Fire Mike Burns

You're a little hung up on this huh? There are plenty of problems with these team, Mike being one of them, but there are definitely bigger fish to fry.

 

Well, not really.

 

And that would be?

 

Who is that?

 

Kraft thinks Mike Burns is a waterboy for the gridiron squad.

 

Changes need to be made from the top down, that means starting with the Krafts. With the current mentality and infrastructure in place, Burns has been set up to fail. Has he managed his money well and made the best acquisitions? No, not at all. But until the Krafts change the way they treat this franchise anyone in charge of player acquisitions will fail.

 

Unless you're a billionaire, the Krafts aren't going anywhere.

Bob Kraft always says that his management style is to hire the best people to run his companies, then let them do their job. He needs to be made aware that, in this case, he's made a mistake.

 

Your post reveals the very contradiction in your frustration. We all know it's the Krafts fault but you say it's time for Burns to go.

It's hard to hold Burns accountable when we really have no idea how he'd do if he worked for owners that actually cared about the team.

Someone says the FO isn't interested in adults. It's marketing to kids and only cares about adults to the extent that they buy tickets for their kids/teams. Well, judging by the attendance that's about half what it was a decade ago, how's that strategy working out?

 

Bob Kraft owns the franchise and writes the checks. Contrary to all the smack thrown his way he's not the problem. He hires people to do the job of running the Revs and if they don't they need to be replaced, not the owner. Our best guess based on how things are done in most franchises in MLS is that Mike Burns is the guy responsible for signing players. If that's true his management of roster decisions over the past three years suggests he is the person who should be fired. It's not an ownership or coaching problem. IMO, it's a personnel management problem and to me that puts the problem on Mike Burns shoulders.

 

Some how I doubt Burns has ever said to Nicol, "this is who we signed, Like him or not." I am convinced 100% that every player on that roster has Nicol's endorsement. I am thinking its more like:
Burns: Steve we have x amount of money and you found players A,B and C
Steve: These players are all willing to sign for Y amount
Burns: OK, player A and B would not move on there demands but we were able to agree on terms with C.
Steve: Ok

The way is should be is
Steve: Mike, I want players A and B and I don't care what it takes
Burns: That is out of our budget but let me crunch the numbers
Steve: They will improve our teams attack and give the fans hope
Burns: I can sign them but I have to let EJ and Videra and Khano go and work in incetive clauses
Steve: Even if I have to carry 1 less player on the roster, it will be worth it
Burns: Steve, I just signed them, and waived the other guys. Go win games

 

Nicol has as much (and mostly likely a lot more) say in selecting players as Burns. This is not a case of Burns making all the roster decisions and Nicol just coaching the team. Do people really think that bringing Khano back, resigning EJ, bringing in Niouky etc were all decisions Burns alone made? Do you think Nicol was begging him to sign a forward to replace Twellman and Burns disagreed?

I'm no fan of Burns but replacing him would only have a negligible affect on this team if Nicol stays.

 

As usual Monty, your so damn quick to try to find fault with anything I write that you miss the essence of what I write.

My position is:
The Krafts aren't the problem with the Revs having three successive poor season, the people they have hired to do the job are at fault. Tough seasons come and go for all teams and a season of significant injuries resulting in poor results can happen to any team. BUT--after the squandering of our top tier status over the past three years with poor personnel management decisions, someone in the Rev office needs to go. If someone doesn't I agree that Sonny Kraft isn't doing his job.

 

Lot of truth in that.

This is a process. You can't get rid of both at the same time. Who is going to hire the new administration? Billelo? Jonny Kraft? I don't want to see Nicol gone and Blooter in place.
So, logically, you're looking at the need to remove Burns now and see what they do with the Twellman cap space next winter. I'm more than open to the idea that Nicol is part of the problem, but first things first.

 

We still haven't resolved the point regarding where ultimate responsibility lies.

Following Doc's logic, it would appear that Krafty will have to fire his own son for his mismanagement. But where does Krafty's ultimate responsibilty lie? If HE's the one that screwing up by inappropriate corporate strategy and poor senior personnel management, how does he pay the price?

 

That is the billion dollar question.

We don't know much about the hierarchy as far as decisions, accountability, etc but I would venture the Revs buck stops with Jonathan Kraft. Then Bilello, Burns, Nicol, etc. Sunil is the joker in the deck.

If Krafty Bob fired Krafty Jon, would it be reverse nepotism?

 

This whole thread is the perfect example of what is wrong with the organization. We still don't know exactly who does what, so we can't even be sure we are directing our frustration at the right person. To recap:

• Burns' official public job description suggests that he is Nicol's boss, "overseeing all aspects of player acquisition," but many (reasonably) question that, arguing that there is no way Burns would sign players without significant input and direction from Nicol.
  
• Nicol is officially the coach, but it sure seems he is also in charge of "buying the groceries," or at the very least, making the shopping list.
  
• In every situation, there are always going to be wish lists and players that they want who are out of the club's budget. That's the reality, and no one expects them to sign multimillion-dollar DPs left and right.
  
• A few years ago we were at the top of the league, but we started losing very important players one or two at a time. The team was able to hold on for a while, but not having a successful strategy (other than hoping for the best) to adequately replace these guys has killed the team.
  
• It is a combination of Nicol and Burns who are responsible for not getting adequate replacements for Dempsey, Noonan, Parkhurst, Dorman, Ralston, Twellman and others, combined with suspect support from the ownership.

Doc is fond of pointing out that we just don't know what is really going on, and this is never more true than here. Where did the Dempsey transfer money go? They invested it in a "fully funded" (what the hell does that mean anyway) youth program, which might pay dividends several years down the road. Did any of the money go toward transfers for some of the players they brought in like Badilla, Rico Phillips, Janko, Castro, or any of the young Africans? If Kraft gave them a decent amount of money and the players they spent it on were bad choices, then the onus is on Nicol and Burns (however you want to divide up that responsibility). If Nicol and Burns have been unable to get even a reasonable transfer fee for a player they really wanted (and couldn't get) then the onus is on the Krafts.

They keep mentioning that they had "talked to" Pauleta, Fowler, and Joao Pinto (and maybe others). That's great, but under what circumstances? If they offered them a "Maximim salary MLS contract" and the player thought it was per week, not per year, and that was the end of the discussion, well, that's hardly a sincere attempt, since they were so far apart. However, if they did make offers that were in the general going rate of what some other (non-Beckham) DPs are making around the league, and they declined, I'll give them credit for trying. Then again, if you are looking to buy a house and a deal for your dream home falls through, you still end up buying some sort of house, even if it isn't quite as nice as the one you really wanted.

If they tried to sign any of the 3 guys above and failed, OK, so what players just a cut below that level did they sign?

Nobody.

Meanwhile, there are other DP players around the league that pretty much refute Burns' allegations that there are "no players available" who would be "right" enough to consider signing. Reminds me of the old Seinfeld episode whre he is looking to rent a villa in Tuscany and is told that there are none available, anywhere in all of Tuscany.

 

Pauleta and Joao Pinto type players are the right kind of DP's for New England because they would draw a crowd of local Portugues fans adding to the attendence. Angel, the new DP in Seattle or Toronto, Ljunberg or even Schelotto are good players but the feeling I get is that Burns & CO are not looking for these type of guys. While they will make the team better they will not bring more people. They want the beckham type player but at bargain basement prices. This is why they will never get a DP.

 

Here's an idea for an "affordable" DP: Look to Brazil. A guy like Wellington Paulista, who just gave a good showing up here, would be a good fit. I'd guess someone like him would be affordable by DP standards, and would attract a following.

 

when you say buying the groceries, i know you meant using the foodstamps to buy liquor to dull the pain of having to start phelan and scratch tickets to win enough to sign Forlan.

 

Perhaps a bad idea. Last time we did that, we ended up with the wrong Welton.