Sasho Cirovski TFC coach in 2013 ?

[Trillium]

With most TFC hard-core fans on the Red Patch Boys forum calling for a new coach, perhaps TFC could afford a successful NCAA coach ....in much the same way Portland has hired Caleb Porter ( http://www.gozips.com/sports/msoc/coaches/porter_caleb00 ).

Sasho Cirovski

Position:

Head Coach

Experience:

20th season at Maryland/20th overall

THE WINNINGEST COACH IN MARYLAND SOCCER HISTORY

Cirovski Highlights:

Team Accomplishments

• 2008, 2005 NCAA Champions

• 17 NCAA postseason appearances with Maryland

• Four Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championships (1996, 2002, 2008, 2010)

• Six appearances at the College Cup (1998, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008)

• Two NCAA postseason appearances with Hartford

• Two North Atlantic Conference championships

• Two Atlantic Coast Conference regular season titles

• 18 straight winning seasons

• School-record 23 wins in 2008

• School-record 15 shutouts in 2008, 2010

• School-record 66 goals in 2005

Player Honors

• MAC Hermann Trophy winner Jason Garey (2005)

• Two No. 1 picks in the MLS collegiate draft (Leo Cullen, 1998 and Maurice Edu, 2006)

• Two MLS Rookie of the Year selections (Maurice Edu, 12006 and Omar Gonzalez, 2009)

• 44 MLS players

• Four ACC Players of the Year (Leo Cullen, 1997; Jason Garrey, 2005; Chris Seitz, 2006; Omar Gonzalez, 2007)

• One National Freshman of the Year (Taylor Twellman, 1998)

• Two ACC Freshman of the Year (Jeremy Hall, 2006; Patrick Mullins, 2010)

• 32 first team All-ACC selections

• 29 All-America honors

• Four ACC Tournament MVPs (Pierre Venditti, 1996; Abe Thompson, 2002; Jeremy Hall, 2008; Zac MacMath, 2010)

• Eight MAC Hermann Trophy Award finalists

Upon his arrival in College Park in 1993, Sasho Cirovski has transformed Maryland into a national soccer power, leading the Terps to the 2008 and 2005 NCAA titles, six College Cup appearances, and four ACC titles, all the while producing numerous top-level professional players. Now entering his 20th season at Maryland, the 2005 NSCAA National Coach of the Year has instilled his passion for excellence in a soccer program that expects to compete for the national title every season.

During his tenure with the Terps, Maryland has been to the NCAA Tournament 16 times, advancing to the Final Four in six of those years, including four-straight appearances from 2002-05, culminating in the NCAA title in 2005. The Terps have also captured four ACC Tournament titles (1996, 2002, 2008 and 2010) and two ACC regular season titles (2003 and 2005) during his stay in College Park.

The Terps boasted another stellar campaign under the tutelage of Cirovski in 2011. Maryland jumped out to its best start since 1968 with an 11-0-1 record to begin the 2011 season. In that epic span, Cirovski netted career win No. 300 against Radford on Sept. 4. The Terps capped the year 14-4-3 overall and fell to a tough Louisville squad in the Sweet Sixteen. Maryland made its nation-best 10th straight appearance in the third round. Casey Townsend and John Stertzer garnered NSCAA All-American honors and Townsend was subsequently drafted fifth overall by Chivas USA in the MLS SuperDraft. Fellow senior Alex Lee was picked up by FC Dallas in the supplemental draft.

Three Terps were drafted and another two signed MLS Homegrown contracts after a successful 2010 campaign in which the Terps went 19-3-1 and racked up its second ACC title in three seasons. Maryland tied a school-record with 15 shutouts while boasting the top goals for and goals against average nationally. Sporting a youth-laden squad in 2009, Maryland advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the ninth straight year. An unseeded Maryland squad cruised past both Penn State and Harvard on the road to reach the Elite Eight where it eventually fell to national champion Virginia.

In 2008, the Terps established the `Gold Standard', capturing the program's third national title and winning more games (23) than any other squad in program history. The team also set program-bests in shutouts (15) and consecutive wins (16) as well as registering a Ludwig Field-record crowd of 6,500 in Maryland's bout with then-No. 1 Wake Forest. The 2008 season marked the first time in the Cirovski-era that the Terps won both the NCAA Tournament and the ACC Tournament. To top it off, Cirovski eclipsed long-time head coach Doyle Royal to become Maryland men's soccer winningest coach in a win against Duke on Sept. 19.

For the second straight season, Cirovski's Terps had their fair share of critics in the preseason as Maryland lost two of the top players in the nation in 2007. Maurice Edu, a junior midfielder, was the No. 1 overall pick in the MLS SuperDraft on January 12. He was the second Maryland player to ever be taken with the first pick. Sophomore keeper Chris Seitz also decided to turn to the professional ranks and was chosen No. 4 overall in the SuperDraft. It marked just the fourth time in MLS SuperDraft history that two student-athletes from the same school were selected in the top five.

Even with the loss of arguably the best midfielder and goalkeeper in the country, the Terps finished 10-6-5 and earned a seed in the NCAA Tournament for the sixth straight season. Maryland is the only team in the nation that can claim that feat. The Terps advanced to the third round of the championship and was the only squad to do so every year for the past six seasons.

Despite losing six student-athletes from the national championship team in 2005, Cirovski led the Terps back to the NCAA Tournament in 2006, marking the sixth-straight season that Maryland advanced to the postseason. The Terps advanced to the Sweet Sixteen and finished the season with a 16-5-1 record.

The 2005 championship run did not mark the arrival of the Maryland program, but helped validate its place alongside the nation's elite. In addition to a fourth-straight College Cup appearance, the Terps won the ACC regular season title and posted a 19-4-2 mark. In addition, Cirovski helped mentor Maryland's first Hermann Trophy winner in Jason Garey, who left Maryland as the school's all-time leader in goals (60) and points (140) and was the third pick in the MLS SuperDraft. Cirovski was named the ACC Coach of the Year for the second time in his career, and was the NSCAA National Coach of the Year for the first time in his career as the Terps brought home their first national title since 1968.

Under Cirovski's guidance, the Terps have brought fans out to Ludwig Field in record numbers. In 2009, the Terps ranked second nationally in overall attendance and a then program-record crowd of 6,946 watched Maryland trump No. 2 North Carolina. Cirovski's efforts to build a winning team that plays an exciting brand of soccer are only matched by his efforts to build Ludwig Field into one of the top soccer venues in the country.

In addition to his leadership on the sidelines, Cirovski is also a leader as the chairman of the men's soccer NSCAA Division I committee. As chairman, Cirovski was the architect in creating the position of NSCAA Program Director, a major triumph for the sport. This position will be the singular voice of college soccer in dealing with NCAA legislative issues, overseeing College Cups and elevating the significance and status of the sport. He was also vital in brokering the television partnership between Fox Soccer Channel and the NSCAA, guaranteeing a weekly spot for college soccer on television.

"Sasho has not only a vision and a passion to improve and promote college soccer but he has the knowledge and the dedication to pursue new ideas," Creighton head coach Elmar Bolowich said. "His enthusiasm for our sport is infectious and it will unite Division I college coaches to pursue our objectives and achieve them."

Cirovski has brought success to every program he has been a part of. After helping his alma mater, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in a decade as an assistant coach under Bob Gansler, he assumed the top spot at Hartford in 1991. In his two seasons with the Hawks, he took the team to back-to-back 13-6-3 records and consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time in school history. He then came to Maryland in 1993 to help resurrect a once-proud program that had been to only one NCAA Tournament in the last 16 years.

Cirovski has since built Maryland into one of the top programs in the nation and has given the Terps some of the finest seasons in school history. Here is a look at the year-by-year highlights of the Cirovski Era:

1994: In just his second season with the Terps, Maryland went to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and finished with a 14-6-1 record. A 4-3 first-round NCAA win over Georgetown was the program's first since 1969, and marked the first time since 1986 that Maryland received an invitation to the Big Dance. The Terps' improvement from a 3-14-1 record during Cirovski's first year to a 14-6-1 record marked the greatest single-season turnaround in the 44-year history of the ACC.

1995: Maryland again advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Terrapins finished second in the ACC with a 4-1-1 mark, and ended the year ranked as high as No. 15 by Soccer America.

1996: Maryland made history when it won the 1996 ACC Championship, the first-ever tournament championship in the program's history. The Terps again advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to William & Mary.

1997: After a fourth-place regular-season finish, the Terps again advanced to the ACC championship game before falling to Virginia. Maryland advanced to the NCAA second round for the fourth consecutive season, defeating Rutgers (1-0) in the first round before losing to American, 1-0. The Terps finished 1997 with a record of 16-6-1, a school record for wins in a season, and finished ranked No. 10 in the nation.

1998: Another milestone was reached on Jan. 31, 1998, when Leo Cullen was selected as the No. 1 draft pick by the Miami Fusion in the Major League Soccer collegiate draft. A Hermann and Missouri Athletic Club award finalist in 1996 and 1997, Cullen was also selected as the 1997 ACC Player of the Year, an NSCAA first-team All-American and Collegiate MVP by Soccer America.

1998: Cirovski attracted the nation's top recruiting class to College Park before the 1998 season, and led by National Freshman of the Year Taylor Twellman, and Maryland's all-time career assist leader, Keith Beach, the Terrapins finished the regular season 12-6. The Terps made their fifth straight NCAA tournament run, advancing all the way to their first national semifinal appearance since 1969.

1999: The 1999 season saw Cirovski's team spend two weeks in the No. 1 slot in the Soccer America poll for the first time in school history. The Terps also ended the regular season with 14 wins, tying a program record for most wins in a regular season. Receiving its sixth straight NCAA bid, No. 6-seed Maryland was defeated by St. John's on its home field with a 1-0 loss in the 89th minute to bring its season to an end.

1999: Terrapin sophomores Dan Califf and Taylor Twellman both opted to explore their options in the professional ranks with Califf being selected in the first round by the Los Angeles Galaxy of MLS and Twellman signing with the 1860 Munich of the German Bundesliga, adding to Cirovski's list of former Terps currently enjoying successful professional careers. Twellman has since moved to MLS, earned a spot as an all-star starter in 2002, and led the league in points and goals per game in 2003.

2001: After a 10-9 record in 2000, the Terps returned to the NCAA Tournament again in 2001 for Cirovski's seventh NCAA appearance at Maryland. The Terrapins advanced to the second round after defeating Notre Dame before losing in overtime to Loyola 1-0 in the second round. The team was back in the Top 25 at the end of the year, finishing 25th in the NSCAA's final poll.

2002: Maryland fell just short of the NCAA title losing in the Final Four and finished third in the NSCAA/adidas final poll. The Terps had made their second College Cup appearance in four years and captured the school's second ACC Tournament title in addition to leading Terps to a then-program-best 20 wins.

2003: Cirovski was named the ACC Coach of the Year in helping guide Maryland to a 20-3-1 record, its first No. 1 ranking in the NSCAA poll, a second consecutive Final Four appearance and the ACC regular season crown. The 20 wins matched the school record set in 2002, and four Terp players were selected in the first two rounds of the MLS draft, more than any other team in the nation.

2004: The Terps continued to make their mark on the national scene, advancing to the College Cup for the third straight season and posting a 17-6-2 record. He helped mentor two Hermann Trophy semifinalists in forwards Abe Thompson and Jason Garey as Maryland set the school record for goals in a season with 62.

2005: Cirovski led Maryland to the national championship, the second in school history, with a 1-0 win against New Mexico in the title game. Senior Jason Garey, who left the school as the all-time leader in goals and points, was the school's first recipient of the Hermann Trophy, awarded to the nation's best player. He was selected third overall in the MLS SuperDraft.

2006: Despite losing five starters from the 2005 national championship team, the Terps remained a fixture on the national scene and finished the season with a 16-5-1 record and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Maryland saw unprecedented success in the MLS SuperDraft as Maurice Edu and Chris Seitz were taken No. 1 and No. 4 overall, respectively.

2007: Maryland lost two of the top players in the country, who left early for the MLS, but the Terps still went 10-6-5 and earned the 13th seed in the NCAA Tournament. Maryland is the only team in the country to be seeded and at least advance to the third round in each of the past six seasons.

2008: Boasting the top recruiting class in the nation, Cirovski and his squad had high expectations heading into the 2008 campaign. Despite losing Stephen King to graduation, the Terps established what Cirovski coined `The Gold Standard' as Maryland won more games (23) than any other team in program history en route to its third national title and its second in only four seasons. The Terps also won the ACC Tournament, marking the first time Cirovski captured both the ACC Tournament title and NCAA National Championship.

2009: Following a banner year for Maryland soccer, five student-athletes made the jump to the pros. Gonzalez was taken third by the L.A. Galaxy while fellow defender Delagarza joined his teammate in L.A. at the 19th pick. Wallace stayed local after being selected by D.C. United with the sixth pick and Hall headed to the New York Red Bulls at No. 11. Zusi was selected by the Kansas City Wizards with the 23rd pick. It was only the second time in MLS Super Draft history that three players from one school were selected in the first round.

2009: Boasting one of the top recruiting classes in the nation but having lost five of its top players in this decade, many question marks arose for the 2009 campaign. The unit came together splendidly, and despite a slew of injuries, the Terps advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the ninth consecutive season. An unseeded Terrapin squad marched all the way to the Elite Eight, upsetting both Penn State and Harvard on the road before falling to eventual national champion Virginia in Charlottesville. Goalkeeper Zac MacMath earned NSCAA All-America honors after another stellar season.

2010: Maryland racked up its second ACC Tournament title in the last three seasons and ended the year at 19-3-1. Zac MacMath and Matt Kassel both garnered NSCAA First Team All-America honors. Terps smashed its single-game attendance record when 7,260 fans came out to Ludwig to watch the Terps top Duke. MacMath, Jason Herrick and Billy Cortes were all selected in the MLS SuperDraft while Ethan White and Kassel etched MLS Homegrown contracts with D.C. United and New York Red Bull, respectively.

2011: Maryland tallied its nation-best 10th consecutive trip to the NCAA third round and finished with a 14-4-3 record - its 18th straight winning season. A league-best six player were named All-ACC.Casey Townsend and John Stertzer were tabbed to the NSCAA Second and Third Teams, respectively. Maryland was second in overall average attendance, posting 3,781 fans per game. Chivas USA picked up Townsend with the fifth pick overall in the MLS SuperDraft and Alex Lee was chosen by FC Dallas in the supplemental draft.

Achieving a level of excellence again at Maryland, Cirovski has added the respect of more people than ever for the Terrapins. He has combined an unparalleled ability to motivate and teach with exceptional mastery of technique to become one of the most talented and versatile soccer coaches in the nation. And whether it's on the field or in the classroom, Cirovski's student-athletes give it all they've got, and it shows.

In addition to the accomplishments of his 20-year coaching career with the Terps, Cirovski was also a standout student-athlete himself. He began his career at Wisconsin-Milwaukee where he was a four-year letterwinner. As a senior, he won the Herman Kluge Award for Male Athlete of the Year, and, in 1998, he was inducted into the UWM Athletic Hall of Fame. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1985 and his master's in 1989. He then spent parts of three seasons as a professional player and coach with the teams in the Canadian Soccer League, and the National Professional Soccer League. His first taste of coaching came in 1987 in the Canadian Soccer League.

Cirovski is entering his 20th year of coaching overall, and holds an "A" coaching license from the U.S. Soccer Federation, as well as an Advanced National Diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. During the summer of 1997, he served as the assistant coach of the JVC U-17 World Youth Championship team, which played against Argentina, Uruguay, Egypt and two domestic camps. The team competed at the U-17 World Cup Championship in Egypt held in September of 1997. Cirovski also worked as an assistant coach for the U.S. U-20 National Team.

Cirovski's wife, the former Shannon Higgins, played collegiate soccer at North Carolina and entered the National Soccer Hall of Fame in the fall of 2002. The couple has three daughters; Hailey, Karli, and Ellie.

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[jpg75]

Another unproven coach is exactly what we need!

I think what this franchise needs more than anything right now is stability. Give Paul Mariner another year to see what he can do and in the meantime fire the man responsible - Tom Anselmi - for driving this ship into an iceberg.

[rdroze]

Another unproven coach is exactly what we need!

I think what this franchise needs more than anything right now is stability. Give Paul Mariner another year to see what he can do and in the meantime fire the man responsible - Tom Anselmi - for driving this ship into an iceberg.

Fire Anselmi? That's crazy talk! In fact, Anselmi has been so successful in his post, he clearly deserves a promotion:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/mlse-names-tom-anselmi-as-president-and-coo/article4518326/

No really, he just got promoted.

[jpg75]

Beat me to it, just read it on The Star:

http://www.thestar.com/sports/leafs/article/1251015--tom-anselmi-is-appointed-new-mlse-president

“Tom’s proven strength in operations has made him a respected leader here at MLSE and across the sports and entertainment industry,” Larry Tanenbaum, a minority stakeholder and chairman of MLSE, said in a news release.

* facepalm *

[Grizzly]

Fire Anselmi? That's crazy talk! In fact, Anselmi has been so successful in his post, he clearly deserves a promotion:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/mlse-names-tom-anselmi-as-president-and-coo/article4518326/

No really, he just got promoted.

Haha. Even considering it is MLSE we are talking about that is astounding. Maybe they should rehire Mo on another 4 year contract while they are at it.

I am not sure Marriner is the best guy for the job but considering who is in charge you better hope they retain Marriner because a new hire would probably be worse.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

No really, he just got promoted.

On the bright side if he is now doing Peddie's old job that presumanly opens up a vacancy where his old one is concerned, so there may be somebody else taking care of TFC in future.

[TFC07]

Another unproven coach is exactly what we need!

I think what this franchise needs more than anything right now is stability. Give Paul Mariner another year to see what he can do and in the meantime fire the man responsible - Tom Anselmi - for driving this ship into an iceberg.

Are you kidding me? Mariner is one of worst coaches ever. His tactics and man management is awful. He has TFC playing awful soccer and they are still losing (Losses are worst than TFC under Winter). Mariner had 2 years to build this team and he has failed. What's worst is he's bringing in more crap players while getting rid of quality players. He has successful set TFC back couple of years.

TFC needs an experience coach (it doesn't matter NCAA coach or coach from Europe) who had success with limited resources who shares TFC original vision of playing attacking soccer (which Mariner doesn't support at all).

TFC needs to fire everyone in FO and start over there instead of rebuilding roster all the time. TFC Front Office has been a joke since day 1.

Too bad soccer journalists and bloggers (*cough*Duane Rollins*cough*) are kissing Mariner's ass and trying to defend him while calling out TFC fans for not being loyal to the team. LOL!

[Free kick]

Are you kidding me? Mariner is one of worst coaches ever. His tactics and man management is awful. He has TFC playing awful soccer and they are still losing (Losses are worst than TFC under Winter). Mariner had 2 years to build this team and he has failed. What's worst is he's bringing in more crap players while getting rid of quality

LOL!

Huh!

- TFC won a total of 5 games in almost a year and a half (44 games) under Winter. Under Mariner, they won five games in about six weeks (11 games)

- under Winter the team started the season with ten losses in ten games. Whereby, they never even held the lead in any game. They were totally blown out of the park. Werent creating more chances than the opposition even in home games against MLS sides like chivas and Columbus. Since those first ten games and up until this past weekend Mariners record was 5 wins, 5 losses, and 6 draws.

- as far as boring soccer. I have to wonder people were watching for the first ten games where nobody complained. The team was static, passing was poor, movement off the ball was almost none existent, attacking plays were predictable, players couldnt read each other and TFC was getting outchanced in every game. Is that exiting? And lets not forget, 0-10 and zero points. In a salary cap league no less.

I always thought that winning mattered and that coaches were to be judged based on team performance and record. But i guess not, for some people anyways. I guess some people would rather see losing soccer.

Lets give the guy a chance. There are some things under Mariner that i dont like, such as substitutions. But overall, it is the constant changes in coaches and front office, and its resulting impact on the roster is the number one thing that has plagues this team team since the end of year three.

[Havoc88]

Huh!

- TFC won a total of 5 games in almost a year and a half (44 games) under Winter. Under Mariner, they won five games in about six weeks (11 games)

You need to qualify those wins and results under Mariner IMO - ie Koevermans being absolutely on fire. Now that he's gone, look at the team and results - it supports that without Danny (an in form Danny as well), it is very likely Mariner would not have had those wins - much like Winter in those opening weeks.

- under Winter the team started the season with ten losses in ten games. Whereby, they never even held the lead in any game. They were totally blown out of the park. Werent creating more chances than the opposition even in home games against MLS sides like chivas and Columbus. Since those first ten games and up until this past weekend Mariners record was 5 wins, 5 losses, and 6 draws.

This is not true. Nine losses on the bounce in league play. They held a lead against Chicago. They were not blown out of the park in that game, home to Columbus, away to RSL, away to Montreal ... the only games you can IMO say were blown out of the park were San Jose, DC and the last 45 in Torreon. SHould add the quality of those three teams this season.

- as far as boring soccer. I have to wonder people were watching for the first ten games where nobody complained. The team was static, passing was poor, movement off the ball was almost none existent, attacking plays were predictable, players couldnt read each other and TFC was getting outchanced in every game. Is that exiting? And lets not forget, 0-10 and zero points. In a salary cap league no less.

We must have been watching different games. And should be noted everything you listed accurately describes the team now. I will agree they were static at times, movement was not great, but the attacking IMO was not predictable (definitely not more than now) and vs Columbus and Chivas definitely were not outchanced. I thought what categorized TFC's early going was they needed about 10 chances to convert, while SJ, CLB, Chivas etc ... only needed one or two. You have duly noted the 0-10 (it was 0-9) - but should also see they are right now 0-2-5 in their last seven and maybe Philadelphia is the one sure game left that could be a win.

I always thought that winning mattered and that coaches were to be judged based on team performance and record. But i guess not, for some people anyways. I guess some people would rather see losing soccer.

Again - we are witnessing that now with little indication that it will change. Just to add - didn't like Winter, don't like Mariner either.

Lets give the guy a chance. There are some things under Mariner that i dont like, such as substitutions. But overall, it is the constant changes in coaches and front office, and its resulting impact on the roster is the number one thing that has plagues this team team since the end of year three.

And here we are - damned if we do, damned if we don't. IMO Mariner is Mo 2.0 and we will spin our wheels as long as he's around. But the turnaround of players/staff is out of control. Of course the point about front office doesn't apply - it has never changed and funny all these years of losing has been the one constant.

[jpg75]

The absolute last thing this club needs is ANOTHER coach. Get some god damn stability and stop the turnstile of player movement so management, coaches and players can actually get on the same page and figure out what is expected of them.

If hard core supporters want to judge Mariner on a couple of months and advocate another coaching change then perhaps they are as much a part of the problem with this club as Tom Anselmi, Mo Johnston, Aron Winter et al.

[narduch]

Just to correct some of the numbers.

Winter won 7 games in 44 MLS matches.

Mariner's MLS record is 4W 6T 7L.

We need to stop comparing Mariner to Winter and start comparing him to the rest of the league.

[Grizzly]

If hard core supporters want to judge Mariner on a couple of months and advocate another coaching change then perhaps they are as much a part of the problem with this club as Tom Anselmi, Mo Johnston, Aron Winter et al.

So now you are agreeing with Trillium!

[jpg75]

So now you are agreeing with Trillium!

Thems fightin' words.

[Free kick]

The absolute last thing this club needs is ANOTHER coach. Get some god damn stability and stop the turnstile of player movement so management, coaches and players can actually get on the same page and figure out what is expected of them.

If hard core supporters want to judge Mariner on a couple of months and advocate another coaching change then perhaps they are as much a part of the problem with this club as Tom Anselmi, Mo Johnston, Aron Winter et al.

Amen. Yes, certain supporters groups are part of the problem. And the problem with this organization is that they listen too much to the noise instaed of letting the soccer people do their job. They created this sence of panic and urgency that resulted in changes that have cause TFC part with certain players whose talents have not been replaced or have been replaced with weaker talent. And in some cases there are some young player such as Edu (ie.; i know he was transferred and TFC collected a fee), Cronin, and James who have gone on to decent careers.

Up until the final game of the season in year three. I dont see what there was to complain about.

[Greatest Cockney Rip Off]

We need to stop comparing Mariner to Winter and start comparing him to the rest of the league.

THIS!!!

So far Mariner hasn't shown anything that makes me think he will be a good manager. I understand wanting stability but what is it that Mariner has done with this team that makes you think he will succeed?

[TheKottonmouthed1555362307]

The absolute last thing this club needs is ANOTHER coach. Get some god damn stability and stop the turnstile of player movement so management, coaches and players can actually get on the same page and figure out what is expected of them.

If hard core supporters want to judge Mariner on a couple of months and advocate another coaching change then perhaps they are as much a part of the problem with this club as Tom Anselmi, Mo Johnston, Aron Winter et al.

Agreed, even though Mariner isn't exactly wowing anybody with tactics, though his cheerleading is superb

Another coach would just mean another major roster turnover and another year to the scrap heap which in turn would have fans calling for a new coach this time next season.

A vicious cycle indeed.

[Free kick]

THIS!!!

what is it that Mariner has done with this team that makes you think he will succeed?

He hasnt even been coach for three F@@@@@@ months. We gave the last guy a year and a half. I was ok with giving the last guy the time that he got. But when you get out of the gate 0-10 in a salary cap league, there was no choice. The move head to be made.

So why one guy gets a year and half and a no complaints while with this guy, the gillotine is out in not even three months. Thats is what is totally dumbfounding. And this guy's record is much better.

If one says that we need to compare Mariner against the rest of the league, then werent we doing the same for the previous guy?

[Grizzly]

A big part of the question with Marriner is how much input did he have in selecting the current players. If Winter was calling the shots one can't really expect Marriner to be a saviour with such a crap team that he didn't build. If he was a major player in selecting the players then he probably needs to be let go. Obviously none of us are privy to such information and certainly those who are don't inspire anyone with a lot of confidence that they will make the right decision. If TFC could line up a really top notch coach/manager with a good MLS track record (ie. a can't miss guy) right after the season ends then they would probably be best to go in that direction. There are not a lot of guys like that around so barring that I agree they probably need to give Marriner a longer time because you can't keep changing coaches every year and certainly not unless you have a can't miss guy.

[jpg75]

Agreed, even though Mariner isn't exactly wowing anybody with tactics, though his cheerleading is superb

Another coach would just mean another major roster turnover and another year to the scrap heap which in turn would have fans calling for a new coach this time next season.

A vicious cycle indeed.

Exactly, even the most can't-miss coaches usually take a year or so to get the team on the up - Bruce Arena in LA comes to mind - and if you're only giving a guy a year or less than you never get a winner. Plus, i'm not very confident the current regime could find a top notch replacement anyways...

[jonovision]

So far I haven't seen a defense of Mariner that actually lists his merits as a coach/manager. The only arguments are about process (don't want to have to find yet another coach). Does he have any?

[TFC07]

TFC are worst now (just watch their recent games and look at stats) and Mariner is reason why they suck (both on and off field). Mariner has been with club for 2 years. This is his team (Winter didn't have much say when signing players). Winter and De Klerk compliant about lack of quality players before and tried to sign their type of players, but Mariner and co rejected it numerous time.

Btw, Frings is out of rest of season because of a hip "injury" (real reason: Frings isn't happy with Mariner especially after when Mariner called Frings of all the players out after Santos game).

Also in Canadian soccer POV, Mariner is bad news and isn't high on academy and would rather play MLS journeymen over young Canadian players.

[Free kick]

TFC are worst now (just watch their recent games and look at stats) and Mariner is reason why they suck (both on and off field). Mariner has been with club for 2 years. This is his team (Winter didn't have much say when signing players). Winter and De Klerk compliant about lack of quality players before and tried to sign their type of players, but Mariner and co rejected it numerous time.

Btw, Frings is out of rest of season because of a hip "injury" (real reason: Frings isn't happy with Mariner especially after when Mariner called Frings of all the players out after Santos game).

Also in Canadian soccer POV, Mariner is bad news and isn't high on academy and would rather play MLS journeymen over young Canadian players.

Where did you read that? The national inquirer. I suppose that next you will tell us that Paul Mariner eats kittens for breakfast.

[TFC07]

Where did you read that? The national inquirer. I suppose that next you will tell us that Paul Mariner eats kittens for breakfast.

Inside sources within supporters.

Mariner has downgrade talent of this team since transfer window opened. I don't understand how you guys can't see that. Plus, TFC are playing worse than before.

Last game stat:

544 Total Pass 210

87% Passing Accuracy % 68%

71.1% Possession 28.9%

Only 29% possession? 68% passing accuracy? Only 210 passes?

Winning formula? This is just your typical TFC game stat ever since Mariner taking over (and it's getting worst).

Mariner is part of problem who should be held accountable because he was responsible of bringing in players in the past 2 years.

TFC needs to hire an experience manager since they haven't had an experience manager in their history outside of Perki (but he had ego issues which caused a lot of issues in locker room especially with Canadian players).

[CanadaSantos]

I'm sorry but i think those asking for Mariner to stay is insane. Are we watching the same matches? wat in the world do u see to think Mariner is the man for job. He got his team in england relegated and even their fans were saying he was way out of his depth. Won 4 matches in mls. Look at out opponents in those matches, (montreal, Vancouver, NE, Colorado) 3 out of 4 of those teams aren't in the playoffs, only vancouver and the way they've been playing they will miss out as well. The only match we actually deserved to win was against Montreal. Can u say that's impressive? we're beating just some of the lower quality teams in the league and even then these wins we were fortunate. The team we have now is his team. he's been with us for 2 years and this is HIS squad.

Here's some amazing stats under mariner in mls play.

Possession average: 40.4 (are u kidding me? barely and i mean barely in the 40's)

Passing accuracy average: 69.23 (the rest of the league are in high 70's or in the 80's!!. take in the fact we make by far the fewest passing attempts than any other team, so in general we're making way fewer passes and still can't complete most of them)

We play the most atrocious football i've ever seen, we're playing in amateur level. The squad we have now is his squad, and it's easily the worst squad we've had. He said he would make a few changes when he took over but he completely changed the team for the worst. He got rid of our top players and brought in guys who aren't even good enough for the nasl. He plays players out of position (seriously put ecks back at rb and henry back to cb ffs) instead of calling on some academy players like Cordon and Maku, he rather call up a short bench, would it kill him to call those 2? maku played once and in the 10 mins he played he looked way better than guys like Wiedeman who is just flat out awful but yet starts every match. Last match he didnt even make a sub!!!! that's great coaching, wat's he resting players for? season's done. I won't be surprise if next season he makes dunfield a dp.

I've yet to see a good argument on y he should stay around, the only reason i see people saying is because they want to keep things stable and not keep changing managers. I would agree with that if it was a good manager, we shouldn't stay with an awful manager just for the sake of staying stable. Ya we should keep him so next season we can be out of playoff contention by midseason again, that sounds like a great idea. The only thing that would remain stable under mariner is having an awful team.

[narduch]

My issue with Mariner is that he was a lazy hire.

I would have preferred an exhaustive search to find the next best coach.

And for those saying you don't want major roster turnover, its going to happen with or without Mariner, as this team is ****. I'd prefer if Mariner wasn't the guy doing it.