Apparently, enough was enough.
The New York Red Bulls have relieved Chris Armas his head coaching duties on Friday, ending a two-season career that saw the team one win away from winning the Eastern Conference championship against Atlanta United, to a woeful, chronically underperforming squad that was often frustrating to watch.
Assistant coach CJ Brown was also removed from his post as well.
Armas became the 16th head coach in the team's history in July of 2018. During his first season, the team went on a 12-3-3 run capturing the team's third Supporters Shield title as well as qualification for the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League.
In 2019, he lead the team to a 14-14-6 record, finishing 6th in the Eastern Conference and reached the playoffs but they would be eliminated in CONCACAF Champions League by after cruising by Atletico Pantoja in the round of sixteen, they would be eliminated in the quarter-finals by Santos Laguna, 6-2 in aggregate.
The team didn't fare well in the U.S. Open Cup either, despite being the better team through the match, they were bested by the New England Revolution, 3-2and would be eliminated by the Philadelphia Union in the first round of the Eastern Conference's first-round match, 4-3.
In 2020 the team currently sits in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with a 3-4-2 record, scoring only 9 goals in 7 games played, something that the team and its supporters find unacceptable, including a last-minute loss to hated rival D.C. United would be the quintessential final nail of the coffin.
Head of Sport Kevin Thelwell issued the following statement:
"On behalf of the organization, I’d like to thank Chris for his hard work and dedication to the club, in this business, we have to make difficult decisions based on performances and, fundamentally, results. At this time, it’s my decision that we must go in a different direction in order to meet the ambitions we have for our football club. We wish Chris and CJ all the best in their future endeavors."
"Ultimately this is my decision...unquestioningly, this is my decision." Calls Armas and Brown "hard-working and dedicated" adding that he wanted to give the two time to turn things around and "almost wanted them to succeed."
While he was well-liked in some circles at the club and in the fanbase, this is undoubtedly a results business. Basically, a head coach is ultimately judged by those results, whether it's considered fair or not, this is the nature of the business.
Simply put, when you are in charge, underperformance has consequences. Expectations were set very high after the team set records in 2018, and if you don't meet or exceed those said expectations, you're not going to be a head coach for very long.
Chris Armas finishes hist tenure with RBNY with a 29-21-11 record with one playoff appearance. It wasn't good enough for a team with a fanbase hopelessly starving for championship glory while meeting and exceeding those ambitions set forth by the club.
Thelwell has announced that the team "will conduct a wide, thorough search for their next head coach" and an interim replacement would be announced shortly.
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