Atlanta United head to Pennsylvania for yet another pivotal match: this time against a Philadelphia Union team that has won five of their last seven. With four matches remaining, a loss could be the death knell of Atlanta’s playoff hopes. We preview the match and welcome in Ross Smith from MLS Season Pass, plus discuss the reports that Patrick Vieira is a finalist for the Atlanta head coaching position. Right fit? Wrong fit? We’ll talk about it!
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Thanks man-back at you! Crazy storm.
Terrible idea with Vieira. Our last great coach was an attacking coach, lets find someone like that. Maybe we cannot have Martino again, he has to have some acolytes out there.
vieira was not my top choice, but some of my tops were not realistic either 😉. but he was a manager i said early on i thought could be a good hire for us…a real hire. not a “hey, wanna see if you can actually become a manager? we’ll give you 4 years to try” kind of hire.
he was a very good player (hurts me to say that about arse). he’s managed here and in europe. he’s been mostly successful. he’s managed different kinds of players and showed some flexibility as well.
I’m probably wrong, but I think the most recent comment from GL about MLS experience being a priority was for the GM/TD role, and not necessarily the coach – though I think “MLS Experience” was a selling point with the Pineda hire.
You’re more or less right. GL said that for the coach MLS experience was nice but not necessary. What he did say though related to the MLS stuff that is important is that the coach have experience dealing with a salary cap of some sort – in other words, the coach understands we can’t necessarily just get his perfect player for every spot.
It looks more and more like AU is going to hire Chris Henderson away from Inter Miami. Worked with Garth in Seattle. Strong success in Miami. Was the probable favorite as soon as Boca was let go. Is now being reported as very likely by Bogert and Doyle at Athletic/MLS mothership.
I remember hearing about him, but I don’t remember the details. Didn’t he do good work at Inter Miami, but now he’s basically been sidelined for some reason or another? But not in a “he’s a bad hire” type but in a “he’s extremely available” type?
He was hired as Sporting Director (and apparently “Chief Soccer Officer”) in 2021. Not sure how much of his power and influence has waned since Tata took over down there, but likely some. He and Garth go back together. Henderson was part of Sounders org from 2018-2021.
A little more: Henderson was brought into Miami to clean up the dumpster fire of their initial “what if we just lie about the salaries to bring in five DPs?” roster build. He did very well in a role hamstring by league sanctions, and cleaned up their workbooks to the point where they could bring in the Barca retirees.
Henderson has been successful in the role at two premier MLS clubs. He’s been successful with the current team President (Garth.) I am quite happy with the idea of bringing him in. I think fans of AU tend to underestimate the value of MLS experience in leadership roles, preferring big splash names from the international market.
I think GL, Henderson, and Patrick Viera are a very good team to not only reset us for competitive play next window, but to put us on a more Columbus like path.