One interesting tidbit in there is that the Krafts tried to get Arena 2 years ago before hiring Friedel. I wonder what is making him say yes now? Maybe agreeing to can Burns?
I think this goes along with what I said a few weeks ago: since the Krafts know that the are pretty inexperienced/naive re: soccer, they want a manage-the-whole-deal type person to lead it, a.k.a., a Belichick. Arena is that kind of guy - he's not going to come in here and have someone manage him, give him a budget, tell him which players he can/can't get, who he can hire, etc., etc. That's the problem if he is not named GM - he's not going to work for someone above him. It will be interesting to see who he brings in with him (I would guess he's probably pretty tight with Lapper, though maybe not as permanent head coach).
I think he's been away from it long enough and feels like it's time to get back in. I also think he doesn't want what happened in his last National team term to be his final act. Personally I'm glad it's Arena. He knows the US soccer landscape well enough that he'll be able to take whatever budget Kraft gives him and make the team better over time. This is the similar to when the Patriots hired Bill Parcells. The feeling at the time was finally someone with competence running the show. Yes Arena is arrogant, but he also knows what he's doing.
I completely agree with all parts of this. But it was a great Birthday present for me yesterday. Also this... 1128082415103168513 is not a valid tweet id
WOW! Sacre vache! I really didn't expect this move, but it's the only move they really could have made in this situation to dispel the "apathy" label they have so richly deserved for several years. I haven't been a big Arena fan, but we needed someone with his personality to take over and give this team a 180-degree makeover. He is our Parcells and Bellichick rolled into one. He is an arrogant prick to be sure, but now he is our arrogant prick. And he is an example of how that can actually work in a positive way. And for Arena, what better way to turn around your legacy from the abysmal failure of not qualifying for Russia. If he instills a totally different culture up and down the organization, in 5 years he can step aside and turn the reins over to a protege, having overhauled the sorriest organization in the league.
Always hope for the best, but always understand that statistically speaking "the best" usually isn't the most likely outcome.
It really seemed rough that Mike Burns was sent out to fire his ex-roomate and friend and to host the press conference only to be axed himself less than a week later. Was that a calculated decision on the Kraft's part? Or was it just "bad" luck? I wonder if the Friedel and Burns households will still be exchanging christmas/holiday cards...Or is that friendship bridge well and thoroughly burned?
I dunno, but I guess it depends on how they handled it. Friedel must have known the axe was likely to fall at some point with these results, and every coach expects to get fired at some point. I forget who it was, but someone said he was fired 6 times, but he was hired 7. It's just business, not personal. But if Burns was a total self-serving dick about it, well, that's another story. If that was the case, I have no sympathy for him. But I've had to let people go at work, and it really sucks all the way around. No one wants to do it, and you always want to let the person leave with as much of their dignity intact. Unless they did something like steal or get into a fistfight, you do whatever you can to ease their pain and help them move on to a better place. It's the humane thing to do.
I don't think it'll be an issue - it's like the firing of Nicol. Everyone realized that it needed to be done, even if they didn't like doing it.
Not to beat a dead horse, but... http://www.espn.com/soccer/club/new...-after-being-left-behind-by-the-growth-of-mls Multiple sources have confirmed that when [Jermaine] Jones initially came on the market, he was immediately offered to the Revs only for Burns to pass on the opportunity due to Jones' multi-million-dollar salary demands. It was only when word finally filtered up to Revs investor/operator Jonathan Kraft that the Revs dove back in. By then, Jones was nearly in the arms of the Chicago Fire, but the Revs were saved by the much-reviled "blind draw" that ultimately placed the midfielder in New England.
Agreed with this completely. Get someone in to clean house and turn the franchise around. This time, however, I doubt the Krafts will be involved with draft decisions enough to cause an acrimonious split.
Wow, that was one of the best summaries of the Revs in a while. The Jones story is mind-boggling. And to think Burns stayed on nearly 5 more years after that! It's not unusual for internal disagreements to happen in the workplace, but usually if you argue strongly for a point of view, but the boss overrules you and it turns out well, that does not bode well for you. Guys in that situation usually end up moving on not long after an incident like that. Then there's this quote: "Tom Brady, he's an anomaly, he's the best player, he takes a pay cut and he wins Super Bowls," said one source familiar with how the Krafts run their sports teams (no Revs executives were made available for this article). "That's what they're measuring off of. They think everyone should fit into that mold. In MLS, that's impossible." You'd think that "successful businessmen" like the Krafts would be able to understand how every situation is different and requires a different approach, but... And the other thing it mentions is that Penilla's family were denied visas. I don't know how all of this works, but I always thought that a guy who is clearly among the top echelon of his chosen profession (at least good enough to qualify for a work permit) would have family members be allowed to come too. Not like the guy doesn't make enough money to support a family here. I don't know if this is a relatively new thing, but it generally was a given in the past. Of course, a player's off-field happiness can have a huge impact on his play, and this is the kind of thing that can really make a difference.
It says some members of his family, likely parents or siblings. It's very unlikely that spouse or children would be denied, unless there are criminal records involved (not likely).
I think it is safe to say that in the past few years, visas have become harder to come by across the board, especially for those from Latin America. No politics in that statement, just fact. So I wouldn't necessarily put Penilla's unhappiness on anything the Revs can control.
Watched the highlights of POR @MON. Trading Dielna to POR may have been the biggest coup of Burns' career.