'Doctor Bob' not running for re-election

Dr. Boob out can only be good for the entire program. From the youth's to the full teams.

 

Ding dong the witch is dead ...

 

But good things happening during his administration, well except one, the April case. Let see, Hired the right coach for USMNT, USMNT finished last 8 at the last WC, 6th FIFA rank for USMNT, USWNT won Olympic gold, stadiums had been built here, there and everywhere...can anyone list his mistakes throughout his career in USSF ?

 

So, do we know anything about Sunil Gulati vis-a-vis the women's program?

 

No but I'll start researching.

 

His name sounds like Indian's (Not American Indian)to me.

 

Here's some info on Sunil Gulati

Link

Link

Link

 

So?

 

Thanks.

It sounds like, other than serving on the WWC 99 and 03 boards, he hasn't had much contact with the women's side of soccer.

Enough facts--what are the rumors, innuendos and insinuations?

 

The good things that have happened under his reign were things that he had little or no control of, excepting the hiring of Arena, which was a daring move. The '99 WWC and team were already in place, the '03 WWC coming here was a no-brainer, especially after the Europeans didn't make a big push for it. Where else could you organize such a big tournament in such little time? The advancement of the men's team I wouldn't credit to him but rather on the explosion of soccer two decades ago. American's are playing soccer as their first sport, not as a second or third, and we are attracting many more foreign born players. MLS is more responsible for the higher ranking of the men's team because they play at a higher level all the time, rather than just for tournaments. Stadiums are being built because the sport has dictated it, not the federation.

The negatives are things that were decisions or actions made by the federation. Even with a surplus (which, again, happened because of the exponential growth of the sport) there were at least three player/federation contract disputes, one by the men's team, two by the women's with the last one still up in the air. I don't understand how such an adversarial relationship between federation and teams is good for the sport. The fed lost a lot of money by not having a plan to jump on the feel-good bandwagon of the '99 WC and hosting some sort of victory tour. Yes, the USWNT won gold in '04, but they did that inspite of their coach not because of her. They also took silver in '00 and bronze in '03 WC. One out of three major championships is not what this team is capable of. Everyone knows about the Heinrech's mistake. It caused an even bigger rift between the WNT and the Fed. Ryan seems to have been a good, but obvious, choice.

Riding on the coattails of popularity is not the same thing as actual action itself. Soccer has grown by leaps and bounds not because of action from the federation, but from the grass roots fans and players who just love the game.

 

I hate when people say they won in spite of her. That's BS! If a team is great and has great players then they can adjust to any game plan. Maybe she didn't choose some of your favorite players, but so what, they won the Olympic gold and she was the coach and she derserves credit.

 

Doctor Bob didn't hire Bruce Arena. Hank Steinbrecher did.

 

Foudy for President!

 

I don't think it's BS to make such a claim. April's coaching philosophy of trying to control the entire game from the sidelines limited that team in it's ability to score goals. The freedom of choice was taken from the players as they were limited in touch numbers and passing choices. The players were handcuffed by indecision because they were afraid they would get ripped for mistakes later. They won the Olympics because they went away from the April mandated long ball and her reliance on set-plays. They were fortunate that the Brazilians hit the post twice or that would have been another defeat for her lumbering, dinosaur type style. April was a great conditioning type coach. She excelled at drills and preparation. But she was not a good head coach and she was lucky she had two of the best who ever played (Hamm and Fawcett) along with the other greats, as well as promising newbies, playing for her. It was like they gave her the keys to a Porshe and instead of tinkering around the edges with ways to make it faster, she took the entire engine apart and turned it into a gas-guzzleing behemoth.

 

Someone associated with the team told me that they were aghast when immediately after the kickoff against Sweden to start the WWC03 two years ago, Heinrichs sat down on the bench and said out loud, "Well, my work is done." (or words to that effect). Given the source and my own conversations (or attempts, anyway) with Heinrichs tells me all I really need to know about her coaching style.

 

April, in truth, was right to make that statement.

Ideally, the bulk of coaching is NOT being bombastic and yelling at officials, and drawing up plays in the huddle for the last-second effort.

Instead, coaching is all of those two-a-day practices, the film sessions, the chalk-and-talk, and all of those things that happen BEFORE gameday.

Most of the best coaches I know say almost nothing on the sidelines during a game (in some athletic fields of endeavor, coaching from the sidelines isn't even allowed!), and instead use practice time wisely.

 

We are rehashing old themes here... we all know what happened...

Let's move this thread on or let it die

 

true.

Let's move this thread on or let it die[/QUOTE]

Why? One can always choose not to read a thread.

 

On the passing of Dr. Bob (may he rest somewhere in Colorado, far from soccer house).

1. Sunil's ascension should be a huge help to MLS and men's professional soccer in general - it may mark the end of youth soccer's reign over the federation.

2. The fed was pretty much against women's soccer from the get go and Sunil is certainly not going to change THAT. You'd hope that at least he understands the business of soccer and there's some hope he would see the WNT program as a valuable asset (Dr. Bob liked to take credit for the wins, but beyond that . . .).

BUT . . . I doubt it. Sunil is just a slightly smarter "good ol' boy" and reshuffling the board isn't going to change the way things work down in Chicago. Hopefully there'll be some movement towards real support of a women's pro league and a vibrant and vital nat program, but there's nothing in Gulati's resume to indicate he even knows the WNT exists.

 

If he doesn't care the women game, we'll be in trouble, it means we'll go backward.....not forward...and we'll call USSF Taliban Federation.

 

Minor correction. Sunil isn't "slightly" smarter, he's "freakishly" smarter. Of course raw brain power doesn't always make for good governance.

 

Let's put it this way:

Foudy, Mia, and April all bailed when they saw the writing on the wall.

The only one who was stubborn enough not to get out of the way of "Hurricane Sunil" was Brandi, who had to be booted out by a hatchet man named Greg Ryan.

Foudy outplayed "Hank S." at the "poker table" in 2000, as she used an "Ace" up her sleeve in Michelle Akers, as well as phone numbers of "pocket Queens"
named Feinstein and Boxer on her speed dial.

(Foudy also used those "pocket Queens" to keep WUSA going two years longer than it should have, as Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Robbins at COX were scared to death of what Foudy could have done to make COX's life miserable at the FCC if COX were to pull the plug on WUSA early.)

Foudy bailed because she figured out that she has ZERO chance in a "poker game" of collective bargaining against Sunil.

I repeat: Foudy has ZERO chance against Sunil. Foudy knows it. Sunil knows it.

 

What the heck are you talking about? If I'm reading your post correctly (and that's a big if), do you have any evidence to back up these claims?

Although I'm very impressed that one person can have such power over an entire cable company. I'll need to make sure to keep Julie on my good side.

 

Change "Foudy" to "Floudy" and I swear that's an Oliver Tse post.