Caleb Porter Continues Conversation on 2021 New England Revolution

Boston.com's Hayden Bird asked the head coach about the comments on Tuesday.

Photo By J. Alexander Dolan

The conversation regarding Caleb Porter’s comments has heated up once again, with the head coach being asked about remarks he made after a 2-1 win over the Columbus Crew on Saturday night.

For those that might have missed it, here is what Porter said postgame when asked about Matt Turner’s performance, where he meanders into discussing the 2021 Revs.

“This is a sport where the margins come in the form of the boxes,” he said. “ I’ve said it all year. We’ve been pretty good, box to box. We’ve been in every game, and that’s the broken record, and people don’t like hearing that, but that’s the reality. We have been in every game against the best teams in the league, whether you’re talking about Miami, Nashville, we’re in those positions. We’re in and around the goal to score, and we’re in and around the goal to stop goals. Matt Turner, he swings the margins. Just like in 2021, he swung the margins. I was on the other side [as Head Coach of Columbus], we’d play New England and you’d say, ‘Ah they’re not that good and they don’t really dictate the game, and this and that.’ But Matt Turner would stand on his head and stop goals, and keep you in the game. Then Gustavo [Bou] or Adam [Buksa] would find a goal, and then that was what happened. Was it great soccer? No but the margins come in the boxes and the personnel.”

Fast forward to Tuesday, when Bird made the trek to Gillette Stadium and attended Revolution training. During media availability with the head coach, the Boston.com reporter provided an opportunity for him to clarify his remarks. Immediately after a match, it can sometimes be challenging to completely illustrate your point.

Here is the transcript from Bird.

Boston.com: You referenced the ’21 team and obviously the comments that you made in postgame on Saturday, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask about that a little bit.

Caleb Porter: It’s what I just said. I just talked about it.

Boston.com: And just in a sense of you said they played a not great brand of soccer, but I know in the moment…

Porter: I did not say that. That’s…you’re putting words in my mouth. I did not say that. I said they didn’t dictate the game.

Boston.com: Well, you said, you know, Bou and Buksa would score. Was it a great style of soccer? No…but look, I know in the moment when you’re answering a question extemporaneously, you don’t always add all the nuance you want.

Porter: You’re putting words in my mouth. I did not say that. The words you’re saying right now, I did not say.

The reporter tried to move on from the subject, but when answering a question about New England’s upcoming matches, Porter returned to the subject.

“Everything’s good right now,” he said. “We’ve won two of our last three, we know we have to keep winning. So, you know, again, people can come here and look for things and look for problems. There are no problems. You know, I don’t know why you’re doing that today.”

With just seven games remaining in the season, points will be at a premium for New England. Next up is a match at home, which presents a great opportunity to build some momentum. However, the Revs have currently struggled at Gillette Stadium, with a 3-8-2 record at home. Additionally, the team is on the precipice of missing the playoffs for the second straight season, currently sitting in 11th place.

After the dust had settled, Bird noted that Porter offered to clarify his comments.

“When you listen to it, I wasn’t bashing the ’21 team at all,” Porter told Boston.com. “In a lot of ways, I was basically saying forget whether it’s good soccer or bad soccer. It’s about winning. And that’s what we did in the Columbus game and that’s what the ’21 team did game after game after game. I was showing in that moment, if you listen to it, respect for Turner, the formula, the way they won games and that they didn’t [care] how it looked. I basically was saying, if you look at the ’21 team, they won games and they didn’t do it by dictating the game, which is part of my quote.”

Additionally, Porter told Boston.com that his intention was never to disparage the 2021 team that held the previous record for most points in an MLS season prior to the arrival of Lionel Messi and brought the club its first league trophy.

“I mean, if I would’ve said, ‘Was it great soccer? Who cares,’ then that would’ve been a whole different thing,” he told Boston.com. “That’s more of what I meant. Like it doesn’t matter. Win the game. That’s all I meant.”