Der Konsültant's in town, uh-oh!

Thursday saw Jürgen Klinsmann introduced to the media in Toronto for the first time along with his SoccerSolutions colleague Warren Mersereau, to explain what their role is going to be and finally give some details of what we can look forward to. Turns out it’s not a lot really, he basically crushed any lingering hopes that Tom Anselmi had been underplaying his involvement when he talked about it last week. He’s certainly not going to be taking on any kind of GM or coach job himself, and confirmed that his consultancy is going to be a short one, ending before next season starts, ie before he’s even seen his new team play one competitive game.

What sort of power would he have in the short time he’d be here? Would it be the sort of omnipotence that Gerry Dobson described a couple of weeks back?

It's unclear exactly what his title will be, but make no mistake, the reality is Klinsmann will be in total command. He'll run everything from the top, right on down to the academy....the fact is he'll make all the decisions that matter. Everything else, Klinsmann will leave in the hands of the man (or men) he hires to run the day-to-day stuff. At this point, that's unclear as well. Klinsmann may well appoint a single overseer below him to act as general manager and head coach.

Not so much. Here’s Gerry sheepish comments after the press conference.

Those of us who thought Klinsmann was coming in here to roll up his sleeves, take charge, make changes and turn Toronto FC on its' head were wrong. He's here only to make suggestions.

Suggestions, recommendations and a point in the right direction is all that Klinsmann will be bringing, and then the big decisions, the hiring of whatever coaching/management structure they decide is best, and running the team from there, will once again be in the hands of Anselmi and co.  A point made clear by Klinsmann with a chuckle and the sort of "good luck buddy" smirk that reminded me of the "now we just need to make sure TFC makes the playoffs, right Mo? ha-ha" comments aimed at then GM Mo Johnston during the press conference to announce the 2010 MLS Cup final was coming to Toronto.

What are SoccerSolutions' processes to arrive at these suggestions?  Well apparently it's all about getting a feel for the city and supporters, figuring out what sort of team and style of play they want, talking with the players and staff already at the club and finding out how they work and what they're looking for, then coming up with a few suitable candidates who fit into that mould and will theoretically be able to build that sort of team.  Anselmi said in an interview that he's already talked with Klinsmann and told him about the style of hockey we like here, which might just be the most depressing sentence I've ever written.  Seriously?  Now we're going to try and emulate the Leafs?

Trying to look on the bright side, it's better that he's here even for an advisory role for a short period than for nothing at all, and his contacts and reputation will hopefully ensure us a higher class of applicants for the full time jobs.  Also developing an identity and plan that all future decisions will be filtered through is a very good idea, the Mo Johnston era never gave the impression of any clear long term plan being followed.  Starting right from scratch again, looking at every aspect of the organisation and coming up with a plan that will go right down to the academy teams is very necessary at this time, and to have Klinsmann involved right at the beginning to set us in the right direction can only be a good thing.

Basically, 2 months down the line from firing Mo and Preki, we've hired a consultant, one with a great footballing reputation and contacts, absolutely, but just a consultant, nothing more.  Any recommendation can only be as good as those that are implementing it, and that's going to be the same old people, so forgive me if I don't really see much different here at all.