Ed, Everyone here will conceed that blame lies with Kasper and Payne. Nobody says otherwise. That still doesn't make a compelling argument for keeping Hudson. I don't think anyone can make the argument that one team in the league has a clear, marked advantage in the talent on their squad. Obviously, San Jose is a pretty talented team, maybe slightly more than others with Donovan being a pretty good tiebreaker. Coaching makes every bit of difference. Period. How can Chicago win the cup their first year in the league? How can United win 3 of 4? The salary cap, particularly since the league has matured and the base of players has stabilized, is the great equalizer. No one can stockpile talent. Bradley took a young, fairly poor Metrostars squad and made them into one of the best in the league in short order. A team led by rookies (Magee scored a bunch of goals, Clark played every minute) no less. Yallop dealt with the same injuries eveyone else did. Sarachan did it with a team that was much changed (and MUCH younger) than the one that won the cup. Hudson is not completely to blame, to be sure. But he's the guy who is paid to win. MLS is a league where coaches are difference makers. As much as I hate to say it, Ray didn't make one.
Thanks to Ray for giving it everything. There was never a lack of effort or passion for the game on his part. That said, it is now time to turn the page..... 1. Let's bid a fond farewell to Etch. 2. Let's declare DC United a "Bulgarian free zone" for the next couple of years. Neither Stoich nor Ivanov should be missed. 3. In sports speed kills - let's get some speed on the pitch for god's sake. There is a good core starting with Convey and Olsen that can be built upon. 4. Keep Dema. The guy bleeds our colors. 5. Let's bring in a coach who can develop young players and bring out the best in folks like Q1. I hope that we see plenty more of Ray in the broadcast booth. He can be a great asset to the game in that role. Cheers.
Zack is the Senior VP for United, which seems to mean that he's the figurehead of the organization at the local level. Of course he's going to be involved in making the statement that the team will be looking for a new head coach. Read his job description. Nothing in there about player personnel, tactics, or even training facilities. As far as I'm concerned, he's blameless in the recent form of the club. Kasper on the other hand is complicit in the continued failure to perform. I agree with other folks here who feel that if Ray had to go, then Kasper should be turning off the lights in the Hudsper offices on his way out. Payne? Who friggin' knows what he's up to. It seems like he's keeping Kasper around as his "guy" in the day to day direction of the squad. KP is clearly a successful individual, but I'm afraid the track record on the field doesn't do much to discount the theory that the early success of United was all down to the brilliance of Bruce Arena. It's going to be an awkward situation for John Trask as he runs practices while knowing that he wont be around once the new staff is hired. His mind will be on other things, and rightly so.
Quote:"On Stoitchkov, you're right...that was his call and it was a mistake. On Etch, though, it seems that Hudson wasn't given a choice there. It was either take him or leave the job. Hudson tried to take him and make it work, and it didn't. I don't think that's his fault." I have to disagree here (I think both are in your etch category). United is an AEG team which means it is run by business execs. I have it on pretty good info that Ray not only didn't have a say in who was signed, but also that he was "pressured" into playing some of the players that should have moved on a season or two ago. DC has a very loyal fan base that consists of many different types of fans. the team over the past few seasons was assembled not to win, but to draw fans. My "reliable source" has stated to me that the club considered etch to be worth 4,000 tickets every time he took the field. I just think that Ray was another part of this "draw the fans" concept because he is so likable and colorful. On the way we fell in love with ray's character,if not ho coaching. Perhaps with Adu being signed and the number of young stars that the team has these execs wanted to move away from just filling seats, to actually winning. Question is, how much does attendance improve with a winning team. The reality is not much. Consider this though: We just signed freddy, which means that we will be on national tv or espn 2 probably 8 times next year. If that is the case, You will probably want to put an exciting team on the field to make your product interesting. When you are AEG and you own half the league, You want DC to have a cast around freddy becaus eall your eggs are in one basket so to speak. Expect a big name coach and another surprise or two in the off season. DC will be very impressive this year, because it is the mls flagship again. Tons of people are going to tune in to see this kid (freddy) play and the whole picture better be pretty if AEG wants to fill seats in each of their stadia or get the television ratings they are banking on. Ratings up=sponsors up. Anybody remember a little thing called the WUSA. Several people have said that freddy isn't going to make a team all by himself. And they are right, The league wll see that people want to watch ABC and espn 2 next year and that means an EXCITING team. We all saw how we got adu, the mls is about as on the level as jai alai sometimes. Lucky for us, we love dc!
"Hudson could have a new job in Fort Lauderdale soon. A group is trying to bring a new team to the city for next season in the second-division A-League and a league source said Hudson was the first choice to be coach and general manager." Ray may very well do better in a league that doesn't rely on developing young players as much. My impression of the A League is that it has a lot of 26 to 29 year old ex MLS players that have lost their positions to younger, cheaper, up and coming players. This might be more Ray's cup of tea. Regardless, I wish him the best. He gave us his all.
I am sure that some of you follow other team sports and the bottom line is that except for one 4 or 5 game stretch in the middle of this year, this team has outright SUCKED for the 2 years Ray coached us. The first year he got a pass because he did not get much say in the players. He told us he just needed that Hairy Chested dude and we would be fine. Well we got two of them and we still SUCKED. When teams suck, coaches get fired. End of story. Thanks for trying Ray and good luck but this is the right move.
With DC signing Adu, It's time to bid Hudson adieu. Put him in a ketch With Hristo and Etch, And put them on course for Peru.
I have a hunch this might be Steve Sampson. 1) I dont know whats goin on in Costa Rica, but he was considered for the LA galaxy job, which would mean someone in MLS thinks they can pry him away from the CR Nat'l Program 2) Last time I checked he would be considered a fairly high profile coach (at least in American soccer) who can mix youth development (California ODP and CR Nat'l youth development director) with being a professional manager (USMNT, CR Nat'l team) Nonetheless, I feel for Hudson but i find it somewhat peculiar that some say his team "was willing to die for eachother" and others talked about fighting within the team. While both scenerios could occur together, its somewhat unlikely. Just seems a little odd to me how this whole thing came about.
First, let me say that I voted in the poll that I thought Hudson would be canned and I believe it is a step forward, for the team to not pick up his extension. That said... There should be no doubt by any of us (even Ray's biggest critics) that the man bled for this team. From the openning press conference where he talked about "the devil lives in the Meadowlands" to how hard he pushed himself. Maybe he can take better care of himself (as a contributing factor) and yes he has many flaws as a coach. But we all need to commend him for caring as much about the team and the fans as he did. The man had many limitations but lets applaud his assets. Second, I don't read the press reports as saying Trask has a job. I think the new man will come in. And depending upon who it is, Trask will probably be gone. But he's not making $150K, as someone pointed out, he's insurance, but mostly he's a care-taker to run practice, maybe attend some college games. Third, Ed--I get your point about using Hudson as a scapegoat. And frankly, Kasper may be gone. I didn't read the articles as saying he'd been signed to a new contract. I think who the new hire is will affect this. For instance, Ellinger has always been critical of the lack of control that a coach has in the single entity system. I would bet that Ellinger (as a condition of hiring) would say that he doesn't want a TD on the team (ala Kasper). Furthermore, I judge the team less on the record and more on some other factors. This team focused less on playing soccer and more on trying to disrupt the opposing side. DCU lost composure and spend more time arguing with refs and talking trash--trying to provoke the opposition. I have a hard time saying Payne, Zach or Kasper have much to do with that. I don't think Hudson will be used as a scapegoat. By the time all is said and done, I think Trask will be gone. Stoichkov will be gone. Etcheverry will be gone. Kasper will be gone--depending upon who the new Coach is. And we'll probably change several other players as well. That's an awful lot of scapegoats. Fourth, regardless of your position on Hudson and developing youth, I don't see the Payne comment about Adu and "we've got a lot of young players" as saying: We canned Ray b/c of his record with young players. Instead, I saw that as an attempt to insulate Freddy Adu, as a way of saying--we're not picking a coach solely on the basis of what is best for Adu--we're picking a coach for the entire team. With many of the older players with stronger wills (Etcheverry, Stoichkov) gone, I think Onalfo becomes a much stronger candidate. As for the argument that Ellinger should be an assistant first, don't forget that he has already been an MLS assistant (with Columbus). No way do I see Steve Sampson. He loves California (I thought his family was still there) and I don't think Arena has a high regard for him. Plus Sampson turned down the SJ job (not enough security) that Yallop took and has never been a big supporter of MLS. I personally think MoJo will be the next head man in DCU.
That's real good to hear. I read somewhere he was a mid or withdrawn forward, but I'll take your word for it
first off - thanks to Ray for bleeding for this team. He was a damn good man. Not the best coach - but a good coach. We have not seen a "great" coach in this town since Arena (just ask Gelnovatch how easy it is to follow Arena). That said - neither Rongen nor Hudson had a particularly stellar record with the development of: Olson Convey Quaranta Mapp Barclay etc. Management recognizes that for the MLS to grow and DCU to be successful once again the coaches have to do a better job of developing the young talent we have and will sign in the future. Now with Adu on the way in - it just adds one more poker chip to the pile that we have to protect and nurture. It is absolutely critical to find and sign the best coach for all the players - particularly one who can develop these younger players. Best thing for MLS and Hudson - give him the lead MLS announcing spot with ESPN - pay him a good chunk of change so he can enjoy the sun of Florida to maintain his health and hopefully he can become the Howard Cosell of MLS.
I believe they had their minds made up even before the season ended (provided we crashed out of the playoffs), but they were waiting until after they had milked the signing of Adu for all it was worth to make their decision. Not inviting Ray to the press conference was the proof that he wasn't going to be back.
Let me make my few comments here: Hudson and Trask had flawed tacttics, to include substitution patterns, as we have all seen for two season's now. Neither should be brought back to start next season. The only reason to retain Trask in the short tern is to "run practice" as has been staed in a couple of the articles. Since Curt Onalfo is not around and no one expects Marco or Hristo to be back it makes sense for the short term.
I believe that Lanky is correct--that KP more or less had his mind made up before the end of the season. What was especially telling to me was Payne's reaction in the first month of the season--after Hudson had originally talked about "all the pieces" are in place, the roster was mostly set in February after the Harkes decision was made--and then saying the squad was flawed, there were key holes and a major player or two needed to be added. Kevin Payne publicly said that he didn't see the need to add a major acquisition, that the current roster had sufficient talent to be successful. In short, KP was not in the tank for Hudson, viewed the team as talented and underperforming, and probably also sees it as critical that the team grow young talent better than it has. As for the evaluation of young talent and how it's developed, I think we're being too knee-jerk on this. I argued at the time (and still feel) that the 2002 draft was a good draft. We wanted Twellman and didn't get him. Mapp was a wise selection who didn't work out that year but is now showing he has a future in MLS. Blame 2002 on Hudson--or blame it on a youngster who needed a year and a shock to his system (a trade) to grow up a bit and be professional. Kante--he just wouldn't sign--but he's shown he's a talent. DCU made a commitment to McGinty and needed to pick him. The other picks--either local talent interested in playing soccer or guys who were highly rated (like Fahim). And I thought our 2003 draft was outstanding. Obviously, we didn't get major contributions from that draft but that doesn't mean we didn't draft well. Even pointing to examples like Jamil Walker is misleading--all of the Quake players have said publicly they thought Yallop was on drugs--just didn't see what he saw in Walker--when he was brought into camp. Everyone passed on Damani Ralph--including Chicago. Some highly regard youth doesn't work out (as El Jefe said) b/c most youth doesn't work out. And some guys come out of nowhere (Walker and Curtin are two great examples. And remember, the league was shocked that Olsen had the impact that he had and Sigi Schmid was quoted when Convey was drafted that it was only a stunt, that Convey was a wasted draft pick). And think Kasper's future will be determined by who the head coach is. Kasper was originally hired to provide a voice to management besides that of the Coach (since it looked like DCU would be going outside of the DCU family and either hiring Gough or Hudson). I bet if the team had been hiring Bradley there wouldn't have been a TD. If Payne hires someone he feels that he knows real well--and that person insists upon no TD, than Kasper won't get an extension.
I think you just made your own argument. Throw in the fact that esky struggled, mapp was traded, convey shines for the nats and is mediocre at best for united, and stokes and carroll never got off the pine for an MLS game, along with the fact that just about the entire league is betting on a massive transfer fee in 2-3 years for freddy (plus huge marketing revenue) and you have a lot of people who want ray far away from united. plus of course that despite injuries, bad luck and the rest of ray's excuses all season, blah blah blah, the fact is united had some serious talent and did very little with it. (btw, what's earnie's position again?) sometimes it just seemed as if ray really had no plan whatsoever, and was just making moves for their own sake. and we brought in stiffs like ivanov (the much hyped HCB) and the idiot stoichkov... ah, forget it. I'm depressing myself. as with everyone else, I found the guy entertaining and he certainly seemed passionate, but I just can't for the life of me see one single reason why he should've stayed. admittedly though, I've been on the 'erif nosduh' bus all year.
F'in brilliant - of course it does, lol! Hey, how about Vicente del Bosque? ...or if he's not interest, how about Glen Hoddle?
Well...the chance to take a semi-improving team with a classy coach to the World Cup. As for Ray, I'm also sad to see him go. We may find ourselves a better manager, but I don't believe we'll ever have someone so dedicated and passionate about his team and this league. I hope he's taking care of himself during the holidays and best of luck.
Best wishes to Ray Hudson and many thanks for the hard work he put in with this team. Personally I've never had a problem with Hudson and think he did an ok job with what he had. But given the numerous young and seemingly talented players on the roster, I think this is a pretty smart move. It would be nice to bring in a coach more inclined to develop those guys. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, don't let '04 be another "rebuilding" year!
There are two issues which need to be addressed during the courtship of a new coach: practice facilities and head office interference in personnel decisions, including playing time. Any new coach should be dismayed at DCU's substandard practice facilities, and should be alert to the probability that they will be pressured to play young Freddie early and often. Hudson complained openly about the facilities and also made it clear that it would be irresponsible to put a 15-year old out on the pitch in MLS too early. And Hudson is gone. Adu is DCU's poster boy, and it seems clear that MLS and ESPN will be featuring him prominently in advertising. He, like Etch before him, will be responsible for putting a lot of fannies in seats at RFK. For that reason, AEG/MLS will insist on giving him regular minutes, whether it is in his long-term interest or not. An established head coach, like Bradley or Yallop, can be expected to demand better facilities and no interference with player selection at match time. An assistant coach eager to become a head coach would have less leverage and may not be inclined to make demands that could sink his chances for the job. For that reason, I expect to see an MLS assistant (MoJo) or USMNT assistant (Onalfo) as the next head coach.