As a Rapids fan, I like to think I know a thing or two about bad coaches, so, let me tell you, we've just hired the best of them.
Going from an MLS team to a u20 team is not exactly failing upward. It is a bold hire based on his success with New Zealand. If he can do whatever he did there with this team then we'll be great. If not then the talent in this cycle should be good enough anyways if they're all actually selected.
this is incredibly underwhelming, but im trying ot be positive. he was flying high after doing well with resource constrained new zealand. maybe mls was just too much for him? also thinking back to tab his player selections and in game management left an awful to be desired at the u20s
He was terrible for the Rapids. A lot of it started with some pretty poor mistakes in either overestimating some talent he had worked with before / underestimating MLS. I'm not sure his tactics helped much but he lost the team completely and it all fell apart. That said, he's been a decent international manager, and honestly, his experience level (if not his coaching acumen) is well above the average youth national team coach.
Who do people expect to get for men's youth team coaches? I'm curious, because my impression has always been that this is close to the bottom of the professional coaching ranks.
i think i prefer an up and comer over a down on his lucker. also look south rather than east and never west
He had a 33% win percentage w/ the NZ senior side and there are no Papua New Guinea’s or Salomon Islands on the Schedule. Seriously, the guy has a career 29% win percentage. If Ray Hudson wasn’t his dad he’d be selling used cars.
Anthony Hudson statement to the press while coaching Colorado last season - “We come to a place where a team full of superstars and big-money players and a massive, massive gap in class,” Hudson said. “We are fighting down at the bottom with a bottom group of players and we have to find a way to pick up a result.” He was fired with an 0-7-2 record. The Rapids finished the rest of the season with 12-9-4. They were 2 points out of playoff spot - primarily because Hudson couldn’t pick up a single win in nine games. i am not saying that he will definitely do poorly, I am just saying there is considerable room for skepticism if you are looking at this hire objectively.
i tried to be positive already, but realistically that quote alone could be seen as disqualifying for any youth manager
He coached the New Zealand YNT's to the group stage which is something to be optimistic about. Let's be honest we're all skeptical but let's try to keep our heads up and give him a chance.
"Up and Comers" don't take part time U20 positions. You're either getting someone with no experience or a coach on the rebound.
During the day, I've spoken to a few NZ journalists I got to know when covering the Tyler Boyd defection. Generally a mixed reaction from them on this hire. Although most seemed to feel he'd be much better in a non-club environment like this. He's detail-oriented and likes to explore all options (like Rongen used to do). I kind of like the idea of giving these jobs to former American players who are trying to break into the coaching ranks. EDIT: honestly, I think people would be far more okay with Conor Casey getting the job.
at the very least its another example of the federations ability to generate ill will with basically every decision they make.
He is a capable guy. Quite capable of not qualifying for the WC. We will recall Ramos teams as a Golden Age of youth soccer.
As a longtime Rapids STH, I have seen and endured my fair share of shit coaches and tactics. Anthony Hudson was the worst. You walk into the stadium and his stench still lingers. I hope the dude proves me and everyone else wrong but for right now, this is a shit hire. Pure and simple.
Also, a guy like Conor Casey might be familiar with promising possible assistants like Ryan Martin with Loudoun United who might or might not be ready for that level yet, but would greatly benefit from being exposed to the level - similar to the way that Tab Ramos improved dramatically during his time with the under 20s.
In my opinion, the mistake wasn't letting Ramos get away. It is completely unrealistic to expect a guy to stay in a YNT job as long as Tab did. Even if the fed was run as well as everyone wants, a U-20 coach is always going to look to move on at some point - and a head coach of a top-tier club is a step up. The mistake was letting the "next-up guys" get away. Omid, Van den Bergh, etc. Omid should be coaching this U-20 team. He was outstanding with the 2001s - and that should be core of this U-20 team.
Ray Hudson isn't his dad. Anthony Hudson is the son of former England international and NASL player Alan Hudson. Interestingly, the only two jobs where he had winning records were the two age-group national team coaching jobs he's held, Bahrain U-23 and New Zealand U-23. (Of course, they were very short-term jobs as U-23 teams hardly play outside of Olympic qualifying, so his record with those teams isn't very meaningful.)
Alan was one of my favorite players when I was growing up. i was growing up in England when Alan Hudson was a part of an excellent Chelsea team. Chelsea’s goalkeeper? Some guy named Peter Bonetti. Those guys were my favorites. Osgood, Webb, Cooke, Harris. What a team!