Fraser wasn’t the problem but you have to start somewhere and usually that somewhere is with the coach. If I’m Fraser, I’m looking at it like the club did me a favor. He’ll land on his feet. This club is an absolute mess. I love the club but goddamn they make it so hard to support. Maybe this is the beginning of burning the house to the ground.
I knew it was coming but I still can’t quite believe it. Fraser got a raw deal here, we all know it. Poor man was running out of options, and I think he was absolutely flabbergasted week in and week out with having to build lineups and formations and tactics. I’m sure it won’t be long til we see him coaching successfully elsewhere in the league, much like Gary Smith (Nashville) Oscar Pareja (Orlando) Pablo Mastroeni (FSL) Best of luck to ya Robin. Thankful for ‘21.
I'm interested in the line "Back to being a team that plays to its strengths." What strengths, exactly, does Smith think exist?
Reminder this dude never gave a shit about the RMC before, and has had basically no real communication with the fans for years. ...but *NOW* he comes out of the woodwork to throw someone else under the bus to try and make himself look good. What a colossal asshole.
Dang. Really throwing Robin under the bus and then backing over him for good measure. Not quite the classy way to go, really laying all the blame on Robin. So, now we clearly will have a winning team since the old coach was all the problem. Does that mean we can hold the rfo to a winning standard with whatever new hire they make? Sure seems that way.....
Particularly where he says the club could be so much more. What??? We have assets that could be much more if only we had a decent coach? I must just be missing it. Robin had his issues, for sure, but he is far from the only issue.
I am a STM and am struggling with getting motivated to attend any more matches this season. And we didn't renew.
Smith is just saving face with that lame ass release. All he needed to do was thank Fraser for his service, say something to effect of we aren’t satisfied with results, and a coaching search has begun. Simple. Instead, he’s trying to throw shade towards Fraser. Smith shares a large - if not larger - portion of the blame than Fraser. His ass is lucky to have a job. Most clubs would have canned him by now. Take some f***** ownership of your failures and shortcomings.
I've been asked by multiple people for my reaction to the events from this weekend and this morning, so here it is. Warning, long read: https://view-from-the-couch.blogspot.com/2023/09/rapids-lose-rmc-fraser-fired-smith.html
The one thing I got out of that is that its very clear KSE has no plans to substantially increase investment in the club any time soon. We need to find a GM and a coach that can win with the resources we have now. Smith ain't it.
The presser (as expected) didn't show us anything we didn't already know, and the things Padraig was saying are largely divorced from reality. He dodged any real questions that came his way, and just filibustered about "The Plan", "Identity", and the development academy. Nobody fv<king cares about those things, Padraig. None of those are scoring goals, winning games, or fixing the facilities. None of those are why people buy tickets, watch the team on TV/streaming, or buy the shirt. Yep. End of.
Got a chance to watch a replay of the Smith presser. It sounded like Charlie Brown’s teacher talking. I am, along with everyone I’ve talked to, are tired of the noise and same BS about a plan. I am the first to admit that plans take time but somewhere along the journey you should see something sprouting from those plans. We’ve see nothing. Zilch. Nada. Not a damn thing. We’ve heard variations of the same shit for how long now? Quit the talking and do something. The bar is set extremely low so I’ll take any forward progress. The progress I’d love to see is kicking Smith to the curb.
We Are Who We Thought We Were: https://view-from-the-couch.blogspot.com/2023/09/we-are-who-we-thought-we-were.html
Pretty good piece: How Cabral's case shows idealogical disconnect with Rapids | Colorado Rapids | denvergazette.com
And love this comment as well: Power Rankings: Lionel Messi & Inter Miami challenge for top spot | MLSSoccer.com "The Rapids have one win in all competitions since May 9. And now they need to find a replacement for head coach Robin Fraser, who almost certainly wasn’t the problem."
You reminded me on how when asked directly about repairing/ replacing the scoreboard, he completely avoided answering the question and went with vague "projects they are looking into" which to me screamed "we are doing nothing to improve stadium". He also straight refused to answer if a Player had reported the facility as substandard to MLS PA
Apparently Smith's idea of "The Plan" is to kick long balls to speedy wingers and hope they come up with something, and make the opponents run themselves into oxygen debt at altitude. I'll agree that the only way to get anything out of Lewis, Cabral, Harris, and Nicholson is to isolate them against individual defenders in open space and hope they can use their speed, because none of them have demonstrated any ability to be effective against organized defenses. That must be the thinking he used to build the attacking side of the roster, because, with the exception of Rubio, we have nobody who can do anything against a set defense. Unfortunately, such a limited attack is relatively easy to defend, and there has to be a Plan B somewhere. The article about Cabral gives the uninformed reader (one that hasn't suffered through his performances this season) the impression that Cabral is a skilled attacker who just needs to be used the right way. I don't see that - I see a 1-trick pony whose trick has been discovered. I've pretty much decided against watching any more Rapids matches this season.