How Long Does Earl Cochrane Have At TFC?

[evermorian]

I don't know if there is another thread about this, but how long do you think Earl Cochrane has at TFC? Since the departure of Paul Mariner, it makes sense that one of the last bastions of the old way of doing things at the club (ie. politics, backstabbing, ill thought out trades and deals for players) should be on borrowed time. What has he done, except look out for himself rather than the collective interests of the club, signing an aging dp to a new deal right before Payne was hired, and has ties to all of the worst years in the history of TFC, yet he still, despite all odds, has a job with the team. Is he really that valuable, or should he be let go?

[tiberius]

I don't know if there is another thread about this, but how long do you think Earl Cochrane has at TFC? Since the departure of Paul Mariner, it makes sense that one of the last bastions of the old way of doing things at the club (ie. politics, backstabbing, ill thought out trades and deals for players) should be on borrowed time. What has he done, except look out for himself rather than the collective interests of the club, signing an aging dp to a new deal right before Payne was hired, and has ties to all of the worst years in the history of TFC, yet he still, despite all odds, has a job with the team. Is he really that valuable, or should he be let go?

It might be helpful to those newer to these boards (people like Payne, Nelson, O'Leary) if we recap briefly (lets try to keep it to say... 20 pages?), the statements, incidents, escapades and out 'n out blunders that Mr. Cochrane has been associated with. As I recall, many times the stories were actually funny, if they had not been happening to our club... It may well be that Payne has already come to the conclusion that Earl cannot find his rear end without a flashlight, but there is no guarantee of that. Perhaps a few funny reminiscences would be in order? With over 1/2 million posts on this board, we wouldn't want to force a newcomer to have to weed through all of that to get up to speed, would ya? I think this might be kind of like an Earl Cochrane "de-appreciation thread" with similar rules - there is no need to defend the poor bugger here - do that in some other thread.

For a start, we all know the Earl has big problems remembering where his players are, who he sent where, who plays for what team, what everyones Christmas holiday plans are... etc. etc. There was the time he sent Dero to go to learn a bit of the Glaswegian dialect - a worthy and challenging task in of itself - and then Earl bumped his head on some mistletoe and forgot that Dero had gone over to Scotland on his Christmas holidays... that sure fired up a bit of a shit storm...

And then there was the time Earl started to hallucinate... The team accidentally misplaced their smallest player - they looked everywhere... The little guy must be here somewhere... and then it happened... actual taped evidence of Earl hallucinating - at the very moment he claims to have found the wee feller in Toronto, we obtain videotape evidence that the fan favourite is one or two continents away... hoisting Jerseys... Poor Earl - it must have been his medication...

http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/sports/photos/2011/05/07/plata_584.jpg

[evermorian]

I would totally change the name of the thread to the Earl Cochrane De-appreciation thread if I knew how.

Ever since the Dero saga I have been hoping he would be canned, but the competent Tom Anselmi saw he did no wrong so decided to keep him.
I do not know how someone as incompetent as Earl Cochrane can still be at the club after all the mess ups he has made. He has been given a number of chances to show what he can do if given the chance to have GM like powers, but from the Dero saga, to Plata, and the signing of Eric Hassli, he has shown everyone that he has no idea how to form a team. Perhaps someone should show Payne all of Cochranes interviews. That way he could see that he is like a deer caught in the headlights; he has no idea what he is doing. What use is having someone like that around?

[Richard]

Dont forget that first round pick we traded for Nathan fucking sturgis.

[Alonso]

The Nathan Sturgis trade for our first round draft pick (8th Overall) in 2011, completed by the Earl himself was an absolute head scratcher:

http://www.torontofc.ca/news/2010/11/toronto-acquires-nathan-sturgis



“We are very happy to be able to bring Nathan to the club,” said Earl Cochrane, Toronto FC interim director of soccer. “He is a player who will be able to make an immediate impact in our team next season, but is also young enough to play a role here in the long term. We studied the options that would likely be available to us with our first round pick in the MLS SuperDraft and made the decision that the addition of Nathan is of greater benefit to our squad.” - WRONG


Sturgis played 14 limited and irrelevant games for us.

Jalil Anibaba, CJ Sapong, and Will Bruin were selected 9th, 10th and 11th respectively in that draft.

[Alonso]

Dont forget that first round pick we traded for Nathan fucking sturgis.


Haha. I was typing that up at the same time....

[Eastend]

I say he lasts at least the year. It's important to remember that he worked for Payne for 2 years in DC with success (I think) and I think that will play a part.

Dom

[jloome]

The Nathan Sturgis trade for our first round draft pick (8th Overall) in 2011, completed by the Earl himself was an absolute head scratcher:

http://www.torontofc.ca/news/2010/11/toronto-acquires-nathan-sturgis


- WRONG


Sturgis played 14 limited and irrelevant games for us.

Jalil Anibaba, CJ Sapong, and Will Bruin were selected 9th, 10th and 11th respectively in that draft.

OUCH.:facepalm::facepalm::facepalm:

[tiberius]

Excerpt from Waking the red...

Let's explore the recommendations that we absolutely know Mariner and/or Cochrane have executed when given the chance:


Nathan Sturgis (http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/mls/players/111287/nathan-sturgis) for a 1st Round Pick
Julian de Guzman for Andrew Weideman
Eric Hassli (http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/mls/players/129820/eric-hassli) for a 1st Round Pick
Quincy Amerikwa for a 3rd round pick
Nick Soolsma (http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/mls/players/130311/nick-soolsma) for nothing
Joao Plata (http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/mls/players/130316/joao-plata) on loan (so for nothing)
Freddy Hall...


Boffo Earl, just Boffo....

[tiberius]

Aaron talks about culture, respect and character....


Former Toronto FC coach/technical director Aron Winter, who was fired in June after a 1-9 start to the season, does not have fond memories of his 17-month stay with the club.
And Winter became more embittered when his successors, Paul Mariner and Earl Cochrane, blamed all of the club’s woes at his feet. Toronto finished a worst-ever 5-21-8 and failed to reach the playoffs for a sixth consecutive year.

"They went behind my back to say bad things about me that weren't true, saying all kinds of (expletive) about me," Winter told SportsNet Canada this week (http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/2012/10/31/toronto_fc_aron_winter_paul_mariner_earl_cochrane/). "I made mistakes and I'm not perfect. But I don't like how those guys have blamed me for everything. For me, that's not right. They made mistakes, too.
"It's a results business. I know that. Results were not there, but we were thinking in the short-term. We just needed a little more time to turn things around. I'm convinced of it.”
Toronto did win four of its first 10 games under Mariner (coach) and Cochrane (G.M.) but finished the season on a 14-game winless streak.

"If they think they're so great, let's see them do it. But I don't think they're good enough. They don't have quality," Winter said. "As I said, those guys aren't good enough. I don't think they can do good things for the club.”

Mariner and Cochrane both declined comment.

[tiberius]

And then of course, one of the top 10 most memorable moments is the classic statement on TSN in September of 2102 to boost fan morale to new heights:

"our goal is to be top 10 in the conference"

[Fort York Redcoat]

Excerpt from Waking the red...

Let's explore the recommendations that we absolutely know Mariner and/or Cochrane have executed when given the chance:


Nathan Sturgis (http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/mls/players/111287/nathan-sturgis) for a 1st Round Pick
Julian de Guzman for Andrew Weideman
Eric Hassli (http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/mls/players/129820/eric-hassli) for a 1st Round Pick
Quincy Amerikwa for a 3rd round pick
Nick Soolsma (http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/mls/players/130311/nick-soolsma) for nothing
Joao Plata (http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/mls/players/130316/joao-plata) on loan (so for nothing)
Freddy Hall...


Boffo Earl, just Boffo....

I understand your need to build a case against Cochrane since he was part of the latest era of debacle but some of these charges are naive. If I hadn't witnessed the how and why these changes were made, yes, I'd agree they look ominous on their own.

I wonder why no one has pointed out how adaptable he is? No really. From his humble beginning here to now he's gone through many role changes, on the job training and now he's working with and under someone who has some history with him. Do we really think Payne couldn't have a positive influence on Cochrane?

[TOBOR !]

I can't see Payne keeping him around. I think he understands the state of the club he is taking over, and who the people responsible are. I think he also sees that he needs to win back the fans.

[tiberius]

I understand your need to build a case against Cochrane since he was part of the latest era of debacle but some of these charges are naive. If I hadn't witnessed the how and why these changes were made, yes, I'd agree they look ominous on their own.

I wonder why no one has pointed out how adaptable he is? No really. From his humble beginning here to now he's gone through many role changes, on the job training and now he's working with and under someone who has some history with him. Do we really think Payne couldn't have a positive influence on Cochrane?

I agree with you - none of the acquisitions were ominous - the Dero affair was ominous. In many of the cases listed above we can understand the motivation for the trade/acquisition. The player moves are just a list of results...

In the environment that Payne will be trying to build, I suspect that "I can flourish in a highly dysfunctional MLSE-like environment" won't be much of an asset... The real question is the effect (if any) that Cochrane's continued presence will have on the new organization - do you see a value add in continuing to retain his services?

[Phil]

The guy has this ability to stick, he was one of the original FO guys on the team side and has seen many regimes. I don't expect to see him moving, but for some reason I would be very happy to see him leave. Given that he worked with Payne in the past....Its not hard to figure out.

Anyhow, as far as this thread, fine we can debate the merits of his contribution and role in the past attrocity called a season but lets stay away from personal attacks on the guy and outright malice.

[tfcleeds]

Now that Payne's here, I could really care less about what Cochrane's role is. He can make Payne's coffee and pick players up at the airport for all I care. We all know who the head honcho is in charge now. If Payne feels he wants to keep Cochrane around, I'll trust his judgment on that, just as I have faith that he's making the right decision with the Nelsen hire.

[Fort York Redcoat]

I agree with you - none of the acquisitions were ominous - the Dero affair was ominous. In many of the cases listed above we can understand the motivation for the trade/acquisition. The player moves are just a list of results...

In the environment that Payne will be trying to build, I suspect that "I can flourish in a highly dysfunctional MLSE-like environment" won't be much of an asset... The real question is the effect (if any) that Cochrane's continued presence will have on the new organization - do you see a value add in continuing to retain his services?

I see a rise in his value inasmuch that I believe his power will be tempered and he has the opportunity to learn from those around him. I think we're agreed he didn't have that recently. While aquiring someone with more experience is more appealing I don't think it as important as it was when all we had was Anselmi to help him out.

[jabbronies]

Can anyone elaborate on Cochrane's actual role on Payne's team from back in the DC days?
if Earl was such a trusted and valuable asset to Payne, why didn't Earl stick around in DC?

[spark]

We should never forget he advised players to buy out their own contracts only to arrive here and be all "whoops! so sorry we hired a new coach and you don't fit into his plans!"

[ensco]

I have argued elsewhere that Cochrane needs to go, and that this is the ultimate test of Payne's independence.

Cochrane has had his shot, and spit the bit.

Payne needs to bring in a young guy who can be a top flight MLS capologist. AA at age 28. Track record doesn't matter.

Cochrane shouldn't just be demoted, because (i) of his close ties to Anselmi, and (ii) it doesn't work.

[Phil]

Can anyone elaborate on Cochrane's actual role on Payne's team from back in the DC days?
if Earl was such a trusted and valuable asset to Payne, why didn't Earl stick around in DC?

Went from Director of Communications to Manager of Team Operations at TFC - an upgrade.

[jabbronies]

Went from Director of Communications to Manager of Team Operations at TFC - an upgrade.

So he went from setting up interviews with the media and writing press releases to dealing with player contracts and making trades?

[Phil]

So he went from setting up interviews with the media and writing press releases to dealing with player contracts and making trades?

He was the National Teams Manager for the CSA previous to his job at DC. I think the DC job was the boner one but I can't blame the guy for wanting to be out of the CSA at that time either. From the stories he was doing all the leg work for a poorly run operation which has brought the criticism that he was a 'coffee fetcher' or whatever.

Just stating the facts here. I would prefer a change with his position as well but I trust Payne will manage him well if he stays.

[Belfast_Boy]

A clean house would make me happier, not sue if everyone feels the same.