We had small moments of dissent like when Santi yelled at Mehdi that one time when he got subbed but I never saw a lack of effort or the general levels of apathy that are usually the tell-tale signs of a team that is out on their coach. Our execution was abysmal at the start of the season but the level of effort was always there. Cushing lost the fans but I don't think he ever lost the team.
Nick Cushing Named Interim Head Coach (July '22) / Head Coach (November '22)
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We had small moments of dissent like when Santi yelled at Mehdi that one time when he got subbed but I never saw a lack of effort or the general levels of apathy that are usually the tell-tale signs of a team that is out on their coach. Our execution was abysmal at the start of the season but the level of effort was always there. Cushing lost the fans but I don't think he ever lost the team.
Just goes to show you that while we THINK we know what's going on back there, the team are ultimately the ones working day-in day-out with the players/coaches.
I think:
- coaches lose players' respect much less often than fans assume,
- it rarely happens due to losing, rather
- winning hides personality issues and losing embiggens them, and
- the main causes are favoritism, imposing no discipline or too much, and just being there too long.
A hugely critical point. And it's one of the reasons I've said, "Nick is our guy." He was a schools coach and a development coach before becoming the gaffer at Manchester City Women and taking them from a standing start -- and a horrible first few months -- to a perennial championship caliber side. He knows how to connect with players on a personal level, mold a team, mold talent.
He's taken a lot of knocks for not being able to develop players, but when has he really had the chance to do it until now? At least with us. When all is said and done, we're going to see what he really can do as far as nurturing potential is concerned.
He also knows the game. He had his FIFA A-license at, what, 28 years old or something like that? But for all his knowledge, he has no illusions of being some kind of genius. He has the quality I've seen in successful businesspeople, over and over: humility with pride. He's humble, but proud of his work.
It all came through in something he said yesterday: we shouldn't start to think the process is complete just because we had such a great week. There's still a lot to be done, still a lot of room for improvement, and there are going to be more twists and turns, more bumps in the road. He's not all full of himself and he's not going to let the lads get all full of themselves, either. And the areas he highlighted are the exact ones we've been highlighting ourselves.
I couldn't have hoped for a better postgame press conference than he had after beating Red Bull. Absolutely spot on.
He's our guy.
I don't think Nick ever lost the players -- the fact the team continued to play hard through the end of last year and the start of this year said everything you need to know about what the team thinks of its head coach.
The thing that got me was the Keaton post-game remarks. That was the key thing that made me think he lost the team. Obviously, as others pointed out, very little of what teams do is done in public. We don't see the meetings, we don't see anything other than selected training footage, we don't see how the team interacts on planes/buses. We only see them on the field, which is when everyone has the most emotions, and we don't hear most of what is said even on the field, so we make judgements on such limited information. But that's what sports are all about. Fans knowing next to nothing but discussing it like they do. I hear NFL/MLB fans talking about their teams as if the players are their roommates and what they think is fact.
Really interesting comments by Nick in the Crooks and Abramowitz podcast. The discussion starts about 12 minutes in or so.
No discipline for Nick based on the Toronto punch accusations.
www.hudsonriverblue.com
"Cleared" is an aggressive but fair reading of the MLS statement, which I cannot find on the MLS website. They seem to be downplaying this.
MLS clears New York City FC head coach Nick Cushing
"No additional suspensions or fines" after league investigation into assault claim made by Toronto FC head coach John Herdman following on-field altercation.
www.hudsonriverblue.com
"Cleared" is an aggressive but fair reading of the MLS statement, which I cannot find on the MLS website. They seem to be downplaying this.
I think MLS just wants the whole thing to go away.
Find it crazy that MLS isn't fining or suspending Toronto FC's coach John Herdman for making false accusations.
The way I interpret this is that vague and ambiguous is probably the best for all involved.No discipline for Nick based on the Toronto punch accusations.
MLS clears New York City FC head coach Nick Cushing
"No additional suspensions or fines" after league investigation into assault claim made by Toronto FC head coach John Herdman following on-field altercation.
"Cleared" is an aggressive but fair reading of the MLS statement, which I cannot find on the MLS website. They seem to be downplaying this.
Find it crazy that MLS didn't go further in their statement to begin with. It's so opaque. They didn't punish Nick, but also didn't exonerate him. It's all so bizarre.
If the accusation is false, Herdman shouldn't have a job anymore. If the accusation is true, Cushing shouldn't have a job anymore.
The statement doesn't mention the accusations at all. I think they worded this specifically to not draw any additional attention to that.
Seriously. But it looks like the league is intent on shoving this one down the memory hole.
We won't forget it though.
Maybe they simply were not able to find enough evidence, or there was enough nuance to what happened that it is not clear cut, and they decided it would be best to move on.
Totally plausible. And somewhat understandable, given the league's position.
But if that's the case, then Herdman made a very serious allegation against our guy without the evidence, or even the necessary information, to back it up. Plus, he hasn't (as far as I know) retracted it, let alone apologize for it.
Move on, fine. Forget -- no way. And while we're at it, let's beat the ham salad out of them next time we see them, and every time after that, just to make sure they get the point.
Great interview with Cushing here:
www.hudsonriverblue.com
Nick Cushing: We want to score goals in less than 3 passes
In this exclusive interview with the New York City FC head coach we talk expectations, possession vs pressing, and why his mom told him to dress better on gamedays.
www.hudsonriverblue.com
He's our guy.Great interview with Cushing here:
Nick Cushing: We want to score goals in less than 3 passes
In this exclusive interview with the New York City FC head coach we talk expectations, possession vs pressing, and why his mom told him to dress better on gamedays.
Apart from the substance, I love how the transcript fully captures Nick's voice and speech mannerisms. It's so easy to hear him saying those responses. Well done to Oliver, or CHATwhatever, or the HRB intern for not smoothing out the things that make him Nick.Great interview with Cushing here:
Nick Cushing: We want to score goals in less than 3 passes
In this exclusive interview with the New York City FC head coach we talk expectations, possession vs pressing, and why his mom told him to dress better on gamedays.
Agreed. I kept reading it in his voice.
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