They'll Never Do It, But Ray Reid Should Be Fired

[zls44]

What a joke every single year.

UMass has been to a Final Four more recently than UConn. That's a disgrace.

 

[ASweet3781]

With 8:45 left, when UConn took that 1-0 lead...every statistic pointed to them winning. They are near unbeatable at home (except if it's the Elite 8). And their defense/Goal Keeper have been almost unstoppable this year, at one time having a double digit game streak of scoreless shut outs.

But Charlotte had one important stat on it's side for that final 8:45. A decade of UConn teams not embracing and stepping up in postseason moments. They simply can't handle it. Which is why they almost immediately allowed Charlotte to tie it. And once it got to PK's Charlotte was booking its trip to Alabama. If there's a team that's worse at PK's than UConn has been in recent years I'm not aware of them.

Never has that 2000 championship seemed so far away. Basketball equivalance here, the last 10 years have been like losing to George Mason, NC State, San Diego, Mississippi State, and Florida...over and over again. With a Christian Laettner buzzer beater thrown in. Well they can't blame a cold field for this one like they could in 2007. Reid will never be fired. But he has certainly been exposed.

 

[Glastonhusky]

With 8:45 left, when UConn took that 1-0 lead...every statistic pointed to them winning. They are near unbeatable at home (except if it's the Elite 8). And their defense/Goal Keeper have been almost unstoppable this year, at one time having a double digit game streak of scoreless shut outs.

But Charlotte had one important stat on it's side for that final 8:45. A decade of UConn teams not embracing and stepping up in postseason moments. They simply can't handle it. Which is why they almost immediately allowed Charlotte to tie it. And once it got to PK's Charlotte was booking its trip to Alabama. If there's a team that's worse at PK's than UConn has been in recent years I'm not aware of them.

Never has that 2000 championship seemed so far away. Basketball equivalance here, the last 10 years have been like losing to George Mason, NC State, San Diego, Mississippi State, and Florida...over and over again. With a Christian Laettner buzzer beater thrown in. Well they can't blame a cold field for this one like they could in 2007. Reid will never be fired. But he has certainly been exposed.

With 8:45 left, when UConn took that 1-0 lead...every statistic pointed to them winning. They are near unbeatable at home (except if it's the Elite 8). And their defense/Goal Keeper have been almost unstoppable this year, at one time having a double digit game streak of scoreless shut outs.

But Charlotte had one important stat on it's side for that final 8:45. A decade of UConn teams not embracing and stepping up in postseason moments. They simply can't handle it. Which is why they almost immediately allowed Charlotte to tie it. And once it got to PK's Charlotte was booking its trip to Alabama. If there's a team that's worse at PK's than UConn has been in recent years I'm not aware of them.

Never has that 2000 championship seemed so far away. Basketball equivalance here, the last 10 years have been like losing to George Mason, NC State, San Diego, Mississippi State, and Florida...over and over again. With a Christian Laettner buzzer beater thrown in. Well they can't blame a cold field for this one like they could in 2007. Reid will never be fired. But he has certainly been exposed.

After UConn scored, they became too concerned with killing time rather than keeping the pressure on Charlotte. They started kicking the ball out of bounds and doing things like getting a yellow card for not allowing enough space on a free kick. They lost their focus and let Charlotte back in the game and it cost them.

 

[Waquoit]

What a joke every single year.

UMass has been to a Final Four more recently than UConn. That's a disgrace.

Who said this? - "It's completely insane and exactly what's wrong with UConn fans. Bitching & a false sense of entitlement."

You could have said the exact same thing about the Men's BB team in the mid-90's.

 

[zls44]

Who said this? - "It's completely insane and exactly what's wrong with UConn fans. Bitching & a false sense of entitlement."

You could have said the exact same thing about the Men's BB team in the mid-90's.

The two situations are completely different. Completely. UConn is one of the top four programs in the country and they can't put away a CAA team that was unseeded. After not putting away a MAAC team that was unseeded. After not putting away an Ivy team that was unseeded. After not putting away the 7th best ACC team that was unseeded.

UConn soccer has earned the right to expect better. To expect things as great as Rudy Gay was on the court for the basketball team. You are out of your depth here. Run along and defend the worst AD in the history of the school.

 

[Waquoit]

The two situations are completely different. Completely. UConn is one of the top four programs in the country and they can't put away a CAA team that was unseeded. After not putting away a MAAC team that was unseeded. After not putting away an Ivy team that was unseeded. After not putting away the 7th best ACC team that was unseeded.
UConn soccer has earned the right to expect better. To expect things as great as Rudy Gay was on the court for the basketball team. You are out of your depth here. Run along and defend the worst AD in the history of the school.

Let's be serious, no one on this board is out of their depth dealing with you, junior. And thanks for making my point about your false sense of entitlement. "UConn soccer has earned the right to expect better?" Spoken like a true pantload. Final Four's are hard, that's why making it there gets you a banner. And while I'm at it, why don't you try to find a new voice? The Fishy-wannabe thing isn't working.

 

[UConn990411]

ZING!

(FWIW, I kind of agree with zls's sentiment...)

 

[zls44]

Let's be serious, no one on this board is out of their depth dealing with you, junior. And thanks for making my point about your false sense of entitlement. "UConn soccer has earned the right to expect better?" Spoken like a true pantload. Final Four's are hard, that's why making it there gets you a banner. And while I'm at it, why don't you try to find a new voice? The Fishy-wannabe thing isn't working.

They aren't hard when you have an inherit facilities/recruiting advantage. It's one thing in BB and FB, but in MSoc, a lot of these programs are not even trying to win NC's. The actual group of teams legit trying to win the whole thing is around 35-50. That's it. And UConn has major advantages over 30-45 of them.

There's no excuse for losing the same way every single year with anything on the line. They look great in September and totally different in the NCAA's. Look how many of his teams are Top 5 and don't win anything- not even the regular-season division title. They play a negative style ripe for being upset by lesser teams. It's why he should go. Talk to anyone in the Friends of Soccer, people who cover the team, who go to the games, the folks on here who follow the team and they'll all agree. On this one, I'm right and you're wrong. Period.

You can't find Reid defenders because THERE AREN'T Reid defenders. The guy is one of the most universally-disliked coaches in college soccer, for his playing style, for the fact that he covers the program in secrecy like it's the CIA (hi Randy), for doing almost nothing to help the development of domestic players. Now, I could care less about where the players come from, but that's a bone of contention with people in the USSF, especially when they see guys from Akron & Seton Hall contributing to the player pool.

Forget Fishy-lite, what's your MO? Is it always being wrong about everything? Because you wear that hat well. Why don't you regale us all with some more reasons why Jeff Hathaway was a wonderful AD.

FACILITIES RANT

What about the proposed redevelopment of the stadium? They're putting duct tape over things right now, look at the temp stands they put up only when the GA stands were, literally, falling apart. The North Goal is another example- they could sell thousands more tickets and generate significant more revenue at Morrone right now. But they don't do it. Why? Do you think any other program in the country, in this economy, would ignore an easy way to create more revenue? Willingly?

I also know that the reason they won't put in anything more permanent is because they don't have to. Things are fine now, the way they are. They like having a quaint little 5500 seat stadium that is just enough, because eventually maybe they'll do something more. Why get creative, why make things better, when they're good the way they are.

They could have played the Charlotte game at Memorial Stadium in the afternoon and sold 7,000 or more tickets. Heaven forbid they think outside the box for one time. I'd have painted the lines and carried the goals over myself. I also know a group of people who'd have helped.

The Friends of Soccer raised the cash to name the stadium after Joe Morrone. The Friends of Soccer rebuilt the press box. The Friends of Soccer put in the lights. The Friends of Soccer carry this program, but it shouldn't be entirely their job to do so. And right now, it is.

The school has a gift. It has an olympic sports program that generates revenue for the athletic department. They have a responsibility to nurture that gift. I guess I'm just impatient, but they need to figure out the stadium situation, and soon.

The reserved seating isn't going to stop rusting itself.

 

[Waquoit]

Forget Fishy-lite, what's your MO? Is it always being wrong about everything? Because you wear that hat well. Why don't you regale us all with some more reasons why Jeff Hathaway was a wonderful AD.

Funny, you railing about people not reading about what you say on the BB board. I never said Hathaway was a wonderful AD. I agreed that he had to go. I didn't like the torchs and pitchforks mentality guys like you had along with the assumption that everything would be fine once he was canned. The same attitude you ssem to have with Reid. A shotgun blast to the face isn't the answer to all UConn's problems. And I wasn't wrong about last year's BB team. I had was way ahead of the curve about last year's hoop team being Final Four material.

 

[ThetaZoo]

They aren't hard when you have an inherit facilities/recruiting advantage. It's one thing in BB and FB, but in MSoc, a lot of these programs are not even trying to win NC's. The actual group of teams legit trying to win the whole thing is around 35-50. That's it. And UConn has major advantages over 30-45 of them.

There's no excuse for losing the same way every single year with anything on the line. They look great in September and totally different in the NCAA's. Look how many of his teams are Top 5 and don't win anything- not even the regular-season division title. They play a negative style ripe for being upset by lesser teams. It's why he should go. Talk to anyone in the Friends of Soccer, people who cover the team, who go to the games, the folks on here who follow the team and they'll all agree. On this one, I'm right and you're wrong. Period.

You can't find Reid defenders because THERE AREN'T Reid defenders. The guy is one of the most universally-disliked coaches in college soccer, for his playing style, for the fact that he covers the program in secrecy like it's the CIA (hi Randy), for doing almost nothing to help the development of domestic players. Now, I could care less about where the players come from, but that's a bone of contention with people in the USSF, especially when they see guys from Akron & Seton Hall contributing to the player pool.

Forget Fishy-lite, what's your MO? Is it always being wrong about everything? Because you wear that hat well. Why don't you regale us all with some more reasons why Jeff Hathaway was a wonderful AD.

FACILITIES RANT

What about the proposed redevelopment of the stadium? They're putting duct tape over things right now, look at the temp stands they put up only when the GA stands were, literally, falling apart. The North Goal is another example- they could sell thousands more tickets and generate significant more revenue at Morrone right now. But they don't do it. Why? Do you think any other program in the country, in this economy, would ignore an easy way to create more revenue? Willingly?

I also know that the reason they won't put in anything more permanent is because they don't have to. Things are fine now, the way they are. They like having a quaint little 5500 seat stadium that is just enough, because eventually maybe they'll do something more. Why get creative, why make things better, when they're good the way they are.

They could have played the Charlotte game at Memorial Stadium in the afternoon and sold 7,000 or more tickets. Heaven forbid they think outside the box for one time. I'd have painted the lines and carried the goals over myself. I also know a group of people who'd have helped.

The Friends of Soccer raised the cash to name the stadium after Joe Morrone. The Friends of Soccer rebuilt the press box. The Friends of Soccer put in the lights. The Friends of Soccer carry this program, but it shouldn't be entirely their job to do so. And right now, it is.

The school has a gift. It has an olympic sports program that generates revenue for the athletic department. They have a responsibility to nurture that gift. I guess I'm just impatient, but they need to figure out the stadium situation, and soon.

The reserved seating isn't going to stop rusting itself.

Reid is obtuse. It's ok to take a contrarian approach to soccer as it is to investing if it leads to winning but if you continually lose with it why would you continue with it year after year?

 

[Gregory Koch]

What a joke every single year.

UMass has been to a Final Four more recently than UConn. That's a disgrace.

No, they need someone who can teach a goalie how to defend PK's. Of the two PK's Charlotte missed, one missed the goal by a mile, and the other was right to Blake. It looked like Andre wasn't even trying to stop them. Don't get me wrong, he's one of the best goalies in the country, but someone needs to teach him how to defend penalties. Fire one of the assistants and hire someone who can help out. But don't fire Reid. The fact is, technically we haven't lost a postseason game for three years. We've gone out on PKs every single time. And that's technically a draw. But we need to figure out how to stop this from being our Achilles heel. And it's very easy to fix. Or, alternatively, find some guy who's a PK-specialist and recruit him just for this. There are those guys out there, and if a big school UConn comes calling, they'd probably answer. Most of them wind up serving as backups at small schools, but if you say "Hey. We know you're a beast at defending PK's, so we'll give you a scholarship. You'll never see action during the regular season, but when we get to a shootout in a postseason, we want you to help us end our curse", someone's going to take that. And as I recall, Charlotte had a PK specialist who they used. We did not. We used Blake, who did absolutely pitiful. He gave up four goals in the shootout. Heading into the Charlotte game, he had surrendered four goals at Morrone all season.

Alternative theory: We're secretly vampires. All five goals at home (including the one in regulation against Charlotte, but not the ones in the shootout) came in day games. The 0-0 draw at Notre Dame? A day game. The 1-0 loss at Seton Hall - 6:00 PM start, not quite a night game, not quite a day game. But it was originally a day game, so that might have upset our secret vampire senses.

 

[UConn990411]

Um, just no.

First off, Blake made the only save of the entire PK session (both UConn's misses were off target). Second, PK's happen ONLY during the postseason, so hiring an assistant to coach that specific skill would mostly be a waste. And they wouldn't have gone there against Charlotte if the team didn't choke, which seems to happen every single year in the tournament.

I like Ray Reid and think he's a very good coach, but these disappointing postseason showings have become frequent enough to be labeled a pattern. The team returns a ton next season, so there will literally be no more excuses this time around (not that there were any this year...).

 

[zls44]

BUMP.

 

[Waquoit]

I still disagree.

 

[Pudge]

Why do we get only one Capital project at a time?

That's unbelievable to me. You can't go work on the Morrone Stadium & new Hockey East ideas & maybe Rentschler ... because you are focused on the Basketball Practice facility. I understand Capital budgeting/allocation issues going after donors. But ... come on man ... this stuff is part of being a Big Institution.

As for Reid, it is unbelievable what his last 4 years have accomplished. Solid teams with lots of talent. Seemingly unfit for Playoff time. Lack of will; lack of physicality; lack of winning spirit. Just a big disappointment. I don't know about firing him; but, I think he has repeatedly underachieved.

And back on facilities ... go look at the stadium Creighton built. A Palace. Seats 6000 in an enclosed brick stadium with flourishes.

 

[ThetaZoo]

Why do we get only one Capital project at a time?

That's unbelievable to me. You can't go work on the Morrone Stadium & new Hockey East ideas & maybe Rentschler ... because you are focused on the Basketball Practice facility. I understand Capital budgeting/allocation issues going after donors. But ... come on man ... this stuff is part of being a Big Institution.

As for Reid, it is unbelievable what his last 4 years have accomplished. Solid teams with lots of talent. Seemingly unfit for Playoff time. Lack of will; lack of physicality; lack of winning spirit. Just a big disappointment. I don't know about firing him; but, I think he has repeatedly underachieved.

And back on facilities ... go look at the stadium Creighton built. A Palace. Seats 6000 in an enclosed brick stadium with flourishes.

it's not the players' fault. They're forced into a system that doesn't work. Doesn't matter how good the players are.

 

[uconnfan68]

Why do we get only one Capital project at a time?

That's unbelievable to me. You can't go work on the Morrone Stadium & new Hockey East ideas & maybe Rentschler ... because you are focused on the Basketball Practice facility. I understand Capital budgeting/allocation issues going after donors. But ... come on man ... this stuff is part of being a Big Institution.

As for Reid, it is unbelievable what his last 4 years have accomplished. Solid teams with lots of talent. Seemingly unfit for Playoff time. Lack of will; lack of physicality; lack of winning spirit. Just a big disappointment. I don't know about firing him; but, I think he has repeatedly underachieved.

And back on facilities ... go look at the stadium Creighton built. A Palace. Seats 6000 in an enclosed brick stadium with flourishes.

They obviously can't manage more than 1 at a time.

 

[Dove]

What a joke every single year.

UMass has been to a Final Four more recently than UConn. That's a disgrace.

Since you left UConn you seem very bitter about almost everything.