Fernando Clavijo
Grade: B+
Fernando Clavijo could have been a major candidate for MLS Coach of the Year. The talent level on this squad, to be very gratuitous, is meager. Clavijo kept the squad united during a rampant string of injuries rarely seen this far away from Denver. The scary part in all of this optimism is Clavijo already has the best record of any full-time Revolution manager.
With all of his player management skills, fans wonder why he continues to start players like John Harkes and Imad Baba. While these are valid observations (especially Harksie, who has lost a step or three and has no command of his long passing anymore), Pitchside tends to focus on the situation up top.
Why did Sunil bring over Jose Luis Morales if Clavijo did not want use him? Why was Wolde Harris partnered with a horrible partner like Johnny Torres (1 goal, 1328 minutes) for half of the year (14 starts)? Is there a specific reason why Jamar Beasley was left on the bench for half the year? These questions popped to mind when Pitchside went to review the season. The corps was depleted, but why even risk starting a not completely fit Wynalda? Clavijo's decisions on the forward line during 2000 were puzzling. However, they do not completely detract from the good work of Clavijo during the year.
General Manager
Sunil Gulati
Grade: C
Let's face facts. Brian O'Donovan did not make any player moves. He may be a nice guy, but he played at least second fiddle to Gulati in player acquisition. Gulati really had a mixed bag in terms of player transfers this year. He picked up Joey Franchino, Wolde Harris, Mauricio Wright and William Sunsing. However, Gulati was also responsible for the acquisitions of Bo Oshonyi (!) and Eduardo Hurtado.
Gulati made two major trades during the season. He brought in Mauricio Wright for spare parts, and he acquired Eric Wynalda for Ivan McKinley. While no one would take Gulati to task for the Wright trade, the trade of Ivy raised a few eyebrows. At that time, on a team carrying two young, promising forwards on the roster in William Sunsing and Jamar Beasley, why bother to acquire another striker? McKinley, despite wanting to return to Florida, could have been dealt for additional depth where it was needed: in the back. Why deal for something you really do not need?
The other glaring black mark against Gulati in 2000 was the acquisition of Jose Luis Morales. Initially, this move showed promise. However, as the season wore on, Morales' lack of adaptation to the style of play in MLS and the fact that he continually had to be content with a spot on the bench led to his recent departure. Why bother to bring in an allocation that really had very little shot of working? We don't think that Morales is a poor player. We think that he was the wrong type of player for this team. Who exactly was supposed to distribute the ball to Morales? It doesn't add up. If we were Sunil, we wouldn't nominate this year as our best ever, but it wasn't his worst either. To be frank, he was average. We expected more.
