Originally Posted by
jloome
NCAA rules need to change. Right now, they can sub in and out whenever, so their players just run constantly at their man mark instead of keeping shape. That's why MLS is so chaotic; no on marks people out of the play, no one moves as a full-field unit. It's just constant pressure; it's why when a team like Man Utd takes a friendly against Seattle seriously, they destroy them. Because a disciplined tactical team will just run the ball around the field until their chicken-with-their-heads-off opponents run out of gas.
It's like dink tennis. It can be hard to beat if you're not playing at a high level. If you are, you just kill them with net play.
I agree with the Italian coaching idea, but it's nothing to do with citizenship: The Italian league has been financially gutted. Combine that with the fact that they've always favored defensive shape and counterattack, and you have teams having to do far more with far less money.
But any league with more limited finances and higher draws is probably a good place to find a coach: Switzerland, Japan, Turkey, Argentina, Brazil.
They key, to me, isn't getting a great tactical coach; Aaron Winter had them moving better than any of his predecessors. It's also being enough of a motivator and disciplinarian that you cut out as many stupid mistakes as possible.
I actually think maybe Vanney just isn't smart enough. There were times when we obviously move the ball with more pace and precision, and when we were concentrating on using our skilled spine, we were a far more dangerous team than when we played wide. ANd yet he made the classic rookie coaching mistake of continually trying to outcouch the other team with adaptive formations instead of small adjustments to their own game and shape. So we lacked cohesion constantly. To me, this is something even a friggin Football Manager fan knows will not work.
Having said that, I don't think Jason Kreis or Mike Petke would be any better. Neither strikes me as both intelligent and dominant enough to control the room. The latter, maybe, but not hte former. That's why they got rid of Petke in NY and brought in Jesse Marsh. They knew Petke was not smart enough to survive without Thierry Henry setting up two-out-of-three goals.
If we can't get a better, experienced coach, then I say we keep Vanney. But I figure his job hangs by the thread of availability and Bez's offseason moves.
To me, the bigger issue now is why Bezbatchenko has a job. The successful player he signed, Giovinco, was already a renowned player. In Bradley, he brought in a player too aggressive and self-confident for a milquetoast like Vanney to handle; in Altidore, he brought in a player who has given up being anything but a hold-up man and poacher, despite his potential. And the less said about his defensive picks, the better. Perhaps the fact that he was a USL defender has given him a false sense of security that he knows a good defender when he sees one.
We need someone who understands not only talent and pedigree, but CONSISTENCY and intelligence, are key to who you sign. Kantari and Perquis were coming off strings of failures, with one crocked and not playing even before he was crocked (Perquis) and the other anchoring one of the worst defenses in the French first division right into relegation. What about that didn't send off alarms?
I've afraid his law degree and glasses have given Bez an aura of "smartest guy in the room" to the folks at MLSE. But it's clear from his haphazard choices that he isn't.
He makes poor decisions and does nothing at all to correct them for the following games. Very inept coaching and should have never been hired in the first place. What worries me most is he could be back next year and even with the addition of a few new players, this team will be fighting for last playoff spot and get run over again if they make the knock-outs. This guy is delusional if he believes he brought the team into their first playoffs, when it was clearly Giovinco's success. Vanney is a cancer to this team.
