Kinda. It’s not like we just improved the roster. Most all pieces have been around and many were dogging it and underperforming. We got not just a player but a captain of an EPL winning team, a guy who has more Facebook likes than every major dc athlete combined. Imagine what would happen to Hershey if we sent Ovechkin down there. If we got a Diego Valeri or something even above that to some degree I believe we’d still be in the shitter with Swiss cheese defense, no midfield and bottom of the table. LA is similarly being carried by Zlatan moreso than coaching. On the other hand you have what Seattle has done and coaching and management has been very much more important.
Rooney was the finishing touch to an improving team. Ariola and Canouse improved this side. Wayne was the cherry on top.
That's probably true, I just can't justify giving Olsen any credit for the turnaround so a contract next year is just a gift not something he earned.
This may be true, but I think letting Ben go after this season's renaissance would totally disrupt team chemistry. Sure, one could argue that it was all due to home matches at the new field; Rooney's arrival; Acosta's awakening; Canouse's return; etc., but Benny was in the middle of all that and I don't think the team members would understand or take kindly to his dismissal.
I mostly agree. I also acknowledge that his teams have been outgunned, and there has been no pressure to win. It's hard to judge what kind of coach he is under those circumstances without any first-hand accounts of training. I don't know what goes on there, so that only leaves on field results, which are mitigated by the above. It's easy for me to watch what's happening and pin it squarely on Rooney. The whole team moves differently and play with confidence. I don't know why they couldn't play a less skilled version of that without Rooney. Olsen's team's have played ramshackle soccer for a while, having moments but mostly floundering without focus or purpose. His teams have been routinely less fit and less determined than the opponent. Always second best in set pieces. Whenever they had a long break, they would return ill -prepared with no visible improvement in areas they had two weeks of training to work on. His subs were often counterintuitive, which isn't necessarily bad, but the results didn't come, so, it isn't good. Now, suddenly they're playing a version of the beautiful game while simultaneously grinding teams to a hub and winning games late through sheer will. He has pulled fbs and dms and thrown on extra attacker when needing a goal, something he rarely if ever did in the past. But most impressively they had a two week break before the Montreal game and came ready and able to kick butt. What's more, Montreal thrre a wrinkle by abandoning their counterstrike tendencies instead looking to possess and take the game to United. DC adapted quickly, even though Olsen never acknowledged the twist at half time of post match, still referring to the plan to beat a camped, countering opponent. ?????????????? it just doesn't add up to me that suddenly Olsen is the architect, and Rooney simply a talented cipher. But, I could be wrong.
There were several who were more than just tangentially involved in the team's rebirth. I wouldn't add Ashton to the plus side, but he was there right next to Olsen. And the new trainer was in the mix as well but was his contribution a factor? We'll see, I hope it works out in DCU's favor.
Early this season, pre-Rooney we shouldn’t have been at the bottom. The east is not great and our players were more than capable.
The only new player is Rooney. He’s had a great impact, no doubt. Could the team have played the same way with Mullins or another 400k/yr striker and a coach with the leadership capability of Rooney? Don’t forget that Columbus had a lower budget than DCU and they played attractive winning/soccer. Berhalter may be the next coach for the US. By the way, it looks like Schelotto may go to Atlanta. He’s been my choice for a while. I won’t begrudge Olsen’s improvement though. He’s saved his job and brought life back to the team.
Not quite. Canouse finally got healthy and played his first game the same time as Rooney, and the defense has been much better organized and more confident since Hamid rejoined the team at about the same time.
100% agree. Offense got a little better after midseason. D got much better. Rooney was great, but Hamid and Canouse were integral!
Nope. Canouse was with the team last season after the summer transfer. He did miss the first half of this season and has been very good when he’s played.
That's the point. He was injured for the first half of this season, which is the relevant point. He returned in Rooney's debut. The defense has been MUCH better since he (and soon after Hamid) returned. Some of that is due to fisher being good and mora continuing to improve too.
If he was the difference maker why did we still play Benny ball when he was in the line up last year? The team at the end of the season last year played a completely different style with Canouse.
I think Ben learned a lot about how to handle professional athletes from his years with Bruce Arena. I don't remember a situation of a player seriously disgruntled with Arena. Whether working with the lowest level pros or David Beckham and Robbie Kean, Bruce could keep his ego in check and deal respectfully and professionally with players. My guess is that Rooney heard the same about Ben - a guy who lets you do your job without a lot of BS. It's working well so far but time will tell. The test may come if the team hits a rough patch and Rooney tells Ben to get in some people's faces. Can Ben be the bad cop? If not I'm sure Wayne knows managers who can.
I'm confused as to what we're arguing about... Canouse and Hamid and playing at home were all major factors in the turnaround. Rooney was huge too. But it wasn't just Rooney. Also, to get back to Columbus, take a look at their stats this year. They might just miss the playoffs too. I'm not too impressed with Berhalter.
I don't really care, do you? My point was that he's nothing special... He had some good years and some bad ones on a small budget. They have had Higuain for quite a few years, but still no silverware I don't think. Maybe they won the SS at some point.
I'm always for a good mocking of the FireOlsen crowd. There's a crazy guy on twitter that I sometimes engage with who is STILL beating that drum... even harder now than he used to. It's kinda sad. I'm not so Pro-Olsen. I know he has faults, but this is his first time with a pretty complete roster. We could use an upgrade a few places, but for MLS, this is a pretty strong roster. Not super-deep, but deep enough.
If only that twitter guy ignored every single year and game except the ones on an insanely long home stretch with superstar Wayne Rooney on the field he’d know how wrong he was.