Post-match: SEASON FINALE - MLS MATCHDAY 34 CREW @ SWAMP CATS SUNDAY OCT 9TH 2:30PM. (ORLANDO)

Here is the thing.....there are fans that have their personal identity so tied to their fandom of the Crew that they need to blame something other than the team's actual performance, than the coaching, than the player acquisition.

So they hold onto conspiracy. Garber, the logo, the illuminati. They need to believe their identity wasn't wasted following a club that is a total embarrassment on and off the field....so they choose conspiracy. They challenge fans that would suggest the season was a failure.

This season was an abject failure. In every possible way. It is what it was, and it was gross.

 

Or it could be an attempt at humor.

 

Was unable to watch due to having family in hospital care but was able to tell who was the lone Crew fan in the waiting area.

A 2-1 loss after taking a lead is the appropriate end cap on this entire season of just barely enough to be average and tread water. I'm not going to just blame Porter for everything but there probably needs to be a come to Jesus meeting somewhere. On paper we should probably be in the playoffs but this underscores that you can't build a stadium, acquire some high quality players and expect instant results.

I think Ty Conklin said this but "every point counts" and it's true. It's a cruel thing but unless you are perennial bottom or top tier team that can afford to not to claw, scratch and fight for standings it is a reality to deal with and the Crew failed that.

 

This team is sorely lacking in leaders. Mensah, at his peak, was one, but in the quiet, lead by example kind of way. But as a defender, there’s only so much he could do. I can’t think of anyone, these past two years, who’s the kind of player who other players will follow, who looks and acts like a winner. It’s as if they all expect someone else to be playing that role.

 

It was a sh!tty attempt at humor.

F#ck that. I am pissed we lost. I hate Porter, dropping points to the worst ********ing teams in each conference, and getting our ass handed to us yet again by a minor league team.

I will never bathe in the hog-shit of happiness with a Crew loss.

Also, hopefully this has a ring of truth.

JUST IN: @ColumbusCrew HC Caleb Porter. pic.twitter.com/0xORmI8MPa

— Clay Hall (@claywsyx6) October 9, 2022

 

Uh no it’s just a horrible owner the Browns suck our FO sucks and i have 0 faith in the Haslams doing anything right . The logo change and the lies and comments about fans shows they don’t give a f about Columbus

 

Gotta say we had a pretty good day in Orlando: Jewish Deli for lunch, club seats with free food & drinks at the stadium, very polite and hospitable OCFC fans around us - most of whom were Ohio ex-pats - and gorgeous weather for it all. Couldn't have asked for a better day.

Oh, right. Except for Caleb F*cking Porter shitting the bed once again when this time all he actually needed was a tie. Left another sub unused (and don't ask me who'd I'd put in - with the season on the line and nothing to lose how about Igbekeme for Nagbe? Try literally anyf*ckingthing) and no new ideas or tactics. From my view both Cucho and LZ appear to be shells of their former selves and bounce between playing hero ball and jogging around aimlessly. Caleb has well and truly driven this group of players into the ground.

Caleb Porter should sell his house and give every Crew season ticket holder a couple hundred dollars as restitution for 3 of his 4 seasons here. I wish him nothing but the best in his upcoming AppleTV career, cause I hope to Guillermo he never manages another MLS team.

 

Because Columbus sailed the ocean blue I have tomorrow off. I hope to wake up to a black and white picture of Caleb Porter with a quote from Dr. Pete thanking him for his time and sending him on his way.

At Land-Grant I heard the same rumor that I have heard before about Porter losing the locker room in 2020 and never getting it back. I found it interesting that when Lucas scored Wednesday he ran to the assistant coach and not porter.

Crew 2 has loads of leaders, and they all like Courtois. The happiest I've seen Crew players this season is during Cucho's first appearances and when they were watching Crew 2. I don't think the Haslams will hire him, a first time head coach, in a sport they don't know much about.

But I look forward to our arguments in the replacement of CB9K thread.

 

I'm just waiting to see if what I heard is true or not. (Not necessarily about that, but the last bit reminded me of something I heard about the FO a week or so ago.)

 

At the rate things went this year, when does the 2023 MLS Next Pro schedule come out? The Capybaras have a championship to defend!

 

I have a year left on my contract and I'm not a quitter. I love this club. I love my guys. I gave everything I had this year. I can honestly say that. I’m at peace with how much I gave; it doesn't mean I was perfect,” Porter said. “I definitely made mistakes this year. And clearly when you fall short the coaches are responsible. It's not just me, we are a club, there were more mistakes than me. But at the end of the day, the buck stops with me.”

 

He has 5 months to recover, if he even comes back with his contract expiring now.

 

He gave everything. So… things can’t get better than this? Yikes. Dude has zero PR ability.

 

Or... "I gave everything I could but others didnt."

Or

"I gave everything I could with what I was given to work with."

 

I fully expect to be mocked for this, but I'm very much reminded of the words from Just Once, the bittersweet James Ingram/Quincy Jones song from years ago:

"I did my best
But I guess my best wasn't good enough
Cause here we are
Back where we were before
Seems nothin' ever changes....

Just once...

Can't we figure out what we keep doin' wrong
Why we never last for very long
What are we doin' wrong

Just once...

Can't we find a way to finally make it right
To make the magic last for more than just one night

I gave my all
But I think my all may have been too much
Cause Lord knows we're not gettin' anywhere
Seems we're always blowin'
Whatever we've got goin'
And it seems at times with all we've got
We haven't got a prayer"

 

I’ll go with the latter

 

Is he fired yet or what ?

 

It may seem counterintuitive to some, but more and more I'm becoming convinced that winning the Cup in 2020 was the worst thing that could have happened. It papered over a whole bunch of problems and gave management a pass for two years when they should have building the club for the future instead of plugging the occasional hole while demanding our trust and loyalty: "Hey, we won the Cup so obviously we know what we're doing and you should trust us"

And it's taken until now for most fans to say "No, you clearly don't"

 

I think long term, Cucho will be fine. I think it's probable with a new manager or new voice in the locker room next season he's likely to approach or exceed 20 goals.

However, all the blown leads, the Porter pressers, and several other embarrassing moments have papered over the fact that our DP striker scored 1 goal in his final 8 games. Somehow he got off 48 shots over that stretch and put 12 on net, but only one goal to show for it. More talented and prolific strikers have been labeled wasteful for better stretches than that.

Cucho built up a lot of good will with his hot start. And god knows this fanbase needs something/someone to believe in. But Cucho's drought over the final 8 games is one of many reasons we missed the playoffs. And one of many reasons to make a change at manager for next season.

 

Agreed. And it wasn’t inevitable that we’d be in this situation. Porter’s inabilities as a coach notwithstanding, we’ve spent real cash on some players who simply failed to perform. Matan, being a prime example, but there are many others. We’re fortunate we still have a decent core, including two very talented attacking players in Lucas and Cucho. Fortunate, as well, that we have some promising young talent, like Morris and some of the Crew 2 guys.

For all the missteps, this team isn’t far away from being, well, maybe not a contender, but not far off. Trouble is, ownership is going to need to make an inspired choice as regards the next coach, it’s going to have to be willing to throw good money after bad and buy out Molino. And then there’s the Bez situation and a scouting operation that’s flagged players like Matan and Cadden for greatness.