One of Joe's things is saving historic buildings from the wrecking ball and restoring them. That's not much different from restoring the Fire. He tried to go in a different direction with Ishwara, but that failed because of Ishwara. Baldwin was primarily brought in to pump up ticket sales and he has succeeded. I don't think community engagement is his specialty, but he's dipping his toe into it. It looks like the stadium issue is the biggest item on his plate right now.
In the beginning, . . . Phil Anschutz (AEG) was a pretty hands off owner. His investment was relatively low, but he gave his people the tools to run his teams and pretty much stayed out of the way. The guy he installed as President, Bob Sanderman, had a lot on his plate as he ran the LA Kings, the Colorado Rapids, and sat on the NHL Board of Governors. AFAIK, he was the guy responsible for hiring Wilt for the Fire and supported him much like he was supported. Wilt hired Bob Bradley to run the sporting area and cared for the rest of the operation himself. As much as anyone in a similar position in sports management, the charismatic and engaging Wilt became the face of the team. A very successful team on the field. AEG had no interest in running the Rapids & the Fire long term. So by the time AEG decided to build a stadium to make the team more saleable Sanderman had left. His successor, like most professional management types, didn't like Wilt's style, but waited until the stadium was sorted out to fire him. That's the very quick, very dirty background from my observations and recollections of conversations I've had with him. It implies why Wilt was never hired again in MLS. There are others on this forum who likely know more and have a different version of the history. Peter himself looks in here once in a while so he may chirp up too.
More like putting a noose around it. He is 100% revenue focused and getting that done but there is no one driving community, supporters included. Again, it’s Joe’s biggest failure.
Seems a harsh assessment...and not fitting in this roster thread...but that's en vogue right now You mention supporters...and have previously espoused 'club' is not just the 'organization'...the supporters groups are a hot mess. How is that "on Joe" as his "biggest failure"? The thing Baldwin is doing is increasing attendance, which essentially 'provides' more potential supporters...but that scene is not welcoming. But if there is 30k+ coming to every game there is likely to be an (eventual) impact on the community. The 90s needed the org to be investing in the community to survive. Now the league is "stable" and growing, so the org has arguably evolved beyond the need for a symbiotic relationship. Will be interesting to see if GGG views it as a priority, or not. Having the early days experience would make you think he would...but his reputation is not exactly warm and fuzzy.
Baldwin understands there's a problem and is just starting to sort it out. Firing Evan went over badly and I told him so. Colby-Begovich seems a willing and able guy, but his big experience was with Carnival Cruise Line. I'd expect him to be more STH & corporate oriented. Supposedly Robbie Diaz is taking on the community/supporters role, but whether it's only that role, or piled on to other responsibilities is uncertain.
hard to see what here led to the blackest of black balls in all of league history he was too popular? butted heads with an executive? but i'll take your word for it
i've always felt that the strongest club cultures were less affected by front office/team business decisions, but that by-and-large they were organic formations among fans more about staying out of the way than creating good fan culture top-down most important thing is winning, having likable players/coaches, making games affordable and accessible, and so on all this emphasis on the Fire 365 fan engagement stuff feels a bit misguided and stilted -- I'm not drawn to club sponsored social or family events, but I am drawn to, say, the tailgate culture that has emerged separate from the front office
Am I correct that the Fire need to make decisions on expiring contracts and contracts with options to extend by Nov. 27? (Czichos, Gutman, Arigoni, Herbers, MHS, Lassiter, Omsberg, Richey, Dean, Bezerra, Casas, Gal, Wootton- 13 in total)
from this site, MHS and Gutman are under contract next year, no options for 2025 https://www.spotrac.com/mls/chicago-fire/cap/_/year/2024 transfermarkt says otherwise: https://www.transfermarkt.us/chicago-fire-fc/vertragsende/verein/432 who knows
1000% supporters need to be independent but the money, marketing, voice of the FO is always a powerful force and needs to lead by example. Support here was decimated by 15 years of intentional dismemberment from an abusive and destructive FO. The supporters now just need a little helpful suggestive guidance. What we have instead is a culture all about revenue. That’s not to say revenue and ticket sales aren’t important but when that is the whole of your existence and reason for being it’s not really going to inspire much positive culture or communal, supportive, energy. As for Wilt, he was from the Bill Veeck mold. A man of the people. Honest, up front, concerned, a lot of good things. It just doesn’t jive well with techbro, smarmy league peoples.
Capology also says both have contracts through 2024 plus options. Not sure of correct info. But, IMO, it probably does not matter. MHS with $388k salary in 2024 is highly likely to have any option exercised. Gutman salary is higher at $600k, but is also very likely.
Popular? Where else can a supporter show up to the team offices unannounced, ask to see the team president, have the guys in the office tell you the door's open, and be invited in? And yes, his style is seen as "unprofessional" by the C-suite types. Has he gotten offers? Maybe? But the fact that one of the 2 most successful executives in MLS 1.0 never had another job in the league while a vile character like N-Rod is given the keys to Don Garber's bathroom says a lot to me and a lot of other people around the country.
There's some good points here. In the day every effort was made to create that organic culture. Wilt encouraged it as well. N-Rod did everything he could to do exactly the opposite. Now whatever fan culture there was is on life support. Hear hear!
for MHS, all I can find is that they completed the sale last year for Gutaman, it's pretty clear from the team announcement that he's signed through 2026, no options (option in 2027): https://www.chicagofirefc.com/news/...s-defender-andrew-gutman-from-colorado-rapids
Maybe GGG can invest most of his garberbux on player salaries instead of acquisition costs. Not only does he need to hit home runs on the DP market, but he needs to raise the floor of the entire team.
Gutman announcement seems pretty conclusive. ( transparency by the Fire, who would have guessed?) Spotrac seems more accurate.
Year-end 2024 Decision List with 2024 salaries- (Revised) Czichos -$1,337k, Arigoni-472, Herbers-421, Lassiter-260, Omsberg-217, Richey-165, Dean-123, Bezerra-116, Casas-94, Gal-90, Wootton-73, Dowd-71 Any easy decisions here that would generate some needed roster spots? Do we really need three backup goalies, given Brady and Los? Are there any players who we feel their current or foreseeable best is not good enough for inclusion on the roster?
The “easy” one appears to be Czichos. Czichos would need to cut his salary in half to be considered. Omsberg is probably gone, too.
they're all dispensable we just need senior roster spots so desperately that guys that would be fine to come back under different circumstances might be victims this time around
Peter was and still seems to be more of the philosophy of "In addition to a good team, work to create a culture of the fans/supporters being what the team is about and the income will take of itself, nicely". Peter was clearly an outlier in a dominant culture of, "this is princibly about making money for the franchises and we will only include fans/supporters as far as it helps us maximize our investment". Harumph.
OK If you were tasked with generating 5 spots ( DP, DP/U22, 2 promotions from Fire II slots, 1 to get rid of “spot 31”), who would you let go?
I suppose it matters in part on who you think you have lined up to come back. Players like Herbers and Pineda can play multiple positions so make good depth. Any player that is not a starter and not versatile should be considered expendable. Czichos is just expensive so if we can't find a quality CB this break, get his salary down to a reasonable level.
Kinda hate to complain because it is a good discussion but …. Maybe you guys need to start a Peter Wilt thread rather than use this thread.
i love fede, but i hope he, Gaston, Arnaud, and somehow Mueller are on other teams next year Fede is the one you have to buyout instead of Gaston if it comes to that because you have to maximize number of contract years bought out and Fede (three more years) is much more important to move than Gaston (one more year)
I think he might improve with a fresh system but he could also be sold most likely. He's got skills and maybe just needs a new bit of scenery. A new coach may do that or a new team.