CF Montreal Fans, MLS Have No Reason To Trust Joey Saputo And Sons

Forbes

a day ago

It hasn't gotten all that much attention during a busy transfer season, but the abrupt departure of CF Montreal Sporting Director Corey Wray should be sending out alarm bells to the club's supporters and even Major League Soccer's front office.
Wray's departure this week comes after a somewhat cryptic message from the club posted on social media last month pleding to rebuild the team following one of its worst seasons since the club began MLS play in 2012.
It ends a tenure of only 10 months in the role, following the departure of Olivier Renard, who was the club's top sporting executive for a stretch shorter than five years. And maybe most troublingly, two of the three top sporting executives remaining appear to have, as their biggestt qualification, being the owner's sons.
'The sporting direction of CF Montréal will continue to be spearheaded by Managing Director, Recruitment and Sporting Methodology Luca Saputo, Managing Director, Academy Strategy and Roster Management Simone Saputo and President and CEO Gabriel Gervais,' read a club statement issued last week.
Look, theoretically it's possible that Luca Saputo, three-plus years removed from graduating the University of Miami's International MBA program, is a brilliant footballing mind who will one day be known as Quebec's answer to Ralf Ragnick. Sure, there's a puncher's chance that Simone Saputo, an even more recent MBA grad from 'The U,' is the best North American talent evaluator since a cat named Bruce Arena transitioned from college to pro soccer in the 1990s.
But given everything that has transpired more or less since CF Montreal made the transition from second-tier club to MLS franchise in 2012 should lead fans to assume that the duo fantastically underqualified for their jobs and holds them only because of they are owner Joey Saputo's children. And if that is not the case, the recent track record places the burden squarely on the Saputos to prove they are changing the direction of the club conclusively. Until they do, they deserve absolutely no benefit of the doubt from a fanbase that deserves far better.
Look, theoretically it's possible that Luca Saputo, three-plus years removed from graduating the University of Miami's International MBA program, is a brilliant footballing mind who will one day be known as Quebec's answer to Ralf Ragnick. Sure, there's a puncher's chance that Simone Saputo, an even more recent MBA grad from 'The U,' is the best North American talent evaluator since a cat named Bruce Arena transitioned from college to pro soccer in the 1990s.
But given everything that has transpired more or less since CF Montreal made the transition from second-tier club to MLS franchise in 2012 should lead fans to assume that the duo fantastically underqualified for their jobs and holds them only because of they are owner Joey Saputo's children. And if that is not the case, the recent track record places the burden squarely on the Saputos to prove they are changing the direction of the club conclusively. Until they do, they deserve absolutely no benefit of the doubt from a fanbase that deserves far better.The CF Montreal Coaching Carousel
Let's review some of the recent history that gives fans every right to be skeptical.
First there's the constant coaching carousel. According to data from Transfermarkt, the average managerial tenure at the club is about 52 games across all competitions (not factoring in the 28 games current manager Marco Donadel has taken charge of.) For good contending in multiple competitions, that's about a season's worth. For teams like Montreal, it's roughly a season and a half.
Those numbers become more maddening when you realize that two of the coaches Montreal let walk were Jesse Marsch (after one season) and Wilfried Nancy (after two). Neither man was fired, per se. But it's an awful look when the only two coaches in your history who weren't fired each go on to win two major trophies and one MLS Coach of the Year award elsewhere.
Then there's extremely unusual tone to recent communications from the club. First came a mea culpa letter to fans, published online early in the morning of July 23, signed by the Saputo brothers and Gervais, but with Wray's name conspicuously absent.
Then came the extraordinarily brief missive about Wray's departure less than a month later. No boilerplate quote thanking him for his service to the club. No disclosure suggesting how the decision was made. And not much in the way of explanation from club leadership afterward.
In fairness, Montreal has not been the worst club in MLS under Joey Saputo's stewardship. They've reached the postseason in six of 13 previous MLS seasons; not good given the forgiving playoff qualification standards, but not as bad as the San Jose Earthquakes, D.C. United or the Chicago Fire, among others.
They've also won four Canadian Championships over that span, a less impressive feat than it sounds when you realize there have never been more than three MLS teams competing for the honor at once.
Similarly, Joey Saputo has overseen a decade of Serie A security at Bologna FC, his other soccer holding, including a return to UEFA Champions League football for the first time in six decades last season.
But if the Saputo brothers had any other lineage, their qualifications to rectify an underachieving club simply wouldn't pass muster. According to their respective LinkedIn profiles, each one has the duo has a combined 22 months of experience in sporting roles, all with their current clubs.
Implications Beyond Montreal?
The fact that Montreal's defining MLS traits have impatience and inconsistency give fans every reason to suspect nepotism until proven otherwise. And for a city that has enormous potential as an MLS market, given its size, diversity and cosmopolitan sensibility hopefully that proof arrives, either in the form of the hiring of more experienced personnel above the Saputo brothers, or what for the moment feels like the far less realistic prospect of success under their guidance.
But Joey Saputo should no longer feel like his place in MLS is secure simply because he footed the bill for his club and his stadium. And if his approach is as unserious or ill-advised as it appears, there may come a day when MLS could try to shepherd the club from his ownership and his city.
With MLS expected to transition to a fall-to-spring schedule eventually, removing Canada's coldest market could solve some schedule issues related to the calendar flip. There are other rumored markets potentially interested in joining MLS either through expansion or relocation. And the league has proven itself capable of ushering problematic ownership out the door before, including former Real Salt Lake owner Dell Loy Hansen and Chivas USA founder Jorge Vergara.
Saputo bears far more resemblance to Vergara, a man who meddles within his MLS club, but whose MLS ambitions take a backseat to those of another, more prestigious club. And without more serious guidance, there's no reason his club couldn't ultimately succumb to the same fate.