The dreaded Vote of Confidence

Anyone who's played the addictive Football Manager (Worldwide Soccer Manager here in the U.S.) sports sim game knows that when you get the "Vote of Confidence" from your board, unemployment isn't far away. Last week Steven Goff reported that Fernando Clavijo got the real-life version from the Colorado Rapids Front Office.

What does this mean? Well for one it almost certainly means that we're stuck with Clavijo at least until we're eliminated from playoff contention or the end of the season, whichever comes first. KSE has obviously decided that making a change at this point doesn't get them much benefit, which probably means they're writing this season off. I can't blame them given how the team is playing lately (Though they did look good against Kansas City).

Long-term this is probably as close as we'll get to confirmation that Clavijo's contract won't be renewed until he's actually let go. There were already rumors that he and GM Jeff Plush didn't see eye to eye. Now with this news I think its safe to say that Plush is ready to part ways. Who takes his place? The fan's short list consists of current Rapids assistant coach Gary Smith, current Rapids Director of Player Development John Murphy, current Houston Assistant Coach and former league MVP candidate as a Rapid John Spencer and current New England Assistant Coach Paul Mariner. The fact that they didn't replace Clavijo mid-season with either Smith or Murphy leads me to believe that they may be looking outside the organization for the next coach. Spencer has been linked with the job for over a year now, so I'd consider him the leading candidate.