Re: The Off-Season Near News and Rumors Thread Didn't we think Peter Nowak would have to "learn to be a coach?"
Re: The Off-Season Near News and Rumors Thread A man shoots a gun at a target and hits the bulls-eye. Is that luck or skill? Under PN: - DCUnited was a .500 club. - DCUnited won two awards- Atlantic and MLS, made it to the finals of the Carolina Cup, but lost, and failed in two others - Supporters' Shield and US Open Cup. - The argument can be, and has been, made that if not for an obvious handball, leading to the winning goal, MLS Cup could have gone the other way. If DCUnited doesn't win MLS Cup, then PN is seen as an average coach with a lucky run at the end of the season that didn't quite go far enough. The ultimate queston is, can PN overcome MLS parity in 2005? At the moment I would say that DCUnited would have to win one award and end up in the semi-finals of another for 2005 to be successful - obviously being in the semis of the Atlantic Cup doesn't count, that's a win or lose proposition. It's possible that DCUnited will compete in six cup competitions in 2005, the five listed above plus the CCC.
Re: The Off-Season Near News and Rumors Thread .. and whoever has argued that handball no-call has blatantly ignored the obvious foul on Rimando that allowed KC to win possession and hit Kovalenko's arm with their put-back. Woulda - shoulda - coulda; results are what counts as breaks even out over the season. Novak came in with a clear vision of right and wrong, and never deviated more than a step or so off that path. Discipline from a respected source was the missing United ingredient -- and Piotr also implemented a system that fit the players we had. He had his learning experiences this year, but the confident adherence to his core beliefs saw us successfully through the season. Anybody arguing a non-called handball is either doing so as banter, or has no standing to warrant our respect. Piotr and Bunker Bob were more COTY than the drooler. GM
Re: The Off-Season Near News and Rumors Thread This post deserves a thread all of it's own! Depends on whether the person has been shooting all his life or not! I guess one can say similar things about Arena's 1996 season. Speaking of Arena, there are many similarities between the two. Both are very disciplined coaches. Both are very stubborn at times in their approach to soccer. But the most telling similarity is that both have confidence and strongly believe in themselves and their team. With Piotr Nowak, DC United has a legitimate chance of winning in all of the above mentioned competitions in 2005.
Re: The Off-Season Near News and Rumors Thread You are probably right, but i'll take up space here for now I think the big difference is that Arena did at least have some experience coaching already, while Nowak had none. That being said, I agree there are many similarities to their styles. Like Arena, Nowak appears to have a vision as well as the patience to see it through. Before pre determining the out come of next season, i'll wait to see what happens this off season with things like Ryan's replacement. If he had the team that he finished 2004 with to play all of 2005 and the right players were available at the right time, then yes I would believe there is a significant chance to see multiple (not including ECC or AC) titles come our way. Unfortunately he doesn't, so we'll see. -dave
Re: The Off-Season Near News and Rumors Thread Good post. I'll just comment on the above segment. Perhaps that was Diceson's point, that Piotr Nowak had no experience and got somewhat lucky. I (like the respected drummer) took offense at his "lucky because of a non-call handball" statement. Like Arena said "you make your luck"! (or something like that)
Re: The Off-Season Near News and Rumors Thread I watched the MLS Cup again and Wynalda made mention that Nowak acted more like his coach than his team mate. That got me thinking about who was really responsible for Chicago's early sucess, PN or Cheatin' Bob? If you look at what Bradley has done at the Scum with what should be a talented team it makes sense that Nowak was more than an onfield leader with the Fire. I think PN has been a coach all along, he just hadn't stopped playing soccer long enough for anyone to notice.
Re: The Off-Season Near News and Rumors Thread I'm not going to argue about the handball one way or the other. To me it was a handball, intentional or not is irrelevant, that led to the winning goal. Whether it gets called or not, that's just part of the game. Gansler said as much in the post game conference, and I don't see any reason to disagree with that assessment. The only reason why I point it out is because you know that when 2005 starts to kick off, the press and other fans are going to say the same thing about the 2004 DCUnited team. The lack of domination throughout the first 20 games gives people enough doubt as to whether or not it was a good run of luck. I don't think Nowak was lucky. He created a team atmosphere that eventually led to winning MLS Cup. That's good coaching. My question is, if DCUnited doesn't win any hardware in 2005 is PN a good coach, or a great coach? Towards the end of his tenure, Rongen said something to the effect, "Great coaches bring home silverware and allow their fans to brag. Then there are good and bad coaches after that. The bad coaches get fired." The reason that Arena is so revered is because he brought home silverware year after year. If PN manages to bring home a couple of trophies next season, particularly with the disadvantages the team will be facing due to league parity, then no one can claim he's a lucky coach. As for next season, I do think it will be one of the most dominating teams in DCUnited history. Barring overwhelming injuries, even with the loss of Nelsen, there's nothing stopping DCUnited from bringing home lots of cups.
... mod's note ... Split from the rumors thread because 1) this discussion is outside the spirit of that thread, and 2) this discussion merits its own thread.
Re: The Off-Season Near News and Rumors Thread I'm inclined to give Bradley some leeway due to what I suspect are front office issues.
Re: ... mod's note ... DC gelled at the end of the year. Gomez played a big part in that, with some other factors- Nelsen and Rimando healthy, for two. Give Nowack credit for getting the job done, though. Andrulis didn't do it and Columbus arguably has personnel just as good.
Re: The Off-Season Near News and Rumors Thread Thanks for clarifying your previous post, I can mostly agree with this post. I would not venture to say that "it will be one of the most dominating teams in DCUnited history", for precisely the reason you give in your very next sentence, i.e. the loss of Nelsen. IF (yes that is a big if) Piotr Nowak can bring in a decent central defender, then DC United can be dominant.
Re: The Off-Season Near News and Rumors Thread Good thoughts as always. Unfortunately (for those that do it) i'm not a GM for any sports clubs, but I would judge him as a good coach next year if he continues moving forward with his vision and the team is improving. Hardware or no, I enjoy watching a game where the team is playing as a unit rather than 11 individuals. I think Nowak did that this year. We all know that Rongen came in and got a Cup the first year, and then everything fell apart afterwards. I believe the big difference (not to belittle Rongen in his first year) is that he inherited arguably the best team in MLS while Piotr inherited arguably the worst team (the Cows did their part to make it to the playoffs, we coasted in because the team we faced didn't care and let us get a tie (they were the better team that day)). I agree that only time will tell, but he left me with a good feeling this year and i'll go into next season believing he will do it all over again. -dave
Thinking back to the first game of the year I remember how surprised I was at the energy within the team. I was filled with hope and optimism for the season. I dared not dream that we would get our trophy back but I knew that this team was exponentially better than last year's version even with most of the same players. That to me is why Nowak is a great coach. He took a group of players that weren't getting it done and turned them into a cohesive unit that played like they believed in something. I think he is the true COTY.
I hope Nowak was close in the balloting for COTY not just for winning the Championship but for doing it in his first year as a head coach. Not to take anything away from Andrulis and Gansler, but they have been at this a long time. And another thing about him that will help us in the future: young players can come here knowing that they will be given every chance to get on the field. Moreover, he plays an intelligent system that can be successful without superstars.
Re: The Off-Season Near News and Rumors Thread You apparently don't know the rules of soccer. Whether or not it was intentional is as relevant as whether or not a shot goes in the goal. It's an endless source of astonishment to me that this seems to be a MAJORITY opinion around bigsoccer. To me, it's as if most posters thought if a shot hits the post after it's deflected by a keeper it should count as a goal, and we were always arguing about whether or not a GK touched a shot or not, so we could know whether or not it should have counted as a goal. As to your basic point...yeah, we might be getting a bit overexcited, but down the stretch, DC was the best team in MLS. It wasn't just the playoff run. Whether that would have been true if KC hadn't been hurt so much by injury, I dunno.
Re: The Off-Season Near News and Rumors Thread Off topic but I too am agravated by this-not suprised though. One only has to listen to the number of times parents and players including adult players argue this fact to understand why it might be the majority belief around here. Doesn't make it right, but what do you do when a) recieved wisdom says its so b) Such wisdom is supported by annoucers like Wynalda who consistently butcher their explanations of the rules and c) any effort to properly apply the rules causes every player on the pitch to assume that you haven't a clue.
Winning hardware next year will depend on how the defense turns out. What seems clear is that only massive injuries can prevent us from having an excellent attack, and unlike most MLS coaches Nowak won't call the dogs off just because he's up 1-0. Or 5-0. When the midfield plays poorly DC can play some pretty ugly soccer just like any team that has an off day, but with Nowak I think we can trust we won't play ugly by choice. Right now (i.e. having just won the cup) I feel like that is more important than hardware given the circumstances surrounding MLS. Of course I probably would have felt differently before the 2004 season.
Re: The Off-Season Near News and Rumors Thread Gomez arriving and Convey departing had a major impact on the stretch run. Nelson coming back from a hernia operation was the key into settling the back line. Like the Grillmaster said, Nowak had a claer vision from day one how he wanted this team to play and attack. He never once backpeddled on that view. Once we got past all the injuries and got Gomez in to help Jaime out the players started to believe in it and play like it. Winning on the road for this team was beyond ghastly. The win over the scum at the swamp at the end of the regular season was what did it IMHO.
1. Yes, he was learning to be a head coach. And he's still learning. He made numerous mistakes during the year. For instance, I"m convinced he never forsaw that we'd be short bodies in midfield and that contributed to the Dallas Debacle and our loss to Richmond in the Open Cup. 2. Yes, he really is a good coach. Despite being a beginner. Just read what the Chicago fans said of him during his retirement--how he's credited with getting Thornton and Armas focused career-wise, how he got DMB, Bocanegra and Wolff oriented and taught them. Bradley credits him with being the man who pretty much pulled in the core SI talent that first year (Kubik, Kosecki, Podbrozny). How he set the standards for the team. And there is a reason why he impressed Payne from the git-go. I think he's different from Arena in many ways. For instance, they prefer difference systems. And I don't think he communicates with his players and is as proactive with them as is Arena (that's a case of coaching experience and Peter's previous models--especially in Europe). I think Arena is more likely to adapt his system to his talent and Nowak is more likely to insist the talent raise itself to play in his system. Nowak is more of a "physical work" focus as a coach (I don't think Arena runs practices and camps even at the international level that are as physically intense as Arena's are). But both are "leaders" and organized. Both recognize how to motivate and energize players and focus on the positive. Both see the value of a system that uses pressure. Both are extremely sharp guys. Both have the respect of their players. I disagree with the argument that we were a middle of the road team who got hot at the end. We were a team that MOST OF THE SEASON, outplayed every team we faced. But early we made untimely defensive mistakes and couldn't finish. That's part of the game--I'm not complaining. But to look at how this team played from game #1 is to see a team that played with organization and pride, imposed it's will on the opposition, outworked everyone, owned possession and generated more chances--regardless of most of the outcomes. At one point we looked like a flawed team that would finish in the middle of the pack but clearly we demonstrated strengths throughout the season and I'd argue only KC played as consistently (and outplayed its' oposition) as did DCU. As for next year...next year is another season. It's foolish to predict us as champions when we don't know what injuries we'll suffer (we will have them--every team does. The question is whether or not it's a Moreno that is lost for the season or a Tim Lawson). We don't know who the LA teams will bring in with their cap room and allocations (or other teams for that matter). But what we do know is much of the core of a championship team is retained and that we have a fine coach who should be better.
I for one, am grateful that we have a Novice Coach of such Luck, Moxie, Skill or what ever the Hell it was that got us the 4th **** Cup. My biggest fear is that whomever comes in to Replace Ryan Nelson will not be able to integrate/fit/LEAD the way that the Kiwi Wall did. I sincerely hope that Nowak has only begun to hone his skills......
We'll find out next year if he's a good coach. Without Ryan Nelsen it's not going to be easy -- we sucked without him this season. Winning two seasons in a row in parity-is-king MLS would be a hell of a feat.
Re: The Off-Season Near News and Rumors Thread I think that you are just taking a position for the sake of argument. Bottom lines matter. Peter prepared the team to peak at the proper time and to finish strong and win the MLS Cup. They did it. It happened. End of Story. This year, the man was a bonafide Hero. Tim