David Lee Departs NYCFC for SKC

[KevinJRogers]

Putting aside smaller club and budget, does the dual title of "President of Soccer Operations & General Manager" mean this is nominally a promotion? Are those both Sporting Side positions? NYCFC is not organized similarly.

They're giving David Lee the keys to the kingdom with a seven-year contract. The sporting director will report to him.

Wild. That's some serious respect.

Sporting KC names David Lee as President of Soccer Operations and General Manager | Sporting Kansas City

Sporting Kansas City announced today that David Lee has been appointed as the club’s President of Soccer Operations and General Manager. Lee has signed a seven-year contract with the club through 2032. Lee will serve as the club’s chief soccer officer and will play an executive leadership role...

www.sportingkc.com

 

[CCMore]

It wouldn't surprise me either, especially considering the shape our roster is in right now. The next sporting director has a lot to work with.

For all the grief he's taken (and there's no denying he's had some swings and misses), David Lee is leaving us in really good shape. We look for all the world like we're poised to make a run at the Cup.

Wild timing on this, though. I can't wait to hear the inside story.

But are we in good shape because of David Lee or in spite of David Lee? I think Pascal Jansen made magic out of a mess and is a portion of the reason Lee was here as long as he was.

 

[KevinJRogers]

But are we in good shape because of David Lee or in spite of David Lee? I think Pascal Jansen made magic out of a mess and is a portion of the reason Lee was here as long as he was.

That very well may be true. Pascal certainly did a lot more with this roster than Nick Cushing did, even after we lost Keaton halfway through this year (which I honestly thought was going to spell our doom). And in all likelihood, it was Pascal who pushed for Raul to be added.

So, yeah. I love our gaffer too.

But it was David Lee who built most of this roster before Pascal got here. And for all we know, it was Lee who was after Pascal himself for so long.

 

[LionNYC]

Opened up my email and said "Woah".

I know he's retired but he's only 61...Txiki is available.

 

[mgarbowski]

To leave so close to the new stadium being opened?? When things should be easier???? Suspicious.


I’m having a million thoughts and questions right now about the timing of all this and where he’s going

What’s suspicious? He’s been here 6 seasons. It’s hard to look up but I’m pretty certain the only longer serving GM/SD currently in MLS is Tanner in Philadelphia. Reyna lasted 5 seasons plus about 1 year before play started. Yes this surprised me - there were no rumors or whispers- but his departure is very normal.

NY-centrism aside, KC is a great place to live. And he got a promotion.

Sometimes you’re just ready to move on and when an opportunity presents itself you take it.

 

[twsj91]

What’s suspicious? He’s been here 6 seasons. It’s hard to look up but I’m pretty certain the only longer serving GM/SD currently in MLS is Tanner in Philadelphia. Reyna lasted 5 seasons plus about 1 year before play started. Yes this surprised me - there were no rumors or whispers- but his departure is very normal.

NY-centrism aside, KC is a great place to live. And he got a promotion.

Sometimes you’re just ready to move on and when an opportunity presents itself you take it.

I said this earlier when we were all speculating what his new title at SKC meant. Clearly now we know it’s a big contract and more power.

At the time it looked more strange. Lee waited out years attempting to build a team without a home. You’re so close to the finish line and now you decide to leave? When ownership is surely going to open the wallet to build the roster with less restrictions? The timing of it all felt odd. You’d think he’d want to stay and see the project through. But now that we see the SKC press release it makes more sense.

 

[mgarbowski]

I said this earlier when we were all speculating what his new title at SKC meant. Clearly now we know it’s a big contract and more power.

At the time it looked more strange. Lee waited out years attempting to build a team without a home. You’re so close to the finish line and now you decide to leave? When ownership is surely going to open the wallet to build the roster with less restrictions? The timing of it all felt odd. You’d think he’d want to stay and see the project through. But now that we see the SKC press release it makes more sense.

fair 'nuff

 

[KevinJRogers]

Sometimes you’re just ready to move on and when an opportunity presents itself you take it.

You’d think he’d want to stay and see the project through. But now that we see the SKC press release it makes more sense.

Looking through the reports, I'm sure this is the case. He wasn't going to move up within CFG. They literally just met to discuss the next step in their restructuring, so if he was going to get a call, this would have been the time: Who is running Manchester City now? Inside the new order at CFG

By the way, the name of his replacement might be in that article somewhere.

 

[gbservis]

Imo if the next sporting director has the same problems as Lee, that tells me all I need to know about how much was cfg network etc. vs how much was Lee.

If all of a sudden the type of player or origin of player changes much we will also gain info out of that.

So while we won't know specifically I think we will still have some idea

Beyond the individual player profiles, I'll be closely watching the pacing of signings. Under Lee's tenure, the roster was repeatedly hampered by shallow depth and outright holes at key positions for long stretches. While poor player selection contributed to high turnover, a significant factor was Lee's willingness to stretch player searches over multiple windows, often at the expense of immediate field results. Lee even stated in interviews that they prioritized finding the "right player" over rushing the process.

Now that Lee is gone, the question is whether the acquisition process will finally speed up, or if that glacial pacing is simply a hallmark of the wider CFG organizational structure.

 

[Gotham Gator]

 

[mgarbowski]

View attachment 14168

View attachment 14169

Why is this notable?

 

[Gene]

Can't add a blessed thing to the conversation other than it's going to be one interesting hell of an off season.

 

[BxLio91]

I USED TO PRAY FOR TIMES LIKE THIS!

 

[Joe_Cos]

Hopefully with David Lee leaving, the organization can reopen contract discussions with Haak.

 

[ZYanksRule]

It is absolutely fascinating that he leaves to run the entire sporting department in SKC, which theoretically he was doing here in one of the biggest media markets in the league.

Either he was worried about his future here (considering our success this season that doesn't seem likely) or he really didn't have autonomy here due to CFG meddling.

Option two seems a lot more likely, and leads to a lot of questions about our soccer operations department. Probably also takes some of the blame away from Lee for the strange transfer decision-making over the last couple years.

 

[Gotham Gator]

Why is this notable?

Yes. I guess that was a little opaque.

The story broke just before they sent us all the email.

 

[Shwafta]

It is absolutely fascinating that he leaves to run the entire sporting department in SKC, which theoretically he was doing here in one of the biggest media markets in the league.

Either he was worried about his future here (considering our success this season that doesn't seem likely) or he really didn't have autonomy here due to CFG meddling.

Option two seems a lot more likely, and leads to a lot of questions about our soccer operations department. Probably also takes some of the blame away from Lee for the strange transfer decision-making over the last couple years.

It could also just be he wanted a change of pace and a different challenge.

This can be spun in so many ways it's basically impossible to really know unless we get the words directly from him.

 

[KevinJRogers]

It could also just be he wanted a change of pace and a different challenge.

It might be just this simple. He got one heck of an offer from SKC, much more than he ever would have gotten from us.

The report in the Kansas City Star has more information: MSN

 

[mgarbowski]

Straightforward from here:

1. Patrick Mahomes is part of the Sporting KC ownership group
2. Mahomes is also a teammate of Travis Kelce
3. Kelce is engaged to Taylor Swift
4. Swift has a movie opening and selling out theaters this week only
5. Lee wanted, no needed, tickets for The Official Release Party of a Showgirl.

 

[gbservis]

It might be just this simple. He got one heck of an offer from SKC, much more than he ever would have gotten from us.

The report in the Kansas City Star has more information: MSN

It's also possible that Lee hoped to climb the ladder within CFG and things have stalled out for him. Had to take a somewhat lateral move to prove he can be successful outside of the CFG system.