O’Connor defends club’s game plan
Orlando City coach James O’Connor knows there will be opinions and criticism as he works to turn the Lions’ fortunes around.
O’Connor was hired midseason and coached his first game in July after the firing of Jason Kreis, who was brought in after the midseason firing of Adrian Heath in 2016. Orlando City has never made the playoffs.
While O’Connor has insisted — as recently as Saturday — that he and his staff will be able to turn things around, there has still been outside criticism. During a 4-0 defeat at the hands of the Chicago Fire, FS1 broadcaster Stu Holden said the Lions have quit on the season.
Before a 0-0 draw with the Houston Dynamo, O’Connor’s starting XI, which included several defensive midfielders, drew more criticism.
ESPN broadcaster Taylor Twellman posted on Twitter how many of the 11 players who started Saturday’s match for Orlando would be around in 2019 and said, “I just don’t get it Orlando.” MLSSoccer.com analyst Matthew Doyle wrote on Twitter “OCSC fans deserve better.”
Doyle added, “Zero players on the field under the age of 26. Building for the future! SMH”
Responding specifically to Twellman and Doyle’s criticisms, O’Connor on Wednesday told Pro Soccer USA, “I think: How do they know what the future is? I think for them, they’re not in charge of Orlando.”
Twellman's and Doyle’s concerns can be found elsewhere on social media in the form of Orlando City fans hoping to see minutes from youngsters like Josué Colmán and Pierre Da Silva as the season winds down.
“I think, for us when we’re looking at the future, we look at next year,” O’Connor said. “We look at two years. We look at three years. People will look five years, 10 years. It depends on what it is that you mean by that.
“We did play some of the younger players the week before. There will be more games for some of the younger players. We think there are some games coming up as well. Football is about