The appearance in public of a person like the chairman of the board of directors of a hockey club is not a common occurrence. Even when it comes to the chairman of the board of directors of Avangard, Alexander Krylov, who is much more media-savvy than most of his colleagues. The day before the boss of the Omsk club came on the air of “Match TV” and … did not tell anything sensational. But only at first glance. There was something else behind the presentation of the retro uniform, praise from Igor Eronko, news about the construction of a new arena and the search for a new defender. Much more global, even if not directly said by Krylov head on.
“Sometimes the cups are won by teams from which no one expects it. You can’t plan that. The team wins trophies. I would not give credit to the coach that he should win the cup. Hartley has a strong training culture. But the entire coaching staff should be managed by the general manager, which was not before and what has happened now. I only communicate with the general manager. He is already building relationships with the coaching staff. Bob is not an easy man, believe me. “, – the main person in “Avangard” gave out on air.
Everything seems to be decorous, peaceful and professional. “I talk to the general manager, the general manager talks to the coach” is a completely normal strategy of behavior adopted in most sports clubs. It is hard to imagine that the owner of Metallurg Magnitogorsk, Viktor Rashnikov, would directly point out something to Ilya Vorobyov. But Krylov is Krylov. We all saw how, over the course of two years, he tried to be closer to the team than any of the people on his flight. The bigboss’s regular trips to the locker room after the games were illuminated with spotlights, and his words were transmitted through a megaphone so that they could be heard from Balashikha to Omsk.
Needless to say, the Omsk PR-machine created the appearance that everything was in Krylov’s hands? He will pat on the shoulder, and will sort out the mistakes of the players, and find a coach. Of course, the very best. It took quite a bit of time for the Krylov cult to develop in Omsk. But we are all about external attributes. The chairman of the board of directors of Avangard behaved in approximately the same way within the organization. He controlled everything, was interested in everything. Of course, neither the players nor the coaches could ignore this. So Bob Hartley understood that his only boss was Krylov. And while he is on his side, the Canadian can feel like Jesus walking on water.
The turning point was the appointment of Alexei Volkov to the position of general manager. And to be precise, the very introduction of such a position. Personality here, with all due respect to the former goalkeeper, is secondary. According to Krylov’s idea, not only the entire selection was supposed to fall on Volkov’s shoulders, but also building relationships with the head coach. And here a predictable snag arose. Hartley does not see Volkov at close range, does not perceive him, and often acts as if out of spite. How does it manifest? For example, in relation to the players brought by the general manager.
Why Krylov did not create such a buffer between himself and the coach before, in general, is understandable. Maxim Sushinsky became president during the reign of the former chairman of the board of directors, Alexander Dybala. Krylov inherited it. On the one hand, the new boss of the Vanguard could not trust a person whom he did not hire himself. On the other hand, he could not just take and fire the legend of Omsk hockey. As a result, the contract with SU-33 was simply not renewed, and the post was abolished. So it turns out that during the presidency of Sushinsky, Hartley developed the habit of resolving issues directly with Krylov. The Stanley Cup winner also had an obscenely bloated ego.
Considering the processes that are taking place inside Avangard, Krylov’s speech takes on several meanings at once. It can be interpreted as the final breakdown in the relationship between the club’s management and the Canadian coach. And if Hartley loses the support and trust of Krylov, then not today, then tomorrow a resignation may burst in the Omsk club. Rarely does a manager openly talk about the difficult nature of a coach. Is this not the shadow of a black cat that ran between Krylov and Hartley? But you should not think that Krylov is so simple that he cuts the truth-womb to a multimillion audience, without holding back his emotions. He himself is a smart guy, and when a crowd of PR people is spinning around, and the former journalist Eronko is at his side, every word is verified and makes sense.
Krylov’s speech about Hartley is a shot from one gun at several targets. They are trying to convey to us that the foreign coach is under control, and Avangard is a professional organization with a clear hierarchy. But the ultimate addressee of this message, of course, is Bob himself. Emphasizing that the mentor of the “hawks” is strong in the training process, in all other respects Krylov deliberately belittles his role. The Vanguard boss walks on thin ice, but this is the only way to rein in a stubborn coach who has lost his sense of reality. A champion coach who has won trophies in every championship, wherever he works. A trainer with great charisma, against which any other specialist will look dull. A coach who can really bring the Gagarin Cup to Omsk. That’s just for this, he must TRAIN. And nothing else.
Download Sport24 app for Android
– .
