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Polls soon to open in Seattle as Hanauer/GM vote looms

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By JOSE M. ROMERO

Seattle Sounders Alliance members are just a few days away from putting democracy in sport into action when voting opens whether to retain general manager Adrian Hanauer.

Yes, Sounders fans have major stake in the fate of Hanauer, who is less focused on stumping for fan support than on seeing the team earn a higher seed in the MLS playoffs. Beginning Sunday through early December, eligible voters will decide if Hanauer, a minority owner who was named the club's first GM before it became an MLS franchise, will stay or go.

It's a unique situation and something just not seen in American sports. Even the New York Times is paying attention.

Hanauer should to be in a favorable position to keep his job. The Sounders will make their fourth consecutive playoff appearance in four seasons of existence and the team is a huge hit in Seattle and one of the model franchises of MLS. The team has won three U.S. Open Cups and have shattered attendance records. Hanauer has also made some shrewd player moves, including a couple that didn't go over so well with the fans.

Letting go of young fan favorites Lamar Neagle and Mike Fucito irked plenty of Sounders faithful, but the play and producion of Eddie Johnson, who was brought in to bolster the attack, has atoned for that move in at least some fans' minds.

On the flip side, Seattle has never advanced out of the conference semifinals. Some may view the team's inability to win a playoff series a reflection of Hanauer and ther front office. 

How do you think the vote will play out? Is GM still in the cards for the poker-playing Hanauer, or not? 

Share your thoughts below: 

Comments

  1. I sincerely hope you have no vote. And if you do have one, I have two and can cancel one of those out. You are…shortsighted and wrong.

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  2. He hasn’t had great success with his DP choices (Nkufo, Ljungberg, Fernandez) but other than that hard to have any complaints at all.

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  3. That’s not the point. The initial indignation and moral outrage from some was absolutely absurd. The idea that such folks could have any vote on anything the Sounders do is scary.

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  4. I was disappointed in the trade at first blush, simply because I really liked Fucito and Neagle. Once I sobered up, I was able to admit that in terms of sheer potential, it was a great move for the Sounders. I’m thrilled it’s paid off, as Eddie can be a hothead, but he’s a great guy and genuinely loves being a Sounder.

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  5. The only reason to vote no, is if you feel there is a conflict with being part owner AND GM. Not as willing to open the wallet.

    He is a very smart guy and has done a great job in all aspects.

    He will stay in a landslide.

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  6. “has atoned for that move in at least some fans’ minds”??? Is there really anyone still out there who thinks the trade for EJ wasn’t one of the better moves the Sounders have made? Those are the people who need not vote.

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  7. I’m a Sounders STH, and appreciate the sheer volume of suckitude that Wilkinson brings to the table in a very petty way, but you all deserve far better. He’s the Bill Bavasi of Soccer.

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  8. It isn’t the masses who vote, it is the STH and the Alliance members. Some are knuckleheads, most are not. Hanauer will win in a walk.

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  9. I just hope not too many of the folks who placed the Eddie Johnson trade somewhere between Watergate and the Holocaust are voting. The idea of that crowd having influence over the Sounders’ future is a bit disturbing.

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  10. As a Timber fan, I would love for the opportunity to have a referendum on Wilkinson and his bumbling hires/fires, questionable player acquisitions (Not just Boyd & Cooper and then rapidly giving up on them both without trying to find the complementary pieces to help them succeed — the fact that we have a central midfield that does not mesh with anyone around them and a mostly sketchy back line).

    That said, as deep as my disdain for anything goat-piss highlighter green and bule / “super cyan” is (seriously, is it 1985 again?), Flounder STHs would have to be completely insane to dump Hanauer now.

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  11. When can we start voting for the starting line up? Is this really a good idea? I mean, the masses are asses. They would eat McDonald’s everyday and watch Honey Boo Boo marathons all night. Do we really want everything to be decided by popular vote?

    Reply

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