http://1460thefan.com/tf.php?story=dispatch/2003/11/14/20031114-F8-01.html Here's the "best part" "It was incredibly disappointing," Andrulis said. "A lot of the keys are in place. We don’t need a massive overhaul. We were very close. It was the little things that turned into a big problem. If it was one thing you could put a finger on, that one thing would be fixed. When you look at the season, it was not one thing." We need some forwards and some depth. And to have all three of our SI's start game in and game out wouldn't be bad either. And that's the way it should damn be. What could we have done with better fitness? Even espn2 showed that our goal differential was -8 after the 80th minute.
So the tactics and overall management of the team were dreadful...But don't worry, we have a new goalkeeper coach coming in.
Okay, first it was over half the team will be missing next season - now - it's we don't need a massive overhaul? This just leaves me speechless and clueless. Okay maybe not speechless. That "little things" nonsense is the biggest bunch of feces encrusted horn-honk I've ever heard. A) If you as a coach cannot manage a big thing or a bunch of little things then it's time to go. Managing problems is your damn job, you dumbass. B) Assuming it is just "little things" then we are repeating at least three years of history and will most likely continue to net the same results - a below average season with maybe some playoff time only because almost everybody gets into the playoffs. If you continue to have the exact same results fixing "little problems" wouldn't you eventually get a neuron or two to figure out that it might be a large, core issue? Every season you will always have little problems due to call-ups, injuries, 2nd stringers, players leaving, etc. Ugh. This has to be the single dumbest statement ever made by a Crew manager. It's looking like 2004 is going to be "make do with what we have" season.
i read the first couple paragraphs of that article about five times, i couldn't believe it. I can believe greg said we DON'T need a massive overhaul. i couldn't believe my eyes. was it hunter's rumblings that said maybe half of the roster next year would be new? when i first saw the news of greg's extension, i thought i could live with it IF we get a bunch of new players, keeping the core guys. Now, we're keeping the same crap coach and the same crap team. I suspect many of these offseason decisions are based on $$$$$. Attendance was WAY down this year(the stadium never looked much more than half full) so i'd guess the budget is low. Columbus doesn't pay GregAndrulis nearly as much as they'd have to pay a real coach. This news of not needing a massive overhaul could simply be because we don't have the money. Maybe they're just leading us up to the announcement that we won't be using our allocation. They'd say something like we already have good chemistry. I hate Smith and Andrulis.
I don't post much, so maybe I should just shut up but I have to ask a question: Though all the mistakes, breakdowns and screwups this long, long season, has Greg Andrulis ever once said "I made a mistake"? He says the players didn't have the intensity, or there was a world class goal or this or that or the other thing, but he has never, ever, ever said "Hey, I need to do some things better, some things differently. As the coach, the buck stops here. I accept full responsibility for all that's gone on and it's my job to do something about it" That's why I just can't accept this jerk as a man. He blames everything but the weather, but never once says "I'm the guy. I've got to do better" And that's how you know he never will.
Maybe I can answer your question. I don't pay the $$'s to get Dispatch online so I can't quote from there, but from Andrulis' chat with the Matchnight fans: "I absolutely take responsibility for where we are as a team. It is my job to bring Championships to Columbus. I appreciate your passion and your frustration." and also "There was a misunderstanding last Wednesday that was completely my fault. Craig Merz from the Dispatch and Shane Murphy at MatchNight correctly addressed the issue." I know he has said similar in other interviews, but alas I don't have access to quotes. But these will do. Like his coaching or not, he does know the buck stops with him. I find his statements no more "jerky" than Hudson's, Ray just says his post game opinions in a quaint way with an endearing Scottish accent so it's more palpable. I'm not stating a case for why the coach should stay, just answering your question that you said you had to ask.
During that same chat, I asked three times what the club was doing to try to put a halt to the late-game meltdowns, and never received an answer. Broad, vague, meaningless statements that seem to answer questions but don't really say anything have become as typical as late game failures and poor personnel decisions...
Greg's quotes have the same relevance as his "World Class Goals" explanation. Meaningless drivel lauding opponet's great shots while ingnoring the fact that his team gave them opportunites to make those shots. Take a look a Wolnyiek (sp) running free BEFORE his world class shot won the game for the Metros. Franchino's "world class shot" was from a free kick due to a stupid foul that gave the Revs a free chance to win the game with an excellent shot. How about taking responsibilty for not adding fresh players into the match when their presence would have a chance of countering the opponets fresh legs? (-8 goal differential after the 80th) Taking responsibilty for systematically making the same mistake is NOT the mark of courage - it's the mark of stupidity. Men with courage make changes and accept that those changes may not work, but at least they are attempts to change a bad situation. My fault I dropped the grenade 5 times in a row is ridiculous.