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View Full Version : TFC hires Greg Vanney as Assistant GM and Director of Academy (Rongen out)



mowe
12-11-2013, 06:41 PM
http://www.torontofc.ca/news/2013/12/tfc-hires-greg-vanney


Toronto FC announced Wednesday that it has hired Greg Vanney as Assistant General Manager and Toronto FC KIA Academy Director. As a result, Thomas Rongen is no longer the Director of the Academy.
“Greg is a visionary when it comes to player development. He shares our Club’s passion for innovation and is an educator of both players and coaches. We are pleased to welcome him to Toronto FC,” said Toronto FC General Manager Tim Bezbatchenko. “I’d like to thank Thomas for the tremendous job he has done over the past two years here. I have a great deal of respect for him and wish him well in his future endeavours.”
Vanney, 39, joins Toronto FC after most recently serving as the head coach for LA Galaxy’s U-14 Academy side and Technical Director of the LA Galaxy partner club LA Galaxy South Bay. He is also currently taking part in the Elite Formation Coaching Licence program, a development course partnered by Major League Soccer (MLS) and the French Football Federation. Vanney holds a USSF “A” Coaching License and has been involved with the U.S. Soccer Development Academy.

Yohan
12-11-2013, 06:44 PM
and jason de vos rant in three... two... one...

mcolvy
12-11-2013, 06:51 PM
LOL.
Thomas Rongen seemed liked the ideal guy and seemed to get the academy back on track....
He always talked deeply about the right paths to development and getting the teams the proper competition and what not & as a coach he was given the US u20's for almost 10 years...

I mean common now. What more could you have wanted? I really don't like to see him leaving. He was an asset.

flamehawk
12-11-2013, 06:57 PM
LOL.
Thomas Rongen seemed liked the ideal guy and seemed to get the academy back on track....
He always talked deeply about the right paths to development and getting the teams the proper competition and what not & as a coach he was given the US u20's for almost 10 years...

I mean common now. What more could you have wanted? I really don't like to see him leaving. He was an asset.

From the limited insight I have of the academy, that is my assessment too. It was an amazing story what he did with American Samoa, and was one of the few folks in TFC I had some confidence in.

Manager87
12-11-2013, 07:10 PM
I have a feeling it was Tim Leiweke move to get rid of Thomas Rongen as Greg Vanney worked at L.A Galaxy

Detroit_TFC
12-11-2013, 07:22 PM
I wonder if this is a precursor to some asst coach moves. Making Vanney asst GM along with Academy director, would seem to be a hands on type of assignment.

Ultra & Proud
12-11-2013, 07:29 PM
I have a feeling it was Tim Leiweke move to get rid of Thomas Rongen as Greg Vanney worked at L.A Galaxy
This and I still think TL is doing the scorched earth policy in regards to our management structure. I expect more changes still.

Yohan
12-11-2013, 07:33 PM
This and I still think TL is doing the scorched earth policy in regards to our management structure. I expect more changes still.
I'm going to be upset if TL fires Dichio and Malcolm the kit man.

ProfessorDamage
12-11-2013, 07:35 PM
This and I still think TL is doing the scorched earth policy in regards to our management structure. I expect more changes still.

Nothing wrong with scorched earth when the "earth" is a legacy of consistent and utter failure.

Initial B
12-11-2013, 07:37 PM
So TL is just going to bring everyone over from LAG that he wants? I would have gotten rid of some of the other assistant coaches than Rongen. I thought he was supposed to make this team better, not develop a new personality cult around himself.

The assistant GM position is an interesting move. What are the odds that Tim B is actually only on loan from MLS FO, and as soon as he's righted the TFC salary cap situation he goes back there and Vanney takes over?

OgtheDim
12-11-2013, 07:48 PM
Dichio is not going to be fired. He's worth more keeping around.

And, he'll be the manager in 10 years, one way another.

TFC07
12-11-2013, 08:00 PM
I'm going to be upset if TL fires Dichio and Malcolm the kit man.

Why? Dichio was hired because he was a fan favourite. If I was investing in millions on academy, then I would want the best people to run it not bunch of inexperience people like Dichio.

As for this hire, this is common for new boss to bring his own people he trusts to run an organization (especially a failing organization like TFC). There should have been a house cleaning on day one not sure why it's taking long for TL to get rid of everyone in organization. We need qualified people coming from winning culture to change TFC's culture.

jloome
12-11-2013, 08:04 PM
Why? Dichio was hired because he was a fan favourite. If I was investing in millions on academy, then I would want the best people to run it not bunch of inexperience people like Dichio.

As for this hire, this is common for new boss to bring his own people he trusts to run an organization (especially a failing organization like TFC). There should have been a house cleaning on day one not sure why it's taking long for TL to get rid of everyone in organization. We need qualified people coming from winning culture to change TFC's culture.

If you saw the story on mlssoccer.com , Vanney states in his first quote he's looking forward to meeting with the Ontario Soccer Community. Rongen was a good technical guy, but TFC has a tragically bad relationship with some elements of amateur soccer, and that kind of cultivated quote is there to make a first impression that a young, community oriented guy like Vanney -- who coached youth while also running the Galaxy academy -- can bridge that gap.

These guys seem to be doing things more thoughtfully so far than their predecessors.

Yohan
12-11-2013, 08:10 PM
Why? Dichio was hired because he was a fan favourite. If I was investing in millions on academy, then I would want the best people to run it not bunch of inexperience people like Dichio.

As for this hire, this is common for new boss to bring his own people he trusts to run an organization (especially a failing organization like TFC). There should have been a house cleaning on day one not sure why it's taking long for TL to get rid of everyone in organization. We need qualified people coming from winning culture to change TFC's culture.
TFC, well, previous regime, has invested a lot of time and money into Dichio's coaching career. He's taking a coaching course with French FA, a rare chance for a North American coach. Be shame to throw away that sort of investment.

OgtheDim
12-11-2013, 08:17 PM
He is also currently taking part in the Elite Formation Coaching Licence program, a development course partnered by Major League Soccer (MLS) and the French Football Federation.

Is that the same course Dichio is on?

Phil
12-11-2013, 08:55 PM
Ahhh we can talk about this one now. :)

Greatest Ripoff
12-11-2013, 09:06 PM
Am I the only one who thinks it is a big leap from u14 coach to runing a whole academy as well as being an assistant general manager? And if they were going to hire a new academy director, why not hire someone whose sole focus will be the academy?

Greatest Ripoff
12-11-2013, 09:23 PM
Also is it really good for player development to hire a new academy director and change directions every two years? Youth development isn't something that happens in the short term. They better have the right guy now who wants to be here for the long term and is given the time to develop players. That is another worry I have about him being assistant gm. What happens in one or two years when Bez gets fired and a new gm comes in? Will this guy get fired and the academy goes through upheaval again? This is one area of the clubs that really need long term stability.

Leedsoronto
12-11-2013, 09:25 PM
TFC, well, previous regime, has invested a lot of time and money into Dichio's coaching career. He's taking a coaching course with French FA, a rare chance for a North American coach. Be shame to throw away that sort of investment.

This.....

TR and Dichio were a good pairing IMO. But, we move on I suppose.

We all know the academy is not the problemo at TFC, in fact they have been the shining lights in the 2013 season, it's that other team were issues lie, the MLS guys, let's get that team sorted first.

Haddy
12-11-2013, 09:59 PM
Also is it really good for player development to hire a new academy director and change directions every two years? Youth development isn't something that happens in the short term. They better have the right guy now who wants to be here for the long term and is given the time to develop players. That is another worry I have about him being assistant gm. What happens in one or two years when Bez gets fired and a new gm comes in? Will this guy get fired and the academy goes through upheaval again? This is one area of the clubs that really need long term stability.

I didn't realize the academy director is so close to the kids that a staffing change qualified as 'upheaval'.

Coaches have the biggest effect. I'll be more sympathetic to your point if the coaching staff gets an overhaul. Five team coaches listed - a new one every two years of age.

As for other folks comments about him being a 'Leiweke Galaxy' guy....why? Because that was his last stop? His resume suggests otherwise.

ag futbol
12-11-2013, 10:20 PM
This.....

TR and Dichio were a good pairing IMO. But, we move on I suppose.

We all know the academy is not the problemo at TFC, in fact they have been the shining lights in the 2013 season, it's that other team were issues lie, the MLS guys, let's get that team sorted first.
Academy has some issues to deal with unfortunately. The statement from Vanney is a good start and it shows they know where some of the problems are.

Greatest Ripoff
12-11-2013, 10:43 PM
I didn't realize the academy director is so close to the kids that a staffing change qualified as 'upheaval'.

Coaches have the biggest effect. I'll be more sympathetic to your point if the coaching staff gets an overhaul. Five team coaches listed - a new one every two years of age.

As for other folks comments about him being a 'Leiweke Galaxy' guy....why? Because that was his last stop? His resume suggests otherwise.

No, the director sets the course for the academy and sets out what the coaches will be teaching. If a new director comes in every two years with new philosophies and ideas, the kids in the academy change what and/or how they are taught. It doesn't matter if their is consistency in coaches, because the players will have a new coach every few years as they move up the age groups. What is important is that the academy director has a plan for development from the youngest through to a senior player. There is no way to properly do this if it gets changed every two years.

Fort York Redcoat
12-12-2013, 07:58 AM
Nothing wrong with scorched earth when the "earth" is a legacy of consistent and utter failure.


http://christablack.com/media/2012/08/reset-button.jpg


Legacy cannot be achieved without some consistency.

ag futbol
12-12-2013, 08:17 AM
Consistency means nothing if it's not with the right people. From everything I heard, Rogen was not the right person.

Phil
12-12-2013, 08:35 AM
Not to pile on, but the feedback on Rogen was terrible. Technologically challenged and intimidated by a lot of new things. Of course most of this is second hand talk so it could be very wrong.

namebutler
12-12-2013, 09:17 AM
Folks, first time poster long time fan, blah, blah etc.

But seriously I suggest you talk to some of the kids who went to the recent academy try outs. Free which was nice.

I talked to a U15 player. The tryouts were large group broken into games. From those games one group of 30 was selected which played another game. If someone heard of another format please provide info.

So in the tryout that I heard about no testing of skills. Watch some of the Nike Academy videos on Youtube to see how to cast a wide net and find raw talent. Yes it would be difficult to filter through all the kids but once a year do something to really try and find the hidden talent.

Toronto has more than enough kids (I'm coaching youth level) to develop some fanastic talent. There are tons of factors affecting that development.

Maybe TFC is starting to rethink how the recruitment process works not just the coaching side.

Regarding the director's overall role its more the club direction, think AJAX or Bayern. You think that if they changed technical directors the club would start producing different players?

Fort York Redcoat
12-12-2013, 09:44 AM
Consistency means nothing if it's not with the right people. From everything I heard, Rogen was not the right person.

Point being Legacy takes longer than a season.


Unless we want to celebrate a Legacy of Change.


If you're right in what you've heard, fine, I don't want to stick it out just because. I want to make sure everyone gets their time to prove themselves.

Ultra & Proud
12-12-2013, 09:45 AM
It seems like Vanney is at least interested in building relationships with local Football clubs and that's a start. From that alone I see this as a positive.

Greatest Ripoff
12-12-2013, 10:07 AM
Not to pile on, but the feedback on Rogen was terrible. Technologically challenged and intimidated by a lot of new things. Of course most of this is second hand talk so it could be very wrong.

If that was the case, then it is for the best that he is moved. But when he was hired two years ago this should had been something the club knew about when they were hired him. Things like this are not something that just happen out of the blue. I hope they have the correct person in charge now and he is given the time to build the proper development pathways.

Phil
12-12-2013, 10:14 AM
If that was the case, then it is for the best that he is moved. But when he was hired two years ago this should had been something the club knew about when they were hired him. Things like this are not something that just happen out of the blue. I hope they have the correct person in charge now and he is given the time to build the proper development pathways.

It goes back to the organizational rot that happened. All the games played at TFC were in the boardroom, not on the pitch. You had divisions made and football knowledge or experience was not the most valued commodity. So you have a guy like Earl in there, brings in Thomas, Mariner hangs with them too....then Payne. Now we are seeing the dismantle going in reverse and this pretty much seals all of it. A lot of good football people got caught in the crossfire - like Bob De Klerk. Imagine having a guy like that - loads of youth development and experience from Ajax (a fabled development hotbed) running this outfit. We had him but obviously lacked the football awareness to properly use his talents.

cwell
12-12-2013, 10:27 AM
It seemed as though academy teams were performing well at tournaments, including against other MLS academies. So I give Rogen and the coaches credit for that.

I suspect that this move is largely related to personal style and generational differences. Maybe Rogen just didn't fit in a working relationship with Tbez and Nelsen, not to mention TL. If so, then I agree a move was a good idea. And I expect that Rogen would agree. He's been around a long, long time, and would know how important it is that manager, coach and youth director are on the same page. Same as when he replaced Stuart Neely.


If that was the case, then it is for the best that he is moved. But when he was hired two years ago this should had been something the club knew about when they were hired him. Things like this are not something that just happen out of the blue. I hope they have the correct person in charge now and he is given the time to build the proper development pathways.

jabbronies
12-12-2013, 10:41 AM
It goes back to the organizational rot that happened. All the games played at TFC were in the boardroom, not on the pitch. You had divisions made and football knowledge or experience was not the most valued commodity. So you have a guy like Earl in there, brings in Thomas, Mariner hangs with them too....then Payne. Now we are seeing the dismantle going in reverse and this pretty much seals all of it. A lot of good football people got caught in the crossfire - like Bob De Klerk. Imagine having a guy like that - loads of youth development and experience from Ajax (a fabled development hotbed) running this outfit. We had him but obviously lacked the football awareness to properly use his talents.

Out of all the moves we've had in the management side - This is one of them that hurt the most. (Carver would be the other one)

If you actually spoke to De Klerk one-on-one you would see the amount of football knowledge this guy had. He knew the game and how to manipulate it.
he just wasn't a suit - which unfortunately was his downfall it seems.

pdogg
12-12-2013, 10:49 AM
^

We've had some good people along the way, but often put into the wrong positions. Winter and DeKlerk were good for the organization, just not as the first team coaches. Unfortunately, its hard to stay on with a team afterwards when you're the head coach and the guy he hand picked to bring over.

Good organizations will try to hire smart people in all parts of the business and exploit their strengths. Could Winter have been a good Technical Director? Director of the Youth Academy? Who knows - he wasn't able to impart his vision on the team as their coach, it's unfortunate their wasn't somewhere else we could have tried him first and not let him fail (or get sabotaged, depending on your point of view).

cmonyoureds
12-12-2013, 11:15 AM
Folks, first time poster long time fan, blah, blah etc.

But seriously I suggest you talk to some of the kids who went to the recent academy try outs. Free which was nice.

I talked to a U15 player. The tryouts were large group broken into games. From those games one group of 30 was selected which played another game. If someone heard of another format please provide info.

So in the tryout that I heard about no testing of skills. Watch some of the Nike Academy videos on Youtube to see how to cast a wide net and find raw talent. Yes it would be difficult to filter through all the kids but once a year do something to really try and find the hidden talent.

Toronto has more than enough kids (I'm coaching youth level) to develop some fanastic talent. There are tons of factors affecting that development.

Maybe TFC is starting to rethink how the recruitment process works not just the coaching side.

Regarding the director's overall role its more the club direction, think AJAX or Bayern. You think that if they changed technical directors the club would start producing different players?

I just want to bump this post. Seriously. First hand experience. Read it again. If you don't think this needed changing, then heaven help us.

TFC07
12-12-2013, 02:13 PM
TFC, well, previous regime, has invested a lot of time and money into Dichio's coaching career. He's taking a coaching course with French FA, a rare chance for a North American coach. Be shame to throw away that sort of investment.

It doesn't matter in the end if results aren't good. TFC has all resources in the world to get the best coaches to teach kids how to play and develop them. We need better and experience people running academy. Dichio and along with rest of academy coaches aren't simply good enough and we can't afford to wait for them to develop as coaches.

Leedsoronto
12-12-2013, 02:54 PM
Like the better most experienced first team manager u mean? :@)

Abou Sky
12-15-2013, 02:03 AM
It goes back to the organizational rot that happened. All the games played at TFC were in the boardroom, not on the pitch. You had divisions made and football knowledge or experience was not the most valued commodity. So you have a guy like Earl in there, brings in Thomas, Mariner hangs with them too....then Payne. Now we are seeing the dismantle going in reverse and this pretty much seals all of it. A lot of good football people got caught in the crossfire - like Bob De Klerk. Imagine having a guy like that - loads of youth development and experience from Ajax (a fabled development hotbed) running this outfit. We had him but obviously lacked the football awareness to properly use his talents.

I really just hope that once the dust finally settles, players, coaches, cooks, ball boys etc don't feel like they need to watch their backs all the time.

Toxic environment breeds poor play and from what I understand, the environment was incredibly toxic.

denime
12-15-2013, 09:25 AM
Folks, first time poster long time fan, blah, blah etc.

But seriously I suggest you talk to some of the kids who went to the recent academy try outs. Free which was nice.

I talked to a U15 player. The tryouts were large group broken into games. From those games one group of 30 was selected which played another game. If someone heard of another format please provide info.

So in the tryout that I heard about no testing of skills. Watch some of the Nike Academy videos on Youtube to see how to cast a wide net and find raw talent. Yes it would be difficult to filter through all the kids but once a year do something to really try and find the hidden talent.

Toronto has more than enough kids (I'm coaching youth level) to develop some fanastic talent. There are tons of factors affecting that development.

Maybe TFC is starting to rethink how the recruitment process works not just the coaching side.

Regarding the director's overall role its more the club direction, think AJAX or Bayern. You think that if they changed technical directors the club would start producing different players?


Open tryouts are nothing else then PR,they are not trying to find out new talent ,but new data for marketing.All TFC wanted from Open tryouts are email addresses so they can advertize they winter/spring/summer camps.

Last year from 1000 boys they picked one, U14 goalie who was just recently cut from the team to make spot for an older goalie who is not good enough for his age,whose father is 1st team goalie coach.There is a lots of politics in academy,and new TD wont change anything,this is not USA, this is Ontario,this is the province where OSA has no control over their own clubs and leagues,this is the place where who you know will get you in,if your kid belonged to REP club were one of the coaches worked before,you have a chance.For any new player U14 and older to break into academy team,that player must be outstanding and by far much better than the rest,most of the boys that caliber always choose Europe over TFC and who can blame them.

Academy parents received email about this change 2-3 days ago and were told they will find out next year how academy will roll, since academy is off until mid January,will club shuffle coaches once again,parents from really talented players are getting fed up with this circus and I would not be surprised if TFCA loses some of them due the constant change and zero consistency on all levels.

Soccer development is not exact science and there always will be good talented boys who will be lost under the radar,that's normal, TFC can't take best 50 players of each age to train them,Toronto has more ppl then some countries(Uruguay or Bosnia both on WC2014) but only one club to develop all these talented boys.

I agree with you on academies being club direction.
Academies around the world have their programs setup that all teams from U9 to U19 playing training same system,regardless what 1st team plays,who the head coach or GM is,Ajax develops players same way for over 40 years now,Bayern does the same,not the mention Barca,consistency is the key for soccer development and until TFC honchos understand that,bringing new TD,GM/AGM and pressing reset button at all levels including academy will never get maximum from all those talented boys we have here in GTA.

Relationship between academy TD and 1st team coach can not be a reason for letting go academy TD,if it is, them we are fucked,Nelsen should have zero influence on academy ,his job is 1st and 2nd team,nothing more,he will be gone in a year or two and then what?new head coach will fire this guy because of different visions?

Lets hope that this new changes will bring TFCA and OSA with all their clubs at the same page.