Latest from Mitchell Isn't $40,000 the annual front office donut budget? But seriously, this is no way to treat a legend.
That's pretty disgraceful on the HSG side, if true. You have to think McCullers went to the Hunts about creating a new position for Guille that would keep him here in a post player postion and that's what they came back on. That's just poor management there. If HSG offered Guille a salary that would have made sense to retire to, they could have avoided a lot of the bad press they got, and recieved a valuable asset in scouting and youth development as well.
The article though said "yet to receive any enticing offers from an MLS team." So there could have been other offers that were more than what we offered him. $40,000 offers from other clubs can be laughed at, but not insulting. A $40,000 offer from our club management to him after what he's done for the club is flat out offensive. We miss you too, buddy! Pardon me if I take this as nothing more than lip service.
I guess the Crew should just pay him $200k to live in Columbus. That will do a lot for the organization. He wants to play one more year.... What does it matter what he was offered? They knew he wasn't going to take it.
Offering him $40K to be a player is an insult. Offering him $40K to be a scout, adviser and coach strikes me as just plain stupid. Wasn't McCullers quoted, in the aftermath of letting Guille go that this wasn't necessarily the end of his relationship with the club? Well, Mark, if a guy with that much knowledge, and with the kinds of connections that Guille must possess in Argentina (and, potentially, through much of S America), is only worth $40 to the Crew, then you're ********ing insane. During the time Guille was in Columbus, many, many of us wondered whether the club would manage to parlay his status as a football legend in Argentina into a potential conduit through which we might be able to find new talent. There were never any guarantees, of course, but I never heard one thing from the Crew that implied they were interested in trying to develop this kind of situation. Hearing they offered him $40K to be a scout makes me think that they never really ever considered that he might be of any use whatsoever in finding talent. I mean, why pay Guille to find talent in S American when you can send Eagle Eye Bliss and Bobby Popgun down there?
If true, it would mean: 1) Our FO lied to us about the whole process, because they said they made him an offer, AND 2) Our FO is a disgrace.
That's because "anyone else in MLS" won't offer just to offer and insult. They don't have what a non-insulting offer would be for him so they didn't offer.
And neither would be a shock. Outside of the three years with Sigi, has there been anything that can truly impress with any sort of consistency?
The latter half of '07 was pretty good. I know that by Autumn of 2007 I started thinking to myself, "this team is playing some attractive football." I know that in both seasons ('06 and '07) we finished 6th and missed the playoffs, but 2007 was, in terms of quality of play, a step forward. 2006 was just dismal.
We had quite a few swings and misses during Sigi's tenure here. Obviously we had quite a few big positives. But it certainly is easy to forget about the Ryan Coiner's and Jacob Thomas' that came before them. Or how about The Chunky Chilean! To say we were consistent on the player acquisition front is revisionist history. The '06 and '07 seasons saw many players come and go before we hit gold on a few, not to mention having Rodney handed to us in a lottery.
This has been pretty thoroughly discussed in here before. Yes, Sigi brought in some guys who just plain sucked. Note, though, a couple of interesting differences to "then" and "now." Then: Sigi was inheriting a train wreck of a club. He had to rebuilt almost the entire roster; Now, what we're seeing is the purposeful dismantling of a highly competitive team (and yes, I understand that this is a simplification, but it's pretty damned hard to argue that the Robert's roster "rebuilding" challenge was anywhere near as difficult as was Sigi's. Hell, he inherited a championship club, while Sigi inherited one of the worst rosters in Creation). Then: Sigi took that club from that depth to a championship. We were dominant in '08. Now; well, we were a good team in '09, but we never looked like a champion, not to me, not the way we were playing under Robert, and we were exposed as pure pretenders last year. My greater point being: Sigi had no choice but to start from scratch, to try out a ton of players, in order to identify enough real talent to flesh out the roster; Robert chose to dismiss Schelotto, Carroll and a host of other players and somehow wants us to believe that they weren't good enough to be on this team anymore, or that he'll find players to replace them who are an improvement. I just don't buy the line Robert is peddling. It wasn't the roster that wasn't good enough in '09 and last year, it was the coach. I do, by the way, give Robert credit for bringing in Renteria, who I think is an excellent acquisition. I just wanted to toss him that bone.
I don't know the first thing about MLS office salaries but 40K seems a bit on the light side to me when you are asking a guy to fill three positions. If anyone has a clue as to whether or not this salary is a credible ball park please fill us in. I am not surprised that MM wants to maintain a relationship between the Crew and Guille as he McBride and Frankie are the highest profile players the Crew have ever had. I'm sure once Robert has moved on to either the front office after a successful coaching stint or been fired for an unsuccessful one Guille will be in the picture if he wants to be. The one thing in that article that makes me concerned is his comment that he wants to be the Crew head coach one day. I am not concerned that he wants to be our coach, that was a given and I think many of us think that day will come, but that he states it. Problem is that if the ordinary fan knew that was on Guille's mind than it's a safe bet that Robert knew it as well. So it becomes more and more apparent that this was an issue between Robert and Guille as much as anything else. One thing for certain is that Guille loved C'bus, his team mates and the fans. It is just a damned shame that it all had to play out the way it did.
Some of you are so emotional its ridiculous. Any of you know how to run a business? I won't go any further than ask that question otherwise I'll just look (more) like a dick... but seriously?! If the guy (whoever it is) isn't in the plans for heavy playing time, his contract can't be big. We have a salary cap and stingy owners on top of that. Regardless of what he did for us, its not about the past its about the now and the future... and if he isnt in our plans now then thats that. Right? Am I correct to think, some of you wanted us to offer him a large sum contract and truck him out there like he is going to continue to produce?? If he wasn't willing to take anything under 325k (per the information we have available to us via Shawn Mitchell) than what are we supposed to do??
It is better to let guys go too early rather than too late. I was fine with us releasing Hejduk and Padula and Oughton- none of the 3 really had much left to give. Schelotto CAN still play. It's not just a business sense where you can say "well we have to do whats best and we have a cap." Theres also the side of things where you don't want unhappy customers. At this point, I don't see myself going to very many Crew games next year (though I do still think we'll be a very solid team depending on who starts at CM with Gaven). They've pissed a lot of people off and many have very good reason to feel the way they feel. Schelotto deserved better than having Warzycha, who singlehandedly dismantled a championship-winning team into a team that is not in the Champions League next year (in terms of qualifying for the 2011-2012 tournament) in a matter of 2 years. If everything was still OK and we had a great year last year and then Robert did all this, then maybe it'd be ok. A team is bigger than one player and I understand that. A team is also bigger than one coach. I trust McCullers and Bliss more than Robert, and it was clear that Robert didn't want Guille around anymore.
Ya I should have stopped going to games when the Crew got rid of my favorite player too... I miss Eric Vasquez. You trust Bliss and McCullers more than Robert huh? Where does your trust come from?? Do you honestly know what Bliss does or doesn't do? Or the type of control he might have? Just saying... I think your putting too much power in Roberts hands.... that he may not have. If you count last year as a bad year than your delusional. I don't even know how to argue with that. Was it a disappointment? YES! But we competed, and we had our chances for titles and we are playing against RSL in the knock out stage of Champions league with a great chance to make it to the finals. Ya we lost in the Open Cup, and bombed in the play offs again. But I don't remember Warzycha playing in those games. I remember player mistakes though... Success in the MLS is very VERY difficult to sustain. Especially for smaller clubs like us. Look at Houston and where they are at comparatively to 06/07/08 team, or even New England from those years! Sheesh! Atleast we won the trophy in 08, ask a New England fan how it feels to make it two back to back to back MLS Cups and lose all three including 06/07 to the same team twice! Both those teams have been destroyed because of losing quality young players and keeping some old guys around too long. Oh ya... that and Khano Smith. WTF Why is he still playing in this league!?
Yes, I am sure he can here is the issue, RW is not going to play him. RW (apparently) wants to play a different way that does not incorporate GBS. I am willing to see what RW can do - and it is probably something that some have already stated (including myself), play two out and out forwards up top. Big man, small man, or whatever bests exploits the weaknesses of the opposition defense. Some people are not prepared to see what RW can do with his** squad, and that is fine. I am even willing to accept mediocre results, if I am seeing very good soccer. But I will eat a huge portion of humble pie if the product on the field is terrible - Perhaps 15 league games in we can all reevaluate this off season? **As in he is now building the team he wants, something that he has not been allowed to do until now (in my opinion).
Was it up to debate to give him a huge contract? No. Was $40,000 a ridiculous offer and insulting to a player who THIS team relied on more than anyone else last season in terms of minutes played and contributions to the team in experience and production? He was still a HUGE value to us. This club would not be greatly diminished by offering in the least a respectable contract to GBS. If he turns it down, fine, but at least have some decency to come to the table with something that presents a recognition of the value that he can still bring. Because from the club's standpoint, its either to recognize his value as it is or if he's not in the plans, then don't even insult him with an offer that they, themselves, knew he would not accept. As to Derek's point, yes, we've no choice but to see what RW can do with HIS team. It was clear he had no capability to adjust his methodology of the game with a toolbelt not to his specifications. Well, now it's his. Since he's done nothing but undermine this team since he took over, I would give him a very short leash. As it stands though, MM will probably give him through the 2012 season barring a complete debacle this year.