Atlanta United’s 2-0 loss to the New England Revolution didn’t uncover anything that we didn’t know about this team already.
Neither did Ronny Deila’s words after the match.
“We are too soft… We’re losing too many challenges over and over again,” Deila said. “I think they wanted (it) more than us today. And that’s very, very sad to say.”
To borrow Deila’s words, it’s “very, very sad” that we’re still talking about the opponent “wanting it more” with three matches to go in the season.
In fact, I asked Deila why that’s still been the case.
“It’s not very easy to teach that,” he said. “We try to train on it, but there’s also a little bit about personality. Bartosz (Slisz) is a different personality and has different skills, and to find a balance between these things is something we have to look for in players. I think Juan (Berrocal) has that in him. Enea (Mihaj) also (has it in him). Steven (Alzate) … he needed to be toughed but I think he has it (in him).”
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It’s not tough to connect the dots here. Save Slisz, Berrocal, Mihaj, and Alzate were all brought in during the summer transfer window. Deila implies that he’s more confident in the players he had a hand in bringing in — especially Alzate, a former player of his at Standard Liege — than he is with the players that preceded his tenure, outside of Slisz.
And that’s a problem.
The first reason is obvious. Regardless of how long a player has been with the club, they should never leave any hint of the possibility that the opposing team wanted it more than them. That’s especially true if there’s a chance that you might not be here in 2026.
Secondly, there’s nothing wrong with spotlighting players you feel are getting the job done. But an earnest attempt at motivation — and, let’s be clear, an indirect appeal to the front office to let him stick around to develop a roster he feels best fits his standards — could hurt more than it helps.
Beyond risking sowing seeds of favoritism in his locker room, Deila’s words are writing a check he’ll have to cash pretty rapidly in what will be a make-or-break first few matches of 2026. That’s considering how much influence he’ll have during the winter transfer window if he’s allowed to return.
We’re 31 matches into a 34-match season. The players bear some blame for how things have gone. But shouldn’t the “soft” issue have been solved long ago? Deila says it’s “not easy to teach”. Whatever he’s doing isn’t working, though, and part of that lies at his feet.
With three matches to go in what’s been the worst season in club history, 2025 Atlanta United is who they are at this point. And the fact of the matter is that this club has been mediocre or downright bad longer than it’s been good.
With the club entering its 10th season in 2026, and with the World Cup presenting a watershed moment for the growth of the sport in this country, the club needs to return to elite status. Deila’s said he’s the one to get them there. His body of work so far, though, proves otherwise.
[…] B. on Ronny Deila’s latest comments about Atlanta United aren’t new, but could do more harm th…October 1, […]
Blaming your players for “not wanting it enough” when they haven’t had a tactical identity for the entire season is the weakest chickenshit move.
Obviously, some of the DP signings haven’t worked as well as we’d have liked, but I also have no doubt that, with clear direction under a more tactically astute manager, they’d play a lot better.
I don’t see the coach going till the end of the year. I figure ATL saves alot of cash contract wise if they wait till the end of the season to let him go. However, I cant see any justification in bring him back for 2026. He got new players defensively and in the mid field. And STILL only won 1 game when the transfer window closed on August 21. We haven’t seen improvement in the season. We’ve seen the opposite of improvement from the team. 5 wins in 31 games. Coach isn’t the only problem, but he is single-handedly the biggest problem.
I see a team of people who know how to play football. We’ve seen it, the fans have seen it, the league has seen it, and the end of last season Miami saw it.
Then you get to this season to watch this team somehow forget how to play? The only [real] change here was the coach, other than new players coming in. Klich for whatever you want to say about him, knows how to play as a 6, an 8 and a 10. Muyumba knows how to play as a 6 or 8. Lennon has been one of the most dangerous and consistent crossers in the game across multiple seasons. We all know what Miggy is capable of, only for our coach to say “when did he play as a 10?”…
I see all of this clear as day, yet it seems to be missed at the team level. Start the same guys and expect a different result? Not giving the young guys a chance to get minutes when you’re already down & out? Calling your team “soft”, losing chances, horrible ball control…those are all things the COACH does in trainings to build their team. Tactics, strengths, counters, etc.
A manager should have influence on the roster, player decisions should come from the coach. This FO really messed that up for the 2026 season IMO. Every decision that was made after the minute Pineda was let go, was a waste of time, starting with Miranchuk.
If we are going for a new manager it needs to happen now (but I doubt they even have anyone else lined up), too many crucial decisions to be made right now for 2026. If this FO is not fast or brave enough to make that change, than it’s on them. If it doesn’t happen right now, then I say let Deila have the reigns for the first half of 2026. (But if we aren’t top 4 by the summer, move on quickly.) We need to expect and demand more. #spoiled
Bringing in yet another coach late in December renders a bad fit for this club and its players (DeBoer, Heinze, Diela) IMO.
He’s not wrong, but he’s the wrong guy to fix the problem. You know someone who isn’t soft? Josef Martinez. I would take him over pretty much everyone on this team.
no question that he did not tolerate lack of effort and wasn’t afraid to let everyone know it, and he would be the top scorer on the team since he has 13 goals in 28 matches for San Jose.
I’d love to hear what the non-favorite players think of him as a manager. Either way, he’s going down in history as the manager with the lowest points total in a 34-match season. If we don’t get any points in our final 3 matches, he’ll only have 5 more points that the shutdown-season which had 11 fewer matches. It’s embarrassing he’s still in the job, let alone if he stays on for next season.
I get that these are not “his players”, but a good manager would have gotten a lot more out of the players we have gotten this year. We are only 3 points above the wooden spoon, and the way things are going, we are in prime position to get it. Unfortunately, it currently appears that he will be back next year (and I hope that is not the case), so the first half of next year will also be a complete mess.
Also, the teams we are battling for the bottom of the east:
Toronto has no designated players.
Montreal has one designated player.
DC United has one and traded one to us.
Every Designated Player in MLS: Full list | MLSSoccer.com
I have struggled to watch ATL U this season, turned on at half time yesterday- it is very clear to me that this head coach is the problem. Same issues different game and w new personnel. Seems this dude really doesn’t get it. They do not work on the right things.
Ronnie’s as good as gone already. The team is soft because he inspires nothing from the team to be anything but. Pretty clear they want him gone and they’re all ready for the season to be over. Ronnie will be gone ASAP. That was one of the most pathetic seasons in MLS history, especially when considering the amount of money paid to the players. Just abysmal and embarrassing.
Unquestionably Latte Lath has been a massive failure. Almost every player has had a significantly worse year than the year before. We would have trouble competing in the USL. The team has no teeth. A team without aggressive muscle in the midfield will be a pushover to 90% of teams in MLS. We have been manhandled all season.Atlanta needs at least one game wrecker in the midfield that can run down anybody and always be a threat for a hard tackle.