Of the candidates presented I was most hopinh for Robin Fraser, but Porter was probably my 2nd choice. Savarese and Bradley are good managers, but i dont think either fits our player pool very well. Porter will set us up in a 4231, and well use positional play to try and break down opponents. I think we have the personnel for it, lacking really only in a couple spots. Hope he has the free reign and the rolodex to fill them
I met him at a WC send off game in Hartford. I introduced myself as Chief Master Sergeant Jones and presented him with a Challenge coin on behalf of my Chief's council. it was engraved Good Luck at the WC14. He looked at, gave me an odd look and before I could explain the significance of the coin he said thanks then turned and walked away. He just left me hanging there, not another word. I was like WTF just happened? I didn't expect a huge conversation but that was just odd. Just gave me the impression that I was beneath him and not worth his time
Well, they'd said all along that they were going to hire a DoS first, then that person would hire the coach, so I'll take it on faith that this is Onalfo's call now. - I know things got stale and stagnant in Columbus and he couldn't turn that around ..., but I believe that virtually all talented/intelligent managers (which I believe he is) get a little wiser with each job and learn from each failure. So, I think it can go better - but if all he can do is win an MLS Cup and then nose-dive ... - He's got a solid track record from Akron, Portland and Columbus of getting to the top and we have to be happy with that. - Whoever was going to be hired, a key component was going to have to be working well with Onalfo. I doubt these guys have any history working together, but they must feel comfortable with the prospect of doing so. - The era of the big honcho running the show is over and it's back to team management, for better or worse. - I don't know much about his approach tactically, but I sure hope he can find a way to get us moving the ball quicker and into the attack. I can't remember the last counter-attack goal we had last year ... maybe we didn't have any. I guess I was hoping for Bradley and this pick feels a little surprising - I don't think this is the safe pick for Onalfo.
I'm OK with this. At least we're not Montreal, who are still interviewing possible coaches like Gio Savarese and a few other guys.
MTL does not seem like an attractive location. They gut their roster, sell off everything that isnt bolted down, Losada makes a legit attempt at the playoffs developing young players, and hes out
If Porter crashes and burns, Bilello will be standing behind Onalfo saying, “he did it!!!” Survival man, survival.
Onalfo and Porter were both hired without a single quote from ownership in the press releases. Not a great look.
Nope, it isn't. I think we all pretty much know by now that to the owners, the swockkah team is merely an investment. They know nothing of soccer and they don't really follow the sport. They are about all things pointy-ball. As long as the value of the Revs keeps increasing and as long as there are no fan revolts (see Fire Burns campaign), then they are happy. They really don't agonize about wins and losses like they do with the Pats. They have Brian Bilello to handle day-to-day round-ball affairs. Once we all understand this concept, the less we are outraged from day to day.
Well, the Krafts do "care" about the Revs, but there are a few levels of caring. I liken it to being in the car when a song comes on the radio. If you really like the song, you turn it up. This is the Patriots. If you really hate the song, you change the station. If you are OK with the song, you leave it on. This is the Revs. Sure, Jonathan Kraft once called the MetroStars "a bunch of thugs," which shows he cares at least a little bit, and they would have been thrilled to bask in the glory of winning MLS Cup any of the 5 times we've come close, but to take steps to actually make it happen, well, maybe, maybe not. I thought Ebenezer Kraft had seen the light when he signed Jermaine Jones, who was a genuine game-changer, and later with Arena, but with this year's fiasco where we'll never come close to knowing what actually happened, it looks like the rubber band has snapped back to where it was. I am at least encouraged that Porter is a legit coach and they didn't go with the Heaps/Friedel 2.0 model.
Regarding the Krafts and the Pats, we're about to find out whether they really know what they're doing. The franchise is at a cross roads and now it's on them to right the ship - if they are up to it. Based on how they've run the Revs, Pats fans shouldn't take it for granted that they'll be able to turn the current mess around. I certainly don't.
Yes, agree. It's also not a great look that as the MLS coaching musical chairs winds down, the primary African-American candidate is still looking for a seat. I think this also relates to why the Krafts haven't been visible with the Revs' hirings. With all the Belichick speculating, the Krafts have gone incommunicado on all fronts. I think they've decided, or been advised, to avoid situations where they would be forced to answer questions. Of course they could issue a statement - though that would open them up to 'why can't they make a statement about the Pats coach's future' to a press contingent that is about a zillion times more formidable than the Revs media. It's easier to take a little mild flack here, if anything at all, then to get in an awkward position in the big spotlight. Plus, with someone of Arena's stature, they might have been compelled to provide some public support - who is going to request/demand that now? Billelo, Onalfo?
Spot-on assessment. A dear friend phoned me yesterday, over the moon regarding the Porter hiring. He enthusiastically gushed, "This is a guy who won an NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship at Akron and two MLS Cup Championships, one each with the Portland Timbers and Columbus Crew. The Krafts got this right!" I felt compelled to remind him that Bruce Arena won the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship AND MLS Cup FIVE TIMES EACH!!!!! Somehow, those ten victories didn't translate into Bruce managing to guide the New England Revolution to the MLS promised land. Look, maybe Porter succeeds with the Revs where Arena didn't, maybe he doesn't. I'll say this. Soccer coaches have come and soccer coaches have gone in Foxboro. Ditto for players. There have been 28 MLS championship matches contested in the league's history, the Revolution have taken part in five of them, and the team and its fans are still waiting to get over the hump. My point? It could be that the New England Revolution's biggest problem hasn't been the personnel calling the shots from the sideline or the folks actually taking to the pitch. It could be that the investor-operators of the club for each of its 27 seasons, as well as the senior executive who served as the team's COO for 2 years and has held the position of President for the past 12, are the parties truly responsible for the organization's inability to get out of its own way.
Yeah, good point (though I'm still optimistic that we can win in spite of him/them). It's also occurred to me lately that Billelo is really a mirror-image of Jon Kraft, in the way they always want to put a happy, positive spin on things, but never show the fans enough respect to level with them. Jon Kraft doesn't speak that often, but you never really get anything of substance when he does. And, I think before too long, he'll be the top guy for both teams and he's never given me any reason to have confidence that he is up to either task.
Over the years I don't recall much that Jonathan has said but two things do come to mind: 1. When asked about hiring the right coach: "We need to be principled & disciplined" And, 2. When asked when are we getting our own stadium: "At the end of the day, Gillette Stadium is a great place to watch a soccer game!"
Fond memories of Petulant Jon’s graceful handling of this dustup - https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news...opefully-mayor-walsh-is-more-receptive-to-it/ “Tony Massarotti asked Kraft about the Boston Magazine article which claimed the Krafts are the worst owners in the entire league. Kraft said the story had no credibility. "When reporters call your office a day or two before they tell your PR people that they're publishing a 3,000 or 6,000-word piece on your ownership of the Revolution, and they've been working on it for months, and they call you [days before it runs]. You're a reporter, you know what that means. So it didn't matter what we had to say," Kraft explained. "You know what your journalistic chops are if you call somebody a couple of days before writing something like that when you've been working on it for months."“ https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2014/03/25/bob-kraft-worst-owner-new-england-revolution/4/ “When I requested interviews with the Krafts through Revolution PR, I was never given a reason why Bob would not answer questions. Jonathan, at least, offered an explanation: He said he was too busy preparing for a Patriots playoff game.” IIRC, author (award winning) Kevin Alexander refuted Jon’s comments, saying he had attempted to/made contact with the Krafts organization much earlier, and multiple times. (I cannot track down a link to this, so it’s possible I am not 100% accurate on this) Classic Jon Kraft. I so look forward to him being at the helm of the whole Kraft empire….the future is bright…
And if I remember right, the whole "preparing for the Patriots' playoff game" was something like a day after the last regular season game, a week before the first round bye and 2 weeks before the Pats would play an actual game. And what was he preparing for, going over the playbook with Belichick and Brady?
Jonathan could get Jeff Lemieux to lob softballs at him once or twice a season, and it would be an improvement over what I've seen from them over the past few years.
I like the Caleb Porter hire. I was a fan of his when he coached Akron and Portland, so maybe we can get that coach back. I read what the Columbus fan wrote, a stubborn old coach who is stuck in his ways, never seen that before!
Well, Maz is a dick, but beyond that, they really had no defense/excuses, so all you can do is evade addressing the issue. At least they did take decisive and effective action, finally. Well, in JK's defense, Bob Kraft has never had much to do with the Revs - it's been delegated to Jon, who has delegated it to ... So, #1, it must be pretty insulting to Jon to have reporters hounding him about interviewing his father about the Revs, and #2 it's always been clear that Bob Kraft's passion and interest was almost entirely about the Pats, even if an owner being too busy 'preparing' for any game is total BS.
Yeah, and that's exactly what strikes me about Bilello - same kind of attitude, you only deserve the information that I'm willing to give you. I'd guess that Bilello has gotten his executive training straight from Jon Kraft as he's reflected that same empirical attitude. Will be an interesting Q&A at the season-ticketholder event prior to the season - I imagine they'll be prepared to switch off mikes as needed.
Not exactly excited, but at least it's someone with MLS experience and success. I never liked Bruce before he was hired but at least I respected him. Porter, on the other hand, is someone I have very little respect for. He is a sore loser and a sore winner, a constant whiner, he'll rub it in your face when it's going well but everyone else is to blame when it's not going well. It's gonna take a lot of winning for him to earn my respect.
Haven't heard a whisper about who Porter is going to bring in for his staff. Other than GK coach and maybe training staff, they need a full contingent. His assistants in Cbus were: Pablo Moreira, Tim Hanley, Eric Quill and Blair Gavin. I didn't see any updated employment info on Moreira, so he may be available - Hanley is a goalkeeper coach and Quill and Gavin are USL head coaches.
I had never seen any articles that were this specific: https://www.theblazingmusket.com/p/report-bruce-arena-reinstated-mls-dc-united I remain extremely confused about what was so bad but only required about 3 months beyond his resignation to purge.