Well, that answers my long-standing question about who does what:
"I'm more of a defensive coach and that's what I take on, you know, set pieces and the defensive stuff"
"Playing out and trying to improve the defenders"
Time to go, Liam. You're not good at your job. Set piece defending is abysmal, for one, and "defensive stuff" overall is just poor. The Timbers need to find a defensive coach that can actually coach defending.
Oh man,I thought for sure he was coaching the strikers!
Jokes aside - a coach should be getting results, but I think the main thing is getting the personnel right. Zup and Miller will be the best pairing, and I think we will see a not only better d but better distribution. My gut says Zup was not a starter because of fears of his set piece defending, but all you have to do is figure out a strategy for that, and the pay off of overall better defending and distribution will outweigh McGraw's set piece defending prowess.
I've just never known whether he was the sole defensive coach or whether it was a shared responsibility, but that interview makes it sound like it's his job alone. And he's not good at it.
No matter who the personnel are that are out there, they haven't been able to defend set pieces for a couple seasons now; that's coaching. They don't keep a defensive shape for more than a couple seconds at a time for the most part; that's coaching. That's not personnel.
I'm not a nostalgist; I don't care how awesome he may or may not have been as a player or what his connection to the team/community is. As a coach, he's not good enough, and the Timbers should always be trying to find better.
Well, that answers my long-standing question about who does what:
"I'm more of a defensive coach and that's what I take on, you know, set pieces and the defensive stuff"
"Playing out and trying to improve the defenders"
Time to go, Liam. You're not good at your job. Set piece defending is abysmal, for one, and "defensive stuff" overall is just poor. The Timbers need to find a defensive coach that can actually coach defending.
Oh man,I thought for sure he was coaching the strikers!
Jokes aside - a coach should be getting results, but I think the main thing is getting the personnel right. Zup and Miller will be the best pairing, and I think we will see a not only better d but better distribution. My gut says Zup was not a starter because of fears of his set piece defending, but all you have to do is figure out a strategy for that, and the pay off of overall better defending and distribution will outweigh McGraw's set piece defending prowess.
I've just never known whether he was the sole defensive coach or whether it was a shared responsibility, but that interview makes it sound like it's his job alone. And he's not good at it.
No matter who the personnel are that are out there, they haven't been able to defend set pieces for a couple seasons now; that's coaching. They don't keep a defensive shape for more than a couple seconds at a time for the most part; that's coaching. That's not personnel.
I'm not a nostalgist; I don't care how awesome he may or may not have been as a player or what his connection to the team/community is. As a coach, he's not good enough, and the Timbers should always be trying to find better.