Comments on: Are European Inspired Tactics Failing USL-1?

By: rochester fan

rochester fan — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:36:20 +0000

The Rhinos have had an English GM and coach (Laurie Calloway the previous coach to Tilley is British as well) since 2002 so this is nothing knew. Your comment regarding this doesn’t really make sense since they didn’t just “get” Englishmen in these positions. As far as talented players goes the team is full of them are you forgetting veterans like John Ball (formerly MLS), Brent Sancho (World cup player for Trinidad and Tobago), Scot Vallow, Tiger Fitzpatrick and Andrew Gregor all of them could walk into any USL team and play. Not to mention the young talent that Tilley has cultivated in Tim Melia, Andrew Lorei and Danny Earls ( who is Irish but played for Aston Villa in the reserves so English style training reflecting the talent). Most of these players can play more than one position and this versatility sure helps when the Rhinos only have 20 players on the roster. Your comment regarding English players is just downright false since there are 3 players that are English; Darren Kenton 30 (has played for Champions League Teams in the UK), Chris Nurse 25 and Nano Short 24 hardly what you would call past their prime at those ages. In fact the “lumps of wood” you are talking about must be the american players?? perhaps at the next game you should go down to the field and tell them so. Your mentality of British football is definitely misunderstood as if you watch the EPL you would see the most exciting football in the world today since it has evolved and includes so many foreign players and coaches and influence has changed this image to combine many styles and it really is hard to comment that the EPL has a specific style. I would also like to add that I have had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Tilley with my 10 year old daughter and he was very pleasant and chatted with us for a good 10 minutes. Your comment there is personal rather than aimed at any constructive critisism of his style of play which of course shows your lack of knowledge to really challenge or understand what is being discussed the point of your comment is to just be confrontational and rude which is what you accuse Tilley of being, Mr. Pot. Also your use of blanket stereotypes of the English in Football are just that….you could say about American’s in football they are LOUD, UNEDUCATED AND they think their way is best…of course we know that this is truly not the case as there are many examples of quite the opposite on both sides so stick to having common sense intelligent arguments Portero66. You are giving this article which is negative to the league the Rhinos play in compared to the MLS and you are just adding fuel to their fire and shame on you for that….the Rhinos have had one player this year already go to the MLS and this league is by no means an embarrasment to soccer. Support your Rhinos and if you have a beef with the coach have the guts to take it to his face but in public forums have the good sense to support your team in Rochester and all the hard work they do. As far as being open to ideas I am sure if you have the credentials that Tilley does (which I have seen quoted that he has more coaching licenses than any other coach in the USL and MLS from more than 3 countries) he would be open to hearing your ideas and I am sure that any coach of his stature would be in contact many other coaches discussing ideas about the game, players and of course tactics. In future before posting get your facts together instead of embarassing other Rochester natives.

By: Portero66

Portero66 — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:08:41 +0000

The worst thing to happen to the Rhinos was getting a GM & a manager both who are English. The only truly talented & technical players we have are: menyonger, earls, ZeRoberto. The rest are past there prime English players who played conference league or a tier better. Tilley likes big strong lumps of wood, & many people here in Rochester are tired of British one route football. Additionally Tilley is an arrogant SOB , along with being truly a rude person. He is a typical Englishman who is in football, RIGID & UNABLE TO BE OPEN TO OTHER’S IDEAS.

By: rochester fan

rochester fan — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 02:37:16 +0000

Wow…this article certainly needs a reality check and some facts perhaps added to it. The writer obviously has never spoken to Coach Tilley to ask him what his “tactics” are or for that matter ever watched The Rhinos play. The fundamentals of being a good writer really require that you research what you are going to write about instead of just spouting uselss crap. I would suggest you have the guts to call the coach (Tilley) and speak to him you might actually find out some information to make yourself more credible. Funny enough Tilley in his 18 year career as a player was a STRIKER hard to imagine him not being an offense minded coach and as an intelligent coach he doesn’t play a specific style of play but strategically plays to the team he is playing against. Doesn’t take much to upset the MLS as they had done the week before with Colubus Crew, I believe last years MLS Champions. If this writer had a clue who any of the players on the team were he would know that this Rochester team has extremely versatile players since the USL 1 league requires coaches to be more savvy about each signing. Why on earth Americans seem to think that they have any say in tactics of this game is beyond me. The Europeans were playing this game more than 100 years before the MLS even exsisted….you don’t hear Europeans weighing in on the boring game of baseball and the tactics involved in it…they realize they didn’t invent the game and therefore don’t get an opinion or for that matter care. So, if you want to play the sport don’t mess with the real thing just appreciate that for once you arrogant americans don’t know it all.

By: ashlee vance

ashlee vance — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 04:02:25 +0000

>That’s why the average score of an MLS game may not be that much >higher than a USL-1 match.

yes, one league is boring and defensive yet they both score more or less the same amount of goals.

How many offensive leagues are there?
And what usually wins games? High flying offense or negative defensive tactics like the italian teams use?

Its about winning.

By: bill

bill — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:34:56 +0000

This post is a 180 degree flip from the regular USL- lauding posts. I don’t get it. One week the USL represents the best soccer in the US due to it’s talent that prefers USL over MLS. Now, it’s a struggling second tier league that can’t compete with MLS and has to revert to negative tactics because if the inferiority of it’s players. Make up your mind before you start writing. This stream of conscious style you have going on is just making your articles less and less legitimate. I’m sorry to be critical but it’s better to be consistant than to write an article everyday for the sake of doing do.

By: jean-guy pepper

jean-guy pepper — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:34:21 +0000

Toronto Fc has an English coach (Chirs Cummins) and plays a pass and move game with three up top. it hink it comes down to the skill level of the squad. Montreal made a great run last year using negative, defensive tactics and superior defensive organization, because they lacked bal moving skill.

By: Yankeehooligan

Yankeehooligan — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 01:48:11 +0000

You also forgot Juan Carlos Osorio (who holds a UEFA license) and was an assistant at Man City. And what about Chris Cummins, who cut his managerial teeth at the youth level in England. He’s British (so it isn’t just Nicol). I think the issue with MLS is that there ISN’T a particular, Americanized style and that is why the games are so erratic in quality. It all depends on the club and the match up. Kansas City, for example, were known as a bunker, counter-attacking team for years under an American coach Bob Gansler (no British experience). To say that the USL-1 plays a certain style because more of their coaches were tenured across the pond really is an oversimplification of the multiple personality disorder that characterizes American soccer (at every level).

By: Kartik Krishnaiyer

Kartik Krishnaiyer — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:28:21 +0000

Yeah, forgot Gary Smith- my apologies. He’s attack minded and Rapids are great to watch.

By: Jason

Jason — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:03:51 +0000

You fail to mention Gary Smith in your article. How would you classify him? I think the Rapids do a fair job of going forward, and they clearly have more attacking talent than defensive talent. Is this his Arsenal roots?

By: BC

BC — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:30:36 +0000

Forgive me if I’m confused for a minute.

We’ve seen the author repeatedly say that USL-1’s tactics are far superior to MLS tactics because of the superior coaches in USL-1 and the “Americanized” MLS. (I don’t want this to turn into another American v Eurosnob debate by all means, thank goodness we have hopefully moved past that).

But now you claim that these same European tactics are failing the league? To me, this is a major inconsistency. I understand your point about the negative tactics not being fun to watch, but these are the same tactics and coaches that you have repeatedly claimed to be superior to MLS. Now suddenly the tactics and coaching styles of USL is a problem when compared to the more open style of MLS?

Do we always have to sacrifice better tactics for a more watchable game? Or is there a way MLS can improve the quality of coaching/tactics or whatever and also keep the style of play appealing for fans? I’d appreciate your thoughts.