conversation with the FO
last week, several of the alliance council (i can’t type that without thinking “one ring to rule them all”) sat down for one of our meetings with the front office. adrian hanauer, joe roth and gary wright were there among a few other folks from the ticketing dept.
this is the second time we have sat down with this group this year, and while the first meeting was ok… it didn’t really offer too much to talk about here. this one, however, was quite the opposite. it was a very productive meeting and gave me a lot of hope for the council and the democracy in sport that is often talked about.
first… i must say this. there is some detail that i need to keep somewhat vague. i appreciate the FO talking with us on a variety of issues, but some of the details need to be kept under wraps due to the fact that ‘deals aren’t yet done’ or it is considered ‘sensitive’ or something like that. trust me when i say i am not holding on to any huge secrets here. just a few things about the next friendly, and internal ‘things’. not ultimately important, or something you won’t find out eventually.
if anything, i want to just give you a feel for the types of things discussed, and perpetuate the idea that the FO really does care about what is going on in this organization, specifically from our point of view. i really believe it. Read more
Who Else Besides Nkufo?
Adrian Hanauer (Chris Coulter foto)
Don Ruiz got to chat with Adrian Hanauer about the upcoming International Transfer Window. The GM’s responses are very political in their non-committal, but insightful indeed.
Don Ruiz: What are you as general manager doing to make the second half of this season better?
Adrian Hanauer: We are working towards either “a” or “multiple” transactions. We don’t have a lot of maneuverability with the current salary cap and roster size, but we do have some maneuverability. If I (or coach Sigi Schmid or technical director Chris Henderson) feel like there’s a move that will make the team better, we’re going to do it. And more specifically, there are definitely specific players that we’ve been tracking/targeting/communicating with/negotiating with. You never know until it’s done, but I’m extremely hopeful that at least one transaction will be completed in this transfer window for a player that should have impact on our team.
“And Then the Miracle Occurs!” Or not. (Let the Blame Game Begin.)
So. My brother is a physicist. He used to have a comic on his wall that had two scientists in front of a blackboard which was covered with rows and rows of mathematical calculations — up to the final step. Which was:
“AND THEN THE MIRACLE OCCURS!”
I didn’t realize until yesterday exactly how much I’ve been counting on that equation to get us into the playoffs this year.
Yesterday, for the first time, I realized that the necessary miracle may not actually occur. (Yes, for the first time. Because hope springs eternal and these are my boys and I have survived so, so long on simple blind faith.) But we’ve dug too big a hole, and the Western Conference is just too good. There is a very solid chance that the 2010 Sounders will not make the playoffs, and even the mighty, water-walking Nkufo will not be able to fill the fissures in the team.
Let the finger-pointing begin.
I’m starting to hear “Fire Adrian” murmurings around the internets. Which is understandable. He (and I recognize I’m using “Adrian” symbolically for all the decisions of the FO, the buck stopping with him and all that) took a calculated risk in not making any signings in the off-season of people who could come in and make an immediate impact. He assumed the cracks we were seeing in the last half of the season last year wouldn’t turn into crevasses before Nkufo could arrive.
He was wrong.
Read more
adrian’s live chat from seattletimes
adrian hanauer just finished a Q&A with fans over at the seattle times. there wasn’t anything earth shattering, and anything that would have been juicy for us fans, was received with a politically seasoned answer. adrian does have a sense of humor though. a couple of the stand outs were…
q- “Any good gossip you can share to get us through the next long, cold 3 months?”
a- “my best friends wife is pregnant”
q. “Adrian, I love the natural atmosphere that the fans generate at qwest, any chance that we work out other deals with some of the sponsors rather than horns or thundersticks which just don’t fit with the singing and supporter generated atmosphere?”
a. “We are actually giving away free horns and thundersticks at all games next season…” Read more
Watch the World Cup Draw with Adrian
Word from the Sounders Front Office is an invitation to watch the World Cup draw with Adrian Hanauer at 9a on Friday at the George & Dragon (206 North 36th Street in Fremont).
A new official 2010 FIFA World Cup match ball from adidas will be unveiled and raffled off at the event.
DC United’s Marketing Effort to get Butts in the Seats for the US Open Cup Final
It all started when Adrian Hanauer noted that he was “skeptical” of the USSF process and of DC United’s US Open Cup Final bid. He additionally noted that the Sounders would have sold out Qwest if Seattle was awarded the US Open Cup Final.
And with that, the Guantlet was laid.
This prompted a pointed reply from DC United head man Kevin Payne. With the “he said / she said” aside, the onus was now on DC to fill the seats of RFK for the September 2nd Final… Or at least draw more than the 8,200 8,212 they did for the 2008 US Open Cup Final and hopefully more than the 16,272 that they’re averaging in 2009.
They are trying. Here are some of the gimmicks & campaigns that the marketing folks at DC United have come up with Read more
DC United President Responds to Hanauer
DC United’s president, Kevin Payne, addressed the comments made by Sounders General Manager Adrian Hanauer today via Steven Goff.
On what Hanauer said…
“I was surprised and disappointed and offended. Adrian uses the word ‘skepticism’ to describe the process, which seems to be implying that it wasn’t on the up-and-up. Which is really an outrageous implication. He is implying that we somehow are receiving favorable treatment. We bid aggressively at every level this year and last year. We did so because we didn’t want to travel if we could possibly avoid it, given the demands of our schedule [Champions League]. Seattle doesn’t have those same demands because this is their first year. Adrian has no knowledge of what we bid or didn’t bid; my guess is that we bid more aggressively than they did.”
“I appreciate that Seattle’s fans are great. Our fans have been great for 14 seasons. It’s really unseemly for Seattle to suddenly show up in MLS and everything should be handed to them. Their crowds are wonderful, we had a great time out there in Seattle [last month], but our crowds are pretty good too and we expect this year we will get far more people in the building than we did last year [8,200]. Last year we played a USL team in the final and, the way our team was going in general at that point, our fans were disappointed and disillusioned. That’s not the case this year. We are going to promote the game very aggressively.”
As a followup, according to Ruiz, Seattle indeed placed a bid for an afternoon game to host the Final.
Adrian Hanauer Frustrated
Adrian Hanauer (AP)
Don Ruiz and Jose Romero have provided some reactions from Adrian Hanauer on USSF’s decision to play the US Open Cup Final at RFK Stadium in Washington DC.
Apparently, the Sounders Front Office put in “a very aggressive bid” to be the host of the USOC final, yet somehow Qwest Field was not selected. Hanauer said that he “has spoken with other teams that have made bids for the Final who thought that they were going to win the bid, and our bid was twice, and in some cases up to three times, the size, financially, of those bids.” Read more
Expect Future Open Cup Games @ Starfire
(AP Photo)
Sounders FC General Manager Adrian Hanauer noted yesterday that fans could expect to see the Third Round match of the US Open Cup to be played at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila.
He noted that if the club wins and hosts a USOC Quarterfinal match, that would be at Starfire too.
Sounders FC “would eventually consider” moving Semifinal and Final matches of the US Open Cup to Qwest.
Adrian Hanauer on Fredy Montero
With yesterday’s discussion on Colombian Striker Fredy Montero’s status, GM Adrian Hanauer made this comment…
Fredy Montero traveled to South America to complete some personal administrative details that required the player’s attention prior to the start of the MLS season. The player’s contract is finalized and there are no open issues. Fredy is en route back to Seattle and we look forward to his participation in training later this week and on opening night.
Next / Last Match
Next- @ New England [Tickets]
Saturday 9/4 | 4p
Last- Chivas USA (USOC): W, 3-1
Next Match @ Qwest
9/9 vs. Real Salt Lake [Tickets]
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