Former Toronto FC head coach John Carver has spoken out about his departure from TFC and he places blame squarely on MLS for his decision to leave.
"I've had restraints on me ever since I got here," Carver said in alengthy interview with the Toronto Star. "If ever you do anything or say anything out of order, they're straight on the phone complaining to the owners and that's how they work because, in my opinion, it's all about image.
"Obviously I wasn't the right image for the league."
Carver was also clear in stating that he had no issues with Mo Johnston or Toronto FC ownership. He also denied that he would be taking any jobs in England, such as a position with Newcastle, which was believed to be an option.
What do you think of Carver's complaints? Think he is right? Was it still not a good enough excuse to quit? Could Toronto FC be better off without him, or will TFC wind up suffering because of meddling from MLS?
Share your thoughts below.
In which leagues are you able to criticise a match’s referee to the press after a match and not catch hell from the league for it afterwards?
Jimmie,
Kreis sat in the press box because he was suspended for criticizing the terrible officiating. It isn’t about having quality managers in MLS, it is about having managers that can handle all of the idiocincracies that make MLS. It is the most bassackwards run league in any sport in the world and if you don’t understand it then you can’t succeed.
If John Carver was good enough to coach in the premiership he should have been good enough for MLS I can’t see how the leagues behaviour can be justified in this case. Driving a good coach out of the league is not going to do anything to help this league improve its reputation globally.
Worth a listen to the Fan 590 interview… take it for what it is worth….
http://www.fan590.com/media.jsp?content=20090428_132723_7348
Nico, this is about as good as I could find on short notice. The last paragraph refers to the owners as “shareholders”, which I thought was a pretty accurate description of what they actually are.
http://www.sportslawnews.com/archive/jargon/ljsingleentity.htm
ALL,
Jason Kries sat in the press box multiple times last season (or was it the season before?), so he could get a better view of the field. I think he was suspended only one of the times.
He eventually found it better on the sidelines.
I may be totally incorrect here… btw…
I wanted to like Carver, but he was clueless as a manager & Toronto is lucky that he’s gone. I don’t believe his reason for quitting. Good luck to the Geordies if he does end up at Newcastle.
Hey JoeW,
I think his beef with MLS had a lot to do with the big brother syndrome or micro-management of the league by MLS headquarters. The league took issue with his sideline chirping, his valid criticism of the league’s refing and the final straw came when he was forced back to the sidelines after Wednesdays game when he lead the team from the private boxes. Coming from the premiership I’m sure he didn’t have this kind of league scrutiny with regards to policing his own behavior. I think he was fine with the salary cap and the strange rules with regard to the number of Canadian and international spots. I think he took issue with the fact that they were trying to reign in his personality and his coaching style. If the league isn’t mature enough to allow someone to be themselves then maybe MLS should loosen the reigns a bit and allow the league to mature and develop some character which it really lacks when compared to more established leagues like the premiership. In trying to maintain an iron grip on the league MLS may eventually crush it!
JoeW – Thumbsup!
“Carver’s comments strike me as an ethnocentric crybaby–the kind of guy who’d go from say, Colombia to Peru or Germany to Spain and complain about the league because it’s not like home. Because, in effect, that’s what he’s doing.”
To quote a famous Canadian.
“Why move around the world, if Eden was so near.”
Neil Peart – Territories
Meant ‘momentum’
So do the MLS offices have a right to complain about the incompetent coach who couldn’t win despite great fan support and hurting the moment of an expansion franchise.
This just in John: No one is going to miss you no one cares that you’re gone. Cheers 😉
Well, when it comes down to it, I personally think Carver’s complaints about MLS is a bit of a red herring. Any league, and I mean ANY league around the world will fine you if you speak out in a derogatory manner toward the refs. It’s not meddling. It’s SOP in every league and every sport. As far as being told where to sit, I’d like to see conformation about that before I believe it.
I hope Carver ends up as assistant coach for India’s national team. Then he can have a whinefest with Bobby Houghton, another English MLS failure.
TO–I’m amazed, truly amazed that ANYONE would argue that the problem(s) Carver had were because the UK has the “best soccer in the world.”
Carver didn’t say he had trouble adjusting to less skilled players or a lower standard of player. If anything, that should have given him a huge edge.
No, his comments are lame. How did MLS meddle? He got fined a couple of times for complaining about referees. Big deal. There are restrictions on acquiring players–but that’s true for every team. There is a cap–but that’s not MLS meddling, that’s by the owners of a league that has hemmoraged cash and at one point had to contract two teams while two other guys owned 75% of the rest of the league. TFC was hurt by National Team callups but guess what–so were other teams in the league.
I’m unaware of anyway that MLS meddled with TFC in a way that didn’t also apply to every other team in the league. If Carver felt that the situation was a bad one, than he should blame MoJo and his team management for not being clear with him upfront. If anything, after the first year MLS changed the rules to make it easier for TFC to field Americans on the roster and ease the difficulty of getting Canadian players.
Carver’s comments strike me as an ethnocentric crybaby–the kind of guy who’d go from say, Colombia to Peru or Germany to Spain and complain about the league because it’s not like home. Because, in effect, that’s what he’s doing.
If he’s frustrated with the leagues, then so be it. It’s his personal opinion and I won’t hold it against him. But quit 6 games into the season because of it? It’s not like he just signed his contract this year and this all came new to him. Lot of these are same crap he pulled last season, and gotten a full taste of the rules and operation as a consequence.
If he’s that frustrated, I just think it would’ve served everybody better if he’d just left after last season. Is MLS perfect? No. But it doesn’t mean Carver is perfect either. Just because someone is honest about their opinion doesn’t make it the truth. To me, it’s just a simple case of a misfit. With neither side willing to conform to one another, it’s better to separate.
this is ridiculous from some of you. This game is football, you guys seem to think John Carver is not professional just because he didn’t knuckle down to the MLS’s petty authority. MLS does need to change in order to compete in this footbal environment(Look at how lousy they do in international competitions) and the first change should probably be to pay the players more.
Roh roh.
Those damn meddling kids!
Mighty! and sonic-
Yes, I do realize it is single entity. This is a business model, it should not mandate teams how to run their field operations. Under a single entity structure the league owns the teams but team owner/investors have the right to operate their teams as they see fit (within governing rules & procedures). MLS seems to overexert their influence, quite unnecessarily at times.
This is how understand it, though I am certainly not a lawyer and not an expert on MLS legal powers over teams. Please correct me if I’m wrong. Sonicdeathmonkey seems like an articulate individual so I would like to hear his interpretation of a team’s legal rights.
Lets face it Carver came from the UK which has the best soccer league in the world, so it would only make sense that the adjustment to MLS would be difficult for him. I think he fell in love with the fans and the team last year and that kept him here for a second year, but he hated the league and its bizarre idiosyncracies (not sure about the spelling). In the end he did what was best for him and the team, if he had stayed the drama between him and the league would have intensified and that would have negatively affected the team which he would not have wanted. I applaud him for doing the right thing. MLS is a young league trying to survive in an indifferent North American soccer market which explains the need for tight league control, obviously Carver didn’t know what he was getting himself into, Mo Johnston should have been more upfront with Carver as I am assuming he probably knew that Carver’s strong all things British personality and the league were bound to clash. Good luck John! All of the TFC faithful will miss you. I would like to thank you personally for all you did for the team and the city during your short stay.
He might have a point, if he had proven a winning coach, but he hasn’t, so it’s just whining at this point.
Good riddance.
Dumbass should have learned how to operate in a salary cap environment. It will probably coming to a European League closest to you. You don’t think the Europeans are observing how American Sports Leagues run themselves with the salary cap?
All the critics of MLS are forgetting. It took the NBA, the NHL, NFL, far more years to become the leagues they are now. As much as we hate it, they are still in business where other Soccer leagues have failed.
If anyone is reading, Euro clubs are running into trouble. There are only so many billionaires willing to lose money on English Clubs. Most of the other clubs are struggling.
We have enough English blokes mucking up our game and teaching our kids kick and run Football.
I agree. F Canada and their stupid British cock worship.
Carver just did a pretty telling interview on the Fan590, he basically said he was becoming a target and a hindrance to the team so it would be best if he stepped down. You have to respect that. He also took credit for the 4-3-3 formation change thats been successful recently.
“What a baby. He should go have a cry with Ruud Gullit. After that, someone should remind them both that good coaches don’t blame pre-existing rules for their lack of results.”
I’m in agreement with this. Steve Nicol and co. have done just fine over the years working under the MLS single entity league structure.
But I also understand his frustration with the league and it’s rules. It’s a tough balance between good business and top flight football. It’s just how it is.
But it won’t get better until everyone starts supporting the league, their hometown club, and proves to the rest of the world that America does care about football and are willing to spend the money to support it. Then the $$$ will roll in, sponsors will take notice, the league will grow, the quality improves, top internationals come here to play, etc etc. But it’s going to take time, and proper fan support. Come On EuroSnobs!
MLS is mickey mouse. The FO needs to grow up and stop trying to control everything. Who cares if he wants to coach from the stands on occasion. FFS *roles eyes*
The officiating in our league is a problem, and that’s widely recognized. Continually fining coaches who make criticisms of the refs amounts to censorship, and is an impediment to our league’s progress.
Why does Garber never address these issues? In the past week I’ve seen at least 2 game-changing red cards that were not warranted (RedBulls-Wizards, Crew-Fire) and had a major effect on the entertainment value of the product.
Whether I would quit my job over it, that’s a different story…
Good for Carver, this league is run by phocking idiots as we have all known for 1.5 decades. Good for him for saying enough is enough.
I completely understand Carver’s decision and agree with him 100%. Frankly, I too am getting tired of league meddling and of the single entity system as a whole. They fine a player or coach that even hints of referee criticism yet do nothing when idiots like Jair Marrufo blow game after game after game.
and i do NOT for a second believe this had nothing to do with a coaching job (or asst job) in england… i have a feeling this was something simple to voice about…
but then again, i wouldnt go public about leaving a job with TFC to take up an asst. job at newcastle O.o
EDB – i agree, i think the MLS should stick with former players working through the system…. grassroots
MLS is so concerned about their image that they are willing to risk more bad public relations. Can they take more bad publicity?????
good riddance baby
I agree with his frustrations about MLS, they do seem overtly-concerned with their image but at the same time, all the other coaches in MLS deal with the same issues and still seem to thrive.
he was an overrated coach, TFC is better w/o him!
For a guy who has never won anything, he sure does talk a lot of s%^t. Maybe someday he’ll realize that he’s the one who sucks, not everyone else in the world.
He’s been a terrible coach and is a complete baby. Hopefully TFC will continue to be full of fail. F Canada.
umm, what was the MLS’s reason for not lettin him coach via a suite?? kinda agree w/ him.. he seems like a stand up guy and it sucks we lost him
No matter what league he is coaching in if you pop off to the press about the refs you will get your hand slapped. Good riddance.
you should be able to critcize somebody for there wrongdoing if correct without being fined.
WAHHH….they won’t let me sit in the press box….WAHHHH!!!!!!!
I think its for the best he left, and why for now the MLS needs to stick with former MLS players or long time assistants for coaches. This league is not run like any other in the world and takes people that know and accept it upfront.
Beat me to it mighty. It’s called Single Entity. Perhaps you should look it up nico.
nico
you do realize each team is owned by the league?
and the teams are but franchises operated by third parties…
I think everyone is better off with him leaving. He was clearly not happy about the refereeing and the way the league fonctionned. As a TFC fan, I liked John but I respect his decision.
Cant say im surprised that the MLS would muck about in such a way. Although its come leaps and bounds since it first started it remains a business and a business first and theres little tolerance for anyone who messes with the business. Carver was an outspoken guy who stuck to his guns, im sure that didnt go over well.
However I also feel certain that it was that coupled with the fact that his formations/tactic just didnt seem to work and the team wasnt doing as well as it could/should have been.
I did like the guy alot but was fed up with alot of his tactics/formations (4-4-2, playing guys out of position to accomodate it) just before he quit.
Ideally the 4-3-3 was Chris Cummins/Dasovic’s idea as opposed to Carvers simply because thats who we are now stuck with HA! I do look forward to seeing what those two have to offer (id be amazed if Daso got the job over Cummins) as so far we are top of the east (granted it could very well be a short stay but we are top none the less!)
I’m not too surprised. MLS (Garber et al.) seem to enjoy there positions of power. I’ve never quite understood how the league has so much control over individual team operations. It seems ridiculous for MLS to tell Carver from where to coach his team.
PROFESSIONALS hold themselves and their peers to HIGHER STANDARDS….comparing him to Gullit is just ignorant. I don’t blame him for being fed up with rinky-dink BS that trickles down…
What a baby. He should go have a cry with Ruud Gullit. After that, someone should remind them both that good coaches don’t blame pre-existing rules for their lack of results.
Carver should join that other quitter, Roy Keane, in Ipswich.
I understand the frustration, but every other coach in the league seems to have found a way to deal with it. Our Sigi here in Seattle hasn’t had any problems. Maybe if Toronto FC was playing better …