Saturday, August 26, 2006

Ramos must go: Verdy versus Vissel

After pounding Kashiwa 4-1, things looked good for the boys in green coming in, and the first half saw Silva notch a goal and Vissel go a man down. Then the bottom dropped out and Verdy let up 2 goals with a man advantage, including one with a man advantage. A win would have put the team 2 points away from 4th place Vegalta and a mere 8 points from the playoff spot and a Vissel team about to lose their headman, Stuart Baxter. But they blew it.

I'm not a fan of change for changes sake. I hate when people yell for firings mid season. I resist my deepest impulses to lash out when the going is not good. But I am convinced that this team will struggle for years unless something changes. The lack of disclipline, erratic play, and inconsistency have led me to believe that there is one obvious move to start the change.

Ramos must go.

This type of man advantage letdown has happened before in the Ramos tenure, including once to Vissel.

Ramos must go.

The team has flipped and flopped all season long, from the naming of the woefully overmatched Harutaka Ono as the captain, to the shuffling of the backline, and the random insertion of midfield blather.

Ramos must go.

I don't know what happened to Silva, I'm guessing an injury, because if he was taken off for any other reason, Ramos should be fired immediately.....either way he should be fired for inserting a rusty Okashi and not another striker.

Ramos must go.

The team was originally built with a fatal flaw, going with a bunch of "Verdy" guys instead of guys with actual skill. Even though the team is in financial straits, they still have shown that they will go out and spend money on guys (i.e. Silva, Ze Luis, Marcus, Kaimoto, Ishikawa)

Ramos must go.

Most importantly, Ramos stated at the start of the year that he would absolutely get the team to J1 in one year. http://brilliantomiya.blogspot.com/2005/12/ramos-ill-bring-verdy-back-to-j1.html He won't.......yesterday was the death blow. It would take an epic run by Verdy combined wiuth an epic collapse by either Yokohama FC or Vissel, plus Vegalta stumbling in order to get to the playoff spot alone. Even if that happened, there is a chance that Verdy would face a team who is really desperate not to end up like......Verdy.

Ramos must go.

The reason I call for this now and not at the end of the season is because there is a coach out there with past success. A coach who knew when time was up and didn't hurt the squad. A guy who would thrive away from the primadonnas and drive a team who was hungry for promotion to something greater. A guy who could tell young up-and-comers how to get to higher levels (i.e. The National team).

I'm talking about Takeshi Okada. The former Yokohama F Marinos coach is out there and available to be snapped up for the right offer. And the window of opportunity is short. Next week, Vissel has an opening and the deep pockets of Rakuten Ichiba. Sanfrecce will need a coach at the end of the season, and can dangle in front of the proffessor arguably the deepest youth program in the country. Nagoya's marriage with Sef isn't set in stone and Chiba might not be happy with the way Son of Osim is performing. Finally, Okada could be called back home to Sapporo to fix whatever ails the equally erratic Consadole.

Ramos must go. And a man with a vision and a proven record of success must take his place.

I think Ramos has the potential and in game skills to be a good head man in the future. I think he'll learn from this experience. And I also think learning at a Mito Hollyhock or Tokushima Vortis, where every move is important instead of the NTV/Cyberagent sponsored fantasy league that he has been doing will give him the patience and skills to pick and stick with a team. 50 players on a squad is excessive and a show of panic.

Ramos must go. It's time.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Erratic is certainly the name of the game, I saw the win over Mito which was barely deserved,went down to Shonan to watch us get thumped by Bellmare, went to Ajinomoto to watch the dull as dishwater fare that was against Thespa, and saw the last 2 games on TV. The boys absolutely creamed Reysol,they played REALLY well, then last night....first half was a pretty tight affair I thought then we went 1 up hint of offside but the replay showed the final ball came off a defender. Then there guy got his marching orders and for the rest of the game they pounded our goal even when a man down. Once again we cant finish the job when in the driving seat. I thought our promotion chances were gone a while ago,as just when they start to look half decent they fall to pieces. 3 wins then 4 losses unbeaten for 5 games then can`t score for ages. We haven`t looked convincing for any length of time all year. (Also where the hell did Nagai come from??where has he been for the last few months?? He waddled about a bit last night...had a few pies recently that lad has!!) As for Okada...it would be nice but I don`t think he`d come if they offered it to him on a silver platter. As you say, there are other teams with better resources,I see our boys as a disaster in progress. We arent rock bottom yet I feel. I can see an early exit from the Emperors Cup at the hands of a High School girls team to come .....Ramos was a crap choice from the start.All haircut and suits. As the guy in Wierd Science put so elequently " He`s an a**hole!! Anybody with a haircut like that,you know he`s an a**hole!!"
Burn the witch!! Bring out the duckin stool. Wonder who will be next in the mildly warm hot seat?? If they are thinking of another TV guy Im guessing Hard Gays 5 minutes of fame will be up soon....might be worth a shot Phooooooooo!!! Onwards and Upwards The Boys swish and sashe on!! Phoooooooo!!