Davis: The education of Jason Kreis
During his fever-pitch transition period between player and manager, Kreis has been candid about his need to be better educated on the complicated financial gymnastics attached to an MLS roster. He admitted upon his hiring that an early priority was to become far better acquainted with how the salary cap functions, how bonuses are applied, how international transfer fees affect individual clubs, the different ways money can be spent (buying down contracts through allocation money, for instance), etc.
Even before that, Kreis said, he needed to establish the order and links in the chain between the club and the league. Since GM Steve Pastorino left at the same time John Ellinger stepped down as manager, establishing the hierarchy and the proper communication channels with the league office was an essential first step.
Having Ellinger around - the deposed manager moved into the role of technical director - was a huge help during the transition period, Kreis said.
In New York, Kreis met with MLS Deputy Commissioner Ivan Gazidis, Senior Vice President of Player Personnel Todd Durbin and Director of Player Personnel Lino DiCuollo, immersing himself in Major League Soccer's single entity structure. Kreis said the time spent at MLS HQ was absolutely essential.
A heavy schedule of matches upon his takeover prevented the goal scorer-turned-manager from diving into the financial machinations any earlier; Kreis was named head coach on May 3. While there may have been some benefit to burrowing into the financial ins and outs sooner, Kreis said the timing worked out in the long run. His lack of understanding on the finer points headed off any inclination toward rash decisions, he said.
"I don't think I could have absorbed any of that information any earlier, anyway," he said. "So, this forced me to be more patient than I might have been. I didn't want to do anything that we might regret in two months. The decisions we make, we want to make for the long term."
Kreis and RSL have money -- from striker Jeff Cunningham's departure and from his own retirement as a player -- and a roster spot available. While he wants to make decisions that make sense in the long term, Kreis did hint that a significant roster addition may be coming sooner rather than later. "I wouldn't put that past us," he said Friday.
BIG LEARNING CURVE: However, some parts of Kreis' learning curve at RSL will be more pleasant than others.
The new management learned a lesson about tampering recently when it plucked rookie goalkeeper coach Jeff Cassar away from Dallas. Cassar joined Kreis' staff last week.
But RSL officials didn't follow proper business etiquette in approaching another team's employee. For that, they'll give FC Dallas a third-round draft pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft. League spokesman Dan Courtemanche acknowledged there was some punitive element to the league response, that it wasn't purely compensatory. There may be a fine forthcoming, as well.
Courtemanche said no one believed there was malice involved on RSL's part, but that club officials must respect the proper processes. In this case, that meant seeking permission to approach a coach already on another club's staff.
League officials are also discussing a possible fine for published comments attributed to a source inside Real Salt Lake, who mentioned by name New England's Shalrie Joseph when discussing the type of player the club might pursue. Talking about the acquisition of specific players on other rosters is considered inappropriate not just in MLS, but in most athletic organizations.
SUMMER IN CHICAGO: While Chicago boss Dave Sarachan is brainstorming for ways to generate offense, one key cog in the Fire's future is getting things in place to do his part. Cuauhtemoc Blanco was in Chicago on Thursday -- house hunting.
Blanco has been called into the Hugo Sanchez's national team for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, but was given the weekend off by the Mexican manager. One priority for Blanco during his down time - just after finishing the Mexican Clausura campaign with Club America -- was the visit to the Midwest to find a place to live.
Blanco remains set to join the Fire on July 1, Fire officials say.
VIVA MLS: Where Las Vegas will fall in the ongoing expansion process remains to be seen. But league officials have allowed this much: the ever-growing Nevada city is definitely in the running as MLS aims toward a 16-team operation by 2010.
Whereas some U.S. sports leagues have kept their distance from Las Vegas due to concerns over legalized gambling there, MLS says gaming is not an issue, according to league spokesman Dan Courtemanche.
One group from Las Vegas interested in establishing a franchise is being guided in part by Paul Caligiuri, a former MLS defender and prominent U.S. international in the early 1990s.
Courtemanche said groups from 12 communities remain interested. (All the "usual suspects," he said, ensuring there were no surprises among the current list of interested communities.) Caligiuri's group and a group in San Jose are among the more aggressive.
Some are further along than others, Courtemanche said, but none have been deterred by the potential $35 million expansion fee. Although that figure remains something of a moving target, based on the recent D.C. United sale (about $34.6 million), that appears to be the going rate.
Could one of the crews be ready to play in 2008?
"It's still too early to tell," Courtemanche said.
The league's board of directors discuss expansion regularly; they are likely to do so again when they meet via teleconference on Wednesday.
Steve Davis is a freelance writer who has covered Major League Soccer since its inception. Steve can be reached at BigTexSoccer@yahoo.com. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com.
