Sunday, May 30, 2010

Time to Talk About Vermes Time?

With the loss against Real Salt Lake last night, the Wizards are now 2-5-2 on the season. That puts the Wizards just under a third of the way through their season. Next week the team will be one third done. They could have as many as 11 and as few as 8 at the 1/3rd mark of the season. triple either of those numbers and it's a woefully low number and isn't going to be enough to get the Wizards to the playoffs (40-45 is usually the bottom of the table for the 8th seed in the playoffs). The team hasn't won in two months, the same length of time they basically went in the 2009 season from the middle of June until September.

Since taking over the head coaching position, Peter Vermes is now 5-11-5 as head coach, a total of 20 points in what is getting close to a full 30 game season in control of the team. The team outside of the game against DC to open this season has had the same offensive troubles getting goals and creating offensive chances. And while overall the team has looked better on the field, you don't get any points for style or for holding possession. Vermes has brought in "his" players at this point, only one international player remains from Curt Onalfo's time in charge of the team. Only 13 players remain from the Wizards roster the day after the 6-0 loss to Dallas last season. Being almost a third of the way through the season now it's hard to justify that the team is still "gelling" as a unit or that they haven't had all their pieces, as up until the past few weeks the team had been relatively healthy minus the loss of Zoltan Hercegfalvi. It's time to seriously look at Vermes and see if he's going to be the guy that can take this team to the next level. He's taken the team from the poor play under Onalfo to being competitive, but can he take the team to the next step and get them to actually create and finish chances? I struggle to see it at this point, I've given Vermes time to change this team, take it that next step, but he hasn't and I wonder if the team ever will. It would certainly appear he has the talent on the field to get this done, but something isn't working. Does he need to scrap the 4-3-3 for a more traditional 4-4-2 with Kei Kamara up top with either Josh Wolff or Teal Bunbury and Ryan Smith on the left wing and Davy Arnaud on the right playing an empty bucket? How much more time does Vermes have before he needs to go?

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

On goal should have got rid of PV a long time ago. Remember he was part of the problem, when Onalfo was here. Vermes was bringing in and doing talent evaluation as the technical director.

This thing has been a mess for awhile.

Nathan Martin said...

I was pretty confident that KC would be looking for a big name DP to coincide with the new stadium next season. As the losses mount and chances go unfinished, the urgency to pick up a playmaker this summer is growing. Adding one player with a classy finishing touch would immediately put KC in the top half of the league.

Roger said...

Let's not forget Vermes was the guy that allowed every move during the Onalfo era and got a pass when Onalfo was fired. Still don't know why. Now he "reshaped" the team he allowed Onalfo to create and it's not working.
The team has the players, it's just not playing like a team.

I'm sure that he can run a kids soccer organization but the Wizards in almost 4 years either as a coach or TD, the answer is no.

BTW, fact of the day, we are ONLY 2points ahead of the team that looks to be one of the worst teams in League history. Onalfo's DC United.

If we are not at at least 25 at the middle of the season I'd look at a new coach for the last third of the season so we can give him some time to see who he keeps and who goes.

The Prohphet said...

We need a #10 like Morales, we spent all this money bringing in players in the offseason but no #10. If REal Salt lake can find a #10 surely we can. WE should form a partnership with a Brazilian or Argentine team, thats the way Dallas got David Ferriara, another #10. WEve been around longer than Real so our scouting should be more developed. I want even recomment getting two in case one gets hurt. It wouldnt be that hard picking on up from the Colombian league, or Chilean, Or Argentine frist or second division, or brazilian first or second division. The league with real gems in SOuth America is the the Uruguyan league. THe had two teams in the semis of the copa libertadores last year, and our doing great again this year. The wizards should tap into the Urugyuan league now before some other team or league does. They're is a dearth of talent there. Ferriara and Morales probe you dont need a dp to have a great playmaker.

Anonymous said...

standard practice in pro sports is to give technical directors 2 coaches before you fire them. As James posted on his blog, Vermes has given himself enough rope to hang himself at this point.

Anonymous said...

prophet, 99% of those MLS partnerships come to mean jack shit. See Wizards-Atlas, Chicago-Moreila, RSL-Real Madrid, Colorado-Arsenal, San Jose-Spurts, the list goes on and on and on of "partnerships" that start off with comments of "player exchanges" that never come true.

I will agree we need a number 10, but I'm tired of trying to tap the South American market the way we have already tried to.

MOUFWASH said...

more of the same, 4-3-3 with players who cant play it and a coach who puts in question if he really understands it

Reepicheep said...

If KC doesn't make the playoffs, it's time for him to go. Period.

He was a big part of the team's construction with Onalfo so his "grace" period will be up at season's end.