A Bloody Big Mess (of his own making)

John Herdman's reputation is circling the bowl. He only has himself to blame.

Photo by Curology on Unsplash

I was going to write about the CanPL final today and on the league in general. There’s lots to talk about when it comes to the league — some good, some bad — but that’s going to have to wait until tomorrow because John Herdman is once again sucking up all the oxygen.

That’s what he does. That’s what he’s always done, right from his early days as manager of the CanWNT. He is a little guy with a big personality and he knows how to use it to bring you into his orbit.

I’ve had a few interactions with him over the years, although not since he left the women’s team and, tellingly, not after I started to write critical things about their performance in the lead up to the London Olympics.

Part of that was the growth of the program (I’m pretty small potatoes), but there was little doubt that I was frozen out back then, while others with similar platforms were given access (so long as the coverage remained fawning).

I’m not writing this to re-hash a decade-old resentment about press conference invitations. No, I present it as a way to frame how Herdman operates and to use that to inform what’s taken place in more recent times.

He is a man who tries to control every aspect of his team’s environment, right down to what a blogger is saying. He creates a bubble and within that situation, you are either all in, or you are the enemy.

So, when I read that there was a “difficult and unacceptable past culture within the national teams” and that there were former staff members that felt unable to report unethical behaviour, I believe it. I also believe that feeling is an extension of Herdman’s influence of the program(s).

Bev Priestman is very much part of the Herdman coaching tree. She learned from him and she was essentially continuing to operate the program the “Herdman way.” When she was hired, the choice was not unanimous, I’ve been told in the past. The reason it wasn’t is because there were people in Canada Soccer who were uncomfortable with aspects of how Herdman operated and were looking for a clean break from him. That was not Priestman. So, that break didn’t happen.

It’s happening now. In fact, Canada Soccer didn’t even bother to mention her by name in their post announcing her firing. They didn’t mention Herdman either, but they did make it clear that “potential violations of the Canada Soccer Code of Conduct and Ethics by the former head coach of the Men’s National Team were identified.”

It was made clear that Herdman now faces potential disciplinary action. Actually, it’s difficult to imagine a scenario where he avoids a suspension by Canada Soccer, which puts his role with TFC in question. There might be some loopholes MLSE could use to allow Herdman to coach games in the US while he served a Canadian suspension, but that’s getting into some dodgy territory, especially since Canada Soccer is actively in a relationship with MLS, the league that is paying for Jesse Marsch’s salary.

This is a Bloody Big Mess, is what it is.

Especially for Herdman. It’s a mess of his own making. As I said about Priestman at the time of the Olympics, this is a really dumb way to bring yourself down. I understand the concept of marginal gains, but the cost/benefit here just doesn’t add up. Both of their careers are now in jeopardy so that they could find out if Honduras was planning on using wingbacks?

Like, why?

There is inevitably going to be some who justify the choices that were made with the argument that “everyone is doing it.” I understand where that opinion is coming from, but it misses the point of what real problem here is. What that is, is something that Herdman likes to talk about ad nauseum — culture.

Herdman has created a culture of fear and mistrust, at least among his staff. As I talked about last week, there’s also evidence that his methods have a shelf life. You could see the cracks towards the end of his time with the men’s national team — he went 0-for-3 at the World Cup with lots of noise about a dysfunctional dressing room around the team.

After a good start, TFC had crashed out of the playoffs with its most expensive player barely bothering to show up for most of the back half of the year.

That all speaks to players tuning out and away from a bad culture.

The thing about guys like Herdman is that what can feel charming in the beginning of a relationship can easily feel manipulative by the end. If I’m MLSE today, I have to ask what part of the relationship they are in with Herdman.

If they are still charmed by him — if they truly think he’s the man to lead TFC back to a championship team — then stand by him. Make sure you have a plan in place to cover for him while he’s suspended (because he will be), but stick to your guns and absorb the criticism that is going to come (because it will). He’s your guy.

However, if you aren’t certain, then there is little choice. You need to fire him.

Today.