Tune in tomorrow..... Charter Member of the Spectres Mac Mafia enforcer -- the evil one! I want my MAC AVATAR back!!! Please keep Clive Charles and his family in your thoughts and prayers. "Whenever I have to choose between two evils, I always like to try the one I haven't tried before." - Mae WestTherefore, I shall go by the name Smactish. Think anyone will know it's me?
From the soccer news rag via Fearm9: "Philadelphia Charge assistant coach Pia Sundhage has pulled her name from contention for the San Diego Spirit head-coaching job. " From Mactisha: "Tune in tomorrow....." Oh dear god, don't EVEN get my hopes up that Sundhage might consent to a job in San Diego. Would that be FINE or what?
::lab99 sheds a tear:: At least we were prepared since she pulled her name from the list of possible SD coaches already. And I have a feeling that no news on the Smith front is bad news. But hopefully I am wrong.
true lab. i hope brandi sways her husband onto the right path. how disappointing would it be if we don't land our two top choices?
Pia to Boston. And if I see Jerry tomorrow at SCU's opening game, then Crow will be batting 0-for-2. The key is to hire the GM first. Then have the GM hire the coach. again, Crow over-promises. And under-delivers.
Back to square one From the SD Union-Tribune... http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/uniontrib/fri/sports/news_1s30spirit.html
It's a mess because only a desperate coach would want to sign not knowing who the GM is going to be. Crow to Smith & Pia: "Sign now, & I'll sign your boss later . . . "
Can't a SD staffer be promoted to GM? That is what happened with the Beat when Lynn Morgan became CEO of the league. Eddie Rockwell was already in the organization and was promoted to Beat GM.
Crow has left this franchise in disarray. If he hadn't been promoted to league honcho, he should have been fired!!!! Pathetic. Does Tom Tate have any coaching experience? Does Julie Foudy want to be player/coach? This is not as uncommon in (global) soccer as it sounds, and if any WUSA player could do it, it is her. Just a thought.
Joy Fawcett built and coached UCLA to the Final Four during her tenure. She would be a prime candidate for player/coach as well. I still think they will/should hire a true coach though. There are all of the other WUSA assistant coaches to be considered. I know that some of the CRays fans are very high on their assistant coach. It is disappointing though that Pia Sundhage slipped through the cracks. I would like to think it was truly a case of her not wanting to come to the West coast than it was a matter of waiting too long for Jerry Smith who seemed like a long shot to begin with. But it is very disheartening to hear about and then lose two such fine prospects with seemingly none on the horizon.
In his extremely short tenure, he has compiled a better record than his two previous colleagues: 1 win and 1 draw.
Agree with you there, lab. I also don't think that Joy would want the added responsibility of coaching a WUSA team. She left UCLA due to having 2 kids, playing on the Nats, coaching youth teams, etc.. Add one more (daughter) to the mix, and playing and being mom and wife (along with sister, daughter, aunt, etc) seems to be soup enough to fill her plate for a very long time- or is that bowl? Perhaps there are other Asst. coaches out there- maybe not in the WUSA- perhaps an MLS or other one or two that would be considerations... And I do agree with all of you on the let's get the GM in there first.. hopefully this will be wrapped up soon and San Diego can heal and mend before the start of the 2003 season.
Clive Charles is struggling with cancer at this time. I am not sure he is leading his Portland teams right now either. He left the coaching responsibilities with his assistants last spring. It is serious.
A belief that the league will survive for the next 10+ years and that they get compensated more than their current gigs.
Crow's micro-managing this club as if it were still his. Crow wants to hire the coach first because if the GM was hired first, the new GM might re-hire Juarez. LOL.
With the college season already underway, the coach hiring process becomes more difficult. With cutting rosters and evaluation of collegians needed to be done by December, SD doesn't have much time left. lab's idea is probably the most elegant solution, even for one season, to the coaching dilemma. Fawcett strikes me as having a cerebral understanding of the game. The NCAA coaching experience certainly helps. And I don't think she would let her ego get in the way of not starting, if not playing at all.
Were this to be 2005 or 2006, I'd certainly see this more as a reality, or as a realistic possibility. However, it seems that Joy still has the deep inner desire to be player, and to be on the pitch. I agree fully that if at any time she would want the spot, it would seem to be a perfect fit- If nothing else, should one day we see Fawcett as USWNT head coach, I'd be the first applauding- though that may be in 10 years or so...
crow said he had secondary options-are we looking toward them now? although it would be nice to get a quality coach if we can do it at all...
It would seem to me, based on the fact that the only known (in print) coaching preferences were Pia Sundhage and Jerry Smith, that yes- Crow is into the "secondary options." I wish the Spirit all of the best of luck.
Someone go talk to Carla Overbeck. Persuade her that her body is no longer able to deal with the rigors of a full WUSA season. Convince her that she needs to retire from the Courage. She has nothing left to prove. And then tell her to rent a U-Haul and drive it down to San Diego to take over the reigns of the Spirit. Carla's coaching credentials may not be as stellar as Fawcett's. I think the only real coaching she has done was as an assistant at Duke. And let's not forget that when Duke was searching for a new head coach last year...Carla's name did pop up. Just a far fetched suggestion.