I'm on the fence about firing Porter. On one hand, this team is shitty and it seems poorly coached. The defense is crap. The midfield is crap. The attack is crap. On the other hand, this team might just be really terrible and in need a roster overhaul. It's probably a bit of both and, though I suspect it's more of the former, my biggest fear is firing Porter, rushing to fill the role, and picking another doomed re-tread. I still believe in the new ownership and the new GM and I am fine with a re-build and what that entails. So, more than anything, I'm really hoping to see a coherent strategy coming out of the front office as they finish their first year on the job, whether Porter is involved or not.
Conor. Just saying. That's a team on the well-worn "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead" road. See: Manchester United/Ole Gunnar and a thousand other examples. We just caught them at the wrong time. A month from now, when the euphoria wears off, the fact that they have no talent and their big-money DP is an aging Goalkeeper will once again become obvious.
Tell your fears to take a Valium and a nap. Porter isn't going to be fired. Not this year, probably not next year, no matter what. Bez of all people knows what we have on the roster and what we don't. And mostly, we don't. Nobody is going to fire a coach after barely 25% of the season has gone by while coaching a team full of players he had nothing to do with choosing. In 2007, Sigi Schmid's second full year as head coach of the Crew, the team did not make the playoffs. 12 months later, they won both the Shield and the Cup. Unless Bez and Caleb can be blamed for not knowing how to conjure up talent out of thin air, I think you need to try and give them more than 2 1/2 months on the job before declaring them a failure.
I appreciate the Sigi Schmid lecture/storytelling hour that has become a regular feature of this board. But let’s be honest with ourselves for a moment... Caleb Porter is not Sigi Schmid. He’s nowhere near the coach. He’s nowhere near the man. You are right that he won’t get fired this season. Just like I and others are right that a five year contract was ludicrous and shortsighted for a man of Porter’s pedigree. But, let’s leave Sigi out of this. Porter doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt that he one day can be Sigi Schmid. He has to ********in earn it.
Is this sarcasm? It sure reads like sarcasm to me. Few people are. No shame in that. "Ludicrous" might be a bridge too far. "Unwise" maybe. And even that, well, get back to me in two years. This from the guy who dragged Zippy the Pinhead, aka The Bearded Clam into a conversation just this morning. You're right in that Porter ain't Sigi, but he ain't Mr. Pink Slip either. The Drooler took over one hell of a team. YOU could have coached them. Sigi took over a tired, lameass bunchthat operated on the theory that guys like Steven Armstrong, Devin Barklay and Tenyua Bonsue were professional soccer players instead of rodeo clowns. Porter did not inherit much better.
I forgot to add something I heard during the kerfuffle over Tyron Lue not taking the Lakers job because the only offered him 3 years and he wanted five. The point they were making was that they almost always offer five years, not because they really believe the guy will last that long - few do - but because he'll probably last three ad the other two - well "it's just money". The world is lousy with unemployed coaches drawing a salary. Didn't I see that the LA Galaxy was paying 3 when Sigi left? It's just not a big deal. If the guy works out, great, If not, you can him. That salary in no way forces billionaire owners to keep guys around they think are bad for their team. What the hell do you care if, at the start of the 2022 season Caleb Porter is sitting on a beach in the Caymans getting checks every month from the Haslams?
There isn’t anyone in the world who would have made this team successful this season. We’ve been an average or below average team for 5 years now and significantly below average before that. If my mid 2020 we’re still shitting the bed against freaking Colorado, I’ll grab my pitchfork.
I absolutely agree with this, but here's my complaint about Caleb: He's not trying anything new. Subs? Nah, not till the 75-80th minute. Start the youngins? Nah, let's let the vets see if they can finally remember where the net is. New formation? Well that would be downright silly. He's doing the same thing every week expecting a different result. At some point during this horrific run of form, I would have liked to see something absolutely new/different to try to get a result. Some sign of innovation. Something that signals to ownership, management, players, fans, and media that "I'm not happy with losing and am willing to get creative to find a win."
It could be that he is trying new formations in practice and they are even worse at that. Also, not being able to finish decently will hurt whatever formation you are in. Same for unforced turnovers. Same for being a slow team. Other thoughts - Colorado has more talent now then they are getting credit for. Rubio, Smith, Nicolson, Lewis, and Kei are a lot more dynamic that what we had on the field. And then they sub out Nicolson which I thought was a mistake given the havoc he was causing, only to bring on Mosquito (I can't spell his last name) who promptly nets the game winner. Price's free kicks were generally pretty decent too. I grow weary of Pipa dribbling over to within a 1/2 yard of our wide player like he's a close talker wanting a chat. If you think the ball going there improves our position, pass the f'ing ball there. He makes us essentially down a man when he does that, it takes 3 x as long, and it takes him out of the middle. It's also got to piss off the other player who is left standing there feeling like a useless idiot.
Do you catch any straws when you grasp like that? You're speaking of the normal starters here. Try the young guys, see if those unknown quantities can't surprise a few defenses. Hell, at this point ties would be better than losses. Yes. Also yes. The fact that you and me and everyone else with a 614 phone number can see this but Caleb Porter refuses to take action on it is concerning, no?
In defense of Porter, though, his coaching opponent is known to be immensely interested in soccer, watching every game available - both foreign and domestic.
I know it's been a while, and some of you were not here yet, or do not remember.... Schmid returned to the league as coach of the Columbus Crew in 2006, rated by the team's general manager Mark McCullers as "the best coach in America".The team contained young talent but lacked depth and had no star players. In August, after a streak of 13 winless matches, Schmid considered resigning.The team suffered from injuries and inconsistent lineups throughout the season, finishing last in the Eastern Conference with just 30 goals, the lowest in the league. Porter deserves a chance to turn this ship around, with his players.
But 2006 was a total teardown. Sigi moved on from most of the players who had won the Shield in 2004. They'd started 2005 poorly enough to get Nee fired, then played decently enough under Warzycha. When Sigi came in, he only kept a few players and turned over most of the roster. Ivan Becerra, anyone? Ryan Coiner? Joel Kiamarike? 2006 was the worst season in team history. 2019 shouldn't be in competition with 2006.
I don't know if 2019 will end up being in competition with 2006, I hope not. I think Porter/Bez will be implementing a "total teardown"(which has already begun) with only a handful of the current players still here one year from now. 13 years down the line many of the current players will again be forgotten names....
Yes. We all understand that Sigi Schmid won a MLS Cup after many awful results in his first few seasons. We lived it. We don't need to be reminded. We don't need to be reminded because that's an outlier. More often than not coaches who preside over extended periods of terrible results are just not great coaches. And for every Sigi Schmid who rode out a multiple year storm you can find 100 coaches who were deservedly shit canned. But, if we need to take this waltz down memory lane after every uninspired Crew performance, after ever insipid Porter news conference, after every ridiculous excuse from the weather to altitude, so be it. 2008 was a helluva year and I don't want to deny anyone happiness and nostalgia, even if it's coupled with delusion. Frankly, if you are setting aside time to watch this shit week after week you deserve an open forum for any one of anger, nostalgia, or delusion. Long live Big Soccer Columbus Crew Board.
Three months is not "an extended period". And, I will point out, while I didn't like Saturday's score at all, I was entertained by the match.
That's, what, two matches in the last 9 that could be considered "entertaining?" And though I agree that to the casual Joe Sports Fan entertaining is as important as winning, none of us are Joe Sports fan and we expect a bit more than entertaining. Quality losses are a rarity and certainly don't come against fellow basement-dwellers.