I wrote an email to Tom, was worried about this one line. I hope he meant MLS;
I can assure you I am in the process of hiring an experienced , respected , MLSE savvy person with a track record of success to lead the overall soccer operation.
I wrote an email to Tom, was worried about this one line. I hope he meant MLS;
I can assure you I am in the process of hiring an experienced , respected , MLSE savvy person with a track record of success to lead the overall soccer operation.
here we go again ... MLSE savvy LOL ... i would have fired straight back to question that.Originally Posted by mdc 77
Any other letters/responses? We have to keep the heat up. All these *insert player name here* says Mariner is the right man articles on TorontoFC.CA page is giving me the creeps that it's going to be status quo.
I followed up with TA -regarding the search for a President and whether he would have carte blanche to boot out existing staff.
From: Richard Barter
Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2012 10:23 AM
To: Tom Anselmi
Cc: general@kilmergroup.com; dlastman@goodmans.ca; nadir.mohamed@rci.rogers.com; maryann.turcke@bell.ca; george.cope@bell.ca; edward.rogers@rci.rogers.com
Subject: RE: Toronto FC - major concerns from a Day 1 season ticket holder.
Tom,
Thanks for your response. I had kind of expected a standard reply and greatly appreciate you taking the time to reply personally and address a few points.
I know that when asked by Craig Forrest recently you could not name whose advice you would be taking in making such an appointment. Without naming names, can you assure me (and other supporters) that MLSE is taking good advice from the right people in this regard?
Whilst many of us want an appointment to be made asap, it is more important to take the correct advice from respected sources and appoint the right person, even if that takes a while longer.
This decision is critical in sending us down the correct path and I wish you success in this regard, as does anyone with the long term success and viability of TFC in mind.
I trust that whoever is appointed will be permitted to assess the staff currently in positions of management and make his own decisions on their respective futures, regardless of your pronouncement that the current management is in place for 2013.
Thanks again for your time and frankness in discussing this.
Richard Barter
ANSWER
Richard, thanks and appreciate the support. You can assume that we are doing all the required due diligence and you can assume the person will have authority to assess all of the positions in the organization. Thanks again, talk soon
___________________________________________
Tom Anselmi
President & C.O.O.
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd.
50 Bay Street | Suite 500
Toronto, Ontario M5J 2L2
(416) 815-5493
Tom.Anselmi@MLSE.com
Right, the person they hire will have the "authority to assess." So they'll come in, they'll wait a little and "assess," and then say: "I plan to continue to rely on Paul's deep MLS experience and keen eye for talent, as well as the lessons he learned in steering the team through its most difficult and challenging season ever."
Again, I tells ya: it will be VERY surprising if Uncle Paul isn't in charge at the start of the 2013 campaign. If you renewed, you renewed for another year of Mariner. I hope to be proven very wrong on this, but everything I've heard so far has been to the contrary and the PR groundwork (ie player endorsement articles of Mariner, the fact that he's off on a "scouting" mission to the UK) has already been laid for it.
if that's the case we may be one of those rare teams where the fans are protesting during the first game of the season, depending on the mood and will of the support at the time
ala Blackburn
You never know. In mid-August my rep told me "there's no way there will be a price decrease".
I think Anselmi's a nice guy, his heart has always been in the right place, but so what? I thought the same thing of Aron Winter.
Anselmi himself is the "soccer president", asking him about a soccer president is a bit pointless.
I really don't care to hear Anselmi explain that TFC aren't small potatoes. That question is for a member of the Board. But I guess they'd all swear on their mothers' graves how important TFC is. It's all hot air.
It is blatantly obvious that the Board do in fact see TFC as small potatoes, because nobody who thought TFC was important would allow Anselmi to continue in his current role at TFC. There is no example of this level of ineptitude anywhere in the world, ever, in any sport, that didn't result in the termination of the person in Anselmi's role.
We can only speculate as to why that is: my guess is that the whole TFC operation is being used as a management training exercise for Anselmi, just in case he winds up as MLSE CEO.
Respect to those who wrote letters. Some very good ones here.
Last edited by ensco; 11-06-2012 at 07:22 PM.
What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.
You can tell how seriously MLSE cares about TFC by Anselmi's promotion. When Anselmi was promoted they did not fill his position at TFC. Anselmi was planning to continue in his role.
I actually have no faith in Anselmi and MLSE to hire a proper leader for TFC. My guess is we get a yes-man who takes the job and is handcuffed with Cochrane and Mariner. They will make retaining Cochrane and Mariner part of the job. (Of course Mariner will be the new scapegoat at the start of the 2013 season if things go bad).
I sent in the generic letter that was posted on the first page
Dear Tom,
I have been a fan of Toronto FC from day one. I used to love going to BMO field on Game Day but lately there hasn't been much to enjoy - everyone seems to be going through the motions. I think this is because there has been no communication of direction or vision from the TFC Front Office since the firing of Aron Winter.
What Toronto FC needs right now is a dedicated, soccer-savvy President knowledgeable about the North American game. This person should come from outside the organization with a mandate to build a winning soccer organization with minimal interference from the Board, such as Bryan Colangelo is doing with the Toronto Raptors.
I would like to recommend Peter Wilt as a possible candidate for the position. He has experience building up the Chicago Fire MLS team, is well respected in North American soccer circles, and has a sound organizational philosophy. He is also reported to have an interest in Toronto FC.
Thank you for considering this letter. I hope that you can find the time to respond as I found the time to reach out.
Sincerely,
Gaetano Colacci
_____________
And i got a response the same day. not sure if this is a generic response, but happy enough to get one
--------
Thanks for your note.
Clearly this year was a major disappointment.
I agree with you entirely, we need an experienced , proven leader, who knows the North American game and we are committed to finding that person as soon as possible. Aron Winter had that level of responsibility but unfortunately it did not work out.
Thanks again for your memo, and please know how much we appreciate your loyalty and patience. Our supporters built this club and we plan to turn things around and make you proud again
___________________________________________
Tom Anselmi
President & C.O.O.
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd.
50 Bay Street | Suite 500
Toronto, Ontario M5J 2L2
(416) 815-5493
Tom.Anselmi@MLSE.com
at least you're getting answers. fucker won't respond. guess I'm cut off......
You're not the only one. I got no response to my letter either.
I wrote my ticket rep in response to the recent call for renewals. I initially posted it in the members section, but I guess I should share it here. I have been thinking of reworking the note a little bit and sending it to Tom.
Hello *****,
First of all, I would like to thank you for taking the time to mailmerge me a personal note. I appreciate your effort. That said, I am not at all impressed by the offer detailed therein and the selection of the basketball game as the highlight of the email. This message, unfortunately, tells me that your organization still does not understand what the supporters want from our team. We are not here to be bought with basketball tickets, or even price reductions which bring our prices in line with the rest of the league. I don't need you to highlight these savings to me. I can afford my tickets and have done so since the beginning, even when your bosses tried to feed us the "fair market value" story.
I don't want your basketball tickets and your incentives, I want an organization about which I can be proud. An organization that is a model for the league, a place where players are lining up to play, not a toxic, political organization where everyone is stabbing everyone else in the back and trying to look out for his or her own interests. I do not want to give my money and support, regardless of my supposed "total savings" of $342. Remember, if I don't give you a cent, my savings are more than doubled and, as of right now, I see no indications that this organization is going to make me proud again.
And by proud, I don't mean winning and losing, though that is, of course, an important factor. But rather, a competent team, lead by someone who knows the game and the North American football market. I mean an organization that is transparent with supporters and values us beyond a mere photo op for marketing. The system that was so touted by the Aron Winter team has, in my eyes, been exposed as yet another publicity campaign, a philosophy which has been cast aside once again. Where is our President of Soccer Operations? Can we have someone who knows the sport running our team, or are we doomed to businessmen who know only the bottom line? The ownership of our team has proven, through their ownership of three sports franchises in my city, that they do not know how to build a model franchise in any other way than the financial. Their ineptitude at running Toronto FC for the past five years has killed any goodwill the early years built in my heart. I had a team to love and support, a team of which I could be proud.
But now the golden goose has been cooked.
Unless you can send me an email where you highlight something of which I can be proud. Something that indicates that our team is not going to be a laughingstock yet again, for the seventh year in a row, then please, do not insult me by offering me tickets to a basketball game. Do not insult me by highlighting how much money I am saving.
Make me proud again and I'll buy your tickets.
Please feel free to pass this email along to whomever you see fit.
Sincerely,
Jack DePoe
Former Proud President of the Red Patch Boys
Former Proud Supporter of Toronto FC
Toronto FC baby...best team everrrrrrrrrr -Jozy
Very nice Jack. That should go to Tom and the board.
My email was short and sweet. It basically asked for an update on the search for a prez. Maybe I was too aggressive. Think I will send a follow up.
^^ I have sent a similar message Belfast.
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Twitter: @RPBPhil
The most important question is: will the new hire have full control and the ability to replace people as he (or she) sees fit? If so, it's vitally important to have this person in place soon and not 3 weeks before the season starts so that person isn't saddled with the current people rather than choosing to keep them. Tom has been very deft in his wording in response to that question. If they don't then we're stuck in the same spiral of power grabs, undermining and in-fighting regardless of who has what title.
I'm sure anyone that knows me won't be surprised by the following; I also haven't had a response to my email!
just fyi - any of those execs get bombarded by a ton of e-mail per day and it may sound crazy but responding to each of us isn't really high on their priority list
-source someone who gets at least 75 emails per day and doesn't address them all
I am an Online Pole
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Pride...Passion...Purpose...and DRANK
big woop, I wasn't expecting a detailed response since my email was very carefully pieced together to highlight the similarity between a then struggling Basketball franchise and our Footy franchise. I didn't ask a pointed question like "when is the new president coming Tom" or anything like that, however, when I sift through the 2000+ emails I get per day, if I see something of substance I at least respond acknowledging it and that I appreciate the time taken to address the situation and give some indication that further response of some kind will be forthcoming.
Sweet Jack.
That sums it up nicely and articulates what I've been trying to express on these boards.
That email should definitely go to the ML$E board and Tom.
As great as this thread is, I have to agree. The memories are still fresh after 2010 at the townhall with Big Tom working the room with his six-shooters telling anyone who'd listen how "we're going to fcuking fix this! we're going fcuking to get this right!"
Talk is cheap. Emails cheaper. Tom has proven time and time again he doesn't have a clue. If he hires the right person, it will be through dumb luck.
your one of the nicer ones then Bones
I am an Online Pole
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Pride...Passion...Purpose...and DRANK
so what's the solution? do nothing? keep taking it? post on a message board?
The solution is to speak with your wallet. Sure, someone might come along and buy your seats but at least you aren't directly financially supporting the never ending idiocy that is MLSE anymore.
You act like it's all theirs to do with what they like, it's not! This is OUR team as well. We don't like what's happening, we're sending the exact message of what we think needs to be done to change it. If we walk away and someone else comes and fills the seat, what meesage do they get? We're spelling it out clearly to them and they still don't seem to get it. Sending no message at all with silence and apathy is probably going to be even less successful in pushing them to fix the infrastructure and remove the politicians that have plagued this club since day one. The problem is, right now Tom may see the president idea as a right step but with only so many of us demanding personnel changes, he doesn't see the need to rid this club of the likes of Cochrane, Brennan and Mariner. If everyone is demanding it, eventually they won't have much of a choice but to listen and at least acknowledge what is being asked
The problem with this direct line of thinking is this:
Who is responsible for getting rid of Mariner and CO. and why are they the chosen one?
because if they have the power to fire, they also have the power to hire.
So again, is the answer firing these guys? or is the answer hiring someone who will fire these guys?
Jack's email was great...it needed a CC to Tom Anselmi though
Holly shit jack, those are exactly my sentiments, as they have been for a while. THEY HAVE TO GET THIS.
Right now, it isn't about getting them fired, it's about giving the incoming person the power to fire them. I want them gone as much as anybody here, but in order to bring in the right quality of coaches and players, we have to show that there's someone in charge that has a plan, that we're all on board with the plan and that the politics and in-fighting that have plagued this club from day one are no longer going to be tolerated and allowed to distract us from fulfilling our potential.
If we bring in someone credible but he has to deal with the current setup, do you honestly think the teflon twins won't be trying their damnedest to make sure he becomes the scapegoat for their inevitable failure instead of them? I didn't think I could have any less respect for them until I saw that press conference. That's the loudest warning that could possibly have been sounded aside from players breaking ranks and speaking out. Tom still doesn't quite seem to get the fact that decision by committee leads to the glorified travel agent wielding enough power to sign a player when the coach and head of player development weren't the ones that picked him. We have to get that through to him, if nothing else over the next while
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