I’ll tell you a name that could get bandied about (maybe not with the Rapids so much) depending on the situation in Israel - Robbie Keane. He’s had a hot start with Maccabi Tel Aviv. He and his assistant - Rory Delap - have fled to Greece. There is potential he doesn’t return to the club. Keane knows the league and its structure. He has decent experience as an assistant with Ireland and Leeds United. If he becomes available it wouldn’t surprise me to see someone in MLS swoop him up.
Two pieces of news tonight. First, former Mexico Nat Efrain Juarex is linked to the role: https://www.tudn.com/futbol/colorad...eccionado-mexicano-para-que-sea-su-entrenador Juarez just recently started as an assistant at Club Brugge after being at Standard Liege as an assistant for a season. Before that he was an assistant at NYCFC for 3 seasons. Also an Arsenal correspondent is warning Wilshere not to take the Rapids job due to fan discontent and a lack of support from ownership: https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2023/10/...ld-urged-to-stay-amid-rumours-he-could-leave/
Juarez was one of the worst Celtic signings in recent history so I won’t hold that against him. He followed former NYCFC manager, Ronny Delia to Standard Liege and then Club Brugge. I’ve always been a big fan of Delia - thanks to my Celtic love. Through many Celtic fans hated him. Anyways…. tutelage under Delia is not a bad thing. Juarez actually excites me more than Wilshere. Club Brugge also has a fairly reputable and robust youth system in Club NXT and Juarez may had some sort of involvement in that from what I can gather
Hearing there may be a Bradley available for coaching…. #TFCLive captain said he wants to get into coaching, but doesn't have anything lined up right now. Also said he and his family will be leaving Toronto.— John Molinaro (@JohnMolinaro) October 20, 2023 Another Toronto member….no coaching experience, but plenty of MLS experience (and on a terrible team that knows how to spend money poorly recently) - and probably available on the cheap. Sounds like a perfect fit for Padraig-ball!
Have heard from several people now that Jack Wilshere supposedly nailed his first round interview with Colorado Rapids. His tactical ideas and approach to player development seemed advanced for his amount of coaching experience. He could be favored to get the job. We'll see.— Burgundy Wave (@Burgundywave) October 22, 2023
This would be my approach, hire someone that the players understand. Not Sir Alex, but his grandkid, maybe. Our best coaches were Mooch, Smith, Pablo, Fraser. Hmmmmm. We should have dumped Padraig and kept Robin, eh? R
Have heard from a few sources now that Colorado Rapids are looking to finalize (and potentially announce) their new Head Coach next week or the week after. The final round of interviews could be taking place this week. That final round might be one convo with the favorite.— Burgundy Wave (@Burgundywave) November 1, 2023
Whoever it is will be a primer to the next 3-5 years to come. Hopefully they get it right, and whoever it is can hopefully bring success both because of and in spite of the front office
Sources: The Colorado Rapids coaching search is at its final stage and a decision is imminent. Rapids down to four finalists, including former RBNY boss Chris Armas and interim Chris Little.Latest details here, with @PaulTenorio ⤵️ https://t.co/CnuPjf2zrH— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) November 2, 2023 Chris Armas being a finalist shows this organization is still deeply unserious about being competitive
JFC that would be an awful hire. Seriously, that would be flushing the next 2-3 years down the toilet.
What is the most damning case against Armas in everyone's view? I say this not to defend him, but having a terrible run at Toronto is hardly unique to him.
His decision making in the 2018 playoffs (And yeah, TFC is a horrible organization, but 1 win in 11 as a new coach there is not all on the org)
His only real coaching success is the result of getting handed the keys half-way through the season to a team Jesse Marsch built. Everything else about his coaching career is remarkably undistinguished. He has ranged from mediocre to a disaster everywhere he's been. He's not going to magically become a successful coach here with fewer resources than any other job he's had.
Either Wilshere or Juarez is out (or possibly both), because Kah is in the final 4 list along with Little and Armas: You can add Pa-Modou Kah to the list of candidates to be #Rapids96 manager. Can confirm @tombogert and @PaulTenorio report that Chris Armas and Chris Little are also in the mix. https://t.co/fn5vAfX9Hh— Jeff Carlisle (@JeffreyCarlisle) November 3, 2023
It was not public knowledge, but there was reportedly some else from continental Europe with youth development experience the Rapids were interviewing as well (this is third-hand info, so take it with a grain of salt). This candidate may have been ruled out as well. I will say all three of these are far more interesting than the names we have as of today. If the finalist list really comprises of Armas, Little, Kah, and a Mystery Box...I'll take the box. This is a complete disaster.
Kah wouldn't be the disaster of the other two (I put Juarez in the same category as Kah). But none of them are the experienced coach we need to fix this spiraling club. With Kah/Juarez I'd feel like we might be able to get a Oscar Pareja level of success out of them. Armas and Little are bad Fraser/Pablo level at best, Hudson level bad is possible in a worst case. None of these names shout "good Fraser" to me, which is what we need at minimum.
At this point I really hope Jack Wilshere is still a candidate, and who we end up settling on. Based on the names we've heard, I legitimately think our odds of player recruitment and having any shot at the playoffs is better with Wilshere than Little, Armas, or Kah, all three of whom I consider pretty poor candidates. I'd rather roll the dice on a complete outsider than someone that just seems to be a slightly different version of Fraser.
Pa-Modou Kah Is intriguing simply because his name has been bandied about with a few MLS vacancies in the past year or so. The interest from those clubs (which clubs I can’t remember off the top of my head) has reportedly stemmed from his strong work with young players. To me…. and this is me thinking out loud….. this screams of a cheap option and an already built-in excuse / scapegoat of “oh, we have young players blah blah blah” when results become the same shit, different day for the Rapids. I don’t know if Kah has the chops of being a 1st manager. I have no idea. Sad to say, I’d almost take a shit MLS retread like Armas over the unknown of Kah. Really none of the candidates even remotely wow me. But I shouldn’t be surprised. We are dealing with KSE.
The problem isn’t that we go to the dollar store. It’s that when we get to the dollar store, the team complains that is still too expensive and we start looking for a cheaper bargain bin IN the dollar store.
Phil Neville to Portland. OK. Not sure what that does for them. And still nothing about where our coaching search stands at the moment.