News: Kevin Payne becomes TFC's new President and General Manager

I think a question mark should be added to the thread title since it has yet to be confirmed.

 

doesn't matter. Once a president gets hired, Cochrane loses all power to sign players and can be fired if he steps out of line and tries to undermine him. At worst he'll be like a cancer in remission or a dormant virus; unable to do any damage, but still there and if the right conditions arrive (such as the firing of the president and a return to the old ways), he'll attempt to gather power and ******** us over agian

 

De Clerk will replace Rongen at the academy, Rongen to be TFC new coach and Cochrane will stick around because of working relationship with Payne at DCU will be Paynes whipping boy and I believe that Rongen also won a MLS championship with Payne when he coached DCU.

 

This is exactly the kind of move I was hoping for, and considering DC's overall success, he's the most qualified man we could've got.
Not quite sure what to make of the fact thathe's worked with Cockbrain...maybe Payne will inject a sense of authority into the club and stop Earl's coch-headed decisions, or maybe Earl will undermine Payne or he'll become part of the typical MLSE dysfunction and corruption...who knows. We can never be sure with MLSE.
Still, I can actually see this working out. So good on you, TFC. For now

 

He's been disastrous in his recent coaching ventures, so I don't think I'd trust him in that spot. He's a perfect fit for the role he has now.
As for De Klerk, it wouldn;t surprise me if he's already back in the Netherlands. I hope that's true; it's in his best interests. There's nothing for him here

 

If this is true, the move to get Payne into the TFC offices is a big one. I'm very pleased. I'll truly believe it when it becomes official, but this is the sort of thing that TFC needed to do. There is still plenty of off-season for Payne to come in and work some magic. Should be fun to watch all that happens with TFC between now and March.

It seems like maybe they have a clear idea of what they need moving forward. Let's hope so.

 

I'm not holding out much hope for Mariner or Cochrane to be fired at this point. The time to do that would have been a month or so ago so that they have time to put a new coach in place to prepare for the next season.

What I'm hoping that Payne will bring to the team is:
1) A president that has enough knowledge of the game to make proper decisions. i.e. someone who can evaluate the performance of the coach by more than just the win/loss column and actually figure out if the coach is making progresss or not. Plus, hopefully a president who isn't going to go out and overpay for the next Julian DeGuzman or ALi Gerba simply because the Red Patch Boys think we should sign them.

2) A president that can finally bring some long-term vision to the team, rather than delegating that responsibility to the coach. That way when it comes time to replace the coach you can find someone to carry on the vision rather than restart from scratch.

 

I have complete confidence that he knows what he's doing. As long as he has full control, I'm happy. TFC set to announce it at 1:30

 

I think you'll be happy with Payne. While some in DC have been critical of him for a while now, I think Payne is a very good MLS executive and will bring stability to TFC. We may have been a bit spoiled in the early days of MLS but KP also helped get us back to respectability after a few terrible years. He will be particularly good with your supporters groups. He is VERY loyal to fans. You all deserve a club that reflects the great support you've provided TFC from the start.

I share the views conveyed in this blog post on Payne: http://www.blackandredunited.com/2012/11/27/3700240/kevin-payne-leaves-dc-united-toronto-fc

It was probably time for new blood at DCU, but that doesn't mean Payne is washed up. Good luck.

 

Thanks for the input. I have absolutely no doubt that he will bring massive improvement to this club. Right now the standard for our president has been set by a guy who doesn't know shitall about soccer. To get an executive who's been part of the league since the beginning and brought four MLS cups is far beyond my (and I'm guessing many other fans') wildest expectation. I couldn't even hope for someone this qualified.
To be honest there's still a part of me that won't fully believe it until it's announced and full details are disclosed in half an hour.

 

wow how refreshing to watch a TFC press conference with someone who can speak with authority and isn't bullshitting everything he says

 

"Paul Mariner is the coach of Toronto FC. He's a person I have a lot of respect for."

That was Payne when asked about Mariner.

 

Only bullshit I heard in that press conference: "I have huge respect for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment" followed by what appeared to be a choke / cough as he struggled with what he had just said.

Seriously though, this is huge news. Huge. I'll be rooting for TFC next season, I want to see some serious success in my country's biggest city. Plus, with my parents moving to Toronto, I will (for the first time in my life I might add) have regular opportunity to watch games, as I will undoubtedly be visiting a few times a year.

Congratulations guys, hopefully this is the beginning of something great.

 

Looks to me like he's a Newfie, so I assume his club is Montreal simply because it's Canadian and closer than the rest

 

Haha, you're mostly correct Ajax. I really enjoyed following them this year. I really have never been a hardcore supporter of any club, but considering Montreal was in their inaugural season, I had a soft spot for them and followed them closely during this past season. A trip to Montreal with the misses in August allowed me to see a game as well (which happened to be the first live major league sporting event I've ever been to). So yeah, soft spot for Montreal this season, and probably my favorite club at the moment.

That being said I consider myself a fan of Canadian soccer as a whole, and really want to see our three clubs improve their youth development so that our national team can avoid ever losing 8-1 again. I want to see all three clubs do well. So yeah, I'm definitely rooting for TFC to up their game. Especially considering I will likely get to attend a few matches in 2013! Already trying to convince Dad to pick up tickets to the first leg of the Canadian Championship in April. My problem is I need to decide whose jersey to wear!

 

Seems like he genuinely wants to change things around and actually knows what he's doing.
Very happy that he preaches stability.
Still years away from being able to say if this was a good choice, but I'm hopefuly it will

 

I havent seen any of the press conferences yet, but I read the article this morning in The Star about Payne coming in. Can anyone tell me what formation, and style this guy plays? Anything on that yet?
I was really disappointed with this season, and to be honest I stopped watching all the games all together. And I barely missed any games before this season.
How many coaches have come with the same promises? Its becoming a vicious cycle, every season now.
..At the same time, preseason is the most exciting part of the season. It always gives me hope that the upcoming season will be better.

I still think we should have had Winter stayed with the club..

 

http://www.torontofc.ca/video/2012/11/28/press-conference-payne-hired-part-10