FIRE PAYNE and KASPER

Re: FIRE SOEHN, PAYNE and KASPER

But they finished out of the money. Where's the money, Lebowski? Bunny says you're good for it!

 

Re: FIRE SOEHN, PAYNE and KASPER

What if that 5 feet nothing midfielder is named "Ditka"?

 

Re: FIRE SOEHN, PAYNE and KASPER

Payne did a sterling job over the decade and a half of his tenure making the DC Soccer Specific Stadium all that it is today.

Payne pioneered a new strategy in limiting illegal immigration from Argentina to the US by making it possible for washed up soccer players to easily gain work permits. All in the numbers you see.

Payne courted DC's most powerful and influential politicians, without the latest city org chart that clearly pointed out Marion Barry was no longer Mayor.

Kevin it's "If I build it they will come, not if they come, they will build it.

 

Re: FIRE SOEHN, PAYNE and KASPER

Tis better to keep quiet for fear of revealing yourself an idiot than it is to post drivel like this on BigSoccer.com and confirm it.

 

Re: FIRE SOEHN, PAYNE and KASPER

Don't know if this is the right place to post this, but here goes.

2008 DCU was 17-23-6 (WLD, 1.24 points per game) in all competitions, I think. They won the USOC, bungled the CCL, and missed the playoffs by a couple of shots of the post in the last game.

2009 DCU was 17-11-16 (WLD 1.53 points per game) in all competitions, made the finals of the USOC, were above .500 in the CCL (actually had the best record of all MLS teams) and missed the playoffs by a couple of shots off the post in the last game.

When you play 44-46 games a year when everyone else is playing 31-36, you are going to have ups and downs - Especially when the geniuses at MLS scheduling take the months of June July off and then give 10 games in 31 days and 3-4 countries. When you play every 3 days, you barely have time to recuperate, much less practice or work on things that are going wrong. In addition, given the horrible refereeing decsions in the 2 LA games (I'll let all the others good and bad even out over the season, but the LA games were horrific), DCU would have coasted into the playoffs if there were instant replay.

How many other teams would see this as relative progress? Granted, this was a farewell year to Emilio, Gomez, Jaime, and Ben, and there will be turnover next year. However, this was the first year I can remember (maybe since 99) that DCU actually made decent young American pickups - Pontius, Wallace (I know about the CR thing), Jacobson, and Barklage (before the injury) were substantially better than the South American foursome the year before. Jakovic actually got DCU better and younger at the back.

I think next year DCU can be back at what wins in this league - a few big name foreigners and a core of solid American players. Plus the team will only have 30 games (plus USOC) and less international travel. I personally don't think Soehn is the total cause of this, but he'll probably go as the team will start fresh with young blood and new system. A lot of the problem that ails the team are brought on by MLS salary cap, scheduling issues, a crappy stadium which puts the fans in a bad mood.

Other teams' fans feel like DCU fans are spoiled rotten whiny punks who think the team deserves to win every year (a la the NY Yankees). When you've won so much in the past, you expect it to continue, which is natural. But, if you check the Crew board, some will say they've got the worst coach around since he doesn't know how to sub, etc. and they won the Shield. The best thing is that some of the Seattle fans, the johnny come latelys to the party, are now often the whiniest fans, as some of them expect to have everything handed to them now.

Basically, overall, DCU won more than they lost, but had some bad slumps at inopportune times, but in the long term review, the team wasn't nearly as bad as the 2000-3 rough years and they finally showed well in an international tournament - and took a point off of a Mexican team in Mexico. While there's plenty of room for improvement, I'm still re-upping my season tickets, like I've done every year since 1996, and hoping the team gets some silverware next year.

 

Re: FIRE SOEHN, PAYNE and KASPER

His girlfriend gave up her toe! It's not fair.

 

Re: FIRE SOEHN, PAYNE and KASPER

That's because he's not a wing midfielder. He's a forward who continuously is played at wing to make room for Jaime and Emilio. Yanno, much like has happened with Pontius. Those guys are forwards. Period. That's part of the problem with the coaching here.

 

Re: FIRE SOEHN, PAYNE and KASPER

I agree, particularly the way you worded it. "Drivel like this" refers to your response. Had you said drivel like that you would not have revealed yourself to be an idiot. Nice try though

 

Re: FIRE SOEHN, PAYNE and KASPER

This doesn't make sense.


And I'm referring to your post.

 

Re: FIRE SOEHN, PAYNE and KASPER

Begun, the grammar wars have....

 

Re: FIRE SOEHN, PAYNE and KASPER

I know you've had one KC interloper infracted for interjecting in your internal inanities in recent times - however, I'm interested in a more intellectual interruption.

Assonance aside, I'd gladly take Kevin Payne if you all are really committed to firing him. I hold him in the neighborhood of regard that hold Peter Wilt.

 

Re: FIRE SOEHN, PAYNE and KASPER

I don't think KP should be fired. I think he needs to focus on the business side of things and let someone else "curate" the squad. Kasper needs to be on his way along with Soehn.

The biggest harm KP inflicts is the haughty confidence in the way things were done in the past. This possibly clouds any modified vision of the way forward.

 

Re: FIRE SOEHN, PAYNE and KASPER

Kevin Payne wishes he lived in the same zip code, let alone neighborhood as Wilt

 

Re: FIRE SOEHN, PAYNE and KASPER

For a forward, his in-the-box finishing is decidedly suspect. He's at his best offensively when he's crashing the net.

 

Re: FIRE SOEHN, PAYNE and KASPER

I gotta agree, particularly with the early iterations during that awful spell. The 2000 squad really did play beautiful soccer. It was a supremely unlucky season, with a lot of freak things that cost us points. This year's team has too often played desultory, uninspired soccer. Those teams with Etch and Stoichkov could be entertaining. This year's team was almost never entertaining, even on the occasions that we won. There was literally only one game that I left truly happy this year -- our win at home over Marathon. I couldn't even get too jazzed about our US Open win over the Metros because we looked so awful in trying to give up a seemingly-insurmountable lead.

This has been a dreadful season, in terms of our general play and, as a result, in how we squandered some really, really good opportunities to enjoy some success this year. I am much less upset this late in the year about not making the playoffs than I am in not advancing in the CCC and in losing the US Open Cup Final. Either of those would have given me something really good to look forward to next year -- either the CCC quarters (with the chance to upgrade our squad over the offseason) or at least entrance into next year's CCC, not to mention the hardware that winning the US Open Cup would have represented.

What a rough couple of years. I am happy we won in 2004, but it wasn't a great team. We put together much better teams the next few years .... but pissed away all our chances and have nothing but squat to show for any of those gloden opportunities. And this year, hell, this has been the worst of them all. In fact, this really has been the worst season I have endured as a fan since I began coming out to RFK in 1996.

 

Re: FIRE SOEHN, PAYNE and KASPER

Well done.

There are a few things going on here.

There are DCU fans who are so frustrated over the last couple of years that their current outlook is "Whatever it is, if it has anything to do with DC United, fire it right now."

Then, there are people who think that KP has a long legacy of success at running a team, but that most of that success occurred in the early years of the league/team. They feel that he's living in the past and that living in the past is holding the team back.

And then, there are people who think that there are other means of measuring success than just MLS Cup playoffs -- such as, for instance, the Supporters' Shield, USOC, etc. -- and by that measure, we may not be dominating but that doesn't mean we've done nothing worthwhile since 2004. And whatever folks in the first two groups may say, even halfway decent MLS team presidents don't grow on trees -- as exemplified by some teams' efforts to find such a leader, running like a thread through their entire existence.

Not everyone here wants to see KP gone.

 

Re: FIRE SOEHN, PAYNE and KASPER

In fairness, I do have to point out that the 10 dollar beers have been an excellent addition -- about the only good thing to come out of this season.

 

Re: FIRE SOEHN, PAYNE and KASPER

Well put and sums up the more cogent of the arguments. I'm certainly leaning towards the cleaning house approach for the reasons you stated above. However, your concise comment does not capture the nuance of the situation. Namely, that KP believes in "attacking soccer" and will continue to find coaches that play that style over "pragmatic soccer". To take it to hyperbolic levels - KP would rather have Arsene Wenger than Alex Ferguson. With Wenger, you know that the team will attack and attack and damn what the other guy does. With Ferguson, you know that the team will seek to win no matter what. That is my issue with KP at this point because to be successful in MLS with all of the restrictions, we need a coach that cares about results and not about how those results are gained. I do not believe that KP will bring in such a manager.

 

Re: FIRE SOEHN, PAYNE and KASPER

Players brought in held "ALOT" of promise. While I'm not too fond of PAYNE, I hardly think he or Casper did anything wrong with the line up, even for the players that failed here.

DC needs to rid Soehn. Yes, the dude has alot of fine potential, but let's hire him back AFTER he's reached that potential. Soehn definantly knows soccer, but he lacks in soo many areas. I'm sure players like "FRED" can excel with a mature head coach.

I also have an issue with their "MARKETING" tactics. But that's for the Marketing Department to blame. They go about the right direction in trying to attract more "El Salvadoreans", but they execute horribly, burning people that "aren't" from ES.

Anyways, no such thing as 100%

 

Re: FIRE SOEHN, PAYNE and KASPER

I'm not sure Fred can learn how to "trap" by simply changing the coach.

 

Re: FIRE SOEHN, PAYNE and KASPER

Does anybody remember that Kevin Payne's best seasons came when he was Bruce Arena's coffee and donut delivery boy? He's one of the great "woke up on third base and thought he hit a triple" guys. If he wanted to keep being successful he needed to hire really strong soccer guys and stay out of the way. Whoops. Maybe Pharoah didn't build those pyramids by himself after all . . .

 

Re: FIRE SOEHN, PAYNE and KASPER

We all know the solution is to fire everybody. It has worked so well in the past. Look, everyone is entitled to an opinion but firing everyone has not ever worked even once in this league as far as I can recall. I associate cleaning house with the NYRB and I don't really think any of us want to be like them( stadium excluded).

 

Re: FIRE SOEHN, PAYNE and KASPER

so who should stay?

the coaches, the training staff, the guy who signs the players, or the guy in charge of the entire organiation?

 

Re: FIRE SOEHN, PAYNE and KASPER

I would agree but this doesn't fully replace Payne. However he would replace two guys with one and that's got to be worth something