IT'S A CREWSMAS MIRACLE, HANGTHADJ: Columbus Crew vs The Four Seasons Energy Drink | 3/2/19 4:30 PM

Why would Artur and Mensah leave? Also has there been any indication that Higuain will retire?

 

I some what agree but I think we are missing a major point about the team in the field.

Gregg was announced as the National Team coach on Dec 2nd. He would have been in negotiations with the Federation since middle of November at the latest. We had zero people on the playing side preparing for next year. It’s pretty challenging to bring in new players when you don’t even know if/where the team is playing. The coach is gone, the technical director is gone, vast majority of assistant coaches are gone, the president is gone, the owner is what he is.

We start to hire some of those pieces back in January. The new coach regardless of who it is will need some time evaluate his current squad. Then are we expecting the team to scout, negotiate and sign a bunch of new players in 6 weeks with zero people working on that for the last 6 months. Someone had to come in and figure out the where the team is with the salary cap, GAM, TAM and start to figure out a strategy for player recruitment. Oh and the new coach isn’t the Technical Director so he is focused on what he has while the TD is leading the recruitment efforts.

If the team doesn’t take time to put the systems in place before just spending you end up like TFC for the first 7 years. It’s going to take time and I know many people won’t be willing to accept that but throwing money into the wind rarely results in the hopes outcomes.

 

Higuain talked about leaving in 2017. At the time we didn't know about Austin, but I bet he did. So, he ended up staying for 2018. And now he's staying for 2019. His contract is up at the end of the year. If that isn't the perfect time to move-on and get younger in a key position, then I don't know when is. If he wants to stay, and take a much lower salary and a seat on the bench behind new DP #10, I'd be fine with that, not sure he would though.

I also believe Mensah's contract is up after 2019? He's been much better, but still not worth the salary he's on. He needs to take a paycut if he wants to stay. Will he? And Artur has had interest from Europe previously. If he plays well this year, I could see us selling him for a decent little transfer fee.

 

There's not much to say about the game itself except that the Crew, with every advantage of time and place, booted away a golden chance to start the season with 3 points and Caleb Porter needs to figure it out.

I will only add that Santos is a disgrace and if it were my team I would have cut his ass in the locker room after the game, if for no other reason than to make the point that this team will not tolerate cowardly, incompetent and unprofessional players. Bye bye.

However, I would like to comment on the stadium itself which, I'm sorry that Donny G doesn't like it but is still a wonderful place to watch a soccer game. A few more restrooms would be nice but otherwise it's fine by me.

Speaking of which, they had been scrubbed to the point of immaculate, the stalls had obviously been repainted or recoated and repaired and looked great. Which is an insane thing to have to notice.

Ditto the seating. They had been cleaned and polished, somehow, and the center circle seats had - it appeared - been outfitted with new cupholders.

Lots of little things like that but the thing that made the biggest impact was the security. There were 24 walkthroughs -instead of 4 - and very occasional hand wanding, apparently random, very professionally done and with politeness we've never seen.

Afterwards, we discovered at least one big reason how this came about: the head of Cleveland Borwns stadium security and his people were running the show.

Finally, as to traffic flow,particularly egress, look: traffic there has been and always will be terrible. There's just nothing that can be done. The lack of decent access was baked into the site selection and short of building a $50 million solution, it is what it is.

I do question people who are saying there wasn't enough personnel directing flow; I exited north to Hudson and I saw 30 people with wands, at least, doing their level best to keep itmoving.

Bottom line, you can't move 18,000 people out of there via the available routes in a hurry. If you want to race out and get in your car and then sit there for 20 minutes not moving, fine. But that is always what is going to happen.

Overall, except for an extremely disappointing showing on the field, it was a great great beginning.

 

I think it's obvious that a lot of people - not you, specifically, just in general - don't seem to grasp that this is not the team Porter wants.

There may not be - literally - four guys out there he figures on moving forward with. At the moment though he and Bez have no choice. You play the guys you've got.

There will be a USL team in the furture; Bez pioneered that approach in Toronto, practically invented it, and all the guys saying "Boy, Bez ought to do this" are just being obtuse. It's a priority, it will get done.

However, let's be serious: that sort of thing starts to pay dividends three or four years down the road. To look at our current situation and say "Boy if we had a USL setup that would solve some problems" is simply missing the point. If a minor league operation suddenly dropped from the sky tomorrow, fully formed,staffed and rostered, it would still be 2022 before it bore any fruit.

Beyond that, there will almost certainly - definitely - be a massive roster turnover in the next 18 months. Some guys are aging out, others just aren't good enough, and a few more are or may be headed overseas.

The guess here is that before long you aren't going to recognize this team, but right now it is what it is. I'm willing to bet that Porter isn't much happier about it than we are.

Like I said, this isn't his team. But it will be.

 

First....it was awesome to finally buy merch in the stadium (first time I have made a purchase since a jersey in 2014)....We went in early because I wanted to get in the store early....plus I wanted to wander around the stadium and enjoy seeing my old friend again. There was so much friendliness yesterday....It was awesome. The security at the gates was something I have never seen in the history of the stadium....including national team games. It was so efficient..it was amazing. Inside the merch shop, I noticed several people from the Browns org were coming and going in the back section. And wow there were actual paper towels in the restrooms, and goals at the kids field.

As for the game.....it looked like a first game of the season with a new coach. NYRB forced the game up Afful's and Pedro's side....Pedro is pure shit and thats all Ill say about him. Meram was his lazy version. I think we only took one shot on goal from out side of 5 yards, and that was Afful's good strike at the end of the first half.

Props to section 124 and 123 for knowing how to be realist fans in the stadium.

I can be patient with this team this year because it is transition year....we have a decent team....the strongest need is to replace shitty Pedro (grass eater) Santos.

It was awesome to be back and talking about the future, the new stadium possibilities, and all the other cool hopeful things Ohio fans do.

 

Mrs KG and I parked next to the NYRB supporters. Had a very nice chat with them until one of them lit up (Mrs KG's asthma doesn't handle cigarette smoke well).

Pregame brunch?? I did not hear about that....

 

That's where Mrs KG and I are. Row 9.

...or was that you sitting behind me? @MFRONE was....

 

One thing I’d like like to add about the staff was the guy with Down syndrome near my section giving high fives to everyone that passed by. I know it’s a small thing but it put a smile on my face every time I walked by.

 

Oh that sound...it's 🎶 to the 👂s#CLBvRBNY | #Crew96 pic.twitter.com/X5lL2ZqZHR

— The Crew (@ColumbusCrew) March 3, 2019

I think it was more of a sigh of relief that we scored.....I the video seems to show it that way.

 

This morning while dissecting the game, Markus mentioned that the Red Bulls players were a lot tougher than the Crew players. That we needed to get some new players.

Brutally honest.

Always humbling when your kid tells you that you should not use bad language. “Sorry, Markus, I am just really frustrated with [so-and-so, play, etc.].” I let him know that “fudge” was not a bad word, and that I said it instead of another word. But some more colorful words slipped out. My apologies to the fellow parents around us.

No Mookie?

Great seeing so many of you folks yesterday. Former posters. Current posters. @TKyle - I remember saying, “sorry that I do not stand with that many BS Crew folks.” Like somehow I would be a magnet. But then I realized that about 5-6 current, former, and exiled posters were within a five-fan radius. Actually, probably even more when I stop and think about it.

@DrunkandDisorderly - Tal adores your son. What a cutie.

An emotional day for sure. The contrast from 2018 Crewsmas versus 2019 Crewsmas. At one point last Crewsmas, I remember standing in the Nordecke next to the boards’ resident grump. We were sorrowfully lamenting that this could be our last Crewsmas. I could not contain the tears.

And then yesterday. When @HardHatMike mentioned machque’s passing on top of that truck at the tailgate. Well I will just say that I was glad I was wearing sunglasses.

In the stadium, what a different feel. I thought I would be shedding more tears, but too many were shed last season. Now we just get to be fans again.

Berhalter? That is neat.

So taking kids to a Crew match is not all puppies and rainbows. Especially small children. At five, Markus is finally at a great place for going to games. He looks forward to the tailgate. Yesterday he wanted to know where all the kids were since not many kids were around. I quickly told him that a lot of parents like to go to Crewsmas without their kids. No judgment.

For parents of really little kids, hold on a little longer because things start to get good. Markus loves being a fan. He started off yesterday playing FIFA 2018. At the tailgate, he just wanted to kick around the soccer ball for three plus hours, which I loved doing. He wore the free armband almost the whole game. He avidly watched the game. When my dad came back over to us at halftime (he stood with Geeg towards Nordecke’s center), dad asked Tim who scored. He had not seen. Tim did not know because he was getting a beer. I was out of earshot of this conversation so I did not supply the answer.

Markus did. He said, “22, grandpa. Gaston Sauro.”

When Tim recounted this story to me on the drive home, I was beaming.

I told Markus later on that chanting the last twenty minutes with him is just about the top Crew memory in my recent history. Swaying and singing “Wise Men Say” with him was pure joy.

Before the end of the game, Markus took off the armband. For the entire walk out of the stadium and to our vehicle, he held up the armband like a supporter holds up a scarf. I am not sure what came over him or how he got that idea, but he was very proud of himself. On our long walk, I noticed that anyone who noticed Markus could see what he was doing, and frankly, they could not stop smiling. I hope I never forget that sight.

These are special times, and we are fortunate to have them.

Yet, Tal is still tough. @Minnman got to see that firsthand. 4:30 games are not a parent’s friend when the little one does not get her nap. So she napped in the stands. My arms royally ache today. How you folks whom partake in imbibing copious amounts of alcohol do it is beyond me. My voice is hoarse from chanting. My legs hurt from all the movement. My arms ache from trading off on holding either my 50-pound child or my 40-pound child. Tim says I have arm muscles that I had never developed prior to kids, so I suppose all that holding has some positive effects.

Both kids were singing the Zardes chant this morning.

Yes. Agreed. I let the kids pick out a souvenir in the Crew shop after I reminded them that the shop had been closed all last season. You guys were right that the employees were going on an honor system for the season ticket discount.


@Hamburgler03 and @Draghignazzo. We need a date for tAAAilgate. An annual or semi-annual Bigsoccer Crew shindig is part of the whole “Crew were saved” storyline. We must produce.


One last thing, and I apologize for the long post. All of you know by now how I am a sentimentalist at heart. @Sirk is such a rockstar celebrity. I had no idea. What a class act. Very deserving, and I tip my hat to him.

 

I think "pregame brunch" refers to the party in the tent which was for club seat holders, suites and other higher-level seat holders.

 

I'm just going to say a few things. First of all, we had Crewsmas. One that many didn't expect to have. To be able to get out early to the tailgate and see Chelsey, Mike, Peter and other posters that I've known in one form or another for almost 20 years was awesome.

On the pitch, I'm with Bill. This is the first game for a new coach who inherited a team two months ago where there hasn't been active scouting in I don't don't know how long, with new team management and new owners. You can fix hanging doors in the bathrooms and wet, stained ceiling tiles in the Upper 90 Lounge easily (unless you're an asshole absentee owner) but making this your team as a coach will take some time. For those of you disappointed with Porter; do you really think this guy won at Akron and Portland by accident? I don't care that he only had one sub. We looked better after Robinho came in and we were a Santos stumble (well, another one) away from a game ending goal. Porter already said he's going to make sure the spine of the team is solid and the Mensah/Sauro pairing was really, really good. There are building blocks and I'm pretty sure that the staff already have watched the game 2-3 times as part of their next game preparations.

Rome wasn't built in a day. You just witnessed the first building block of our next MLS Cup. You just couldn't see it.

Now, on to New England where my vote, like always, is "lose by 2".

 

Hey. So I know you were on a seven-year sabbatical from Bigsoccer so let me just say that Hang is going to regurgitate his version of “there are five lights.” How can I foresee this inevitability? Because he has thrown it up about 500 ********ing times.

Let me save him the trouble. Who did Caleb Porter face up against in the 2015 MLS Cup? He got so lucky!

 

Oh give it a rest. Lets see how he does before we beatify the guy. How he did someplace else is not relevant any more

 

It's true. It's like the stock market where past success is not a guarantee of future success but there is a tendency for people like the Warren Buffets of the world to have better results than me. So it also goes in sports. I like our odds better with Porter than with Andrulis or Warzycha. And it even took the great Sigi, RIP, a couple of years to right the ship although his ship was more like one leaving any Cuban port for Florida while Porter is inheriting something that wouldn't have problems making that trek.

 

14 Hours of driving and I'm finally back home in -5F freaking Nebraska.

Thank you all for a great weekend.

 

We were both behind you

 

Frances got burned twice letting a guy waltz around him with ease and into the box. The overall pace working the ball up the pitch looked so slow. New York has a solid team even missing a few starters. Looking forward to seeing Robinho start against the New England Clam Sauce Fake Grass Chowders.

 

https://sirkbook.com/2019/03/03/a-crewsmas-story-2019/

You come back for one game, and look what happens. I think we sort of like you. Or at the very least, Sirk does.

 

Rule 1 that I didn’t follow:

Eat food when drinking

 

He was on my right. I'm still practicing how to say Tubingen

 

you forgot the umlaut...

 

Rule 2 (especially just for me):

Beer is ok
Shots are not

Still though, it was great seeing everyone.