Letter: "You seem to say this as though there is nothing left to teach the players, that they need only be managed and not taught. I disagree..." Wynalda response: "Congratulations, you know nothing about professional soccer." LOL! I'm beginning to think Wynalda posts as a pseudo on this board...
That was sort of a strange answer too though. Look at the first and last sentences of the second paragraph of his response ... "If the developmental systems are doing their job, these guys should come in ready to play ... It is a problem when 16/17 year olds become a part of a professional league and they’re not ready – prime example: Santino Quaranta." Most of the time when I read about the need for "coaching" and not just "managing" in MLS it's because of the young players who really need to be educated about how to be a professional player. Not all of them make the jump naturally and not all of them are ready or adequatley prepared. So, sure, Wynalda's probably right about players who are already solid professionals not needing a "coach" but it actually seems to me like he dodged the more difficult question about making young players into professionals. Isn't MLS supposed to be partly about making young players into professionals?
I wonder if Wynalda even thinks before he types some of his responses. Obviously, veteran players like Preki or Jeff Agoos are at a point in their career where coaches would spend little, if any time "teaching" them. But players in their early 20's, even if they're quite accomplished like DaMarcus Beasley or Ronnie O'Brien, are still in a stage of their career where good coaching can help improve their games.
I like Wynalda as an analyst or whatever you want to call him. There too many soccer media types who *#*#*#*#*#foot around or are too reluctant to speak out. He may end up doing more for MLS off the pitch than he ever did on it.
More from the viper: I generally don't like a-holes, which Wynalda obviously is, but he sure does make for a great read. I do, however, agree with Knave's analysis above. Sure, Razov doesn't need help with his shot. He's almost 30, has been in teh Nats pool, has scored tons of goals, and generally is considered to have one of the best left foots around. But there are about 100 other MLS players who can barely get the ball to the goal from outside the 18. A little coaching might not hurt them at all.
Yeah, it's basically a moronic answer (and I generally like Wynalda). Is he really trying to sell the idea that all the guys we've got coming out of college ball, or all the young guys who skipped college, they all "have their own ways of doing things, and whatever works for them?" Utter garbage. Perhaps 20-30 years ago in Euro soccer, the top flight teams mostly dealth with seasoned professional players, but now even those leagues have incorporated player development much more into the managing duties of the squad. Oh well, my guess is that he was thinking more about the Cobi Joneses and Carlos Llamosas of the MLS, as his comment on Quaranta basically undercuts his whole point. He's probably just trying to stir things up by being contrarian (and rude) even when he only kinda disagreed with the letter writer.
My guess is that Wynalda felt insulted when MLS coaches tried to teach him. After all, they are just glorified college coaches. So now, when he gets free reign to spout off about it, as the expert, the players are all polished products that just need to be scouted, acquired, and put into the right formation.
Posts like these are why I am such a fan of BigSoccer. Wynalda's answer is partially correct, but MLS is proving to be a very, very different professional league in some ways. Because we don't have the systems in place to consistently develop enough professional players or the money to keep the best ones in our league if they develop to the levels that we want them to, MLS coaches are put in a position of having to be teachers with many of their players. Some of the better coaches have figured this out and created a nice balance of managing and coaching. Many have gone too far one way or the other and payed for it in bad results. I like Wynalda in general, but in my opinion, Knave has thought about this topic more deeply than he has.
LOL Wynalda's right - It should be all about tactics, schemes, cohesion....managing. This is true in all professional sports. (We are a familiar with what happens when coaches try to "overcoach" players in the NBA or NFL -[just get me the damn ball]) MLS is funny - the league is so young and we have players thrown into first teams just because we have a smaller pool of talent. (So there is some "coaching" required). But idealy, thats not how it should be. "Let a playa play."
Waldo was obviously wrong in his answer, because the question didn't specify that a coach should teach his whole team. So why would Waldo assume that's what the guy meant? Because it gave him a chance to fire the weapon that Blong talked about, a weapon he'd been dying to use for a couple of years.
You also have to question Waldo's judgment in using a term like "war" so shortly after the Kellen Winslow Jr. incident at Miami. I do like Wynalda, though.
Re: LOL Actually, it's true in exactly zero professional sports, but good guess. It's such a dumb comment by Wynalda, and so odd that people are backing it up, that you almost don't know where to begin in listing examples of pitching coaches (who are constantly introducing new techniques, even to veterans), running back coaches teaching hotshots how to block, QB coaches teaching how to read defenses, hoops coaches teaching low post moves... Wynalda's on crack.
Re: LOL I think your inclusion of the NBA negates your point. With younger and younger players (via high school and college hardship) entering the league, the quality of play suffers and the coaches have to do some teaching that players used to gain in college.
For years he never got along with his coaches. He didn't get along with referees either. I think you're right that he is using his current position to dice both. As far as just college coaches he left his German teams on bad terms as well.
Ego problems I think I know what he is trying to say, but Wynalda's comments probably reflect his own personal insecurities. There is always room for improvement -- even for top players. Recently Ryan Giggs said that he continues to train to improve and develop various aspects of his game. As in life there is always room for improvement. A manager's job may not be to "coach" players on the fundamentals, but there are times when a player may benefit from a little "coaching." A different perspective can be helpful...
I find it amusing that many people like Wynalda because of his tendency to criticize everything, but they hate Paul Gardner for the same reason.
Re: Re: LOL I think there's more individual coaching going on in the NBA than ever before. The reason being the salary cap and the fact that teams just can't unload someone they don't want. So they try to work with these guys more to make them more complete players. It's a little different in soccer -- especially in Europe -- because if someone doesn't work out, it's a lot easier to get rid of him and bring in someone else. I really like Wynalda as a journalist but you can tell he must have been a handful to coach.
You should never stop learning. Which means a coach should never stop teaching. In one sense, that coaches at the professional level should not be teachers first, I agree with Wynalda. You cant treat a seasoned professional like a school kid. But anyone who thinks a player entering the league should know everything about the game already is being stupid, and a coach who can help those players adjust by helping by illuminating their areas of ignorance is going to be better off than one who cant, assuming all else is equal.