I think GW was good at juggling finances in the short term. Unfortunately, contracts aren't short-term, and a lot of the decisions GW made were for the now at the expense of the later.
GW wasn't really one to care about what the salary budget looked like three years from now; he was trying to optimize a roster for winning now. Which works…
I think GW was good at juggling finances in the short term. Unfortunately, contracts aren't short-term, and a lot of the decisions GW made were for the now at the expense of the later.
GW wasn't really one to care about what the salary budget looked like three years from now; he was trying to optimize a roster for winning now. Which works great as an "all in" strategy if you get good players that can, you know, win now. But he couldn't do that. And so he left behind a big ol' mess that Ned is in the midst of cleaning up.
Interesting perspective on GW possibly being "all in" but I don't know if I agree. He knew and even, via Paulson, had some influence on what changes MLS was making to roster rules going forward, so he was trying to plan ahead. I disagree with how he went about it and think he often failed but I don't think he was so focused on winning now. I think we'd have taken fewer risks if that was the case. In general, I think terrible scouting and man management just made some of his deals look worse in retrospect. But ultimately I think there's a balance between trying to win now and build a sustainably successful club. I would agree that the results and his approach lean more toward the former than the latter, but wouldn't characterize it as "all in" for the now.
I think GW was good at juggling finances in the short term. Unfortunately, contracts aren't short-term, and a lot of the decisions GW made were for the now at the expense of the later.
GW wasn't really one to care about what the salary budget looked like three years from now; he was trying to optimize a roster for winning now. Which works great as an "all in" strategy if you get good players that can, you know, win now. But he couldn't do that. And so he left behind a big ol' mess that Ned is in the midst of cleaning up.
Interesting perspective on GW possibly being "all in" but I don't know if I agree. He knew and even, via Paulson, had some influence on what changes MLS was making to roster rules going forward, so he was trying to plan ahead. I disagree with how he went about it and think he often failed but I don't think he was so focused on winning now. I think we'd have taken fewer risks if that was the case. In general, I think terrible scouting and man management just made some of his deals look worse in retrospect. But ultimately I think there's a balance between trying to win now and build a sustainably successful club. I would agree that the results and his approach lean more toward the former than the latter, but wouldn't characterize it as "all in" for the now.