At least The Special One would have not the slightest bit of problem making necessary tactical changes. Hopefully Bruce will take notes on coaching tactics during the RM game (assuming he is still coach then...). But to be honest, getting Mourinho to the MLS would be akin to asking Messi to join a pub team, it's just not going to happen.
In all honesty, Ruud has been a disappointing coach overall. He's a prime example of the fact that being a great player doesn't mean you'll become a great manager. The weird thing about Gullit is that as a player, not only was he remarkably gifted, he was very cerebral. He had an amazing football IQ, which was a huge component in his greatness. Of all the players I've seen, he's the one you'd have most expected to transition into coaching and excel. As for Mourinho, his coaching beginnings have been masked by high-profile appointments with bags of cash to spend. He is in fact, an amazing tactician and man-manager. Note that he didn't have much of a playing career and came from the very bottom rungs of coaching to be where he is. The man is a student of sports psychology and has succeeded everywhere he's been. The only place he didn't deliver titles to was Benfica - and that's because the president was believed to have favoured another coach before Mourinho even got started there. As a result, after Mourinho inevitably got off to a strong start, he publically demanded the backing of the president who took exception and refused. Mourinho left and went to lower table Uniao de Leiria, who he promptly took to the best performance in their history. Porto came knocking and that was that. The Benfica president today still laments his choice. Point being, if we could get Jose Mourinho (as fantastical as that notion is) I'm sure he'd have little issue coping and would likely get the team performing to the optimum level. He would be a no-brainer IMO. However, given the griping here about Bruce's "ugly" soccer, I'm not sure his style would be to the taste of much of our support.
Yes, I agree with all your points. The shell-shock was referencing how Ruud knew little to nothing in terms of how MLS worked and its financial structure. I worry that IF the Galaxy did somehow woo Jose to coach the team that he might have trouble adjusting as well to the salary cap, the DP and allocation rules, the "draft" (lol), etc... Again, it's like what GalaxyMike wrote, LAG getting Jose would be akin to Messi joining a pub team, well, maybe not that drastic (ha), but still pipe nonetheless. However, I wouldn't pass it over Jose and his ego to come to LA and make the team into one of the world's "superclubs."
That's an unfair comparison. Ruud Gullit has always been a disappointing manager. Mourinho is one of the best in the world. And he did say he wants to manage MLS one day, and I GUARANTEE it's going to be the Galaxy. I'm willing to bet you he will come in the next 5 years along with Cristiano Ronaldo.
With Ruud it seems as if the work ethic for coaching is missing. He started his Galaxy tenure by skipping out on the combine. Now, I know the combine is not the be-all, end-all, but it wasn't a good sign.
I don't get where all this talk about Bruce "Losing the Locker" is coming from. Plus Mourniho is likely the next manager of Manchester United when Sir Alex finally steps down. And the best thing that Rudd ever did was show Buddle how to be a striker.
EXACTLY! He took us from crap to being great, now that we are here he doesn't seem to know what to do. We need a manager that will take us from being Champions to be juggernauts, ALWAYS top of the league. I think Nicol would be a great option for manager. I don't want Sigi back however, and doubt he would ever leave Seattle. If I could chose my dream manager today, as embarrassing it is to say as a Spurs supporter, I would chose Arsene Wenger. He knows how to develop youth and have a long term approach to building a team. He knows how to work in a budget (not one as nearly tight as MLS but still he is way ahead of anyone else in Europe). Players from everywhere would kill to play under him since he constantly churns out world class talent and his scouting network is one of the best in the world. We wouldn't only get him, we would get his entire network and connections. I am willing to put a billion dollars he would never come but damn that would be nice He also is college educated! He fits into the american mold of sports so much more than europe, he wouldn't have trouble adapting here at all.
Let me start by saying that you sir are a "BLASPHEMER"!!!!!!! A spurs supporter openly and freely admitting a arsenal manager as 1st choice for your other favourite club! I (as a manchester united supporter) would rather have mick mcarthy manage our beloved la galaxy than anything that sewer club Man$hitty has ever paid to manage it. Oh and by the way (psyche) did I get you please let me know? I agree a great footballing mind like Arsene would do wonders for our club, The biggest difference aside from all the good points mentioned by Phazard is the flow of play would be better. The tactics and the schemes would improve. Players would know their roles and man the bench with a smile (lookin @ you #23) if so he chose. Certainly all the players would feel the sense of urgency that seems lacking right now but I would not mind it one bit if we could land a world class gaffer like wenger, pep, or my personal favourite mourinho he is LA ready he has the look the swag and the attitude certainly the experince to back it up.
Mourinho needs stupid money, Arsene doesn't We have the money to hire these managers, and the glory is pretty damn good here for a manager. plus they get personal lives and can relax. They aren't gonna lose their legs retiring, they can always go back to Europe, so COME NOW! WE NEEEEEED U!
Sorry phoenix, I don't mean to always be arguing with you, however I don't agree that Mourinho needs stupid money. Rather he was hired to teams with stupid money due to his record and got the best out of them. Think about it: Uniao De Leiria - Overachieved and took them to their highest ever league finish FC Porto - Overachieved by winning the Champions League Chelsea - Won their first league title since 1955 and went on to achieve domestic dominance Inter Milan - Did what Roberto Mancini couldn't and delivered success in the Champions League Real Madrid - First league title since 2008 I'm not saying you're wrong about Arsene having talent - both managers do. I'd say Mourinho has been more revolutionary. You could also argue that Wenger's greatest successes have been contingent on coaching relative powerhouse teams for their league, somewhat throwing into dispute that he doesn't require money. Indeed, since Arsenal's financial clout has declined, so to has Wenger's success rate. Also, where Mourinho hasn't gone a calender year since 2002 without winning a trophy, Wenger has seen a number of barren patches throughout his career. One final thing when considering Mourinho as a guy who needs money to succeed: as I said before, he literally did start at the bottom. Wenger played for a French Champion in Strasbourg and transitioned to coaching. Mourinho played at a low level, quickly retired with no reputation and was a PE teacher before getting back into the game.
I agree but Mourinho has been dealing with almost unlimited funds for so long now that it might be hard for him these days to not. As for Arsene, Arsenal has gone down hill ( ) since the funds have been taken down but I'd say it's more the clubs ability to keep their top players rather than buying big ones. He is still churning out young talent and turning them into super stars, he would build the Galaxy into a long term team. However the MLS is stupid and retarded and gives absolutely no benefit to having a top youth system. Clubs need more autonomy and more monay
Yea but we have had these sorta "maybe we are coming back moments" already this season and the ship is still sinking
I'd argue that it's not. I did a blog entry here on BS that covers the issue. However, in writing it, it hit home that leading into Bruce's Seattle selection gamble, we really were picking up after the Sporting KC away game. Had he not used that as a throwaway game and kept Keane at least on the bench instead of at home (perhaps even bringing Beckham) we might have snatched something and built some confidence. Those things don't actually support him, however, I maintain that we aren't the utter shambles being portrayed. Arena has made stupid mistakes this season, but I haven't lost faith in him yet and am holding out hope that Leonardo shores up the defence a bit. Once we get the backline settled and less leaky, I believe the rest will come.
The impression that I get from this post is that you're just hoping, rather than actually believing any of that. Leo shoring up the defence is a big risk for a guy that wasn't even that great in his stretch of games last season. Coming off a year long absence is going to leave hell of a lost of rust to knock off. Really, we shouldn't have been d*cking around with the likes of Boyens, Lopes, and Keat and just taken the growing pains with Meyer. He is the best healthy center back we have and he has the ability to improve with each game. We'd havve to deal with the rookie mistakes, but no more so than the rest, who aren't rookies. Besides, if you have consistency, that will help. It does not help that DLG has had no opportunity to develop chemistry and rhythm with anyone because the players keep getting switched. Bruce has his head up his ass right now with regards to player selection. Besides, the backline isn't even the issue, is secondary runs into the box from wide open midfielders. Sure the defense hasn't been stellar, but even if Omar was healthy all season, we'd be talking about how our amazing defense from 2011 was leaking goals still.
Every now and then Arena has an off year or two. I think this might be his year or two with the Galaxy. Be that as it may I can't think of another coach who would realistically take this job and perform better than he has. It's easy to see things aren't working now but we can't put all the blame on him. We need goals and they're just not coming from this bunch of forwards. This is partly due to tactics, the seemingly necessary hold up play that's become an American style, and partly due to several missed opportunities. Moreover there are a few players that put in more of the lion share of work out there. It's starting to take it's toll. Our defense will be fine as soon as the offense does a better job of holding onto the ball.
Yeah, I'm hoping, but like you stated, Meyer will only get better. We know Leonardo will do a better job once fit. I also think you're overstating the secondary runs theory. Sure, Juninho, LD and Magee have switched off at various times, but we've been far more hurt by flat-out errors from defenders than anything else. This weekend, Keat was turned. Last weekend, Franklin went walkabout and Meyer failed to intercept the pass - I'll grant you that Linpere should have been tracked. Against Seattle, Johnson managed to get a free header despite being flanked by our CBs, while Montero should probably have been closed down (but was a great strike). Against Dallas, Lopes miscued the ball, causing Gaudette to come out desperately and concede a penalty. Against Colorado, we won, but a miscommunication between AJ and Lopes, followed by Lopes going to ground and completely flubbing his challenge, allowed Cummings to score off a good shot. Portland we won 3-1. Wasn't Sporting KC another free header for Kei Kamara, who should have been better marked? NE, nobody played well. Boyens was a comedy of errors in every game he played. At the start of the season everybody was ranting about Franklin. So point being, the vast majority of goals we've conceded recently have been down to the back line and are largely straight-up errors, rather than faulty strategy. While Leonardo has his own tendency to switch off at times, it's not up to the calamitous level we've seen this term. As I mentioned in my blog (and therefore agree with you), Meyer is my favoured option until Leonardo is good to go for 90.
I mean this sincerely - Bruce Arena is the best coach in the league. He turned your team around quickly and you have been a top side for years. Goff's interview of Coach Arena in the Washington Post is excellent. US Soccer could benefit greatly from Bruce's perspective on Soccer in America and how players are developed and how the cap system in MLS is broken etc. Seriously, don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
I make no excuses for Boyens or Lopes, as both have been horrific. Midfield defense, which was so effective last year, has been missing, in my estimation. It pulls players out of positions, forces more responsibility than necessary. It can inflate the amount of defensive errors because it inflates the amount of times the defense is forced to play defense. I disagree very much with your analysis of the NY goal. Franklin did what he was supposed to and checked to the man. Meyer slid over, correctly, to cover. Landon was the cause of that goal, and watched Lindpere walk into the box. AJ probably could have been a bit better positioned to slide up to him, but for me, that's 100% on Donovan. However, I went back and did a count, and came up with this (2 goals were unlucky and thus not really at the fault of either the midfield or defense). Goals Caused By Defense: 12 Goals Caused By Midfield: 5 So I was wrong, the defense is certainly causing more goals. What's more worrying, however, is this: Individual Errors: 9 Team Defensive Errors: 5 Poor Marking: 3 Unlucky: 2 (Franklin's own goal, first goal against TFC) It's individual errors that are sinking us. Top offenders: Franklin - 3.5 Lopes - 3 Boyens - 1.5 Donovan - 1.5 I still stand by what I said above, about midfield needing to play more defense to keep the pressure off.
In a league committed to parity as a philosophy, that is a totally unrealistic expectation. The deck is stacked against any great team staying at the top, and it always has been. That's why there have been so few repeat champions and why two consecutive supporters' shields was a remarkable accomplishment. The cap-forced trade of Ricketts is just the most obvious example of how the league grinds down great teams so they are unlikely to repeat. The rosters are two thin, the cap too low, and the schedule is screwball. All deliberately designed to keep any team from dominating. By your standard there has NEVER been even one great manager in the entire history of MLS.
I wouldn't disagree with that. I've consistently said that Juninho outside the backline, was our most important player. His retention, tracking back and distribution facilitated our entire system. I have a theory as to why he's been a bit less "with it" this term. He came to MLS to gain first team experience, to learn and to develop. He did so well last season that when he returned to Sao Paolo, he was rewarded with a new contract and was initially expected to join there first team roster. He had to be excited about his progress and the future. Now where is he? Back in MLS. Given the above, that has to feel like a setback. His role is one that demands concentration and solid decision making. I can understand him being in a funk, knowing he has to do it all again to get another bite at his home team. Given that he had such a strong outing last year, but still couldn't make the step up in Brazil, it is probably occurring to him that even if he replicates last season's performance, it may mean little in terms of future opportunities back home. That has to be tough.
