http://sanjose.earthquakes.mlsnet.c...ent_id=18578&vkey=news_sje&fext=.jsp&team=sje Lalas also announced today. Tony
With this news, and the season ticket news, I can go to school for 10 hours straight today, happy! Imagine that! YAYA!!!
I think it's a good move to bring Dominic back, but I'm disappointed that Doyle is going to be retained. Doyle the coach < Doyle the player He doesn't look like he's doing ANY coaching. Standing around at practice doesn't count. Kinnear needs someone to take SOME responsiblities so he doesn't have to do everything. Agoos would have been my choice to move to the bench. Kinnear's going to hit burnout by next season if he doesn't get someone to share the load. I don't see us being successful with John Doyle on staff......
I'm glad Lalas made this statement: "Dominic and John did a solid job this past season," said Lalas. "I think I can appreciate the learning curve associated with the first year on a job." Especially the last part. I also have reservations about Doyle based on what I've seen. But I've only seen a tiny tiny portion of what actually goes on.
Jeff, I'm not singling you out, you just posted most recently. But do any of us, say, blame the A's not making the playoffs on Chris Speier, who was Ken Macha's bench coach? OK, Speier was canned by Billy Beane, maybe that's not a good example. Are we going to blame the Warriors failings on assistant coach Terry Stott? No. Did anyone blame the 49ers results last season on Jim Mora? No, in fact he got a promotion to head coach. I'm sorry, but while the role of assistant coach is important, it's how the person in charge performs. Hopefully some stability and positive movement will allow Kinnear and Doyle to do their jobs better. I reserve the right to change my opinion depending on the results of the expansion draft/Super draft. Tony
Yes....Dom needs to put Doyle in charge of training and he needs to be standing around observing....that's not Doyles job. I don't tell my boss how it is, he tell's me and I do it. Dom chooses to be more hands on.....he should pull back a bit and his loyalties to his buddies are getting in the way of him being the good coach that he actually can be. Blaming Doyle is silly.
I agree. Can anyone who periodically attends practices, or who talks to players, comment on Doyle's demeanor during practice? I have no idea how (or how often) John gets hands-on with these guys. However, my experience as a player is that assistants are often WAY more vocal in practice, and they tend to back down a little during the run of play and let the head coach lead. Assistants typically help head coaches by working with small groups of players, or individuals, fine-tuning specific skills or tactical aptitude. But assistants don't usually coach players on stuff like that during a match, just make slight adjustments here and there. FWiW, while John isn't a vocal coach on the pitch during matches, he is quite vocal with the fourth referee du jour (the yelling matches are right in front of my seats), and Kinnear as an assistant did a lot of that during Yallop's run. Also, have any of you posters with kids have experience with John's soccer academy? Just wondering what you thought about your kids' (or your) development from this.
Sounds like Kinnear is still doing what he's comfortable with, being the assistant coach. Hopefully he learned a bit about being the boss this year. BTW, I don't think any of us would like it much if our boss said we did a "solid job" because it infers mediocre, not exactly a compliment. If the Quakes get off to a difficult start next season we could see a coaching change early.
"Players win games, coaches lose games, referees ruin games". I don't know who originated this saying, but MLS Referee Ricardo Valenzuela cited it at a referee class. I've seen him ruin at least one MLS game, so I guess this isn't in his daily mantra. But I felt strongly this season that secondary to the ownership turmoil, the coaches' flawed substitution strategy caused many losses and demotivated the players. We lost alot of games in the last 5 minutes, which coincided with Kinnear substituting a defender or a defensive halfback at that critical point in a match, and the incoming player losing his mark. I also noticed this season that the Quakes usually played worse in the second half, not better. These are signs of poor coaching. But I guess things could be worse - - at least we don't have Steve Sampson.
tedwar, you really hate spoilers! was anyone planning on bookmarking the quakes site and not able to check it for a few days?
Colorado fires coach Hankinson With the Rapids dumping Tim Hankinson today, another MLS coach has bit the dust. Obviously standards are getting higher for MLS coaches, or coaches must be a dime a dozen if they are so easy to replace. So if an MLS coach takes a team from first to almost-worst, and still has his job, then you have to think that maybe AEG is keeping Kinnear because the whole SJ organization is just in a 1-year holding pattern anyway. Maybe keeping Kinnear is just another piece of Ann Killion's AEG conspiracy.
I've seen John up close with kids and he is excellent, especially with the younger ones. I haven't experienced his academy but I am familiar with the guys that are a part of it and they are top notch. My son does not care for Doyle trainings but he is 17 and a lazy prima-donna striker type......a white version of Graz. I watched John train a group of 10 yr olds and it was magic.....these boys had no idea who he was to USA or MLS soccer......but he had them eating(learning) out of his hand and enjoying it the whole way. There is no way anyone can tell me he was a better player than he is a teacher.
In a period when the team has been through so much turmoil, I like the fact that Dom and John Doyle were retained. More than anything, I think this club needs some stability--something they can hang on to. As it is, we can look ahead to 2005 and see that it will be a season again filled with national team call-ups. Every year inevitably brings injuries and all of our players are now a year older...particularly those which are counted upon heavily (Agoos, Ekelund, Dayak, Onstad.) What should/can we expect from them this year? There are added uncertainties...who will we lose to expansion?...and the greatest question of them all, "where in the world is Landon Donovan?" Unless something remarkable happens in the next couple of months, the Quakes will also have to play through another season wondering if they will have to uproot their families NEXT fall. Basically, it sounds to me like everything in 2005 will be pretty much as it was in 2004--perhaps, without LD. Daunting! For all the aforementioned, I agree with Albany...let's put aside the notion that retaining the coaches is part of a "grand AEG conspiracy" and stay with what has gotten us through it all....belief! GO QUAKES!!!**
Re: Colorado fires coach Hankinson No, I don't buy that. I think they kept him because: 1) he had to deal with the oft-mentioned distractions, injuries, and callups From the QuakeMagic article: Kinnear's first year in charge was marked by inconsistency and given the fact that the club was coming off a championship, the perception is that the team underachieved. In the end, Lalas felt that Kinnear's handling of the off-field distractions as well dealing with a lengthy injury list and numerous National Team callups, warranted retaining the former U.S. international. 2) the first year factor: give the guy a chance to grow in the job Also from QuakeMagic: "I think that if anybody can recognize the challenges and difficulties in the first year on the job, I can. Just as I've learned from this past year, Dom and his staff have learned, and I'm excited to see him use the experience that he has gained over this past year to make the changes necessary, both in terms of personnel and the way that he coaches." That last part is interesting to me. It's pretty clear that Lalas feels that changes are needed both in personnel and in "the way he coaches". I would imagine they had a conversation about that, and Dom probably assured him that he's aware that changes are needed, and he's up to the task. I'd like to see Dom have an opportunity to give Lalas peer feedback too, and to be "excited to see him use his experience to make the necessary changes" in the way he manages the club. 3) the contract - did Dom have a multi-year contract that they would have had to eat if they wanted to make a change?
It's cool to single me out, Tony. I'm the big mouth complaining! Haha.... I realize that the head coach gets most of the credit and takes most of the blame, but in MLS, most of the staffing is on a "shoestring" budget. Just take a look at the practice facilities to see what I mean. You MUST get the most out of your coaching staff. I don't feel that Doyle is the kind of asset we can afford to employ. ldb says he's a good teacher for 10 year olds. Great! Can anyone give me an example of Doyle helping a Quake player improve this year? Lots of players credited Kinnear when he was assistant, I haven't seen one player point out Doyle's coaching as a positive. People who have attended practices say that Doyle doesn't interact with the players. He is quoted as saying that the assistant coaches job is his "part-time" gig. I don't know about you, but that strikes me as dismissive. I don't want someone there who has other priorities. I never got the impression that Kinnear thought that little of his assistant coaching duties under Yallop. I was kind of hoping that Doyle would tell Lalas that he was getting too busy to continue as assistant. Kinnear is such a loyal guy, he would never recommend that Doyle be fired. He'll stand up for him, even if it means more work for himself. With injuries and age, Agoos has to be close to calling it quits. I would be bummed to see him go. He's had EXTENSIVE experience watching guys like Bruce Arena and Frank Yallop coach (with Arena, it was college, DC United and the national team. With Yallop, it was in DC when Yallop was an assistant, and of course as head guy in SJ). I would bet anything that Agoos' experience is at a higher level then Doyle's.
To make Chickie happy, and to stop bugging myself with the thoughts, I just have to say that Doyle SUCKS as a coach! This is my opinion, and you can disagree with me all you want...ur opinions wont change mine, and I dont expect mine to change anyone elses.... He sucks as a coach for kids (yes, I have been on the receiving end of this suckiness), and I think he sucks for our Quakes.... End of speech...*Steps down off soap box* There Chickie, I feel better now, you?
I KNOW THAT DOM IS AN AMATEUR COACH SIMPLY BECAUSE HE CANNOT IDENTIFY WHEN HIS TEAM NEEDS CHANGES, ESPECIALLY IN GAME SITUATIONS. NOW, WE ARE ALL FANS HERE ON THIS BOARD BUT I'M SURE THAT AT SOME POINT OF THIS PAST SEASON WHEN YOU WERE AT HOME OR AT THE STADIUM WATCHING A QUAKES GAME AND WE WERE NOT PLAYING WELL AND STRUGGLING, YOU ASKED YOURSELF,"WHY DOES'NT DOM MAKE CHANGES?". I KNOW I'VE DONE THIS AT LEAST 10 TIMES THIS SEASON BETWEEN THE 60TH AND 70TH MINUTE SPECIFICALLY ,AND DOM WOULD MAKE THE SUBSTITUTION AT THE 70TH-80TH MARK....IN MY OPINION, WAY TOO LATE TO COME BACK IF YOUR DOWN AND TOO LATE TO GET A SUB REALLY COMFORTABLE IN THE GAME. I'M NO COACH MYSELF BUT THIS LOOKED TO ME LIKE VERY OBVIOUS SITUATIONS WHICH COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED AND POSSIBLY WE COULD HAVE PULLED OFF A VICTORY. I'M NOT TRYING TO BASH ON DOM BUT I LOOK AT HIM KINDA LIKE A CARLOS QUIEROS WHO COACHED REAL MADRID LAST SEASON. HE WENT FROM BEING AN ASSISTANT COACH (AND A DAMN GOOD ONE) TO BEING THE HEAD COACH OF A CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM, ONLY DIFFERENCE IS IS THAT CARLOS QUIEROS CHANGED TEAMS TO DO THIS, BUT THAT'S NOT THE POINT. IT'S A BIG TASK TO COACH A CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM AND I REALLY THINK THAT DOM BIT OFF MORE THAN HE CAN CHEW THIS SEASON. BESIDES, LOOK AT WHERE CARLOS QUIEROS IS NOW.... BACK WITH MAN UTD. AGAIN AS ASST. COACH. YOU SEE SOME PEOPLE ARE CUT OUT TO BE HEAD COACHES AND SOME ARE JUST ASSISTANT COACHES. NO OFFENCE BUT I DON'T THINK THAT DOM IS READY TO MAKE THAT STEP YET. AS FOR JOHN DOYLE, I CAN'T COMMMENT UNTIL HE ASUMES A HEAD COACH POSITION. I THINK IF THE QUAKES ARE TO STAY IN SAN JOSE THEY NEED TO GET A REAL COACH WITH A REAL RECORD WHO CAN BRING THE CHAMPIONSHIP FEELING BACK TO SAN JOSE AND INJECT IT INTO THE PLAYERS AND FANS. NUFF SAID.....GO QUAKES.
Part of coaching is delegating.....if John is not doing something, then it is what Dom wants. Doyle would run the whole damn thing if Dom would let him.
So you believe that Kinnear has told Doyle to just stay in the background and watch? He doesn't want John to spend ANY time instructing players? Really?
I think this is partly true. But Doyle is not a programmable robot (or is he? ). He needs to take some initiative on some things as well. And I'm sure he is. I don't claim to know what's really going on. So yeah if he's not involved enough running drills, etc., Dom should be telling him to be. But Dom can't micro-manage the hell out of the guy either, and this is where Doyle's own initiative can come into to play to make him an effective assistant coach. What I saw during the one training session I attended was Dom doing everything and Doyle not even getting involved when he had the opportunity (e.g. working with the defenders on something while Dom ran the finishing drill). But it's such a small sample (one part of of one session) that I don't think I can fairly draw any conclusions from it.