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Should Colorado Rapids Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni be relieved of his duties as First Team Manager?
That question is one that is being asked more and more and after the 2-0 loss to New England Revolution on Saturday, it is one that is fair to ask.
I had the pleasure of going to the match with my family, our very good friends, and my sister and brother-in-law who were in the country and wanted to take into a football match. After the final whistle we sat in our seats and started to digest the game and while we did not have the pleasure of stats yet, it was clear that the Rapids were incredibly unlucky to not score a goal. And is the lack of scoring Mastroeni's fault?
I know this will be an incredibly unpopular opinion with the Rapids fan base, but I am going to argue that no, Mastroeni should not be sacked.
Before you yell and bitch and call me a stooge for the team, let me give my opinion why:
1) This is his second year as coach: Yes, his record is putrid. He is 8-19-11 over his 38 game MLS career. That record would get him fired in many cases, but I do not think pulling the plug is the right way to go right now. Consider the following records of first year coaches:
First Full Year In Charge | Wins | Losses | Draws | |
Fernando Clavijo | 2004 | 10 | 9 | 11 |
Gary Smith | 2009 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
Oscar Pareja | 2012 | 11 | 19 | 4 |
Pablo Mastroeni | 2014 | 8 | 18 | 8 |
Second Full Year In Charge | Wins | Losses | Draws | |
Fernando Clavijo | 2005 | 13 | 13 | 6 |
Gary Smith | 2010 | 12 | 8 | 10 |
Oscar Pareja | 2013 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
Pablo Mastroeni | 2014 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
Only Clavijo made the playoffs in his first year and all three coaches (save for Mastroeni) made playoffs in their second year. It is obviously too soon to make the call as to whether the team is going to make it this year. The point here is that first year coaches with the Rapids have historically struggled to make the playoffs as they look to remake the team in their image.
2) The Rapids Are Unlucky: The Rapids are incredibly unlucky this year when it comes to putting a goal in the back of the net. They have run into some stellar goalkeeping play from Josh Saunders, Tyler Deric and Bobby Shuttleworth who have denied goals that should have gone in on any other day.
All that being said, is Mastroeni the guy to lead this team back?
The Rapids are currently dead last in the Western Conference with 3 points. But they are only 3 points from a playoff berth. It is early, so all is not lost and turning it around is possible.
And Mastroeni does not take a shot, or block a goal, or complete a pass. The players have to take accountability for this and so far only Clint Irwin has done so:
Losing gets old for fans and players. Thank you to those that made it out today. We need to do more to repay you.
— Clint Irwin (@ClintIrwin) April 5, 2015
However, all of the flowery speeches and fancy words that Mastroeni spits out are old and tiresome. Supporters do not want to hear about how well the club played when they drop another winnable game. And for all of this talk about this being a new year, I am sorry you cannot escape the fact that the team is 0-13-5 and is the single worse club in Major League Soccer right now.
So I ask you readers: Should Pablo be sacked? Is he the right guy to lead this team? Is it too soon to fire him? Or should he be let go now? Hit us up in the comment section because I am truly curious where everyone stands on this issue.