He was repeatedly given scouting reports on overseas upgrades. Though the team desperately required reinforcement, no decision was ever made. Winter hadn’t bothered watching the tapes.
He was too busy worrying about lengthy, pre-game video marathons that left players “looking like zombies” as they headed onto the pitch, according to another source.
“Analysis paralysis” is how an observer summed up Winter’s management style.
The losing streak to start the season got Winter headed in the direction of the plank. Ironically, it was their first league win that tipped him off it.
Danny Koevermans came on in the 63rd minute of that game against Philadelphia to score the game’s only goal. It was a cathartic moment of uplift.
As Koevermans came off the pitch, Winter told him he was playing in the reserve game that followed immediately
afterward, generally a proving ground for fringe players.
Richard Eckersley, another marginalized regular who’d appeared as a sub, was also put in the reserve game. The move was perceived teamwide as a gross insult.