past few seasons.




You're rikght, I wouldn't hire Nicol. But maybe the guy I hire would hire him.

If I'm MLSE I go out and find a guy recently, or close to, retirement from a big club (I don't care which continent). A guy who has been in upper management for years and accomplished pretty much everything he could. I look for a guy whose kids are grown and who doesn't have an agent of his own who's not actively scrambing for work. He could just as soon not work and it won't affect his life. And then I give him a few million dollars and five years as the "President of Soccer," and he can hire who he wants.

Pretty much what the Florida Panthers did as an expansion team with Bill Torrey and got themselves into the Stanley Cup finals a few years later.

[ag futbol]

Gotta go outside of the box.

If we blew this up just to get an average MLS candidate with no oversight, this thing will be diving back into the ground faster than a arabe unido player.

Round out the staff with real experienced people. Director of football, GM, and coach. Checklist should include: knowledge of MLS feeders, limited budgets, and some kind of track record of success. Put maybe one experienced MLS guy in the mix but we need somebody foreign and quality as well.

The time is right for outside managers to make their mark in MLS. We shouldn't settle for some half-assed solution.

[twistedchinaman]

Nicol would be the best thing that could possibly happen to this team.

One of the most decorated players in english football history and also one of the most respected MLS coaches with a track record that is the envy of the league?

Oh I forgot that he's Scottish, so he must be crap like Mo Johnston.

Dude, if I assumed you drive like a blind man because of your nationality what would you think of me?

Oy vey...

I meant in terms of STYLE. Nicol IMO coaches in the BRITISH STYLE in to what appears to me as an increasingly LATIN AMERICAN league. Is that really a good idea to go back into the same vein?

Come on man, give me more credit than that.