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Soehn out as D.C. United head coach

Tom Soehn (ISIphotos.com)

Tom Soehn will not be back as head coach of D.C. United after removing his name from consideration to be retained upon the conclusion of his current contract at the end of the calendar year.

D.C. United failed to make the playoffs for a second straight season, but it did enjoy success under Soehn, who helped guide the team to a Supporters Shield in 2007 and U.S. Open Cup title in 2008.

No word on who will replace Soehn but two names expected to be at the top of the list for consideration are current Red Bulls interim head coach Richie Williams and former Kansas City Wizards head coach Curt Onalfo. Former U.S. national team captain and D.C. United standout John Harkes is also expected to be in the mix.

What do you think of this development? Think it was time for Soehn to go, or did you feel he deserved more time? Who do you want D.C. to hire as his replacement?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Per Steve Goff’s blog:

    United had a full week to prepare for a game only 14 times this year; the rest of the league averaged 23. In those games, United had a 8-3-3 record. Colorado, for instance, apparently had a week of practice 26 times and went 10-9-7. Chivas 19 (11-4-4), Columbus 23 (12-3-8), Houston 20 (7-6-7) and Chicago 21 (6-4-11).

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  2. Ah, thanks. Hadn’t heard that. In the couple of games I heard him do color commentary on, he was excellent. He made non-obvious observations, actually helped explain the game and situation, and showed that we can hope for better than the bottom feeding Christian Miles and Max Bretos.

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  3. Highly doubt Dooley or Earnie get the job. Dooley is a player development manager for some youth club in California and Earnie is the tech. direct at NAC Breda.

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  4. Harkes was the pride of NJ and an amazing player, but for anyone who thinks he would be a good coach…his former teammates (not only Wynalda!), players, and coaches would probably differ (strongly). There is a reason teams have NOT been knocking at his door. I would bet anything that Richie Williams will be the next head coach of DC United if RBNY pass on him.

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  5. The should definitely hire a South American coach, since they play the South American style. I wouldn’t mind Jose Perkerman. You think they spend the cash on him?

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  6. He is the play by play that says something like, “a little chicken wing action there” in reference to elbows up. Those comments made it to England where some friends of mine think it is funny naive American thing.

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  7. If you are concerned about lineup changes, you probably want to avoid Preki.

    That guy changes lineups more than any coach in the league. Can anyone believe he broke out a 4-5-1 in the playoffs when he his team hadn’t played that way in a while?

    Preki is a good defensive-minded coach, but he is a relentless tinkerer.

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  8. Sorry, I don’t get the ‘Chicken Wings’ reference. Maybe Brian isn’t his first name? This is the guy who used to play for NE.

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  9. I get tired of hearing this DC played too many games excuse. Houston plays just as many games and they are one of the top teams every year. Soehn was a great guy but should have done better. You want a coach that wins trophies and that means you will always be playing a lot of games. Therefore you need to figure out how to deal with it, and DC with Soehn has not handled it well.

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  10. Had to happen. Soehn was a good guy, but we were never going to be any better than mediocre with him. Looking forward to the Richie Williams era.

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  11. this is a guy with chicago connections big time wouldnt be the hard too see him with the fire if hammy gets his walking papaers which hopefully if the fire lose sat will come monday morning

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  12. No manager will be sucessful until Payne and Kasper go and they aren’t going any where. This is just like the Redskin…the problem isn’t the coach it’s upper management. DCU will continue to underachieve as long as these two are in place.

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  13. They should hire a foreign coach from South America. Williams, Onalfo, and Harkes are not good enough. I’ve known Soehn was not good enough for two years.

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  14. Please don’t be John Harkes, Please don’t be John Harkes, Please don’t be John Harkes, Please don’t be John Harkes, Please don’t be John Harkes!!!!! He may have been a good player, but when it comes to soccer he is a dumb ass!

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  15. Yup, I hated Martino as a player, but love him as a commentator.

    Another one I like is Brian Dunseth. Once you get past his rather high, thin voice (most non-announcerish) he says good, thoughtful stuff for the most part.

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  16. Nowak really was an exceptional case. He was very much a coach for Chicago while he was still a player. I really liked Harkes as a player, but he wasn’t that kind of leader and mentor, so far as I’ve been able to tell.

    Reactions to his coaching stints have also been very mixed.

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  17. Soehn was well over .500, won the supporter’s shield (to many of us, the most important title, because it takes a whole season of games) in one year and the open cup the next.

    I guess if it’s not the playoff finals, DC fans aren’t happy.

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  18. What about an interim coach for next season, then hire Bob Bradley after the World Cup when he finishes his cycle…

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  19. Ives, what are your thoughts on the possibilities of Nowak putting Soehn on his coaching staff as an assistant manager at Philly?

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  20. Totally agree with you. I used to be a huge DC fan when I was younger, but got tired of standing in the rain and watching crappy soccer. Then I watched them against Real Madrid over the summer and was like damn, they are actually playing. Of all the MLS teams, DC is the one for me that actually tries and plays the game like it’s supposed to be played. Too bad he felt he had to leave. I think maybe the owners should have had bigger balls and convinced him to stay. Most MLS teams, beside the crappy salary cap, have a problem with consistency. They should keep good coaches and try to build a dynasty a la Arsenal. Especially since you can’t get relegated, you have a little window to build a good product. DC already has a huge fan base.

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