Fire Warzycha, 2013 Edition (Vol. 1)

Oh, my!! First of all, I don't know what a KHT is, but I doubt I'm worthy. Secondly, I just felt like I was bouncing around in all these different threads hearing the same things in the thread NUFC Fan was kind enough to set up for us.

 

Am I the only one thinking MM wasn't allowed to fire RW since the Hunts knew there would be a sale. Seems they have been in talks for a few months and as our season got worse and the talks became more serious, he had no choice but to show confidence in RW.

 

That's how I'm reading it now too. It was no less frustrating as a fan, and if it is truly the case, I don't envy his position. But still frustrating from the fan's standpoint.

 

All I'm sure of is that any hope of replacing RW before the end of the season just went up in smoke.

On the other hand, the change to PSV Columbus almost certainly will mean a new coach in 2014.

 

Right. It's almost part of buying a team that you fire the coaching staff and FO. I'm no longer worried about RW getting an extension. Rather, I'm more worried that PSV doesn't understand the need to hire GBS and his connections with the club. What seemed natural a month ago seems unlikely now.

 

What is the protocol for the SGs to meet owners? I would hope that that discourse will happen between now and the end of the season.

 

I believe he's going to 4th St. and Hendoc's next Friday for just that.

 

Everybody tweet @APrecourt with links to Schelotto highlights. He needs to know how massive this guy is.

 

This! Especially those links that show him taking a corner in front of Nordeckey with the "Guillermo, Guillermo" chant going loud and proud

 

On the other hand, I think the relentless and vocal desire of the fans to put Schelotto in that job makes it more likely that hiring him would be more public relations driven than soccer driven. I hope that PSV takes a long look at some names that might've seemed entirely out of reach two days ago.

 

Do you think HSG knew/know anything more about GBS? I doubt it. Personally I don't think the chance of getting Guille has changed at all and depending on how much money they are willing to throw at the club the odds may have went up. I doubt Clark was going around looking at all things GBS on google and Precourt may get a dramatic earfull if he is willing to meet with fans. If McCullers and Bliss have to warn him before he meets with fans that he's going to hear a ton about firing Robert and hiring Guille then he will probably know more about the man than Clark did when he played for his team.

 

Who do you have in mind? I think GBS has proven he can coach so he would be a great get for the Crew.

 

Oh, boo.

 

Schelotto would be great and right now would be my first choice but as long as Robert is gone I would take any of Wynalda, Kevin Kalish, or Richie Williams. I think any of them could all do well in MLS. It's pretty depressing that I have pretty much no hope for the rest of the season so I kind or want to get it over with so we can get to the offseason changes. I'm looking forward to next year though.

 

He might be good, he also might be frustrated. MLS is a different world than Argentina. For instance, Guille has had general success in his first 2 seasons with Lanus because he was able to take a team that had been together for awhile and get the board to add pieces, and capitalize on his connections and knowledge there. Lanus just added Santiago Silva from Boca for a cool $1.3 million, from the last reports I saw. Guille truly has the entire football structure in that country eating out of the palm of his hand. New ownership or not, player acquisition and retention is not what it is in MLS. And MLS players are simply not as good when they come into the team as Argentine players are. That requires a ton of patience. Guillermo's many things, but he's not exactly patient. I think he would do well, but I think he can do much more in Argentina. I still believe that Boca is going to offer him an insane amount of money in the not too distant future. That's still a much better and more challenging job than anything in the US if your aim is to be the best and to be challenged.

Whether it's Guillermo or whoever, my goal would be to bring someone here who can draw and develop top American talent. Throughout the Gold Cup, I kept thinking to myself that none of the players on that roster would even consider coming to play for this current coaching staff or organization. That's a huge deal. Disregard, if you want to, Grant Wahl's piece from earlier in this season where he talked about the lack of interest that MLS players had in going to Columbus. There were actually people who blamed that on the perception of Columbus having a "lack of night life" or big city accoutrements, when what it was really about was the professional perception of the staff and the organization. Maybe Mr. Precourt comes in and starts offering big contracts to draw big names, but he still needs to rid the Crew of this aura of stagnation, and there's still the salary cap to hinder him. In both of those regards, the matter of who the coach is is no small one. Jason Kreis, Sigi Schmid, Dom Kinnear, even Caleb Porter draw the players who have national team aspirations, and they create winning programs despite the restrictions of single entity and salary cap. Guillermo may very well be the type of coach who can do all of these things. I think that Steve Nicol is the kind of coach who can do those things. I think Frank Yallop could be a possibility. I think Wynalda has big upside (could draw talent/has shown he can identify and develop potential), and big downside (personal issues with MLS/US Soccer establishment/can come off as a jerk). Depending on what happens with Egypt (will they make World Cup 2014? will they even have a team?), perhaps Bob Bradley would be available and willing to return. Look at someone like Richie Williams, Tab Ramos, or Steve Ralston, even. And I'd also look in Europe, particularly Germany, for coaches who have better senses for how to integrate a youth development program and a senior level team, because I don't see that priority changing with the new ownership. At least, it shouldn't.

I guess what I'm getting at is that when Robert Warzycha was hired, it was done so with very little perceptible consideration for what the role of manager meant for the long-term success of the team and what the role of a MLS team could be in Columbus. Just going with the "obvious" choice because the fans would be happy and it's marketable would be a mistake. I like that he says he's going to take time. Take time, find the best manager. If it's Schelotto, great. But it's not as obvious as a Nordecke chant makes it out to be.

 

I will say the reason I think GBS would very much be the guy you want is because he was constantly teaching on the field. That's one of the of the main differences I see between he and Pipa; Pipa gets frustrated more easily and teaches less. Now that might be because GBS has Sigi and Pipa has Robert but it is a significant difference.

Even when things went wrong I loved watching GBS he'd walk over to the player and diagram what he intended on his hand. During plays he was the closest equivalent I've ever seen to a point guard in soccer. He would point where he wanted a ball expect it to be there and already be directing the next run to get the ball off his foot. You saw players learn and get more comfortable with what he wanted over time and not need his direction as often; that's when we were at our best.

 

I've quoted both of these excellent posts, and highlighted Ralston, because he ties the two posts together, IMO. First of all, I have always been a big fan of Ralston. Dependable, durable, a class act. Gaven reminds me an awful lot of Ralston. Anyway, Ralston was able to learn from the very best in El Pibe during his formative years. I'm sure he would have been a top pro wherever he got his start, but I'm convinced Pibe helped ratchet up Ralston's development immeasurably. I think Ralston has what it takes to be a top manager in this league.

The other guy I've always liked and mention from time to time is Robin Fraser. I don't hold his relative lack of success at Chivas against him because of their dumpster-fire nature. He'll never probably orchestrate an offensive powerhouse if he gets a second chance, but one thing is sure and that is he will get you organized and you'll be hard to beat. I could see him and Dan Calichman as the core of a decent staff. You'd need another guy to handle the attacking side of things, but I could see them being successful in this league.

 

I can see Fraser as an excellent assistant coach, much like RW was. I wouldn't want to experiment with him here as the manager though.

 

I haven't seen this posted elsewhere today and it's worth noting:

Who knew that Hesmer was so disgusted with the organization? And if he feels this way, isn't it likely that more than a few of his former teammates feel the same way:

“The Crew, unfortunately since 2008, hasn’t placed a lot of emphasis on winning,” he said. “They haven’t done all the little things that other teams have done to really, truly say that we want to win no matter what. “Whether that’s a training facility or flight schedules or meals or spending money on players or scouting or whatever it is, they haven’t kept pace in that regard, and I think that frustrates fans. If you really want to grow a fan base … they don’t want to be involved with somebody who is settling with mediocre.”

Sounds like he thinks the whole thing needs a housecleaning.

 

No it sounds like he is talking like the Players Union rep.

 

No, it's more that that.

 

Well we don't have to worry about the Concacaf Champion's League anymore. Those were the biggest problems with flights. The team has outgrown Obetz but aren't going anywhere without some tax money to relocate. That doesn't look likely anytime soon. Aren't per diems stipulated in the CBA?

If he's just saying Bob is a bad coach, he'd get general agreement here.

 

It's an un-artfully formed sentence. I read it that way the first time as well, and wondered the same thing. But he's not complaining about the players getting enough "spending money", he's complaining about them not "spending money on players".

 

Bill, do you have a link to this? I'd like to read more, if there is more, but I just went on a twitter/fb sabbatical starting today.

It also sounds eerily familar to my tagline...

 

Ah, that clarifies it. Maybe the Crew stay at Motel 6 on the road. I thought teams generally spent to the cap each year since there isn't a credit for being under the cap (excuse me, "salary budget").

Hesmer was the union rep as a player so maybe he has insider info but the MLSPA releases salary figures for each player each season. Is there some benefit that other teams provide that the Crew don't?