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Paul James on WCQ Failure


BrennanFan

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Failure This Time Really Hurts!!

Part 1 of 3 part essay on how and why we shat the bed. Must be read.

http://www.goltv.ca/blog/paul_james/49/

Highlights:

On the players: "hey guys….we appreciate your commitment to travelling all over the world to play for Canada in fact we appreciate it with sugar on top…now #$%^&^% do your job…and preferably without moaning like little old ladies!"

Dale Mitchell: "Dale’s performance I have to admit it has been at best poor"

Team Cohesiveness: "Firstly and most importantly he had to establish a first class team spirit, a togetherness of players, staff, and everyone involved in the qualifying process. Bearing in mind the personalities of the players involved this was never going to be an easy task but in my opinion it would have been the lynchpin to any future success. Listening to the comments of Brennan and DeRosario over the past week it is clear this groundwork had not been laid."

DM Disrespected by players: "Dale in my opinion either didn’t see the lack of respect he would encounter from the players or he did but chose not to deal with it in a skillful manner. Keep in mind that in the very same training camp where Owen Hargreaves was cut from our U17 team so was Julian DeGuzman and Mike Klukowski. While Dale was only an assistant at the time you have to believe that this cuts deep particularly in the DeGuzman household."

Defence: "If you have a back four that includes some combination of Heinault, Hastings, Serioux, Stalteri and you expect to not only qualify for a World Cup but then compete on a world level then you are clearly misguided."

This is how PJ woulda done it:

---------------Hirschfeld

----------Atiba---Devos---Klukowski

Stalteri-----Bernier---DeGuzman-------Brennan

----------------De Rosario

------------Gerba------Friend

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I think it is fair to say that the CSA destroyed the whole process by naming DM as the coach. Obviously, he wasn't going to be taken seriously or trusted by the boys. Apparently Hutch and Hume and others who were in his U20 squads disliked him from the start more than the vets who were first to all out mutiny. And now PJ puts in another spin: old wounds still not healed. Julian with a major attitude problem? Could it be?

Not playing Brennan and McKenna at CB was a horribly obvious error. Dale, how could you be so dumb? Not benching Stalteri after poor play was another mistake. Fixing what wasn't broke, the 4-1-4-1, to the tried and true recipe for U20 success 4-5-1 was another horrible mistake.

But all of these would not have mattered, because the team was deeply fractured. No trust. No cohesiveness. People bitching openly from the very start. Dale constantly being undermined. Even if he had had a clue, it just wasn't going to happen.

What has come out in the media is only the tip of the iceberg. This team had ALOT of personality problems. Egos. And no boss to keep them in check. And what the hell did happen on that South Africa trip? Since first hearing about it and asking around, Ive heard some different, crazy stories about yelling matches and worse. Whatever happened, it was obvious early on that the bus had no driver, the kids were out of control, and that we would end up at the bottom of a cliff.

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quote:Originally posted by BrennanFan

Team Cohesiveness: "Firstly and most importantly he had to establish a first class team spirit, a togetherness of players, staff, and everyone involved in the qualifying process. Bearing in mind the personalities of the players involved this was never going to be an easy task but in my opinion it would have been the lynchpin to any future success. Listening to the comments of Brennan and DeRosario over the past week it is clear this groundwork had not been laid."

DM Disrespected by players: "Dale in my opinion either didn’t see the lack of respect he would encounter from the players or he did but chose not to deal with it in a skillful manner.

These are both good points and ones that I agree with (especially the first), but at the same time, I have to wonder what "dealing with it in a skillful manner" would entail. As PJ points out later on in the article:

"Having said all this it is also important to have some empathy for Dale. In Germany, Scotland and pretty much everywhere else if you cut a top player from your ranks you can replace them with someone of similar quality. In Canada we just do not have that luxury and you can bet your life our top players know this. Hence Dales apparent openness to listening to Dwayne’s explanation of overt criticism."

So if that's not an option, what specifically could be done with dealing with a lack of respect? Resignation before we even got started?

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3 letters for you Paul. CSA. They are in charge and ultimately responsible for the results. They hire the coach who chooses the strategy and players.

Is it so hard for the CSA to have a rep call the players one by one and ask who they think would be a good choice for coach. If the players want someone outside our budget limitations just tell them so.

No this is the CSA and all decisions will be made in a vacuum by a group of amateurs.

As for his 3-4-3 (that is essentially what he thinks would have worked) well it would have been better than the 4-5-1 but I think it too thin at the back. It also leaves out our best player Radz. WTF? He was clearly causing problems for all our opponents he faced with his hussle and checking.

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3 letters for you Paul. CSA. They are in charge and ultimately responsible for the results. They hire the coach who chooses the strategy and players.

Is it so hard for the CSA to have a rep call the players one by one and ask who they think would be a good choice for coach. If the players want someone outside our budget limitations just tell them so.

No this is the CSA and all decisions will be made in a vacuum by a group of amateurs.

As for his 3-4-3 (that is essentially what he thinks would have worked) well it would have been better than the 4-5-1 but I think it too thin at the back. It also leaves out our best player Radz. WTF? He was clearly causing problems for all our opponents he faced with his hussle and checking.

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Didn't Paul James advocate DM as coach/manager in the first place?

What we needed were the players to play in the best possible conditions,

a coach that enhances THEIR style of play, and the ability to balance

the egos of their higher-paid professional players.

Sure the players should have kept their comments DURING the campaign,

but we did not have the coaching to assist at this level.

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Didn't Paul James advocate DM as coach/manager in the first place?

What we needed were the players to play in the best possible conditions,

a coach that enhances THEIR style of play, and the ability to balance

the egos of their higher-paid professional players.

Sure the players should have kept their comments DURING the campaign,

but we did not have the coaching to assist at this level.

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quote:Originally posted by BrennanFan

Failure This Time Really Hurts!!

Part 1 of 3 part essay on how and why we shat the bed. Must be read.

http://www.goltv.ca/blog/paul_james/49/

Highlights:

On the players: "hey guys….we appreciate your commitment to travelling all over the world to play for Canada in fact we appreciate it with sugar on top…now #$%^&^% do your job…and preferably without moaning like little old ladies!"

Dale Mitchell: "Dale’s performance I have to admit it has been at best poor"

Team Cohesiveness: "Firstly and most importantly he had to establish a first class team spirit, a togetherness of players, staff, and everyone involved in the qualifying process. Bearing in mind the personalities of the players involved this was never going to be an easy task but in my opinion it would have been the lynchpin to any future success. Listening to the comments of Brennan and DeRosario over the past week it is clear this groundwork had not been laid."

DM Disrespected by players: "Dale in my opinion either didn’t see the lack of respect he would encounter from the players or he did but chose not to deal with it in a skillful manner. Keep in mind that in the very same training camp where Owen Hargreaves was cut from our U17 team so was Julian DeGuzman and Mike Klukowski. While Dale was only an assistant at the time you have to believe that this cuts deep particularly in the DeGuzman household."

Defence: "If you have a back four that includes some combination of Heinault, Hastings, Serioux, Stalteri and you expect to not only qualify for a World Cup but then compete on a world level then you are clearly misguided."

This is how PJ woulda done it:

---------------Hirschfeld

----------Atiba---Devos---Klukowski

Stalteri-----Bernier---DeGuzman-------Brennan

----------------De Rosario

------------Gerba------Friend

Thank God Paul's not our coach. How the hell do you leave Radz off the starting roster. He was far and away the best Canadian whenever he was on the pitch.

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Paul's comments have me scratching my head in some cases, and I agree with his comments in others (especially concerning the makeup of the defence). However, his prefered roster leaves my head spinning.

BTW, PJ and the DeGuzman's have issues with each other. This is fact. It seems personal.

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quote:Originally posted by VPjr

Paul's comments have me scratching my head in some cases, and I agree with his comments in others (especially concerning the makeup of the defence). However, his prefered roster leaves my head spinning.

Yeah, I'm curious about his roster selections, considering the individual play I have seen over the five matches. Among other things, no Serioux? You and others may disagree but I thought he was a plus for us; he's also a player who's logged a number of games in a three man back line for Dallas, unless you wanted to play him as a physical defensive mid presence, which I felt the team really lacked. And Radzinski looked in his old element again playing in partnership with a bigger, target man in Gerba

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quote:Originally posted by VPjr

Paul's comments have me scratching my head in some cases, and I agree with his comments in others (especially concerning the makeup of the defence). However, his prefered roster leaves my head spinning.

You can make a good case for "SOME" of his lineup suggestions: 1) Playing Stalteri out on the flanks instead of RB is good one. Stalteri has never looked to be the same player the day he moved to RB. 2) Hutchison on D is worthy of consideration too. Much like Stalteri, I suspect that the impetus by Yallop and Mitchell to play them where they did was based on how thier clubs utilized them. But here is the problem with that theory. The clubs have different dyanmics and needs. Hutch played central D at the u20 and was named as tournament all star. The back line was our biggest weakness

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^ That was one of my many complaints about FY and DM, they just seem like they can't adapt to what is needed in the starting lineup given the situation! The warning signs were there about Diesel from the South Africa friendly on, and although he looked not bad in Edmonton as a right side midfielder, his lack of playing club football was clearly hurting him! As you mention FK, the dynamics at these clubs are completely different than what we have at our MNT! A good coach has got to realize this and put the players in the position THEY think is best for success for they're team!

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quote:Originally posted by Free kick

You can make a good case for "SOME" of his lineup suggestions: 1) Playing Stalteri out on the flanks instead of RB is good one. Stalteri has never looked to be the same player the day he moved to RB. 2) Hutchison on D is worthy of consideration too. Much like Stalteri, I suspect that the impetus by Yallop and Mitchell to play them where they did was based on how thier clubs utilized them. But here is the problem with that theory. The clubs have different dyanmics and needs. Hutch played central D at the u20 and was named as tournament all star. The back line was our biggest weakness.

Obviously, there are exceptions, but I still maintain that if you want the best out of a individual, play him where he is used to playing (and hopefully thriving) week in and week out at club level, regardless of the tactical differences between the two teams. I don't necessarily have issue with the two examples you have given (though I do think most of Stalteri's problems over the last little while have had to do with no first team playing time as opposed to his having to be a fullback) but I can think of other players on our roster have been below potential because we have not played them in their club roles when slotting them into MNT positions.

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