This article about Rongen reminded me just how fortunate we are not to have him anymore. The contrast with Nowak is amazing. rongen on chivas In one brief interview Rongen manages to: 1. Tell his team certain starting spots are guaranteed - "While rookie Brad Guzan has impressed early, Rongen made it clear the starting spot is Zúñiga's to lose." 2. Insult his players - "Are there some question marks with the eight guys? Without a doubt" 3. And tell every coach in the league how to beat him - "I think we will go forward with numbers, we will play with some risk, so we will be vulnerable" - to counterattacks. Nowak guarantees no one's job. Never criticizes his players in public. And doesn't say jack to anyone about his tactics. Does anyone else remember the games full of possession without scoring goals...then all the losses on counters in the last 30 minutes of games? Just thought I'd point this out and remind us how lucky we that we no longer have Wrongen destroying our team.
Good reasons all. What I like and respect about Piotr is that he says what needs to be said (and only that) without making my head explode. Tim
It reminds me of what Tom Presthus said of Rongen after he went to Columbus. It was something like "Rongen always says exactly the wrong thing, at exactly the wrong time" ... or something like that. Rongen has his strengths, but he's got some glaring weaknesses as well. And those weaknesses can really unravel a team. But Nowak? I'm pretty hard pressed to come up with any coaching weaknesses. He's the complete coaching package. I don't think I can say that about anyone else in this league - not since Bruce left for the national team anyway.
I'll come up with one "potential" weakness for Nowak. Coming directly into coaching (ie: no formal assisting role, no reserve or youth club management), having a full contingent (28 players) will involve some growth for him as a coach. His ability to organize, still track details, manage the "mood" of a much larger locker room while not losing his focus--that will be tested much more. I'm not saying he can't do. But a veteran coach will have had more experience. That said, there is much--so much--to love about Piotr Nowak. Time will tell if last season involved a certain amount of luck (as opposed to be an accurate barometer of his coaching ability). I try hard not to go overboard. But I truly do believe the comment that someone else (Cweedchop? Ursula? Knave? Digitaltron?) posted several years ago that MLS is a coaches league. In any league, having a good coach matters. But in MLS, b/c of the funky dynamics, inability to go out and buy the talent you want/need (let alone keep the talent you have), rules that force you to go young with mostly raw players, phase out middle-of-the-road players making middle-of-the-road salaries, funky league rules, etc.--having a great coach trumps anything else. And I think we have a great coach.
I like the fact that he seems to always be unsatisfied with outcomes and results. Since I have never had the pleasure of sitting and talking with him I can't be sure of this. I can only go off of what is quoted in interviews and even after big wins he keeps himself (and thus the team) grounded by seeming to think regardless of the outcome things can and should be better.
I think the team is a direct reflection of the coach himself. Nowak is the consumate professional and he demands that his team too. From the little things like treating the locker room area with respect and wearing suits on the road to being disciplined on the field, the team mirrors his philosophy. He never hit the panic button last year thru the dog days of summer because he believed in his system. I think Kevin Payne should get a nod for seeing what Nowak brought to the table and hiring him. If we were some other franchise we could've easily ended up with Zambrano or Clavijo or some other retread.
I love Piotr because he says what he means, and he does what he says. He is a disciplinarian, but is also very egalitarian. Now before someone goes contrarian I'm thinking about the happy hour about going to which I'm rarin'. GM
If the thread title used the alternate American spelling, I would have dished out endless grief about the thread title to the originator
Right now, it certainly looks like Nowak has few coaching weaknesses and I sure hope year 2 doesn't reveal any.
I think Nowak's biggest challenge this year is going to be Adu, oddly enough. Last year there was pressure to play Adu, but after a few games it was readily apparent that he was not ready to consistently play significant minutes at this level. He had his moments of tremendous play during the summer (the sublime goal against LA, his efforts in the 3-1 win over Colorado, and his play during our 3-0 win over Dallas), but overall I thought that it was clear to the unbiased observer that Adu needed a season to adapt to the speed of play of MLS, learn to play off the ball as well on the ball, and gain a little more physical maturity. But what happens this season if Adu is more in tune with his teammates, plays off the ball as well as he does on it, and is better able to withstand the physical punishment he'll receive, but that Nowak still feels that DC is better suited to having Gomez as the starting attacking midfielder and Adu coming in off the bench as a second half spark? As much pressure as there was (from both the league and the media) for Nowak to play Adu last year, he could plausibly argue that it wasn't in Adu's best interest. But what if Freddy is clearly ready to play this year but Nowak feels that he doesn't fit anywhere in the 3-5-2 aside from the attacking midfield role, which is already filled by a productive, crafty veteran? I would not want to be the coach to tell the league that I'm not going to play the media darling, the league's poster boy, and a huge potential financial windfall for the league because I'd rather have a 30-something Argentine in the boy wonder's best position, and that my team would not be best served by having him play elsewhere (say, left wing).
Frankly, I would not want to be the front office guy to tell Nowak he has to play someone other than who he thinks is best for the team.
I'm not sure if it will be his biggest challenge. I think having to play more games because of the CCC will be a big challenge and I think that overall the competition in MLS is going to be tougher this year (I don't know why, I just have a feeling). But I do think that you're right in that some people will expect to see Adu starting every game this year. And if not, they're gonna ask why. However, I think if it comes to that, Novak will just brush it off and focus only on picking the starting 11 for the next game.