Pastorino to Resign, Ellinger to follow?, Kreis new coach?

Re: Pastorino Resigns

Damn. Sad news.
I missed running into him today at Xango by a few minutes.

 

Re: Pastorino Resigns

Wow. I didn't expect this. Anybody have inside info?

 

Re: Pastorino Resigns

"as part of a larger announcement at RSL Offices on Thursday"

Interesting. Thanks for breaking the story, and good luck to you guys in Salt Lake in whatever happens in the future. You guys deserve better results.

 

Re: Pastorino Resigns

Lots of questions.

Is Steve being forced out? Is Steve being used as a scapegoat for RSL’s recent results? Is there a change in Ellinger’s role?

 

Re: Pastorino Resigns

Wow what a scoop, great job Deuce.

So the questions on everyone's mind:

1. Who is the new GM?
2. What happens (if anything) with Ellinger?


... if only I could get ahold of Elroy and Loaf...

 

Re: Pastorino Resigns

I’ve already posted on the Milwaukee thread to see if Peter Wilt is available…

 

Re: Pastorino Resigns

Sad news, Pastorino was one of the few in the FO who seemed to give a damn about the fans. I'll miss him.

 

Re: Pastorino Resigns

*Is it safe to say that Steve's relatively near the top on the list of people who have done the most for MLS soccer? Or is he on a just on the list?

Either way, he's a cool dude. Every time I saw him he took time to talk. He did a lot for RSL, and I wish him the best.

 

Re: Pastorino Resigns

Being caught up in the news, I forgot to add my thanks to Steve. I only spoke with him personally maybe four or five times, but he was always very friendly and treated the fans with respect and appreciation.

I thought it was great when he showed up to the very first Loyalists tailgate with a bunch of beers and talked with us for a bit.

Classy guy.

 

Re: Pastorino Resigns

He's gone. Has to be.

 

Re: Pastorino Resigns

Wow. I compulsively checked the news sites before going to bed and didn't expect this. I never personally interacted with Pastorino, but he always seemed like a standup guy who was willing to speak with the fans and answer tough questions. Someone here recently posted that he was tied to Ellinger, so I can only assume that that's part of the bigger announcement.

 

Re: Pastorino Resigns

Under normal circumstances, yes...

But this is the RSL FO we're talking about here, which has developed the reputation of having the nasty habit of snatching defeat right out of the mouth of victory...

Ellinger as coach AND GM???

(Oh, the humanity!)

 

Re: Pastorino Resigns

This is a shame - while results may not be what we had hoped, and while changes are in order, at the end of the day this is the one guy that would have been good to keep around in a different capacity due to his passion and commitment to the club... Ellinger I just hope is straight up fired.

 

Re: Pastorino Resigns

Seemed like a truly nice guy when I met him in passing at the US qualifier in SLC a couple of years back. Then again, I'm a sucker for a GM who buys beer for the fans. Good luck Steve, and good luck RSL on righting the ship.

 

Re: Pastorino Resigns

I am going to miss steve. He is probably the only one in the front office who would actually take the time to answer people's emails personally. He truly cared. Sad to see him go. Why do I get a sinking feeling that Ellinger is now coach and GM?

 

Re: Pastorino Resigns

By all accounts, a great guy. He will land somewhere good. We will find out today if this is due to on the field or front office lack of performance, possibly both.

It could be that businessman Checketts, who has not previously shown much interest in the performance of the team on the field, is looking at the $7.5 million public relations blunder and decided to drop the ax on Pastorino because he didn't have better PR people shifting public expectations months ago to make the 'investment' pill easier to swallow.

It could be that Checketts has looked at the 0-2-2 record and said, Wha da f??? and realized that the playoffs are terribly in doubt already and decided to replace both Pastorino and Ellinger for engineering a team with too many attackers, a formation that doesn't use the attackers well, and too few quality defenders and practices that were a waste of time.

But, if Spencer Checketts is made GM, run for the hills. I've seen family run sports operations before. The Atlanta Falcons of the 1980s run by the Smith family, I referred to them derisively as the 'Smiff Famly' due to their continual incompetence at all levels of operation. The only reason the franchise was successful is that even the most incompetent NFL team could make money hand over fist in those years.

 

Re: Pastorino Resigns

I've never met the man, but I've only heard good things about him.

I'd like to say that I'm anxiously awaiting good news today, but I've come to expect nothing but disappointment from this team these days. For some reason, I can't help but feel that Pastorino was forced out as a scapegoat, or simply resigned in disgust.

Is it possible that he resigned as GM only to continue on in another capacity at RSL? Not as coach, but somewhere else in the front office? Maybe Dean Howes is out? Whatever announcement is made, for some reason I highly doubt that Ellinger is out. He seems to have some sort of free pass - devoid of pressure.

 

Re: Pastorino Resigns

Thank you for your services, Steve, and for being a man and stepping down.

Hopefully your example will be a catalyst for others to follow suit.

 

Re: Pastorino Resigns

It would be nice if we could do something for him -- some sort of farewell gift -- from the fans collectively.

I was profoundly sad to hear he was leaving. He has been outstanding to the fans in every way.

 

Re: Pastorino Resigns

This news makes me happy and sad at the same time. Sad because Steve was such a nice guy and a committed family man......I gave Steve tons of crap about everything RSL over the years, and he was always very patient and understanding. Who remembers when he logged on to realsaltlake.org and asked fans what features they wanted in the stadium? Not many GM's would do that. We've truly lost a gentleman in our organization.

It makes me happy because there's no sugar coating the countless blunders this organization has made on and off the field. While you certainly can't blame him for everything that went wrong, the nature of business is that the higher-ups take the blame. Work might roll downhill, but shit rolls uphill in business.

One last thought: The decision on who replaces Pasto is HUGE. If Dave makes a strong hire, that person could turn this ship around in a hurry. Of course, if he makes John Ellinger GM, then God help us all.

P.S. Thanks for doing what's best for the club, Steve. It takes a real man to admit he's holding others back. I wish a certain coach would figure that out.

 

Re: Pastorino Resigns

Sad day. I really liked Steve. I hope that he does well wherever he goes.