Nick Cushing Named Interim HC (Jul '22) / HC (Nov '22) / Fired (Nov ‘24)

What Are Your Thoughts on Cushing as NYCFC Head Coach?

  • Quite Really Pleased

    Votes: 2 6.3%
  • Really Pleased

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Pleased

    Votes: 2 6.3%
  • Neither Pleased or Displeased

    Votes: 5 15.6%
  • Displeased

    Votes: 7 21.9%
  • Really Displeased

    Votes: 3 9.4%
  • Quite Really Displeased

    Votes: 13 40.6%

  • Total voters
    32
I think I said yesterday any review of Cushing has to look at failing to score in 3 out of 4 playoff matches. That's an imperfect stat given our 3+ xG with 0 actual goals performance on Saturday. But it is emblematic.

I agree with others and love the SoupInNYC SoupInNYC view of not the problem but not the solution.

It took too long to figure out how much better Martinez was than Bakrar. Someone in the roster thread pointed out that this begs the question of whether Fernandez and/or Ojeda might also have more talent to show if they could just get more time to integrate into the team. Cushing seems to have an all or nothing view of his players. But with our roster construction we were built to make lots of subs in the 60th minute.

Would we have been better or worse if Fernandez and Ojeda had been getting 30 minutes per match instead of 5-10? We'd certainly have a much better idea of who they were by now. And they would have developed a lot more with in game reps.

Would we have been better or worse if Maxi had gotten rest along the way or played as a super sub this year? It's impossible to play out the counter narrative.

But Cushing seems like the guy who gets an idea in his head and has very little capacity to entertain alternative ideas.
 
That was so cryptic when it was sent. It really ties to this?
Don't know for certain, but the timing sure is interesting.

But considering the breadth of stuff he tweets about, could be anything.

Maybe we're getting rid of Legends
 
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I just don't see how you remove Cushing and not Lee.
Lee has had more success.

If this recent series of acquisitions fails, then Lee will also depart. However, there has not been sufficient time to determine that yet.

Cushing and Lee were working different agendas. One had to go. Cushing was the correct choice.
 
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Lee has had more success.

If this recent series of acquisitions fails, then Lee will also depart. However, there has not been sufficient time to determine that yet.

Cushing and Lee were working different agendas. One had to go. Cushing was the correct choice.

What success did Lee have? He won a cup with a roster 97% build by Claudio and nearly every move he has made since has made us worse.
 
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WOW. I am shocked they did it after this season. But it is definitely the right decision. Good on David Lee.
 
I hear you. I just type. ;)

(You highlight the part you want to quote, and a "Quote/Reply" box will pop up. Hit, ironically enough, reply rather than quote. You can do it multiple times before hitting "Post reply.")

Good analysis, though. It's worth asking whether he was expected to play the new signings much sooner and didn't. If I had to guess the reason for his sacking, that would be it: not so much him failing to develop players as not recognizing where they were in their development, or at least where David and the F/O thought they were, and getting them out there.

I think this has to be it. That's something I said after we lost on Saturday. I thought the only way he'd be fired is if there was a disconnect between him and David.

This is the right move, but I'm shocked they did it now. I agree with it because of how few players have improved under Nick, but I'm shocked the team results this season didn't save him. Then again, I think we all believe the team underachieved in the regular season and was too inconsistent, so maybe this shouldn't be so surprising.

Wish the best for Nick. Seems like a good dude.

One other thing: this is a move the team makes if it's ambitious. It's a statement of intent. Most teams don't fire coaches after reaching the conference semifinal.
 
Nick coached to save his job this year and of course it backfired. He could have been an adequate coach with a decent roster from the jump. With the roster he was given he failed. I think most coaches do the same, but he was the one we had.

It starts with Lee not replacing Taty over 2 straight windows. That forced the failed Talles striker experiment for 70% of 2023 unless you think Segal was the answer.

Talles and Bakrar had 10 games to gel but the latter never scored and Talles got just 1 game into 2024 before he was injured. I’m not sure who decided he was done then- Talles, Nick, or Lee but it was over.

Having survived the disaster of 2023 Nick finds his striker still can’t score, and the backup is an immature head case. He converted our cheapest winger into a striker who doubled his career professional goal total and fans complain he should have done it sooner.

That the only forward Lee acquired who produced was a 100% Cushing development project is very much a Lee problem. We desperately needed at least one forward who was not a project. It was supposed to be Bakrar but that didn’t work out.

That Cushing could not do the same with any of the expensive and higher rated players is an anomaly, and I’m pretty sure the blame should be spread around. That includes Cushing, but far from exclusively.

In limited minutes none of the other kids show out and Nick coached scared. On offense he only trusted Maxi Santi and Martinez so he embraced the contradiction of generally sacrificing defense to score more while shutting down on too many road games. I sympathize but it was all a mistake.

Finally, everything in the last 15 months says Chanot is a very proud man who reacted poorly to being benched. It was the right call. Unlike 2024 last year was a write off by the time Risa showed up. You had to start playing him to build rapport with Martins ahead of this year.

ETA somehow forgot Jones was the main joint Lee-Cushing success, and then he got hurt.
 
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Would we have been better or worse if Fernandez and Ojeda had been getting 30 minutes per match instead of 5-10? We'd certainly have a much better idea of who they were by now. And they would have developed a lot more with in game reps.

Would we have been better or worse if Maxi had gotten rest along the way or played as a super sub this year? It's impossible to play out the counter narrative.
Really good. I was concerned with Maxi starting and playing so much down the stretch myself. And I didn't think having Santi and Maxi on the pitch at the same time worked all that well. It cost us one position which could have gone to someone who added an additional dimension.

A sad day. Nick is our longest-tenured gaffer, if you include his interim stretch. But ...

Marlon Brando Movie GIF
 
While i don't blame the club for sacking Cushing and I agree with the decision, I can't help but wonder who the club will turn to next to lead the club.

Will they look in europe? will they look within the club and promote the II squad coach or one of the assistant coaches again?

This off season will be interesting since it's hard to sign players if you don't have a coach in place. Then again, we don't exactly have a ton of roster room without selling/transferring players, so maybe that's not an issue.
 
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This, all day. I just posted a comment on the Athletic saying a similar thing. We want to go into our park as defending champs.

Or Nick got sacked because he chased results when they wanted him to prioritize the development of the young guys. Based on how this roster has been constructed I think it's just as possible that they care more about developing their CFG assets than results. You don't dump Jovan on a roster where he has no logical fit if your top priority is results. I'm not buying any narrative about this team's ambition until they prove it by spending some money on game-changing players.
 
Ambition in this league looks like Cucho, Dejan Joveljic, Evander, Gabriel Pec, Mateusz Bogusz, Puig, etc. Not the nowhere near ready high-risk, high-cost, maybe they will be good in a few years CFG farm team nonsense trifecta of Jovan, Ojeda, and Fernandez.
 
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I hope he had nothing to do with this.

A part-owner should have no role in sporting decisions, and should especially not be making sporting decisions based on what fans are saying on Twitter.
Saturday night after the game he made an anodyne post thanking the fans for their support and expressing hope for the future. In return he got a lot of obnoxious replies - half saying fix the roster and half saying fire Cushing. Which is nuts because yes, it's not his job.
I think today's post is one of his few public missteps since he arrived. He should have ignored them. I don't think it means he was involved in the decision but I just that he was trying to show he takes the fans concerns seriously.
 
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