The whole process that led to Onalfo's hiring is what steamed me. After being shot down by the Akron dude it was painfully obvious that the FO was caught with their collective pants down. They didn't hire Onalfo, they settled for him.
I'm glad this happened. It's overdue. Onalfo may be a good guy, but this is a business. A lot of $ is involved. Nobody's going to be calling for Ben's head anytime soon. He means too much to the club. As Payne said, hopefully he can inspire the team. From what I saw previously, the team was playing with a lack of passion and effort. Don't get me wrong we've still got a loooooooong way to go, a VERY long way, but at least we finally took a big step forward IMO. Mistakes will be made, but at least we're headed somewhere different from the miserable team we've got. I'll try to start following and supporting the team again. Good luck fellas and gals.
I read that at the time as "the dreaded vote of confidence", but didn't think Kevin would actually follow thru hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, while I do not much like the idea of him as my team's coach, I might could get with this GM idea. I don't see it as a strong possibility, but things surprise me every day. Another dude I think would make a good GM/TD (but not coach) is Tommy Rongen.
WOOO HOOO! That's what I'm talking about. Let's shake things up! We weren't going anywhere before, let's mess around with things and see what difference it'll make. Jemal Johnson is coming too... cool!
Yeah but there is a 2+ month window between the end of the transfer window and the end of the season. Marco's on field skills or Olsen's? Didn't MAE kind of take himself out of the running last off-season by taking another coaching job?
Actually, a couple other things happened. First, Goff posted his devastating mid-season review. Second, last week Payne was still talking about squeaking into the playoffs at 40 points. That was a pipe dream before the RSL loss, but after that loss it was simply beyond the pale of any conceivable reality. So put all that together and you've got a pretty ugly picture: no prospects on or off the field, even a sense that the team might very well fold or move. And there's still a dozen games left. Why would anyone show up to those games given the situation? I know the supporters groups would show up, but who else? Goff had that quote in one of his posts about the the FO panicking. Perhaps that wasn't just about on-field performance (cuz that ship has sailed for this season). Maybe that was about butts in the seats and the overall impression that this was a critically failing organization that perhaps didn't really merit fan support. Firing Onalfo was one of the few moves they could make to contradict all that. And placing Olsen in there as interim coach was one of the few ways they could reinvigorate fan support. In fact, the FO is essentially saying that in a lot of their quotes: this was a shot in the arm for the fans, so they don't abandon the team. In short, yes, on-field performance was certainly part of this. But I get the impression that there were a lot of off-field and in the stands factors leading to this move. Kevin Jong Il's BigSoccer account. And the name Kevin Jong Il is awesome! Lots of good quotes there. Don't miss them.
He did and it didn't pan out which is why I said his skills didn't translate to the bench. He's currently the Minister of Sports Development in Bolivia.
from KP BS profile "kpayne123 has not made any friends yet" You dont need a BS account to know that he has no friends.
Not to threadjack but hopefully he turn the spotlight on the corrupt cockroaches that run our leagues and our players. We still grow some incredible talent at the youth stage only to see them disappear when they come close to turning pro.
I'm not sure what this means. I think they're hiring Ben more for his name and brand than for any decsions he'll make on the field. He's relevent with the local media and hey, if it helps put some more butts in the seats then whoopee.
he's probably the only soccer coach in america that some americans actually know the name of. i'm not trying to say he's the best, but from a businessman who doesn't know a lot about the sport's perspective, cheatin bob is probably a name that might pull some dollars.
The last time he was on was when he came to bitch at one side (but only one side) of the sideline exchange at the Seattle match last year.
I'm going to yell: Well done KP! I am once again interested in this club. They have been such ************** that we are bound to see an improvement. It'll take a couple of weeks to work on their endurance (which currently sucks) but maybe we'll see some players actually take charge and add a spark on the field. All of the moaning and groaning about Will is sickening. Us Internet fools have got no idea what's going on with Will. If this is what it took to get KP fired up, allright! Kasper is talking in clipped phrases, like a man at the end of the plank. Bob Bradley can kiss my arse! We don't need his steenkingly bad, cheating football karma at DC. That said, if he ends up here I guess I'll have to do a Petke: "Uckfay you, welcome to DC". Maybe then he'll apologize for his cheating, but I doubt it. I'm sure there are plenty of folks itching to flame me, so go ahead. Also, you know where to find me at the tailgate. Vamos por arriba DC! GM
Ah yes, I remember that. It was at that point that I truly realized what a horrible President and CEO he is.
No, the best part is "This is not about assigning blame" on a day when he fired a coach, threw players under the bus and admitted the person he hired as an interim coach is not qualified for the job. He's not blaming anyone. It's just all their fault.
I've said it many times before Payne's prior genius was totally supported by that 4 packs of camels a day habit. Sunil loaded the deck for United and he claimed the credit