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In a move which should surprise no one, D.C. United head coach Tom Soehn removed his name from consideration for the team's head coaching position in advance of his contract's expiration yesterday, effectively ending six years of service with the club. Soehn, an assistant coach from 2004 to 2006, was promoted to head coach for the 2007 season and started brightly, leading United to the MLS Supporters Shield in his first season. But after two consecutive years in which United failed to make the MLS playoffs, it was obvious that the club would not be extending his three-year contract, which was due to expire at the end of 2009. Soehn finished his tenure at United with a 55-48-31 record in all competitions.
"Tommy has done an outstanding job at D.C. United, first as an assistant and then as our head coach," United President and CEO Kevin Payne said. "Tommy is a fine young coach and I know we will face him in the future in MLS play. I wish him all of the luck in the world."
Soehn had been on an increasingly hot seat throughout the year, as the team's failure to sustain any sort of consistency was, at times, maddening. Eventually, he lost control of his star players -- this became evident late in the season when incidents like Christian Gomez arguing with Soehn on the bench after being subbed before halftime and players like Jaime Moreno making veiled comments about the coaching to the media started to pile up. From that point, the only thing that could have saved him was a long run to the MLS Cup; obviously, that didn't happen.
It's probably a good bet that Soehn will link back with his former boss, Piotr Nowak, on the staff of the new Philadelphia Union franchise. As far as United's options, Soehn's resignation allows the team to get a jump start on potential replacement candidates. Several names have been thrown around, but the two most popular speculations seem to be current New York Red Bulls interim head coach (and former United midfielder) Richie Williams and Chivas USA manager Preki.
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Does it count as "a move which should surprise no one" if I've never heard of the guy?
Of course, one would presume this post is directed toward United fans, who have probably heard of the coach.
Completely unrelated:
Anyone notice how that now the American Apparel ads have dialed down the risque photos, the clothes are actually hideously ugly?
Yes, a .526 winning percentage represents a wholly unacceptable performance for D.C. United. Redskins and Wizards fans may now begin sobbing uncontrollably.
Sobbing uncontrollably with love.
Man, I hate being pedantic, but technically his winning percentage is only .410, since he only won 55 of a total 134 games. While it's certainly not as bad as a .410 winning percentage in other sports (since you do get a point for the draws, after all), it's still nothing to write home about.
Because soccer teams usually don't use winning percentage (as you point out, they use a point-based system with partial credit for draws), I borrowed the formula used in professional and college football, which is (wins+(ties/2))/(games). Since basketball doesn't do ties, the NHL has its own point-based system, and baseball is duller than dirt, football is clearly the right sport to borrow from.
Man, I love sports statistic debate. Glad to see that there is at least one fellow stat nerd out in the DCist commentariat.
Your logic is sound, cminus, no question about it. But I've always been more fond of using "point percentage" for a more accurate soccer metric: simply (points earned / points available). This metric would put Soehn at .487 for his United tenure -- 196 points out of a possible 402 -- which is, not coincidentally, a nice medium between the .410 I quoted and the .526 you came up with.
Or you can go with the slightly less mathematical playoff appearance to shitty league quotient. 1 appearance (and disappointing exit that Fall) in three full seasons. In a league where over half the clubs make the playoffs. Not good enough. Soehn was fairly given some leeway for United's insane scheduling in international play, but things just were not getting any better. Though I hesitate to blame managers in a league with such ridiculous roster and salary limitations. The only ones who really thrive are masters at making chicken salad out of...
Of course, it's not all that far off for soccer, since 1 win, 1 loss, and 1 tie is 1.333 points per game, which will usually get you right to the middle of the table. The big caveat is that 15 wins 15 losses and 0 ties is a much better record than 10 wins 10 losses and 10 ties.