120 Fahrenheit: Hyndman 5 and 5
October 26th, 2009 . 2:54 pm . By: Buzz CarrickPeople often ask me what I think of Schellas Hyndman, not as a man or human being of course, but as a soccer coach. Frankly, I’m not really sure, there are some things I like a lot about him, and some things that bug me quite a bit. There was a great finish to the season so I have hope for 2010, yet I still see some trouble signs. One thing I can tell you is that I don’t Hyndman should be fired. I think a MLS coach deserves two seasons and maybe a into the third before it’s time to consider a change. I just don’t think a coach can change things fast enough to get any given team into the form he wants. Hyndman, when he was hired, told the Hunts he would need two seasons to turn it around. The recent wins mean he may have been right. Before the season Hyndman was hopeful the team could contend for a playoff spot. He didn’t feel the team was yet in the form he wanted and knew it was at least another year from being a legit contender (at least what he thinks is a contender). Which leads me to attempt to talk about both the good and the bad of coach Hyndman as I see them right now. Five Things I Like About Coach Hyndman1. Speed. It kills. For a few years now I’ve felt FCD was to slow. I’m not looking for a track team, but there were no change of pace players around these parts for some time. Hyndman loves speed it appears, and since you can’t teach speed you have to go get faster players. That’s clearly been a priority for Hyndman. Cunningham, Benitez, Harris, and Ihemelu all have serious pace. I haven’t been this happy with the pace in the side in a long time. Maybe even since early in the Jeffries era, you know the part where he was winning. 2. Belief. Hyndman’s is absolute and virtually unshakable. He really believes when he gets his system in place and his players that there will be success. I’ve never met a coach with this much self belief before. I imagine much of that comes from his martial arts background. This translates to his tactical belief, which is why I like it. Hyndman has a system, and come hell or high water they will be playing it. That’s actually a good thing I think. Kinnear has played the same way for years now. Nicol, same thing. Chicken and an egg you say? Sure, easy to stick with the same system when you are winning, but perhaps winning comes from sticking with the same system and shape? We’re going to find out. 3. Openness. Seriously, Hyndman will say anything. If he thinks it or believes it he will say it. Hyndman doesn’t tell you one thing off the record and then speak in platitudes on the record. If he thinks it’s a dog, he’ll call it a dog. It’s quite refreshing actually. Now as much as I like it as a reporter, I do question how players will take that. In the long run will it make people not want to play for him? Although in the end, if you can’t handle the truth, get out of the kitchen. 4. Formation Balance. At the beginning of this season the FCD team was still out of whack, it’s part of why I thought they would be inconsistent and struggle out of the gate. The left midfield was good, if slow, with van den Bergh, but the right was a mess. There wasn’t enough size in the midfield to make up for the McCarty/Ferreira shortness. The back line was to one dimensional and lacked a left side to balance the right. Hyndman address much of that balance late in the year. Jair brought pace to the back left to balance both vdBergh and the back line. Late in the season John and Ugo brought some pace and height to center back. Pearce brings skill and experience to balance the athletic but raw Harris on the right side. Harris in turn balanced the midfield with some height, grit, and pace. That’s some solid formation and team building. Don’t get me wrong, there is lots of room for improvement, but I like the focus on balance and shape. 5. Handling “trouble” players. I was curious early on how the Hyndman demeanor would work with head strong players. I’m surprised it’s actually turned out to be effective. Cunningham, with his reputation, has been almost impeccable. The McCarty situation that looked horrific, has become fantastic. Ricchetti’s tantrum, which could have wrecked the team, instead galvanized it for a nice end of season run. In essence his method appears to be, “Shut it and be a man.” Childishness and selfishness are not tolerated. Neither is rebellion from the system. It’s “suck it up and deal, this ain’t kids soccer.” Don’t do what you are asked to do and you take a seat. Do what you are asked to do and you get time in the team. Cunningham and McCarty can both confirm that. So can Hernandez and Saragosa. Five Things I Don’t Like About Coach Hyndman1. Robotic Players. Outside of the #10, the Hyndman system is to constricting for my taste. The system dictates incredible number of jobs and duties for each position. Every tactical role, but the playmaker’s, is highly rigid and defined. Drew Moor referenced it when he was traded to Colorado. Hyndman has made references to it when talking about players. The most notable example is the discussion with Hernandez versus McCarty at holding mid. As Hyndman has mentioned, McCarty wants to get forward from time to time and create. Hernandez doesn’t. Hernandez stays home and has the discipline to play the holding mid spot the way Hyndman need’s it played. While perhaps effective defensively, this kind of rigid system will stifle some joy and creativity for players. You won’t see as much of the flare, razzmatazz and dramatics. Instead you get a run and gun kind of rote performance. It will make it harder to attract a certain kind of player that this market has enjoyed over the years and it makes it a lot less fun for players. 2. Lack of Fitness. During the summer, and early in the year, I had a lot of concerns about lack of fitness in this team. FCD was fading late in games, making mental mistakes, and blowing leads. A big part of that was fitness. With the entire spring to prepare, I blame that lack of fitness on the head coach. It’s not like last year where he didn’t prep the team. Over the last third the problem wasn’t as noticeable, either due to the faster team, or to fitness work during the season. So the verdict is still out on this one. Until I see a full season of a fit team, I will wonder if the spring wasn’t to easy. I will wonder if there is something lacking in the preparation. It could also be that summers are brutal here, but shouldn’t that be anticipated and planned for? 3. Late team selection. I’m not sure why this bugs me, but it does. Hyndman doesn’t pick his team early in the week, he waits till the day before, or even day of, the game. He likes to see who is healthy and sharp in training. It means you get multiple rotations in game work situations as Hyndman tries combinations and changes in the team. I suppose there is something to be said for checking current form. But it also means the week is spent picking who will play rather than working on specific tactical situations. Is this perhaps part of why FCD stinks on set plays? I also can’t help but wonder if this late selections stuff might go away if FCD is winning. Certainly during the late season run that seemed to be the case as the team changed little week to week. 4. Diamond 4. I’m a 4-4-2 guy, but a flat four, not a diamond four. The diamond four puts too much pressure on two players, the attacking mid and the holding mid. With the outside back and mids getting forward the holding mid has to be a highly disciplined player with great range. The attacking mid is the key cog of everything. With only the one player free to create and get forward so much is reliant on him. In college, where you might have only a couple great players, this is no problem. The pro game it’s a bit different. The Seattle game is a good example of the importance of the #10. Seattle focused on denying the ball to and through Ferreira and the FCD offense struggled. Of course not everyone has a d-mid like Alanso. One caveat to this is that the #10, Ferreira, isn’t really playing as a pure attacking mid. Hyndman has tweaked the system. Now the 10 is the second striker thus adding an extra linking midfielder in the form of McCarty. That’s a change I think helps balance the importance in midfield and makes this particular point of criticism a bit less harsh. 5. No Joy. Playing for FCD under Hyndman isn’t “fun.” It’s hard, tough, and competitive. Does that really matter? These guys are pros after all, this isn’t kids soccer. I’m not sure it’s bad that it’s not fun. Does it hurt atmosphere in the club house? Will it hurt recruiting of players? Does player performance suffer when it’s not fun? Or is being challenged and tested better for performance? I don’t really know frankly. Or maybe it’s the losing, trades, waving, and cutting players that makes it un-fun. Let’s see how it goes next year. ConclusionHyndman isn’t going anywhere, the Hunts hired him and knew it would take time. I think he should stay till at least 2010 anyway. This is the season where I think results are going to matter. If FCD starts slow I think the Hunts will begin to question the situation. So what do you think, has Hyndman earned 2010? 28 Comments Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI Leave a comment |
With regards to the no joy point #5, I think that it’s valid if the system isn’t working. I don’t think there’s any doubt it took the joy out of a player like Kenny Cooper, you could tell in the way he played. However, the new players seem to really be enjoying themselves and I think winning is so key under the way Hyndman coaches because players will put up with a constricting style as long as it wins. We can see this in Steve Nicol and Dominc Kinnear coached teams.
“Fun.” Do you think Kinnear’s teams have fun? Do you think Nichol’s teams have fun?
Most teams that have what it takes in the playoffs don’t – they play a hard, disciplined, (over)organized system.
Sounds like Hyndman’s system to me.
Long way to go before we know whether Hyndman can coach a champion, but in terms of judging whether it is better to have a fun team or an over-organized, no-fun, disciplined team, if you’re looking to win, then maybe fun isn’t the way to go.
The “fun” should come when you win games and hold up trophies and get bonuses and transfer to Europe. If the Morrow or Clarke teams were having fun then I’d be pretty freakin’ pissed off.
I like point #5. Fun doesn’t have to mean disorganized. There’s this really good team from South America that plays a very fun style. They wear completely oddly matched yellow shirts, with blue shorts and white socks. Not comparing MLS talent level to theirs, but it’s not like fun is exclusive of success.
Has SH earned 2010 I do not think so. But I think you make a valid point that he deserves at leaste 2 years which I think is July of 2010. So I can see where a coach would want two years to get things going in his direction. I think it took Sigi until the 3rd season to get Columbus turned in the right direction and they kept going in that direction after he left.
From what I’ve read, Columbus used to run a “fun” atmosphere, then they changed it and started winning.
Hey Buzz,
This is really good. Let me just jump out there for you and say what you really mean on #5 – Schellas is an ass. No one likes working for an ass. That’s why its not fun.
Excellent article Buzz. I think Hyndman should stay for next year. However he better do a good job of finding some more players. Remember he’s the one that does the player evaluations. I’m pretty sure Hitchcock just negotiates the deals.
SH is not an “ass”. He IS a demanding coach. Some players cannot cut playing for a coach that demands their best effort. Others can.
For an example of another demanding coach go to pointy ball and look at Bill Parcells. Some might call him an “ass”, but he was demanding and he got rid of players that could not cut it, brought it ones that could and he won. Hopefully SH will be able to do the same for FCD that Parcells did for several NFL teams. The last several months looks like he is on the right track.
winning is fun.
Good write Buzz. I can only bet the only reason Avi hasn’t gotten much PT is for the #1 point on your dislike list . . . we still need to add some players up top
^
I thought winning was our ethnicity?
I think SH should get all of next year, but it’s not so much because he deserves it. I believe managers/coaches (in just about every sport at every level) cannot be accurately evaluated based on a year or a year and a half. I’m also a firm believer that you build a system and train players to know one or two roles in the system. That takes time. So I’m not in favor of switching the manager every 1.5 years (even if I don’t like the menager’s personality).
I do think the outlook is positive. As he displayed in the last few games, Sala is top notch (in MLS) when healthy. I like most of our defenders (Pearce, John, Davies, Benitez, Ihemulu, Purdy). I love that Hernandez can tackle just hard enough to break up a play and send a message, but not so hard that he earns a card (at least the first few times). I worry about his age though. But if he stays health and fit, and if FCD resigns Dax, I like the starting midfield with Ferreira, vdb, and Harris. Guarda, Avila, and Wally are getting into the age and experience range where they need to step up next year and at least provide reliable depth. FCD has serious issues up top; we have old and streaky backed up by young, raw, and inexperienced. But if FCD can be solid out of the back coming through the midfield, the playoffs are possible.
All that being said, next year should put up or shut up time for SH. The team needs to be consistently competitive and get into the playoffs.
I think Avi’s PT was limited due to some deficiencies on the defensive side of the ball. Hopefully he works hard on defending over the offseason and can challenge for a spot.
Wallace is too young to give up on – he is what, 19? I think he could be our CDM of the future.
We need strikers and outside MF. Chavez may help out, but VdB should be subbed frequently next year to save him for playoffs. Harris, while a solid outside MF, could still be upgraded. Hopefully Shea and Avila can help with this…but we still need more options going into camp.
Schellas is an ass. An ass without a trophy. Bobby Knight’s a d-head with three championships. Tuna is a s-head with skins on the wall. Why in the #@?? Does anyone want to fall on their sword for him?
Schellas can stay on for another 10 years and he won’t win the MLS trophy. FCD is hopeless.
Buzz – one thing you didn’t bring up that I thought you would was how well you felt Hyndman adapted tactics during games to address weaknesses or sharpen the pencil, or in his upfront assessment of the opposition and how his system should adapt to counter that.
A common critisicsm of Hyndman that I hear is that he is frequently “Out coached”.
“Schellas can stay on for another 10 years and he won’t win the MLS trophy. FCD is hopeless.”
Hmm, I think it is clear who is the ass…
In-game coaching is the next important factor to analyze in assessing Hyndman’s effectiveness thus far, and in the future. Great article Buzz!!
Nathan, in game changes is an important evaluation. I am giving him a little bit of a break because of not having the guys he wanted available.
But now that he’s getting his team in place, that excuse will go away and yes we will all be watching that carefully.
Buzz,
Thank you for the fair analysis. I’m sure we’ll see the strengths and weaknesses as next season progresses. I’d like to request a re-assessment at midseason next year.
Thanks Buzz, It is nice to have the honest opinion of someone who is actually there at the practices and is at the games and behind the scenes. You definitely have your finger on the true pulse of FCD.
I guess what is great about this site is it allows everyone to air their opinion on FCD but you know what they say about opinions, Opinions are like Schellas, everyone has one”
I have met SH on several occasions while I was in college, and while refereeing either his club team or SMU, and trust me, he is an absolute ASS of the highest order. He is smug, holier than thou, and he has no reason to be, since he has won no championships in college or the pros. His self belief comes from him and him alone, not what he has accomplished. All of the other coaches mentioned were at least winners.
I hated to be right about Saturday’s game, but my fears were realized. SH cannot win the big game. Didn’t do it in college, and hasn’t done it in the pros thus far. I have no faith in him. Why others do boggles the mind.
While my thoughts aren’t as personal, Chad I fear you are likely going to be right on in the bigger picture.
I don’t think he’s a good coach. I’ve got a laundry list, but I don’t feel like typing it out. I’m afraid we will be sitting here next year saying the same things as this year, and he will be continuing to make excuses one way or the other about why he didn’t succeed. It’s a pattern of behavior, they are character traits; he’s been doing this for a long time, and he’s been very average for a long time. What makes us think things will get better? A good run of form late in the season? JC going on a freakish goal scoring run? Guys, wake up, until the organization hires first class people, it’s not going to be a first class team.
Chad, I had the opportunity to spend a long time chatting to SH while in Seattle. Do I agree with all he had done this year or the way he has spoken to players? No, but he has gotten results.
Give the man 2010… he deserves it for what has occurred late season. My conversation with him dicovered the opposite of smugness. He was very humble yet determined and talked about his support of his players with a genuine compassion and enthusiasm. Time will tell whether it ends up in Champioships or playoffs, but to write him and this team off is disrepecting the effort the guys on field have been showing in part 2 of the season.
I like the way this team is working now. I don’t care if the guys are having fun. I DO CARE that they are taking the game seriously and fighting for every bloody point. That is what they are doing now, and I am proud of them!
Okay, so Schellas Hyndman hasn’t won a NCAA championship as a coach. But, that fact alone doesn’t establish that SH is a poor coach. Let’s put aside for the moment the notion that a NCAA championship is somehow easier than a MLS one (I’m not convinced it is). SH has in fact distinguished himself as a “winning” coach, as the term is commonly understood. As a college coach, he has finished third and second in Div. II, and third in Div. I. Also, he has compiled a fairly decent record of 466-122-49 over a lengthy college coaching career, winning numerous coach of year type honors. It’s dishonest to say or imply that SH is a “loser” or a second rate coach based on the results.
As far as a pro coach, at best, all you can say is that SH gets an “I” for incomplete. One and a half seasons as coach, an almost complete turnover of players during this season, and only one game out of the playoffs. One game.
Most of the criticism seems to be from people who have gotten “rubbed” the wrong way by something SH did or said. Or they claim something equally meaningless and generic like SH doesn’t know how to win big games (bc he won four in a row instead of 5). I think all the naysayers should put there body where their mouth and challenge SH to a bout of ju-jutsu, so SH can deliver a swift kick to the you-know-what. But that would probably rub their sensitive soccer-selves the wrong way too.
Agreed with Teddy that comparing to NCAA is tough. There are plenty of average coaches who have won, so winning isn’t great justification.
A sample of some of the more specific things directly related to SH (didn’t get into player personnel decisions, which are terrible also, but not completely attributable to him) that get me:
*Playing players in positions they either haven’t played in before, or aren’t suited for technically, physically, or tactically–McCarty on the wing, Cunningham outside mid, Torres anywhere on the field, Saragosa at outside mid or outside back.
*The Bruno Guarda fiasco
*The Saragosa fiasco
*Letting his 12 year old grandson train with the team
*How he handles players, in the media and elsewhere. Completely unprofessional
*Making excuses for losing, blaming his team
*Not tweaking the system to the personnel; not every coach has every perfect player, good coaches deal with it, he blames it for his failures
*In game decision making–so many choices here, but in general just not good. Untimely subs, either late or early; playing Rocha even though he was worthless and clearly didn’t care
*Treatment of the young players. You’ve got Saragosa et al, who has no potential and is terrible taking minutes from a young guy (Shea, Avila) who could be developing into a very good player
*Calling players out for being injured. this goes under treatment of players, but WTF, if the guy is injured he’s injured. Even if he’s being “soft” you don’t call him out, there are doctors that sign off on playing or not.
Never been rubbed the wrong way by him, don’t know him at all. These are my observations and this is why I think he’s a bad coach.
SH is an ass? Good.
I don’t know if anyone has noticed, but a decade has gone by, and the Dallas franchise has yet to win anything since that other ass left the head coaching slot, Dave Dir. Dave, my hat is off to you. Heck, they have not even made the Cup Final.
I no longer have time for anything but ruthless pursuit of an MLS Cup, and neither does the franchise.