And that's a really good point. Obviously HSG was dealing from a standpoint of his entire tenure here, whereas Sigi was (naturally) looking at the team's potential moving forward.
Its taken me several moments and a call to the IT guy to get the coffee off my screen and keyboard. I may steal "twatwaffle", thats just funny.
The most interesting part of the article to me was Sigi's quote: "Also, looking at everything else and what I mean by everything else is we haven't got an agreement yet here in Columbus on a training site. In this economic climate is that going to happen now?" That's a fair point (though *something* has to be done as Obetz is kicking the team out shortly). I concur with Bill that more may come out later--though MM is very professional about such things--if he cannot say something good about former employees he usually says nothing at all (case in point being our former PR person--he was fired but nothing negative was said by the FO).
I am more interested in the non compete issue at this moment and the comments flying around by Sigi about things are being worked out with the league. Is there a trade of sorts in the works with Seattle to float draft picks, Evans, or allocation money our way in turn for dropping the tampering charges? I am willing to bet that the league wants Sigi around and that MM is not going to drop anything until we get our back scratched. I know some people like to blame MM and HSG for Sigi getting away, but they made the guy a decent offer according to sources with a sizable raise. He would have jumped at it if they offered it in March instead of November, but the offer was not there and we won the Cup so his price went up despite the fact we did not win squat the previous 2 years, but in pro sports it is what have you done for me lately. Sigi wanted the $$$ so his wife could retire and move where he was. $300K per year would be enough to most people for that to happen, that is until Seattle starts floating a $500K figure around before Sigi's contract was up.
I think handing over Brad Evans would make everyone happy. Well, maybe not everybody, but it's certainly put a smile on MY face. And since Seattle fans are working overtime at winning the "Most Obnoxious Shitheads in MLS" Award already, we need to save Evans from them. It's our duty.
Is Obetz actually kicking them out? I thought the reason was that they needed more room and they wanted a more professional training facility with more bells and whistles there on site. With the roster cuts, does that make Obetz more viable for, at least, the immediate future?
Is it my imagination or did the water tower with the Crew logo near Obetz already go the way of the dinosaurs? I was over there recently and saw what I thought was the tower, but sadly it was only a tan color now.
Throwing another log on the fire, according to Goff, apparently Seattle is after former Crew trialist Osvaldo Alonso. They are seriously shaping up to look like West Coast Crew Leftovers.
I hope I can rep you, because spot on. What the hell mowry, get laid, it's the offseason. A forum does not have to be succint spot on reliable dialogue about the Crew 24/7. We are not reporters, just fans with a sense of humor that like most normal human being's can multi task thoughts. I mean it's obvious the Crew are on everyone's mind in this forum, if you're here then you're obviously a pretty hardcore Crew fan. But, shit even during our championship run. I can talk about other stuff, about offseason stuff, I can still study, still take a piss as well, and talk about the championship run all in the same day. People who want to deny some sort of talk because their brains are too small to think or focus on more than one thing at a time, blow my absolute mind, I don't care if it's the offseason or not. I don't get how these people get through life? I mean, shit, the Crew are obviously on my mind more than even the average fan. I have to think of stuff everyday that is Crew related to put up on my site. But, I still find a way to go to school, talk about random stuff, feed myself, look at tits, and do other things. Like Bill said unbelievable.
Could you please capitalize a sentence once in a while. I'm now going to respect eletrickeeper's "you're versus your rule" because jesus I bet it annoys him as much as this annoys me. I'm sorry eletrickeeper. I have seen the light. Anyways, back to the on topic: On Sigi, yes it is sad to see him go. But, if he felt so strongly about that bond he had with the fans than he would not of left Columbus, especially when he DOESN'T EVEN HAVE A DEAL YET WITH ANOTHER TEAM. I would seriously laugh if Seattle hires someone else and I hope they do. I mean, if it's for your family that is fine and that's all you have to say. This sob story about the fans does not really count, because it was his decision to leave, nobody pushed him out of the door. The guy is still a legend. But, if he had not won us a Cup(and even in most parts of the world if he did), then everyone would be like can you believe this guy? We give him two exceedingly patient years to run a team, we love the guy, and he just runs out on us? I sincerely doubt, no matter how heart felt everyone thinks it is, that the fans had any role in Sigi's decision. Sigi had no interest in staying in Columbus anymore. Throw some ritz and glam in his face with the Seattle Sounders with a little money, Freddie Ljuengberg, and Drew Carey and he is off within a flash. Does not matter that the Sounders will completely suck compared to a team that will be able to compete in this side of the Atlantic's version of the Champions League. And, I really doubt that Seattle is going to allow Sigi to take flights to LA every week during the season. It will be no different than Columbus unless his family is moving up there. Imagine this, a new coach joins Sunderland and leads them to be EPL Champions and has them set for a magical run the next season deep in Champions League play and says you know what I'm going to Real Madrid. You think all the Sunderland fans would be kissing his butt? I love Sigi, I wish him luck, but he abandoned the fans and I kind of laugh at people who believe that the fans weighed into his decision. All you have to say is family concerns. But, I totally totally doubt that Sigi will get anymore time to see his family in Seattle during the season than in Columbus. In the offseason you can go wherever the hell you want, but with those 18,000 tickets sold I doubt Seattle is going to care too much about Sigi's feelings about being close to his family. Geez, if you make $500,000 or even $200,000, if the family really wants to be close all they got to do is have the other spouse stop working. I know the wife probably will be like what about my career? But, still I mean $200,000 a year around here can support a family and then some. If my wife someday is pulling in $200 k a year and says, "you know what hunny, why don't you just sit around and blog all day, I'm down." Listen, don't get me wrong, he is a legend for leading us to our first cup. But, just because we won MLS Cup does not mean that the CHALLENGE is over. We can't be like okay now it is time TO STOP. There are more seasons. And, we still have a CHALLENGE of selling out our stadium and becoming a dynasty. A CHALLENGE that Sigi wholeheartedly abandoned out of his own decision. I'm just glad to be done with that drama. Move aside. Robert is less drama and I welcome that. Also thankfully his family isn't spread across the four corners of the Earth, well unless Robert wants to take trips to Poland to eat pierogies with his grandpap during the season.
someone needs to get CF emotionally worked up over something. He was much more entertaining when he wasn't making good points.
And therein lies part of the problem. A lot of people - here and elsewhere - commented that the expansion draft had Sigi's fingerprints all over it. And then there is a report like this, where Seattle files for a guy they've probably never seen, but Sigi sure has. Which seems to indicate that Sigi is using knowledge and information he obtained while working for the Crew to benefit another team, and may have done so before he was officially out of contract with HSG. Thus, the Crew files a tampering complaint AND alleges a contract violation. If the scenario is as it appears to be, they're dead right. McCullers isn't an idiot, and he's not a whiner like Mo Johnston, and I don't believe he's making this stuff up. If he's filed a complaint, it's because he has good reason. Sigi in turn is saying that when the Crew pointed these things out Seattle was forced to terminate contact with him and he, in turn, ended communication with Columbus. There's some big nasty here and like I said, I'll take Evans back and forget the whole thing.
I tend to agree. Mark's a real professional. Jamie always struck me as a bit of a kid having fun (and not a bad way to start something new, BTW) and Jim Smith as a used car salesman on a lot you might only go to if you *had* to. Mark's the real deal. He doesn't make excuses and has always been straightforward when he can be (and keeps his mouth shut when he has to). I never felt that I was getting a line from him, ever.
Pure speculation on my part but it makes sense...I think Sigi already has the deal, the promise, the contract, the whatever from Seattle. The only thing holding up the official announcent is the tampering allegation filed by The Crew. Otherwise we would have heard from Seattle F/O the Friday after SS's contract expired. Maybe the non-compete clause should be enforced?
No maybe about it. If the situation was reversed there isn't a team in the whole damn league that wouldn't hold the Crew's feet to the fire until they'd extracted every ;last drop of blood. How many times have we seen it? Whe was the last time someone gave us a break? And I for one thing that, along with the New Crew approach to everything, ought to be the attitude that Mr. Nice Guy died and was buried, and all that's left here is Mr. Screw You. I want to see Mark McCullers doing an Al Capone in his office: [youtube]T3sAjI7V0HY[/youtube]
Agreed....I also hated whenever we won the "Fair Play Award." Seems to me that award means you take shi# but don't return it in kind. It always seemed we were the most fouled Club too. But I digress.
Completely agreed. I'm sure the bloggers of the world will try to spin it like the rules only apply to Columbus and no one else, but if Seattle went out of bounds, the Crew brass have every right to expect the figurative throw-in to come from it. And again, if Sigi signed a deal with a no-compete clause, it should be honored. We've had several discussions like this in recent seasons, regarding "rules are rules". People whining over Danny Szetela after we won his rights, to name one. And there was a subject this year (I don't remember the topic, sorry) where someone pointed out that MMc was all about playing by the rules. So if he is, and he's getting hosed by someone who's not, then by all means -- seek the appropriate remedy.
I guess I am still confused about Sigi's whole rationale for not accepting HSG's contract offer. So after thinking about it I came to the following conclusion. Sigi used us plain and simple. MM said they would have matched what others would have offered and I believe him, he can sugar coat things to some degree but for the most part they probably would have given more $$$ on top of the nice raise they already offered, but Sigi said no thanks. Sigi knew when he came here that his family and wife was going to still be in CA for 3 years, did he forget his Atlas or did he think that Columbus would move closer to LA by tectonic plates beneith the earths surface shifting and moving LA 500 miles closer to Columbus. He wanted more money so his wife could retire and move here and he was quoted on that, HSG offered him that, he said no thanks. Truth is Sigi just wanted to get back into coaching professional soccer in the MLS and Columbus was the quickest way to do that. I don't think he really had any intention of staying all that long.