The Official Tom Fox thread

An EPL Exec... Hmm, soon there will only be photo's of US citizen players at Avaya and nary a Yank to be found on the roster...

(comment based on complaints read over the years about how few Brits actually play in the EPL)

 

Good, Kaval was always going to ditch us for A's glory (can't blame him either). Wonder if he can hire and fire playing staff.

I'm sure it will get quite the attention, but I think he was set up for failure with Villa, and shouldn't be an indication of future performance. It was an absolute basket case scenario outside of his hands, in my very humble opinion.

 

He doesn't sound very British. The article makes it sound like he's an American.

 

He is American, I think, which explains why there are articles written in England implying he didn't know what he was doing. They like to dislike American managers at their clubs, because, after all, we aren't a "footballing nation", so how could we possibly know what we're doing?

 

Kaval brought a lot of professionalism to the organization when he joined, it was a step up and you could see that in the difference in 2011 versus the prior 2-3 years (advertisers, gameday experience etc.). And completing the Avaya stadium project was a great accomplishment. But at the end of day, Kaval was for sure always a baseball guy and not a soccer guy. By the time Avaya opened in 2015, the Quakes were just catching up with the rest of MLS on facilities front-- like RSL, PHI and COR. But MLS was already moving ahead, based on stadiums at ORL, ATL, TOR stadiums and the rosters they are putting together (OK, ORL still lagging on the roster front).

But Doyle was a disaster, and I am unsure if it was the owners tendency to keep on longtime members of the organization or if it was because Kaval didn't know better being a baseball guy, . We lucked into 2012 because of good 2010 draft picks, a few good signings, and the Wondo-Weaver miracle trade. But personnel-wise the Quakes were in now way prepared for what MLS has become. Aside from the LA and Seattle machines continuing to roll on, look at NYCFC and ATL. They are bringing in high quality signings from South America or Europe at peak of their careers, and Doyle would have still been scouting the Gold Cup or signing chronically injured players off the scrap heap like Innocent or Andreas Gorlitz.

So my hope is Fox demands more from the technical and coaching staff, and enables them financially to deliver it. If the results improve, the Quakes can sell out Avaya. But if they really want to be relevant in the Bay Area, they need to bring in talented, big names that win games and bring attention-- essentially betting on local TV ratings and MLS growth instead of wringing the cashflow out of Avaya. I would love to see it, but I would have to see it to believe it.

 

Good post. You should post more often .

BTW can the rest of the league just stop advancing for a while so we can catch up?

 

Birmingham Mail:
Tom Fox didn't know his Arsenal from his Aston Villa: Where it all went wrong

What works for a Champions League regular averaging 60,000 fans per home game and with a style of football easy on the eye (if not quite trophy winning), does not necessarily work for a fallen giant very much down on their luck.

 

Every fans dream! Another no name executive finance guy! Looking forward to what will happen in terms of postseason trophies.....

2013

2014

2015

2016

....................

 

...what? MLS already has a pretty relaxed policy with regard to the number of international players a team can field in conjunction with players who have received permanent residency status counting as domestic (in case you haven't noticed, few of the current starting players for San Jose are American citizens). A team president for the Earthquakes isn't going to change the way the league handles this.

And secondly, who cares? MLS doesn't exist as a league solely for American players.

 

I previously expressed the same sentiment and received blowback. So, evidently, there are Quakes fans on this board who care about indigenous professional opportunities for American-born players. There is a perspective that MLS has migrated from its purported mission to serve as a breeding ground for the USMNT to become more competitive in the World Cup. It's worth at least understanding that view, even if you disagree with it, as apparently both you and I do.

 

Your last paragraph speaks volumes Blackball. We live in perhaps the richest region on Earth with nearly 9 million folks...START ACTING AND OPERATING LIKE A BIG MARKET TEAM (because, well, you are one..)

 

I'm fine as long as Fox stays out of Fioranelli's way on the soccer side. I'm also curious to know if Jesse had any say or recommendation in the hiring.

 

I can live with the new hire as long as he stays out of Jesse's way. But I will still be disappointed if the new president does not make an effort to understand and adapt to our special Club culture, as Jesse has done.

 

Don't count on it.

Tom Fox's disastrous Aston Villa reign will be remembered for his lack of football knowledge

Former Aston Villa chief sees salary package more than double in same season club is relegated from Premier League to Championship

Aston Villa chief executive Tom Fox says manager Paul Lambert has the full support of the club and remains important to owner Randy Lerner.
Villa have taken only 12 points from their last 18 Premier League games, but Fox told BBC Sport sacking Lambert mid-season would be like "flipping a coin".
"When things aren't going well, fans bay for that type of blood," Fox said.
"That's not the way that I or the owner are going to make a decision. It's a false narrative."
(Fires coach 2 weeks later)

This is a disastrous appointment. He oversaw the decimation of one of the greatest clubs in football history, which ended up in them arriving in the English Championship with a squad devoid of leaders or talent.

 

Dave Kaval had zero football knowledge when he was hired, but he was a quick study. I'm not talking tactics, I'm talking the very specific culture of this Club.

Likewise, my own technical knowledge of the Beautiful Game is relatively lacking compared to many on BigSoccer but I'm steeped in the Quakes' Club culture, which is much different from the Timbers' culture, for example. And I was a late-comer, myself.

So let's give the guy a chance.

 

He can have lunch with Crazy George and sit with the Ultras if he wants, I want a president who is going to make smart moves for the football club. Kaval may have had no knowledge of this, but been a quick study. What Kaval didn't have was a history of failure in a similar position. Fox does. It was bloody painful watching Aston Villa's decline, and I'm not even a fan of that club.

 

It's Krazy with a K. And the Ultras don't sit.

 

Doesn

 

Covfefe?

 

Portland's mayor has degrees from Stanford, Columbia, and Harvard.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Wheeler

Yet, he manifestly cannot perform the most basic function expected of him -- defending the Constitution. Color me unimpressed by designer degrees.