Photo: Alex Caulfield (Sounders FC)
Garth Lagerwey spoke to media on a teleconference call this morning. Despite the competing attraction of a conference call with the coaches in the MLS finals, the call was well attended with 10 journalists calling in and asking questions.
Lagerwey started by saying he had appreciated the really fair coverage in 2015. Perhaps the biggest revelation on the call was that the discussion on Sigi Schmid’s future had been remarkably short.
Answering a question from Matt Pentz of the Seattle Times, he said:
“We made the playoffs. We won a wildcard game. Sigi’s had a track record of success. In consultation with ownership, they felt he did a good job per their public comments. There wasn’t a real discussion to be honest with you. We just made the decision that we were going to continue.”
He also revealed that all exit interviews with players had been concluded but he would not give info on individual players. Some are mulling retirement.
His role will not be impacted by Joe Roth being replaced by Adrian Hanauer as majority owner. Allocation money is left. There are no international player slots unless someone leaves. 32 players on roster now but there may only be 27-29 next year.
Jordan Morris will come out when he wants and go where he wants to. They have offered him the richest homegrown player contract but his destination is not in Sounders’ hands.
Salary cap drives a good part of everything the club does. One choice always impacts another. There is no timeline on Roman Torres return.
Seattle United is independent of Sounders. He was sharply critical of youth soccer in Washington State, calling it archaic and fossilized in places. Going outside the state is critical, he added. This may make him some enemies in the large world of Washington Youth soccer.
Lagerwey ducked the question whether there was enough pre-season signing activity, stressing it was all done by the time he got to Seattle.
He added though it was hard to criticise inactivity having just won the Supporters Shield and US Open Cup, but he stressed new eyes maybe saw things differently, perhaps distancing himself a little from the decision.
He was happy to have four years before the Alliance evaluates him.
He was candid on the age of the roster noting:
“I think we are are an old team. We need to get younger.”
He also admitted that player production has been a weakness of the club:
“We need to get better at producing players. We have to make the entire player production system younger and more vibrant. The group is too old. We have to have a succession at every position.”
They will be more focused on player development at S2 level, as opposed to results. But the club must show patience.
As well as Prost, the following journalists asked questions:Matt Pentz (Seattle Times), Don Ruiz (Tacoma News Tribune), Andrew Harvey (Sports Press NW), Jeremiah Oshan, Dave Clark (Sounder at Heart), Felipe (El Rey), Ari Liljenwall (MLS Soccer), Nico Moreno, and Jason Mitchell (SBI).
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