It was unfortunate they hired him in the first place. I don't doubt he is a very nice guy, but he put this team in a bind from the get go by drafting such young, unproven players and overlooking quality players when he had the chance. Letting go of Ingrid Wells was a major mistake also. Management is to blame for not recognizing how important the coach is as a piece of the puzzle of a new team. They've finally recognized that but I hope it is not too late. I'm also pessimistic about Parsons being able to turn things around. The youngsters need training and direction - can he provide that?
I'm more than a little leery about Parsons. This was his first year at the helm of the W-league squad...
He's definitely an up-and-coming coach, and everyone I've talked with about him has praised him to the skies. I expected him to be a top-level coach in another five or ten years. This is well ahead of schedule. But I figure that there aren't a lot of options at this point in the year. If he doesn't work out, then they have plenty of time to find someone to take over for 2014.
http://equalizersoccer.com/2013/07/...ign-fc-keep-winning-mike-jorden-fired-reacts/ Quoted from The Equalizer's lowdown article: The Washington Spirit were firm in their refusal to discuss Ashlyn Harris' comments following Friday's 4-0 loss in Rochester. Outgoing coach Mike Jorden though, shared a few thoughts when reached later in the day by The Equalizer "Her comments were directed at the entire club, me included. What's said is I'm fairly sure three people lost their jobs because of it." Sounds like Jorden thinks Ashlyn got him fired. I think the team's record and performance under him had much more to do with it than Ashlyn's post-game vent.
Yeah, her rant was a symptom, not the problem. (Though still inappropriate, I agree she should be fined at least a little bit.)
I haven't read anyone who thinks Jorden's accusations have merit. The team's 1-7-3, has lost five in a row, and has gone 456 minutes without scoring. There just might be other factors in play here than Harris's comments.
Does anybody have Harris's full comments? The Equalizer story of June 28 has one quote sentence and in the comments section, another quote of "A few of us can't lead this team." Thanks
Harris could have been more tactful. Period. Harris' comments didn't cost Jorden his job although I think it might have expedited his dismissal.
This team is in serious need of a forward. Perhaps Natasha Kai can try and make a comeback on this team and turn it around. I don't think Harris was out of line, I think she is just really pissed off about the whole situation and needed to vent to someone.
in fact, i think harris did the right thing. every body and her mother was probably saying the same thing in the locker room for weeks. nothing was changing. good for her for caring enuf to dare to say something publicly.
Jeff Kassouf @JeffKassouf 3h ~24 hours after the Washington Spirit announced that Richie Burke resigned for health reasons, the club releases this statement that there is *now* an investigation, and Burke is suspended. They really want us to believe that they learned about all this yesterday.
He'll be president and not coach, which I think is the best move. He's not bad at identifying talent, but he obviously wasn't the best at managing that talent directly at games. Olsen was supposed to be staying on within the DCU organization after leaving his role as head coach there (I believe something to do with the academy?) so it's interesting to see him leave DCU entirely for the Spirit. Notably, I think, DCU has not publicly reacted to the news on any of their social media channels yet. Also, it sounds like this hire (which I do like by itself) was made without Spirit owner Kang being informed of it at all, and Talbott has been friends with Olsen for years. Baldwin is NOT helping his case as being a back-door, buddy-buddy kind of owner with this move.
The Spirit Sh!tshow grows: Larry Best files anti-harrassment charge against co-owner Michele Kang Larry Best, like Richie Burke, previously coached Steve Baldwin's daughter
And now, the Spirit v Thorns game in Portland has to be postponed because four of the Spirit group have tested positive for Covid. There has been a report that eight of their group are not vaccinated, no other details yet. This was expected to be the Thorns largest attendance so far this season.
For the record, the Athletic just published a fairly good interview with new club pres Ben Olsen. He certainly dodges a few questions about the internal politics of the current situation, but that's mostly expected, and I think he's about as transparent and pragmatic as he can be and seems to be bringing a good energy for someone landing in WoSo for the first time. https://theathletic.com/2811768/2021/09/07/ben-olsen-washington-spirit-nwsl/
And now this: Women describe ‘old boys’ club’ culture at Washington Spirit as NWSL probes franchise https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mo...on-spirit-as-nwsl-probes-franchise/ar-AAOIAeN
Jeff Kassouf @JeffKassouf 15h NWSL announces conclusion of investigation into Richie Burke and Washington Spirit: - Burk "cannot work with any NWSL players" and has been fired - "Spirit ownership has failed to act in the best interests of the league" and is banned from league governance for 14 days
End maybe in sight: sounds like the Spirit are in preliminary talks to hire Ward permanently: Getting word Washington Spirit has engaged in preliminary talks with Kris Ward about becoming permanent head coach after leading club to NWSL title as interim boss. Aside from two forfeits, he was unbeaten (9-0-3) and finished with seven consecutive victories.— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) November 29, 2021 The good news is that he almost certainly has the players' approval. The bad news - aside from the fact that it apparently took these talks this long to begin - is that Ward has gone on record saying he's done a very hands-off, low-leadership approach to guiding a talented team with a chip on their collective shoulder through a two-month blitz to a championship. IDK how well he'll be able to lead a less-motivated team through an entire season.
The Equalizer The Washington Spirit have hired Kris Ward as the club's permanent head coach. Ward took the interim job this past summer.
The Equalizer A "combination" or poor results and an "incident" at training led to Kris Ward's firing, Washington Spirit GM Mark Krikorian said.
https://www.frontrowsoccer.com/2023...VCxyNqxKbLZ6UZGZz33TgkfgwTh83dgQsuJq4mXyWe1fE WASHINGTON, D.C. – Head coach Mark Parsons will not return to the Washington Spirit next season, the National Women’s Soccer League team announced on Wednesday. No exact reason was mentioned for Parson’s departure.