Davidson: Mitchell to be Named Coach

[BrennanFan]

Finally some decent info from Davidson. The Mystery 4rth Candidate is named.

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/Canada/2007/03/22/3805721-cp.html

TORONTO (CP) - The Canadian Soccer Association is on the verge of naming under-20 coach Dale Mitchell as coach of the national men's soccer team.

The announcement, expected this week according to Canadian Soccer Association president Colin Linford, will end a long search process that drew candidates from Canada, Europe and South America. Canada has been without a coach since Frank Yallop quit last June to become coach of the Los Angeles Galaxy.

ALSO:

The four final candidates from Linford's selection committee were Mitchell, under-17 coach Stephen Hart, Brazilian Rene Simoes and Argentine Ozzie Ardiles. Linford said Ardiles was dropped from the list before the board made its choice.

Linford said the board made it clear that it wanted a Canadian coach and that it wanted the jobs of head coach and technical director to be separate.

ON SIMOES:

That knocked Simoes off the list, although Linford declined to say if the Brazilian was his preference. Money was not a factor in the decision in the end, he added.

"I will be honest and say I had a preferred candidate but I didn't present that person as a preferred candidate. I presented all of those to the board and they made the final decision," said Linford, who declined to detail whom he had favoured.

"My opinion really is just to lead the board in a direction," he added.

Linford said he believed the board had options but "decided - and they have the right to do that - to choose a Canadian coach."

Linford said that the board was "very, very adamant" about wanting a Canadian, fearing that an import would eventually leave and take his expertise with him.

MITCHELL

Mitchell will likely remain in charge of the under-20 team until the July world under-20 championship is over. Hart is expected to guide the senior side at next month's Gold Cup in the U.S.

The announcement is expected Thursday.

[jpg75]

I wrote this in the Mitchell thread:

The fourth candidate has been revealed as Ozzie Ardiles, an Argentine

http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/213713

Here is his Wiki profile:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osvaldo_Ardiles

actually, from the sounds of it he hasn't been much of a manager

[Cheeta]

What a load of crap.

Neil chickened out on this one.

The board was insistant on a Canadian? When did they come up with this and why the Hell go through a selection process waisting all that valuable time?

A bloody year? There are that many qualified Canadians out there are there?

The boards afraid a non-Canadian boss will move on in a couple of years? That's the stupidest thing I ever heard. How long do you expect a NT manager to stay put?

Cronyism. Plain and simple. Job discription tailor made for only one candidate.

[jonovision]

quote:Originally posted by BrennanFan

Linford said that the board was "very, very adamant" about wanting a Canadian, fearing that an import would eventually leave and take his expertise with him.

Because the last Canadian coach we had showed a lot of loyalty and stuck around through thick and thin . . .

[Guest Jeffery S.]

Davidson, as I have said before, is very soft on the CSA. I think this is because he does not want to alienate them, stay in their good books. Because CP wants him to get exclusive interviews with the coaches and players during big tournaments. And he complies. This is sad to say as Davidson has been a favourite here precisely because he does that sort of journalism. So maybe they should have one guy to report on the sport, and another to handle the politics, that way the clear conflict would not be so apparent. But that is just my opinion.

If Neil were just to follow up on his own articles, where he gets these great quotes that are then rarely fulfilled, he would do us all a big favour.

The whole argument about a Canadian not moving on is so spurious. If Mitchell had any quality at all, after a good spell with Canada he could perfectly well be offered a job at an MLS club -south of the border- or someone in England would pick him up. Hart too seems to have his options in Trinidad, or maybe other Caribbean teams, so if he were to do well he would be likely to get an offer to take his expertise elsewhere.

The idea the board has is that any Canadian with expertise won't leave the country, while a foreigner will come and go? What is that, some sort of anti-imperialist argument? Is coaching in Canada like foreigners mining in Canada, you come in, extract, then run away with the profits but don't put anything back?

Ardiles also would have been very interesting. But Simoes was clearly hands down the best argument, and from what we have heard had the broadest scope of ideas.

[Canuck Oranje]

Well, the board should have made this very clear at the outset. In many ways, this just makes the CSA appear all that much more pathetic. It costs applicants time and money to apply.

Completely unprofessional in my opinion. This pure and simply is an attempt at face-saving.

The only criteria that should matter for coaching the Canadian Men's National team? The person who gives us the best chance to win should be the coach.

[RealGooner]

No disrespect to Mitchell, but his is a face-saving appointment made by the CSA to cover their behinds. They know they have failed and have hired Mitchell to get us off their back. "ALL WE ARE SAYING, IS GIVE US A COACH" well they heard that one, and so they did. They wanted a Canadian? Bullsheet. They should have hired Mitchell 6 months ago then, FFS. 6 months to choose between Hart and Mitchell? Oh what a joke. This is a disrespect to Dale Mitchell if you ask me. ...they've only hired him to get us off their backs.

[SF]

Because guys like, say, LF Scolari have done such a crap job in foreign countries.

Oh, and the point of considering a foreign coach is that they might BRING expertise with them. Not come here to learn from the 90th best soccer country in the world and then spill our secrets.

This Linford is turning out to be one bright light.

Finally...if the board wanted a Canadian (that is their right. It's remarkably stupid, but it is their right) why didn't they say so BEFORE interviewing guys from Brazil and Argentina.

All just so incredibly stupid.

[CanadasBest]

This is BS.

Not only did Yallop bail after a short time, but the board approved the hiring of a foreigner for the women's team! This double standard is completely insane.

The CSA board of directors couldn't run a lemonade stand let alone a Governing Sports Body.

[Daniel]

I guess that following in the path of England and the US regarding coach selection will mean we're on the up? :S

[nolando]

quote:Originally posted by jpg75

I wrote this in the Mitchell thread:

The fourth candidate has been revealed as Ozzie Ardiles, an Argentine

http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/213713

Here is his Wiki profile:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osvaldo_Ardiles

actually, from the sounds of it he hasn't been much of a manager

Yeah, just three of the top clubs in Japan, no-name English clubs like Spurs and Newcastle, some club in Croatia (and another in Mexico) I've never even heard of...no credentials at all. Nothing, at least, that is comparable to the the Canadian under eleven team,- I can see why he wouldn't have been entertained with even a second interview. ;> No point stringing along the losers.

I agree his record is inconsistent but he is very well respected here in Japan and he does have that Bora type of CV as a player and coach which tells players he DOES know about top level football and that he is bringing some real vision to the equation. Compare the coach saying to his players, "When I was with Tottenham and then Newcastle, playing at Old Trafford was..." with "When I was alongside Bobby..." Especially if the players he is coaching are actually AT Newcastle and Tottenham these days.

There wasn't a single British coach interested in the job( or at least good enough to be short-listed)? Even with many of our best players playing there now, and with all of the interest British seem to have in Canada (given the TFC and wider MLSexperience)?!?!

I can honestly see some people, and not insane people, seeing Mitchell as a clear third choice from this list. Yah, yah, I will support Mitchell and give him a fair chance, but this is sheer mockery of any proper interview process. In some ways, (and I hate to say this as a v) it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for us to get knocked out of a pre-group WCQ by a team like Belize just to give the entire country the wake-up call that it deserves. This is no way to run a football program.

[loyola]

I will say it again, I'm extremely dissapointed on how things were done, specially the Simoes story but if an NCAA coach like Bruce Arena can bring the USA to a WC 1/4 final, I'm pretty sure Mitchell can bring us to a WC or at least the Hex if he's given enough preparation.

So, I'm not sure it's the right time to give up, we need to see how the mNT will be treated by the CSA in the next year.

[Joe Keeper]

What a f@#^&@ing soap opera. There has got to be more to this story than the CSA wanting a Canadian. The comments here on the board are pretty much explanitory of why that is just BS.

The CSA board is coming off as no more than a bunch of Soccer moms who want to protect their own players interests and have no knowledge of the game outside of the local kick about league.

[The Ref]

My feet are getting stuck all over, hard to walk anymore with some much caca pouring out of the CSA and being fan out by Davidson. Once thing is for certain, there is an acute shortage of balls.

Re Osvaldo Ardiles, I used to like the guy, he was a great players. He even starred in Victory. A holywood guy wouldn't have been bad.

[RJB]

I will support Dale Mitchell to no end, because I want my team to win and qualify for the World Cup. I don't feel that he has anywhere near the kind of experience necessary for this job, but I really hope to be proven wrong.

Regarding the CSA and Linford, I'm starting to wonder about him. He came in with all these promises, and he honestly hasn't delivered. Have we even confirmed a friendly before the Gold Cup? I can't see it on the CSA website. Mr. Linford has done nothing in his time as President to even suggest he is coming close to his promises. I think the heat should be shared by him and the board.

[sj]

Crap is what they have been selling and will keep selling

they have always been selling crap to the Coaches,Sponsors, Players, the Press and the public with the kind fake on field product they try to promote as World class soccer.

[sj]

since all is said and gone I would like to see a Mitchell/Niendorf partnership.

he might bring a little bit of that foreign expertise we wont have with Mitchell alone.

[CanadasBest]

quote:Originally posted by sj

since all is said and gone I would like to see a Mitchell/Niendorf partnership.

he might bring a little bit of that foreign expertise we wont have with Mitchell alone.

Niendorf just took a position with the Whitecaps youth development I beleive.

[Richard]

Niendorf is managing director of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency Program. Hiring announced by the club in early May.

http://whitecapsfc.com/news/?id=5155

[JamesW]

quote:Originally posted by nolando

Yeah, just three of the top clubs in Japan, no-name English clubs like Spurs and Newcastle, some club in Croatia (and another in Mexico) I've never even heard of...no credentials at all. Nothing, at least, that is comparable to the the Canadian under eleven team,- I can see why he wouldn't have been entertained with even a second interview. ;> No point stringing along the losers.

Now wait a second, the guy has been fired over and over again. I really don't think he has had much success. What makes us or the CSA think he can do a better job then Dale Mitchell? Mitchell has had success where ever he has coached. I know he has not coached at the same level as Osvaldo Ardiles. But I don't think there is any reason to believe he will not step up and preform well at the national level.

I have said it before and I will say it again. Canada will get to South Africa in 2010. Who the coach is effects how well they do at the World Cup, not if the get there are not.

And I am sure that all of you have had the same type of feeling I have now in years past. But I do believe that we have a team that can play with the best in CONCACAF.

[Cheeta]

Help me out here, guys.

Last manager without any professional club experience or less than 2 years senior international experience to take a nation to the World Cup in the last 20 years?

What? Nobody? But oh, I get it. It's going to be Dale Mitchell.

Does anybody believe the chances of that happening are better than a snowballs chance in Hell?

But wait. Everything we've seen through this whole process to this point indicates that the next WC qualifying cycle will be handled differently than the last 4 WC qualifying cycles.

Mitch will</u> get all the support and prep matches he needs from the CSA to insure success. Oh yeah. See that happening already.

And that's where my problem lays. This is the same old bull****. Dale Mitchell is just a prop in some tired old play we've all seen waaaay to many times already.

[Cheeta]

Help me out here, guys.

Last manager without any professional club experience or less than 2 years senior international experience to take a nation to the World Cup in the last 20 years?

What? Nobody? But oh, I get it. It's going to be Dale Mitchell.

Does anybody believe the chances of that happening are better than a snowballs chance in Hell?

But wait. Everything we've seen through this whole process to this point indicates that the next WC qualifying cycle will be handled differently than the last 4 WC qualifying cycles.

Mitch will</u> get all the support and prep matches he needs from the CSA to insure success. Oh yeah. See that happening already.

And that's where my problem lays. This is the same old bull****. Dale Mitchell is just a prop in some tired old play we've all seen waaaay to many times already.

[loyola]

quote:Originally posted by Cheeta

Help me out here, guys.

Last manager without any professional club experience or less than 2 years senior international experience to take a nation to the World Cup in the last 20 years?

What? Nobody? But oh, I get it. It's going to be Dale Mitchell.

Does anybody believe the chances of that happening are better than a snowballs chance in Hell?

But wait. Everything we've seen through this whole process to this point indicates that the next WC qualifying cycle will be handled differently than the last 4 WC qualifying cycles.

Mitch will</u> get all the support and prep matches he needs from the CSA to insure success. Oh yeah. See that happening already.

And that's where my problem lays. This is the same old bull****. Dale Mitchell is just a prop in some tired old play we've all seen waaaay to many times already.

What about Pekerman? No pro coaching experience whatsoever but quaterfinalist of the 2006 WC........

Bad post Cheeta. I didn't even had to search.

Also Arena didn't have much pro experience before taking the USA job (2 yrs).

BTW, Mitchell coached pro for some years as the Whitecaps coach.

And in the end it's all about preperation and saying it always the same story is false. In 1999/2000 Holger had a lot of friendlies but 4 years later we didn't. This time around, we don't know but Linford said he wanted to do have more games and we have at least proofs that he's trying (Argentina, Honduras, Venezuela), why those games are not confirmed, I don't know, but someone is trying.

[loyola]

quote:Originally posted by Cheeta

Help me out here, guys.

Last manager without any professional club experience or less than 2 years senior international experience to take a nation to the World Cup in the last 20 years?

What? Nobody? But oh, I get it. It's going to be Dale Mitchell.

Does anybody believe the chances of that happening are better than a snowballs chance in Hell?

But wait. Everything we've seen through this whole process to this point indicates that the next WC qualifying cycle will be handled differently than the last 4 WC qualifying cycles.

Mitch will</u> get all the support and prep matches he needs from the CSA to insure success. Oh yeah. See that happening already.

And that's where my problem lays. This is the same old bull****. Dale Mitchell is just a prop in some tired old play we've all seen waaaay to many times already.

What about Pekerman? No pro coaching experience whatsoever but quaterfinalist of the 2006 WC........

Bad post Cheeta. I didn't even had to search.

Also Arena didn't have much pro experience before taking the USA job (2 yrs).

BTW, Mitchell coached pro for some years as the Whitecaps coach.

And in the end it's all about preperation and saying it always the same story is false. In 1999/2000 Holger had a lot of friendlies but 4 years later we didn't. This time around, we don't know but Linford said he wanted to do have more games and we have at least proofs that he's trying (Argentina, Honduras, Venezuela), why those games are not confirmed, I don't know, but someone is trying.

[Cheeta]

quote:Originally posted by loyola

I will say it again, I'm extremely dissapointed on how things were done, specially the Simoes story but if an NCAA coach like Bruce Arena can bring the USA to a WC 1/4 final, I'm pretty sure Mitchell can bring us to a WC or at least the Hex if he's given enough preparation.

So, I'm not sure it's the right time to give up, we need to see how the mNT will be treated by the CSA in the next year.

Is there anything, anywhere in the history of the CSA to indicate that Canada's senior MNT will get anything even remotely resembling the sort of support or preparation the USA's NT receives?

And I'm not giving up on anything. I'll soldier on, as I always have, with nothing more than a fools hope. Guess it's just my lot in life.

But sure as **** I'll have my yell first. Useless though it may be. Barking at the moon. But I'll have my yell.