Steve Nicol is one of the most experienced coaches in MLS, but last year presented the veteran coach with problems that even he hasn’t seen before.
Nicol had to deal with the loss of top players like Taylor Twellman and Steve Ralston for the majority of the season but still managed to lead his team to the playoffs.
I had the chance to catch up with the Revs head coach and talk to him about the youngsters in his squad that stepped up last year, who he believes was the real MLS MVP and the current problems surrounding his former club Liverpool.
Here is what he had to say ...
Keith Costigan: Was it a success for you to make the playoffs last year given all the injuries that you had to deal with throughout the campaign?
Steve Nicol: If we had our full squad available to us every game last year then we wouldn’t have been worried about playing anyone in this league. It was really difficult because there were very few games last year when we had all of our players to choose from.
When players did come back from injury it generally took them a few weeks to get back to full fitness so that hurt us as well. It is tough to look back on but the one good thing is that a lot of young players who might not have normally played stepped in and did a very good job. I felt that throughout the season we continually had to try and patch things up and get by with what we had.
I think in that sense it was a success that we managed to make the playoffs. If we had our difference makers on the field then we are going to win games. Our playoff games with Chicago are the perfect example. The difference between the two sides was Blanco. If we had our big name players it might have been a different outcome.
K.C.: You mentioned that some of the young players stepped up for you last year when your big named players were out injured. Which of those young players impressed you enough to suggest they have a big future in MLS?
S.N.: I think that both Kevin Alston and Darrius Barnes both stepped up and played very well for us last year. Barnes never missed a game and hardly made a mistake which is incredible for someone just coming into the league, while Alston was also a very steady performer throughout the year. If you had told me at the start of the season that they both would have played as many games as they did and performed so well I probably wouldn’t have believed you. I am very pleased with the fantastic job that they both did.
K.C.: For so many years Steve Ralston and Taylor Twellman have been the faces of the New England Revolution but given that they are both getting up their in age, is that era now over?
S.N.: I guess you have to say that eventually every team must evolve. I think that Taylor still has a huge contribution to make over the next few years. He was never the fastest guy in the world when he was 22 so it’s not like he is going to lose any of his pace. We just need to get him fit again and he will continue to score goals at this level.
Here is another example of how important Taylor is to us. He played two games last year and scored two goals. Landon Donovan scored 15 goals for the Galaxy and helped them be successful. If you add 15 goals to our team last season we would have won a lot more games than we did and we would have cruised into the playoffs.
If L.A. had to play without Landon Donovan last season like we had to without Taylor then they would have struggled too. I keep talking about difference makers but they are so important to a team and without them you are going to struggle. It also makes it difficult on other players because they have to carry a larger share of the workload so by the end of the season they are tired.
K.C.: Can you talk about how important Shalrie Joseph and Jeff Larentowicz were to your side last season and how they helped the younger players develop as the season went on?
S.N.: Jeff was huge for us and he wasn’t even 100% fit for most of the games he played. He is a warrior who just gets out there and gives you everything that he has and that is all you can ask for from a player. He sets a great example to the younger players in the squad.
How Shalrie Joseph does not win the MVP award is beyond me. I would love to know how that works because there is not one guy in the league who means more to his team that Shalrie does to us. Landon Donovan was great and his goals got L.A. into the playoffs but Shalrie does everything. He not only scores goals but he stops them as well so how he is not the MVP is a mystery to me. If he didn’t win it last year he will never win it as far as I’m concerned.
K.C.: Last year you also lost a big part of your coaching staff when Paul Mariner returned to England. How big a loss is he to your coaching staff and how do you replace someone like Paul Mariner?
S.N.: To be honest you can’t replace him. Paul was a certain kind of coach and we worked extremely well together but it would be silly to expect someone to come in and do the exactly same job that he did. Every coach is different and everybody brings their own way of doing things. You just make sure that you take the positives out of whatever any new coach can bring to the table but nobody will ever replace Paul Mariner.
K.C.: Did you ever try and talk him out of leaving or did you know in Paul’s heart that he wanted to return to his first club?
S.N.: Paul was going to finish up at the end of the season anyway and I knew that. He wanted a head-coaching job here in MLS and it is beyond me why no team gave him that opportunity. It doesn’t make any sense that he wasn’t given the chance to lead a team and the league has now lost a great servant.
K.C.: We are starting to see a lot more turnover among head coaches in MLS. Would you ever consider moving on or do you only see yourself coaching New England in this league?
S.N.: I don’t think anyone can say what the future holds. If you had told me 15 years ago that I would be coaching here in MLS I would have laughed in your face. The truth is I am happy here and there is a big job ahead for the new season and that is what I am concentrating on.
K.C.: What are the expectations going into next year given that some of the younger players now have gained a lot of experience throughout the 2009 campaign?
S.N.: For me the goal is always MLS Cup. That is the bottom line. I really don’t have any expectations for the year, as you never know what might happen so I will just approach the season on a day-to-day basis. It is important for me to make sure the players are well prepared for the season and as long as they are firing on all cylinders in practice then we should be fine.
K.C.: With teams like Seattle joining the league and adding to the quality of the league has it now become even more difficult to win silverware in MLS?
S.N.: I think with more teams in the league it means that most squads are not as deep as they once were and that certainly makes it a lot harder to be a success. Seattle had a great first year mainly because their difference makers, Montero and Ljungberg, were superb all year long.
I do think that the more teams the league adds the more difficult it will be to have a strong squad with real depth and that is the main issue with new teams coming into the league. I think it is good because players who may not have been given an opportunity to play in the league will all of a sudden be given a chance and that experience will make them better players.
We talk about how there are so many foreign players in the Premier League and a lot of English youngsters don’t get their opportunity to play but we don’t have that problem here and that is a good thing for the young players in this country.
K.C.: You spent a long time at Liverpool and I know it is a club still very close to your heart so what are your thoughts on what has gone on at Anfield this year?
S.N.: The way they are playing right now I wouldn’t put any money on them making the top four. To win games you have to score goals and not concede goals and Liverpool are having trouble with both this year. The squad they have is not good enough and they are far behind the top three of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United.
After that you look at the squads that Aston Villa, Tottenham and Manchester City have assembled and you can argue they have more depth than Liverpool. I look at the Liverpool midfield right now and I don’t see anybody with the ability to unlock a defense. I think that Pepe Reina has been their best player this year and without him they would be in even more trouble.
K.C.: Do you think Rafa Benitez is at fault for the club’s current problems and do you believe he will still be at the club next year?
S.N.: Rafa has spent 200 million pounds and five years down the line he has that squad so that is not good. I have absolutely no idea if he will still be there next year but things have not been good this year.
K.C.: What does the future hold for Liverpool Football Club?
S.N.: I just can’t see Liverpool going through the same kind of situation that Leeds went through a couple of years ago but you do find yourself thinking about what will happen with Liverpool. They obviously have to change the playing staff because it is not good enough but to do that you need money and it doesn’t seem like Gillett and Hicks have any to spend. Until they get those issues sorted they will continue to struggle.
Keith Costigan covers U.S. Soccer and MLS for FoxSoccer.com
