Official “Is Brad Friedel bad at his job?” Thread

It kind of reminds me of how the Krafts kept Bobby Grier on after the Pats didn't make the playoffs for two straight years.

Oh, wait, they didn't do that, did they?

 

That was pretty tone deaf. And, inaccurate - we really weren't that close.

 

Harumph!

 

The season was over that night when they were ahead of the Galaxy, 2-1 at the 90th minute yet still managed to lose.

 

Recently, Mike Burns and his wife were spotted at an Atlantic City hotel. Mike told his wife was going to stop by the casino. At the roulette wheel, he put two dollars down on red, and won. So, he decided to let it ride.

He kept doubling his winnings until he had over half a million dollars. He decided to let it ride one more time, then he would cash out. But he lost.

When he got back to his room, his wife asked him how he did. He said, "Oh, I lost 2 dollars."

True story...

 

Alternative punchline is, "I was so close..."

 

The New England Revolution were "so close" to the 2018 MLS Playoffs in the same manner that Mike Burns is "so good" at his job.

 

I'm not so sure I am buying what Friedel is selling lately.

 

It's becoming increasingly evident that the players aren't buying it either.

 

Brad seems to agree with that assessment. But for me, the home loss to Philly was the breaking point:

 

What happens now that the guys brought in under Friedel's reign (moneybags Mancienne, e.g.) start stinking up the joint?

His salary is crazy for what the Revs get in return.

 

Brad will pass the buck until we are at the same point a year or two down the road. He will be gone after 3 years max.

 

I don't really believe they believe it - it's just for public consumption. The lack of media scrutiny allows this team to avoid having to acknowledge reality.

 

Agreed. Talk about killing confidence. Pretty sure that's what he did to Diego based on first vs second half performance.

There's positive and negative ways to motivate people. The best managers know how to get the balance right. He's not among those managers.

 

Nothing will happen. Excuses will be made and management will all get bonuses. There is no accountability with this team because Kraft doesn't give a damn.

Agree 100%. This is one of the main reasons I don't like Friedel. I don't think he has any idea how to motivate players. He's too quick to blame/shame them publicly by his statements to the press or by leaving them off the bench. He comes across to me as smug an arrogant - he knows best but his players are too incompetent. He needs to look in the mirror.

If Burns isn't gone after overseeing yet another failure of a season, I'm done with this team completely. I'm not holding my breath though.

 

I agree 100%. I only watched the 1st half last night but that sure didn't look like a team that was playing hard for its coach

And to ghost Zahibo when he got subbed off was, to me, bush league. You already made clear your displeasure by subbing him off in the first half. Would it kill you to shake his hand?

 

It would be one thing if Friedel had a great, proven track record as a winning coach and he behaved that way. His record so far as a professional coach pretty much stinks so you’d think/hope he’d be a little more humble.

 

His halftime interview really didn't sit well with me. You've got to share some of the blame for this debacle. I'm increasingly afraid Friedel doesn't know what he's doing. Some say he needs another year. I'm struggling to find evidence he would be a better manager.
Here's a suggestion. Whoever the next head coach of the Revo is, it not be his first coaching gig.

 

Interviewed #NERevs head coach Brad Friedel earlier this week ahead of his @soccerhof introduction.

A thoroughly fascinating answer related to what drives him – a self-proclaimed "stubborn" individual. Talks about #MLS locker room culture vs. overseas. pic.twitter.com/73Cn0KY4Kk

— Jonathan Sigal (@JonathanSigal) October 18, 2018

This is Brad's quote on the Revs players being too nice to new guys. In Brad's experience (overseas) players on the team treat new guys poorly because the new guy is there to take a job from somebody already in the team.

My first thought was, I wonder if Brad was ever on a team with open roster spots when a new guy was brought aboard? Why treat that new guy like crap, he can only help since you are already short handed.