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McCarthy's Musings: Missing Intensity Led to Onalfo's Ouster
Former Kansas City head coach Curt Onalfo didn't lose his job because of one embarrassing 6-0 loss to FC Dallas. The loss just highlighted the soft core in this current batch of Wizards, writes Kyle McCarthy.
Aug 5, 2009 6:22:36 AM
By Kyle McCarthy
Saturday's 6-0 drubbing in Frisco didn't get Kansas City coach Curt Onalfo fired merely by its occurrence, but it did reveal the root cause of his dismissal.
As the Wizards collapsed like a poorly constructed house of cards in the face of adversity presented by an opponent nine other teams had shrugged aside this season, they revealed the gooey marshmallow center that ultimately proved Onalfo's undoing.
These Wizards, right now, are a bit of a soft touch.
The root of that softness doesn't entirely rest with Onalfo. Sure, he did some things that probably didn't help his cause to keep his job. Onalfo's personality doesn't always mesh well with others (that tete-a-tete with Carlos Marinelli last year still sticks in the craw), he suffered from a touch of Osorioitis (Jack Jewsbury as an attacking midfielder? Josh Wolff out on the right side?) and he may have stuck his foot in his mouth significantly more often than advisable (calling Fredy Montero a “punk,” for example), but those are not mortal flaws in a first-time head coach. Certainly not for a young and talented coach who led his team to two straight playoff berths after the franchise hadn't qualified for the postseason in two years and certainly not for any coach robbed of his two best players for over a month because of international duty.
What Onalfo didn't have at his disposal and never cultivated and what technical director and interim coach Peter Vermes never acquired for him was the type of fiery personality the Wizards desperately needed after Nick Garcia was sent on his way after the 2007 campaign. The Wizards' locker room is filled with solid professionals, good guys and respected veterans, all of which are required for MLS success. For all of the leaders in that locker room, there isn't the one galvanizing figure to go out and force his teammates to bring the intensity required week after week.
During his career, Vermes would have been that player. Imagine his level of frustration as he watched this team meander through without Onalfo or anyone else able to shake them from their stupor since late April (2-5-5 since a 1-0 loss in Toronto on April 26).
“When I played this game, I was very intense. I hope I bring that every day and I hope that can be contagious,” Vermes said during his introductory press conference on Tuesday (as captured by an audio recording posted on the excellent Wizards blog The Back Post).
Finding that intensity will the key to Vermes' Wizards. Expect more consistency in team selection as well. Points are important, Vermes said, but the performances are more critical. Vermes has the luxury of full backing from investor/operators OnGoal and he plans to return to his technical director role solely at the end of the season, so he can say those things and mean it. The most important thing for the future, Vermes said, is to change the Wizards' mentality in the present.
“All I can say is that we have to move forward with a different mentality than what we've had.” Vermes said. “It's not a criticism, but we have to change some things. They're going to come slowly. We're going to build towards it. It will be evident as we move forward towards the end of the season.”
Wizards in Brief
- “I'll say that he was a class act,” Vermes said about his former coach. “Contrary to some people's beliefs, we had a very good working relationship. At least from my perspective and our conversation, it was a very classy conversation.”
- “They are different guys,” Wizards defender Jimmy Conrad told The Back Post about his past and present coaches. “They have different personality traits. They both have their strengths that lend themselves to us being a good team.”
- Conrad and fellow U.S. national teamer Davy Arnaud might not have saved Onalfo's job even if they hadn't departed for the Gold Cup. There were whispers as early as late May that the Wizards were pondering a change at the helm.
- It says here that Onalfo did more than enough in K.C. to earn a second MLS gig somewhere down the line. It will have to be the right fit (as it always is), but Onalfo (and fellow sack victim and trusted assistant Kris Kelderman) can coach in this league.
- As for Onalfo's permanent replacement, it's far too early to speculate who might be in for the gig. Expect the usual cadre of worthy assistants to make an appearance, but keep a watchful eye on Chivas USA head coach Preki. Given his ties to the organization and his intense personality, he'd make a lot of sense. There's another guy who should get a look, but we'll get to him later.
- How did Vermes spend most of his first day as interim coach? After training, Vermes took to the golf course as the Wizards had a previously scheduled charity golf tournament.
Around the League
- D.C. United advanced to the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions League on Tuesday night after ousting Firpo (El Salvador) on penalty kicks after the two teams played to a 2-2 draw on aggregate. Christian Gomez's 42nd minute free kick provided the vital away goal and the United playmaker also dinked the winning penalty off the left post to send his team through.
- “We knew it was going to be a hard fought match in a difficult environment but we came here to get the result necessary that would put us in the next round of the tournament,” Gomez said through a translator. “Firpo is a very tough opponent. I want to give them a lot of credit. They played good football. They made it more difficult for us when we were down 1-0 but fortunately we were able to even the game shortly after they scored and from there on it was a tight game all the way to the final penalty kick.”
- Toronto FC couldn't find a way through the sturdy Puerto Rico defense in Bayamon and crashed out of the competition 1-0 on aggregate after a scoreless draw on Tuesday night.
- Speaking of worthy head coaching candidates, isn't it high time Puerto Rico head coach Colin Clarke gets another look in MLS? His stint with FC Dallas tended towards mediocrity (41-39-20), but as any Hoops fan would readily tell you, it's a whole lot better than what followed him. What is clear is that Clarke has done enough in USL1 and in the CONCACAF Champions League to deserve a second chance.
- New York plays W Connection (Trinidad and Tobago) on Wednesday night at Giants Stadium with its qualifying round tie knotted at 2-2 after the first leg in Trinidad. Can the Red Bulls salvage something from this desperate season?
- In MLS action, Houston and FC Dallas will tangle in Frisco on Thursday night. The Dynamo has won both previous meetings and should find a way to win this one with the Hoops itching for a letdown after Saturday night's performance.
- Seattle and Barcelona play tonight in a highly anticipated friendly at Qwest Field.
- New York has also agreed a deal to sign Argentine defender Walter Garcia, according to the New York Post.
- Former Red Bull Khano Smith is training with New England this week as he prepares to head to Europe in search of work.
Kyle McCarthy writes the Monday MLS Breakdown and frequently writes opinion pieces during the week for Goal.com. He also covers the New England Revolution for the Boston Herald and MLSnet.com. Contact him with your questions or comments at kyle.mccarthy@goal.com and follow him on Twitter by clicking here.
For more on Major League Soccer, visit Goal.com's MLS page.
Saturday's 6-0 drubbing in Frisco didn't get Kansas City coach Curt Onalfo fired merely by its occurrence, but it did reveal the root cause of his dismissal.
As the Wizards collapsed like a poorly constructed house of cards in the face of adversity presented by an opponent nine other teams had shrugged aside this season, they revealed the gooey marshmallow center that ultimately proved Onalfo's undoing.
These Wizards, right now, are a bit of a soft touch.
The root of that softness doesn't entirely rest with Onalfo. Sure, he did some things that probably didn't help his cause to keep his job. Onalfo's personality doesn't always mesh well with others (that tete-a-tete with Carlos Marinelli last year still sticks in the craw), he suffered from a touch of Osorioitis (Jack Jewsbury as an attacking midfielder? Josh Wolff out on the right side?) and he may have stuck his foot in his mouth significantly more often than advisable (calling Fredy Montero a “punk,” for example), but those are not mortal flaws in a first-time head coach. Certainly not for a young and talented coach who led his team to two straight playoff berths after the franchise hadn't qualified for the postseason in two years and certainly not for any coach robbed of his two best players for over a month because of international duty.
What Onalfo didn't have at his disposal and never cultivated and what technical director and interim coach Peter Vermes never acquired for him was the type of fiery personality the Wizards desperately needed after Nick Garcia was sent on his way after the 2007 campaign. The Wizards' locker room is filled with solid professionals, good guys and respected veterans, all of which are required for MLS success. For all of the leaders in that locker room, there isn't the one galvanizing figure to go out and force his teammates to bring the intensity required week after week.
During his career, Vermes would have been that player. Imagine his level of frustration as he watched this team meander through without Onalfo or anyone else able to shake them from their stupor since late April (2-5-5 since a 1-0 loss in Toronto on April 26).
“When I played this game, I was very intense. I hope I bring that every day and I hope that can be contagious,” Vermes said during his introductory press conference on Tuesday (as captured by an audio recording posted on the excellent Wizards blog The Back Post).
Finding that intensity will the key to Vermes' Wizards. Expect more consistency in team selection as well. Points are important, Vermes said, but the performances are more critical. Vermes has the luxury of full backing from investor/operators OnGoal and he plans to return to his technical director role solely at the end of the season, so he can say those things and mean it. The most important thing for the future, Vermes said, is to change the Wizards' mentality in the present.
“All I can say is that we have to move forward with a different mentality than what we've had.” Vermes said. “It's not a criticism, but we have to change some things. They're going to come slowly. We're going to build towards it. It will be evident as we move forward towards the end of the season.”
Wizards in Brief
- “I'll say that he was a class act,” Vermes said about his former coach. “Contrary to some people's beliefs, we had a very good working relationship. At least from my perspective and our conversation, it was a very classy conversation.”
- “They are different guys,” Wizards defender Jimmy Conrad told The Back Post about his past and present coaches. “They have different personality traits. They both have their strengths that lend themselves to us being a good team.”
- Conrad and fellow U.S. national teamer Davy Arnaud might not have saved Onalfo's job even if they hadn't departed for the Gold Cup. There were whispers as early as late May that the Wizards were pondering a change at the helm.
- It says here that Onalfo did more than enough in K.C. to earn a second MLS gig somewhere down the line. It will have to be the right fit (as it always is), but Onalfo (and fellow sack victim and trusted assistant Kris Kelderman) can coach in this league.
- As for Onalfo's permanent replacement, it's far too early to speculate who might be in for the gig. Expect the usual cadre of worthy assistants to make an appearance, but keep a watchful eye on Chivas USA head coach Preki. Given his ties to the organization and his intense personality, he'd make a lot of sense. There's another guy who should get a look, but we'll get to him later.
- How did Vermes spend most of his first day as interim coach? After training, Vermes took to the golf course as the Wizards had a previously scheduled charity golf tournament.
Around the League
- D.C. United advanced to the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions League on Tuesday night after ousting Firpo (El Salvador) on penalty kicks after the two teams played to a 2-2 draw on aggregate. Christian Gomez's 42nd minute free kick provided the vital away goal and the United playmaker also dinked the winning penalty off the left post to send his team through.
- “We knew it was going to be a hard fought match in a difficult environment but we came here to get the result necessary that would put us in the next round of the tournament,” Gomez said through a translator. “Firpo is a very tough opponent. I want to give them a lot of credit. They played good football. They made it more difficult for us when we were down 1-0 but fortunately we were able to even the game shortly after they scored and from there on it was a tight game all the way to the final penalty kick.”
- Toronto FC couldn't find a way through the sturdy Puerto Rico defense in Bayamon and crashed out of the competition 1-0 on aggregate after a scoreless draw on Tuesday night.
- Speaking of worthy head coaching candidates, isn't it high time Puerto Rico head coach Colin Clarke gets another look in MLS? His stint with FC Dallas tended towards mediocrity (41-39-20), but as any Hoops fan would readily tell you, it's a whole lot better than what followed him. What is clear is that Clarke has done enough in USL1 and in the CONCACAF Champions League to deserve a second chance.
- New York plays W Connection (Trinidad and Tobago) on Wednesday night at Giants Stadium with its qualifying round tie knotted at 2-2 after the first leg in Trinidad. Can the Red Bulls salvage something from this desperate season?
- In MLS action, Houston and FC Dallas will tangle in Frisco on Thursday night. The Dynamo has won both previous meetings and should find a way to win this one with the Hoops itching for a letdown after Saturday night's performance.
- Seattle and Barcelona play tonight in a highly anticipated friendly at Qwest Field.
- New York has also agreed a deal to sign Argentine defender Walter Garcia, according to the New York Post.
- Former Red Bull Khano Smith is training with New England this week as he prepares to head to Europe in search of work.
Kyle McCarthy writes the Monday MLS Breakdown and frequently writes opinion pieces during the week for Goal.com. He also covers the New England Revolution for the Boston Herald and MLSnet.com. Contact him with your questions or comments at kyle.mccarthy@goal.com and follow him on Twitter by clicking here.
For more on Major League Soccer, visit Goal.com's MLS page.
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