There was not a happier day for me in my Soccer Supporter life than the opening day of MLS in 1996. My Beloved crew beat DC united 4-2 on two goals from Brian Mcbride...I have been a ticket holder for the crew ever since. Some years good, but most bad. I was very hopeful after the aquisition of Sigi Schmid as our Manager last year. He has a good soccer pedigre for the US, and has won at every level he has coached in. I was very hopeful as I attended several training sessions last year. We picked up Richie Kotschau who was a national team Deffender, and a Buschy would be back between the pipes for the 2006 season.
Then the bad times began. Jon went down with a tear in his ACL for a second straight year. The Crew brought in several keepers to try and plug holes but nothing seemed to work. 6 different keepers tried their best, but to no avail. The Crews deffense was tired, and hurt most of the year, and the contstant changes in the lineup seemed to destin the Crew for another season without coming close to the playoffs. In the papers, and media, Sigi publicly questionned the players ability, players HE brought to the crew. In some ways he was correct, players were not playing to the best of their abilities. What bothers me about Sigi Schmid is that he never seems to take responsibility for HIS mistakes. Lets face it the players play the game, but if your ripping your players in the media, and not giving them any positive feedback, they will not perform well. The only thing Sigi cares about is his own image. In years past the focal point in Pre-Season marketing has always been the players....Not the past two years...Sigi has claimed the spotlight ALL to himself, almost wallowing in it like a pig in a mud puddle. Sigi is now basically the General Manager in charge of all player personel, even though he could not pick a squad last year that could make it into the playoffs in probably the Weakest year of MLS on history.
So how does Sigi FIX the Crew this year? He waives Jon Busch....The career leader in almost every single goalkeeping catagory...The ONE Crew player (minus Duncan Oughton and Frankie Hejduk) that actually bleeds Black and Gold. Now obviously I am biased. Jon is a great friend of mine, so I may not be 100% constructive in my critisim....But there is one thing I know about football more than anything else, GOALKEEPING. Lets check some facts. The Crew Currently have 3 Goalkeepers on the roster. Will Hesmer, Bill Gaudette, and Andy Greenbaum. Will Hesmer was Bo Oshoniys backup in KC last year. Bo (Bo is a longtime favorite of mine for the record) has been awful for two years. What does that say about Will? He could not beat out a 36 year old keeper who had some of the worst stats in the league. Will has potential, but was hurt on the first day of camp, and did not play a single preseason game before Jon was waived. Bill Gaudette . I have met Bill and he is a nice guy, but he is a perenilal back up keeper. He does not posses the footworking, or technical ability you need at this level. He is also prone to some horrible breaks in judgement. I never see Bill as a Starter in the MLS. Bill was also hurt during half of pre-season. Andy is another matter. He WILL be a good MLS GK. What I have seen of him, he has been impressive. He is strong and athletic. What he lacks in experience and leadership, he compensates with good solid ability. If I were the manager, Andy would have been playing right behind Jon this year..Sadly I am not the manager. The combined three golden boys of Columbus Crew goalkeeping have a staggering 26 games of professional experience behind them.. Jon has 84 in MLS and 100's as a professional goalkeeper.
So your probably thinking that Jon's knee injury would have effected him adversly. My goodness, two blown knees in two years? He has lost a step, he is skiddish, he is damaged goods! NOPE!! Jon was the leader in every catagory (minus endurance beep testing, pretty useless for a gk anyway) in his pre-season fitness trials. Best vertical, longest broad jump etc. This is a guy who blew away guys 5-8 years younger in FITNESS for heavens sake! ALL of the keepers mindus Jon were injured pre-season...Jon was the only GK to not miss training...
So how do the Crew thank Jon for his dedication and service? They waive him. No warning, 3 weeks before the season starts. Sigi, are you serious? Your going to rest your future on three GK's with a combined 26 games? Is all of the fat on your gut going to your head? We have not made it to the playoffs for the last two years...Two years running, we have the worst, or second worst record in MLS. So you think dropping the keeper who once had a 16 game streak without a loss seemed like a good idea? The only thing more powerful than your arrogance is your ignorance. You have made horrible move after horrible move in regards to personel, and this is by far the WORST. You waive a player who is absolutely ingrained in the community, who salutes the fans after game, who at the drop of a hat takes a phone call from me, and gets a buddy of mine tickets to two games, gives him his gloves after the game, and has a ball signed by the entire crew team for his daughter? A guy who was your GK for the only hardware the crew have ever won (US open cup), and a guy who shows intensity, and leadership EVERY time he steps on the field? Well done Sigi. Ill be honest. The Crew have lost me. Not just because of Jon, but because they have no idea how to run an orginization. Since Mark Mcullers has become GM, the crew have put a terrible prodcut on the field, the season ticket holders have erroded away, and the city of Columbus has forgotten the crew. I know I will probably attend at least one game this year. I know a club will pick up my freind Jon, and he will shove it down our throats. Whatever shirt Jon wears, is who I will be rooting for that day. Not just because he is my friend, but because he represents what the Crew USED to be. Classy, hardworking, and loyal. Sigi, Mark...You sicken me. The only thing Sigi cares about is his ego. Columbus is a stepping ground for him..He thinks he is better than Columbus. He would have left if Klinsman would have been the US national team coach. I PRAY everyday that US soccer does end up hiring Klinsman so we can be finally rid of Sigi. I hope Sigi realizes one day that he probably made the worst move ever in Crew History, and owns up to his endless mistakes, but I doubt it. You have to have a soul to admit mistakes, and I am not sure he qualifies.
I wanted to post this pic of Jon. Fitting he is wearing the captains arm-band. TGB wishes Jon the best of luck, though he will not need it.
Posted
Mar 01 2007, 02:08 PM
by
ChewieGK1