In reply to: MLS Ramblings for Week 3 posted by plaid_pants
Without much wiggle room.
Just a terrible situation.
A club is about a feeling. If you aren't happy with the club, you have to change that feeling first. Once you do that, you have a little time to get the quality on the field correct.
- Give the supporter's group some rigging in the stadium to raise tifos.
- Pay the supporters group money for supplies to make the tifos for each home match. A couple of hundred is well worth the investment each home game.
- Have a safe-standing terrace area and make those tickets dirt cheap. Even better if it competes with the Section 8 guys, but across the field. Different supporters groups trying to impress each other is great for atmosphere.
On a side note, even though RFK is a terrible venue for soccer, it is cool that the main supporter's group is right at midfield. That is unique and looks good on TV.
- Provide fire-safe drums to light off flares.
- Bring in a polka band...something unique to rally behind
- Your jerseys are boring. Pick a new color. Work in Mrs. O'Leary's cow and have a bovine black and white pattern. Nobody has done that. Build a barn on the far side of the stadium and light it on fire when you score a goal...something like the Durham Bull.
- Pick some kind of identity. Bring in three players from Hungary or something weird like that. The supporters can make a game out of it like the Hanson Brothers from Slapshot. This is a safer bet anyway. A big money signing may or may not work. A lower cost signing with a big personality is better for the fans. Or go big name and big personality...a guy with a huge afro like Marouane Fellaini / Carlos Valderrama or the incomparable Mario Balotelli.
If you did those things, the team could still suck, and the fans would come out more and have a better time. Make it look like you are trying to reboot. Then you have a 2-3 year window to build a competitive team.