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Letter from Pat Onstad


chuphone

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In today's Edmonton Journal, Pat Onstad wrote a letter to Dan Barnes who published a column last week that was critical of both Onstad and Mitchell.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/letters/story.html?id=43e7c141-eb3b-4f7d-9711-b416a0038977

Goalkeeper concerned with treatment of current national head coach

The Edmonton Journal

Published: 2:05 am

I'm very concerned with the mistreatment of Dale Mitchell.

First and foremost, coaches do not play the game, players do. And if fingers are to be pointed by players, especially players who have underperformed, they should point straight in the nearest mirror.

Mr. Barnes's comment that I took myself "out of the national team picture as well, apparently cheesed at the coaching staff for criticism he received" is completely false.

Any criticism levelled at me by the coaching staff was deserved. I made a horrible mistake in the first game and nobody felt worse than I did.

As for our "terribly early elimination," we were drawn into a group that included Mexico (No. 2 CONCACAF and No. 24 world), Honduras (No. 3 CONCACAF and No. 50 world), and Jamaica (No. 13 CONCACAF and No. 116 world).

We are ranked No. 5 in CONCACAF and No. 84 in the world. Yes, we should have hung on until the last couple of games, but the games have shown that we are not at that level yet and when players "obviously underachieved horribly" it makes it impossible to advance.

I find it hard to believe that one man is completely responsible for our failure to advance, just as I would find it hard to believe one man could be responsible for advancement.

True, there are many questions to be asked, but why become one of the "harshest critics" by giving credence to dissenting players?

Too bad Mr. Barnes didn't ask questions before jumping to his conclusions.

Pat Onstad, member of Canada's men's national team since 1988

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Notably Pat is the first player who didn't play all that well in his performances to point the finger at the players, including himself. Other players who have underperformed either have kept quiet or have pointed fingers solely in another direction. Good for him for setting the record straight on his departure & not shying away from the criticism & the blame.

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I give Pat much credit for "manning up" for his mistake! He is right about players underperforming and that they should look in the mirror! He is also correct about how tough our group is! My problem is DM never seems to take any blame for his poor coaching! He threw the U20 team under the bus and I believe he'll be doing the same here! It's not all his fault, there's plenty of blame to go around! Good for Pat though, he is a class guy as far as I'm concerened, it's just too bad his blunder got us off on the wrong foot and ruined what was a special day in Toronto!

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He was always the one singled out and made the whipping boy and now I know why. He was a man among boys. Never made excuses (like traveling around the world at the last minute), never singled out anyone else.

One person can't be blamed for the outcome of a game. Pat's mistake, whoever blew their coverage on that corner, Ali Gerba not heading that ball a half inch more to the left etc.

My prediction before the WCQ sadly was true. The team lacked guts and character (save Pat).

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Dale Mitchell cannot evade his share of responsibility for the dismal performance of the MNT this time around. He was singularly unable to inspire the players to perform to or above their potential. He was a cheap and easy solution for a cash strapped amateurish CSA.

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quote:Originally posted by Richard

Dale Mitchell cannot evade his share of responsibility for the dismal performance of the MNT this time around. He was singularly unable to inspire the players to perform to or above their potential. He was a cheap and easy solution for a cash strapped amateurish CSA.

Yes.

Also, another part of the coaches job is to get the team bonded & on the same page. He is to have a program that the players will buy into that will get the team the best results.

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I do not mean to minimise the responsibility of the professional players when assessing blame also to Dale Mitchell but put yourself in the player's shoes: you have a boss in whom you have no real confidence because he has a less than stellar track record and who is utterly uninspiring, will you give of your very best? Most would just go through the motions, doing the minimum necessary to get by, that might not be what we'd like to see but it's human nature. That's why most real soccer countries look for 'big name', inspirational leaders with an oustanding coaching record to manage their national teams. Regrettably Dale Mitchell does not meet those criteria.

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^ It is an excuse, but it is a fact Keegan! Look at the other two groups, nothing much shocks me with the MNT but I would have thought we would make it out of either of those! Of course the hex would have been that much harder, but this is all hypothetical! Talent wise, I agree this was potentially the best group we've ever had, other teams were better too though! We may have over estimated how good we were due to the GC results!

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quote:Originally posted by gator

^ It is an excuse, but it is a fact Keegan! Look at the other two groups, nothing much shocks me with the MNT but I would have thought we would make it out of either of those! Of course the hex would have been that much harder, but this is all hypothetical! Talent wise, I agree this was potentially the best group we've ever had, other teams were better too though! We may have over estimated how good we were due to the GC results!

We couldn't make the World Cup without beating Honduras anyways. So it really is a LAME excuse, the players said it themselves.

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quote:Originally posted by Richard

I do not mean to minimise the responsibility of the professional players when assessing blame also to Dale Mitchell but put yourself in the player's shoes: you have a boss in whom you have no real confidence because he has a less than stellar track record and who is utterly uninspiring, will you give of your very best? Most would just go through the motions, doing the minimum necessary to get by, that might not be what we'd like to see but it's human nature. That's why most real soccer countries look for 'big name', inspirational leaders with an oustanding coaching record to manage their national teams. Regrettably Dale Mitchell does not meet those criteria.

That's why the USA have hired Bruce Arena and Bob Bradley? None of these 2 guys has an outstanding coaching record....but the players showed up to play for them and have achieved some nice results along the way.

The irony is while we are attacking DM coaching pedigree we're forgetting to talk about Stephen Hart who according to some of our players shouldve been given a chance as the head coach. What is SH coaching credentials like? Well, not very impressive...

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quote:Originally posted by gator

^ It is an excuse, but it is a fact Keegan! Look at the other two groups, nothing much shocks me with the MNT but I would have thought we would make it out of either of those! Of course the hex would have been that much harder, but this is all hypothetical! Talent wise, I agree this was potentially the best group we've ever had, other teams were better too though! We may have over estimated how good we were due to the GC results!

Talent wise, our defense and goalkeeping has never been that weak....

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I thought Lars played quite well for the most part, after the first match goalkeeping didn't hurt us! Although the defense was weak, it didn't need to be, Kluk was excellent, I felt DM just didn't get the back 4 right, I've posted this before, but Diesel shouldn't have been at RB!

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I thought Lars played quite well for the most part, after the first match goalkeeping didn't hurt us! Although the defense was weak, it didn't need to be, Kluk was excellent, I felt DM just didn't get the back 4 right, I've posted this before, but Diesel shouldn't have been at RB!

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quote:Originally posted by Richard

I do not mean to minimise the responsibility of the professional players when assessing blame also to Dale Mitchell but put yourself in the player's shoes: you have a boss in whom you have no real confidence because he has a less than stellar track record and who is utterly uninspiring, will you give of your very best? Most would just go through the motions, doing the minimum necessary to get by, that might not be what we'd like to see but it's human nature. That's why most real soccer countries look for 'big name', inspirational leaders with an oustanding coaching record to manage their national teams. Regrettably Dale Mitchell does not meet those criteria.

I don't buy it. At this level, players should be sufficiently motivated and inspired by the knowledge that good performances could help lead them to representing their country at the World Cup. I can think of no more powerful motivation for a player than that.

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quote:Originally posted by Richard

I do not mean to minimise the responsibility of the professional players when assessing blame also to Dale Mitchell but put yourself in the player's shoes: you have a boss in whom you have no real confidence because he has a less than stellar track record and who is utterly uninspiring, will you give of your very best? Most would just go through the motions, doing the minimum necessary to get by, that might not be what we'd like to see but it's human nature. That's why most real soccer countries look for 'big name', inspirational leaders with an oustanding coaching record to manage their national teams. Regrettably Dale Mitchell does not meet those criteria.

I don't buy it. At this level, players should be sufficiently motivated and inspired by the knowledge that good performances could help lead them to representing their country at the World Cup. I can think of no more powerful motivation for a player than that.

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quote:Originally posted by gator

I thought Lars played quite well for the most part, after the first match goalkeeping didn't hurt us! Although the defense was weak, it didn't need to be, Kluk was excellent, I felt DM just didn't get the back 4 right, I've posted this before, but Diesel shouldn't have been at RB!

Yes, but Lars didn't win us any point, did he? And if you've seen the dissallowed goal he gave in Honduras, you shouldn't be so confident about our keepers situation.

1 out of 4 was excellent, that's not enough! Our CB aren't good enough, none is very good by CONCACAF standards IMO. You are right about Stalteri but we didn't have much options. You can name Nik L. or Edgar as much as you want but I doubt they would've change much in our defensive situation.

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quote:Originally posted by gator

I thought Lars played quite well for the most part, after the first match goalkeeping didn't hurt us! Although the defense was weak, it didn't need to be, Kluk was excellent, I felt DM just didn't get the back 4 right, I've posted this before, but Diesel shouldn't have been at RB!

Yes, but Lars didn't win us any point, did he? And if you've seen the dissallowed goal he gave in Honduras, you shouldn't be so confident about our keepers situation.

1 out of 4 was excellent, that's not enough! Our CB aren't good enough, none is very good by CONCACAF standards IMO. You are right about Stalteri but we didn't have much options. You can name Nik L. or Edgar as much as you want but I doubt they would've change much in our defensive situation.

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FFS, Mitchell sat a guy who starts in the Bundesliga. Onstad can say what he wants but Mitchell is definitely a major problem. In terms of qualifying "problems", here is the money list, in decreasing order of importance:

1. CSA - lack of friendlies in the past 4 years is the main reason we are out. That is the number 1 reason we are out. More friendlies and we had to be by any reckoning in the top 8 in CONCACAF - hence a 2nd tier seeding in the semis. We would be preparing for the hex in any other group.

- venue selections favoured the opponents in the semifinal round.

2. Dale Mitchell - just woeful, where do I start:

- player selection

- tactical formation

- substitutions

3. Players -

- blunders, too much bitchin'.

Discuss.

2. CSA

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quote:Originally posted by youllneverwalkalone

I put Mitchell ahead of the CSA. Mr. Monopoly actually seems to be doing a decent job thus far, other than not sacking the gaffer.

I think the inaction by the CSA prior to Montopoli's involvement clearly killed us.

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