Sky Blue FC Dismisses Sawyers

Friday, 29 May 09, 07:08 PM · Comments(0)

Yesterday, Sky Blue FC announced that Coach and General Manager, Ian Sawyers, was relieved of his duties with the organization. According to CEO Thomas Hofstetter, "the disagreements between the coach, team, and management made it impossible to move forward successfully."

I'd like to offer more insight but the organization seems pretty tight lipped regarding the situation. It's really hard to even begin to guess what went on behind closed doors. Many thought the initial suspension of Sawyers was due to the team's poor start this season, but now we know it was much more.

In my opinion, I think one major problem was the dual role Sawyers played -- General Manager AND Head Coach. I just don't think it works. The GM is a business role responsible for acquiring the rights to player personnel, negotiating contracts and even managing the head coach. And the head coach is responsible for player allocation and scouting. You can't do both. More importantly you shouldn't. It's bad business. There are numerous cases in the sports industry where this dual role has proven troublesome. Now we can add Sky Blue to the list.

What I will quickly say is that I have always been a big fan of Sawyers and am extremely disappointed in this week's turn of events. He has so much knowledge and experience to offer the women's game. This is truly a loss, not just for Sky Blue, but for WPS as a whole.

Replacing Sawyers as the head coach will be Kelly Lindsey, who took over as interim coach last weekend against the Washington Freedom. Sky Blue FC's VP of Sales & Marketing Gerry Marrone will take over Sawyer's GM responsibilities.

Sky Blue faces the Boston Breakers this Sunday for its' first home appearance at Rutgers' Yurcak Field. If you can't make it out to the game, tune into Fox Soccer Channel at 6pm ET to catch them live!

Sky Blue FC Dismisses Sawyers

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