hmmmm......should we be reading into this? Chris Kamrani @chriskamrani 1h Lagerwey wished Robin Fraser well in the future, but said Cassar's hire was "an organizational decision and it was an ownership decision."
I'm on board with hiring Cassar. Robin strikes me as an excellant defensive coach, but something about his demeanor doesn't fit the head coach mold in my eyes. I think Jeff will bring solid tactical awareness and an attitude that was lacking and may have kept us from hardware this past year. The king is dead, long live the king!
Although we had an awesome defense when Frazier was here... We weren't scoring goals. This past season we scored a ton of goals and had only a short dry spell as opposed to other seasons. Am I the only one that thinks that our rise in goals given up more recently has more to do with the amount were attacking, and now scoring goals? Fact is, I think they are very linked. We've stopped bunkering for 0-1 losses and end up with 3-3 draws. We give up more, but were scoring more. Not sure Frazier was THAT big of a difference as much as it was a mental change into a more attacking team.
I think it's a toss up. Cassar has the respect of the current team and knows what the current and ongoing plans are. Fraser has been out and about and could bring some new and potentially valuable thinking. There's pluses and minuses for both. I'm fine with either. As in all coaching decisions, time will tell. Spurs fired the coach that saved them from relegation and put them into 4th place for the first time in forever in favor of the hot commodity who lasted a bit over 18 months. It is simply too hard to tell on these things. Lots of luck, really.
I'm surprised by the hire - but will reserve judgment until we know Garth's next move. If Garth leaves at the end of next season I can't imagine Manning would not be far behind. I get the feeling all is not well in RSL land at the moment behind closed doors. Hope I'm wrong and in the meantime - Welcome Coach Cassar - you have my support and deserve a chance - cool to see good things happen to people - and in some respects I can see him coming in with a bit of a chip on his shoulder to prove people wrong (assuming he was indeed 2nd choice).
We may excuse Fraser's record as head coach as being a product of the ongoing crapshow that is CDCUSA, but I watched all of those games; the team was frequently unprepared and unfocused. Surely some of that was the head coach and not just the organization and the players?
I don't like Bill Mannings answer to Hans Olsen's question! 7 minutes into the interview. http://espn.kall700sports.com/bill-manning-rsl-president-12-18-13/ I would expect a Garth extension to be a pressing matter. It looks as if nothing will happen until next year, not a few weeks but months. ugh! Garth is gonzo.
This isn't accurate. In 2010 when RSL set a record for fewest goals allowed (20) they also led the league in scoring with 45 goals. Remember they played 4 fewer games back then. In 2009 they were near the top of the league in goals, and created a ton of chances, but they had lousy finishing (think Movsisyan!). It's the two years after Frasier left that the scoring dropped.
KIR beat me to it, we were the most prolific team in the league in 2010 AND the best defensive team in league history. Being so great defensively had absolutely NOTHING to do with being entirely focused on one side of the field and neglecting our offense.
I think reading into that would be unwise without more info from Garth. Manning said Cassar came into the interview very prepared with a game plan and people he would want to hire. I got the impression from the interview that he wasn't the cheaper option, but the option that impressed the most. He also said that Cassar and Garth have a very good working relationship, and that Cassar already has the respect of the team.
Another interesting point from Manning's interview was that Cassar had the option to go to New York, but he chose to stay here because he wants to be a part of RSL. I like that.
I'm OK with the hire. Going in, I would have preferred Fraser, but who knows. I obviously defer my judgement to Garth's. My only issue would be if they hired Cassar because they could save a few bucks. Not to knock Cassar, but this sure doesn't scream the 'awesome Plan B' Hansen was pitching a few months ago
I'm ok with Cassar - I'm more concerned that the only returning assistant is our scout. While RSL has been focused on consistency, there isn't a lot on the coaching staff besides Cassar.
Reading between the lines, it sounds like Fraser came in and didn't have a 'plan' (or as solid of one). So perhaps a bit broader experience and more time as head coach - but not familiar with all the guys, perhaps not as close a relationship with Manning/Lagerway and not as polished on the interview. Fraser as assistant? Would be nice and add more depth in coaching - but I don't see him jumping from assistant in Jersey to assistant in SLC. Be interesting to see who ends up getting hired - Manning said Cassar came in with a list of people. Anyone notice we went from a coach called 'Kreis' to one whose initials are JC?
Maybe one of Cassar's assistants will be Jeff Cunningham, that'd really drive everyone up a pole. Two JC's on one coaching staff? Think of the anarchy that would cause.
A thought courtesy of Matthew Doyle writing on MLSSoccer.com: "There has, very quietly, been a lot of turnover in Utah over the past 12-18 months. Forget the loss of Kreis, and the likes of Johnson and Olave. It's not really the playing field at Rio Tinto that's got a new look -- it's the corridors inside the stadium. By some estimates, nearly half the front office staff has left for one reason or another. So there's been a very real worry that once Kreis went, and maybe if GM Garth Lagerwey goes, and a few more people here and there, then that would be that. All the stuff that made a small-market team a big-time, yearly competitor would disappear, requiring a rebuild of both talent and culture. Hiring Cassar stems that tide. Maybe even reverses it." Culture, Continuity, and the Real Salt Lake Way