http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2009/04/john-carver-resigns-as-toronto-fc-head-coach.html Ives is reporting Carver probably going back to Newcastle.
Can't really blame him, then. Newcastle's a huge opportunity, even if they do get relegated. If anything, MLS should be proud to see a manager leave for such a prestigious position.
Toronto assistants Chris Cummins and Nick Dasovic will oversee the KC match on Sunday. A decision on Carver's replacement is expected to come early next week. I expect Cummins to take over for the rest of the season. And thank ****ing God!!! I havent watched every other team play, but Carver had to be pretty close to the worst manager in the league. The difference between their play under Carver, and their play under Cummins on Wednesday was astronomical. Its obvious Carver was trying to shove his bull**** long ball tactics down his players, and the opposition's throats, and it was clearly not working. He can **** off to the Championship. Now TFC has a chance to win something! What great news to wake up to!
Put me in the camp that isn't at all surprised to see Carver go. I'd also like to see Mo hire someone with MLS experience. It doesn't have to be a former MLS head coach, but someone with familiarity in the league as a player and/or coach. That, or Jason de Vos, who has cred as a player - former Canadian international and played in England - and knows MLS because he's been a broadcaster for three seasons.
It has been known for a while that if Shearer gets a longterm gig at NUFC he would look to Carver to join his staff. But this troubles me tremendously. Carver's dissatisfaction with a number of the MLS facts of life were well known, since Carver pulled no punches and spoke his mind even if it was impolitic. Even a casual observer of MLS knows that talent in the managerial ranks is thin. If European managers come here and can't find success due to the constraints in the league, that reflects more on MLS than the managers. That's a problem for the future of MLS. It's not enough to get world class playing talent to see MLS as a viable league career-wise. We need world class managers too. Carver is obviously not on the level of a Prem manager but if someone like him coming out of that environment is just too frustrated to make a go of it, or sees MLS just as a temporary assignment, it's not good.
Sort of. MLS has some tricky rules for a manager to navigate, we know that. The refs aren't the greatest, we know that too. But I've never seen a coach in all my time following this league that complained more about calls that on replay were legit than him. And there's a great post in the Soccer in the USA forum (where you don't often see them) about the domesticity of nearly every league: I believe a couple of the guys he labeled as Spaniards actually aren't, but the general point remains. Guys get in trouble trying to bridge the cultural differences between leagues. In the event, Carver struck me as coming from a British tradition where managers are larger-than-life personae that can call out the officiating after every game, whether it was really bad or not, and expect to get away with it because they had all the clout. In the US, the leagues are generally stronger than the coaches in them, and that's a battle coaches never win (further, the public just takes it as evidence of frustration and lack of control).
Was it Cummins idea to implement a 4-3-3? Because TFC looked pretty good playing it and has the personnel to make it work.
definitely surprising for me. someone on another site mention paul mariner as a possible replacement; that sounds like the right fit. tfc has a great roster with depth in many positions. there's clearly a reason why the team is underperforming and maybe new management will correct this.
I disagree with your analysis. If managers can't adapt to the rules of engagement, that reflects on them. Just like players have to adapt to how the referee is calling the game, managers have to play under the rules of the league they're in.
So if "someone like him coming out of that environment" comes to MLS and sucks as a manager, we should be ashamed? Did you type that post with Carver's dick in your mouth?
Nice. Stay classy, bright. What I was saying was if MLS aspires to be a top world league (not there yet but some day, who knows), part of that is being able to attract top managerial as well as top player talent. In fact, IHMO having top managerial talent may be a prerequisite to getting top player talent. If assistant managers coming out of the Prem or Championship (or equiv. 1st or 2nd div leagues anywhere) write off MLS as a career stepping stone due to them seeing MLS as not worth it, that hurts us not them.
Maybe, but as I said, there is probably not a single significant league in the world where the coaching is as cosmopolitan as the playing rosters are. The realistic solution to finding coaching talent is usually to develop it at home.
But if I'm a team owner, GM, player or fan, I want a coach that knows how to win in THIS league. While I certainly don't think it's impossible for outsiders to do well in MLS, history suggests that to do well here you need to have either coached or played in MLS (or both) or been part of our college system. Carver was the only active MLS coach who hadn't previously been an MLS assistant coach or an MLS player or a college head coach. Ours is a quirky league. Of that there is no denial. To do well here you need to know the quirks and how to succeed with them. Steve Nicol has embraced the quirks and is now one of the better coaches in MLS. And his European soccer pedigree is better than John Carver's. First and foremost I want a coach that can win in MLS. So if that means an overweight college coach who never played pro ball over one of the greatest European players (and a fairly successful European coach), so be it. I'll let others worry about what that means for the quality or reputation of the league. Me? I wanna win.
I realize that is what you said. And your implication is that somehow John Carver has so much credibility, in spite of his poor showing in MLS over the last two seasons, that he can go around telling anyone not from the U.S. that MLS is a horrible league and they will believe him. They will laugh at him and say, "Yeah, whatever, you sucked!" Top managerial talent isn't going to base their estimations of MLS on what John Carver says. You are reading into the situation way more than necessary. The guy did a bad job. He is gone. Bring in someone better.
Who is John Carver? That's what I said when he was hired. I always thought it would be an error to bring in a foreign coach who has no background as a player or assistant in North American soccer to coach a team. Just cause he's foreign doesn't mean he's better than an American coach. However, I did like his emphasis on youth players.
Since Gullit is still unemployed as a manager, MLS must not be that bad an indicator for managerial ability. anyway, it is good that Carver resigned now. TFC's next game is against KC and he would have physically assaulted the ref when one of his players was shown the inevitable questionable red card.
So did the asshole pay his little fine he owed this week or skip out on that? In this economy that $750-1000 is money the league could use!!! Even if MLS reportedly picked up $10 million from the Beckham saga! Seriously, i think carver was doomed from day 1. It is hard to soak in all the MLS rules while learning on the fly. It's much easy when one is familiar with the rules and the landscape of sports in North America. The cards were stacked against him. But also he did himself no favors by his bitching and moaning on the rules, refs, tactics, etc. I don't think Carver bought into his position and the league while he was here. I got the feeling he was looking over his shoulder the whole time. TFC, it pains me to say, is in better shape without him. Adios Carver! Good luck digging Newcastle out that hole! The cards are stacked against you again.