Just like Petraeus was looking for a new challenge too ... We just have to admit that we'll never know. This is DC United not Barcelona. We have one reporter covering the team and he just repeats what he's told. It could be so many things ... For all we know maybe Payne wanted to leave for years but as an honorable captain he did not want to abandon a sinking ship. With new owners the ship seems fixed so he can move on with a clean conscience. Or maybe he just has some hot side action on the DL in Toronto and wanted to move closer ...
I'd like to throw another name in the hat for Kasper's job... Bob Gansler. Get that guy out of retirement. I know he's like 70, but he looks like he's 50 and his mind is sharp as any other soccer personality in America. I always thought that Ben could benefit from a grandfather figure who can really teach him the nuts and bolts of coaching. Bob has a supreme knowledge of anything that is soccer in North America. He knows the national programs inside and out. The college game. MLS. Youth clubs. Youth academies. Women's soccer. Refereeing. You name it, he knows it and he's still involved today. I remember an interview with him years ago when he was in KC where he showed a surprising aptitude for business and dollars and cents too He'd just be an all around asset
You mean in the first 3 games? Because after that the season went very well for a while, with DC in first place in June. And scoring a lot of goals.
Yeah, OK. If Kevin had proven himself a straight-shooter the past few years, I might give him the benefit of the doubt here but I'm just not buying this version of events.
Couple questions. Since it's clear based on the number of sources that Payne is coming to Toronto. 1. Does he know how to build a stable organization and a consistently good (or at least decent) team? 2. Because this will probably determine how well he does here... is he stubborn enough to not take sh*t from the suits at MLSE?
Well, he started strong...OK, well, he started weak (1-6, was it, the first season?) but got strong. Then really weak. Then strong again. Then really weak...Now we're back at promising. So...uh....Mixed reviews. As for stubborn, most definitely. From my discussions with fans @ Toronto, MLSE is largely an absentee or indifferent owners group, though, isn't it?
Payne's been here so long that it's easy to cherry pick examples of absolute brilliance and total failure. Overall he's not going to be the one building the team. You'll have to hope he surrounds himself with a good technical director and coach. He's also not going to stand up to the suits. He is a suit. He'll do the best job he can within the confines of being a suit. His best quality is his loyalty. Loyalty to the fans first. He won't ignore fans. He understands that fans pay the bills. He's also got loyalty to the people he hires. He's not going to pull the trigger on coaches and hire a new one every 6 months. He likes stability. He also encourages stability in player acquisitions. He won't be signing 38 year old big name players just for the show. He's also very committed to the club's role in the community. He'll pull his sleeves up and get involved in charity events and community outreach. In the end 17 years of experience running an MLS club is nothing to sneeze at. He knows how this league works. He's had like 7 different bosses here in DC and he's survived them all.
DCU needs to look for someone who will improve club services, attendance, and sponsorship revenue. If Zack doesn't get the job, he's history. I'd be looking towards Seattle, Portland, KC, and Salt Lake for the new CEO.
He won't think twice about misleading fans under the guise of "protecting" others. I frankly wouldn't trust a word out of his mouth. Toronto fans would be well served to view as KPs original sin his saying this was 100% his decision. It's very clear the new management is not pleased with the state of the business side of the team. They said as much. He's had 17 years to deliver a stadium. True, we can cherry pick good and bad, but when it comes to his primary responsibilities, let's just say I for one think the ownership group made the right decision to let him go. Perhaps he'll bring Kasper with him to Toronto.
I think his loyalty to the fans first went out the window once he thought he knew more about soccer than Bruce Arena. Which was sometime around 2001.
For the record, Goff's full article today states that multiple sources report to him that it was NOT 100% Payne's idea. Shocker. Anyone who has caught a glimpse of his ego the last 17 years would have known that probably wasn't true. So he didn't just up and quit, and it wasn't just about money, by more credible accounts than our own.
Wow, Goff actually reported something that painted Payne in a not so great light? That's proof enough for me that Payne got fired and didn't resign
It's not like Goff is a serious journalist. Yea he scoops stuff sometimes, but that doesn't mean he's always right.
Okay, one- he didn't say this, he's repeating what other anonymous people in the club told him. It wasn't a blogger opinion, it was information from sources printed in the newspaper. While I have serious problems with either, the actual paper always carries more credibility and different standards than blog posts. Unless you mean he's not a serious journalist because he makes things up? And two-- man, you are one stubborn dude. You might have some unconventional ideas or opinions at times, and that's fine. You just refuse to listen to contradictory reasonable, or dare I say even, factual information. If you want to go around talking like you know what happened when your version disagrees with basically all of the information available and given by people who know better than you or I, then go ahead. Just don't get upset when people start tuning you out. I didn't quote your earlier posts or address my post to you, but for whatever reasons you have you couldn't resist the opportunity to make another argument. It's tiresome for people and I don't blame them for ignoring you.
Are you responding to me? FWIW, I think Payne was fired Oh, wait, I see you're responding to someone on my ignore list. Never mind. I need to look for the "show ignored content" button more often. It's my understanding that Shamywhazzis comes to games at RFK from Richmond, but honetsly, I have no idea who he is (I know most of the Richmond crew by name) but his posts here are ridiculous.
Payne contributed for 17 years. But it was time for a change. Every organization needs new blood over time. Only question is that time period of change. The leadership was smart enough to communicate to Payne what was coming but courteous/professional enough to allow him to solicit for a new gig and to announce his resignation. We can all debate how direct and rough management should have done it but being courteous and publicly respectful is how it has to be done. How would you like to be the Payne replacement coming in and watching how he was treated on the way out? It makes you think twice about whether you want to become a part of it - despite all the trophies in the case. Do you see how the Chelsea FC circus operates? I wish Payne and Toronto FC well. I look forward to a positive change for DCU in his replacement. We still need our damn SSS.
I say Payne contributed for about 5 years, then said "hey, check me out, I ran a team that won 3 MLS Cups and the InterAmerican cup in four years. I am awesome! Stadium? Of course I'll get one built. I can work magic! And I know more about soccer than Bruce Arena and Thomas Rongen combined." FWIW kudos to the new ownership group for letting him save face and pretend he resigned - that's what good companies do when upper management gets fired. But can we all agree that Payne has been mailing it in since roughly 2001/2002 (granted, he was at AEG and DCU during that time, but said he could handle both jobs)? And as I posted elsewhere, he should have been canned when the Poplar Point deal fell through. BTW, does anyone want to buy my vintage "We Win Trophies" shirt?
PS - I love the new ignore list, where you don't even see the post someone quotes. But it does make threads kind of confusing sometimes
Mailing it in? No. If you asked me if we could agree that he failed, or at least did very poorly, at several very important tasks that were his, I'd go along with that. But mailing it in, no, can't agree with that. Because he wasn't a fraternity brother of Adrian Fenty? I wear it inside-out when I'm doing grubby house tasks which might ruin a shirt I cared more about.
I think it's time to bring in someone from outside of the organization. The DCU front office is due for a shakeup.