Yeah, I hated seeing Benny go MOSTLY because I felt there did not exist a plan for his absence....Losing JJ, well yes its awful but I did not see how it makes any financial sense to keep him with the surgeries etc. I believe we had an awful losing streak prior to getting Jones which made his acquisition bittersweet. The way we were dropping games in that streak for me pointed squarely at the coach so I had high hopes JH would be run out of town. Unfortunately we acquired JJ and suddenly spine,fortitude, and egde followed and I believe the coach benefited from the run to the Finals.
This was the logical progression of my earlier missive, good work! It seems that the "best" coaches in the world aren't truly available to an MLS team (and certainly not to the Revs given their spend parameters). At the other end of the spectrum, the least experienced coaches may have little chance to be set up to succeed -- the setup that Jay find himself in may well be one of the least tenable situations, if winning is truly a primary team objective. So, that leaves middle ground solutions - landing a more experienced coach, or augmenting a "least experienced" coach with enough other experienced staff to cover off the full range of demands placed on a MLS coach. But either of those costs more than they are paying Coach J.
On your point of player development, I think you may be over simplifying or over generalizing. Coaches in all professional leagues have to deal with developing players coming in. Yes, a few very large EPL teams may have to do less of it, if they simply don't bring up players from their academies, and instead buy all of their players, or they loan out all of their younger players, but that is a small minority of teams in the EPL. Other than those few teams at the top, all professional teams bring up/in players that their managers need to develop, either young players from their academies, or players, perhaps a bit younger, from lower leagues in the country or from other other lower pedigree leagues outside the country, such as MLS. Just because a player in such as MLS may have seem to have "developed" in an to a good level in that league, to a point where they're ready to move on, if they go to Europe, their new manager will still need to develop that player. Smaller clubs, even ones that are only smaller in a relative sense in leagues such as the EPL, often depend on developing talent that they can sell on. MLS coaches may have to do a bit more development, but it's a matter of degree, and the degree to which it has to be done has become a matter of choice. With the advent of 2nd teams playing in the USL, an MLS club can choose to have a team within their organization that can develop players further along than what was done in the past, and as time goes on, I'm sure the level of those 2nd teams will rise. Or teams can choose to affiliate with existing USL clubs and loan out younger players that they want to develop further, before bringing them back to MLS. Or they can choose to affiliate with a USL club, but not take advantage of the affiliation in any way shape or form whatsoever. It's all about giving teams options and choices, and letting the teams pick what fits their organizational priorities and goals the best.
Not to keep going on the Jones thing, but you have to wonder how much influence he had on some of the players around him. Not that he was a "coach," but you could certainly see him pulling aside a guy like Fagundez or Agudello and suggesting they try a different way of making that run next time. Davies was another who clearly benefited from Jones' presence. And while top level teams certainly do their share of "developing" players, there is usually a coach who is better suited for that, working full time with the reserves or youth team. Us? We don't need that. Heaps doesn't want an assistant, right?
I see the biggest difference in Nguyen, just overall play. I don't think Jones had to counsel him at all but I think he benefited from his presence big time. Maybe the shear work rate and coverage allowed the play maker to concentrate on being creative???
I remember Jones specifically pointing at the area of the field where he wanted Alston to run, waiting for Alston to run there, giving him the pass and Alston getting the assist on a goal. http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2014/10/16/goal-lee-nguyen-curls-one-upper-corner
He wins what? No trophies under Heaps. We are talking about a good stretch/playoff run from Aug-Dec 2014 and the rest pure mediocrity. I could pull the win/loss stats under Heaps but you get the point. Do we want to repeat history for the next x years? Until someone in the org has enough accountability to make changes, that's what is going to happen.
Whooosh! That was the sound of an oft-repeated line from a certain KAD whom shall remain nameless. No, the Krafts aren't cheap, it's just that Heaps doesn't want another assistant (we still have fewer assistants than any other team), nor does he want a scout to go look at players we can't afford anyway.
I suggested the Revs go big and sign Roberto Martínez the last time Heaps was exposed for what he is. Roberto Martínez should soon become available again. I wonder if Heaps and Martínez have their biorhythms aligned?
I'm sure there is a, "they've improved every year," argument lying around here somewhere. Are you sure on this?
I'm inclined to agree with this. So, it must be coaching, eh? Lee Nguyen hasn't been playing with enough passion, Charlie Davies can't score. Bobby Shuttleworth lately is good for one fundamental mistake per game costing us a goal. The one thing I applaud that Jay did last night was putting Femi in as early as he did to affect some sort of change on the proceedings. I'm thinking now, why isn't Femi getting more minutes? He seems to change the complexion of the game out there.
I was hoping that he would have brought him in for Davies around the 30 minute mark. Let's see what the kid can do for (almost) a full game.
yes. Find a way to get Femi more minutes. Great energy out there..Tons of off the ball hustle that inspired a crew last night that was starting to go night nights.. Chances and ideas were not there last night....
Agree to disagree. The roster is a mess. A mishmash of somewhat talented players that don't compliment each other in the least. There's little to no on-field leadership or consistency. Multiple players are being asked to fit into positions where they're not suited to play, not because Heaps wants them there, but because the alternatives are even worse. To borrow an analogy from from a former football coach in these parts, Jay Heaps is being asked to cook the dinner, and he's not being given the right groceries.
If this were my cash I'm not sure I'd be willing to lay out for a funny NYFC squad of "stars"...Or even LA which has at least produced.... I would settle for a cohesive "entertaining" squad at this point. I don't think the Krafts are interested in buying talent, the track record on that is obvious and by comparison they do not purchase talent like the teams mentioned. They are solidly vested in developing the home grown thing....I do hope it works for them someday but until it does... To borrow a quote from the same guy...."You are what your record says you are...." And I would love to complain more about the guys that are supposed to score but I'm not sure the service is where it should be...
Shame that we couldn't find a guy who could be an on-field leader. Someone who has played in the World Cup and one of the top leagues, a guy who commands respect and could get in the face of a guy who isn't giving everything. Too bad we can't find a guy like that.
You lost me at commands respect. Based on some of JJ's dumb ass comments lately I've lost all respect for him. And, I imagine people that were closer to him might have been way more annoyed and bothered than I.
All due respect to JJ, I wish him all the best but I will not throw stones...This guy is well on the back 9 after surgeries, I definitely am behind moving on, exactly how many suitors did he have anyway ??? That does not mean I like their lack of plan B....
For me, this is the issue. If they felt they had to let Jones go, then I can accept that. However, what Jones brought to the team (just in sheer won-lost numbers) is indisputable. They needed to plan to replace his influence at every level. In particular, they needed to make sure that the team was still able to score goals, which, with JJ, they could do.
Yeah....And on a very very superficial level....He was a draw, he had star power and excitement. I'm interested in building the passion for the team AND the game. And this guy had reach into people that were not of the die hard variety. Something the Kraft family should have been concerned with building upon... If you look at what Seattle had going on with Dempsey\Martins, the team was exciting, my son and I would love to tune into watch that team...Ok, maybe you don't necessarily win championships but from an Entertainment perspective those teams delivered....Truth be told I find this team a chore to watch sometimes.
On the Jones subject, I wonder why the Revs did not look at him as a kind of loss leader? Sure, they might spend a little more on him, but it will be made up for in so many more areas off (and on) the field. Especially, when I have to figure that this is the way his first deal played out.
While we may not respect him, his teammates clearly did, and that's all that matters in this scenario.