I accept your statement as factual, however, I see no evidence that DC United would be operated under such conditions. I see us chasing whispers and shadows as long as the $$$ comes in. There is serious malfeasance going on at the top of the DC Operators group.
It's simple incompetence. We got Losada and later Rooney because we have no one in the organization to look for coaches, we have no process for selecting coaches, and we have no one to even address that we are following the rules of the league. Remember when we got slammed with fines during our coach search (https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/mls-...coach-hiring-process-taxi-fountas-allegations)? The reason we got fined isn't just because we violated MLS Diversity Hiring rules but because WE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE A REAL FORMAL SEARCH TO BEGIN WITH. We didn't even have 2-3 candidates, we had Wayne on the phone asking us for a few million quid to slack off. We got Benteke because his agent talked to MLS, MLS probably asked the major clubs of the league and they said they didn't want him, and he ended up with us. We didn't scout DP talent, they kind of just end up here. You find the same incompetence and lack of personnel in every single element of this organization all the way down to ticketing and vendors. There's no malice and no corruption, it's just a few guys winging it and still getting butts in seats because the DC area is wealthy enough, and the DC United franchise old enough, to carry along regardless of outcomes on the field. The entire mom-and-pop/cottage industry of bloggers and fan media is dead, killed by the organization. Supporters groups aren't valued and even group ticketing to organizations isn't well done. It's a zombie organization, shambling along until we luck into a ~47 point season by virtue of the usual musical chairs of teams being good and sucking on a year to year basis.
The malice is indirect. The utter contempt Levien and company shows to the fan base is manifested because they don’t care about putting a winning team on the pitch, they want the supporter’s groups compliant and they figure there is enough disposable income in this area that they can run the Ponzi scheme long enough to cash out. That old saying, “it’s just business” sums up what these muppets are doing.
You are confusing these words with "modern sports management." If you want to make something right in sports, burn down a graduate school.
100% Correct They had a guy in mind, I want to say he was Moroccan, but my memory on the subject could be flawed. When that fell through, rather than being smart, going back to the fan base and saying we couldn't get our guy, but we're already working on it for the winter window to start next season, because last season was already lost, they doubled down on stupid. Rooney said I've got a lot of phone numbers. Didn't they say that they spoke to Cavani? That might have been a better move than what we ended up with, especially given the desire to play out of the back. Instead, they blew the whole wad on Benteke and here we are, wired for route 1 football and still trying to play out of the back. DCU had a plan and identity for about a year, but they failed to manage the employees and monitor the situation so naturally it blew up in their faces and they promptly reverted to type. Lucy burned them to the ground for that last week. If they were smart, there's little chance this will happen but, they go out this off season... 1) bring back Chad because he's a known quantity and isn't going to do anything insane like Losada did or demand overpriced shit players like Rooney 2) offload Santos & Dajome's contracts for a bag of balls 3) exercise the options on BHI & KdP and let everyone else go 4) then go out and get a big man target forward to back up Benteke ... sign Kei Kamara for no reason other than he ALWAYS burns us, Yes he'll be 40, but stay with me here, he always produces at Audi Field. I have to think he could be a goal every other game at AF, especially if we wear our away shirts every game to reinforce the idea that he's the visitor and destined to score. 5) Then sign the pick of the litter of midfielders who are out of contract, because other than Klitch and some kids, we have no one signed for next year, and Kasper excels at signing over the hill, used up MLS players who will never play for anyone else ever again 6) Don't bother with new foreign talent, we lack the resources to make the spend worthwhile. Same with a DP, it's not worth the spend with Kasper/Mairs/Howe making the calls. 7) With the money left over from not letting Mairs & Howe make stupid decisions, consider signing Piriani 8) More profit and another spoon to round out the collection Players under contract for 2024 Benteke Klich Jeheze Miller Bono Zamundio Dajome Hopkins Akinmboni Sargis Birnbaum Santos Durkin