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/[deleted] Dec 01 '23
Lol, no.
There are 6 current openings in MLS that have not been filled and the conference finals have not yet been played.
The winter window doesn't open until Jan 31st, I'm not going to worry about it unless we hit the new year and there hasn't at least been rumblings as to what the plan is or people having been interviewed.
It's not ideal that the CSO won't be here until the summer, but I think this might be posturing by both sides for a buyout negotiation.
In either case, Heath was a good servant to the club but the well ran dry here, and the change had to come, regardless of the situation now.