Have I every once said Ben has no flaws? No I have not. Yes I blame the FO for the complete lack of any talent they have given him. Over the last 10 years aside from Hamid and Rooney which member of this team would start for any other team in this league? Oh and many times he has started three D-Mids because who else was he going to start. Some kid who get 9 minutes a match at Loudon? A worse player? Often he was playing his best 11. Also with the no striker option. No you people live in the Unicorn world of Oh we will bring in Igor Bullshitski and he will trun us around right away. No one will succeed here with this roster, FACT!!!!!!
OPINION!!! LAW AND ORDER!!!! People have posted that similar rosters with middle to lower end talent have over performed in this tournament. You aren't listening. People have posted coaches that would be good replacements for Ben and some have even been hired by other teams in the league thus negating they wouldn't be available (GBS, etc.). Posters have pointed out that even with crap players a coach can still use tactics and well timed substitutions to energize their team. You don't listen. Having a crap team doesn't invalidate crap tactics or crap coaching. We have a perfect storm of all three. Something needs to change. If the FO isn't going to splash cash then we need a better coach to polish the turd. Enjoy the boulder Sisyphus.
I am listening but I DISAGREE, those supposedly equal to our rosters are better than what we have. Again who on this roster aside from Hamid would start for anyone else? I am waiting. A supposed better coach will not make this dung pile any better. Now give me a better roster and a better coach, I will listen but until this roster improves why bother bringing in Ivan Shitski? Again on many occasions you guys crying about 3 D-Mids is you missing the point. Who else would you have started in place of the third D-mid? No one on the bench was good enough to start. This is making my head hurt banging it against the wall like this. I am done with this conversation as I cannot seem to get through to you guys. So I will move to the Jaime Moreno Accident thread where I can contribute in a positive way.
1. Moreno, Birmbaum, Mora, Kamara, Gressel all start on other teams. 2. On the bench that day was Higuain, Kamara, Gressel and 3 youth players. Is that not enough?
Gressel Arriola Kamara Brilliant Yow Paredes Felipe Fischer Moreno Segura Some of these guys have been regular starters for other teams. Some would be part of any team's youth rotation. Others would be the weakest starter in defense or midfield given injury. Can you make a team of all of them with decent tactics and a good goalie, yes. You still need some key pieces in midfield and striker. For example of players that can break out with good coaching: Kaye Blessing Molino Akindele There are probably others but I only watch LAFC and DCU.
The argument at present is “if you can’t get rid of everyone then you should get rid of no one.” Ya ain’t getting rid of Kasper and ya ain’t getting rid of ownership. So if you want to stop being a crappy team with a dwindling fan base that leaves few options to improve. You either make those changes or you are openly saying “let’s just remain shit” because that’s a given with the status quo. Forget about the downside risks of a new coach because we already know the risks of keeping Olsen— he sucks and we suck with him.
I think you have a good 5-6 players that you can build around. Arriola, Gressel, Hamid, Mora, Felipe, Moreno. No opinion yet of Flores as we don't have a tactical plan to know how to play with or around him. Solid bench guys - Canouse, Birnbaum (2020 version), Atsem, Fischer, Parades, Yow, Segura, Pines. No opinion yes based on play - Sorga, Kamara (known quality from previous MLS stint but now older and slower with no system designed to play to his strengths - see Flores). Now - you can moneyball (something Kasper is good at) 3-4 more starters from the league. 25-27 year old guys you can get 5 solid years out of with no issue. That gets you to 9-10 solid starters which is enough in MLS to succeed. In order to put that team into a winning tactical philosophy you need a coach/gm/director of soccer operations, etc that knows what they are doing. You need a system that can be repeated drilled into players and established at the U10 level for the Academy. So - as of now we have just 5 players that would start in the league, poor coaching, no tactics, and a good GM who can play the league funny money game pretty well. Someone needs to say - get these guys because the fit this system we are trying to play. That's all. 3-4 more solid starter level players. That's it. Oh - and a playing philosophy that is evident from u10 to the senior team.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if the ownership hasn't thought of dumping Benny on many an occasion, but there are downsides: 1. Is there someone available who can do better with the roster we have? 2. If we improve the roster can we have more success even if Benny stays? 3. Benny is a DC lifer - he's not going to be hired away, one imagines, and is not likely to move away from his home of so many years, so what do you do with him if he remains in DC? Push him upstairs, where he can second guess the new head coach? Ban him from the stadium? To me, wither we need a complete overhaul - which probably means Benny has to move somewhere else, or you do it incrementally, by first dumping Ashton and making it clear Higuain is the real assistant coach (perhaps along with Ryan Martin). Then spend some money on upgrading the roster and see if things improve. If not, you go to Plan B and try to find something for Benny to do that doesn't intrude (much) on the new coach's prerogative.
Agreed - step one is get rid of Ashton and let Pipa run practices and tactics. Ben can stomp around and gesticulate like primate and be our sideline mascot. At some point you promote Pipa and move Ben up to the FO where he can Shadow DK for a while. This would be a good start. We still need those 4-5 players (and a healthy Arriola) to be competitive.
Ben Olsen hasn’t done anything to deserve to move upstairs. Time to send him packing and let him come back on alumni weekend. Handling Ben with kid gloves got us in this mess in the first place.
That's true but I've heard there was an agreement that would move him into another role if he isn't coach anymore.
That has been rumored for some time and wouldn't surprise me at all. But how can you have a clean break if Benny is in some sore of emeritus situation? On the other hand, Ben and his wife are totally embedded in the city (she's a teacher, I believe). Not the suburbs, but the real city (Ben used to live in Adams-Morgan, and now in Shaw). I am too soft-hearted to fire Ben and tell him he is no longer welcome here, which is why I would be a lousy owner. Someone just needs to make Ben an offer he can't refuse.
That's been rumored ever since he was hired but if so I'm sure with a little extra consideration he could be bought out of that part of the contract also.
He wouldn't be happy selling tickets, although I think he'd be great. Community/youth liaison of some kind, maybe with an ownership stake?
The many posts about the lack of investment in talent and poor roster construction are certainly true. It's also true that DCU's lack of success is not all on Ben, or even mostly. The question at hand, though, is could another manager (one who would be willing to come here for what Levien is willing to pay) have more success with the talent on hand (and possibly have more and better influence in roster-shaping going forward)? My gut feeling is yes. I say this as 96'er who was and remains a fan of Olsen, but sometimes you have to shake things up to get players' attention. I'm under no illusions, however, that we would somehow become MLS Cup contenders simply by changing the manager. There is strong evidence that DCU is a poorly run and underfunded club.
I also think it is an underfunded and poorly run club. I also don't think it is well coached. Given our parsimony (except for such as Rooney) I don't see us buying a lot of talent. The club will have to find promising players and develop them. Based on Olsen's tenure here, I don't think this is a realistic expectation without coaching changes. But I am enough of a sentimentalist to doubt that the FO will just cut Ben loose. More realistic would be, first, dumping Ashton and either promoting Higuain (who already has Asst. Coach in his title, IIRC) or finding an up and coming replacement. At some point, assuming this works out, you relieve Ben of his coaching duties and do what you need to do, either move him upstairs with a suitable title or give him the proverbial golden handshake and say goodbye (hard to do for a "lifer" who is so embedded into urban DC life).
So Leonsis didnt take long to switch up....what are the odds Levien and wrecking crew might be up to the challenge of taking a page from that play book....?
Notably, they ********ed up and were cheap and didn't pay Trotz after he won it all and wanted a modest increase. Also, Scott Brooks.
Actually, the sticking point with Trotz is that he wanted a 5 year deal which is infinity in NHL coaching. Toronto gave Babcock 7 years, most of which he is enjoying while fishing. The error wasn't in letting Trotz walk (remember he almost got fired twice in 2018), but in hiring a rookie coach for a veteran squad. Something that MacClellan now admits was an error.