People have been asking for a Cushing specific thread so I went through the Ronny thread and selected ones that were Cushing specific or Cushing majority and made a new thread.
Nick Cushing Named Interim HC (Jul '22) / HC (Nov '22) / Fired (Nov ‘24)
- Thread starter Kjbert
- Start date
Thank you!
I think it makes sense as the "interim + whoever becomes head coach alter" to separate it from the dome/ronny one.
Idk about all of you guys but i'm getting pretty hyped for Cushing! I'mma get this new profile picture ready asap
Thanks, O Roaring One.
I think we got our guy. For some reason, this just really feels like it fits. That's totally not a knock against Ronny, who absolutely delivered, and under some really trying circumstances. But I never really felt like he was totally here.
Cushing is a different story. He's CFG all the way. This could end up being really, really good.
This plus the fact that it doesn't seem like a jarring transition. Vieira to Dome and Dome to Deila you knew there would be differences across the boards - philosophy, strategy, tactics, culture, etc. Deila to Cushing feels like a move where Cushing's fingerprints are already all over this team. Couple that with his winning record with City Women and it feels like he could slide into this role without disrupting an already winning organization.
Twice in the first 3 minutes Lee says that Liege met a clause in Ronny's contract that gave him the option to leave.
Based on that, it sounds like NYCFC did not choose to let Ronny go last week, but the parties did agree in early 2020 to put that in his contract. It probably says if another team agrees to pay NYCFC $1M, more or less, Ronny can go. Ronny was not released from his contract. Both parties simply complied with the terms of his contract. That alters a lot IMO, and I do not remember hearing anything like that when Vieira left.
I see some places people are reporting "7 digit number" and some are reporting "low 7 digit numbers" - so I'm wondering if it was more like 100k or 200k... Either way, based on David's wording in that press conference Deila ruminated on it for a bit and then decided it was best for him to make the move, but NYCFC's hand was forced. I don't think David wanted Deila to go, but it was a really smart move to bring in Cushing as a backup in case this happened... which it did.
$100k and $200k, aka $100,000 and $200,000, are six-digit numbers.
$1,000,000 and up are 7 digit numbers.
Huh, so it is. Big derp.
-edit-
Also holy shit we got over a million for a coach?! That's really huge, actually. Does that have have a GAM/TAM implication like player sales do?
I wonder, if this is something the club is starting to do after PV left midyear.
They realize that the type of coaches they want to bring in, are potentially guys that could end up having interests from bigger clubs elsewhere. Top that off with the fact that our calendar doesn't line up with those other leagues, build in that release clause and financial compensation so the club can both receive some form of compensation.
Would love to ask David Lee that, but I wasn't called on for any questions for that portion yesterday (while some folks received multiple questions).
Also wanted to ask (and realize I couldn't ask all of them):
- Lee's thoughts on Vartughian's and Ballouchy's extensions and if they were considered at all for the interim position
- If there have been any preliminary discussions with Ronny about any potential NYCFC players to go to Standard Liege
I *think*, and I don't quite have the stomach to dig through MLS roster rules at this moment, that the fee can be used for expenses like transfer fees but can't be added to any part of the salary budget.
He's our guy. And I'm sure they've known how they want to handle the team after Taty's departure for quite some time. It's not like it happened suddenly.
We'll be fine.
I posted the Tweet here as it was more about Cushing. They haven't started to interview any other candidates.
My guess is that they made him interim coach just in case we nosedived after his hiring. And while we had a little rough patch, we've really played pretty well since the adjustment period ended and seem to have picked up right where we left off. He's done a good job and I'd be shocked if he didn't have the interim tag removed after the season.
Right. The organization was just being sensible. After all, lots of people get promoted and then the Peter Principle rears its ugly head. If you're Lee and Sims, it's much wiser to give it a little time and see if you have what you think you have before sticking your neck out. No rush.
But I think it's clear already, he's our guy. He knows what he wants to do and how to get all the pieces to click into place in order to get there. And he's a company man who understands the system and the "house style." No doubt in my mind he'll get extended at the end of the year.
And I doubt they will (at least not with any seriousness). I just mentioned Taty because Lee did.
I don't like the ongoing interim deal. I know why people think it was smart, but it has always seemed to me like indecision and lack of preparation.
In 2018 the Vieira departure dragged on for months, and the club still did not have Torrent in place and ready to go. He was announced a couple of days after PV's last game, but he couldn't show up for almost 2 weeks because they didn't have a visa application already in process and it barely came through in time for the next game.
Ronny's saga was not as long, but it did begin at least several weeks before he left, and the signs were always that Cushing was the heir apparent far in advance. But then they slap the interim title on him, while conducting no public search. So is he the guy or not? I hope he knows, and the players know. Pile that on top of the do-nothing transfer window, and suddenly the club vibe for the second half of 2022 is "whatever we find in the couch cushions is good enough and if not we'll deal with it in the off-season." Make him the coach, or bring in the real guy. Commit to something, or I'm wondering why I should.
In 2018 the Vieira departure dragged on for months, and the club still did not have Torrent in place and ready to go. He was announced a couple of days after PV's last game, but he couldn't show up for almost 2 weeks because they didn't have a visa application already in process and it barely came through in time for the next game.
Ronny's saga was not as long, but it did begin at least several weeks before he left, and the signs were always that Cushing was the heir apparent far in advance. But then they slap the interim title on him, while conducting no public search. So is he the guy or not? I hope he knows, and the players know. Pile that on top of the do-nothing transfer window, and suddenly the club vibe for the second half of 2022 is "whatever we find in the couch cushions is good enough and if not we'll deal with it in the off-season." Make him the coach, or bring in the real guy. Commit to something, or I'm wondering why I should.
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I feel bad for Cushing, they stuck him with the interim title loaned out Taty and provided nothing at the deadline. Really feels like he's been set up to fail. How can we judge Cushing's coaching ability given the current roster situation? Makes me wonder if the plan to send Taty out and bring no one in was communicated to Ronnie and it played a part in his departure.
Agreed. I have this concern that that'll hire some name to coach in the winter and do a big overhaul with new players, and that could be good on its own, but if that were to happen it would make it seem like they wrote this year off after we lost CCL and Ronny left, and it became apparent early in the window that nobody was likely to hit their Taty price, and they decided to go all in on 2023 instead.