This is the Revolution: "All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun."
As upset as some of us are, please remember there are those that still are OK with what's going on, because "we have a team."
We'd hear that about 10 years ago when we were a 12-team league and there were a lot of major markets without teams, but now? Who (besides Austin/Columbus) would say that now? But if we're looking for silver linings among all the clouds, at least the Montreal fans said that we were a lot nicer than the Toronto fans! Some guy was absolutely floored that I had not only heard of the Sherbrooke Castors, but I could name like 5-6 other teams in the "Q"
I've never been more deflated at the conclusion of a Revo season. I just see no reasons for optimism going forward. Burns is incompetent. The owner doesn't care unless he gets some negative publicity. And Friedel fills no one with confidence after his first season. The players he brought in were duds. Others were banished without explanation. We played a boring style. At least Heaps was a motivator, who played attractive, possession soccer. Is that what we're reduced to, nostalgia for the Heaps era?
At this late hour, on a Wednesday in the month of October, the answer is "Yes, that is what we've been reduced to.......". Better to have kept Heaps, and fortified the team with just one "not too far from the ballpark of Jones" player, than what has been "constructed" this year.
What did he motivate, exactly? I remember, clearly, players giving up on him. Jermaine Jones was the motivator that lengthened his stay at the helm. Leadership was clearly gone after he left. Lee practically threw away the captain's armband. Heaps style was attractive, in the beginning, before it got all figured out, and it revealed he was a one-trick pony. Barring injuries, you could predict the lineup nearly every game, no matter if that lineup was delivering or not. Possession soccer is only good if you can do something with it, and while we passed that ball, nothing comes of it if no one dares to penetrated the final third or shoots. How many goals did we score in that 'attractive' style? How many did we concede? And everything was the ref's fault, a string of bad luck. There was no accountability. Just bad luck. That was the Heaps era people are so nostalgic for. Brad's team, and style, did great. For the first half of the season. And then it went horrific in the second half. It really was a Tale of Two Seasons. I believe the turning point was that last second loss to LA in front of a massive home crowd that didn't come for them, but for Zlatan. A good performance would've brought those fans back. And they lost. This team's mentality is absolutely fragile, and it cracked after that. These are players on an organization that never faces criticism. Never. This is a complacent, let's just make it to the playoffs kind of team. If you screw up one game, no worries, you're still starting the next one. That is Kraft influence, but Heaps kept that up, too. He kept playing Lee even though Lee reportedly did the opposite of his instructions, over and over, on the field. And for people complaining about Brad calling out his players... isn't that what we wanted? Accountability? Is it such a surprise players aren't handling it well, when they've never been criticized here? (sorry for possibly sounding triggered, @eric_appleby , it's just I stopped watching the latter Heaps era seasons because I saw dead motivation in players, and did not see attractive soccer that generated excitement and results in front of goal. And it was the same lineup, the same tactics, and personnel I didn't understand why we kept such a vice grip on. I couldn't cheer a team that gives up easily and was only ambitious enough to hope for a playoff spot they didn't deserve)
The problem, Doublecard, is that Brad's version of the Revs looked less motivated, less talented, less cohesive, less dangerous, than the Heaps version. Brad's version of the Revs also looked more confused, more inept, more thuggish, more desperate, more unimaginative, more boring, and much more distant from what the talents of a Jones level player could do for them as a difference maker. Since I agree with you that Heaps was a failure, it says everything about how poor this past year has played out that, in retrospect, Heaps is beginning to look not so bad at all.
I agree, that that’s how they looked in the second half of the season. In the first half, they did much better than they should of, and got many results early in the season where they’ve historically get off to a slow start. That’s something I can’t ignore. Something Friedel did worked, for a good spell. It’s fascinating how they completely nosedived after the LA loss. I’m wondering how things can go so well in the first chunk of the season and completely free fall in the second.
Heaps' biggest problem was that he was totally bereft of ideas once teams started to adjust to his tactics. He had no in-game strategy of seeing certain things, and being able to either bring in a sub who would be effective, or have the guys already in the game use a different tactic. Freidel was similar, but on a longer term scale. They started out the season well, but at some point, other teams figured out how to counter against the press. Freidel needed to come up with something else to counter that, whether different personnel, a different formation or whatever. At the end of the day, that didn't happen and the players lost their motivation and whatever edge they had earlier in the year. This is something he needs to get back (how, I don't know), otherwise, we'll be challenging Chivas and the 1999 Metros for a place in MLS lore.
I was no Heaps fan and have one eyebrow raised on Brad but if we look at the numbers below, Heaps barely out preformed during his post JJ years: Year ________ Points _________Coach 2018 _________ 41 ___________Brad 2017 _________ 45 ___________Heaps 2016 _________ 42 ___________Heaps 2015 _________ 50 ___________Heaps (w/JJ) 2014 _________ 55 ___________Heaps (w/JJ) So for my money, Brad needs to show something next year because right now, Heaps has him beat and that's not saying much. It also goes to show just how much difference one top tier player can make. Something Burns has never understood ...... or is unwilling to pay for. We should all pay close attention to the off season activities as they will be critical. Burns is famous for doing next to nothing during the off season and that has to change. If camp starts, and we have few new, high quality players then how can we expect any different results? Brad has to realize he has to push for more and better players or he'll be on the street..... not Burns..... and the Revs will again be a cellar dweller.
The only truly significant variable different this offseason than last is indeed Brad Friedel. I think keeping a close eye on what he says, what he does, and whether or not it has any impact on prior years status quo is the only thing of interest this offseason. The rest of it, well, it's all the same, and therefore will produce very similar (possibly even the exact same) results as prior years unless Brad really does have some new type of influence we haven't seen in past recent years. If Brad can't punch above Jay's level of influence, then I am truly dismayed for where the org is headed. The $35M Training Center is at best an interesting distraction, but has no real bearing on what's truly important over the next couple of seasons. What the head coach and the talent acquisition folks are able to accomplish is what really matters for now.
Let me clarify, I'm not pining for the return of Heaps. I'm saying that Friedel looks like a regression, after his first season. The high press will not work in the North American summer. And some of his comments are concerning. The players are too friendly to newcomers? What does he want , a locker room with cliques? Too bad there are no soccer journalists in this town. I'd like to know wth happened with Dielna? He was one of our better players early on, then he was disappeared.
Well, the fact that Friedel jettisoned several talented players (Nguyen, Kamara, Nemeth) and several others who were at least competent players completely fell out of favor, it shouldn't shock anyone that the team is no better than last year's version. Sure, we brought it a couple of good players and a few mediocre ones, but that's always the problem with this team. They cut the costs before bringing in replacements. There is never a guarantee that the new guys will be as good as the guys they are supposed to replace. And let's be honest, aside from a couple of times the blind squirrel found nut, the track record for any kind of new players is pretty poor overall.