Back? Great. One of the reasons I highlight the article is that I had the same one on one talk with Smith the week before Christmas. We agreed at the start that it was all technically off-the-record, which is why I didn't mention it at all here, but I've used some of the information I've gotten to help round out articles about the Rapids moves in the last month. Everything Abbie writes about tracks exactly with the conversation I had with him.
First of all I want to say personally that he's a great person to talk to and somebody who's passionate about the sport in a way some prior Rapids leadership has not been. When I got the invite I figured it was just a courtesy, in fact being the week before Christmas I was too busy to trek out to Commerce City after work (or to take a couple our off in the middle of the day) but Smith went out of his way to agree to meet after work hours and to drive over to Olde Town Arvada to make it easier for me to meet with him. Even then I figured it would be a 30-45 minute discussion over a drink, instead it turned into 3 hours of discussion where he answered every question I asked and didn't try to duck anything.
Also, fun note, he completed the Edgar Castillo-Kellyn Rowe trade while he was sitting at the table with me. He told me not to get excited about Rowe though as we weren't planning to keep him. Sure enough the next day we announced the Castillo-Rowe-Rubio 3-team deal.
I came out of the meeting believing, for the first time in a long time, that the Rapids had a clear logical plan they were working towards. Now having a plan and executing to that plan are two different things. I have yet to believe they can do the latter. But given some of the discussions I've had over the year with people like Tim Hinchey and Paul Bravo (and going all the way back to Jeff Plush) there was a different feel about what Smith laid out and his explanations for the failures of last season. I have one question I always like to ask when I meet with Rapids leadership (since its usually after another poor season) either publicly or privately. Essentially its "what did we learn from our failures last season and what are we doing different to avoid them again?". This is the really the first time I've ever got a concrete answer to the question. You see some of it in the discussion on BW, his talk about getting players already acclimated to the league. I think you also see a difference in getting the roster set before camp opens on Monday instead of things like meeting Mason for the first time in the Boston airport the day before the season opener.
I'm not going to say everything was sunshine and rainbows though. I don't fully agree with his comments about there being standards and playing players that meet those standards over better players who didn't. While I understand the logic, you're asking a hell of a lot out of a fanbase that suffered through the Pablo years to watch Jack McBean get start after start when there were clearly better options on the bench. Obviously situations like Aigner can't be rewarded but it is possible to take that too far and I think they may have done so last season. But if it pays off this year and into next year maybe it will have been worth it. In the end he and I both agreed on one thing. Talk is fine, but the proof is in the pudding. All these plans and standards and learned lessons are for not if the results don't improve this season.
Anyway, if you didn't read the article yet, go read it now. Its good information and it will be important to understand their viewpoint as we go through the 2019 season, and judge their results accordingly.
Unrelated to this discussion, the Rapids announced two schedule changes today.
- Sat. Mar. 23 @ Dallas will now be at 2:30pm (was 1:30pm)
- The home game against the Galaxy will now be Wed. Sept. 11th at 7pm (was Thurs Sept. 12th at 7pm)
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As a season ticket holder and passionate Rapids fan it's great to be able to read about and discuss the team's prospects with others. So thanks for following up Abbie's piece with your thoughts and observations.
In reading Abbie's piece again one thing that stands out is how strongly Pádraig believes in the culture Hudson is attempting to instill in the side - which appears to be one of working for each other on both the attack and in defending. No slacking or whining, do the job for your teammates and success will come.
Now they've gone out and got the players they think will fit into Hudson's system, let's hope they are correct. And let's hope Hudson has been able to make the adjustments needed to be successful in the MLS. He too had to learn from last season's failure on the pitch.
Boy does Pádraig teem to think that Vines is going to be up to the task this season. Also, his thoughts on Wynne playing out of position last season were interesting in that being at left back will suit him unlike what he was doing to do last season at center back.
I am wondering why Gashi never comes up in any of the conversations? I state this knowing that of his three seasons with the Rapids only in one did he make a bit of a difference. But he does have talent and seems to want to work for the team. So what's his role going to be this season?
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