I agree we don't have much talent. But yes a different coach could do better with what we have, especially on the defensive end. Most of the many goals we concede in transition come from really poor positioning. Basic soccer 101 lapses. Also a good coach wouldn't be starting Kitchen and would use subs smarter.
I've been arguing that we have lazy scouting for years. What's his name who signed Beckham at least did some footwork. The only footwork we do now is Kirovski going to Europe to mis-identify talent.
de Boer seems to be a bit of an A-hole and a tyrant, at least that's what I gather from his demeanor. Although teams don't have to have a lead buddy to manage the team, it still helps if the relationship is professional and built on respect. If Atlanta's players were chafing under the rigidity of his system, that it was too defensive minded, you know what--I think we could definitely use that until better options are available. BUT I watched him coach a few games and he really didn't know what to do with Pity Martinez. That guy is NOT a bad player, but the team didn't have much flow and de Boer seemed uncomfortable with a creative player who didn't take to the defensive demands. A more flexible coach may have been able to work with Pity. This guy put him in the doghouse. Someone mentioned Greg Vanney. I like that. You think a guy who was with the team from the start would be comfortable with poor results? So I looked up some of the guys from that team and here's what I found (some we already knew, I'm sure) Dan Calichman, former coach at Claremont McKenna College and current Toronto FC assistant Dan Fraser, Culorosado head coach Chris Armas, NYRB head coach Ante Razov, LAFeCes assistant Paul Caligiuri, Orange County FC also Jose Vasquez, Santa Ana College Curt Onalfo, technical director...oh, never mind. (He left Eddie Pope unmarked) Obviously, we'd have to lure guys away. Of the top of my head, I can't think of any other proud Gs that are coaching and would make a good fit. Someone mentioned Robbie Keane on a different thread. Interesting.
At this point just give it to Kinnear for two years and see what he can do. Go spend on some defenders and let's start building something.
Ezra Hendrickson: Proud G Sigi's assistant in Seattle; coached Sounders 2 for three seasons. Sigi's assistant in LA. Currently assistant to Caleb Porter. Holds a USSF 'A' License Could he? Maybe. Would he? Probably not.
Yeah, he’d be great. I was just looking at the 1996 team for arguments sake. By the way, Dan Fraser?! I meant ROBIN Fraser!
Anyone on the team, including our coaches, trainers and medical staff. Ballboy. Lamppost. Play 10 v 11.
This is exactly how I feel. On one hand, it feels silly to fire a coach over covid cup results. On the other hand, Atlanta seems set on a specific style of play and they want to win and they want to win playing in that style. DeBoer didn’t follow the style and didn’t get results. Firing him is ambitious. I love it! At this point, I have no clue if this club even has a style or identity other than journeymen mixed with Euro superstars.
Corner of the Galaxy http://cornerofthegalaxy.com/2020/07/27/podcast-real-answers-needed-from-galaxy/ is worth listening to this week. They state everything that we are saying on here - basically the front office is a mess, there is no style of play, and we don't have a plan. Hiring big names for the sake of selling tickets. A coach with no answers. We subbed less then any other team in the tournament! It's our worst start in franchise history, 2nd to only our 2017 awful season. I have had G's season tickets since the opening of the Diggity, I have seen everything over the years, I'm not sure I want to watch this depressing, dysfunctional team next year. It's just so frustrating that we make such incomprehensible player decisions. It's like watching a bad made for tv movie, where the plot requires actors to make really stupid choices. Ughhhh
You should just say bad movie - tv is where the good stuff is these days! (Agree with everything you said in the post, btw.)
But honestly? I would bench Kitchen, play Araujo at right back and I would move Feltscher into midfield, the only place he is any good. I guess my midfield is Lletget, Dunbar or Kljestan (ugh), Corona and Feltscher. And how bad is Alvarez practicing these days? Can't be worse than Kitchen. Or we could go with 5-3-2, with Lletget, Corona and Feltscher. Even if Kitchen is better than someone like Dunbar/Kljestan/Wild (and I doubt he is) he should be benched for lack of effort. His lack of involvement in games (mixed in with dumb costly fouls) should simply not be tolerated.
Sasha Shitstain is another one of those dumb signings. Seriously, Shitstain, Katai even pre-BlackNikesMatter, Perry Restroom...who signs these guys thinking they will make a difference?
I'm admittedly conflicted. The question is, do you think GBS deserves an opportunity to see out his vision? Should we "trust the process" or have we seen enough to pull the rip cord? I think you can argue fairly both ways: I ask myself primarily: is Schelotto a good coach? I've heard, frankly, both ends of the spectrum from folks I've talked to that followed his time at Boca, so that is inconclusive for me. I personally don't think a truly poor coach can win a league, even if he has a big talent advantage. So I go mostly from what I've seen with LA: The Good I think GBS has a vision he believes in and an idea for how he wants the team to play. He's also had good coaching performances for the LA Galaxy and when we had a full-strength squad for a very short period in the beginning of last season -- we were actually doing well: we won 7 of our first 9 matches of 2019. That included a 2-0 victory against a then-unbeated Union team where Jim Curtin said afterwards: "Credit to the Galaxy, they played at a tempo that was faster than we've seen this season, I think we'll learn from it." So not only had he had good performances and results, when this team clicked at times they were great to watch. With a full-strength squad, I think we get more out of all the games we just played -- it's hard to overstate how diminished we are and Schelotto is still dealing with the previous regimes crap. Remember that Skjelvik is still technically on the roster and we're still stuck with Kitchen, which limits who else he can bring in to reinforce defense -- still GBS did shore up defense last year (Acosta) only again to lose him to a months long injury. Insua has played...5 matches in MLS. The Bad I agree with the poster that said GBS is too rigid, especially after listening to the last CoG. I'm not sure he has a back-up plan if his "system" doesn't work and he seems stymied by the many variables MLS throws at you or...even just when his initial gameplan flops. He's had good coaching performances, but he's also been out-coached by average MLS coaches. I get, to some extent, the rigidity and riding things out while you're trying to implement a long-term plan, but losing the home opener the way we did and losing to LAFC the way we did is inexcusable, IMO. Motivating the team consistently seems to be an issue (both GBS and his team had visibly more energy against Houston -- it's like someone pulled him aside) and I think he's in real danger of losing his team before he gets them on-board with his plan.
Let's go get Eddie Howe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Howe. Did a great job with Bournemouth and the Championship is comparable to MLS. I'm sure he could bring some quality players with him.
I think I was the one who mentioned the rigidity thing. I mentioned it because we had MONTHS between our 1-0 loss to Vancouver and our 2-1 loss to Portland and 6-2 loss to the neighbors. We in no way changed our approach to the game. It was the same exact shit. He had months to process and analyze those first two games before COVID cup, and... nothing. He doubled down. The only way I keep GBS heading into 2021 is if he shows he can adjust within the next few months of 2020. To me, that means prioritizing team defense. If Rolf runs into our attacking side and doesn’t track back, I’m firing GBS.
Anybody else see these rumors of GBS taking over the Ecuadorian national team? If he leaves, who is available to take over? Give it to Dom?
Just having Rolf play better defense isn't going to stop the Bingham howlers, the lack of effort from Kitchen, the Steres passes to no-one or any of the other problems with the defense. As much as you want to grumble about the defense, outside of the LAFC game, the Galaxy have given up 5 goals in 4 games. Considering the lack of talent on the defense, I am surprised that the Galaxy didn't give up more goals in their non-LAFC games. All in all, I think that GBS has gotten 3 good efforts, 1 so so effort and 1 stinker of this mess. I think that you can make an argument that the problem with the Galaxy in 2020 is its inability to score. In the 5 games played this season, they are averaging 1 goal a game. Looking at Galaxy history, if team doesn't put the ball in the net more than once a game, they are at best going to only win just over half their games (and that would require a 2010 or 2011 type defense). More than likely, a goal per game will produce the results the Galaxy have achieved. Given their lack of defensive talent, I think it pretty clear that the Galaxy have to score more than a goal a game to win. Just raising their average to the 2019 league median of 1.53 goals per game would have probably given the Galaxy 4 more points on the season and brought them to 1 point behind the playoff line instead of last place in the west.
I had not but now that you mention it it is interesting. The more detailed reports are by way of ESPN in which it appears Guillermo is the first choice by Ecuador to lead La Tricolor. Some sites already have GBS as their coach. Apparently, the twins were pitched the idea late last week and GBS asked the offer to be put on paper including Ecuador's project expectations with the understanding the offer would be mulled over this week as Ecuador is in a hurry and has others in mind including San Jose's Matias Almeyda. Crossing my fingers that the deal goes through. The FO would save face if Guillermo leaves on his own.
I thought it was done and dusted, but if it's not, please god let this happen. As you can tell, I'm at the end of my rope. No I don't have a ton of recommendations for who could take the job, but I don't think giving him more time is going to do anything. EDIT: Where do you see the stories on ESPN? I looked but nothing.
I will take an up and coming, promising, ambitious USL or Championship or League One coach over GBS. At least we would have hope of finding a diamond in the rough.
"Federación Ecuatoriana de Fútbol tentó a Guillermo Barros Schelotto para que tomara las riendas de ‘La Tricolor’ para las eliminatorias rumbo al Mundial de Qatar 2022, pero el director técnico argentino decidió rechazar la oferta para continuar con el proyecto de LA Galaxy en la Major League Soccer; donde deberá buscar mejorar el funcionamiento del equipo, ya que en MLS Is Back no logró ganar ninguno de los partidos y se llevó una goleada contra LAFC. Según información de ESPN, el ‘Mellizo’ decidió rechazar la oferta de dirigir a un equipo nacional para poder terminar su contrato con la escuadra angelina donde tiene contrato hasta el 31 de diciembre de 2021 y donde tiene una dura tarea para hacer que sus jugadores logren mostrar un fútbol llamativo y efectivo, siendoChicharito Hernández su principal tarea, ya que llegó para ocupar el lugar que dejó Zlatan Ibrahimovic." So no, we are still stuck with Guillermo. He rejected the offer.