How do you solve a problem like Bill?
Clarity in the boardroom is needed for TFC to move forward
About 45 minutes after the final whistle of the 2017 MLS Cup, Tim Bezbatchenko was having a blast.
The GM of the MLS champion Toronto FC was running along the south stands of BMO Field slapping the hands of every fan that asked for acknowledgment. The look on his face was that almost frantic joy that only sports can give you. He was screaming near words in the general direction of the stands.
Everyone was in ecstasy, of course. The team that he ran had just won a championship and this was their moment to celebrate with the loyal fans that had been there through a lot of dark days. However, Bezbatchenko was on another level. He was nearly demonic in his joy.
No one could possibly hold it against him. After all, Bezbatchenko was at the top of his game. He was considered the best young GM in MLS, a man that had taken a laughing stock of a club and made them not just the best team in MLS in 2017, but the best team in MLS history.
Notably it was also the first (first team) championship that MLSE, the much maligned owner of TFC, as well as the Leafs and Raptors, had won. It was the end result of MLSE allowing the three headed leadership team of Bezbatchenko, head coach Greg Vanney and President Bill Manning to run TFC without interference.
Each of those three had their own strengths and each was allowed to excel in that dream of a season. Bezbatchenko built a roster that was unmatched, Vanney found a way to keep the egos pulling in one direction and Manning made sure that the business side was being taken care of so that the ultimate bosses at MLSE stayed happy.
That December night that Bezbatchenko was slapping hands was the moment all that came together.
Just 13 months later he was gone, leaving to build his hometown Columbus Crew (and win the 2020 MLS Cup). The press release said that the opportunity to return home was too good to pass up — and there was some truth to that — but those in the know knew that part of why Bezbatchenko left was because he wanted more control over building the team and that Manning was resisting giving him that.
It was a scenario that would play out again a couple seasons later when the second of the three men, Greg Vanney, would walk away from the club. In that case, Manning was once again resistant to giving up power.
Since Vanney left, it is clear who holds the power at Toronto FC. It’s Bill Manning. The trajectory of the club since then can be directly tied to the choices that Manning has made.
Sure, he has hired guys to run the soccer team since then — Ali Curtis, first, and Bob Bradley second. But, has he truly allowed them to run the soccer team?
According to people I talk to, no. No, he has not. Not fully, anyway.
Regardless, even if he did give those two men the level of control that they needed to do their job and they failed, he was still responsible for hiring them. So the results — the abject failure — that has followed has to fall onto Manning.
And, if you agree with that then it becomes impossible to argue that he deserves to remain in the job.
I don’t say that lightly. Calling for people to be fired is not something that I take joy in doing. It’s just that the team is an absolute disaster and he’s responsible for that. Defending his job is irrational.
Suggesting that TFC can be fixed while he remains in the role is also irrational.
Unless, perhaps, he’s learned his lesson. What lesson is that?
That he is not a soccer expert. Not from a technical perspective. He’s a business guy, who understands the business of soccer. When he was primarily focused on building the business of TFC — and he let the soccer people build and run the team — he was successful.
He doesn’t even need to go back to 2017 for an example of how it can work. See, right now he’s also the president of the Toronto Argos and he is doing a good job of growing that business. He’s doing that at a time when the team is also excelling on the field.
The difference, I guess, is that Manning doesn’t fancy himself a CFL expert, but he did play division 2 college soccer.
A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing, right?
I don’t think that Manning is dumb. He must understand how much the team has fallen over the last six seasons. He’s got to understand that his job stability is precarious.
You’d imagine he also wants to keep it. So, hopefully, he will stay the hell away from John Herdman and let the roster be built without his input. If he does that then maybe it’s possible to move forward with him still involved.
If he can’t do that then, well…#ManningOut.
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TFC must have lost significant amounts of money the past few years with Manning in charge. That the MLSE board keeps him on suggests that they don't care, or that they believe he can do better. Since there is zero reason to think he can turn the club into a winning and profitable operation, then it must be they don't care.