Business Affairs

Around the two games last week there were to notable business items for the Rapids.  In reverse order on Thursday the Front Office and KSE announced that Haley Durmer would be the club's new Chief Business Officer, filling the position vacated by Wayne Brant in the offseason.  Durmer has a history in Major League Baseball, first with the Evil Empire (Yankees) and then most recently with the Seattle Mariners.  She was named to multiple up-and-coming sports executive lists and has had a focus on ticketing, marketing, and partnerships.

As a Mariners fan I can't say I recognize her name but I'm note nearly as tied in with front office names there as I am with the Rapids.  I will say that as a team that underwhelms on the field and struggles for relevance in this market I can't fault the Rapids for recruiting from a team that underwhelms on the field but remains very relevant in their market.  Obviously baseball has a higher profile than soccer but despite only making the playoffs once in the last twenty-three years the M's are regularly a part of the Seattle's sports consciousness in a way that the Rockies aren't in Denver.  If she can bring some of that off-field success from the Mariners to the Rapids it can only be a good thing.

The other, more notable for fans like us, bit of news last week was that on Wednesday the Players Union released the 2025 Salary Guide.

That's fairly small but hopefully you can blow it up.  My options were small or too big to fit.  Thanks Google.  Anyway the key numbers here are for some of our new players.  Atencio $350K, Awaziem $1.4M, Sam Bassett $80K (about a tenth of his brother), Cannon $841K, Hansen $80K, Alex Harris $80K, Ted KDP $456K, Murphy $448K.

There are some steals on that list (Hansen) and some solid numbers.  There are also some players getting paid way more than they should for their performance, mainly in defense.  Awaziem is good, but the highest paid non-DP on the roster?  Cannon has not been a "above max salary" player this year.  Even Murphy seems a bit high.  Add to that the $1.4M we're paying Maxso (rounded, a few thousand less than Awaziem) and $912K for Vines and that's about $5M we're spending on 5 backline players for a backline that's 18th in the league in Goals Allowed.

Outside of the backline the numbers are fairly good, with one notable exception.  Kevin Cabral is getting $2.1M to be a bench warmer.  Now half of that is being paid by the Galaxy but that still means that he's getting more from this team than anyone other than Mihailovic, Navarro, Maxso, and Awaziem.  Brutal.

The good news is that we can get out of Cabral's and Maxso's contract at the end of the year (and Awaziem's too if we wanted to).  Tom Bogert is reporting that we're still on the hunt for a center back even after the Lamkin contract fell through which suggests Maxso will be going by the end of the year of not sooner.  I can't imagine we'll pick up Cabral's option at this point so that will immediately free up about $2.5M.  I assume we will keep Awaziem and hope his level raises with a better partner in central defense.

The other question is hoe to get $1.45M of value out of Navarro.  He's clearly got the talent to be deserving of that but we need tp build a roster and strategy that results in more games like we saw in New England where he's dangerous in creating and scoring goals, not just doing good things that result in no shots.

You Get A New Title! And You Get A New Title! And You Get A New Title!

Over the last week there's been a slew of promotions and new titles being announced in Commerce City:

Padraig Smith - Club President

Wayne Brant - Chief Business Officer

Fran Taylor - Sporting Director

Chris Zitterbart - Chief Scout

Matt Pfeffer - Director of Analytics

Andrew Kewley - Futures Program Director

Andrew Bulter - Academy Talent ID Manager

Kyle Porter - Strength & Conditioning Coach

Boyd Kirk - Team Operations Manager

In addition there have been ten additional staff members added (or in Roeling's case, rejoining the club)

Ruth Fahy - VP of Club Administraion & Finance

Gabbie Pelloni - Director of Team Administration & Operations

James Roeling - Director of Soccer Development

Gabriel Pinto - Director Of Emerging Talent & Youth Recruitment

Nicole Johnson - SafeSport Manager

Liam Creedom - Data & Systems Architect

Eddie Wilding - Academy Staff Coach

Brandyn Bumpas - Academy GK Coach

Andre Hilf - Club Language Specialist & Team Operations Coordinator

and last but hardly least:

Drew Moor - Elite Player Development Coach

I think the latter group are the more significant additions.  From what I understand the promotions are largely brining people's positions at titles in-line with the responsibilities they've had for a while, but adding 10 new staff members is notable for one of the smaller front offices in the league.

The one move that may look more significant than it really is would be naming Fran Taylor as Sporting Director under Padraig Smith, who until now has largely held that role along with his Managing Director role.  I think that's a good thing, as wearing too many hats would stretch Smith too thin, but don't expect this to be a fundamental change in how the club builds its roster.  Tayler has been working with Smith for a few years now, its not like he's going to come into his new title and start dismantling the focus the team has had in recent seasons.  However having a second person involved in the process will allow for people not to be spread so thing which will hopefully help.

Along with these moves on the soccer side of the club the Rapids announced 8 promotions and 9 new roles on the business side as well.  Many of these are in media and content creation, using the new resources and outlets that the Apple deal has given MLS.

A Talk With GM Padraig Smith, and schedule updates

Tonight Burgundy Wave posted a great article about a conversation Abbie Mood had with GM Padraig Smith.  I encourage every Rapids fan to go read it.  In fact go read it now, then come back and finish reading this.

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)

New Staff, Player Rumors, and Superdraft Week

I know I've been quiet this past week but in terms of actual news, not rumors, not much has happened.

Starting with the notable news, both Edgar Castillo and Jack Price were officially announced on Tuesday and Friday respectfully.  Castillo is here on a one year loan with an option to buy.  Price's length of contract was not announced but multiple sources in the UK have reported its a 4 year deal.

That leaves us with 23 of 30 roster spots filled and all 7 international slots used.

Padraig Smith and Wayne Brant had their interim tags removed this week.  Smith is now the Gm and executive VP and will oversee all soccer-related activities while Brant is the senior Vp of business operations and will oversee all business and other non-soccer related activities.

There were two new Front Office additions this week.  Fran Taylor was named assistant GM, coming over from stat DNA and shows additional commitment to the stats/numbers based approach to the game that the Front Office has talked about since Smith arrived.  Chad Kolarcik joins the Rapids as the head of sports science & performance, coming over from the Sounders where he was the head strength & conditioning coach.  He'll be expected to revamp the conditioning aspects of the team with the newest findings.  There was a murmur of discontent from the Front Office last season about how the team's health and conditioning were handled and this seems to indicate that the new leadership has different ideas about how it should be handled.

We also had a couple of big player rumors this week, neither one appears to have panned out.  I had heard that Colorado had been perusing Mexican center back Oswaldo Alanis who's currently at Chivas but it appears he's going to wait for the summer window and try to move to Europe.  It sounds like he'd consider Colorado then if Europe doesn't work out.  It was also reported that the Rapids had taken the lead in acquiring Ola Kamara but yesterday the reports were that he's looking for something more coastal with more opportunity and the Rapids are moving on.  That's toom bad as Kamara is exactly the type of player we need.  The last rumor is that we're interested in New England's Lee Nguyen which has potential but it would be a move away from the 3-5-2 we have apparently been planning for this offseason as the planned formation doesn't really have a spot for a #10 like Nguyen.

Finally the combine has started in Orlando in preparation for the SuperDraft on Friday and Sunday.  Rounds 1 and 2 are Friday in Philly at the national coaches convention, 3 and 4 are by teleconference on Sunday.  Colorado traded their first round pick to Montreal two years ago for Eric Miller.  We hold two picks in the 2nd round, the 2nd pick from LA in the Jermaine Jones trade and our natural pick, the 4th of the round.  We have our natural (4th) picks in rounds 3 and 4 and we also have the 3rd pick in the 4th Round as part of the Marcelo Sarvas trade to DC.

While I wouldn't be shocked to see us move around in the draft I'm not expecting any major moves.  We don't hold any high enough picks to trade for quality players and I don't think the current leadership is interested enough in the draft to try to move up to make a major pick.  I expect we'll end up picking one player that will make the roster out of preseason and a young GK that will spend the season on loan somewhere.

So far the Front Office has talked the talk but not walked the walk this offseason as once again Rapids fans are wondering where the major attacking signings are.  Training camp opens a week from tomorrow, so about 190 hours from now.  The Front Office has talked multiple times about having all the key pieces in places by then so the team can hit the ground running.  There's a lot of work to be done in that time as this team needs a major DP/TAM striker signing, another center back, and probably a second starting-quality striker signing to push Badji and to allow for rotation.  Now's when the rubber meets the road.

Lopez Out As FO Shakeups Continue

The Denver Post reports that Claudio Lopez will not return to the Front Office next year.  Smith told the Post that Lopez's contract was up and it was decided to not offer him a new one.  This isn't a huge shock.  Over the last couple of years Lopez has either been blamed for poor signings or for not convincing the Front Office to make good signings.  Its never been clear, for obvious reasons, what players Lopez was actively involved in recruiting, successfully or not, but he was brought in for his South American knowledge and connections.  Since he joined in 2015 the Rapids haven't had a successful notable signing from South America.

That, combined with the general (much needed) shake-up the whole organization is going through makes it an understandable choice to part ways.  Lopez was an amazing player, great to the fans, and by all reports is a good person, its just time for a change.

Also in that article Smith talks about the new structure of the FO and his plans to add an assistant GM, a director of player personnel, and a head of sport science.  These all sounds like good steps though I'd like to see the goal for these signings (especially the new director of player personnel) be more aggressive than the start of preseason.  He also says that the team is in the final stages of the new coach but would not name any names.  Reading between the lines though it screams to me that the target is Hudson but nothing will happen until after the Peru-New Zealand playoff series.

On the player front Smith talked about two positions he wants to fill quickly, left wingback and attacking mid.  The first would be a much needed replacement for Williams, the second would be something this team desperately needs.  I'm not sure how he's going to fit on the field unless the play is to go back to a 4-5-1/4-2-3-1 but maybe sticking with a 4-4-2 with a more traditional diamond midfield of Gashi and Aigner on the wings, Boateng at the back, and this new signing up front.  Smith also mentioned Tim Hoard by name as the building black of the team, so its even more clear that Howard still has more in the tank.

New Direction From New Leadership

Over the last two days we've heard from the Front Office about their plans in two different ways.  First,, in a Op-Ed published by the Denver Post yesterday.  Second, in a YouTube Twon Hall held this afternoon that can be rewatched here (starts at the 11:10 mark).

I was going to do a rough transcript of the Town Hall but I gave up after a few minutes as I realized most answers where just going to be talking points from the editorial the day before.  I did get the second question of the Town Hall, asking for a realistic time frame to see actions that match the goals set out in the op-ed but Smith said he wasn't willing to set an unrealistic deadline or artificial time frame.  Really not the answer I was looking for.

The more concrete items I took from the Town Hall:

• The Juan Ramirez "situation" will be resolved shortly.  Somebody on Facebook pointed out that he's no longer listed on the Rapids roster on MLSsoccer.com.  My bet is that they are crossing the t's and dotting the i's on a mutual termination contract that was agreed to ad submitted before the window closed.  That would allow Ramirez to join any team outside the window (as he was a free agent before the window closed) and would get him off the Rapids books, probably for a lower number than keeping him around to the end of the season.
• Smith said the decision to remove Pablo was his, with the support of the rest of management.  No surprise but its always good to hear somebody tep up and take responsibility for a major decision.
• They expect to be a playoff team next year.  That's the minimum I think we should expect but at least they aren't selling us a line about next year being a rebuilding year.
• They are looking forward to the CCL and are going in with the intent to win it.  I mean, yeah, they pretty much weren't going to say anything else but there was no hedging of the goal or skirting around the issue, so I assume we're at least going to take it seriously.

Overall for both of these events I was more impressed with the delivery than the message.  We've never seen the FO come out with an Op-Ed in the Post to reach out to fans.  The Town Hall has been done before but given the short time frame and the fact that this was new leadership getting their plan out to the fans and not existing leadership doing damage control the fact that they had a Town Hall is a positive sign.

The message itself is nothing more than we've heard in the past.  Smith has talked a lot in the last 48 hours or so about the "Rapids Way" but we heard a lot from Hinchey about "OneClub" in the past.  We've heard the Rapids say they want to play dynamic, attacking soccer, and then roll out Pablo-ball.  Its hard to put much stock into anything the Front Office says without seeing actions to back it up.

Smith did make it clear that the next "big" step will be the hiring of the new coach.  That will really tell us if what Smith has been saying is talk or a true new direction for this club.

New Leadership But No New Players

Today the Rapids announced some promotions in the Front Office to fill the hole left by Tim Hinchey's departure.  Padraig Smith has been named interim General Manager while Wayne Brant has been named interim Chief Business Officer.  Along with this the Rapids website now lists Jim Martin as the Governor of the Rapids and Matt Hutchings as the Alternate Governor.  Apparently the Governor roles were added shortly before Hinchey left but nobody noticed until last week.

Martin is the President and CEO of KSE and Hutchings is the COO, so I think those Governor titles are largely honorary and they will have little or nothing to do with the day-to-day operations of the team.  At most they would get involved next time we want to do a Howard/Gashi type deal where KSE would have to cover part of the salary or for any major events like an All-Star Game or World
Cup Qualifier.

We know Smith's background.  Brant joined KSE in 2007, served as Senior Director of Fan Development in 2014 and 15, then joined the Rapids directly as VP of Business Operations.  This seems to indicate that the Rapids are splitting the on-field and off-field responsibilities into two different spheres headed up by different people.  I'm fully in support of that move, I think its something they should have done long ago.  I'm not convinced that Smith is the right man for he job but he's got some time to convince everyone.  I know nothing about business or Brant so I'm going to assume he's going to do a good job. ;)

Of course the real issue is that in this transfer window we've had 3 "official" comments from the Rapids (outside of stuff around Saturday's game) and they've mentioned as many Rapids executives as possible player signings.  In the least week there have been official comments saying that despite rumors the Rapids have not been in talks with Michael Carrick and we are in talks with German midfielder Stefan Aigner.  That's two executives (Smith, Brant) and two players and we're through day 16 of 31 in this transfer window.  Not good enough.  We need help, we need it now, and it probably needs to be new blood.  I mean, like Hamilton says:

Reasonable Next Steps From The Front Office

Yesterday's game was more of the same.  Well, actually it was less since we allowed above our average in goals (now 1.57/game), scored below our average in goals (.71/game), and had below our average in shots on goal (2.28/game).

The Front Office needs to take action right now.  This is still MLS and soccer in America so our expectations should be reasonable, but realistically what moves the FO should make starting today and into next week? We've got a coach that just threw the season under the bus, a team that has literally no offense at this point, and a 6 game winless streak. What's our next move?

Obviously I'm just a fan on he sidelines and I don't know all the limitations that the Front Office has on it.  But based on my knowledge of how MLS and the Rapids work, what the costs are of making changes. and reasonable time frames, here are my suggestions:

• Prepare a statement to release tomorrow explaining what the plan was for this season, why its not working, and what steps are now going to be taken to recover

Honestly this probably should have been done already but really needs to be done now.  Everyone makes mistakes.  The key is to show you've learned form them and made changes so the mistake doesn't happen again.  Normally saying that you've done that is enough for an outsider but the Rapids have claimed to have done this many times and the results haven't changed.  Now they need to be open with us about what they've learned and what's going to change, just saying you've figured out isn't enough.

• Announce that they will immediately start a search to hire a quality GM/TD within the next month. That new person will be given full freedom (and responsibility) for all on-field planning including staff, coaches, players, and the youth academy

Really until this happens, nothing else matters.  The history of this team after the leadership change in the 2011-12 offseason has been two playoff appearances and one series win.  Outside of those two years the other three seasons have been among the five worst in team history, and this season is currently looking like its going to end up in that pile.  Clearly things aren't working.  The FO has always been less than transparent about what responsibilities the Technical Director (Bravo), the Sporting Director (Smith), and the head coach (Pareja/Pablo), really have  Its time to give one person the power to set this team right.  KSE needs to be willing to spend to get a quality competent person to fill this role.  The one exception from giving this person full control would be a DP-level player that KSE would have to pay extra for.  It would be completely reasonable for somebody above this position to have final say on a signing like that, but their decision-making should be focused on the financial health of the transaction, not the on-field health.

• Announce that the futures of the technical staff, including Smith and Pablo, will be determined by that person.  Smith should be considered for the position but since the goal of this hire is to hit the reset button his current employment by the Front Office shouldn't give him any particular advantage over any other candidate

The first step in getting this train back on the tracks is to have one leadership team going in the same direction.  Its not fair to whomever is going to make the on-field decisions to be saddled with the keeping or firing of a coach before they get here.  The new person needs to make the call, even if that means Pablo continues to run the team for a few more games.

• Tell the fans honestly that in light of this plan it makes no sense to try to make a major move now before the window closes without this person in place. Recognize that this means this season is probably toast but also tell the fans that this new person will have the ability to make whatever moves are necessary in the summer window to stabilize this team for the future

Again, much like the staff decision, the new leader needs to put the team together, not be stuck with a major player contract that doesn't fit his direction.  The Front Office needs to commit to making significant moves in both the summer and new winter transfer windows to support this new direction though.

• Announce a rebate policy for current season ticket holders. Something like everyone gets $100 back in cash or credit towards the 2018 season ticket purchase (ticket holder's choice)

With this season lost practically before it started the fans were sold a bill of goods.  There were multiple reports of fans being told the goal this season was a trophy and unfinished business from 2016.  Instead Pablo at least believes this season is about rebuilding.  In order to gain some trust and respect back from the fanbase the FO needs to take the financial hit and make good to the people that make this club a priority in their life.  By allowing a credit to be applied to next year's tickets it reduces the immediate financial hit of giving a refund and gets those fans to buy in for 2018.

• Announce that season tickets next year (for one year only) will be reduced by a percentage equal to the difference between our 2016 and 2017 point total. So if we finish with 31 points this season compared to 58 last year season tickets would be reduced by 27%

I picked this idea up from a Burgundy Wave poster.  This is as much a gimmick as anything else but it would be an olive branch to fans, it would generate some positive PR for the unique deal, and it would at least be a silver lining on what looks to be an awful 2017 season.  It would also be an incentive for everyone in the organization to continue to do as good as possible this season as every point is a 1% increase on the ticket revenue next season.

Now obviously I don't expect the Rapids to do all of these.  With my viewpoint from outside the organization these probably seem easier than they really are.  Honestly I'd be surprised if something similar to more than 1 or 2 of them actually happen.  If the Rapids really want to change the conversation though, this checklist would go a long way with the fanbase.

Kudos To Rapids Marketing

Its no secret that over the years I've been...critical...of some of the Front Office off-field moves.  That only works though if I give them credit when they do something right and some of the marketing they've done early this season is definitely right.

Long time Rapids fans can list any number of marketing and outreach ideas from the FO over the years that landed with a thud with the fans.  This has left some of them with a lack of interest in what the Rapids are promoting at a given time.  This year though they've done a couple of things that have really appealed to me as a long-time fan and from what I've heard, other fans like me.

Last week the Rapids starting XI came out for pre-game warm ups in these training jerseys:

A nice throwback to the early Rapids kits (specifically this 2001 home kit) when the Rapids were green:

Seeing them was a fun nod to the past but the Front Office also arranged for season ticket holders and C38 members to buy their own versions for $40.  I picked one up and its not cheaply made or overpriced, its a solid souvenir for those of us who remember those early days.

The second thing is a little silly, yet appreciated:

Yeah, I'm talking about RapidMan.  He's goofy and really doesn't make sense, but he's our goofy mascot.  He at least had character and was something unusual to represent the team.  The 4 animal mascots are bland an uninteresting.  Bringing him back is another nice shout out to the team's history and long-time fans.

I'd even add in the signing of Jermaine Jones.  Its was a big move on the even of the season that made people sit up and take notice.  I'm not sure he's any sort of long-term answer on the field but apparently the team feels the same way if the SI report of a one-year deal is accurate.  Off the field though its another sign that the team is increasing its effort and interest and while maybe they haven't dialed in the scouting its at least showing they're trying.

In the end of course none of this matters if the on-field results don't improve significantly from the last two seasons.  While the Mythbusters proved you can polish a turd there is a limit to how much a good marketing plan can cover for a bad team, especially one that has had the last few years we have.  Credit where credit is due though, the marketing department has made strides in reaching out to long-time fans this year.  Lets hope that continues.

Twellman Rips The Front Office

I'll recap the draft below but I wanted to start with this.  On today's ExtraTime podcast Taylor Twellman rips into the Front Office for not having a plan (fast-forward to 13:45 to get to the Rapids discussion.   He essentially calls Bravo a liar over his statement that they acquired the #1 allocation spot knowing that Bedoya wasn't in play.  Taylor says that Bedoya himself was expecting to move to MLS on that morning (notably it was Twellman who essentially "broke the news" that the Rapids were going after Bedoya when he announced the allocation spot trade on the Superdraft coverage) so he asks how its possible that Bravo knew Bedoay wasn't coming when Bedoya didn't know.

He also questions who's in charge right now as sometimes he thinks its Pablo, sometimes Bravo, and at the combine it was apparently Lopez who was taking the lead.  Its harsh criticism but its all accurate.  If I remember correctly Twellman was one of the members of the media that Hinchey tweeted when the lengthy coaching search was going on tow years ago, so that might be coloring his opinion (not that I would know anything about that...).

Going back to the main event of the day, the rest of the draft.  Our four selections:

GK Chris Froschauer - Ohio State
D Javan Torre - UCLA
D Bradley Kamdem - UNLV
F John Manga - U. of Cinci

Just a couple of comments on our picks.  By taking a GK I would tend to think the Howard rumors are just that, rumors.  We now have MacMath, Berner, and Froschauer.  Not a move you would make if you were expecting to bring in Howard.

Kamdem is French, so would probably require an international slot.  He apparently trained with the team a bit last summer so he's probably going to get a good chance to make the team.

The last two players to be drafted out of Cincinnati were Appiah last week by the Rapids and Omar Cummings by the Rapids in 2007.

Current roster:

GK John Berner
GK Zac MacMath
D March Burch
D Joseph Greenspan (when on leave from the U.S. Navy)
D Marlon Hairston
D Axel Sjoberg
D Sean St. Ledger
M Michael Azira
M Sam Cronin
M Marco Pappa
M Zach Pfeffer
M Dillon Powers
M Dillon Serna
M Juan Ramirez
M Marcelo Sarvas
M Jared Watts
F Dominque Badji
F Caleb Calvert
F Kevin Doyle
F Luis Solignac

Unsigned draftees:

GK Chris Froschauer

D Dennis Castillo
D Bradley Kamdem
D Javan Torre
M Emmanuel Appiah
F John Manga

Trialists:

M Brian Ownby

KSEOut - A Bit Misguided

Its not secret to regular readers that I'm fed up with the Front Office and have been for a couple a few many years.  I'm not alone and a group of fans who can't take it anymore have banded together to start the KSEOut movement.

The problem I have is that they're a bit misguided.  Here's one of their goals from their website (and the title for their whole movement:

We just want KSE to put the Rapids up for sale.

To me, this is a fool's errand and not something they should be attaching "success" of their movement to.  Quoting their Burgundy Wave interview when they were asked what "success" would be:

Very simply, when KSE puts the team up for the sale & Tim Hinchey, Paul Bravo & Pablo Mastroeni all move on.

Quite simply, this is never going to happen.  When was the last time an American sports owner sold a team due to just fan pressure?  I can think of none.  Team sales come when the owner gets bored, the owner needs money, or the owner does something so heinous that the other owners in the league step in and say "You have to go" (think Donald Sterling, Marge Schott, or Jorge Vergara).

Their current "media strategy" isn't helping.  Right now it feels like "Lets throw every bad thing we can think of about the Rapids at the wall and see what sticks".  Looking at some of their tweets:

By 2010, it was clear #MLS stadiums should not be in the suburbs. Not that KSE was with the program. #KSEOut http://assoc-football.com/2010/04/19/mls%E2%80%99-future-is-not-in-the-suburbs/ …

As this blog has covered on multiple occasions, the location is not the significant issue with the Rapids attendance and the "once size fits all" stadium ideas that some MLS fans have don't actually work.

We accept that some of the 1,524 ‘empty’ seats are sold as single game tickets. But they are counted as 100% sold in the attendance figures.

One of dozens of tweets about the attendance numbers.   A. Who cares?  Does it really matter what number the Rapids report? and B. This is pretty standard practice in sports attendance reporting for all the major leagues.

What could we do to indicate to TransAmerica our displeasure? Boycott not really an option as most fans don’t buy off them directly.

I get the general idea with this one, use the sponsors to bring pressure on KSE, but I don't see how it works.  I think Transamerica, O'Dells, etc. are more likely to just walk away from the sponsorship than actually put any pressure on KSE.  That just leaves the team in worse shape.

Oh, and if you're going to represent yourself as a group of die-hard fans that want change, you've got to get the basic facts right:

Well done to the team yesterday. 6 wins out of last 8 is the sort of records we want to see at DSG Park.

Its 6 wins in 9, not 8.

What their focus should be is getting massive changes to the Front Office and showing KSE what KSE could gain by putting more investment (not just money but interest) into the team.  We had a perfect example last weekend.  Sporting KC is what the Rapids should be modeling themselves on.  To the credit of KSEOut, they recognize this too (again from Twitter):

Sporting KC has a big football team, baseball team & plays in a stadium located out of town. What’s the difference? Engaged ownership.

This is absolutely correct.  Look at the payoff for SKC.  Their ticket prices are almost exactly the same as ours yet they're averaging almost 25% more fans per game than we are.  Think KSE would like that kind of increase in ticket sales?  Not to mention that once demand outstrips capacity then the ticket prices can start to be increased.

The interesting thing is that Sporting is doing this without making big money player splashes.  They don't have a million dollar salary on the books.  They aren't spending big money off the field.  What they are doing is putting competent people in charge of soccer operations, working with their fans, and making a name for themselves in KC.  They do have the advantage of not competing against a NBA and NHL team, but its not like the Rapids have much competition from those sports since their seasons are opposite each other and they're also owned by KSE.  Yes, there's still limited sporting funds to spread around 5 pro teams, but the Denver-Boulder metro area is about 50% larger than the KC metro area.

What this movement should be aiming for isn't KSEOut, its KSEInvest IMO.  That means replacing the current Front Office (I could actually see keeping Hinchey in a strict financial-only capacity but no influence on soccer or PR decisions) with competent executives that can both watch the bottom line and climb the table at the same time.  It means having metrics for the executives that are more than how little can you spend and still make money.  And it means not treating the fans as the enemy as often as you treat them as the customer.

One other note to KSEOut.  Stop the anonymity.  A week or so ago when I mentioned I was going to write an article about the movement I was contacted by them and asked not to reveal any names for fear of retaliation from the FO.  The email to me didn't include a name (it just came from a KSEOut address) either.  I know one person in the movement and I will not reveal their name here but really, its not getting you guys anything.  I've been very open about my issues with the Front Office and outside of a couple of emails and my name being brought up in some meetings (I've been told) there's been no retaliation.  The Rapids may not like you, but even they aren't going to do something that would blow up in their face unless you provoke them by doing something bigger than complaining.  Also the implicit threat about critiquing any blog entry I make?  Unnecessary.  I'm always open to critiques.

Um, Shots Fired?

So if you remember from yesterday there were tweets about our style of play:

Hinchey says the gripe about not playing attacking soccer is very legit and a big problem. the style is in effect throughout academy...

...but with Pablo it has been a struggle to establish it in the senior team.

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Pablo still a work in progress, biggest issue according to Hinchey is that the team isn't playing the style of soccer they're striving to. 

this seemed like a big deal to Hinchey, he was really frustrated about it. not sure Pablo can get it done.

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Pablo responds by playing all defenders.

i brought this up. Hinchey said the SJ game was especially frustrating. sounds like disconnect between Bravo/Pablo

Well today's MLSsoccer.com article about the Rapids, where injuries are partially blamed for our lack of scoring (HA!), included this quote from Pablo at the end:

Said Mastroeni: “At this point, we’re not in a beauty contest anymore. Only the hungry man will critique a meal. The guy that’s starving will eat anything you give him.”

Maybe I'm reading too much into that, but that sure seems like a shot fired across Hinchey's bow.  Essentially Pablo is saying style doesn't matter, its just a matter of winning.  Generally I agree with him but after 2+ years of his bosses beating the style drum its interesting that Pablo would say that.

I said yesterday that there appears to be a lot of disfunction between Hinchey, Bravo, and Mastroeni.  This only reinforces the feeling.

Interesting Live(?) Tweeting Of A Hinchey 1 on 1 Today

I had another post planned for today about the KSEOut movement but an interesting twitter discussion erupted that seemed more relevant.  Season-ticket holder Brian Mercer has a lunchime 1 on 1 with Tim Hinchey and live(?) tweeted it.  There's a lot in there and I'm just going to hit some things that jumped out to me but I encourage you to read it all.  Start with this tweet and work forward.

he also said that while he and Bravo talk with Pablo about tactics, Pablo ultimately chooses lineups and formation. no micromanagement.

This doesn't surprise me at all.  I know there's a segment of Rapids fans who believe Bravo and/or Hinchey are driving some of the decisions but I don't believe that's the case.  I think they went out and found a coach that would play the 4-3-3 they want the team to play but other than that theey've let Pablo and his staff make the decisions.

team sees Watts as future 6, defensive mid that can cover a lot of area and good passing. Definitely not a future CB.

 I've heard this from other sources as well.  Anything but a CB!

Hinchey says the gripe about not playing attacking soccer is very legit and a big problem. the style is in effect throughout academy...

...but with Pablo it has been a struggle to establish it in the senior team.

Then quit selling it!  Its bad enough we play the way we do but its insulting to hear the FO talk about attacking soccer when every fan can see we're not playing that way.

apparently Claudio Lopez doesn't want to be a bench coach but would rather work with Bravo upstairs. not much coaching experience on staff 

The lack of experience is a HUGE problem, and contrary to what was discussed at the Celtic last year where they talked about getting Pablo more support.  nice of him to admit it, but I'd like to hear how they're going to solve it.

I also thought the note that Lopez doesn't want to coach was interesting.  I guess he's not the obvious choice to replace Pablo on an interim basis as I had been suggesting.

other clubs making offers for rapids players, most often asking for Powers, Serna, and Torres. Moor has generated a few offers as well.

Three younger guys we shouldn't trade and the heart and soul of the team right now.  No, no, no, and no to those offers.

Powers has struggled with confidence since missing that PK against RSL. confidence hard to find in midst of poor season.

It would be easier to find confidence if he was actually played at his best position...

also pointed out that there is no chance Kroenke sells the team. "Kroenke never sells anything he buys." so theres that.

Duh, that point was (and will still be) part of my KSEOut post.

Pablo still a work in progress, biggest issue according to Hinchey is that the team isn't playing the style of soccer they're striving to.

this seemed like a big deal to Hinchey, he was really frustrated about it. not sure Pablo can get it done.

A year and a half in and our coach is still "a work in progress".  Hey Tim?  I'm not buying season tickets so that we can be a training camp for a coach.  Pablo clearly can't get it done, so find somebody who can.

Pablo responds by playing all defenders.

i brought this up. Hinchey said the SJ game was especially frustrating. sounds like disconnect between Bravo/Pablo

There seems to be a number of disconnects in the FO right now.

its too bad he could not be this honest in the fan forum. A lot of problems could have been avoided with honest answers

sounded like he wanted to use the forum to show support for Pablo, not undermine him on the spot.

Um, what?  The Fan Forum should have had one purpose only, to convince the fans things were going to get better not prop up a failing coach.  No wonder that was such a farce (and Tim and Paul seemed to be "ducking" questions).

i don't totally buy everythign he said, but he said he's willing to meet with anyone 1:1 for a chat.

Yawn, the infamous 1 on 1 chat.  Many of you will remember that was the offer that was made to me before last season that I turned down.  Its not the only time since then that I had a chance to talk/blog/report on a meeting with a FO rep but each time it felt more like they wanted me as a mouthpiece, not an actual discussion.

At some point Hinchey is going to realize he can't meet with all 6000 season ticket holders 1 on 1 and has to do more than a farcical Fan Forum to get across to us, right?

he talked about twitter, says he doesn't mind crticism, but if it gets personal, vulgar, swearing, then he'll block

So its not ok for people to get personal towards him but he can email a fan this?

However, we are not “killing time” on our coach search nor do you have any clue how to run a professional sports organization and any such complications when hire a head coach.  Therefore, if you value actually learning more, give me call as like I did with SI last week, I’m happy to fully and honestly explain our efforts.  If not, I find your blog completely ridiculous and nothing more than your own personal venting tool. 

Yeah, that's not getting personal at all.  BTW in my opinion I've never gotten personal or been vulgar or had any swearing outside an occasional WTF on this blog.

renewals, after first 20 days, are at 79% already. club revenue doubled in past two seasons. new sponsors, > budgets

*sigh* In other words there's no reason to change what they're doing.

Hinchey said seeing the terraces half full is frustrating, wishes the SG's would grow. says willing to help SG's out however they want

Here's a thought, put a good team on the field!

my fave part of meeting was bringing up a few choice Pablo quotes and Hinchey just shaking his head. speaks for itself. #30starters

Well, that says a lot right there.

There's a bunch of tweets I skipped so you should really read them all.  Hats off to Brian for tweeting all this and getting it out there.

Overall I'm not impressed.  There seems to be a lot of dysfunction between Hinchey, Bravo, and Mastroeni but I'm not hearing a lot of plans to solve it.  It appears that at least in these 1 on 1 meetings Hinchey recognizes that the club has serious problems but all we hear publicly is "have faith" or something similar.  At some point Hinchey, as the club President, needs to sell more than happy thoughts and future dreams and start presenting the reality of the situation.

Fan Forum Wrap-Up

You might remember a similar post from last year and after today's Fan Forum it seemed relevant to update it for anther year, sadly.  The definite feel I got from the forum was one of "We're still working hard and we have a long-term plan so if this year doesn't work out keep having faith in us".  Unfortunately we've heard the same thing for over 18 months and there's no evidence we're making that promised progress.

A few specific reactions to what was said:

• This was actually something my wife said as she was listening while I was typing.  Tim Hinchey said that teams don't have to spend the most to win and my wife said "No, but they have to work harder then".  This FO doesn't not give off the impression they're working harder to make up for the lack of spending.
• Paul Bravo using Peyton Manning as an example of a top player Denver was able to get is laughable.  First, the Broncos still haven't won anything yet (Go Hawks!), secondly Manning didn't come here because he loved Red Rocks, he came here because the Broncos are a quality organization that were in position to win (until they ran into the Legion of Boom).  The Rapids are neither of those things right now.
• Tim claiming that we've shown this season we can beat any team in the league.  The 4 teams (that's all, just 4) teams we've beaten this year are 1st, 3rd, 6th, and 8th in the West.  Meanwhile we've lost to the other 3 playoff teams in the West and 2 of the playoff teams in the East (we haven't played 3 of them).  That doesn't look like we've shown we can beat most good teams.
• Paul using opposing players as a reason to come to games is borderline insulting.  I don't come to games to root for the opposing team.  I can't imagine that's the selling point the Rapids want out there.
• The answer to my question sucked, namely because I was directing it at the comments Tim and Paul made at the Celtic last year and they let Pablo answer the question.  Its pretty clear what needs to change isn't just what's happening in the 90 minutes of game time, which is what Pablo spoke to, but also how this organization works.
• Secondly Pablo's whole "building from the back" strategy clearing isn't working.  Under a 4-5-1 we played very solid in the back, but couldn't score.  We've switched to a 4-3-3 and now we're scoring more, but we can't hold a lead.  Clearly something in the on-field strategy as well in the off-field strategy needs to change.
• The idea that the playoffs are still a reasonable goal this year is ridiculous.  This team needs to play at almost 2 pts/game to even have a shot and they're barely over 1 point a game.
• Interesting that Pablo might go to Arsenal this offseason when at the Celtic it was already confirmed, but never happened.
• Once again, the well-worn refrain of "being really close on big signings" is trotted out.  More on this in a future post soon.
• Very disappointing to see Paul Bravo downplay the importance of results this season, calling the final season results a small piece of the puzzle in evaluating staff after the season.  I understand that it can't just be about wins and losses but after being tied for the worst team over the last season and a half I'd like to hear more responsibility for those results.

As to not end on a totally negative note there were two things I did like hearing:

• Tim admitting they dropped the ball not using the transfer window last season. Fairly obvious, but good to actually hear him admit it. It shows that they do recognize it was a major mistake.
• Sam Cronin saying that he can do better both personally and as captain with acknowledging the fans after every game, not just a win. He mentioned it at least twice as it came up in questioning and it felt to me that he was actually genuine in realizing they weren't doing a good job and he was going to make a real effort to do better the rest of the season.

All in all though, this was largely a replay of the Celtic last season.  Not a shock but there was part of me that was hoping we might hear something more than the same excuses again.

Rough Transcript Of Front Office Town Hall

I'm going to type this on the fly during the Town Hall and post right after its done as a resource for those who couldn't listen.  Further conversation will be saved for tonight.  I'm using the online stream of the event as to not tie up my phone line for an hour.  This is paraphrased so I can keep up.

Well, they're late starting...

Fleming is moderating, introduces Tim Hinchey (TH), Paul Bravo (PB), Pablo Mastroeni (PM), and team captain Sam Cronin (SC).

First question from the advisory board:  "Stumbles on and off the field are more frequent than successes, what's being done to turn it around?"

TH: Variety of different reasons.  Oscar's departure screwed up the last offseason.  "Since then we had a decent start, we did ok" then we dropped the ball on not using the 2014 summer transfer window.  Since then refocused, there's been progress but not good enough, but we have faith we're going in the right way.

Advisory board: "Season tickets are expensive, why buy next year?"

TH: Good question, season tickets are a personal choice.  Depends on your relationship and how you support from a thick and thin basis.  Asking for more patience, asking for continued support.  They're going to continue to invest.  They try to put on best possible experience, hopefully that's a reason to continue to come.

"Why is Cronin captain?"

PM: Drew Moor being out, Pablo wanted continuity.  Sam stepped up in preseason and early part of the season.  Wanted the responsibility.  Didn't know how long Drew would take to get back into the team.  Both Sam and Drew on board.

"If budget expanded for greater recruiting opportunities would it help with attendance, play on the field, etc."

TH: Could be cart before the horse.  Very fortunate with tremendous growth since TH has been here. Season tickets have quadrupled.  With that budget has increased.  They ask every year but they are held to responsible business practices.  Not resigned to being a mid-market team and not winning.  Teams don't have to spend the most to be successful.

"What is the draw of coming to Colorado for new players?"

PB: We need to create own environment for incoming players.  Important that we understand who we are, what we are, what we're about.  Colorado lifestyle is enjoyable.  We have one of the top NFL players in history of the league that wanted to come to Denver.  Build a club that players want to come to.  Not about the big markets, about creating an environment and selling our state, city, and club.

"How do you make it more exciting for kids/family to come to the game?"

TH: Part of that is personal.  We've shown this season at home on the road that we can beat any team in the league.  We need to be more consistent.  We know a big part of ethos is to entertain.  We want to be more attacking, we want to score more goals.  Continuing to work on it.  We've had exciting games this year.  Attendance is up.

SC: Exciting players, Kevin Doyle, Juan Ramirez.  We can beat star teams.  Consistency hasn't been there especially at home.

PB: His son comes to games on regular basis.  Very passionate about the Rapids but also comes to see other big names.  Gerrard, Keane, etc.  Growing up in the Bay Area always wanted to go to SJ games, why he became a soccer player.  Going to games developed his passion for the sport.  Come out, see the game at highest level in this country and some of the best players in the world.

"Last year at the Celtic you talked about what you were going to do different but thee results haven't changed. What faith should we have they'll change next year?"

(Just so readers know, this was my question)

PM: Appreciate you coming out every week, supporting the group.  Things take time.  Great defense,, solid foundation.  We've lacked at finishing, no surprise.  Work on it week in and week out.  We've shown glimpses but not consistent enough.  building from the back, defending higher up the field, is ideal.  Work in progress.

"Return of Autograph Alley?"

TH: Don't want to force it, want players to do it naturally.  Thinks we;ve been good from an accessibility perspective in community but can do better to thank fans for support, more important when they don't get results they want.  Will work on it.

SC: Love to thank the fans after a good win, frustrations boil over after the loss and don't have perspective to think about thanking fans.  Question is good and as players they'll do a better job thanking everyone.

"For Pablo, realistic goals for this year and next year, what you consider a success?"

PM: Currently where we stand is not where we want to be.  Obviously causes a lot of reflection.  Fall short in NY and LA but win in Seattle and Dallas.  What gets him is being so close and not getting a result.  Last tow games were frustrating to not get a result.  Playoffs are realistic.  One game at a time now.  Next year is all about a good start, taking everything we've learned and getting off on teh right foot.  Preseason is important to get off on the right foot.  Good group that's committed.  This year making the playoffs is still the goal.  Leave it all on the field.

"Anything done to get Pablo more experience?"

PB: focus is how do we do things to make Pablo successful?  Brought in Lopez and Smith.  Professional help and guidance abroad last offseason, will continue this offseason.  Trips to Spain and England, maybe Arsenal.

"Next couple of years of player development?  Youth versus veterans going forward?"

PB: Important piece.  Guiding principle of the club, building from within plus using the college draft.  Done a fairly good job of that.  No shift away from youth, that will never change.  It will always be a big part of what the club is doing.  Fans have a very straight plan going forward but reality there's peaks and valleys in every young player's development.  Continue to evaluate every young player going forward.  Focus hasn't changed, things aren't as straight forward as players and fans would like.

"2010 won championship, last Denver team to do so, so fans need perspective but there does seem to be a missing element.  Pablo, Sam, what do you think that is?"

PM: We're crating a lot of chances but not finishing.  Need to be clear, more precise.  Take shots, take more risks,  We're missing the finishing.  Take the responsibility to go one on one, take the shot.  Not sharp enough this year.  The big picture is defense starts the offense.

SC; Agree with Pablo, struggled in the final 3rd.  Getting more players in more advanced positions.  As we continue to work and players familiarize with the roles goals more prevalent and we can hold on to leads.

"From a fan's perspective pretty demoralizing to see other MLS teams signing big names but Rapids never in the conversation. What are we missing out on by not going down that path?"

TH: We have been in the mix, but we don't advertise.  We've lost out due to MLS rules at times.  Conversations about them do go on.  Constant effort.  Sometimes its about timing.  Uses Doyle as an example of success.

PB: We have been close on a number of occasions.  We continue to try.  Not too far away from a little more star power.  We feel we have a great group of guys though.  "No one person is bigger than the club", that is one thing that will always set us apart.  Spread the love (salary) out more evenly than other clubs.

"C38 in the South Stands, any feedback?"

TH: Up to C38, we don't want to impose our will on them.

SC: Love the fan support, this is one of the better venues for fan support in the league.  hope to improve the product on the field.

"Ownership issue?  Lowest salary in league [Jason: Not true, we're 13th].  Is the owner committed to the team?"

TH: In my opinion ownership is committed.  Take your point about star players but the owner is committed to increasing our budget, facilities, youth spending, etc.  Spent to get the ASG.  Now in the DP market but yes, not buying Kaka or David Villa.  All take time.  Not things that happen overnight.  Ownership is investing in the club and marketplace.  USL affiliation investment.  Last thing we need to do, which is the most important thing, is get results on Saturday nights.  Investments have and will continue to go up every single year.

"More info on player availability suggestion.  For Pablo, why 3 d-mids?"

PM: Focus on build up, pivoting in midfield.  Opponents played a high line on Saturday which forced over the top ball.  With 3 free forwards you need  more structure in midfield thus more defensive.  But yes, they are more two-way mids than attacking mids but it comes down to the opponent and the system, making sure you're more secure behind the front free.  Evaluating all week to determine midfield makeup.  No decisions made on Saturdays are rogue, he discusses them all with technical staff.

"If making playoffs this year is the goal, does failing to make the playoffs result in changes to Front Office and coaching staff?"

PB: Set out goals every year, making the playoffs is the goal.  Allows us to go after trophies and justifies what we do during the season but its s small piece of the evaluation.  We're trying to build the club, build a model, that will sustain success over time.  Same for everyone from him to the kit guy.  If we don't make the playoffs this year everything will be evaluated at the end of the season but that's just a small piece of what we're evaluation.  Larger piece is progress we're making as a club step-by-step to get to a place where we make the playoffs on a regular basis.

"What young player are we building around to be face of the franchise?"

PB: Number of young players that could grow into that role.  Dillon Powers is the obvious choice.  consistency important for Powers.  Another player is Dillon Serna, continues to make strides.  Last one would be Juan Ramirez.  Tremendous upside.  not just one young player but a number that could grow into that role.  Developing young players important to the club.  Will help us win trophies.

"Question about recent signing, why defense over an attacking mid like Jose Mari?"

PB: Thought process in this window was where we could improve overall.  We know goals haven't been flying in but we brought in Solignac, trying to find minutes for Torres, Ramirez, Serna, Powers, etc.  We felt that if there was a player out there that could help us at tick all the boxes we would go after them but unless we felt it was a difference-maker we were going to look in other areas.  We felt we needed more experience along the back line.  Bringing in Maynor who;s played in 2 WCs and 3 GCs gives us that experience.  He'll attack out of the wingback.  Bringing in Sean was to strengthen the center back position with O'Neill leaving.

"Do the players work with each other and play together, during games they look like a collection of individuals.  do they fight for each other?"

PM: Group has great spirit and cohesiveness.  They rain together every morning, team lunches together every day, everyone is on board and fights extremely hard every day.

SC: Cool, diverse, environment in the locker room mixing European and South American player.  Everyone gets along, not worried about that.

Rapids Bobbleheads

Here's a look at all three of the bobbleheads the Rapids have created,

Also a kudos to the Rapids FO for going above and beyond.  They worked with C38 on the bobblehead giveaway to make sure the people involved in putting on the tailgate for the fans (and as such, unable to get into the stadium early to get a bobblehead) were taken care of.  Many teams wouldn't have bothered to do such a small thing from their POV that goes a long way for the fans.  Well done.

Kudos To The Rapids Front Office

We've all talked at length about the great run the Rapids made this year. Cummings was clearly the MVP. Pablo had his best season ever as the Rapids captain. The young backline came together to allow just 3 goals in 420 minutes of playoff soccer. What we haven't talked as much about is how well the Front Office did putting this team together.

Part of this is a mea culpa. Regular readers will remember in August when I ripped Jeff Plush for an interview he gave to MLSSoccer.com. Of particular note I pointed out his belief that DP's hadn't been proven to be winners was wrong, and how I felt like he was using it as an excuse for not improving the team. I followed that up with a post about how the Rapids wouldn't go anywhere with other team's cast-offs.

Oops.

OK, I was wrong. Badly wrong. Of the 14 players that played in the MLS Cup final, 10 of them were acquired by the Rapids from other MLS teams. One of the two other Rapids that played at least half the minutes this season was acquired from another team. It appears that the Rapids went quite far with the other team's cast-offs! The Rapids took two draftees (Cummings and Kimura), added in a pair of players found in England (Baudet, and Smith), threw in one USL player (Earls) and covered it all with a group of MLS players that their former teams either didn't want, or had to give up for other reasons. The Rapids Front Office clearly made a decision to use this strategy, and executed it well. While I'm sure there were many people working on it, I assume that the heads of this plan were Jeff Plush, Paul Bravo, and Gary Smith and they, and everyone else involved, deserve a hearty congratulations for their success.

Not 72 hours after the championship they were at it again. They traded away two players that, while valuable, were more expendable than others in order to protect most of our starting XI in the Expansion Draft. This was followed up by putting deals in place prior to the draft that would allow the Rapids to keep the rest of their players protected and/or get them returned to the team in exchanged for allocation money. The cherry on top was picking up another MLS cast-off, Sanna Nyassi, for next year's team.

I won't promise not to be critical of the Front Office in the future, but I will be giving them more credit. I may not have done enough of that this year.

An Improved Front Office in 2009

As I mentioned in my Midseason Review last week the Rapids Front Office has been greatly improved this year. First and foremost they have made solid player decisions since the end of the 2008 season such as:

• Offering Bouna a 6-figure contract, then when he turned it down making a good move to get Matt Pickens
• Getting out of the Christian Gomez mess, and getting our DP slot + a player back
• Signing young players LaBrocca, Cummings, Clark, Harvey, Kimura, and Ihemelu to new 4 year contracts
• Trading a draft pick for Ty Harden
• Signing captain Pablo Mastroeni to a new long term deal

The only bad player move the Front Office has made is not making enough good moves. We still need some forward depth and possibly a string central midfielder.

On top of the good player dealings the Front Offices has come a long way in its dealings with the supporters groups. This started almost as soon as last season ended with an open supporters meeting before the U.S. National Team game. That was the first time in years the Rapids GM has met with the supporters in an open meeting. The team allowed the supporters the use of the Cantina the weekend before the home opener for a kickoff party. General Manager Jeff Plush and Director of Marketing Keiran Cain attended and were happy to answer any questions the fans might have had, and they arranged for coach Gary Smith to speak to the group. He brought along assistant coach Steve Guppy as well which was an added bonus. I can't remember Clavijo or Hankinson ever being "happy" to talk to supporters like Smith and Guppy were.

The relationship improvement has led to our new tailgate spot right in front of the stadium in one of the VIP lots. While parking is a little harder the location gives the groups great visibility instead of being pushed off to the far end of one of the lots. The FO has also put a Tuff Shed in that lot for the supporters to store the tailgating gear in, which saves the volunteers a ton of work.

The Front Office has also been making an effort to be visible to the fans. Technical Director Paul Bravo and Keiran have stopped by each of the first 3 tailgates to talk with the fans, answer questions, and get some of whatever Chef Nate has been cooking. Jeff Plush joined them for the first 2 tailgates as well. Kieran has also been out trying to help with some of the challenges of our new location as the interaction with the DSG Park staff and the Commerce City representatives has had some rough spots.

While I've only be in Denver for a year, I've followed the trials and tribulations of the relationship between the Rapids fans and the Front Office for years. The last few months has seen an improvement to a point that I'm not sure the relationship has ever been. There is still some work to do, but the issues seem to be getting less challenging.

I think that the big problems now aren't with the Rapids Front Office, but with the parent company Kroenke Sports Enterprises(KSE). It seems like there's a lack of solid communication between the Rapids and the other parts of KSE they have to interact with. When things like the Rapids handing out a TV schedule, only for Altitude to change it 2 days later or the Rapids handing out season parking passes that the DSG Park staff rip up after one use happen, it makes me think that there's nobody coordinating KSE corporate groups. I would assume that's not a job for the Rapids FO, but somebody higher up that should be overseeing the connection points between the Rapids, DSG Park, Altitude, etc.

Overall though I think the fans are starting to rethink their opinion of the Rapids Front Office. There's been an antagonistic relationship for a long time, so a few months of good results isn't enough to completely change their minds, but at least the instinct to automatically think the worst seems to be fading somewhat. Hopefully this New And Improved Rapids FO will continue.

Thanks to the Rapids Ticket Office

As part of my ongoing goal to not paint the whole Rapids FO with the same brush when I get frustrated at a soccer-related decision I wanted to give my thanks to the Rapids Ticket Office, specifically Marcus Myrick and Abbey Gettler.

Marcus has been my long-time contact in the ticket office. He's always set me up with tickets and gone out of his way to make sure I got what I needed. It wasn't the easiest year for me, being laid off right after I got to Colorado, so I didn't buy the season ticket I was thinking about and I had a lot of last minute decisions to attend games based on $$$ until I got my new job at PaySimple figured out. Marcus was always responsive to last minute requests for Class VI tickets, and I probably took more of his time than I really should have in asking him questions about sell-outs and such.

Marcus and Abbey worked together on my season ticket renewal for 2009. I'm not in a position to buy a ticket right now, but expect to be after the holidays. I was willing just to let my seat go (Its not like we're real picky about sitting in our seats in Class VI) and buy a ticket to the USMNT game on my own. Instead Marcus decided to trust that I would buy a ticket and Abbey applied my unused playoff ticket (Damn you FaKe SaLt LaKe!) as my deposit and provided me with a USMNT ticket. It would have been easy for them to have let me go knowing I'd be back next season anyway and made some more money off of me by selling me a USMNT ticket, but instead they found a way to make it work for both the Rapids and me.

I come down on the Rapids FO a lot, and justifiably most of the time. From a soccer perspective there's a lot of work to be done to get the Rapids into a team that can challenge for the title. That doesn't mean that other parts of the organization aren't getting the job done though, and sometimes we as fans need to recognize that there are people in the FO getting the job done to make the game-day experience the best it can be for what they control.

The Rapids Front Office

Recently the tension between the Rapids Front Office and the supporters groups, particularly the Centennial Firm and NCC, has increased. This is mainly due to a number of incidents between security and the fans in section 100 at The Dick. Smoke bombs have been lit, fans have been targeted, and the situation is deteriorating rapidly (No pun intended). That's not really the focus of this post though. I have my opinion about what's happened and what needs to happen to solve the problem but as I'm not directly involved its not my place to push my agenda on the parties. Class VI hasn't had nearly the issues that the other groups have had, and its best that those groups solve the problems themselves.

What I did want to talk about came out of my conversation with Rapids Sales Rep Marcus Myrick at the Everton game on Sunday night. I've known Marcus for a couple of years, he's helped me get tickets when I would fly in to Denver to see Rapids games while I lived in Arizona and we've spent time talking at the last 3 MLS Cups. He said that while the fanbase is currently anti-Front Office, for numerous reasons, just saying we're anti-FO is doing a disservice to those people in the Front Office who are getting the job done. I thought about that for a little while and realized he was right.

Now don't get me wrong, there are still a number of decisions that come out of the Rapids FO that I strongly disagree with, first and foremost the decision to keep Clavijo for the 2008 season. I think the fans have gotten into the habit of blaming the FO for everything though and assuming they can do nothing right. That's not fair to them, and it probably dilutes our feelings in the FO's eyes when they do screw up. If they think they can never make us happy then what incentive do they have to try?

There are some good people in the front office. Marcus has gone to bat for the supporters groups in the past. Kieran Cain was very helpful working with the Committee of 10 as we were getting the Rocky Mountain Cup off the ground, and they have continued to work with us in promoting the competition and arranging for us to have the trophy on the field during the games. Even Jeff Plush, who's decisions I question often, went out of his way to respond to my email after Clavijo's tirade in Columbus, despite it being a Sunday and he had just gotten home from the game himself.

Does this mean that the Front Office should be considered perfect in the eyes of the supporters? Of course not. I think the only time that happens is the week after a team wins a major trophy. I think that in general the fanbase should try not to assume the Front Office is completely clueless, and while we should stand up and point out when they screw up we should also recognize when they get it right.