Sunday, March 22, 2009

Focus

I probably shouldn't be driving and blogging but I have to focus on the fucking game...

During the post match press conference, Tom Soehn said he hadn't seen a replay of the PK call on Rodney Wallace nor the Landon Donovan header. What he was apparently most upset about was the collision that knocked Devon McTavish out of the game.

"A PK came out of it. The referee has to use a little better judgement. We've got two hits with open head injuries. Stop the game. So I was disappointed" Soehn said.

Soehn said the collision was pretty much the turning point as it forced the team to change plans.

"We had Jaime (Moreno) coming into the game so obviously with two defensive players down we had to adjust. We wanted to make sure one of them was going to come back in so we adjusted."

Marc Burch came on instead of Moreno and DC quickly allowed two goals.

During the first few minutes of the presser, Soehn seemed somewhat composed. But as soon as Goff's question about Crayton left his lips, Soehn shot him down.

"Louis wasn't here. Let's talk about the game today," Soehn said.

Goff quickly asked about Josh Wicks.

"Josh did well," Soehn said and went on to talk about the PK and how its always tough to stop, etc.

I don't know why Crayton wasn't at the game and neither did a couple of fellow reporters. It seems like it was a non-injury issue but I don't know for sure. It just seems that Soehn was awfully defensive about Crayton, and then obviously he unloaded on Goff.

Soehn is probably feeling quite a bit of pressure, and his team had just blown a two-goal lead. The first goal may been a result of a bad call but the second one was not. Regardless, that's not what bothered Soehn the most immediately after the game.

Still, bad call or not Soehn would do best to keep his cool after the game. If he's reacting this way, it seems his head my be on the chopping block more than we realize.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm assuming you are a big fan of the Norv Turner, "Well the guys played well, maybe we'll win next time."

If ever there was a situation that a coach would blow his top, this is it. But I'm sure Tommy will take your advice.

Anonymous said...

To write this without acknowledging that Crayton was actually hurt, and has been for 2 weeks, (presumably because it damages your argument) is pretty irresponsible.

Anonymous said...

The thing is, it *was* an injury issue. Crayton wasn't there because he was injured. Furthermore, Goff had *reported that before the match started*, so he already knew why Crayton wasn't there.

Not that Soehn shouldn't have handled it better -- of course he should have -- but at the same time, why do you ask questions to which you already have reported the answers if you're not explicitly trying to get under the coach's skin?

JkR said...

Why would Steve Goff be "explicitly trying to get under the coach's skin?"

His work is an open book. Crayton was expected to play as of Midweek. There was a change in status, and he asked about it.

That's how I read it.

Gotta say as well, while Soehn was out of line, hard to blame him for what he had just witnessed.

Anonymous said...

Why would Goff be trying to get under his skin? For the same reason reporters worldwide frequently get under coaches' skins: because angry coaches can often make for good material. Boring press conferences get forgotten the next day; press conferences with rants become staples on YouTube (at least in leagues with more mindshare).

Otherwise, why *do* you repeatedly ask a question to which you already know the answer?

I worry that harping on this point gives the impression that I think that Goff was in the wrong and Soehn was in the right. That's not what I'm saying, at least not technically. If what little I know is the whole story, then I don't think Goff behaved well; but I certainly don't think Soehn did, either.

Anonymous said...

That collision was horrible