“The club, the fanbase—they’re hungry for something more right now, and I felt like it’s a perfect fit if I can be the one to lead the charge.” Colorado Rapids 🤝 Chris Armas#Rapids96 pic.twitter.com/YriyuiVTJr— Colorado Rapids (@ColoradoRapids) November 17, 2023
It's in Armas' interest to do well because this will likely be the last first division head coaching opportunity he'll ever get if he fails. Will he do well though? It's not looking good.
Per @Burgundywave: "Armas was the first choice candidate coming out of the final round of interviews, which consisted of two-day in-person meetings"Rapids fans: pic.twitter.com/ghOS916dCE— Jason Maxwell (@RapidsJason) November 17, 2023
I, too, will have to give him a chance. There are a few of the returning players who have played hard and have won my respect. I am also hoping that we get to see some of the young players from Rapids2 given a chance with the big club. As many have pointed out, this signals that the club is nowhere close to making a committment to spending the money necessary on front office personnel who have proven themselves adept at spotting and signing talent, on a first rate manager with a vision to develop that talent, and on skilled players--especially scorers--who can deliver winning soccer to the fans. But after almost 20 years of supporting the team as a season ticket holder, I find that I cannot envision not being there to root them on.
Interesting in all the promo videos how he doesn't look happy. Like he is resigning himself to the fact he has to coach colorado as his last option.
On the bright side this is the first head coach we’ve had to coach his first game at the helm actually be week 1 instead of taking over during a season since 2018…. Although, it’s not too bright of a silver lining, as you might remember that guys name - Anthony Hudson.
I'm willing to give Armas the benefit of the doubt, he has to have grown as a coach since he was with NYRB ... look at Pablo. The challenge is, regardless of the coach, the lack of resources makes his task exceptionally difficult. The roster is a mess. Padraig did okay when he played MoneyBall and identified that other MLS teams undervalued league experience. The problem with MoneyBall is once others with more resources identify the inefficiencies that you did, you lose your edge. Padraig needs to get KSE to spend on facilities and a better roster or else I don't see any chance for improvement. What is sad is I've never seen the fanbase this morose (and that says a lot.)
Yup - And disengaged, etc. It's as if there is no hope - and that's what motivated me (and the rest of my family) to decide not to renew our season tickets. I sometime wonder how much Pádraig's hands are tied by KSE's lack of allocating resources to the Rapids (money for salaries, transfer fees and upgrades to the the training facilities). Regardless, the result it a club that's unlikely to see many wins in 2024 and beyond.
I'm convinced that KSE is really a real estate development company that view sports teams as the anchor for their developments whether it is in Colorado, LA or London and that they just need a team in place, not necessarily a competitive one.
There was paperwork that said literally this (not exactly word for word but the exact same point) back when they bought the Rapids. Essentially KSE wanted a new venue in the Denver area they would control (and also the real estate development around it) and wanted to get a local government to help pay for it. They determined the best way to get that result was to buy the Rapids.