Podcasts
The pressure is on Sporting KC ownership now
Peter Vermes is here to stay, but here’s why the pressure has now shifted to the Sporting KC ownership group.
The club made it clear that Peter Vermes is here to stay. Whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with him for the next three transfer windows. The latest Shades of Blue podcast explains why from here on out, the pressure has shifted to the Sporting KC ownership group.
Ownership has backed Vermes. Ownership has still failed to find a Technical Director. The ownership needs to spend the money required to make the coming roster rebuild a reality, and turn this club into a perennial winner again.
Additionally, the problems with the club aren’t restricted to the roster and on-field performance. There’s a clear disconnect between the fans and the powers that be. That’s not just a reference to the Gavin Wilkinson debacle, either. The once infamous atmosphere has gone stale. The fanbase feels unheard, that the club doesn’t care about them. They’ve failed to connect in the way they did in 2011 while building the Sporting KC brand and an innovative new stadium.
They built a covenant with the city! But now… that feels like a distant past.
These problems go above Peter Vermes. The pressure over the next two years falls on the club president and the owners.
Check out this week’s episode because there is a lot to talk about beyond the woes of Sporting KC. Even Thad Bell gets excited!
We’re talking about the rumors of a Socceroo coming to SKC, the KC Current, EURO 2024, plus the expectations for the US Men’s National Team and Gregg Berhalter at Copa America.
Please subscribe, rate, & review the KC Soccer Journal feed wherever you get your podcasts! Feel free to yell at Cody @ThatCodyTho, Thad @TheBackpost, and Robert @SpKCLife.
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I agree that it’s on ownership, but Peter is one who is creating a starting lineup. Does he watch film? There are players on this team that I would just put on the field and see what you got. You have nothing to lose except more games, which seems like they don’t care about because Peter keeps putting Khiry Shelton out there and for 10,000 minutes, we have been a man down. Sometimes 2 players down if you start Salloi every week.
I read two stories this week that really captured how frustrated I feel about the utter staleness and malaise around SKC.
(1) Kai Wagner’s tirade after the Union’s embarrassing loss, openly calling out ownership for a lack of investment in and support of the team. Contrast that to the defeated air of SKC players and the complete lack of pushback against management or ownership.
(2) The other story relates to Doug Armstrong, the GM of the NHL’s St. Louis Blues, who built a Stanley Cup winner in 2019 but has also presided over some problematic contracts and decisions that are now hobbling the team and probably will for years to come. This week he announced succession plans with the approval of ownership, saying he’d step down once he’s trained a replacement (Alex Steen, a well-regarded former Blues player). Compare this quote from Armstrong with PV’s mentality:
These quotes hit me hard when contrasted with Peter “I alone can fix it” Vermes.
Two stories on this for anyone with an Athletic sub:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5561934/2024/06/13/blues-steen-armstrong-gm-succession/
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5562206/2024/06/13/blues-gm-succession-armstrong-steen/
Peter and the ownership have just informed the fans that sporting Kansas City is not about winning matches, it’s about making money and as long as SK makes money no changes will occur.
Huh, I wrote up a long comment and it seems to be stuck in moderation or something because it’s not appearing. Nothing controversial in it.
I’m not sure why that happened, I got it approved. I know Cody is working with our host on some things, maybe that’s why? I’m just guessing here. Sorry for the delay.
Thanks! I’m wondering if it was the two links, triggering some algorithm threshold for spam.
There’s some algorithm that decides for us if we need to approve a comment and sometimes it chooses odd ones. I’m guessing the links triggered it. Sorry about that.
No worries, if you want to (and can) delete this entire thread it’s fine with me as it’s entirely irrelevant now that the comment in question has posted.
For me the issue is that PV and the ownership are completely enmeshed at this point. It’s a co-dependent relationship where ownership relies on PV to know the “soccer stuff” because they clearly know very little beyond the business realm of things. A well-functioning club ensures that coach and ownership have enough distance from each other so that judgment isn’t clouded when tough decisions have to be made. I just hope ownership brings in some other soccer minds (how about that technical director for crying out loud) because the more of that we have, the better.
I think there are a lot of fans who feel the same way I do. Ownership isn’t even trying. Why should I waste my money on this club? It’s going to take at least two windows to get enough quality players on the roster to compete, but then you still have Vermes running the show. So why would anyone hold out hope that things will improve? If enough people boycot this trainwreck of an organization, maybe ownership will hurt financially enough to see the light.
Ownership does not care about the fans. Why should fans care about the club?
That lineup was shit.
I agree:
Thommy belongs on the wings, and he has since day 1. Thommy, agada and tzionis would be more entertaining than pulido et Al.
Davis being an improvement was like removing the turd from the piss sandwich. We sucked. Someone even trying was an improvement.
Galaxy exploited the hell out of our system and the gaps. They used the wide space ahead of our fullbacks, avoiding radaja. They then looped runs after drawing our inexperienced fullbacks wide. They did this tactic at least 4 times, with 1 leading to a goal.
We had the same issue of ballwatching. Our players were beat before the game started. When you watch the ball as a team, you aren’t there to win. You aren’t even engaged. That was resignation. Someone else trying sparked life, but that isn’t enough.
We have 2 opportunities to buy contracts. We should do it to send a message. If we are rebuilding, start now. Buy the contracts out and wash the hands of this season.
Vermes’s attitude is abysmal. Is he hands off on contracts because he doesn’t want to do it? Tough shit. You are the CSO. If it isnt being done right then step in and make it better, clearly Bliss sucks at it.
Owners relying on vermes for the soccer knowledge? Stupid move. Stick with that attitude and you run the club to the ground.