Soccer this weekend

[redpony]

Didn't say last regular season game! Said last game. period. Hope you can figure that out.

I fully understood your implications. I clarified my comments because I have little confidence that we will be invited to the 'big dance' at the end of the season (and failing to make it to at least the semifinals we need to start looking for the coach that we should have hired in the first place).

The men's soccer team has been one of the few consistently successful teams at SMU. I am not at all in favor of them sliding backwards instead of improving. Hence, I have a 'hard-nosed' attitude about our future success with a coach lacking 'championship' credentials.

GO PONIES!!!

[EastStang]

Let's see what happens, and I hope I won't be the only person wearing red and blue this weekend in Charlottesville. Blue and Orange of course will be very prevalent.

[redpony]

I would especially like for us to beat UVA as my son-in-law graduated from there.

GO PONIES!!!

[mustangbill67]

Redpony, I was also disappointed in the coaching selection but what is done is done. For the program's sake, I hope McClements does very well with this team and proves all of us naysayers wrong. I am still optimistic that SMU will be at Pizza Hut Park in December.

[gk00dad]

I fully understood your implications. I clarified my comments because I have little confidence that we will be invited to the 'big dance' at the end of the season (and failing to make it to at least the semifinals we need to start looking for the coach that we should have hired in the first place).

The men's soccer team has been one of the few consistently successful teams at SMU. I am not at all in favor of them sliding backwards instead of improving. Hence, I have a 'hard-nosed' attitude about our future success with a coach lacking 'championship' credentials.

So, by that logic why should SMU have hired Grimes? How many NCAA titles has he won as a coach? Look it's tough being the guy following the "legend" just ask Aaron Rodgers. Personally I think by having continuity there is no downtime adjustment to learn a new system. If you went to any of the spring games you would realize that we are stronger than last year in the back and the midfield, even without Bruno, is going to be stable. The only real concern this year is who's going to step up and do the scoring. I don't care if Bruce Arena came and coached this team, if we can't put the ball in the net we won't win a title.

[redpony]

[quote="gk00dad"][quote]
So, by that logic why should SMU have hired Grimes? How many NCAA titles has he won as a coach? I don't care if Bruce Arena came and coached this team, if we can't put the ball in the net we won't win a title.[quote]

I was not in favor of hiring Grimes for that exact reason. Most of my comments regarding a selection were that we needed a coach with national championship experience and one that came from a nationally prominent soccer university (consistently in the top 10 nationally). I really feel that SO sold us down the river on that one.

Obviously, if we don't put the ball in the net the best we can hope for is a draw. It is the coaches responsibility to design a winning system utilizing the talent he has.

I hope that we are playing in Frisco at the end of the year. However, there are some who do not even have us favored to win CUSA (see
DMN article on men's soccer). IIRC last year we finished #6 in the nation according to the polls. Now we are at #12 and #17. Let's hope that by the end of the year we are no less than #2 or #3.

GO PONIES!!!