MLS Coaching and Front Office - News & Discussion Thread 2019

Friedel is gone.

https://sbisoccer.com/2019/05/revolution-fire-brad-friedel

 

The #NERevs balked at giving Bruce Arena full control when they had the chance to hire him before Friedel. They should clean house & go after Arena again. The Krafts should consider that having 2 people on a job isn’t necessarily better than having one competent person handle it

— Ives Galarcep (@SoccerByIves) May 9, 2019

 

Friedel was always a ridiculous hire. Revs fans deserve an actual professional soccer coach, not some arrogant clown with next to no resume.

Im also on record as saying that - generally speaking, there are exceptions - keepers make lousy coaches.

 

That was a particularly secretive year in the Politburo....

 

Friedel deserved to go out like Fredo.

 

Starting to look like the Premier League.

 

So, Bob Bradley is next to get the axe?

 

I'm going to say it again: This league NEEDS Sam Allardyce!!

 

I had an interview with Bruce before the World Cup (02, I think) where he said the opposite. Of course he was a goalkeeper.

 

Easily outstripped Mastroeni. At least Mastroeni wasn't an asshole at every turn and looked hella stylish on the sideline. Lol

 

All 3 talked their way out of town.

 

I tend to think that two losses over the course of four days by a combined score of 11-1 had more to do with Friedel's dismissal than anything he might have said.

 

I didn't know this was a "serious" discussion. I know his name had been tossed around (just like Jose Mourinho!), but I have my doubts. Sure, they "talked to" Arena, but I believe that was more to get his take on different candidates they actually were considering, like Gio Savarese, who turned them down and wound up in Portland. More like a reference check.

There were a number of reasons why that move would be unlikely.

1. Arena would want control. He's not going to take marching orders from Mike Burns, a guy who would have trouble figuring out how to operate a light switch.
2. Arena's personality is such that he doesn't suffer fools, and the whole Revs organization is a ship of fools. Can you imagine how he'd react if he was trying to sign a guy he wanted and the ownership kept dicking around until the deal fell through? He gets pissed off about petty stuff, so you can imagine what he'd be like when he has a legit beef
3. You really think the Krafts would lay out the kind of money it would take to get someone with his pedigree? Sure, they aren't as cheap as they used to be, but they still won't spend big on things that would make a difference.

But yes, they would need a guy who could take charge like Arena. But for the reasons above, they won't. The best they can do is someone who has had a couple of MLS gigs with moderate success and had a decent knowledge of the league. That's it.

 

Who do you think might be legitimate candidates?

 

Counter-example - Bill Belichek (sp?)

I mean, Arena is the perfect soccer mirror to the Patriots coach. I could see the Krafts actually doing something like this - if, and only if, they completely trusted the guy.

 

Belichick.

The only problem with that analogy is that Kraft took over the football team with Bill Parcells in charge, moved on to Pete Carroll, and then settled on Belichick 6 years after buying the team. All 3 were highly experienced coaches who had either previously been successful as an NFL head coach or had later success in the position. They combined for 3 losing seasons in 25 years of Kraft ownership of the team. There's nothing really similar on the Revs side of their operation.

 

That's the biggest problem, people comparing the Revs to the Pats, when there really is no comparison. The Revs are the Lowell Spinners compared to the Pats.

Any would Kraft have hired a head coach who hadn't either coached another NFL team, been a O or D coordinator or a head coach of a major college team?

Regarding the Pats, Parcells was also an "Arena type," but he eventually clashed with Kraft. The Krafts know nothing about soccer, so a guy like that would actually be a good fit. But the budget rules everything, so there's always that. If you want to play moneyball, you have to be smart and work hard, none of which the Revs do.

 

So, do we need a poll for which team hires their new coach first?