Just as some Charleston supporters had tipped me off many weeks ago. Now time for some more dull defensive soccer in Vancouver!
Headline from August 2005: Vancouver misses out on playoffs for first time in 9 years with 1-1-26 5:6 record and 29 points.
What is Bob Lilley's coaching record? Wasn't he the Coach of the Year with Hershey a few years ago? Seems to me he has good credentials (IIRC), but I'm not familiar with his coaching style.
He's did well at both Hershey and Montreal. But his teams have been critized for being rather conservative in their approach. He get's results, just not the most pretty style. But come on what do you expect from an ex defender.
He seems to have good luck in finding coaching jobs at teams that are already doing well in the league. He'll be a step up from our last coach who had no skills in talking to the media.
His last year in Montréal, the Impact scored less than a goal a game AT HOME, while being one of the top teams in the league. That and he's like 0-5 against Rochester in the playoffs.
Seattle-Vancouver results in 2004 (including playoffs): The clubs COMBINED for 8 goals in 6 matches. The clubs have played THREE 0-0 draws in the last 2 years. Lilley to the rescue! 2004... Vancouver-1 Seattle-0 Seattle-0 Vancouver-0 Seattle-1 Vancouver-0 Seattle-2 Vancouver-1 (double overtime) Seattle-1 Vancouver-0 (playoff) Vancouver-1 Seattle-1 (playoff) 2003... Vancouver-2 Seattle-2 Seattle-0 Vancouver-0 Seattle-2 Vancouver-1 Vancouver-1 Seattle-0 Seattle-1 Vancouver-1 Vancouver-2 Seattle-0 Seattle-0 Vancouver-0 (playoffs) Vancouver-1 Seattle-1 (playoffs)
I don't think Montreal was a goal-scoring machine in 2004 either. I guess it makes a difference when you defeat Rochester and win the championship, but scoring goals doesn't seem to be an Impact tradition.
How's that? His first stint in A-League was with an expansion team and his second with Montreal he took over a team that had just lost it's ownership group midseason and missed the playoffs. The next year, he made Montreal the top team in the conferance. As for his coaching style, I've always thought he takes what he has and makes due with it. Montreal doesn't exactly have that many good offensive players that I've seen when I've watched them on FSW. Plus it's not like they lit the league up in goals this year with him gone. Montreal scored 36 goals this year, last year under Lilly they scored 40. This year's team only had one more more win then the 2003 Lilley coached team as well. This is a guy that's never had below a 15 win season and his team's in Hersey seemed to score a lot of goals as well. About the only thing you can say bad about him was he just couldn't beat Rochester, but that's true of many teams and coaches. Too bad he signed with Vancouver, I was hoping he might be considered for the Columbus job if it hopefully opens up.
Okay let me rephrase that. He's had the luck recently of joining teams that are already very good. When he joined Montreal they may have missed the playoffs due to the turmoil, but the team was very good. You are correct about Montreal scoring 4 fewer goals this season, however there are reasons for that. First they are now coached by a coach who was an assistant playing coach under Lilley. He's just continuing the same style, and it's impressive that a first year coach, first year out of playing actually won one more game than the Lilley coached team. Montreal has good offensive players, what you are seeing on the FSW broadcasts are the effects of his coaching style. Sebrango is a great offensive player, he scored buckets of goals when he played in Vancouver. Anyway, I'm just going on what people have told me, and what I've heard listening to the many Montreal games webcast on the net. Such as when he was in Richmond he often employed a 4-5-1 formation. Too defensive for me. Hopefully you are right, he will coach a style in which is best for a team that he is given. Out last coach took a team that was always one of the top teams in the league in goals, and had them not scoring.
I think you just need to look at the goal numbers from Hersey to say if he's given Offensive players his teams score goals. In the 5 years there, Hersey averaged 51 goals a year and still maintained an almoast 2:1 GF to GA. I think he's an amazing coach, who if he can make his way to MLS and have the same kind of success as he's had in A-League, could find himself as a candidate for USMNT coach one day. What he's only 37 or 38 now.
listening to the many Montreal games webcast on the net. Such as when he was in Richmond he often employed a 4-5-1 formation. Too defensive for me. When was he in Richmond??
Some of the fans here call him Bob "Chicken" Lilley. We did score 40 goals in 2003 with Lilley, but 26 were away and only 14 were at home. We'd play scared at home, looking for a nil-nil draw or hoping for a 1-nil win. Away games in Syracuse and Toronto saw more attractive and powerful soccer with 3-1 and 2-0 wins, for example. 2003 saw the Impact faithful see the least goals of any fans in the league (ie home GF+GA). Boring, boring stuff. His formation choices were all over the place, never sticking with a base 11, flipping players from side to side from game to game, playing our best midfielder (Nash) as a lone forward, playing Biello as a forward, not playing Ngon after getting him at the deadline even when we had no other forwards, etc. Lilley did get the results, but he seemed unable to win big games and his success is reliant on his bunker mentality which doesn't translate so well in the playoffs. And although the Impact scored less this season, they played a much better and more offensive. Their main fault was shooting so poorly that only 4 of 15 shots would have been on net. In 2002 and 2003, we'd only see 4 shots all game. THAT'S the difference. Whatever, we'll see how he does in Vancouver.
Lilley is a solid coach IMO but he will not have a roster as he did in Hershey or Montreal so i don't think he will work any kind of magic. And he still won't beat Rochester. lol
How do you know what kind of roster he'll have? There's no worries about Rochester either. Bunch of has beens.
I wouldn't bet the farm on that post. Turning an A-League team around quickly isn't a problem nowadays. There are all sorts of quality players out there either on loan, cut from MLS or overlooked Canadian players that can make a huge difference in rebuilding a poor team, and often do.
Whitecaps a poor team? I don't know if you guys actually follow the league that you are talking about but the Whitecaps went further than either of your teams in this years playoffs, actually making the semi-finals once again. The year previously they were eliminated via PK's in the first round, the year before they made the semi's once again, something that they are quite familiar with. Thats not the sign of a poor team, but of a team unable to make the next step.
Read my post again Krammerhead. I never said the Whitecaps were a "poor team", I simply stated that anyone can turn a poor team around in the A-League and listed the reasons why. Let's not get too touchy here about my point. A couple of easily obtained players could make Vancouver a championship team. That's hardly a controversial or wrongheaded opinion.
I did read your post a few times before I responded, I still didn't know which way to take it. Surely you can understand why it would seem that you were saying the Whitecaps were a poor team. So no big deal.
So Bob Lilley revisited. I'd like to hear what you think of his coaching so far there Krammerhead. Looks pretty impressive, 7 games in, tied for 3rd in the league in goals for(with Toranto 4 games ahead(12), Rochester a game ahead(13), and Richmond 4 games ahead(18)) and tied for second best defense with 3 goals allowed. Although numbers don't tell the whole story, so tell me what you think of him so far.
To be honest, I'm still not really impressed. The first three games were a snoozefest with Vancouver only scoring once and that on a penalty kick, which incidentally was the game winner against Rochester which somebody above said Vancouver wouldn't beat! Not only were there few goals there were few scoring chances. The Whitecaps then won their next 3 home games by a combined score of 11-2. The goals seem to be coming, at home at least but by only one player, Jason Jordan who has 8. What bothers me most is the last game in Minnesota. Lilley decides to put in the backup keeper who has never played a pro-game in his life while leaving out Mike Franks who has been doing excellent (didn't allow a goal in his first 4 games). So the backup makes a blunder that leads to the only goal of the match and the Caps lose their first game. I'd have probably put the backup keeper in goal 2 nights before against VB if the purpose was to give him playing time, not against a tough team on their home field If the Caps can actually score a road goal instead of playing for scoreless ties and can keep up the home victories with some offensive play then maybe I'll start changing my mind.