This topic is getting a lot of play on the Revs boards, but it is relevant to the rest of the league as well. Now that Chivas is likely to be sold within the year to an owner who will certainly be more of the "new breed," it is pretty obvious who is at the bottom of the pile now. A side note - this is the first article I can recall in 19 years that has been this critical of the Krafts -- basically the stuff most of us already know, but not that common outside of hardcore soccer circles. The prevailing "wisdom" is that MLS is a "crap league," but that is only based on our local team's status in the market. The rest of MLS is actually doing quite well. In the mainstream, lots of general sports types see what the Krafts have done with the Patriots, but they have not even remotely made an effort to run the Revs in a competent way. https://www.bigsoccer.com/community/...e-krafts-are-the-worst-owners-in-mls.2002331/
I'd like to think that this is the sort of thing that would put a little bit of pressure on the Krafts either to look into selling the team to someone who would do more with it, or put more effort into it themselves. I'd like to think that, but I don't.
This article summarizes our frustrations well.... Why would Kraft change anything about the way the Revs are run? Does this embarrass him? Nope... Honest question - What part of the equation has to change to make Kraft even consider changing?
If that does happen, then that would put the FIRE at the bottom. Currently sitting at 18 (or 21 if you count NYCFC, Orlando and Miami)
Grant Wahl tweeted today that he thinks the race to the bottom is led by DC United (urgh) more than the Revs, what with Thohir focusing his energy on Inter and basically ignoring United.
Well I will say that at least the DC/Colorado (even NE with the Patriots) have the excuse of their owners ignoring their team for the bigger team. We here in Chicago do not really have that excuse.
well if we draw a comparison to Vergara he was an obstinate MLS owner who's main priority was another sporting team. he was satisfied with allowing the MLS entity languish to the point of being a laughing stock despite years of pressure/guidance from MLS-HQ and tons of negative media. it wasn't until the failure of Chivas USA began to effect his real passion and number one priority, mama chivas that he was able to be "forced"/convinced to sell. another way to think of it is that his objective in owning Chivas USA was to extend, enhance and spread the brand of Chivas Guad ... and maybe gain a recruiting foothold in LA and have a B-team to farm talent (both promising and washed up) to. Not only was Chivas USA failing on at least the first part of that stated objective but likely also doing the exact opposite ... harming the global Chivas brand. so, what can we glean from this to a parallel situation with the Krafts? i am afraid that the inference is grim. unlike with Chivas USA's failure impacting the Chivas Guad brand i don't think the Revs failure has any impact on the Patriots brand? and as for failing to meet the objective/goals of the Revolution even existing/being owned by the Krafts are we sure that is even the case? it seems to me that the objectives might very well be being met ... fill self funded stadium on 17-20 extra dates, use toehold into soccer to get lucrative international friendlies, draw warm bodied consumers to patriot place man mall during off NFL season, supress/contain/undermine the success of globally popular and ever increasingly popular in NA competitor sport in your market... so on both factors that eventually caused Vergara to pull the plug the Krafts don't seem to have the same sort of pressures on them .... the utter failure/mediocrity of the Revs does not impact the main focus brand the Patriots and the objectives could very well all be being met if the objectives are as many suspect and have nothing to do with actually succeeding in MLS and/or being part of growing and pushing forward the game of soccer in NA. just like with Chivas USA the only solution, all pie in the sky "well maybe vergara will turn it around and start caring and running the team correctly" wishes aside, was to have the team no longer owned by Vergara. the same applies to the Revs/Boston MLS ... the only real solution is for the team to be owned by somebody other than the Krafts ... after 2 decades of furthering neglect (as success in mls has grown to require more resources of time, money and passion) and the attitudes and incompetence that lead to such are not going to all of a sudden disappear one day out of the blue. but it seems to me the Krafts have no real compelling reason to sell nor would they any time in the near future. so it looks as if this is a problem that will simply fester with no real hope of significant improvement in sight. but i guess every league needs one or two perennial bottom feeders so ...
only one thing I can think of. Some one coming in an offering him a significant amount of money to buy the team. So when you couple that with the knowledge of how hard it is to build here in the Boston area, the likelihood of any perspective owner emerging is pretty low.
I suppose fans in Colorado and Chicago have their share of gripes, but you at least have a decent enough place to play and an owner who knows you exist. When the Pats had a by week and the Revs had a home game, someone asked Bob what he was going to do on the weekend and he said watch college football. If you read the comments themselves on the article you can get a bit more of the sentiment of local fans. This was the comment I added to the article: Good article, and the stadium issues aside, there are a LOT of things the Krafts can do RIGHT NOW that 1) don't cost a lot of money, 2) would make a huge impact, and 3) would increase the value of the team if they ever did sell it. These would be Revolution-specific signage at the stadium, a connection with history, acknowledging great Revs of the past with a "ring of honor," running a BUS (trains have a higher break-even point) to the stadium from Alewife/Riverside on game days for a whole season and publicizing it so people will know about this option, investing in a scouting department for future acquisitions, and better media training. Jon Kraft went on 98.5 a couple of years ago supposedly to talk Revs. He spent about a minute on how lots of kids play soccer, the 1994 WC showed that there were lots of fans in the area, etc. and then he switched to the mall and Patriots for the rest of the interview. He didn't even bother to mention that the Revs had a HOME GAME THAT NIGHT. Maybe, just maybe some lackey intern could have given him a list of 5 talking points about the Revs, since he couldn't be bothered to research this on his own. We Revs fans don't expect for the Krafts to treat us the same as the Pats, but just put in a tiny bit of effort. Several years of not even spending up to the cap (when other clubs are trying to find ways to go around it), the smallest non-playing staff in the league (you can't sign good players if you don't have anyone to scout them), and a total indifference to how the team operates. Coming off their best season in years, the Revs had a chance to make a move. They lost 2 of their best players, Juan Agudelo and Matt Reis, but only brought in draft picks and castoffs from other teams. Meanwhile, all our rivals have signed significant players in the off-season. All in all, it's a pathetic effort, and I hope this article sheds some light on exactly how abysmal the stewardship of this team has been for 19 years and counting.
You guys needed a forward and went out and got Eddie Johnson. The Revs needed a forward and went out and got Teal Bunbury. Now, no matter how those deals turn out, it's obvious the pursuit of quality on the field, aka ambition, tilts in DC's direction. They're at least willing to put bucks toward the problem.
You do realize Kroenke has been out to the Dick for a soccer game a rumored total of two times? The stadium opener (and the rumor is he didn't stay for the actual game) and the 2007 ASG. Now I will say this. Kroenke the person sucks as an owner. He didn't meet Gary Smith until MLS Cup 2010, he never comes to games, and is not at all involved in the team. KSE as an organization that runs the team (along with the Avs, Nuggets, etc.) isn't great but is not in New England/DC/Chicago/Chivas territory after the improvements of the last couple of years. There's still a major cross-department issue in KSE where the other departments don't care about the Rapids (Altitude screw-ups, merchandising outside of the Dick, etc.) but the Rapids organization has improved with support from KSE and KSE has allowed the Rapids to probably step on some toes by taking on responsibilities that would normally fall to those other organizations, like directly hiring Richard Fleming instead of using whatever pbp guy Altitude was going to supply. That doesn't mean there isn't all kinds of problems still, but they are going the right direction and KSE seems to at least be willing to let them improve instead of getting in their way, if not outright working against them.
$$$$$. Either what MLSFan123 just said, or fans have to stop showing up to games a la Chivas USA so whatever financial benefit they're currently getting from the Revs dries up. What's incredibly frustrating is seeing what's happening in places like Portland and Kansas City and knowing that the Revs could have that atmosphere on day 1 if they were able to build a smaller stadium in a place that's accessible via the T. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the Revs would fill a 20k stadium for every home game if they had a stadium closer to Boston. When I was living in Boston, I rarely went to Revs games even though I'm a huge soccer fan, because I didn't have transportation. Now I'm in New Hampshire and have transportation, but it's a significant amount of travel time (and gas cost) in each direction. I would be there in a heartbeat if it was closer to Boston. I know I'm not the only one - there's a sizable group of soccer fans in my office in Cambridge, and none of us go to Revs games on a regular basis because of the travel issue. But as MLSFan123 said, the cost of building a stadium in Boston is really high, and I don't see that happening any time soon, nor is there much impetus for Kraft to really pursue it.
Solid article. My only (minor) criticism is that the author comes across as too close to his subject - he uses the word "tifo" without defining it, for example. We may live in boom times for soccer fandom in the USA but this is a magazine usually seen in doctor's waiting rooms and supermarket check-out lines. A good editor would clean this up a little. Unfortunately, it accurately conveys the sorry situation of the Revs - their costs are a rounding error on the Kraft balance sheet. The Krafts have no reason to sell or change anything about how the team is run. The league has no leverage to impose any change on the Krafts. The only way to get the Revs out of Foxboro is for someone to gift-wrap an urban stadium for the Krafts (and cover the operational expenses.) Hate to say it, but when the best you can practically hope for as a Revs fan would be MBTA running service to Foxboro for Revs games, you know you're in a world of hurt. Good f***ing luck with that.
...or hope the Krafts get into a flaming dirigible accident. Frankly I'm still waiting for that to happen to the Kroenkes.
If anyone read the forbes profit/loss report on MLS its exactly why i dont see this situation changing anytime soon. The Revs are in the black as currently run. The owners game plan is basically keep costs low at all costs. Doing this nets them a profit. They have no rent expense, low player and staff costs. Not to mention off the revs books the 12k a game who then migrate either before or after the game to patriot place and spend more money the Krafts see. For them to change this apathy would require a significant investment in all the things they currently spend little money on. I just dont think they view it as worth it. The only thing that I could see changing this is Chivas level crowds where they cant make money anymore or a cumulative amount of these articles that cause them great embarrassment from a PR perspective.
There's good arguments for DC ... but one shouldn't forget that the owners have publicly committed to $150 million for a stadium ... They also haven't really gone any significant time without a DP. And the academy seems to be operating well and has a respectable manager. Where everything falls apart for DC is in the front office. No technical direction to the team. No scouting. No marketing.
Have the Midnight Riders not show up at all. Let the Fort stay empty. All season long. I think that would do it. And I don't know what the "it" part would be, but I suspect the above action should provoke some type of change.
You think 300 Midnight Riders deciding not to show up is going to cause Bob Kraft some real heartburn?
An empty Fort would suck out any remaining life there is in the stadium. I suspect a complete lack of supporter's activity there should most likely raise the ire of MLS FO, if not Kraft FO.
Yes, it would...but I'm not sure why you think the Krafts would care, as long as the ~13500 other people showed up. Lord knows they aren't showing up for the atmosphere in the first place.
What would happen if MLS put an expansion team near Boston? There is your pressure to get it together or sell.