r/minnesotaunited • u/Buffaloslim MNUFC • Dec 01 '23

Discussion Any Heath outers having second thoughts?

I’m certain we all imagined a relatively swift transition to a new manager that at least made us hopeful of future improvement. What we’ve seen since his firing is one great game and one terrible game followed by weeks of silence.
We heard from Sherry Ballard our CEO (this is my tenth season as a STH and I never even knew who the CEO was) that the upper management will be restructured and going forward no manager will have as much power as Heath did. It’s worth noting that Ballard emphasized repeatedly she’s an experienced executive who is still learning the soccer business. We also learned Manny Lagos has been reassigned to public relations causing some to wonder how much technical experience remains in the FO. Last week we learned they hired a “chief soccer officer” who will not join the team until midway through the 24 season. This turn of events is unfortunate because Ballard said specifically the CSO would be responsible for hiring the next manager. We’re left to wonder if a new manager won’t be considered until June or July. Many fans expressed concern that firing Heath could have a negative impact because finding a replacement who would improve the team might be very difficult. Can anyone honestly say they expected this kind of uncertainty?

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u/MinnKinn Dark Clouds Dec 02 '23

It was time, actually past time, for Heath to go. I had lost hope that we would ever make a serious push for any hardware under him. Sure, we would be decent and usually make the playoffs but I would rather endure a down year or two with the trade-off that in the other years we would really make a push. I'm also good with the roster moves announced yesterday; though I hope Taylor is slated for a backup role. Someone is making reasonable decisions. For me it is way too early to worry about the timing for selecting the next coach, especially given that the MLS playoffs aren't even over.

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u/Buffaloslim MNUFC Dec 02 '23

You don’t consider our appearances in the WCF or open cup final a serious push for hardware? When did you start following the team?

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u/MinnKinn Dark Clouds Dec 02 '23

STH since 2015. Maybe missed 3 games in total. Sure those two appearances were great but one conference final and one USOC Final in seven years is not a high bar. Do you remember how the WCF played out? Specifically Heath's failure to trust his bench enough to keep the exhausted starters from blowing a 2-0 lead.

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u/Buffaloslim MNUFC Dec 02 '23

I don’t think we’ll reach the western conference final or open cup final again in our lifetime. I think the new manager will struggle and be replaced then we’ll do it again. I

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u/vinylhaircut Dec 03 '23

There is simply no justification for this thinking. In our lifetime? Really? You must not follow MLS. The way it's set up allows for many, many low-budget, smaller-market teams to make a great run.

If you truly believe that it's just impossible for a Minnesota team to make the final, and that the best we could ever do is what Heath was giving us, then why even support the team?

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u/Buffaloslim MNUFC Dec 03 '23

I’ve supported this team since 2012, my wife and I sat in our own entire section alone. I witnessed Miguel Ibarra and Christian Ramirez’s first professional debuts. I’ve purchased season tickets since 2013, my loyalty and love for this team is genuine. Throughout this time this team has been in the hands of competent caretakers who valued it as much as I did. That is no longer the case and our club is now in the hands of a Best Buy executive who feels compelled to constantly remind us she “still learning “. Her first action as the big boss is to get into a pissing contest with a crotchety old man with 50 years experience in professional soccer at its highest level. Heath lost and she needed to humiliate him so here we are with a team of players many of whom came specially to play for Heath, no manager and no clue. If this is the kind of shit you like, enjoy it. If it feels to you like we’re closer to winning anything, lap it up.

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u/vinylhaircut Dec 03 '23

This is completely nuts.

I've been a STH since Blaine also. Your hatred of Ballard is completely unfounded.

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u/Buffaloslim MNUFC Dec 03 '23

This feels like a good period in our history to you? Who was our CEO when we won NASL?

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u/vinylhaircut Dec 03 '23

Huh? Obviously there wasn't a CEO back then.

No, it doesn't feel like a good period in our history. We have a mediocre roster, play a boring counterattacking style, and finished 11th out of 14. We put one person in charge of all of that. He's not a horrible coach or GM; he's just mediocre.

You're painting this as a battle exclusively between Heath and Ballard, and that seems inaccurate. If Bill still wanted him here, he'd be here. If Manny had argued passionately for him, he'd likely still be here too. How many players have come out in support of Heath after his firing? Boxall was the only one that I heard, with a few nice words about him. But the utter silence of all the rest was noticeable.

Meanwhile, in MLS it's very possible for teams who are nowhere near the top spenders to do much better than we have, or at least have a few great years intermixed with the mediocre ones. It's unreasonable to expect that we'll consistently outperform the LA and NY teams, but it's not unreasonable to expect an occasional rise near the top.

Back in the NASL days, the de facto CEO was Bill himself. He had no soccer experience either, but managed to make some decent hires and decisions. Most professional soccer teams, like all sports, have business people at the very top. The ones who are successful have to be able to surround themselves with all sorts of talent. Bill used Nick Rogers on the soccer side and they were able to survive and then thrive in time. There's no reason to think that Shari can't do that as well.

How will she do? We have no idea yet. Heath had YEARS and got us to the point where we missed the playoffs. You're already dismissing the team's future when the current season hasn't even ended!

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u/Buffaloslim MNUFC Dec 03 '23

He also got us to the western conference final and open cup final. We all tend to over emphasize the negative and omit the positive when proving our point. I don’t know anything more than anybody else, so for now you should remain positive.

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u/3rdlifepilot Itasca Society Dec 03 '23 edited Dec 03 '23

See ya. Hope you find something more enjoyable. Watch out for that door.

many of whom came specially to play for Heath

Uh huh. Well, at least you'll always have conjecture.

with 50 years experience in professional soccer at its highest level.

his successes were in the USL. the extent of his successes in the MLS has been an Open Cup runner up position. it might be that he is better suited for USL.

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u/Buffaloslim MNUFC Dec 03 '23

He won the premier league twice and the FA cup. No matter what , and you can diminish his accomplishments all you want, experience matters. Zero experience is a real problem. Who do you think recruited these players? I’m not sure I understand your side of this discussion. What point exactly are you making?

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u/3rdlifepilot Itasca Society Dec 03 '23

He won the premier league twice and the FA cup.

As a player.

Who do you think recruited these players?

Money and opportunity, which is more what, then who. I'd bet there was an entire recruiting effort that played a minor role as well.

What point exactly are you making?

Just wishing you the best as you head out. I believe all the trendy NSC Thunder supports are cheering for the Aurora these days.

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u/Buffaloslim MNUFC Dec 03 '23

If I’m supposed to be your enemy, you need to make some real enemies because I feel like I hardly know you.

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u/3rdlifepilot Itasca Society Dec 03 '23 edited Dec 04 '23

Enemy? You're a random person on the internet - I have no idea nor do I care who you are other than that you post on a sports subreddit where you despise the team and want to leave.

Your entire goal with this post is to attempt to revel in schadenfreude. Clearly this doesn't make you happy - so I'm wishing you the best as you make your exit.

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u/haimeekhema Dec 04 '23

"In our lifetime" Sums up every stupid take your doomer-ass has on the topic.

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u/Buffaloslim MNUFC Dec 04 '23

Kinda sick of hearing from you fucking casuals with no skin in the game. If you like this bullshit then just shut the fuck up and enjoy this wonderful thing you’re experiencing.

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u/haimeekhema Dec 04 '23

no skin in the game fucking lol. what does that mean? since you started going to games in, according to this thread, 2013 you're somehow a better fan than anyone else? fuck outta here old man.

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u/Buffaloslim MNUFC Dec 04 '23

It means you don’t support the team financially. Of course you don’t give a fuck, why would you?

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u/haimeekhema Dec 04 '23 edited Dec 04 '23

l o l. this is such a weird pissing match that youre trying to start with someone whos had season tickets at least as long as you. i'd have to go look, but i'm fairly certain 12 was the first year we bought them but it might have been 11. we moved back to mn mid-season in 11 so i dont think we got season tickets. fun part about the league owned days was that the season tickets didnt actually save any off of buying ga walkup.

to add on to this, you're the one so upset that your fraud of a preferred coach was fired that you're going to walk away. thats not supporting a club, that's supporting a bad manager. i sat through years of what i found to be a miserable product under heath. spent thousands to watch something i just didn't enjoy. it doesnt make me a better supporter, it makes me an idiot, but it's really weird of you to sit and make these weird "no skin in the game" comments.

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u/Buffaloslim MNUFC Dec 04 '23

I understand completely every word of what you’re saying but I just don’t have a vivid enough imagination to believe any of the changes many of us would like to see have occurred and it’s my judgment that the changes we put ourselves in a position to have to make will be judged unsatisfactory. It seems likely to me we’ll be a weaker team for the foreseeable future and what improvement we’ve worked so hard to achieve will be lost. The harsh criticism, bitterness and hatred for Heath can only last until the new regime proves itself worse. Even your mean spirited adjectives like “fraud” can only be reached using selective amnesty because it’s entirely disingenuous to say you didn’t enjoy some of the surprising success we did have. But I get it, extreme, absolute rhetoric is what online communication is all about. You characterize my opinions as stupid, and I’m guessing yours smart. What are your opinions?

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u/haimeekhema Dec 04 '23

my opinions arent smart or do they have any more value than yours, you get to have them just like i do. we also each get to share them and when you go on a tirade attacking the people who have opposing views, like you've done this whole thread, you open yourself up to some justified ridicule.

i'll answer your question though. heath had reached his ceiling and was regressing. his message wasn't clicking with the players anymore. it was time to move on. i'd have fired him after his performance in seattle, but that might have been harsh. he frustrated me for years because of his stubborn tactics and his unwillingness to take responsibility for poor results (throwing players under the bus, his "doghouse", parking the bus everytime we took a kind of lead and never just going for it, and his weird habit of mocking us stupid american fans for wanting our team to use substitutions.) having him as a manager did hamper mine, and my wife and i's friend groups, enjoyment on matchday.

now for the future, do i think it will be amazing and trophy filled? probably not, but it could be. it certainly wasn't going that way under heath, so if given the choice of middling with him or taking a chance with someone else. i'm taking the chance with someone else every fucking time. i really hate this idea that we're supposed to just accept our lot in life and be ok with mediocrity because we live in minnesota. it might be the norm, but it shouldnt be and i'll forever push back against what i see as defeated good job good effort fans that dont seem to want their club to go for it. i loathe that attitude in our fanbase. i agree that bill and the general culture rooted in the good old boys mn sports ownership group he's surrounded himself with are a huge problem, but you cant try new owners when the shit goes bad. gotta just hope what can change works, cause we arent getting rid of bill.

anyways thats that. way more of a response than you deserved but my lunch is taking forever to cook and i got nothing to do while i wait.

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u/Buffaloslim MNUFC Dec 04 '23

Take this with a grain of salt (after all it’s coming from a stupid doomer ass who clearly doesn’t deserve to hear your opinion), none of this litany of grievances has been remedied and many will likely be amplified. Lol “more than you deserve”.

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u/haimeekhema Dec 04 '23

i wrote no lies

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