Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Fallout from Lalas appointment
Michael Lewis over at Big Apple Soccer has a nice rundown of the teleconference yesterday announcing Alexi Lalas' appointment as Metrostars GM and President.
There was a lot of strong language thrown around that reflected disappointment with the current situation in Metro land and a strong intent to right the ship as soon as possible, if not before. The aggressiveness of the remarks coming from Tim Leiweke, in particular, makes me think that he got approval to start moving on some of those bold initiatives reportedly discussed at Anschutz's ranch last week.
It's also worth noting that there are a lot of people happy to see Nick Sakiewicz kicked out the door. Well, actually, he was kicked up the AEG foodchain a wee bit, and it appears that he'll handle the stadium project from here on out. I wish him all the best on his new endeavors as Anschutz's point man in the NYC area. He is still probably the best person to walk the Harrison project through to completion, something that -- brace yourself -- looks finally like it's going to happen. No more "60-90 days" smoke-and-mirrors!
Despite the ire most hardcore Metro supporters have for Nick, he has done a decent job on the business side of things. It's just, well, he's been horrible with player management (he's had help on this front, obviously) and community relations. As long as he's kept away from these two aspects of the franchise, which seems to be the case, then all's well.
I think this is going to be a very positive move, and this isn't just the hopeful Metro fan in me speaking. Lalas has ties to the area, and an enthusiasm that will help the team rebrand itself over the next two seasons. It's unclear what precise changes will come about in the short term (I wouldn't predict too many), but by next season you will probably see a different attitude on the pitch, in the executive boxes, and in the stands. Something, of course, which is direly needed.
There was a lot of strong language thrown around that reflected disappointment with the current situation in Metro land and a strong intent to right the ship as soon as possible, if not before. The aggressiveness of the remarks coming from Tim Leiweke, in particular, makes me think that he got approval to start moving on some of those bold initiatives reportedly discussed at Anschutz's ranch last week.
It's also worth noting that there are a lot of people happy to see Nick Sakiewicz kicked out the door. Well, actually, he was kicked up the AEG foodchain a wee bit, and it appears that he'll handle the stadium project from here on out. I wish him all the best on his new endeavors as Anschutz's point man in the NYC area. He is still probably the best person to walk the Harrison project through to completion, something that -- brace yourself -- looks finally like it's going to happen. No more "60-90 days" smoke-and-mirrors!
Despite the ire most hardcore Metro supporters have for Nick, he has done a decent job on the business side of things. It's just, well, he's been horrible with player management (he's had help on this front, obviously) and community relations. As long as he's kept away from these two aspects of the franchise, which seems to be the case, then all's well.
I think this is going to be a very positive move, and this isn't just the hopeful Metro fan in me speaking. Lalas has ties to the area, and an enthusiasm that will help the team rebrand itself over the next two seasons. It's unclear what precise changes will come about in the short term (I wouldn't predict too many), but by next season you will probably see a different attitude on the pitch, in the executive boxes, and in the stands. Something, of course, which is direly needed.
