J Hutcherson of USSoccerPlayers.com wrote an interesting response to Ericksson's move to Notts County, wondering why more US coaches haven't been given the opportunity in the lower levels of professional soccer in England.
-- Let's take former England and Mexico manager Sven-Goran Ericksson's move to Notts County in England's League 2 at face value.
"I started my football management career at a small lower division Swedish club and we managed to get them into the top-flight," Eriksson said in a press statement. "I can think of no better challenge than to attempt to do that again, but this time with the world's oldest football club, where we can add to a proud tradition and hopefully bring some richly deserved success."
Fascination with Nottingham's other club aside, it's an interesting move. Like Champions Manager in real life, putting all that an established name has learned into proving a point with a project club. Disallowing for a massive influx of money to turn Notts County into yet another all-star squad, it's a bold move.
It also raises the question why this hasn't been an option for American coaches with Major League Soccer experience. In terms of skill sets, working within single-entity to build up a winning team should count for something relative to getting results within budget in the English lower divisions. Every team can't go the designated player route here or there. It's not exactly the extreme of tactics to route one the ball up field or try to get the crosses in while making sure your opponent is feeling it on each and every tackle.
Motivation is the basic hallmark of high level coaching in the United States, running from the elite pros to high school. If you want to be a successful American coach, it's almost a given that you have to master the kind of motivational talk that makes no sense outside of a locker room or sideline.
Yet no product of the American coaching system gets enough of a look to end up with a contract. MLS can produce high level executives for bigger North American sports not to mention the guy running Arsenal, but the coaching ranks are apparently closed.
Sure, there have been rumors of links with high-profile jobs. But again, none of these ended up with a product of American soccer getting a job.
Maybe it will take American ownership taking a chance on an American coach. That's the way the sentence has to be written, even if it's not much of a chance. Doing a job in MLS counts, and eventually a club in need of a push will make the call. It just needs to happen before a generation of quality American coaches no longer see it as an option.
-- Let's take former England and Mexico manager Sven-Goran Ericksson's move to Notts County in England's League 2 at face value.
"I started my football management career at a small lower division Swedish club and we managed to get them into the top-flight," Eriksson said in a press statement. "I can think of no better challenge than to attempt to do that again, but this time with the world's oldest football club, where we can add to a proud tradition and hopefully bring some richly deserved success."
Fascination with Nottingham's other club aside, it's an interesting move. Like Champions Manager in real life, putting all that an established name has learned into proving a point with a project club. Disallowing for a massive influx of money to turn Notts County into yet another all-star squad, it's a bold move.
It also raises the question why this hasn't been an option for American coaches with Major League Soccer experience. In terms of skill sets, working within single-entity to build up a winning team should count for something relative to getting results within budget in the English lower divisions. Every team can't go the designated player route here or there. It's not exactly the extreme of tactics to route one the ball up field or try to get the crosses in while making sure your opponent is feeling it on each and every tackle.
Motivation is the basic hallmark of high level coaching in the United States, running from the elite pros to high school. If you want to be a successful American coach, it's almost a given that you have to master the kind of motivational talk that makes no sense outside of a locker room or sideline.
Yet no product of the American coaching system gets enough of a look to end up with a contract. MLS can produce high level executives for bigger North American sports not to mention the guy running Arsenal, but the coaching ranks are apparently closed.
Sure, there have been rumors of links with high-profile jobs. But again, none of these ended up with a product of American soccer getting a job.
Maybe it will take American ownership taking a chance on an American coach. That's the way the sentence has to be written, even if it's not much of a chance. Doing a job in MLS counts, and eventually a club in need of a push will make the call. It just needs to happen before a generation of quality American coaches no longer see it as an option.
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