As of this writing, it’s been 54 days since Búho Nation learned that Vincenzo Candela would take the interim title following the unexpected departure of Head Coach Dominic Casciato. As shocking and unexpected as Dom leaving was, I don’t think anyone hated the idea that Vinnie would get a chance to show what he could do in the top spot. He’s been with the club since the beginning of 2023 and has seen everything going on in the backroom. He’s familiar with the players, knows the system and the training, and was the best option we had at the time. When you do change horses midstream, you at least want it to be one who’s been side-by-side to the group.
But considering that we’ve now had 10 matches with Vinnie (and we didn’t have a match this week for me to recap), it’s a good time to reflect on where we were, where we’ve been, and whether or not that would be enough to justify keeping Vinnie on for a full season.
Disclaimer: This is all outside view on my part. I have no idea what the club’s, or Vinnie’s, inner thoughts are outside of the coming match hosting Texoma on Sep. 6. In fairness, new Sporting Director Jaime Henderson has barely had time to unpack things (literally and figuratively). Take this whole thing as one penguin’s opinion.
Comparing The First 10
The easiest place to start is with the first 10 matches in comparison to the other two coaches we’ve had. We already talked about how he’s the first of our coaches to win their debut. Jay Mims navigated a 0-0 draw with New England Revolution II at an empty Gillette Stadium in our first ever match. Dominic Casciato did a little better, actually seeing a goal in our 2023 season-opening 1-1 draw against Forward Madison at Caniglia Field. Vincenzo Candela managed to go on the road with three days’ preparation to hand Charlotte Independence a 1-2 defeat. So far, advantage: Candela.
But over the first 10 matches (all competitions), might be a different story. We all remember Jay leading the Owls to a then-record unbeaten run to start that 2020 season. Dom had his struggles, but came out pretty well. Vinnie, perhaps by recency bias, seems to have done so well in his first 10, but the numbers bring things back to Earth, slightly.
Jay’s First 10 games: 4-2-4 (W-L-D) 16 points (all USL 1)
– Began first 8 games unbeaten until the No-Lights Sadwolves beat him on a random Wednesday at 11 am.
Dom’s First 10 games: 3-2-5 (W-L-D) 14 points (1-1-0 in US Open Cup)
– Second game in charge was hosting former club El Paso Locomotive FC in US Open Cup action. Early signature win, before getting humbled by St Louis City in the next round.
Vinnie’s First 10 games: 5-4-1 (W-L-D) 16 points (1-1-0 in Jagermeister Cup)
– Most losses, but also most wins in first 10 matches. Negative cool points for giving Tormenta it’s first ever victory against us, though.
Advantage: Candela. Despite his high number of losses (including Tormenta), none of those losses was by more than one goal—something neither of his predecessors did. Additionally, three of his five victories were by 2+ goals—something done only one other time this season (a 1-3 victory at Tormenta on March 29) and not matched by either Jay or Dom.
Comparing The Season
Getting away from too much historical comparison, the first 10 matches really show how well the team can perform—especially when its a midseason change. While no one was calling for Dom’s head, there was an inconsistency in the team this year that left Union Omaha not just outside the playoff spots, but outside a lot of optimism that things could turn around.
Given that the players and the league are pretty much the same, its perfectly fair to compare the season before and after the change (though Dom didn’t have the luxury of a long string of matches with Pato and Stefano up front). The best way to do that, is to look at where we were and where we are now.
On July 11, the day before Vinnie’s first match in charge, the standings looked like this:
In addition, the Owls had bowed out of the US Open Cup in the Round of 32 and had yet to gain a point or score a goal in two Jagermeister Cup matches (essentially eliminating them). All competitions, Union Omaha was 6-10-2 (W-L-D). And while there were only a few lopsided losses, there were more matches that felt like they should have been draws on wins. Lapses in defense, late goals, or just an inability to put the ball on net were hallmarks of the early season.
On August 31, the table looked like this:
Alongside this, the Owls scored their first three goals (and three points) in the Jagermeister Cup, but then put in a disappointing performance against El Paso Locomotive to finish off the tournament. I’ve already mentioned the record and more competitive performances, there still seemed to be some things to clean up. He wasn’t expected to be perfect, though, and to put that in perspective, notice the league standings since his first match:
Fifth in points, wins, and tied for fifth in goal difference. They haven’t been the best in the league over that stretch, but the team has performed the best they have all season.
Coaching The Team
Those improved performances come are what Vinnie has had in mind since taking over as coach. He doesn’t dwell too much on the past, except to say that he believes these performances have been in the team all along. Instead, he talks about “building”—that word has come up in every post-match conversation I’ve had with him so far. He wants to win, and he knows we can win, but he’s very focused on building. It shows.
The tangible parts of the build are in the stats I’ve mentioned. The team is scoring multiple goals a game. They’re allowing fewer goals. The mistakes are still there, but fewer and less damaging. The matches look better.
The intangible parts are in why those matches look better. I’ve commented often, to anyone around me while watching matches, that the team looks like they’re enjoying the matches. The communication has gotten better, the positioning is on, and the teammates seem to finally be on the same page with each other when making their passes and runs. The vibe around the team seems better. Even in defeat, they look like they believe until the final whistle and are fighting.
Mind you, this is not a knock on Dom by any means, nor am I attempting to imply that he’d “lost the locker room” nor given up on the season. But when you have any kind of a change in leadership, you want to see a change in the attitude and outlook of a team, or you may as well admit you have the wrong guy. The team has responded to whatever Vinnie is doing.
This building is probably best shown with the victory against Charlotte on August 20. Vinnie made some unexpected changes to the lineup that night. Some were forced, such as Max Schneider’s yellow card suspension. Some weren’t. Marco Milanese was benched for Anderson Holt. Brandon Knapp rotated to the center of the back line. Laurence Wootton and Chelo Martinez got on the pitch supporting Ryan Becher, Mark Bronnik, and Pato Faz. Prosper Kassim continued his run of matches.
The most telling change, however, was that Rashid Nuhu was benched for Cole Jensen. (For context, this would have been Shido’s 150th appearance for the club, at home, and not conflicting with Dion Acoff’s 100th which would happen the next match. And before you tell me that Vinnie’s not aware of those things, he started and gave Dion the armband for his milestone.)
This showed two things that a head coach needs. First, he has the backing of the players and the front office to make such a change. He tailored this team while preserving their strengths. He made a tough call on some more senior players and the club captain because it’s what he thought the match required.
Secondly, it showed he’d prepared them all for that moment. Mark Bronnik and Ryan Becher both had braces. Cole Jensen almost got his clean sheet (though the goal was deserved one way or another). The team looked like it’d been the favored starting lineup the entire year—that’s how good the passing, communicating, and understanding of the match had been. Vinnie had them ready to go, and they answered.
Other Thoughts
1) I got a chance to talk to Jamie Henderson following the AV Alta match on August 23. With his signature just about dry on the contract bringing him here, I asked him what he though the biggest challenge with this team would be going forward. His response:
“I think always the challenge is consistency. Consistency and winning games…We know that in this league, and in any league really, if you win a couple games you’re going to be over the playoff line. If you drop a couple games, you’re going to be below the playoff line. So consistency is huge.”
He’d already acknowledged that “this team’s had it in them all season.” And now he’s looking for consistency. In fairness, we all are.
But his comments on the biggest opportunity he sees here sounded familiar in spirit, if not in exact words:
“My opportunity here is just to make everyone around me better. That’s what I’m looking to do. Like I said from the beginning, we’ve got some great people here at this soccer club, and I’m going to continue to build on that, and bring…you know, just build my relationships with them.”
There’s that word again: “build”. He and Vinnie are, at least in words, on the same page with what they want to accomplish here. It also seems like we’re getting some consistency in performances as well. While I won’t pretend to know how Jamie thinks, it’s a good sign when everyone’s using the same words and concepts. It definitely gives you something to build on.
2) Vinnie is very easy to talk to. He’s seems to appreciate being able to have conversations with people, to promote the players and the team, and to talk about what they can accomplish. He’s thoughtful in his discussion, focused on the right things, and has a manner about him that can instill confidence in anyone, even when he’s discussing something in a performance that might have been negative.
To that end, he also doesn’t throw anyone under the bus—it’s a team game. Positions groups can do better. The team overall can execute differently. There are things they can all clean up. I’m not privy to his manner in the locker room, but I can guess. Players don’t respond to you if you tear them down. Vinnie is a natural builder.
Final Verdict
The numbers alone would say that Vinnie is deserving of consideration to take the full time position. When you add to that his coaching, his demeanor, and the environment around this team since he took over, it’s easy to just yell out to give him the job now. There are a lot longer-tenured coaches who have performed worse and gotten to keep their jobs (or got hired on!)
But while it may seem I want him to sign long-term tomorrow, I also have to let prudence and due diligence reign here. Vinnie has done an amazing job given the circumstances he’s been put in. He’s putting his mark on a team that his predecessor (mostly) assembled and working well with what he’s been dealt. But the optimism of what could be and the feeling of being on the precipice of another late-season run to the playoffs can’t be allowed to overshadow one glaring fact: It’s still very early.
Perhaps you’re holding out hope that Eamon Zayed will say yes at the end of the season. Perhaps you think that someone like Ian Cameron will be waiting in the wings. Perhaps you think the key is another highly-touted Championship, MLS NXT, or even Jose Mourinho (!?) might be the better way to go. Perhaps you might be right.
But no matter what the team decides, I think it would be a disservice not to include Vinnie on the candidates list when this year’s building is done. He’s definitely earned that much.
Who Gives A Hoot? 