“The players need to show if they want to be here and be a part of this because I know the coaching staff does. I know the coaching staff cares an awful lot about this club and the job we’re attempting to do. I’m not so sure all the players do.” – Jason Kreis, 8/29/15
Whoa. Wait. What?
Or more specifically, who? Was Coach Kreis calling out the whole team after the loss to Columbus or just specific players? Was it justified, and will it motivate whoever it was aimed at?
Assuming he won’t answer these questions – although we’re here for you if you are, Coach – we put them to a handful of smart (and highly opinionated) soccer folk who pay special attention to NYCFC, to see if they could decode the hidden meanings in the message.
We started with the two hosts of Blue City Radio, Mike Anderer and Jon Sauerschell. “In my opinion” Mike said, “Kreis was specifically calling out players like Andoni Iraola, Shay Facey and Jason Hernandez. Kreis was quoted in Dave Martinez’s piece that he was upset by the response to not only the turnover but also to trailing with about 10 minutes left to play, and by the lack of a desire to get the equalizer.”
“I would agree with Hernandez,” put in Sauerschell, “but I would also add Villa. To me this was a case of Kreis calling out veteran players who have been with the team all year.” Not Pirlo or Lampard? “He can’t expect Pirlo to be the on-field leader yet – realistically he’s only played a few games. And he specifically mentioned the LA game and the lack of response to the second Columbus goal, so that absolves Lampard who wasn’t on the pitch for either. No, Villa and Hernandez, have been with this group all year and know what Kreis expects on the field. The captain and the MLS-savvy Center Back have a different level of responsibility and the poor response in those two games could be on them.”
But not everyone is willing to give Pirlo a pass “My opinion was that it was a message to Pirlo and Iraola who abandoned ship on both goals. They are the obvious targets of Kreis’ comments” said ESPN New York’s JJ Devaney (co-host of the Caught Offside Soccer Podcast). “You can’t argue with Lampard’s situation with fitness, but Pirlo has largely looked disengaged in many games and Iraola has been a singular failure. Neither Pirlo nor Iraola has exhibited the battle traits that are the base level needed to be successful in MLS.”
Michael Schwartz, who covers NYCFC for First Touch also focused on “knowing what it takes to be successful in MLS”, but took it in a slightly different direction. “I would say that Kreis is most likely talking about experienced veterans who know MLS and especially those who know his approach.” Like Grabavoy and Wingert? ”Yes, but also others who should know what it takes to win and how to spread a winning mentality: Mix, Hernandez, Jacobson, and Saunders.”
But who knows better about a “winning mentality” than guys who’ve won World Cups? “I don’t think he’s talking about the DPs because they just haven’t been there long enough – and I don’t think he’s talking about Villa, because Villa’s done well.”
Alexis Guerreros, fan, comedian and host of The Cooligans, concurs with that last comment. “I assume Kreis meant everyone besides David Villa. He’s put his body on the line match-in and match-out and frankly he seems like the only one leaving it all on the pitch.” The only one? “Poku might get an exemption simply because it looks as if he’s worked on his stamina and his defensive responsibilities, and no one can say he doesn’t work extra hard to try and score. As a fan I’ve enjoyed watching the club but the general confusion and lack of accountability when other teams have the ball in our half is embarrassing and should’ve been addressed earlier. Most of the fans I talk to have a list of players they’d like to see missing from the roster next year; perhaps Kreis does too.”
Okay, but will it work? Will we see an angry, passionate, driven, motivated, winning team on Saturday in Frisco?
JJ Devaney votes ‘no’. “I don’t think so. The older player, the veteran, is motivated from within. The worry is that they came to MLS without that motivation.”
Jon Sauerschell is equally pessimistic, but for different reasons. “I don’t think Kreis knows. He seems desperate and grasping for anything that will work. I think it’s worth a shot, if only because he has no other shot left.” And Mike Anderer believes it was worth doing, regardless. “The most effective motivational tool a coach has is the decision of who gets playing time. If you don’t prove that you want to play, then you ride the bench.”
Alexis Guerreros applauds the move. “I think the question and tactic are both professional and warranted. This is the first time Kreis has called out his players. And if that leads to more focus and better preparation then good for him, the club, and us. Hey, if Mourinho did it, we’d call him a genius.”
Mike Schwartz, however, has a more nuanced view. “It’s complicated because I think what Kreis is getting at is that more is expected of the DPs. I feel the DPs were expected to make up for many other faults on the team – which is just unrealistic when two come on late in the season. Frankly, the situation is a mess and it’s showing; NYCFC is a bad team with some quality players, a team who have occasional good moments but who have a long way to go before they start winning often.”
Which echoes what Kreis himself said at that press conference: “We have some very experienced players on this team, both on the world level and MLS level, and I believe that all of that experience has to count for something. People need to step forward and take charge a little bit more.”
Clearly this season has been something of a test for Kreis. But strong men are made by opposition; like kites they go up against the wind. Perhaps strong teams, too. Even when that opposition comes from their own bench.
Thanks again to everyone who contributed . Please follow them on social media and patronize their endeavors. You can find Jon Sauerschell, owner/editor of NYCFC Blues and cohost of Blue City Radio at @NYCFCBlues; Mike Anderer, host of Blue City Radio at @BlueCityRadio; JJ Devaney, co-host of Caught Offside Podcast at @JJDevaney; Mike Schwartz, reporter for First Touch at @MichaelSchwart2; and Alexis Guerreros, host of The Cooligans at @NotAlexis. Note: opinions expressed here are purely those of the contributors and not their employers, publications or broadcast partners. But you probably knew that, right?
