... three games into the season, the highest budget in the NASL and the team that is entering the MLS next year could only manage two losses and a scoreless tie. Should we expect any better in the higher league?
It goes farther than that to be honest. I'm not the most experienced coach in the world but even I can see that Dos Santos is not the most effective in his position. Not only is his strategy in both offense and defense flawed, but the players themselves don't seem to listen to him much. Perhaps a change there is necessary.
There's a guy in Montreal, most people are unaware of his existence but he played in the first division in Poland back in the 1960's and 1970's against top players like Lato. He's more certified than pretty much anyone in Canada and could easily turn garbage teams into champions ... the only problem is that his English is bad and his French is non-existent. HE could coach the team to one last Div. 2 championship... but he won't even be given the chance because a coach here needs to be able to speak both English and French just to be considered.
Same story as recent seasons... The impact, man for man, are a better team than any other in the league. On paper and on the field, this is so... they always do a big budget preseason trip and get good results. They're excellent. The problem is that they know it. You even see it in how they describe their early losses. "We deserved at least a point today" MDS said after the first tampa game. Even the coach believes their own hype. They've got the budget, the talent, the infrastructure: everything is in place to be superior. So they start the season all high and mighty because they "deserve" to win. The problem is that all the other teams in the league are busy actually trying their hardest to win. It takes 3-5 games for them to wake up and realize they actually have to put in more effort and concentration than the "worse" teams that are gunning for them. So yeah, expect 1 or two more so-so performances before they wake up and realize that nothing is free. Then they'll win the whole league (or at least get to the semis). It's almost depressing that this is true. Every freakin' year.
And I got yelled at for claiming "hubris" on the Impact. Turns out I was right all along. Have fun in MLS.
Wow, I am utterly shocked and appalled at Montreal's effort this year. They are a good team! They are going to the MLS. However, they are not going to MLS based on performance and statistics and record. They are going because MLS thinks its a good idea and Montreal paid the big $$$$. Montreal's performance this year is horrible. They have already given up on NASL and don't care about performing well. Could you blame them? they are already in MLS and have that mind set. But, if they keep playing like crap like this in the MLS they wiil be embarrassed and annihilated next season on MLS. Atlanta beat you for ********s sake!?... Atlanta was a "Mickey Mouse" team (no offense Atlanta, atleast you are trying!) that was thrown together by Traffic Sports at the last minute so there would be a NASL league this year. Come on Montreal, you should be up at the top of the table with Carolina and Puerto Rico... and Montreal should be dominating! Montreal is in the MLS...start PLAYING LIKE IT!
Don't you think part of the problem is that most of the players realize they won't be going to MLS next year and they're just riding it out this season for the paycheck? I imagine there will be wholesale changes to the Impact squad for 2012. Saputo must be thoroughly disgusted with this group.
On the other hand, the last three D2 teams to make the jump all brought a decent number of players along with them. Unless Saputo is doing things oddly, working like they give a shit should be the absolute best way for the guys on the current Impact squad to find their way onto a nominally higher-level roster.
I hope that's not the case. It will only ensure that their only options for next year will be USL Pro, USLMISL (or whatever they're going to call it), or PASL-Pro, if that. If other NASL teams perceive them to be slackers, they won't touch them with a ten-foot pole.
No need to re-invent the wheel... it does take time and a lot stronger youth component then what is currently transpiring in Quebec. They should be sucking in the surrounding 100 miles best kids U-8 and up at at a real academy learning upper level ball using licensed coaching. Kids fighting for spots on the A team. Something to earn. I'd love to send our kid up there if there was a comprehensive program (u-13) and not just a day camp. Red Bull has a good structure, but not all the other MLS teams do. Montreal can get started and be at par with MLS if they more seriously start effort in recruiting a host of great coaches and sending the best ones to teach the youngest players. The Sapputoes seem very generous, but ,,,,You can't buy your way out of mediocrity unless your a sheik. On the other hand recruiting Europeans to Montreal should be easier then getting some one to move out to Salt Lake. New Yorks the only town nearly as nice as Montreal. Kudoes on the MLS deal!!
Seattle took a whopping 4 players. Only one of which got real playing time, then he was exposed in the expansion draft and is now in Philly. I haven't checked the Portland/Vancouver rosters, but I wouldn't consider "4" to be a "decent number".
Seattle took six, by my count (Graham, Le Toux, Levesque, Nyassi, Dragavon, Eylander), but you're right about the playing time. The other teams took more - nine for Portland, thirteen for Vancouver - but, again, they aren't all starters. If Montreal follows their lead, this year's starting eleven is next year's bench. And if their bench does this badly at their current level, then next year's roster will be sorely lacking in depth. EDIT: Also, I can't but think that what the Impact really needs is a new coach. If Saputo can't get results in a league with no salary cap where he can afford to out-spend most of the opposition, and it's because despite having some solid players on the roster they're playing like nobody's tried to motivate them, well, there's a guy whose job is to do exactly that, isn't there? (This is also my feeling about the USMNT right now - the problem doesn't come from Bradley, but he's the guy whose job it is to solve it and he isn't up to the task.)
Not to mention they finished 6th in USL-1 the year before they made the jump and lost in the quarter-finals..
