I’ve been covering Atlanta United since just before their inaugural season and have attended (or listened to) over 100 post-match coaches’ press conferences. It’s hard to think of many as dejected as Ronny Deila’s after their 3-1 loss to Charlotte FC on Saturday.
Quick disclaimer before we continue: I had family in town and had to leave right after the match, so I watched online. Deila’s presser lasted just under five minutes, probably the shortest I’ve heard from an Atlanta United head coach.
Here’s one quote that stood out:
The last thing we talked about before I sent the team out after halftime was, ‘I can tell you that they are going to come out with a different tempo, because they are not satisfied with the first half, so we have to be on top of our concentration and aggression when we go out onto that pitch.’
We all know what happened next. The question, then, is why? Even if you question the talent and ability of this team, why (and how) do you concede so quickly and easily…in a derby at that?
The deeper question is why the message isn’t getting through. Either the players don’t care (which is another issue in and of itself), or Deila has completely lost the locker room. Neither issue is particularly good, to be honest.
What stood out the most, though, is the overall tone. He’s been somewhat optimistic even amid the team’s struggles, but Deila looked and sounded like a man out of answers.
It is difficult now. We need to win a lot of matches, and how we are playing now, it doesn’t necessarily look like we are going to do that, but at the same time, we are never going to give up.
The words were there, but the conviction, I feel, wasn’t.
Garth Lagerwey and Chris Henderson have put their full support behind Deila, giving him a vote of confidence. I wrote in May that I agreed with the decision. I don’t know if those overall discussions have changed over the last few weeks, but the disconnect between the players and their coach seems wider than ever.
I think that firing Deila and going into another transfer window with the possiblilty of signing players without a coach, again, might not be the best route forward unless you have someone in mind who can come in today to take the reins. But it’s clear whatever message Deila’s trying to broadcast in the locker room is falling on deaf ears. And if he returns in 2026, which I feel isn’t guaranteed at this point, I’m not sure how much time he gets to hopefully lead a presumably remade roster to improvement. That said, he’s not exactly without blame for how things are going, for reasons we’ve mentioned time and time again.
One thing’s clear: the sentiment around Atlanta United has never been lower. Hopefully, better days are ahead, but right now I’m not fully convinced that Deila is the one to lead them there.
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I’ve been a season ticket holder since the day they went on sale. To say I was excited for this season is a wild understatement. It felt like those first years with the team. Sitting in the Benz Saturday night and watching just how bad we are was almost painful. There didn’t seem to be any clear game plan. Either the current roster isn’t capable of executing the coach’s ideas on the field or the coach can’t effectively communicate his ideas to the players. Or, door number 3, there is no idea and we’re back to “just run around and give the ball to Barco” ball.
Either way we are just awful. Too slow in attack and too weak in defense. Yet, we still had a couple of good chances. The Charlotte keeper made some great saves to preserve their win. Which makes me think this is a coaching issue as our guys have the talent to carve out chances without any clear directions.
Third option is the players have lost respect for the coach as a tactician, at least, and don’t believe in his game plan. Some might be taking it upon themselves to modify the plan as they see fit, but they are not all on the same page with those modifications.
So the left foot doesn’t know what the right foot is doing. Players get dispirited, and efforts drops.
I went to the SDFC game on Wednesday against Toronto and SDFC played a lot like we have for many games this season. Very little attack, not dangerous, very predictable, and ultimately they let Toronto win the game. But they are a first place team, so how does that one game look like their worst and against one of the worst teams in the league? Whoever can figure that out should see how it fits our system because they were very similar to watch.
Last night’s game had a lot of good in it, but it wasn’t good enough to take down Charlotte. Charlotte played the counter attack very well but they also had their midfielders finding the spaces to move the ball in to. We did a great job winning back the ball, shutting down certain attacks, and Charlotte didn’t really have much control on the ball. But when they did, they scored. We had control, but couldn’t capitalize.
So 2 things: how do we fix the lifeless play we’ve seen and how do we maximize our opportunities?
We still have Guzan, Williams, Gregerson, Amador, Lennon, Saba, Jamal, Muyumba, Miranchuk, Hernandez, Morales, Cobb, Slisz and Fortune from last season, and we were able to limp into the playoffs due to some drive towards the end. No Dax, but Klich can play similarly, no Xande, but Miggy can take that on. We add top level 9, similar homegrowns/subs, and yet can’t break 4 wins?
This is a product of the coach, not the players. Sure, they’re not perfect, but these players know how to play together, some a bit longer than others but I can’t see why we should nitpick individual players when it is an 11-players-on-pitch game. I want Alexey pulling more weight, I want Miggy looking more dangerous, LL absolutely needs to be more dangerous and I want our midfield to look more stout. Problem is, we can do all of that, the players can be all those things, but it takes the coach and their system to implement it and i’m not seeing it.
I still 100% believe this is a coach issue.
I have been a huge fan of the club since I moved here in ‘17. During this time I cannot recall a more chaotic on the field looking team. This team has sunk to embarrassing levels and I for one have not seen the improvement or even glimpses of coming around. At this point EVERYONE should be available for trade or demoted. I give every manager/coach a period of acclimation but at this point I think Heinze did better in his short window than what I am seeing currently… and that’s not saying much at all!!!
3-2
Charlotte losses are dangerous to Atlanta managers – ask Gonzalo. What’s Rob V up to these days? He won more games with this rag tag group in fewer matches than Ronny D. They were clumsy and ugly but fought. Thanks Garth for bringing in the experienced coach to lead us to Wooden Spoon contention with the third highest payroll. #Bocaback? (Just kidding)
Rick McKay, chief executive of operations, is a freaking Falcons football guy running ATL UTD
Arthur Beotchk is the WORST owner in America
Blank check is 💩
You do realize that the CEO does not make any calls on soccer roster construction and coaching philosophy? You clearly do not follow football or soccer if you think Blank is the worst owner in America. I think Chris Henderson needs to be given at least 2 full transfer windows to see if he is capable of rebuilding Atlanta’s roster. If and when we fire Deila, he can have a say in the next HC.
Rich McKay serves as the CEO of AMB Sports and Entertainment (AMBSE), overseeing the business operations of the Atlanta Falcons and Mercedes-Benz Stadium. He also handles the shared services functions that support all of Arthur Blank’s sports and entertainment ventures.
He is not involved in the day-to-day operations on the field for the Falcons or AU.
Is the message falling on deaf ears or are the players simply not good enough?
I don’t think this easy narrative of “he’s lost the locker room” makes any sense. I don’t care if the coach is someone who is absolutely loathed by all players, at the end of the day, these are professionals who should want to win and bring the level of desire and energy to win. Everyone has experienced a bad boss in their career, but if you have any self-respect, you still perform because it’s your reputation on the line.
I see zero effort and focus by our players. Zero people display the “give a damn” necessary to win. Maybe you can say a coach should motivate, but these players should be self-motivated to win.
I, and everyone else, have said this for years. But who on the pitch after that abysmal goal grabbed the team and screamed at people to get focused?
Taking the point literally, obviously zero effort is wrong. Taking it figuratively, I disagree. Despite guys I think are a terrible fit, effort is typically not the issue.
As a professional, I’d be a little perplexed about why a team, looking ok and up after the first half, would change it’s posture and go into energy expenditure mode early in the second half because of a defensive flub (typical).
More importantly, unless one thinks the entire field of sport psych is crap or that there is a difference between charismatic managers and non-charismatic managers (RD) then it’s kind of hard to think just grabbing and yelling at some guys is the answer.
Indeed, maybe the opposite and a great example of how toxicity snowballs…I’ve played with some decent players…some with wc experience…and have been around a lot of high performance athletes. Some guy yelling at them and shaking them over those goals would probably result in an on field altercation. Given the tension and circumstances, I would certainly respond negatively and not even so much for my sake but because it would in effect be calling out the players that made the mistakes on the field, which lacks class and does more harm than good.
I’ll grant you that inter team fights during games might be a new low that maybe sells tickets. But it is an antiquated mindset and often, especially when it comes across as blame, has adverse consequences.
I am absolutely glad you are not the manager and not my teammate.