Under Ggg's system, Trapp and Artur tended to stay back and the offense came from the backs and supposedly wingers. We're not sure what CB9K plans to do yet as far as attacking from midfield but we shouldn't jump the gun after one game. RBNY used a high press that can be broken with quick passing. We did this a few times but our best players against the press were Pipa and Trapp even though they made mistakes. A new system will take a few months to implement so I'm giving us some adjustment time.
I know we are waiting for summer but it past me me we can’t find something sooner and Hansen is injured leaving us few options.
Well we need enough time to actually find someone good. Itll be easier to do come summer. Theres no point in just bringing in someone to compete for the winger spot...if they arent a solid, safe bet to be better than Meram and Santos. In that case....Hansen and Opoku deserve more time to prove whether they can be a solution.
Meram was so bad last time out I want to see someone else. Maybe it's time to upgrade to Jacob Thomas or Matt Kmosko.
That is an odd (silly) take in my view. I reached the opposite conclusion. 1. The NFL has a hard salary cap. The amount of $ the Haslam's can spend on the Browns is limited and fixed. 2. The Haslam's have more than enough cash left over to pay a couple mil for a soccer player or two. They are not Mike Brown or Ralph Wilson. 3. I think the move signals they are going big. I would expect the same here.
Exactly. The goal is not to find someone better than Meram ASAP. The goal is to find someone who can be a worthy centerpiece for years to come. We need time to find that player. It will be easier in the summer when more players are available. And the coaching staff will have had time to evaluate Meram, Santos, Hansen, Robinho, & Opoku. And Pipa (is this the last year or not?). I believe we have enough funny money to buy down Zardes, Mensah, and Meram. And one of the DPs (Santos or Valenzuela). I still maintain we go big this summer.
I would think that if the team let it be known they had money to spend, agents would be knocking down the door. Either that is happening and Bez hasn’t found what he is looking for, or the money isn’t there right now.
Or it's not a priority. We're still hearing stories about how stripped down the organization was under Queso Boy. They need to get basic things in order first. In the meantime, Meram's play is well below par. We need to use the tools we have for a few months.
Bez stated clearly that there would be no major roster moves in the near term. The club will be more attractive to a major DP signing after the new investor/operators and FO get things organized and stabilized after 5 years of decline under precou*t. The great thing is that now we have investor/operators who appear to be willing to open up their wallets for a big signing. Finding another GBS or Higuain is not an easy task. Landing a proven, world class player who wants to live and play in C-Bus is a major challenge. I have faith that Haslam/Edwards/Bezbatchenko will reward us with a major summer signing.
All true but I don’t think you have to wait to identify a world class player which means we won’t get one. Might get a DP and a good player but not world class.
Some are on this forum some are folks who are Crew fans that don't post here. Basically, staff was whittled down to near nothing.
I have heard this as well, from people who are in a position to know. I'm told that when Bez first got a look at the organization he was, literally, stunned at what he found. Not only that staffing was bare bones but that it had been that way for a while. No management or control systems in place, no internal auditing, pathetic IT systems, no professional oversight, little supervision, no accountability. Thats what that legion of Browns employees - I have heard it could be as many as 30 or more - are doing down here every day. They're not just filling roles of morons who scooted to Austin; they were mostly weak, ineffective sales types who it made no sense to move. That they did is indicative of LaughLame's weakness and obliviousness. Rather, these people have been - still are - performing functions that the team never had before in terms of financial controls, technology, maintenance, security, hospitality, planning, team support, a myriad of roles which any modern franchise in any sport knows are critical but which PSV didn't think were necessary. An old friend of mine with a law enforcement background was walking through the stadium a week ago and ran into the Cleveland Browns head of security, and old professional acquaintance. He took him up to what he called "the owners box" and they munched on brats while the guy described how he was brought in, along with much of his key staff, in a panic when Bez realized there was literally no planning, no oversight, no contingency plans or programs, no protocols, no training, nothing. Never has been. He was appalled. (And anyone who was there noticed the difference. Security was efficient, friendly, courteous and non obtrusive. Not just that quick glide through the gates but all over. It was like night and day.) @puttputtfc is entirely correct. If anything, he's understating it. The Columbus Crew was run by the seat of LaughLame's pants, like a church bake sale. And it didn't happen a year ago. It's always been this way. Even Dee Haslam has been quoted as thanking the boatload of Browns employees who she said drive down to Columbus every day. Bezbatchenko's priority has to be assembling an organization, establishing systems, hiring a lot of key people, etc. His focus really can't be much of anyplace else at the moment.
Nothing in Bill’s post is really all that surprising. We all experienced the results of being fans of a poorly run organization. We all knew that the tanking of our club was willful. Maybe not at first but we all felt that things were amiss. We knew after the press conference that we weren’t imagining things. The confirmation of the depth these people went to destroy our team is appalling. And yet we knew that too. Nice to know we have professionals in place in Bez and the experience of the Browns employees to lean on while the business is being rebuilt.
I'll admit--I'm still not completely sure if it was malice or simple incompetence. Hanlon's Razor may apply here.
You forgot cheapness, and i think its a combination. They didnt have a clue, they didn't care anyway and they weren't willing to spend the money to figure it out.
I'd subscribe to that theory: Precourt's Stooges ran the Crew with Incompetence, Malice and Cheapness. No money was spent, my "inside man" told me many times how the Crew was the cheapest run MLS team, and people that counted knew it and wanted change. Some of the moves they made (specially ones that came to light while down in Texas) just show how inept this organization was. Other actions taken by Precourt/Greeley (secret Austin Clause, not letting fans into a sold out game, etc. etc.) there is no other possibility except they where trying to sabotage the team to justify the desire to move. IMHO they hit the Trifecta. And if they weren't so bad at owning a team, I have no doubt, our beloved Crew would be playing in that Weird city right now.
Walked right through the metal detectors at Gate 2, didn’t have to empty pockets, security very friendly. My wife set the metal doctor off, as she had major back surgery a few years ago (with metal rods placed in her back), she told them, no problem. This compared to last year when I got yelled at for leaving a chap stick in my pocket.
The last few years the line at the tent gate is backed up to the parking lot. This year no line,no wait,no one telling you to empty your pockets and raise your arms!
My company was an IT reseller for the Crew and apparently, they don't like to pay their bills....I guess that is one way of lowering costs!