Peter Vermes = Technical Director: After 3 seasons in this position I feel Vermes has done a less than stellar job. Yes, the hires, drafts and the team depth are done with the coach, but truth be told he should have had the final say. His final say should have been “Nay” when it came to Colombano (who I personally liked), Trujillo, Marinelli, Thompson, and his failure to have a fully competitive team that not only had a stable heavy presence on the field but have a pool of trusted and established set of backup players that could step up and could be worked into the starting lineup.

Truth be told, although he did score some positive points with players like Claudio Lopez and to some extent Santiago Hirsig (Zoltan and Kamara look positive but it’s still too early), and I think KC has a nice pool of young players that at times have stepped up when given a real chance, Vermes as a Technical Director has done a sub-par job and I believe he does not deserve to keep his position. Three years on the job and KC seemed to have peaked in mediocre year one and gone down after that.

John Pascarella = Goalkeeping/Fitness Coach: Although at times it looked like the team was a bit out of gas, fitness was something that seemed to be a strong point for KC. Also, Kevin Hartman looked superb this year keeping the team in games that under normal circumstances should have been losses. He is a definite keep in my book.

Peter Vermes-Coach: I personally don’t like his style and at times it looked like he was slow to react, especially in those games where at the end of the season we needed a win but we still finished playing with 4 or 5 defenders and would either go play 3 defensive midfielders one game and then would play 4 offensive midfielders in another; interesting to say the least but I will acknowledge that it seemed that the team started to respond to his coaching style. I will also say that I believe he lost a great chance at the end of the year to give some younger players a chance to prove their worth and evaluate talent. I won’t buy the “we were still in it” excuse (yes we might have been mathematically alive but there was no way it was going to happen.

If the Front Office wants to give Vermes a shot at a whole season as a coach they need to go look for a capable and experienced Technical Director because very few (in any sport) have done a good job when performing the GM/Coach double duty. I’ll give Vermes the Coach a maybe with a short leash attached to his stint so that if the team does not show a significant turn around I would cut his coaching career short.

Kerry Zavagnin-Assistant Coach: Zavagnin is an interesting case and is someone that I can see as a possible future coach for the Wizards if they prepare him well. I think the first step to prepare him well is to get him out of KC; the FO needs to flex some diplomatic muscle and get Kerry a job as an assistant coach (paid by the Wizards) either in England, Scotland, or Holland for example, so that he can learn from other coaches and assistants and get a feel of how teams in better leagues do things. He knows the MLS, now he needs to know other leagues and systems.

Call it enrichment, call it internship, but the Wizards need to help get Zavagnin prepared if they want to see him as a successful future MLS coach for KC. Add to that the fact that there is a reason that institutions like the military move their Soldiers away to other units when they get promoted up the chain to a position of power; because the line of respect and camaraderie sometimes gets blurred when you are in charge of your ex-peers and as a coach you want that line to be there. If Zavagnin moves out for a few years on some kind of internship it will serve both for his preparation as it will allow for a roster turn over and help avoid any problems.

What’s your take on it? Who should stay, who should go?

The future of Peter Vermes the Technical Director(polls)

Kerry Zavagnin’s future(survey)

Should John Pascarella stay with KC ?(answers)

Peter Vermes as a Coach(answers)

There are just a long list of decisions and statistics coming from Onalfo that lead me to believe that he is not the right coach for the Wizards. I’ve come up with a summarized, not all inclusive list, which details some of my gripes:

1. In his third year Onalfo still has not been able to come up with a “stable”, constant group of players. His lineup changes (at time drastic) are result driven and are very predictable. If he wins he will play the same team, again; same tactic again until he loses, regardless of if it’s at home or on the road. In other words Onalfo plays the result and forgets about the tactics that his team uses vs. a certain rival; or if the team actually looked good (i.e: the same team that “earned” a 1-0 win vs. a ten man Red Bulls team on a 2nd minute penalty where the team was horrible, got to start the next game against DC United in what was another bad game). On the flip side he will make 2 or more changes when he loses, regardless of how the team played and who or what lead the team to the loss. Granted, Onalfo isn’t Pep Guardiola, but I can’t remember Barcelona taking about a 1/3 of the team off after a loss. I’ve always believed in continuity and that is never achieved when players, especially young ones are afraid of losing their spot for making mistakes when taking risks. I would not be surprised that next Saturday rookie Matt Besler loses his job as left back for giving up a penalty. Similar situations occurred with Aaron Holhbein, Tyson Wahl and Kurt Morsink last year after “mistakes” lead to goals.

2. Too many “fan favorites” get a pass. In 2007 it was Eddie Johnson who could do no wrong. In 2008 and 2009 Davy Arnaud and Jack Jewsbury will not lose their starting spot for anything they do. All these players have been crowd favorites and front office money makers and are penciled in week in and week out. After a torrid start in 2007 Johnson cooled off significantly and showed what some thought to be a poor effort, too the point where some people thought he was a lazy player; regardless of that he played every game and Onalfo did not sit him on the bench. This year Davy Arnaud had a great start, but has been less than mediocre in the last 10 games; games where he started and completed where all he showed was effort but little quality. Jewsbury, like Arnaud had a good start but has steadily declined in productivity, to the point where he was responsible for the game tying goal for LA 2 weeks ago; he made a mistake that has cost other players their starting role. To his credit Onalfo did sit Claudio Lopez down last year for a few games, but I actually believe that it was done to rest him at the end of last year more than because he went through a spell of bad games.

3. The Wizards rely too much on their international players and will play them until they either are proven to be complete failures, or until the fans expect so little that even mediocre play from one of them now draws applause. Marinelli, Trujillo, Colombano, Lopez, Hirsig; of these 5 players in the Onalfo era only Lopez has proven that he belongs in the field over some of our other “local” talent. Hirsig has had his good games but he has not proven to be the superstar we were promised; he surprised the MLS in his first couple of games, but now MLS players and coaches have figured out that he rarely plays a one touch ball so they now collapse on him and close his passing lanes. Those great passes we saw in the first 2 games have been missing for a while and he has actually lost balls that have led to 2 opponent’s goals this year; add to that the fact that lately he will drop at the slightest touch from the opponent; this has him as one of the MLS leaders of fouls received, but at the same time refs are catching up and call a foul only about half the time (last Saturday he lost 5 balls where he hit the ground trying to draw the foul and the ref just let the game go on). Regardless of their individual play the Onalfo/Vermes camp seems to want to play these players as much as possible hoping that they either come out of their slump, produce something positive, or at least log enough minutes with them so that they can justify sending them home after an unsuccessful season where “they could not adapt to MLS style of football”, i.e. Marinelli, Colombano and Trujillo. I will mention that once these international players lose favor with Onalfo they will rarely see the field, regardless of how well they do with the Reserve team of how bad the guy in their position is (Trujillo).

4. Onalfo the decision maker makes me scratch my head a lot during games and makes me wonder what he was thinking. Let me illustrate this with a few examples. Last year in the playoffs at home vs. the Crew the Wizards were up 1-0 and had Gomez ejected; with 15 minutes left and clinging to this slim lead that would be important to keep for the 2nd leg of the playoffs, Onalfo never flinched and never though about pulling a forward to reinforce a weekened midfield; the result C-bus tied, took a 1-1 game home for the 2nd leg and eliminated the Wizards. That second game brought on another Onalfo decision that made scratch my head; in a playoff game, down 1-0 Onalfo goes with Michael Kraus as a substitute for Abe Thompson; Kraus who had not played 1 MLS minute was thrown into a playoff game (vs. big man Ivan Trujillo); less than 20 minutes later he pulled Roger Espinoza out for Matt Marquess, a left back that started 4 games during the season. Things that make you go HMMM. Add to these last Saturday’s decision, when losing by one goal he pulled an attacking midfielder for a forward when he was a man up and the Crew only had Barros up top. Oh boy! Like these decisions there are many others that go against what one could consider as logical and that sadly have not really panned out.

5. Let me throw this stat out there. Onalfo predicates fast “exciting football” but the Wizards have only 1 win with a 3 goal difference over their opponent. Opening day vs. Toronto in 2007. Curt, nail biting and exciting are not the same in soccer.

(To be continued, yes there are more things I have to say)

On to the game. This is the third meeting between the two sides, with Columbus winning both, 2-1 at Crew Stadium and then 3-0 at the CAB a few weeks ago. I can’t see a good reason why the Wizards would be able to get something out of this game, although I’d like to be a bit more optimistic than that. They have the defense to hold back the Schelotto-led attack, but it comes down to who is going to score? Someone like Davy Arnaud or perhaps even Kurt Morsink, who connected on Davy’s game winner last week needs to step up and score. Conrad as the leading scorer reflects poorly on the attack.

Who would start up front? I expect to see Wolff and Trujillo up front, with Lopez keeping his spot on the left side of the midfield. Or perhaps the return of the Lopez-Trujillo combination. Whatever the combination, goals are needed. I don’t think I can emphasize that any more than I already have. I’m boring myself by saying it so much. Regardless, it’ll hopefully be an entertaining match and the first time the Wizards appear on ESPN2 (I think).

Other previews:
+Down the Byline
+Official MLS
+KC Soccer Review
+Yahoo! Sports
+ESPN Soccernet

• The Wizards shot themselves in the foot a number of times with sloppy turnovers, especially in the first half.
• The bungled clearing attempts cost them the first goal, as defense continues to be a bit inconsistent. Guevara’s goal was ugly and he may have been offside, but come on now. Terrible defense leads to goals
• Toronto really came out of the gates in the first 15 minutes with a real attacking mindset. Good job by KC to weather the storm.
• The fans in Toronto continue to impressive. The field may be astro turf, but with every game likely to sell out this year is great.
• Ivan Trujillo loved hugging the back post whenever Lopez fed in crosses. Crash near post. Also, not a great finish after a nice set up by Claudio in the 70th minute.
• Amado Guevara played like a monster. Great free kick in the 78th minute.

Hardly a disastrous loss, but more of a step back than anything else. Toronto played great and the Wizards were on their heels for a large part of the game. Onfalo tried to make the right moves, bringing on Scott Sealy and Carlos Marinelli, but they couldn’t crack the Toronto defense. It is still early, after all.

The progress of the defense will be important to monitor. This week saw a moment of blundering leading to the first goal. Conrad remains solid at the back, and Harrington’s speed kept runs from Wynne at bay. Chance Myers was a bit inconsistent, with some strong runs forward, although at times his final touch let him down. Bottom line is that the number of sloppy turnovers cost them.

Here are the highlights, courtesy of MLS.


Next Opponent:
Next stop is Columbus. Wizards look to get back against the Crew, who sit in first place with the best record in the MLS. They took down the Dynamo 1-0 last weekend.

This weekend may feature the debut of the number one overall pick in the Super Draft as Chance Myers tries to overcome a toe injury he suffered last week and maybe grab a start. A complete preview as well as injury list is available here on the MLS main page.

The bottom line of this game is simple. Both the Wizards and the Rapids are out to prove that last week was no fluke. The smaller confines of Community America Ballpark should continue to provide a solid homefield advantage for KC, and I see them walking away with a 3-1 victory.

Part Three: Forwards

Scott Sealy: Target man from Trinidad & Tobago. Second leading scorer last season behind EJ and should be the starter up front against United. Should benefit from the arrival of Trujillo and Lopez, as they will push him to either improve even more or to be relegated to the bench.

Ivan Trujillo: New arrival from Colombia (got that wrong earlier), signed from La Equidad. Impressive already during the preseason, scoring 4 goals in just 5 appearances. I predict that he’ll start up from along Sealy opening day against DC United. Just a hunch.

Ryan Pore: A back up to either forward position/attacking midfield. Appeared in 17 games last season and has seen a great deal of action this preseason. Gives the team depth, although is probably the fourth or fifth choice up top now that Lopez and Trujillo are there. Will fight hard to claim his playing time.

Eloy Colambano: Also can play attacking midfield. Saw limited action with the first team last season as he was signed in August 2007. Probably the first off the bench/could be a potential starter.

Claudio Lopez: Not much to add here. El Piojo is the Wizards DP. That means the pressure is on for him to perform or, well, be labeled a bust. A two time World Cup veteran, at 33 the big question is, did he come here to retire or did he come here to inspire? My prediction? Scores 10 goals and leads a deep playoff run. Not quite the scoring pace of Juan Pablo or Emilio, but he’ll put in his fair share.

Bottom Line: The forwards are deep. No doubt about that. Barring injuries, they are one of the stronger units in the league. That is, if Lopez and Trujillo bring results. Throw in Arnaud and it makes for a solid bunch. Coach Onfalo must be licking his chops, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s already forgotten Eddie Johnson. If Trujillo’s form in preseason transfers over to the big time, let that be a warning to the rest of the league.

The team has training all week to prepare for the Saturn Challenge Cup this Saturday. Tickets are available here. The Wizards will be going up against Real Salt Lake at the University of Oklahoma’s field.

Any trip where you manage to win all but two of your games can only be considered a success. Not to mention also bringing in a prolific striker with the addition of Lopez. While Lopez has yet to make even a preseason appearance, Frank Dell’Apa writes how El Piojo is one of the best Designated Player signings yet. I love Frank’s optimism, but let’s be a bit more realistic. I find at least two things wrong with making that statement already: one, Lopez has yet to see a minute of play in either the preseason or regular season. Two, there have been only a total of seven DPs signed. Lopez is no spring chicken at 33, and while that might not make a difference, common sense tells you that it will take some time for him to adjust. Reserve judgment until at least the first month of the season maybe? Dell’Apa does make a good point about how this signing is about nothing more than landed a quality soccer player. The article is definitely a must read, especially for those who think Beckham and Blanco are far superior.

Last but not least, Lopez does not have a visa so it’s unclear whether he will return to train with the team in Kansas City. Seeing that Trujillo took two months to secure paperwork for, I wouldn’t be surprised if this also took some time. If he makes it back in time and is ready to start the season, the storyline for the opening game against DC: two former Argentina World Cup teammates, now 30 something, up against each other in the opening weekend of the MLS. What a cracker. Stay tuned as the saga unfurls…