Who can we reasonably hope to have the most impact in bringing a winning tradition back to DC United? The players start playing better. The coaching staff starts coaching the players more effectively. The front office starts bringing in better coaches and/or players. The owners do... something? I recognize it's probably a combination and it's probably not going to happen immediately, but I'd really be curious to know who the crowd here thinks we should be reasonably looking to to be the driving force in changing the trajectory of this franchise. Personally, I'm becoming more convinced that the problems have their root in absentee ownership focused on activities and teams other than DC United. Only their complete disengagement can explain why they left the GM and coaching staff in place for 2014. In the six seasons after Dave Kasper become the GM in late 2007, DC has made the playoffs only once. Ben's overall coaching record is very poor after a relatively long tenure. And in 2014, DC had the worst season ever for an MLS team. It seems like the owners are just waiting for the District to give them land where they can build the new stadium before they start actively getting involved with it. In that case, the answer to my question may be: the District of Columbia mayor and city council. But I'm really not hopeful that Lucy is going to let Charlie Brown kick that football. Somebody, please, give me some hope. I hate that I can't see even a plausible case for light at the end of this tunnel.
Well, given the revenue potential of the team with versus without its own stadium, I could understand some reticence in investing overmuch into the team in the event a stadium deal falls through and the team is moved to greener pastures. That said, though, it's clear SOMEONE SOMEWHERE was interested in making personnel changes, but those personnel changes neglected improvements in key positions, and a staff with the ability to put those pieces together. Regrettably, I don't see much likelihood of a sustained turn around until (unless) we get a stadium deal AND have a training staff able to identify and field a team designed around their players' strengths, which we currently lack.
Well the players are the largest factor. The group this year, on paper, should be better than last year in my opinion. But past performance doesn't guarantee future results, of course. But even the players we have now, when I eye ball it, seem no better than mid-table fighting for the last playoffs spots-- at best. So having betters players is really where it starts. Of course, it's hard to change the players. Much easier to change the coach. My hunch is that is what we'll see happen, sooner rather than later. It's possible Ben survives until the end of the season, but unless we come with a game or two of the playoffs, I don't see how they can justify keeping him. I think that's your light. But it's only a speck, not the end of the tunnel. The end of the tunnel would be a complete rebuild of the FO and coaching staff. Not holding my breath on that one.
Well you can't change the owner really ... so I wouldn't focus on that too much. The fact is that the salary resources allotted to Kasper should be enough to make this team better than it is. We spend $400,000 on this crappy center back pairing so there's no excuse for them not to be better. It's not like most MLS teams are outspending us there. We spend DP money on an aging striker with tons of baggage. Other teams have genuine impact players for the same amount of money. We spend $300,000 on a guy who can't stay healthy more than 2 months at a time. The owners aren't forcing these roster decisions. This team was built by Kasper and Olsen. Nobody else ... And the team was built with every possible "you suck" advantages one can imagine.
When you look closely at 2012, which of course I have done but am hesitant to post in the face of "effort lol!" replies, the first half of the season was characterized by (1) momentum and (2) players overperforming [or: players performing to their supposed level- depends on how you look at it] , with new guys performing well and older guys being healthy. Getting goals from DeLeon, Cruz, Santos, Pontius, DeRosario, Woolard, Salihi and on meant we were somewhat dynamic. Players were hungry to score, happy to play and excited for the future. As the season wore on and Olsen tried to add his fringerprint to the team, things fell apart. We stopped being dynamic and moved to an empty bucket. Amazingly, and people still fail to understand this- but the players they shit on because they didn't fit Olsen's style (Bosko and Salihi), got us into the playoffs. Despite playing "poorly," Salihi got several game winners (including vs. Toronto), Boskovich got several game winners and several game winning assists (including vs. Chivas USA). These efforts were ignored in favor of the two efforts by by Lewis Neal in the final third which gained him credibility with fans (and who still sticks to the team like a leech to this day). It was a total team contribution- between Olsen guys and non-Olsen guys- that made 2012 unique. Removing the non-Olsen guys from the equation leaves us with 2013 and now 2014. After 2013, momentum is lost after less games than in the past, even with new players. In 2012 we started 0W-2L-1D but it didn't matter. Starting 0W-2L-1D in the post 2013 world might very well be like starting 0W-6L-0D in 2014. You can tell by late 2012, all of 2013 and early 2014 the formula for player's energy and effort being crystallized- that is, 5-10 minutes of hard pressure and effort, followed by 20-30 minutes of even play and then the last 50 minutes nearly always favor our opponents. Leave aside that we give up a shitload of early game goals because we're constantly exposing ourselves to counters, particularly on the wings under an Olsen system- but you just see the final 40 minutes as being 'give up' time. So should we expect losses to lead to more losses and frustration? I don't see how we can't.
the only hope is that the players figure out a way to win despite the coach (as they did during the 2012 playoff run) new GM, new assistants, & new manager are all needed, however, none of those options are within the bounds of things 'we can reasonably hope' for...
I'm going to pick on just one part that I find most misleading, as there are others parts I agree with. Mid-2012 Dero was starting to cool off, and then was injured for basically the remainder of the season, and this is the primary reason we went empty bucket or "Olsen Ball" as it has come to be. Dero was a poor substitute for Gomez et al, but he was the last thing we had of any reasonable caliber at AM. So I can't get on board with the idea that is was Olsen's decision to play a certain way that dragged the team down. I think it was forced by circumstances and player availability. You could counter what you're saying here by pointing out that there were a few tactical player switches and a handful of really timely substitutions that turned into gold at the end of the 2012. At that time, less than thrilled with Ben, most of us were hesitant to criticize because he was pulling all the right levers and eeking out results. We haven't see much of that since, so it's debatable if it was him, or luck, or whatever. But it's hard to say that they won despite him when he made a handful of decisions that resulted in wins.
Short term, the most effective measure would be to fire the coach. This puts the players on notice and wipes the slate clean. If anyone is comfortable, that will go away, and no one should be comfortable with being massive losers. Since I don't think that will happen soon, it's up to the players. They need to act like they care and do it themselves, coaches be damned. If that pisses off the staff, good, but at least they will show everyone involved in the team that they aren't willing to accept being losers.
I'm aware that your counterpoint is the generally accepted consensus. However, I openly criticized Ben's leadership of the team from mid 2012 onward and I'll briefly explain why. I wasnt calling for him to be fired but I was really really sad to watch the tactics transform because the new methods didnt seem like a sustainable way to win. You say above: Olsen made "decisions that resulted in wins" "he was pulling the right levers" and his "timely substitutions" were golden. Most DCU fans agree with that viewpoint. To me, that was pyrite. We had to eek out wins because our coach preferred using our best players as supersubs instead of allowing them time to control the game from the opening whistle. A better coach would not have needed a midas touch with substitutions just to bail himself out (and hide his lack of planning/preparation).
Not to mention that there was a fair bit of luck going our way down the stretch ... It was a perfect storm of an easy schedule, some luck and players that were putting in the effort. Nothing that happened down the stretch in '12 was due to us playing well.
true even champions need luck but it has to be paired with talent and suitable tactics i feel like we had two out the three even after Dero went down (luck + talent)
So we have found a way to re-open the Fire Ben thread. And repeat the same arguments. 2012 we over performed our talent but in DeRo, Boskovic, and Salihi we had capable technical players in the middle of our attack. And in Najar we had speed and skill in a wide wingback attacker. Last year we under performed our talent but had lost 3 of the four players listed above. These decisions were Kasper/Olsen. We can debate who is more responsible but they were joined at the hip. This year they blew up the team from last year and this gang is truly theirs. In the short run to get results these players we have need to step up and play to the max of their capability. And frankly they have every reason to as Boswell, Parke, Arnaud and even Pontius may find themselves out of the league next year without such improvement. Could another coach effect short term change? Probably but could that change work over the course of the season. On the average across multiple leagues and sports the answer is no. Maybe better next year with a head start but not for this season. But again I return to the simple facts that the ownership seems not to care about on the field success and to think that they can trick people into coming to games with promotions. They also bet this season on Kasperolsen and I don't expect them to make any changes. So players step up and play for your futures!
I read the rest, i just don't see a Hail Mary 'players save yourselves' as particularly insightful, especially considering many dudes who left the squad in recent years ended somewhere else on a higher salary. Also they don't likely have any real spiritual connection to this team so why invest heart and soul?
Well I don't find fire Olsen and hire any random assistant coach particularly insightful either. I was answering the question posed in the original post. By the way, what dudes left last years team and got a bigger salary? And I am asking specifically about the kind of players I listed -- MLS veterans. I am asking because I am really can't think of one. And do you really think professional athletes, with a few exceptions, have "spiritual connexion(sp)" to the club they play for?
DC United has had more of those exceptions than most teams. I think the traditional connection between United players and fans has been a real two-way one for many players, though not as much so recently. I'll admit that despite my pessimism that I still have hope (though it's probably irrational) that Ben Olsen can use this connection to motivate this DC United team into playing above their talent level. Unfortunately, I suspect that players actually know how far the franchise has been left behind in MLS and they probably feel bitter that they can't play for the kind of franchise that established our "Tradition". http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...in-the-stands/2012/04/08/gIQAn3cw4S_blog.html
Quickest way to win is for players to play better, next is for coaches to coach better, last is front office to get (more and) better players because the owners are willing to pay for them, but how long will that success last? The BEST way for a team to turn it around is for the owners to get involved directly and fix the front office disaster, then the front office can make better decisions on the team and the team has a more clear picture of what is expected so that coaches have players willing and able to do what they want on the field and then the team will win more regularly and should continue to do so into the future. Chicken or the egg? I say chicken. Success typically filters down, not up.
New Plan: if we can get 20,000 fans to put in $2,500 each then we can buy the team and run it like Barcelona! but seriously though anything is better than what we have.
Hmmm, let me check my pockets for bitcoins ....... We need a headstrong President and a more risk-taking GM before anything improves.
I would take him back in a heartbeat over what we have now. At least there would be some accountability.