A year and four months ago, as Bruce Arena's tenure with the US national team was winding down and rumors of him coming to Metro started swirling, we wondered if he was the man to save this franchise. Now we have our answer. And after we've had time to digest Arena's unexpected dismissal, where does Metro stand compared to 16 months ago?

It's obvious that the current Metro squad is superior to the one Arena inherited. Bruce made some solid moves during his short tenure: the signing of Dema Kovalenko, the drafting of Dane Richards, and the trade for Hunter Freeman. Most importantly, he had a lot to do with Juan Pablo Angel coming on board as the team's second designated player.

Of course, it's the failing of the team's first designated player, Claudio Reyna, that also falls squarely on Arena's shoulders. While Reyna does do little things well, according to some, he was nowhere near the game-changer that should fill a designated player slot and eat up 20% of the team's salary cap space. Other faults of Arena's personnel moves were the signing of Ronald Waterreus, the dumping of Marvel Wynne (we understand the salary cap had to do with that, but Metro should have gotten something better in return), and the still inexplicable trade of Todd Dunivant for Kevin Goldthwaite, with Metro picking up the difference in salaries.

Still, faulty moves aside, it seems that Bruce's departure came too soon. In MLS, continuity thrives; witness the two teams battling for MLS Cup for the second year in a row: New England and Houston. The two are models of consistent franchises (on the field, as Houston is obviously relocated San Jose). Their rosters have no designated player, and see little change over the past few seasons, helping fuel that continued success. The teams draft well, and when their star players leave, always seem to fill the holes with young prospects, which in turn do well. A model we definitely hoped Metro would replicate under Arena.

Of course, that's no longer an option. Whoever the new coach will be, will likely dismantle and rebuild the roster in his own image, and we'll be forced to start from scratch once again. But if Red Bull stands true with their reinvented philosophy of winning every game and nothing but winning MLS Cup being a viable option, how short of a leash will the new coach have?

It's something we learned a while back, but sadly put on the back burner when Arena was hired. We shouldn't look for saviors. No one man will be able to change Metro's culture of losing. It will take the right coach, the right mixture of players, and, as much as we hate to say it, a lot of luck. For if Jay Heaps' knee goes one inch to the left, or Taylor Twellman gets called offside on the Revolution goal, who knows, it might be Arena's Metro preparing to face the Dynamo for the Cup.

And what now for Arena? 16 months ago, we said that his legend is in danger of crumbling. That couldn't be truer at this point. Who knows, perhaps he'll rediscover his magic elsewhere. Perhaps he'll move to the television booth. Perhaps he'll count his Red Bull money and retire. We know one thing for sure; no matter what happens with him down the road, his name is entrenched forever into the long list of Metro failures.