We need to talk about Vermes with poll

Looking at 2022/23 - 43 pts in 41 games - 1.05 ppg

Going back further
2021 - 58 pts/34 games - 1.7 ppg - playoff loss at home to a shitty RSL
2020 - COVID MLS is Back
2019 - 38 pts/34 games - 1.1 ppg

Fire Vermes

 

Should and will are 2 different things. I think it's about time we move on. That said I don't think they will, not after having just signed the extension. That said with that in mind, there needs to be a shake up in the technical staff, we haven't had a new hire on the technical staff since Dufty came on as GK coach (technically an internal hire from SKCII) in 2017. Six years with the same game day staff on the bench with no "new ideas" brought in.

 

100% they should move on, 100% they won't.

 

I mean, the last four or five seasons suck. 1 ppg in 2022/23 and 2019. 34 pts ain't getting you into the playoffs. I don't count whatever 2020 was. 2021 was a decent/good season, but they flamed out in the playoffs against a crappy RSL team (at home). 2021 was the season Pulido should not have played in, and should have fixed his knee.

You have to go back to 2018 to relive the glory days. That was a very successful season. Even then, you could argue SKC crapped their pants at home vs Portland in the Western Conf finals because of PVs tactics (or lack their of). Up 2-1, lose 2-3 on a Blanco wonder goal. 2018 was 5 years removed from an MLS Cup win. 2023 is years removed from what I consider to be the last good season.

How Ownership sees the past 5 seasons and says "yeah, sign him to 5 more" is the primary sign of ambivalence/apathy on their part. That's why absolutely nothing will happen.

 

I am pretty ready to move on.

That said, I'm really worried about how deeply embedded he and "his guys" are in the club. I'm afraid that yeeting Pete and his staff would literally crumple the organization and take several years to rebuild, during which the team and gameday experience would be even worse.

So I think it's clean-house time. And I mean starting with his staff, like the beloved fitness team... keep him on for a year or two while adding in some new blood and fresh ideas around him. If he still is struggling, then it's not something that the staff will fix and he should go.

That said, maybe it's time to rip off the bandaid. Graciously let Vermes go, fire Bliss and Reid straight out the poopchute. See where the rest of the chips fall, I guess? Could work if the team is aggressive and very clever about how and when they being restocking their forces.

 

Maybe Bliss and Reid first. Then the new leader can come in, watch this season play out, and then decide it's time to bring in some new staff, including Vermes.

 

I know this is soooo possible but I am at the point of so be it. If the prospect is 5 years of the struggle we have seen over and over or 5 years of struggle but with something different on the pitch I will take the latter. And if they handle the transition well I doubt there will be a complete crumpling of the organization.

As for PV's fitness for the job the closest current coach I like to compare to is Brian Schmetzer. It is telling that when Seattle came to play this year they were short 6 players due to national team duty, 6 GOOD players, and Brian was able to coach his team to a away victory. A comparison of performance since 2016 is also interesting. Now both coaches have the negative of a season where they missed the playoffs. Brian has the better post season performance with 4 appearances in the MLS cup, Peter 0. Peter holds the edge in Open Cup with 1 victory where Brian has 2 MLS Cups to Peter's 0. And Brian just added CCL Championship. MLS has changed as a league but Peter seems stubbornly determined to prove that he can make is ideas work. Time to move on, we do it with players all the time.

 

Schmetzer is an outstanding MLS coach. Seattle took a gamble on him. He's shown that he can manage a team with stars, make in game adjustments, adjust tactics, and make due when his superstars are gone.

 

Vermes should go. You can’t keep a failing employee based on the rationale that terminating him would be too “disruptive” to the organization. Things can be rebuilt pretty quickly in MLS with the right leadership.

 

Which means it can't just be Vermes, b/c Bliss's track record is shit and he shouldn't be left in charge of this either (and if you fire Vermes and leave him, he becomes at least interim TD, if not TD and coach).

 

Agreed. There needs to be a major housecleaning.

 

Honestly, I'm a bit surprised by the results of the poll so far. I have also seen more negative press about the club and Peter in the past 2 weeks that I have in the past 5 years. For ownership to act, the next step is match day attendance. They might do something (it won't be "fire Vermes") if there is a sustained down turn in attendance.

 

Ok, good subject. Then what manager, that would actually accept the SKC job, could turn this flailing franchise around? They would need a manager who could inject new life into the existing team and salvage the rest of the season. Also a manager who would bring in new talent to build SKC back to a championship contender in the following years. But, going forward, they would need a visionary guy that could build a great academy with fresh talented youth capable of successfully moving to the next level of play. I wouldn’t want someone they hire quickly because the team is rock bottom right now. It would have to be with an eye on fundamentally changing the club to compete in the rising level of performance in this league and competing successfully with the other leagues in our hemisphere. Anyone have a clue who that guy could be?

 

Or maybe we just need a rebound manager. We don't need the next Vermes, we just need someone who can win, keep the players from falling off a cliff, and shake up the system for a bit.

 

I went 6 pages through that list and the only even possible candidate on that list would be Berhalter and that'd be just as frustrating to watch offensively as Vermes. An assistant on an MLS team (Dos Santos at LAFC, Arnaud at Austin, etc) or a former MLS head coach (please not Porter) are your more likely candidates.

 

One thing to consider, the total lack of interest in the SKC coaching staff within MLS. Nagamura got a shot but wasn't with the first team. The first team assistants have been here forever and no one is interested. Why? My belief is they are seen as Peters yes men within the league. His style, and I have a first hand account from a former player, is that he does not want to be questioned. You question him and you are immediately shipped out.

As for coaches, I'll go back to Schmetzer. Seattle had a high profile coach in Ziggy but decided to go with a relatively unknown assistant to replace him. I think he is one of the very best mangers in MLS. Sometimes you don't need sizzle or a name, you just need the right fit.

 

That's what I am afraid of. None of those names inspire enough to think they could be successful in the manager role at SKC. I would rather see PV just keep the job until the end of the season while the upper management is cleaned out. A more exhaustive search for a long term solution could then be accomplished to find the right fit for the team.

No. I think a rebound manager could do more long term damage to the organization than just leaving PV in the position for the remainder of the season prior to his termination.

 

I mean if you want an exhaustive search, you release him asap and put a temporary candidate in charge for the rest of the season (likely either Bliss, Zavagnin, or Zoran, none of which sound super appealing).

Porter would be an absolute disaster. I'm not apologizing for that.

The issue with all those names is getting them to leave Europe for not just the US, but KC specifically. Sure in a cap league you can punch above your weight, but the stigma of the coasts is there for coaches as much as it would be for players. I don't think any of those names are even an option. Hell Rodgers on the surface screams Owen Coyle at Houston levels of disaster to me.

 

If we can't attract big name managers then perhaps we could look down at their staffs. I wonder if there are any well known assistants at some successful clubs that might be ready for a shot to erect a roster that could improve our flaccid performance. Like are there any Schemtzers out there on the sidelines of a club working under a successful system for a while that might be ready to rise to the occasion?