The changes coming to technical side of the FC Cincinnati organization don't begin and end with the hiring of Chris Albright as general manager, but he'll oversee what comes next.
Albright, the decorated and now-former technical director of Major League Soccer's Philadelphia Union, had opportunities to lead other MLS clubs but landed on FC Cincinnati, where his term as GM has already started.
Albright was introduced to media members on Wednesday at TQL Stadium and, prior to some introductory remarks and photo opportunities, illuminated the road ahead for FCC and its supporters in an exclusive Enquirer interview.
"Really wrap my arms around the cap situation," Albright said. "Players, you know, I have some ideas on needs. I told the players down at the Mercy Health Training Center this morning that we’re all sort of being evaluated but at the same time I’m here to support them and anything they need. We want to win games in the short terms and have fans believe again as we transition into next year, but really the two sort of immediate items are understanding what we look like from a first-team roster, salary cap situation and understanding opportunity based on that. And obviously the head coaching search. That’s obviously of utmost importance to figure out who’s gonna lead the team."
More:FC Cincinnati lose on goal by New York Red Bulls defender Andrew Gutman
More:Jaap Stam out as FC Cincinnati head coach. Tyrone Marshall named interim head coach.
Albright, who made clear the head-coaching search was his top priority, was accompanied in his formal introduction by team President Jeff Berding and Chief Executive Officer and Controlling Owner Carl Lindner III.
"I want to thank our fans for your remarkable patience with us," Lindner said. "We're gonna get this right. Today's announcement is really a great step toward bringing this city a winner."
In a separate interview, Berding suggested to The Enquirer that Albright's hire was arguably the most important in club history.
Albright didn't divulge many details about the underway head-coaching search except to say that the process will focus on candidates with MLS experience.
Asked by The Enquirer about current FC Cincinnati interim head coach Tyrone Marshall, a former teammate of Albright's who has already expressed his interest in being the club's head coach, Albright was complimentary but noncommittal.
"Let me just say, when I heard about (Tyrone) taking on this current role right now, I said he's the absolute perfect guy for the job," Albright said. "You know, you really need a good person and that's not to speak disparagingly of Jaap (Stam) at all but just someone to breath new life and energy. Tyrone is that. He's a winner and he's a leader, and was a leader when we played together many moons ago.
"Look, everyone's gonna be considered. I've laid out the criteria: MLS experience, winning mentality, part of winning organizations, and Tyrone checks those boxes as well. Everyone that fits those criteria will be considered.
Albright stopped short of detailing any possible reorganization of the technical side of FCC, as well as further personnel departures and additions. Albright declined
He instead emphasized that everyone is now in a period of evaluation with seven first-team matches remaining in the regular season.
As for the decision to seize on the FC Cincinnati GM vacancy as opposed to other opportunities, Albright said it was an easy decision.
"Obviously, the easy answer is the resources," Albright said. "The ability to take kind of the hunger and ambition and frankly the economic layout of the ownership group and make Cincinnati what it should be, which is a winner. That’s sort of the easy answer but then as the process sort of went along, the people and the fit from Jeff (Berding), to his team, to Dennis Carroll who I worked with in Philadelphia and then meeting Carl (Lindner III) and Meg (Whitman), the ownership group really solidified just the connection of ‘this feels right.’ Being in the box with my family the other night and having, you know, owner after owner – the big, sort of, Cincinnati ownership group that exists here – really having them being invested in my family’s transition, and schools and where to live and where to shop. That element kind of drove home that that this was the perfect fit."
Excerpts from The Enquirer's Wednesday question-and-answer session with Chris Albright (this transcript and story will be updated):
The Enquirer: There were several enticing job opportunities available to you as a sought-after candidate, and you’ve landed at FC Cincinnati. What brought you here?
Chris Albright: Obviously, the easy answer is the resources. The ability to take kind of the hunger and ambition and frankly the economic layout of the ownership group and make Cincinnati what it should be, which is a winner. That’s sort of the easy answer but then as the process sort of went along, the people and the fit from Jeff (Berding), to his team, to Dennis Carroll who I worked with in Philadelphia and then meeting Carl (Lindner III) and Meg (Whitman), the ownership group really solidified just the connection of ‘this feels right.’ Being in the box with my family the other night and having, you know, owner after owner – the big, sort of, Cincinnati ownership group that exists here – really having them being invested in my family’s transition, and schools and where to live and where to shop. That element kind of drove home that that this was the perfect fit.
TE:The news release announcing Monday that you’d been hired stated ‘effective immediately.’ You are now the GM, so what has been job No. 1 for you while you’re simultaneously coping with the transition and all of that?
CA:Really wrap my arms around the cap situation. Players, you know, I have some ideas on needs. I told the players down at the Mercy Health Training Center this morning that we’re all sort of being evaluated but at the same time I’m here to support them and anything they need. We want to win games in the short terms and have fans believe again as we transition into next year, but really the two sort of immediate items are understanding what we look like from a first-team roster, salary cap situation and understanding opportunity based on that.
And obviously the head coaching search. That’s obviously of utmost importance to figure out who’s gonna lead the team.
TE:Where are you with the head coaching search since you have started immediately and do you have a timeline for when a hire needs to be made? Because there’s always this question of timeline versus simply getting (the hire) right.
CA: Correct, and I don’t want to say that’s the easy answer but that is the answer. You know, this is a project. I mean, we want to win immediately but that being said, I am going to prioritize the right person over some sort of artificial deadline I create for myself. I don’t think that is the right thing to do. As with the general manager’s search here, the coaching search will center around someone with MLS experience as well. Someone that’s either been a player in MLS or transitioned into coaching and at least has the experience of coaching in this league and understands those challenges, and embraces those challenges.
TE: I imagine one of the aspects of the job interview here was diagnosing the issues in this situation you’ll be walking into. When you look out across FC Cincinnati in the areas you’ll be overseeing, there are issues. This team is in last place and in danger of finish there for the third straight year. What are the core issues that need to be righted?
CA:Yes. Diagnosing it from afar, I would say. One, there’s a lot of good people here that think about the game the right way. That being said, there’s some things that we’ve done well in Philadelphia and processes we’ve put in place to identify players. We (did) a really good job with that and I can say that with honesty. We haven’t missed a ton. That being said, identifying talent and assembling a team are two completely different things. So, you know, the winning organizations that I’ve been around from a player with coaches like Sigi (Schmid), Bruce (Arena) at the Galaxy and Philadelphia in the years that we were successful, there’s that mix. There is that feeling in the locker room. There are roles. There are understanding of roles. So, just a lot of nuance in building a team as opposed to identifying talent. I think there’s a lot of talented pieces here, frankly, but some of those core components can be improved upon.
Source link
