George, I repsect your position on your expectations, but I can't agree with you on the "right to know" point. It's called accountability, and if I am asking my company to pay me my salary, therefore, I am accountable to them. The Revs are asking us for money, so they owe us the assurance that they 1) care about what happens and 2) are competent enough to take measures to improve on things that don't go well. The original question posed by Gus was to suggest that the Revs are incompetent, because they didn't insist on a physical for Serna. That brought the question of MLS policy, namely is it an honor system, and if so, what safeguards to we have against oily used car salesmen like Prick Sack-o-shitz in the swamp. Those are legitimate questions. We are not asking for salary information, or inside stories of personnel decisions, these are asked in the context of "do the Revs care" and "are the Revs competent" and "who is responsible." If this issue came up with any of the Big Four teams in town, the press would be all over it, demanding the same things. Since we are a niche sport and "no one" cares, we have to hope that Gus can get answers. Frank is never going to do it, since there are still a couple more one-named Brazilians he hasn't written about yet, and the rest of the "alternative" press is pretty marginalized and can be ignored if they want. So what recourse do we have? I asked Todd point blank if he would comment specifically on Gus' allegations. I even chided someone who was too hasty to demand an answer, figuring that it was only reasonable to give Todd 24-48 hours to come back and clarify things. Considering that it is now 1 pm Friday, I'm beginning to think I know the answers to one of these larger questions. Todd can take a page from Homer Simpson's philosophy book and say that "if you ignore a problem long enough, eventually it goes away," but the same thing can be said for The Incredible Shrinking Fan Base. Tom
Dear Mr. Sangster: I hope my beloved Bobby (He makes me call him Mr. Robert K. Kraft during those quiet moments when it's just the two of us) isn't having an affair. Who's this Myrna Kraft? Respectfully, Myra Kraft, aka Mrs. Bobby Kraft
Tom, I'm not sure I made myself clear. I do think accountability is important. If the team doesn't win it's appropriate that we fans start calling for a new coach. If the franchise gives us bad service or make bad player personal decisions we should scream for a new GM. I agree that's the way it is in sports. ---BUT--- I don't think we have the right to know the inside details of how Todd Smith relates to Sonny Kraft or some of the inner secrets of the Yo-Yo-Brotherhood that is MLS. It's a business and they have the right to do their business. Our rights start when the team takes the field and they either do or do not perform. That having been said, I think Todd was reasonably forthcoming in his responses to John Lewis as posted today. Some people obviously are not satisfied with his answers. Here again I insist that unless we are part of the inner workings of the organization and have access to ALL the facts in a situation we are not in the position to make sound judgements about many of the thing people are demending to have answerd. I think Todd would be unwise to try to "Tell All" and engage in an endless series of responses to questions about the inner workings of the team and MLS. Somewhere inbetween the extreemes of Tell All and silence there is a reasonable level of responsiveness. I think the Management and Coaching staff of the Revs have done a reasonable job of finding that balance point. BOTTOM LINE: Todd do your job. Work out the little details that will make our attendence at CMGI fun. Within the confines of what Single Entry allows get us players with ability and competative spirit. Judge the ability of the coach to blend the players in a cohesive unit and to produce on field wins. If SN can't do it get us one who can. Rev Fans: Insist that Todd and Steve Nichol do their jobs and produce a winning farnchise. Show up but don't be afraid to yell blood murder when the team doesn't give it's all or the product continues to be as poor as our 7 year history shows.
Todd is not going to reply on these boards. IMO. He's "addressed" these issues with John. Frankly, there are two nuggets I got out of the interview worth anything. No one knows what Gulati does and the buck stops with Todd in terms of accountability. Good. Though, I do remember BO'D making similar statements during his tenure. I don't believe anything that comes out of the Rev organization anymore because it's all contentless words. It's like listening to an election year speech.
On the Todd Smith Interview I have to say it was interesting stuff. And I'm glad he at least gave some answers to questions that have been getting asked on these boards for quite awhile. What struck me the most is Todd steadfastly believes in the Serna trade and would do it again. Whether you agree or not, at least we found out what he thinks about it. But I have to say I was floored by the "buyer beware" element of MLS trades. Sounds like no one wants to pay for a physical because there's cost involved and MLS is trying to pinch pennies. Could it be something that simple? It was also interesting that he admitted the Krafts are losing money on soccer. I would like to have seen a little more follow up on that point, especially where he said said they're trying to bridge the gap and "we'll see what the future holds". A good follow up would have been "how does this team make it to profitability"? But I also know it's easy to think of these questions after the fact instead of when you're sitting down one on one. The other interesting thing is it sounds like he supports Nicol. At least we've heard something. There was more in depth local journalism in this article than the last dozen FDA columns combined. Excellent job.
Re: On the Todd Smith Interview We've heard the we (the fans) spend to much time dwelling on the past. We should look to the future and we shouldn't blame him for decisions he wasn't part of etc. etc. A total cop out. We've been looking to the future forever because the past and present always suck. AND he is to blame. TS kept Clavijo, TS picked the team in the offseason, TS has 6 new players during the course of this season! Of course he wants us to look to the future, we might remember what a horrible job he's done so far.
If the BS archives hadn't sunk to the bottom of the same cybergrave where the vast array of CMGI services lie we would no doubt be able to dig up a whole range of positive responses by our perfect selves regarding the Dispersal acquisitions and even some supporting the TRADE (including myself, on both counts). We would also find congratualtory posts to "Todd/Fernando" on their willingness to directly engage us, the fans on BS. This isn't the dreaded retrospectroscope that George mantions, it is plain old facts. So now a great many of our presumptions have been blown out of the water by the hard grind of actually playing the games. Some players have been found to be truly wonderful, Ralston, Twellman; others not (you name them). Coaches have self-destructed and new ones only started to fit in. Bad decisions have been made (again, you name them), as well as some good ones (IMO Nicol's appointment, the gradual persuasion of the stadium staff by Rev management that footie fans aren't anthrax bearers). Overall, the season has certainly been a tremendous disappointment. I totally agree. But I also feel that we cannot blame the players and Nicol/Smith for things that happened before they were here. We can roast them for a lot and that is our absolute right as fans but they didn't create Stapleton, Rongen or Zenga and the really didn't create Clavijo. They did form this team and the way it is run in the NEXT 10 months (between now and the beginning of next season) is the crucial matter. If the playing staff improves, if it gets younger, faster, fitter and more skillful then we will look at this period as the last, ugly bump in the road to improvement. I absolutely agree that the way things have been run in Rev Central have been somewhere between a fun and a horror house. I also feel that Gulati's role needs to be spelt out. My feeling is that he is a paid lobbyist for Kraft Soccer in order to get big matches for the Boro and, from time to time, a tasty transfer (we ain't seen that yet). But it is pretty clear that the Revs football operation is Nicol, his assistants reporting to Smith. Well, believe it or not, that is a wholesale improvement over Stapleton, Rongen or Zenga reporting to O'Donovan who reports to Jr.Kraft. If I read the names right there was only one "football" person in that mix at any given time. Now there are two. We can disagree with Todd's decisions, and I certainly do with a number of them, but at least Kraft Soccer, Rev division, is being run by football people. That is new, only two-plus years. Finally, there are endless examples of the Rev being second class citizens at Foxboro. Even down to little idiocies like Kraft, Jr. donning a Patties cap for a Rev interview but this bunch is really learning on the job, as are all of the various MLS front offices. It is still a shakedown and, hopefully, the cream (like the group in Denver, Dallas, Chicago and DC) will continue to rise to the top and the less wellrun groups will learn from them. I know this is a glass half full post but, along with George, I don't see a whole lot of value in getting my knickers in a twist over a past we cannot control. So keep the heat up but let's bury 96-00 in some Super Fund site. JIM DOW
Sure, BS posters backed alot of the decisions. I backed "The Trade" for the simple reason that Diallo, specifically, seemed a cancer and the rest of the team, generally, was mailing in their performance. Still, I think it is TS who is focusing too much on the past. The far past. If he wants to take comfort in the fact that the people who preceded him really messed things up he has the right. But, he hasn't done too hot himself. This last post-season was a bust. This season is a bust. And it isn't all due to injuries. He needs to admit that. That is a required first step to TS doing better in the future; he must figure out why his past decisions, no matter how good they looked at the time, wound up being stinkers. Zenga, Stapleton, Rongen and BOD had nothing to do with keeping FC around this off-season. They weren't part of the dispersal draft. They didn't totally (almost) neglect defense just to build a paper tiger offense. TS did. If we agreed with his decisions, we need to admit it too. But we don't get a pay-check from the Krafts, TS does. He's got to do better. Of course, as long at TFIII is on the roster, we need to realize that the Krafts still don't get it. So, I'll grant that TS has a fundamental problem to overcome.
Like it or not, deserved or not, Todd Smith will be with the Revs at least until the end of next season. Bank on it. The Krafts may not care much about the team, relative to their other business and sporting concerns, but from observing Bob Kraft's dealings with the Patriots he is not a ruthless bottomline employer (i.e.,G. Steinbrenner) and there is no chance he will dump a likeable employee following a major illness. Likewise, he is unlikely to interfere with the day to day management of the team which means S. Nicol and his English 4-4-2 will likely stay regardless of fan disappointment as long as Smith runs things. Smith speaks of accountability, but it is sympathy (through no fault/wish) of his own that will save his job over the near term. No amount of criticism or venom on our part will change that although it is certainly fun to read.
and goes on and on It was and I said so. It did not talke more than 20 minutes a game for Brazilian and Portuguese teen-agers to figure the weakness of the REVs defense. We can't retrive the old posts but many times the goals scored were balls played in the space behind the last defender. The problem was there for all to see. Some of us in this boards were saying then the same thing we all say now. All we got from the press and REVs mailings was the sucess against Brazilian and Portuguese powerhouses.
Jim, I tend to agree with a lot of what you say, but not here. It may not be a "big deal" to wear the hat of the primary team to the secondary team's game, but he ought to know better if he is paying attention at all. We know we are the second class team, and no one is asking for the same level of attention/budget/staff that the Pats get. But when it is our turn to have our own birthday party, we would like to have the day's focus on us, and not our older sibling, who in addition to being a saint, a Rhodes Scholar, and a star athlete with model-like good looks? Is that too much to ask? And I could not disagree more with the "learning experience" excuse. How many years do these guys need to "learn" what some of us might call "common sense" if it weren't all that uncommon? Funny, it wasn't all that long ago that WE were considered among the best (however you measure that) front offices. I guess in that area we are DC United, since we've pretty much taken the same path. Colorado were perhaps the least competent front office in 1996, and we would laugh at them for stupid promotions like "guaranteed win night," where they didn't even consider that they'd be pissing off their most loyal customers (season ticket holders) by giving away free tickets to the less committed. Dallas have had the least to work with, but somehow seem to make it work, with attendance increasing every year, and innovative ways of keeping several distinct groups of supporters happy. We had a 2-year head start on Chicago. And DC, well, even though their team is as bad as ours, people still come out, and they have a thriving hardcore supporters base. Could the magic potion be that they actually show respect to the Barra Brava, Screaming Eagles, and other groups, while still trying to bring in the youth soccer crowd? Could it be that they recognize that you don't have to dis one group by attracting the other? Yes, maybe you are right, the Revs do need to learn from the other teams. The question I have is how did it all fall apart from when we were considered one of the "best?" Well, burying the past is fine if you have learned from your mistakes, but part of the reason the past keeps coming up here and other places is the fact that the same kinds of things keep happening over and over again. What's that saying, "those who are ignorant of their history are doomed to repeat it." It isn't fair to blame Todd for allowing wRongen to abandon the team midseason 1998, and a host of other matters, but we have every right to question the decision of not letting Clavijo go after the Open Cup, when every single one of us watching the game at the bar knew we were going to lose when Fernando tried to sit on the lead for 40 minutes, and took out Andy Williams. The only solace I got from that was that surely the Revs couldn't justify keeping Clavijo after that, but we all know how that worked out. Likewise, everyone was saying after the dispersal that we sure got a lot of good attackers, but I'm concerned about the D. One injury to a key defender can sink the whole season. But surely the Revs have a plan, a trade in the works, or something to address such a glaring need... These are the things that Todd Smith is responsible for. And these are the things for which we will hold him accountable. Tom
Tom: Your last post is as good as it gets in terms of spelling out a number of the myriad difficulties that we all have with life in Revworld. I guess the bottom line is that I am getting frustrated with my frustration, which is to say I feel as if I am in a spiral when what I really want is just to enjoy the damn games, win or lose and relax by reading BS posts. At present, given the situation, it is hard to enjoy the games, difficult to get a sense of progress and impossible to relax. So I grab at straws and you, appropriately, call my attention to the uneven (at best) nature of my reasoning. At the same time, I am going to "glasshalfull" for the remainder of the season just to keep my sanity. JIM DOW
Holy s--t Batman, I think Jims got it! I guess he won't need to be seeing George in the office afterall.
Maybe I'm going to simplify the "best front office" explanation, but I believe it nonetheless. Why would the Revs have been considered one of the best front offices a couple of years ago? Because the attendance was high even though the team was miserable and the fans (in general) weren't complaining. Considering there was one abysmal playoff showing in 5 years, the powers that be would expect attendance to be at or below what it is now. I believe the "best front office" label has absolutely zero to do with the running of the team. Fire away
I guess you're right, Dan. So the great reputation of the front office has more to do with the fanbase that hasn't eroded as fast as it has in other places. Then again, everyone else has at least won a playoff series at some time in their history. But the Mutts are the only team in the league who have NEVER made it to the finals in either the MLS Cup or the US Open Cup. Having said that, I've probably jinxed Columbus in their Open Cup tie Wednesday on Lawn Guylin. Tom
Remember that most of the front office kudos in MLS have been to the groups that put together good attendance figures, either from day one or in terms of improvement. The football part of the operations have always come second. Certainly people like Kevin Payne and others have proven to be 1.) wise about footy, too, or 2.) know enough to shut up and let the coaches run the team and pick the groceries from those understocked shelves that comprise MLS markets, 3.) or both. However, in general, the wellrun "teams" have actually been based on fans at the games rather than the way the team(s) they are watching perform. With this being the case of course the Revs have looked pretty good but closer inspection reveals the downward spiral in attendance which has precisely mirrored the protracted lack of success on the playing side of things. In Todd Smith's case he is the first GM to be both a management person as well as a football person and, certainly, the jury is still out on his performance in either capacity. At this point I am still inclined to give the current setup the rest of the season, the close season and the first six weeks of the 03 campaign before I vote to go in with the hatchet. There have been too many layovers from the past, hastily made decisions for the future and the current fiscal Kraft Krunch to really see everything clearly. If I sound like an apologist, forgive me, but at this point I'd say opt for continuity and build on that. We have tried just about everything else. JIM DOW
If the Revolution don't finish this season strong, Todd needs to go. The Revs have *never* made front office decisions quickly. Axing Big Frank was probably the one timely decision they made. Rongen, Zenga, and Clavijo were all here too long, IMO. Letting a coach go into a few weeks of the next season is counterproductive. If the team knows the coach is on the ropes and they don't like him, it's easy to see where those first six weeks are wasted and then, any possible success by the end of the season is endangered. As to Tom's point about the Mutts, at least they had a few season's where they were more than competitive. We haven't. Ever.