Funny how this is seen as a problem... ...but this is seen as an advantage. The former is what drove the latter.
I know right? ...hence why I said on a different thread "It's a strange time to be a Rapids fan" . Very strange times indeed
I said before the Hudson firing that KSE had to bite the bullet, get rid of him, and allow Smith to do a coaching search without being burdened with the prior contracts of Hudson and Pablo. And yes Eric, nobody here is stupid, we all knew it would be expensive, but if KSE wants to get this team out of the toilet bowl its swirling down in they need to take that cost hit. Getting rid of Hudson was still the right move, but if Smith is being handcuffed as this article suggests, just lest Casey have the season and look again in the offseason. It sucks, but its better than another cheap hire right now.
I carry a subscription, the rest of the article is mainly background info on how we got there and Wolf's background. You aren't missing much there. (Note: I am not saying this to have people avoid purchasing a subscription. I find it useful as the teams I follow are not all in Colorado. I was pissy about an Oregon Duck article someone wrote a few months ago (hack-job with no backup), but other than that the quality has been decent.)
I've got access via the app for some period of time. Nothing missing, the rest of the article is just a summary of Pablo and Hudson and Casey...
If KSE spent a lot on a coach, they would have more to show on the expense side - maybe a bigger loss to apply to other business functions? Just sayin'
It was the Seattle Athletic writer that took a cheap shot at the Rapids fans at our first road game, then failed the apology. They're going to have to wait a while to get any money from me.
I forgot about that one. So, there are two things. 3 may get me to drop. The Oregon one was right when Oregon was going to the Sweet 16 (didn't see UW there for some reason). The author did it to get clicks based on a cinderella team. It was worse than the Rapids cheap shot since it was an article.
The money situation is unfortunate. It means that if Casey manages to improve the team and get a few victories the rest of the season, the Rapids will offer him the permanent job. And then we'll be right back where we started.
Agree but did he play in MLS long enough to know MLS? Limited (or no) experience with the unique aspects of our league seems to have been the downfall of many foreign coaches.
If true, this would suck (obviously). And also does not make a lot of sense (something KSE is particularly well known for). Long accused of being cheap and entirely ignoring the Rapids, KSE has opened up the pocket books a bit more in recent years to change that narrative. Last year we were as high as 10th in salary spending (I think?). And as we have all heard that we are lining ourselves up for 2 new DP’s in the upcoming windows. At such a critical point in time, with such a critical hire, why in the hell would you draw THIS line in the sand and cut THIS corner? It’s not like we’re talking about Nick Saban at Alabama or Tata Martino at Atlanta type money. My guess is this coach would be somewhere in the high $100k’s AT MOST, which means they’re probably pinching pennies over what would amount to be a relatively small number in the overall operating cost of the club. As these past several seasons have taught us, the right (or wrong) coach can be of critical importance. Why go cheap with this? Makes zero sense. **Rant Over**
Both accurate, but I'm willing to put some faith in a coach who reportedly loved his time here and has experience coaching in the Spanish national team youth system, being an assistant at Real Madrid, as well as having club management experience at Middlesbrough and Forest. Sometimes we also overplay the MLS effect. For somebody who's never been to the U.S. and dealt with it its a big change, but ti doesn't take that much to adapt to it if you're a decent coach. Karanka would come in knowing the challenges on the field (travel, schedules, changing climates, etc.) that haven't changed since he was here. Certainly the league's off-field rules have evolved but in the setup Smith and the FO wants to run, that falls as much under Smith's purview as the coach's.
But does he check all the boxes for Pádraig Smith? On a serious note, he is available and apparently eager to get back to managing. And long time Rapids' fan have fond memories of him. https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/aitor-karanka-breaks-silence-nottingham-16156417 Don't see how the Rapids could afford him if it's true that they can't afford Josh Wolff.
I don’t put a lot of stock in stories with anonymous sources. We have no idea whose giving this information, and what their agenda is. Could be someone from Wolff’s camp saying this because he found out he’s not going to get the job. Or because he’s looking for a raise at his current job. It could be true, and could be false. But without a name to the source, I won’t really give it too much thought.
Karanka would get my attention. He's the first realistic prospect I've heard who might be able to build something here - IF he gets a free hand to do so and has salary cap room to make changes. The big question: how would Kamara and Karanka get along? We can't afford to lose Kamara.
Kamara is not a long term Rapids player (more than a few years at best). If we can get a really good coach, that would be my preference. I really like Kamara, but his goodness is outweighed by good coach goodness. From what I have seen, Kamara has been solid in the Rapids locker room and would be OK.
Is the perception that they both have big egos and thus wouldn't tolerate each other? It seems that Kamara has been very positive on and off the pitch. I would think regardless of the new coach he and Kamara would get along fine. I too would like to see what he would do here. But I just don't get a sense of what it would take to lure him to Commerce City. I don't mean just money either. Would he work well with Pádraig?
I know Kamara isn't long term. Right now, though, the Rapids don't need another gaping hole on the pitch. They need Kamara for at least another season, and preferably two. I don't think he's a problem at all. My question is with Karanka as a coach. I don't have a clue how he would do with the mix of players in Colorado. He has plenty of smarts, and would be a huge step up from the Hudson mess. He gets the MLS culture. He'd need to focus on the post-Howard era, shoring up the back line, and improving ball handling and possession in the midfield. That's a tall order. He also would need to move some of Hudson's players off the roster. I think Padraig would have to be all in with any new coach. If the new coach succeeds, Padraig likely keeps his job. If the new coach fails, Padraig's toast. He burned through a lot of his nine lives with the Hudson debacle.
Every one of Hudson's notable players can be removed after this season except Danny Wilson (who has one more guaranteed year) I believe. Agree on this 100%. And he has said as much in recent interviews as well.
So I seem to hearing crickets on the coaching search front. Other than the Athletic piece suggesting the Rapids had contacted Wolff there haven't been any new rumors or info. I have indirectly stated that it might be best in the long term interest(s) of the Rapids to have someone in place sooner than later. The reason being that the Rapids can potentially start making moves in June/July. They are scouting in Uruguay and Argentina. They have some targets in mind - apparently. So having a coach in place would make it more likely that there is harmony between the coach and the acquisitions. Knowing what formation the new guy favors is going to help in getting the right players. As been stated more than once on this and other threads, there are going to be a lot of players off the books come December, and there will be lot of personnel decisions to make. Some of those could come soon. Might it be possible to transfer out some of the internationals that aren't playing currently and aren't in future plans. And of course there is the possibility that they could bring in a DP.
I would love to have a coach out of Argentina or Uruguay. Lot of soccer talent there, and a coach from there could definitely bring in a lot of interest for young talent. The only catch would be whether they are Spanish speaking only...See Atlanta's troubles with their transition this year with a Spanish speaking only coach to Frank De Boer.
We also need to keep in mind what kind of "system" the Rapids FO is running. Smith is ultimately responsible for the roster, not the coach. Now the coach will have a large say in things but think of it more like baseball where the GM picks the roster and the manager figures out how to use the pieces. If anyone has read Soccernomics it talks about Olympique Marseilles using this system quite successfully so its not like the Rapids are trying to re-invent the wheel. I'm just not sure thy have the capability of making their wheel round enough to be successful. So in the end while having a coach for August or December would be ideal not having them is likely not going to stop Smith from making the moves he thinks need to be made.