Colorado Rapids club president Padraig Smith outlined a new way of doing things for the Western Conference team after they parted ways with head coach Robin Fraser.
After being dead last in the Supporters' Shield race and picking up just three wins in MLS regular season action, something had to change for the Rapids.
Now Fraser is no longer at the helm for Colorado, they'll begin their search for a new head coach to lead the club into better days at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. The Rapids followed their historic 2021 season up by finishing in 10th place in the West, and that same downwards spiral carried over into the 2023 season.
"What we've seen is a deviation from that club identity over the last 18 months, and I think that unfortunately necessitated the change," Smith said to reporters. "I think ultimately getting back to that and getting back to a situation in which everybody is clearly on the same page in that identity and principles model is going to be critical in this approach, in this hiring process."
If the Rapids are to return to the summit of the Western Conference, Smith believes the club needs to assess its transfer business in comparison to other rivals.
"If I look at Philadelphia, I look at the work that St. Louis have done this year with an absolutely terrific performance from them, those are teams that are not going to feature in the top half of spending whatsoever and those are teams that in Philadelphia's case are challenging every single season."
Smith also explained his view on big-spending clubs around the league: "There are numerous teams who have spent a lot of money but have not had any success. And I'm going to keep bringing this back to critical things: the efficiency in terms of the spend and the maximization out of what you've got.
"They are critical things. That is brought together by a coherent plan that is executed by everybody over an extended period of time."
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The Colorado roster will likely need to be overhauled in the winter to get on track, but Smith was adamant his roster should have more than just three wins.
"This is not a team that should have one win in 18 games. This not a team that should be 10 points off the next team in the Western Conference. This is not a team that should have less than one expected goal over the last nine games.
"This is not a team that should be wide open in transition moments. This is not a team that should be struggling to create chances for its DP striker," Smith added. "...I don't think there's any doubt this team is capable of much, much more than what we are seeing right now and that's certainly what we are expecting to see going forward."
Colorado returns to MLS action on September 16 when they play host to New England Revolution with Chris Little on the touchline as interim boss.
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This article was originally published on 90min as Colorado Rapids president reveals next steps after Robin Fraser sacking.
