D.C. United president and general manager Kevin Payne watched his team, the defending MLS champion, perform the largest season-to-season nose dive (27 points) in league history. He talks about what happened and what will happen to his club.


SOCCER AMERICA: Is there anything left to say about this season?

KEVIN PAYNE: I doubt it. WeÆve said a lot already. You know, everybody wants answers to this stuff ù whether itÆs winning or losing ù to be simple. No disrespect to your profession, but sportswriters are always looking to write one thing ù that they won because of this guy ù but I donÆt think it works that way when you win and I certainly donÆt think it works that way when you lose. We had many things go wrong this year that all conspired to create the season that we had.

SA: When you look at the standings, does it still shock you that this really happened?

KP: I guess in a way. I donÆt think weÆre one of the worst four teams in the league although our record certainly suggests that we are. There are several teams in the playoffs that I think, given the chance, would swap rosters with us right now.

SA: What is your first priority this offseason?

KP: Well, unfortunately, we have a bunch of priorities that are all first. We have to find a new training facility, weÆve got to find new office space. WeÆre probably closer to finding the training facility; weÆve got to find office space ASAP. ThatÆs going to be a big blow because weÆre 99 percent sure it wonÆt be next to the training facility. ThereÆs always the chance of a miracle.

SA: Do you know where youÆre going to train?

KP: No, but right now, I would say the most likely scenario would be RFK.

SA: The auxiliary fields?

KP: Yes. TheyÆve committed that theyÆll bring the two fields they have outside the stadium up to a real high level. … So IÆm not as concerned about the training facility. The office is really a bigger concern.

SA: What about player moves?

KP: We have some ideas, we have some thoughts on things that weÆd like to do, but you know thereÆs always limits in this league. … IÆve said it before ù weÆre not going to make changes just for the sake of making change. WeÆre going to try to make changes that will make us a better team. I think we have a pretty decent plan with regard to that, but weÆve got to work with some other teams to find out if thatÆs all feasible.


æWe have a specific player in mindÆ

SA: So, by next March, would you expect there to be a lot of turnover?

KP: ItÆs hard to say. I wouldnÆt say a lot of turnover. There could be fairly substantial change, there could be very little change depending on what weÆre able to do.

SA: Is this team still in need of a reliable finisher?

KP: Certainly we struggled to score goals this year. I think there were a lot of games this year that even given some of our defensive inadequacies, we could have won in years past because we would have won them, 4-3. ThatÆs something we have to address and we need to figure out if thatÆs a personnel issue or if its something else.

SA: How would you rate Marco EtcheverryÆs season?

KP: Well, clearly I think Marco didnÆt had the kind of year heÆs had in the past. Marco started out very optimistic about the year after his knee surgery. … He wasnÆt able to train properly because of [a preseason] injury that he had and he kept picking up little nagging problems that were holding him back. … I think he probably had some distractions in his personal and business life.

But I have a great deal of faith in MarcoÆs character and I know that this season did not sit well with him. I would expect that Marco will really rededicate himself in the offseason. I would expect that Marco will come back next year and again be the best player in the league.

SA: Do you have a player in mind for your allocation?

KP: Yes, we have a specific player in mind that weÆve asked the league about. I would say the chances of that happening are probably about 20 percent.

SA: Really. Why?

KP: I just suspect that itÆs not going to be possible.

SA: ItÆs not going to be because of the league …

KP: No, I donÆt think itÆs going to be because the leagueÆs unwilling to do anything, I just have a feeling that the club weÆre going to talk to is not going to want to do what weÆre thinking of.

SA: In the past, youÆve expressed some dismay that the league hasnÆt treated you the same as other teams because youÆve done so well.

KP: I think the league will treat us fairly. Somebody else joked with me and said æYou guys have had such a bad season that theyÆll probably give another allocation to New York,Æ but thatÆs just a joke. I donÆt want anybody to think that thereÆs bitterness.

New YorkÆs had a wonderful season; they deserve a lot of credit. IÆm sure that the league will work with us and help us try to accomplish what we want to accomplish. We also might trade the allocation if we canÆt get what we want.


æJaime could play anywhereÆ

SA: Did your commitment to the future ù to young players ù hurt you this season?

KP: It might have in the sense that we had to rely, in games early in the year when we were struggling, on younger players who maybe werenÆt quite ready to be thrust into that position. But weÆre very excited about some of our young players. … And I think in the long term thatÆs going to be very good for us.

SA: What are the chances that youÆll lose starters to other leagues ù meaning transfers?

KP: Well, it wouldnÆt shock me ù if Ben [Olsen] plays the way heÆs capable ù it wouldnÆt shock me at all if Nottingham Forest or someone else in England put in a transfer request for him.

Whether it would be good enough for the league to take, I donÆt know. I certainly want Ben back, but weÆve lived for two years with the idea that we could lose Ben at any time and it wouldnÆt surprise if out of the Olympics and this Nottingham loan, Ben were to go.

SA: And Jaime [Moreno]?

KP: You know, IÆm a little bit astounded that JaimeÆs still here. When I look, for instance, at Newcastle and the Argentine forward [Daniel Cordone] that theyÆre all excited about, that they thought played well against us and that our defenders thought was a piece of cake to play against ù I donÆt think the guy can carry JaimeÆs shoes. I donÆt think heÆs even close.

SA: That tells you there are other places Jaime could play and do well …

KP: Listen, Jaime could play anywhere. … But again, weÆve always lived with the notion that we could lose Jaime. It would be a major blow to us and to the league if Jaime left, but it could happen. I donÆt think thereÆs anything on the horizon in that regard, though.


æRestore the confidenceÆ

SA: Will Thomas [Rongen] be back?

KP: Well, as IÆve said before, that certainly is the plan. Everybody in the organization on the technical side bears some responsibility for this season. I made mistakes, Thomas made mistakes, players made mistakes. So thereÆs plenty of blame to go around in a season like this.

I think it would be wrong, fundamentally wrong ù and itÆs not really a matter of opinion because there are facts that come into play ù it would be wrong to say that Thomas is to blame for the season.

SA: But are you open to making a coaching change?

KP: IÆm not thinking about that now. People want someone to blame. They want to be able to point and say, æItÆs his fault and if he leaves, everything will be better,Æ but itÆs not that simple.

SA: Have you gotten the playersÆ input on the coaching?

KP: No, and I donÆt think I will. I might sit down with a few of the players, but I wouldnÆt say, æWhat do you think of Thomas?Æ That would undermine his authority big time. What I might say to a few of the veteran players is: æWhat do you think happened this year?Æ But IÆve never had conversation with players about the coaches.

SA: But what is your sense of the teamÆs confidence in Thomas?

KP: Well, I think when you have a season like this, everybody questions everything. IÆm sure that there are players who are unhappy with Thomas. IÆm sure that Thomas is unhappy with some players. And theyÆre not always the same ones.

There are players who are unhappy with each other. You donÆt go from where we were to where we are now and not have a lot of people questioning a lot of things. Our job going through the offseason is to answer as many of those questions as we can and restore the confidence that this team and this organization has always had.

by Soccer America associate editor Will Kuhns