Everyone always tries to tell me and i hear it all over the internet and radio as well, that Ercoli firing was not justified and how he should have been back this season. Ok, so those talks are silenced with the recent hot-streak, but tell me you didn't hear people whisper they wanted Darren Tilley out and brought Ercoli back? I don't buy it and that article backs me up....
It's almost no secret those Rhinos teams had a massive advantage financially over the rest of the league. In many cases, our roster was twice as expensive as some of the other teams. The Rhinos were able to sell players such as Pat Onstad and Olandi Lowe for high amount of money. Rhinos recieved $50k for Lowe to leave to Major League Soccer. In those days, most A-League clubs had a $200k operating budget. So do the math. Rhinos were up in the $400k range in just payroll.
Second of all, if Ercoli was such a great idea for the Rhinos in the year 2008, then why hasn't anyone offered him anything? I was never a true fan of Ercoli's system and his philosophy on the game of football, but even I am stunned at the lack of offers. The Toronto Lynx offered him a deal, probably the worst team in the A-League and the cheapest. They were known to sell their players mid-season to Montreal just to make a few bucks. And Puerto Rico. We're not talking about their team now, but a "few years ago". They were a bottom feeder just like Toronto was in the A-League. No doubt their offer was a low-ball offer and they just had hoped he'd take them on it to be able to live in sunny Puerto Rico and become a National team coach, all in one package. Ercoli rejected to stay home and run his "craft store".... kinda sketchy, i'm not gonna lie.
Third of all, the mastermind behind all those Rhinos championships was Chris Economides. The guy had the eye for talent. In 2001 for example, when the club was struggling, he tradeded young defender Carlos Parra for Stoain Mladenov. Then signed defender Kalin Bankov. Economides still has the same mindset, signing cheap and almost unknowns and turning them into stars. And finding the right pieces to fit his team. The difference is, he's not having the same success in Carolina because other teams are smarter and have more money to spend to find players, so his player pool has gotten tiny. Carolina is struggling once again in the standings.
And finally, the fact that Scott Schweitzer and Tilley have both become future head coaches. It just shows, his teams had the right players, the right "leaders". None of his teams were ever led by Ercoli himself, he had the right personnel on the field to lead by example.
I don't doubt that Ercoli ever lacked passion and desire for the Rhinos, what he has done in the past, is fantastic and he is a major reason of why the Rhinos are what they are today and that is his legacy. I think it's great he comes to Pae Tec Park to watch the team play, but i think it needs to be kept as that. A return, i think would be messy as he would have much trouble trying to adjust to today's USL First Division.
Enjoy Ercoli Night at PTP tomorrow night, should be a good time, and a big crowd, first 5k fans recieve a Ercoli card and he will be available to sign autographs. He has a true legacy with Rhinos fans and that's how it should always be. He should be proud of what he accomplished in the past and as fans, we should be proud of him too. But, let's not start thinking of even talking about bringing him back...
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