Note: the revs have the 7th highest wage bill in MLS (29 teams), $2M more than 13th place NYCFC. Say what you want about NYC, but the checkbook is open in Foxboro. The ability to spend it wisely on the correct players is the bigger rub (#OnalfoOut)
Yeah, I was just paraphrasing Porter, so if this is true then the "backed-into-a-corner" defense appears believable.
I went back and listened again, counting the excuses. For an 8 minute interview, there were a lot: Spaulding red card - mentioned 5 separate times Injuries Changing GKs and CBs (whose fault is that?) Bad luck Five PKs and 2 RC against, none for NYC budget He also said the report of players arguing with coaches after the game was completely false. Note: MAK backed that up by commenting on the tweet, something to the effect of "please don't associate my name with false statements".
Your last statement gives me a little hope that they are -in fact- united. It would be way worse and way more untenable if the other way around.
Listening to the interview didn’t make me feel any better. Travel, Porter, don’t forget travel. One of SN’s favorite excuses. Don’t leave out the oldies but goodies. Maybe we should start a list of excuse ideas. I think he’s going to need some more. We should help the guy out.
I think DaMarcus Beasley said it best in 2002, when someone suggested that the Revs were a better team than their record showed, and they had been the victims of bad luck. "Bad luck? Luck ain't got nothing to do with it. They're a last place team for a reason." Mind you, this was after the Revs had beaten Chicago 5-1 and were about to go on a roll that would eventually lead to a division title and a place in MLS Cup.
Well, the reports of Porter having lost the team were greatly exaggerated. They played hard, they fought hard. But they still can't finish, and they still are not on the same page tactically (note the arguing among the defenders after the NYC goal). Even Charlie Davies commented during one play when two Revs attackers ran into the same space, and the player with the ball (I think it was Carles, can't remember for sure) threw up his hands in frustration. If they continue on the Wooden Spoon pace, and go 0-2 in Leagues Cup, I can see the team making a move then and using the 3-week break to find a replacement for Porter.
I feel like Onalfo hasn't even considered firing Porter, and will not begin to compile the pool of available candidates (he won't consider people who already have jobs) until he's created the vacancy
Whatever they decide on Porter and/or Onalfo, they should allow the person who will be coach and will be implementing the system to choose the players they bring in if they are truly building towards something instead of just hoping that whoever is willing and available can raise the bar. “If I’m going to be asked to cook the meal, I’d like to be able to pick the groceries.” <-Bill Parcells and the next Revs coach if they fire Porter and have somebody else bring in new players.
When learning a new system, players often have to think too much, rather than just play with instinct. I'm sure there's a lot of that going on. I don't think so - it's getting pretty close to a lost season, but I think Porter's %98 guaranteed this season and the start of next. And, he shouldn't, IMO. If you take the time to have a coaching search and hire the guy you think is the right one, you have to give him time to work - even if results get worse before getting better. The results, in terms of getting points, have been dismal. But, IMO, they really aren't that bad. It's been a combination of a lot of injuries, some bad luck, untimely mistakes and an offense that isn't clicking, thus a very narrow margin for error. They've had some really ugly games, no doubt, but I do think they are improving.
Porter is not the only new coach in this league, and many thought that of all of them, Porter inherited the best roster. But these other teams have been able to adapt to the new coach and perform better than the Revs. The Revs have played 13 games, plus 6 more CCC games, together under Porter. The "new system" excuse should be gone by now.
Through 13 games the revs are (remarkably) not having the wirst start in league history. But it's getting close. That doesn't happen just by luck/injuries etc... we have a roster full of professional players. 3 months into the season they know the system, it just stinks
I do think that these two are POOR excuses. I used to think PK disparity was a 'tough luck' kind of stat, but now I believe the complete opposite. The REVS don't have an attack! They don't have playmakers dribbling in the box creating the potential for a 'loose leg' or 'lazy challenge' to draw a red card. So the PKs is not bad luck, it's just another sign of how outplayed the REVS have been. The opponents have put themselves in dangerous positions for PKs while the REVS have not.
Same with red cards. They sometimes happen due to stupidity and bad reffing, but often come from emergency defending in no win situations. That's a tactics thing. What's so impressive with Porter is that he has crafted a system that both does not create attacking danger for PKs but also is wide open in the back leading to the defense being constantly undermanned!
Gratuitous prediction: Atlanta loses tonight, and Pineda gets the ax tomorrow. Gratuitous interpretation: some owners care about results.
Well, according to one stat, xG difference per 90 minutes they are historically bad (albeit with a history that only goes back to 2017) Armchair Analyst: It looks like an all-time great Shield race is brewing, the Rapids & Loons were fun, 5 straight clean sheets for Charlotte & everything else from Matchday 16.Including a Revs team on track to be historically bad.https://t.co/Ou8V0j2q1h pic.twitter.com/loAJprgHHy— Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) May 26, 2024
I agree that Porter and the team should be doing better now, but sometimes things take longer than expected. I don't think management can/should take the attitude that because we haven't gotten the results we would have expected 1/3+ of the way through his first season, that it's a failure that cannot succeed. As for the bolded part above, I'm wondering if we underestimate how damaged the mentality of this roster is, after all the &#^$% they've been put through since last August (which includes the devastating injuries of Borrero and Bye).
There are 10 games left before Leagues Cup. If they continue on at the half-point per game pace over those 10 games, it's time to clean house (and that includes Richie Williams too). Bring in Steve Ralston and hope he can do what Noonan is doing in Cincy.
They should get rid or Snitchie anyway, regardless of the results. But is he like a tenured professor at a university, where they literally cannot fire him for any reason whatsoever, because he's a whistleblower? The Leagues Cup should be a time to take stock. If there are 10 games left, is it too unrealistic to win 5 of them, and at least a couple of draws?
I didn’t bring Snitchie up but since we are on the topic… Has anyone identified a single other person that BA wronged? I still can’t believe the Krafts didn’t (to all outward appearances) fight harder to keep BA. It will be ironic if they either wind up paying a salary to RW for 30 years and/or in court trying to get rid of him. Just rewards for their passive approach to the situation.