How many people like their jobs, but do them because they're good at them and because the money is good? A very dear friend of mine, is a Quake legend and hero among the parts... told me, he never watches soccer, doesn't like soccer, but was blessed enough to play soccer a game he loved as a kid, but once it became a job he no longer liked soccer. Another one for example, Joey DiGimarino former professional soccer player, never liked the game, but was pretty good at the game enough to be an Olympian and national team fringe player. Majority / shocking number might be a little bit of the wrong terminology, but athletes all across the board aren't necessarily 'fans' of the sport, they're just good enough to play the sport for a career. It's not a bad thing or a good thing. Just people being people. You don't have to be a fan of the game, to play the game. Messi loves the game, Ronaldo loves a pay check.
And you and I can round about every thing in the world, with your beliefs and my beliefs that usually carry facts and weighted experiences. I'm willing to bet you 95% of the entire player base in Major League Soccer couldn't name all of the top 5 scorers in MLS History, or even know who won MLS Cup in 2004. Most College kids couldn't name 10 MLS teams. Munie couldn't name all the MLS teams during his combine exams, and said he only knew about the MLS when David Beckham came to the league. (Ask him yourself). He didn't follow the MLS at all.
like you said a few posts ago... "People here want guys who bleed this team, fight and bring heart for the Quakes Black & Blue..." ...that I agree with. And according to you... "...no one does that more than Ian." So, it sounds like it's not all about the $$$ for that guy, fortunately. He's still going to have all the same small team BS to deal with though.
Do you know anything about Reno? Oh you dont? Figures... let me spit gospel, they had a very tiny microscopic budget. He knows what hes doing.
yes, Reno folded, and I don't follow USL, so enlighten us, oh wise one. tell us more about how Ian will surely succeed in San Jose, where the past 9 or so coaches have failed, because he knows how to win with "a very tiny microscopic budget."
you were more impressed with Leitch as coach than me. he coached about a half a season and the results were mixed, some wins, plenty of blowouts, as I recall. I doubt we ever see him coaching here again.
He had easily the best win % of any Quakes coach since 2008 - 41.2%, which maps out to 14 wins a season, enough to get into the playoffs in pretty much any season. And not to mention our best USOC run - semifinals (lost to SKC on PK's). Not to mention-squared, he did it while changing out half the lineup (Matthew Tarbull anybody, Andres Imperiale?) and completely changing our playing style to a much more front-foot attacking style, mid-season, essentially changing out the engine while the car was running. The point is, I don't think you objectively can call him a "failed coach", given his record and under the circumstances he was in.
I think the legend of Leitch as coach has grown in your mind over the years, but it was nothing impressive... July 1Round 18 San Jose Earthquakes 2–1 LA Galaxy Stanford, California July 4Round 19 Atlanta United FC 4–2 San Jose Earthquakes Atlanta, Georgia July 19Round 20 New York Red Bulls 5–1 San Jose Earthquakes Harrison, New Jersey July 23Round 21 Seattle Sounders FC 3–0 San Jose Earthquakes Seattle, Washington July 29Round 22 San Jose Earthquakes 1–0 Colorado Rapids San Jose, California August 5Round 23 San Jose Earthquakes 2–1 Columbus Crew SC San Jose, California August 12Round 24 Houston Dynamo 3–0 San Jose Earthquakes Houston, Texas August 19Round 25 San Jose Earthquakes 2–2 Philadelphia Union San Jose, California August 23Round 26 Real Salt Lake 4–0 San Jose Earthquakes Sandy, Utah August 27Round 27 LA Galaxy 0–3 San Jose Earthquakes Carson, California September 9Round 28 Toronto FC 4–0 San Jose Earthquakes Toronto, Ontario September 16Round 29 San Jose Earthquakes 1–0 Houston Dynamo San Jose, California September 23Round 30 D.C. United 4–0 San Jose Earthquakes Washington, D.C. September 27Round 31 San Jose Earthquakes 1–4 Chicago Fire San Jose, California September 30Round 32 San Jose Earthquakes 2–1 Portland Timbers San Jose, California October 15Round 33 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1–1 San Jose Earthquakes Vancouver, British Columbia October 22Round 34 San Jose Earthquakes 3–2 Minnesota United FC San Jose, California MLS Cup Playoffs[edit] October 25, 2017Knockout Round Vancouver Whitecaps FC 5–0 San Jose Earthquakes Vancouver, British Columbia ...I doubt we see him coaching here again, but who knows.
I’m not talking about any “legend of Leitch”. I’m talking facts and figures. I don’t know what seeing all the games contributes to anything. Please see my previous post for the summation of his record. Yes everyone knows we had some bad road losses but that’s the flip side of playing a front foot attacking style and being consistent with it. Sometimes you get burned. But we all complain about Luchi or Dom coaching the team just well enough to lose 2-1 but and failing to get wins, and not having a distinct style. Here’s a guy who was really trying to break out of that mold and the results speak for themselves. Too bad he didn’t get some time try to develop that out and get some wingers to better suit his preferred 3-5-2.
Not very good but a 5-1 loss results in the same number of points as a 2-1 loss. We all complain about Luchi and Leitch coaching the team just well enough to lose 2-1 on the road and then failing to get many wins. Leitch was a guy who was trying to change that culture, and he said exactly that at the time. Basically I don’t care if we lose by 4 of 5 goals on the road, we’re gonna keep attacking and play the way we play to try to get back in the game. The end result was, even as we were trying to get our bearings in a completely different style of play and philosophy, and with half of a new starting lineup we wound up with a win % that would get us into the playoffs virtually any year, and a semifinal USOC run. When Jesse hired Stahre he said it was the end of the lopsided losses. Well maybe, but it was pretty much the end of wins also.
There were definitely blowouts under Leitch, but the playoff tiebreaker was wins not goal differential. We made the playoffs by having 2 more wins than Dallas with being -21 to them on GD. What I remember liking about Leitch wasn't that the team played particularly well. I liked that he knew what the mechanics of the playoff draw were and he played to win rather than accept ties in response to that. He must have communicated this to the players because they kept going through those blowouts. It was an edge of your seats end to the season, and really exciting, but it wasn't high quality soccer. He is not the answer to our coaching question. Count me as Ian curious.
What about the man who coached us in 2020 and had us getting anal gaped... by these scores. 5-2 to Minnesota 5-1 to LAFC 7-1 to Seattle 6-1 to Portland 5-0 to Colorado 3-0 to Portland 4-1 to Minnesota 4-1 to Seattle
That was probably our worst run of form in our history. IIRC even Fish intervened with an offer to help. It was so bad even he noticed! At least in the Leitch era we’d follow up a bad road loss with a home win. To Almeyda’s credit though he turned us around that year. But after they, 2021, 2022, it was all downhill.
I know how much y'all love talking about the great Matias Almeyda every day, but can we bring this back to Ian Russell? That guy must have some magical powers or something. I'm still hoping to learn more about his unique ability to make a "very tiny microscopic budget" work, where everyone else has failed. What is it that sets him apart? And how can anyone be so sure he'll succeed where all these other coaches have come up short?
I wouldn't read too much into Leitch as a coach...the number crunching. The vibe at the time from Kaval/Fioranelli was to get as far away from conservative defensive soccer...Yallop/Dom ball. Leitch being the dedicated Quake lifer that he is did them a favor by stepping in... trying to implement what they wanted to see...attractive, open attacking soccer, while giving the younger players more experience. In theory, not a bad idea, but in reality it was a fools errand to try to play a 3-5-2 with that roster...Imo, it was basically clueless, and foisted upon Leitch. It was kind of interesting, wildly inconsistent, with younger guys, like Tommy getting a chance to play...but coupled with that you had some very headstrong, borderline unruly vets, who didn't buy into playing the kids...Godoy and Ceren especially...it was an ugly toxic mess which came to a head in the 4-1 home loss to Chicago. After which the vets, basically "convinced" Leitch what needed to happen to get everybody on the same page...and they did. But that had more to do with the way the vets wanted to play and who they wanted to see on the field. Leitch did the Quakes a solid by stepping in, but imo, he never wanted to be the coach of the Quakes and couldn't wait to get out it. imo, he didn't have the presence or cred to run an MLS locker room. He was a nice guy who played a 3-5-2 with slow CBs and a roster built for 4-4-2....who eventually lost the locker room. he was never considered to be the permanent coach...not that he wanted it anyway. It's laughable to cherry pick the stats and make him into something he's not...like potentially the best coach we ever had....if he only he had a chance...please stop, it wasn't his bag.
That's a nice narrative, but things like the 3-5-2 being "foisted on" Leitch or some kind of veteran mutiny cornering Leitch in the locker room with utlimatums - there's no evidence for any of that. CL wasn't being forced to do anything. He was very public about his philosophy. You don't say things like this with a gun to your head. “Some people are bothered that maybe it's five goals. We could have shored it up maybe and put an extra guy back there, and maybe it was 3-1. I could care less,” Leitch said. “I would rather try to get back into a game and try to stay on the front foot, try to challenge them and try to get back in the game, than I would just close down shop and stop another goal or two from going in.” “With certain players, especially the attackers, you’re going to ask them to take risks to change a game and to beat your opponent, to try the final pass, to attempt a shot,” Leitch told reporters after San Jose’s 4-1 exhibition romp over Eintracht Frankfurt last week. “And so if you’re going to ask those players to do that, then you have to know … within that risk, those things aren’t always going to come off, and so you have to be OK with that, so that those creative guys can have the space to be creative and to express themselves and try those things.” Leitch was a coach who was finally getting us out of this Dom / Luchi bag of playing just well enough to lose 2-1, or going for the 0-0 tie on the road. We were going for wins, damn the torpedos and, scoreboard, we got enough of them under CL to make the playoffs, and to garner by far the highest win % of any Quakes coach in the post-2008 era. That's not "cherry picking" a stat. That's the stat that matters! Winning games! We don't know how things would have played out if he got another year or two. Maybe worse, maybe better. I sure wish we could have found out. But imagine if we acquired some decent wingers to play his preferred 3-5-2 and maybe another CB who can run and play out of the back. That's what I hoped would happen at the end of 2017. But instead we got the dire Mikael Stahre and his "bearing walls". I don't think it's a coincidence that the coach with the best success in MLS these days, by far, Wilfried Nancy, has a similar philosophy to what CL's was. If you stick with it and commit to it, it can work.