Orlando City Soccer's wild four-year ride through MLS took another crazy turn with the club parted ways on Friday with manager Jason Kreis. A six-game winning streak early in the season prompted great optimism from the faithful, but that was only followed immediately by a six-game losing streak that had some of the old questions bubbling to the surface.
I am not sure whether dismissing Kreis was the right move, but something had to be done at this moment in time. With Orlando City seeing a slight reprieve in action due to the World Cup, it makes sense for ownership to take action.
Fans had pined for his firing and started the #KreisOut movement long before this day was upon us. While he came to Orlando with a tremendous pedigree as a former championship manager, a 21-29-14 record is not going to inspire anyone.
One can make a good argument that the listless performance they put on the pitch on Wednesday in losing 3-0 to the bottom-dwelling Montreal Impact was a justified nail in the coffin for Kreis.
Despite his lack of success, can anyone truly say that they believe the team's play is Kreis' fault? Other than his constant complaining about officiating, I have yet to hear anyone bring any tangible examples to the table where his leadership was lacking.
To me, this is an organizational issue. The lack of success does not boil down to any one manager or any set of players.
Orlando City Soccer Fires Head Coach In The Shadows Of World Cup Excitement
Owner Flavio Augusto da Silva and team CEO Alex Leitao have not proven they can produce a winner on the pitch. Orlando City has missed the playoffs for the first three years in MLS while other clubs like Atlanta have blown past them to become true contenders.
Since club founder Phil Rawlins was phased out of the decision-making process, the front office and head coaching position have been in a constant state of upheaval. The roster has been made over several times, creating further inconsistency.
This year it was supposed to be different since several soccer gurus and media who follow the MLS said that Orlando had the best offseason of any club. Despite great individual additions, a revamping of the midfield and some added scoring punch, the Lions sit in a similar position to where they were last year.
It is the same old story with Orlando City and the timing of this announcement also weaves a narrative. The Kreis firing became part of the Friday afternoon news dump while the major World Cup match of the day, Portugal vs. Spain, was going on.
Orlando City decision-makers certainly calculated when to drop the release in hopes that the national soccer media would gloss over the move.
However, no matter how much you try to disguise a landfill, you can still smell the stench. Orlando City currently sits in sewage with no obvious plan to climb out of the muck and mire.
As they did when they made the transition from Adrian Heath to Kreis, management will likely make a quick decision about a new head coach. After all, two assistant coaches also are gone so the staff is pretty thin with interim coach Bobby Murphy left to run the show.
Ownership has done nothing to show they know how to build a successful franchise. No one is going to immediately buy into whatever they do next, but I do have some advice for them to follow.
I would suggest they actually go with someone who favors the style of play they are most familiar with. For example, former Brazilian national team coach Dunga was a hotly rumored head coaching candidate the last time around.
Sometimes going back to what one knows best is the only way to get out of a KREISis. At the very least, if it does not work out, da Silva and Leitao can say they did it their way.
This hire is the last chance they have to keep the fans from storming Orlando City Soccer Stadium and asking for their heads. Let's hope they are finally able to flip the script and produce a consistent winner in Orlando.
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