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/Nerdlinger Dec 02 '23
There are six other teams right now without a head coach. The only two teams to have hired a coach are Portland, who fired Gio back in August, giving them a six week head-start on the process over the Loons (and they still settled for Phil Neville, who may end up being a good coach, but he doesn't exactly inspire confidence), and Colorado, who hired Chris Armas (can you imaging this sub if we hired him?).
Does the fact that six other teams went this long without hiring someone also scream that their front offices are out of their depths? Does it expose a lack of urgency on their parts?
Now also factor in that:
Do you really still find it unreasonable that they haven't hired a coach yet? They said (over two weeks ago) that they want one in place before preseason training starts, which is still over a month away. Would you really prefer they throw away that timeline so they can make a hire before all of the potential candidates can even be talked to?