Some really great notes taken down re Montreal on my other forum. Thought I would pass along
Joey Saputo, President and Owner
On Bologna and the relationship with IMFC:
- Goal is to bring it to Serie A and they're in a good position. As for the relationship, he sees an opportunity for development, training, information sharing and possible loans to bring players to IMFC. Says scouting network is now much bigger with Bologna in the ranks. Meanwhile, BFC needs help marketing wise, ticketing wise. Saputo says they're way behind North American standards.
On the off-season:
- Says he's confortable with the group of players. He likes that the technical staff has brought players to fill holes and needs.
- Goal is to make the playoffs and win the Canadian Championship (Is there even one this year?).
- Says team last year lacked some leadership and bite.
- Satisfied with Braz until now. Jordan leaving wasn't his decision, obviously. Despite the season Klopas had last year, he wanted some stability and continuity in the sporting project. Says the Concina acquisition as an assistant (instead of Kounenakis) will help the team and Klopas get better results.
- The team will train in Mexico in altitude and play exhibition games vs Mexican teams. Will not participate in the Disney tournament.
On the new teams and high spending:
- "I have to say that, obvious, when teams spend a lot of money on big players, MLS likes that. Sadly, the team that spent the most are our biggest rivals but still…. Honestly, I have to say that I hope that all the moves that were done will help bring this league to another level. Obviously, and I saw it last year, we have to be careful with our finances and spending and we need to continue building a team without spending the money we don't have".
- "Toronto signing Giovinco puts a bit of pressure on us. We have a plan and we need to continue following it. That said, if we planned to bring a player from Italy, it changes a bit because he will think there's gold in the streets here and they will ask ridiculous sums. But indeed, we had a plan with certain players but we have to change. Not because we don't want to but because we can't spend that money".
- "Listen, I already gave my opinion to Don Garber about the spending that was done. Maybe it's good for the league now but long term, it's gonna hurt it. Only a couple of teams will be able to spend a lot of money, Toronto, LA, NY. I'm scared it could hurt the league. We don't necessarily share the same opinion. He wants MLS to be the league of choice for players around the world and of course, with sums of money spent like that, it's gonna be a league of choice but I don't think it's the way to do it. He wants to bring some notoriety to the league and yes, right now it's working but long term, I'm not sure."
On the Champions League game, ticket selling and season tickets:
- He says there's no more buzz for the Impact in Montreal. Saputo said that, sadly, their buzzword for the CCL game is #Marquonslhistoire (Let's make history) and that with the sales right now (about 15 000 tickets for a game at the Olympic Stadium), they will make history in a negative way because there won't be a lot of people at the stadium if the trend continues.
- Says he's worried because of the overall trend. In 2012, they were 3rd in ticket sales. Last year, they were 11th and this year, it looks like they're gonna be 13th. Mentions that, a part from the language and weather, empty seats are also a reason not to play in Montreal.
- Objective is to reach 30 000 but says they're gonna be lucky to reach it. Wanted to make it hard for Pachuca to play in Montreal because it's going to be hard in Mexico but if the trend continues, it's not going to happen. They're not hoping to reach the 55 000 people they had in 2009 vs Santos Laguna.
- Says the team made his part changing most of the roster and now they need fans to do their part.
- Says MLS as a whole missed their ticket sales goal by 3M$ and 2M$ of those were IMFC.
- About MLS teams not putting their best players on the field, he says you need to take context in consideration. In any case, they care about the Canadian Championship and the CCL and he says it's what fans say they want vs meaningless games vs European sides. He says as a businessman, he's giving the fans what they want but sadly, with how the sales are going, he'd be making more money not caring about the CCL and organizing games vs European teams.
- Says renewal % is at 60% while the goal is 80%. In the league, they're 11th or 12th in Season tickets. They're around 5000.
On marketing:
- Says maybe there's not enough marketing in the city. That said, they're not spending less money than they used to on marketing. Maybe there's a need to spend more to get the buzz back.
- Marketing last year was based on players because, following a poll, a lot of people knew the team but didn't know who the coach was or who the players were.
- Bringing players that speak French is a plus when they evaluate a player, obviously, because it helps their adaptation and connecting with the fans.
On a possible sale:
- Not happening, despite the weak financial state and weak tickets sales. He's not thinking about it but he's not liking the trend. He's disappointed. Hopes it's going to change.
On the CBA and a lockout:
- Can't comment on the details of it.
- Says it shouldn't affect the CCL quarterfinals. After that, he doesn't know.
On the single-entity structure:
- If it bothers the sporting development, he says it doesn't because of the academy system. Says these players are "owned" by the team. Also says, if a deal needs to be done, it's not gonna be stopped by the structure. Refers to the Giovinco deal.
On Gilardino, Di Natale and possible DPs:
- Gilardino: An offer was made and accepted by Gilardino. Was much less than what was offered by TFC last year. But IMFC couldn't reach an agreement with Guangzhou Evergrande. Says at the last minute, Fiorentina swooped in, made an offer to Gilardino and Guangzhou.
- Di Natale: Says nobody is interested in Di Natale and nobody made an offer. Says he's using MLS to improve his contract with Udinese. Says that's it's a problem because these type of players know there's a lot money here so they have to be careful.
- "For the right player, for the right price and if he has the correct attitude and comes here for the right reasons, we will take a look at it. We won't go after players just for the sake of going after players just because other teams do. It's gotta make sense. It's hard to replace Di Vaio, not only for what he did on the field but also off the field, the attitude, the way he came to Montreal and what he gave to the organization. And it's difficult. We thought Gilardino was right. I spoke to him […] it was perfect."
On the importance to have a big name:
- Says it's important and it's one of the reasons they wanted Gilardino. That said, he says it's important to stick to his principles: the player needs to come here for the right reasons.
- Doesn't like that fans are on a "Wait and see" mode because Di Vaio wasn't replaced. Says he can't spend 8M$ when he will get maybe 2M$ of extra ticket sales.
On the training facility (La Caserne):
- Investment on the training center is evaluated to 10-11M$. Says it helps to attract players and helps the development of players already here, both pros and young players. The two grass fields are ready and will be ready to go at the start of the summer. Works are underway and will be usable starting April. Some more work will done during the summer and will be done around September. As for the two artificial fields, they will start to work on it during Spring.
On the academy:
- Says the U18 and U16 teams are doing well.
- About selling homegrown talent on the long term to help finances, it never entered the equation. Says he develops talent for the team and the national teams.
On the merchandising:
- Last year was the lowest point. 2012 was great, 2013 was lower, 2014 was the lowest. Says they're looking at new ways and new retailers.
On the Canadian Dollar getting weaker:
- Says it doesn't affect the team much salary-wise because of the dividends MLS gives to the teams. It affects them because of travel and if they want to get a high profile DP.
Adam Braz, Technical Director
- Objective is to make the playoffs and when in, anything can happen.
- Happy with the roster moves and says they filled their needs systematically. Says they're happy with the depth and the competitive environment it created. Still, that's on paper and it's up to the players to show they made a good job.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by OgtheDim
a ha ha heh he hoo.. ha
My bad. Thanks for your answers guys. 
