Forget what I have said at the games, and I immagine I will continue to say. Forget what I have written here, and may do so again. It's time to back up Mike Jeffries. Maybe he put the team into the hole, let us see if he can get the team out. Regardless of how the team got here, it is his responsibility to turn things around. Maybe he the Burn's Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix, without the proscription list. Perhpas this year is just an abberation. Why not give him the chance to prove it next year? Let him work the magic we have seen on every draft day. Plus, there is a good chance of having Nunez and Adu on the new Frisco pitch.
I know you're joking. At least I think I know you're joking. But last night I realized I don't think its the coaches fault. At least not 51% of this debacle. The players are playing badly and making bad decisions. Jefferies isn't the one making bad passes and poor clearances in the back. Jefferies isn't shooting the ball wide or over the goal. Last year he put in a system, the 4-4-2. It worked pretty well. For the most part its the same players in the system again and its just the players aren't executing. You can argue that Jefferies should have taught them how to make better decisions. You can argue that he coudl be a better, more visible motivator. All that doesn't mean squat if Chad Deering passes the ball to Ante Razov or Bonseu sends a clear header over the bar. Jefferies can do a better job. I am sure he woudl tell you as much. Everyone on this team, every single player, except maybe Jason Kreis is playing worse than last year. A coach can only do so much.
I generally agree with Jeffries personnel decisions and lineups. I also sympathize with the his lack of a true defensive midfielder which he has searched for ever since he got here. Who knows how his teams might look if he had this one piece which is clearly so important to him? However, his most glaring weakness has been highlighted by the Southlake debacle. The team has been almost completely demoralized by the joke that is Dragon Stadium, and Jeffries is not the man to pull them out of it. Management certainly didn't do him any favors by dumping this mess on him. But I can live with the motivational problems. Lately I've really been bothered by two other problems with this team: 1) We appear to have no kind of "system" at all. We seem to use this "free" midfielder idea which results in all our midfielders running all over the field. Consequently, we play like we never know where our teammates are going to be. Because we don't! 2) Players seem to be regressing developmentally. Suarez is a case in point. Johnson is a case in point. I'll be curious to see how Gbandi and Salyer progress. To me these are larger issues than a few losses or an off season. If we can't take care of them, we can count on many more bad results.
Personally I'm not overly impressed with the play of Kreis as the feature forward. I like a forward that scares the crap out of defenders. Kreis doesnt scare any competent defender. Now please don't get me wrong Jason is an effective Striker but any team with him as the "Man" will struggle to score. Jason isn't fast. He can't beat people off the dribble and create goals on his own. Jason is so so in the air. Jason isn't deceptive or particularly creative. Kreis will finish his chances if given good steady service. Kreis can finish a dead ball strike although that is becoming a very rare occurence. Until the Burn get a real danger man up top they are destined to struggle.
Here is my support for Jeffries; Put his no coaching ass some where in the front office evaluating players or anything just get him off the sidelines. He may not be responsible for poor passes or missed wide open goal but he is totally responsible for positional decissions as well as tactical decisions and he has done a very poor job since the 3 matches in 5 days last July. Since that point I'll put money we havent won more that 5 matches. There comes a point when a team is playing poorly changes need to be made and the quickest change with a large impact is the coach. FIRE HIM NOW !!!!! Look at what New England did last year and Columbus did the year before. STOP THE BLEEDING NOW!!!!!!!!!!
Look at the change the Metros had after they got Bradley as a coach. The guys an all around coach not just a good draft or personel coach. He's a motivator, a players coach, the kind of coach who can get the most out of a team and the kind the players like to play for. In any organization it starts at the top. The team is a reflection of the coach. Jeffries is a good assistant, not head coach material IMHO.
Scipio, so far you don't have any takers on your offer. I'll have to miss the Burn/Rapids game this Sat but you know I'll be there for the DC game on Wed night for Dema Bowl II and Hudson's $1k response! I hope to God that by Wed July 2 we have something to cheer about. "Nine games and one win make Homer go something something....."
I am about 50 50 on that statement. It could be true. But I don't know...just because he's the polar opposite of Hudson does not mean he's not fit to coach. I didn't think Dir could motivate, but the team never ever did this poorly under him. On the other hand, he might be a great coach with a different set of players. Or a great coach in Serie A where motivation is never a factor. I will say it's going to get more interesting before it gets better. Jeffries is going to have a new player on the field, maybe two, and probably other teams are smelling desperation and offering trades. And if he coaches the team to the same result in the next nine games, Burn management will give him a vote of confidence which will of course fuel speculation that the search for a replacement is underway. OK< here's my answer Scipio: I rally around Jeffries when he benches the veterans and plays the rest of the players. When he benches Pareja, Deering, Morrow, Kreis for part time, and Vaca too, then I'm with him. At that point it would pay to have the continuity of a coach developing a team for years to come. If he's going to continue to trot out the same tired failure of a team we've seen, then I say he's out of here.
Re: Re: Re: Let's rally behind Jeffries Don't mind if I do! Duh Op Ooooooh Weeee Uh Ep Urrrrrgh Doh Grrt Eek Ert Doh!
There is no excuse for the failure of the opening season we've had thus far. None. It's time we either make some personel changes and back Jefferies or stick with the players and get another coach in hope of turning this ugly season around. I could go either way right now. Trade Vaca, Deering (if there are any takers), hell even Oscar. Or get a coach that can get these players to play effectively. 4-1 against Chicago?? There is no F'n excuse. I dont care if Chicage beat SJ 3-1 a few weeks before either. They need to do something quick b/c it wont get any prettier the way things are now. Rastlin
I think doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is a loose definition of 'insanity'. We don't have a pure dmid? OK, then let's play a system that doesn't require one. Or pull your head out of your ass Mike and realize that Oscar is a dmid/holding mid in this system, and is not a creator. Davis is a creator lacking great speed. That totally screams for central midfield goddamnit!!!!!!!!!!! Or forward combined with a speedier striker a la Cerritos or Johnson.. How much do MLS coaches make? I'm being dead serious. Buzz, can you find out for me?
I THINK it is around 100K... but I am not sure. I am fairly certain as well it is higer in NY and LA. I don't think anyone will tell me but I will see what I can find.
Jeffries gets credit for the win, as a coach of course. And now if they take it to LA and win in their new digs, I'd almost be ready to say "hey, it was not as bad as we thought."
The Burn are not gonna be the first team to beat LA in the HDC. Of course, we will eventually lose to SOMEONE... and the Burn is more... how shall I say it... um... it's less insulting than if we lost to SJ, NE, CHI, NY, DC, COLUMBUS... um... that's it. If we lost to KC, Colorado, or the Burn, it would be meaningless. And David Dir was a better coach. tommy "judas maximus" mack
We can agree, Tommy, that the Burn are unlikly to prevail in Southern California. When you contend, however, that a loss to the Burn would be meaningless to the Galaxy, I must conclude you meant to write something else. It could be an aberration, in which case you are correct; it would be meaningless. Or it could singnal a Burn revival or that the boys who lifted the Cup last year are not that good. While niether will be tasteful to you, the later would be a disaster. El Lay should be feilding a better team than last year. A Burn victory? Doubtful. Meaningless? Almost certainly not, especailly fro the Burn. To move to the original point of the thread, I will agree that Jeffries has not been the one missing the shots or passing poorly, but it is his system and his choice of players that are not performing. It might be Jeffries who put the team in this hole that has been evidenced, or it might not be, and it is moot, anyway. All I am interested in is can he get the Burn out of it. And I am also interested in the top few draft picks next year.