Interesting suggestion. She's another college coach that I'm surprised hasn't been (to my knowledge, some one please correct me if I'm wrong) in the youth or assistant nat'l team set up. ForzaSiena, I point you to this thread started by Bill Archer: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=570861
Rob Stone is good, Pia is great, the main thing - for me - is to get someone from WUSA. They would have experience at the highest level and would know international players.
Tom Stone? I think Rob Stone is a professional hair-care product tester who also broadcasts soccer games.
I'm for any coach who brings Mitts back after she heals up and who doesn't allow Brandi Chastain to get anywhere near the US National Team ever again.
I like Lori Walker's commentary but she was a goalkeeper and her Ohio State teams have not done well.
I'm not saying put Walker on the list of nat'l team head coaching candidates but what does being a goalkeeper have to do with coaching or player management ability?
But Jerry Smith would be a good coach. It would also assure Brandi will come nowhere near the team as they seem to like to keep their married life and soccer life 100% separate. At SCU games Brandi is in the stands like all the other soccer moms.
I do not have any particular person in mind, however the UT and A&M programs down here in Texas have come light years under their head coaches. Sorry that's the Texan in me. Any way, I strongly suggest that whomever gets the job have little or no ties to US Soccer and therefore not be beholden to anyone. In another words don't bring in one of Ryan's assistants. No former players that have any ties to this team. This team needs to understand that it's a privilege, not a right to don the uniform for the Red, White, and Blue. Some one who understands the difference between great athletes and great soccer players. A coach that is willing to cut more experienced players loose. No more sorority house rules. A coach who is willing to travel all over to look at the talent himself, not pick through the same pile. A coach that doesn't just play for set pieces. A coach that puts the best 11 out there no matter what "The Team Leaders " think. Finally, a coach who makes it clear that Abby is not the only option and if you lump the ball forward time and time again, your butt will be on the bench. Are you listening Kat Whitehill? He needs to make it so clear, that he may need to set Abby to let her and everyone know that one monkey doesn't start or stop the circus. Oh by the way, the coach could be male or female. Just a winner.
Valid points. Only thing I disagree, Cat only put the balls constantly targeting Abby's head because, as she usually said, that's exactly what Ryan tells her she has to do every time she gets the freakin' ball. Blame Ryan, add it to the overflowing list.
The rationale is related to having a former national team player as coach or, to go even farther, having a person who has ever played the sport at any level as the future national team coach. Playing ability does not necessary equate to coaching ability, and vice versa. But the better player you are/were, the more respect you would presumably command. Of course, you should gain respect simply because of your coaching ability. Former goalkeeper Tony DiCicco did.
Re: the Sallly Field of Soccer has spoken! "I feel like the job's not done. I'd love to stay on. I like myself and so I would pick me." http://app.yonhapnews.co.kr/YNA/Bas...ICPopup.aspx?contents_id=MYH20071002000200355
Cat does not send every ball to Wambach. She kicks long balls to Lilly and O'Reilly too. At least she did in the England game, which I tracked carefully. Lilly's goal at 59:43 for example resulted from a long ball from Whitehill.
The target, however, is Abby. Haven't you heard the millinos of times when she's said "I just go for Abby's head" or "Coach Ryan just tells me to put it right to Abby's head" or anything else of the like? BTW, seems like that link is supposed to be a video, but nothing is playing for me. Is it supposed to be? And I read the whole captions thing, haha hilarious. What an idiot.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. You just gave me a Heinrichs flashback!!! Here's what I think. This team should not be gutted. That's ridicuous. We need to fight out positions the old fashion way, and have someone objective pick the best fit for his/her view of how this team can be world champions in light of what we have seen at the world cup. That choice should not be based on tenure, but neither should it be based on some foaming mouth desire to make a change for change's sake.
I'd go with Krikorian. His strengths would be his eye for talent and utilization of talent. My second pick would be Tom Stone...but will we see a return of bruiser ball with him? His strengths would be his ability to read a game well and to adjust his tactics accordingly.
1. Mistake to even mention 'pick from here' (i.e. Texas) 2. No ties to US Soccer could be viewed as "loose canon" 3. No previous ties to the team could be spun as "no feel for the program or history" 4. Great athletes vs players - Brazil's players are both, mediocre athletes won't cut it 5. Cut experienced players = "Gut the leadership" 6. No matter what the Team Leaders Think = "Arrogant Coach" 7. Stop playing the ball to Abby = "A coach who won't adopt tactics to match the team's strengths" I don't necessarily buy in to all of this, but I have seen it all before. Anything can be spun into a negative if your team doesn't win. I've even seen posts where the person wouldn't be happy if the USA won the WWC, but wasn't playing 'pretty' soccer. Brazil kicked the USA's butts, and it didn't look like a fluke - more like a team that was better in almost every way. It might be worth examining what exactly the Brazil players did to develop such fabulous ball skills - it's questionable whether that type of thing can be done after a player makes the National Team. Where did those skills come from?
Here's my suggestion. Hire an experienced men's coach with a deep tactical knowledge of how the game is played at the highest level. I mentioned Gus Hiddink, I'll take Jurgen Klinsman! Ok - I know there not going to take the job, but I'm hinting at the qualities I'd like to see in the next coach. Secondly, hire a woman, either an experienced college coach or an ex Nat (think Chastain) as an assistant coach and groom her to eventually take over. Perry
Why? Doesn't the coach have to come from somewhere? Being from Oklahoma, I have more reason to dislike Texas than most, but it would be silly to exclude any coaching candidate just because of their locale. It's natural the posters here will put in a good word for a coach with whom they are acquainted. Or a fresh start which a lot of people feel is needed after the Heinrich/Ryan regime. I don't think being from outside the program necessarily means no acquaintance with the team's history. It's pretty well documented, and there have been quite a few followers for a lot of years. Having no feel for the program could be the best thing possible to move it in a new, better direction. The point of a coach with fewer ties to the existing players would be to pick the best player/athletes without and being fettered with personal relationships. We definitely want the best player/athletes on the team, not those who the coach considers his buddies. Leadership isn't necessarily good just because it currently exists. I would argue the conduct of the current leadership among the USWNT is a case in point. New leaders will arise. Or the coach could build a team that doesn't have to rely on the play of one player. After watching the USWNT for the past 9 months, how would it operate if Wambach had an injury? Different players will define different team strengths. That depends on which National Team you are referencing. I agree the senior national team is not the place to try to develop ball handlers. Those skills are developed in the playgrounds and in the academy, rec, and early competitive stages. However, a full discussion of that deserves its own thread. custar
I agree about the ball skill point that you make. Other than that we disagree. The impression that I get from your post is don't change anything. Doing the same old things that we did against the world in the Olympics will not cut it. A new coach that brings in new tactics and a new attitude is the only thing that will not get us a repeat of the WWC. Bronze is not good enough. The more I read and listen to the "Team Leaders" the more I think that the inmates are running the asylum. Mourinho, Scolari, Dunga, and Klinsmann were and are arrogant firebrands that do things their way and get results. They don't particularly care who they anger whether it be the federation or the players. It's all about winning. They are successful loose cannons who choose players to work in their system. We need to run this like a professional organization not a sorority house.
Re: the Sallly Field of Soccer has spoken! Jeezuz, it sounds like he had one of the kid's parts on Barney.
Not at all. My advice is get a lot better or suffer the consequences - just don't expect a new, "different", coach to be the answer. My point was that every attribute of a desirable coach, can (and will) become a negative for fans and media if the coach fails to deliver. Every strength can be re-phrased as a weakness. It's just a simple matter of spin-doctoring. As I recall, the USA fans and media demanded a new "different" coach after the last WWC bronze. The coaching change took a year, but it was done. In comes Greg Ryan and he's everything that AH was not. Things go pretty well for 3 years (no losses) - and what happens? Bronze again, dammit. Now it's Ryan's turn to be vilified and turfed - and a new lamb selected for the slaughter. Someone who is very different than Ryan. I'm suggesting that getting back to winning ways is going to be much tougher than hiring a new coach. Firing and hiring is easy. The problem I saw against Brazil was that the 11 Brazilian players were pretty much all faster and better skilled than the 11 USA players. Tough to compete in those conditions, no matter what the style or tactics. In fact, my impression was that Brazil played long balls and short passes with equal success. If they had of chosen to, Brazil could have played any style they wanted and the USWNT would still have had no answer. We all know where the Brazilians DIDN'T develop that speed and those footskills - through their almost non-existent National Team Program and Coach. And it wasn't their non-existent women's league that turned the trick. So how did they do it? Because what ever they did, it works better than what everyone else is doing.