Oh, you haven't heard? They're picking up the coach we were rumored to be getting, Schelotto. Now Klein has a clear path to his buddy, Porter.
I’m not immune to hyperbole so take this with a grain of salt, but the next coaching hire could be the most important one in Galaxy history. Even during the last on-the-field downturn LA was still the class of the league in pretty much every respect. Getting it right on the field was a question of when, not if. I don’t have that same level of confidence anymore. The league has progressed dramatically since then, LA hasn’t just stood still, but regressed. If we get this one wrong and have another crap season and LAFC has another good one the club could get stuck in second tier status for years to come. The really sad thing is how willingly we’ve ceded the role of MLS’ flagship club for no good reason.
What if we keep Kinnear but Klein gets a fantastic GM. Someone who can do what Bocanegra has done with Atlanta? Kinnear coaches and the GM takes over everything else.
I wish I could believe the FO was capable of finding a fantastic GM. That might actually be harder to do than finding a fantastic coach.
Ali Curtis is available and was pivotal in turning RBNY into a contender-- they've competed step for step with Atlanta (on the field at least)
Klein's problem seems to go deeper than finding good GM's, coaches and players. It seems more a problem of evaluation - so far he's shown that he doesn't know what a good GM, coach or player looks like. Our best hope is that he stumbles into good ones by accident.
Kline is a self preserver. That’s why he only fired one person last year. People who have that mind set do that because they want multiple people to throw under the bus at different times. You throw several people at once, then they’ll be no one else except yourself to take the fall after. That being said, another aspect of that cockroach approach to management is to only hire people that pledge their loyalty to you. So in a way, it’s not that he doesn’t know what a good GM or coach looks like (for all we know), it’s that he prioritizes the wrong quality in the people he hires to work directly under him.
The one quality that Dom has that’s similar to Bruce is that he seems to be a players coach. Our identity as a franchise is that our best rosters have all been heavy with veterans and superstars. With that kind of roster makeup we don’t need a coach that plays the latest formation trend. We need a coach that can keep moral high and get these guys to work together in the positions that they want to play in. Even if that means playing a 442.
When Sigi was let go, Zlatan, and I'm paraphrasing, said He was cool with Dom because he ran most of the practices anyway. Really struck me as odd. Seems like Sigi made the decisions but Dom ran the practices. He's not a sexy choice, but he's a proven winner, a leader, and good with the guys. We can do worse! If he can take us to the playoffs, find him a partner (GM) and give him a full season.
What would be a bold hire for LA now? With moves made by SJE and (probably) ATL, hiring Berhalter or Porter doesn't really seem too bold. Either of those two seem barely an upgrade over Kinnear. Is it GBS or bust?
I'd prefer Kinnear over Porter. Berhalter would be a big step in the right direction IMO. Young American coach who plays attacking, fun soccer. He also has a system he likes to play so in theory that system could be flowed down to Los Dos and the Academy so young players are brought up playing in his system which would hopefully help academy products make the jump to the first team. I think GBS would be a great hire. I don't know much about how his teams play, but I do know he's very highly regarded and has done a great job in Argentina. Antonio Conte is still out of a job after being fired by Chelsea over the summer. That'd be a pretty big statement to the league. I'm sure there's a bunch of good coaches out there in Europe/South America. I just hope the FO actually does a real search. If we end up with Porter, we know the FO didn't even bother looking.
THIS. If you have Zlatan, the system should be easy to figure out, play decent defense and make him the focal point of the attack. We did it with Keane for years. Shame on Sigi for getting it so wrong - of cousre Gio is the one that f***** any system up. He just doesn't do any one skill well enough to justify being on the field.
I keep remembering the last time this front office conducted a "wide ranging search" for a coach and came up with... Curt Onolfo. (Remember him?) Is it any wonder I don't see them able to do anything other than lazy man's way and hiring Dom. Did anyone see the tweet where someone listed the 6 coaches on ATL's list? I didn't see it but Jason Davis was describing it this morning. I can't believe this FO is even considering anyone on that list other than GBS. I wonder if they have ever even heard of any of them. (Well, maybe Osorio)
Hmmm... interesting article questioning GBS's abilities as a manager: https://www.dirtysouthsoccer.com/20...eplacement-for-tata-martino-at-atlanta-united
Someone on reddit said the list came from espndeportes: "Schelotto, Marcelo Lippi, Roberto Donadoni, Claudio Ranieri"
I'd keep Dom. He has done well since taking over, and I think he'd have us 3rd or 4th if he had this full season. He doesn't seem as stubborn with the line-ups.
I'd bring in Bruce for GM asap before he goes anywhere. Coach position is up to how we do for, hopefully, 7 more games.
I’ve seen a chorus of Atlanta fans saying that GBS is not good enough for them. One person even said that it wouldn’t be a good look for a “big” club like Atlanta to hire a coach right after that coach lost a championship series.