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| (Photo: majorleaguesoccertalk.com) |
Philadelphia Union and Coach Piotr Nowak have slit paths and gone separate ways. The Union CEO Nick Sakiewicz has named assistant John Hackworth as interim coach. Philosophical differences are stated as the reason why Nowak was asked to step down by management. This announcement comes to no surprise as Nowak grew out of favor with the fans and took a playoff caliber team and put them in the basement. Everyone knows Nowak for getting rid of all the fan favorite players and not getting fair compensation with players.
The gripe between fans and Nowak started long before the Le Toux fiasco. I remember people questioning him from the first season. He was mad man at times nobody could guess what was going on in his head. I remember joking that no one can prepare for the U because we do not know what we are doing.
Common complaints From Nowak’s tenure
Lack of consistency in the Formation
Switching Formation after every sub
Lack of actual formation
No width play
No Crosses
Not enough men in the box
Players playing out of position
Benching a player after a good game
Cutting players before giving them an opportunity
Cutting players who played well
Trading players for no reason
Juan Diego Gonzalez
Not being honest with the Media
Will getting rid of Nowak fix everything:
Maybe, but it is a big start in the right direction. Nobody knows how much influence front office had over all the personnel decisions. If Nowak had complete control to do what he wanted then that shows Union had a weak front office since nobody was stopping him from blowing up the team. No manager should have that much power and no decision should be made without internal review. If the front office had said and agreed with Nowak’s vision then not much has changed.
Ultimately the front office is being given a second chance and a clean slate. The transfer window is coming up and it is their time to shine. If they fail in the transfer window expect a slow liquidation from the big wigs.
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| (Photo: PhillySoccerNews.com) |
John Hackworth takes over in the interim position and is looking to make this a permanent role. Hack has all a decent amount of time to turn this ship around. From speaking with friends who work in the Union organization, hack has a great knowledge of the US College system and tons of contacts with former college players. He seems to be a good players coach and generally likeable.
On a side note it is funny how many people have compared him to Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo. Roberto took over the Chelsea job after the failed Villas-Boas experiment. Di Matteo took a slumping Chelsea side and guided them to both FA Cup and UEFA Champions league titles.
Hackworth has coached on the collegiate level at USF and managed the US-U17 team. He was also an assistant on the US national team from 2007 to 2009. In 2007 he managed the US-U17 to first place in the group.
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