Caleb Porter Discusses His Starting 11
Porter: "I probably have 14 starters, 15 starters. It's just a matter of picking the 11 I want for that game tactically."
Head coach Caleb Porter believes he has a deep squad, which is essential because the New England Revolution start the year with four competitive games in 11 days.
The Revs got their first win of 2024 on Wednesday when they defeated CA Independiente 1-0 in the first leg of Round One of the Concacaf Champions Cup.
On Saturday, they will begin their MLS campaign when they travel to face D.C. United.
“It's always tricky to start the years because you want to get off to a good start,” Porter explained. “We're juggling multiple competitions, and you want to get off to a good start in both the league and the Concacaf Champions Cup.
“You also want to keep building, and to build you need continuity. I've always felt that it's important to build that durability in your team as well early in the year.”
Porter will look to put out a strong lineup for every game during this busy, early stretch. This means that the starting 11 that featured against Independiente isn’t necessarily the first-choice lineup going forward.
“I think without knowing on the inside our mindset, you might think that [the lineup used against Independiente] was the starting 11, but you don't know what we know about D.C. and what our thoughts were on that game,” Porter said.
“And in the end, I think over the two games, you might see a little bit where we're at on a starting 11, so I don't view the first game as my top group because D.C. is a very good team, and you could argue, actually, they are a stronger team than the team we played in Panama, so we needed to keep some bullets in the barrel for that game knowing that we needed more strength than in that game.”
Porter said that he has several players who can step into the starting lineup at any given time. He explained, “I probably have 14 starters, 15 starters. It's just a matter of picking the 11 I want for that game tactically.”
He also noted, “You could probably look at the subs I made [on Wednesday] and figure out a little bit where we're at on certain positions.”
Esmir Bajraktarevic is one player who has “done very well,” according to Porter. He added, “I view him as a starter for sure.”
Porter went on to identify Noel Buck, Jonathan Mensah, Ema Boateng, Ian Harkes, Bobby Wood as starting-caliber players.
He expressed that Henry Kessler, who is listed as questionable on the most recent injury report with a left abductor injury, is “for sure going to be a starting player [this year].”
With only three days between the Independiente and D.C. United games, there will likely be some changes to the starting lineup. At the same time, it’s important not to change too much.
Porter stated, “Analytics show you start rotating over five guys, you don't win. So, there won't be five or six rotations in this game.”
Porter also said, “If you rotate too much, you don't have continuity and you don't build that consistency or that durability. The only way you can manage these windows is to get your guys used to managing them, which means you keep a core in, and you keep them playing.
“You really have to worry about, I think when you get to the third game, that becomes a little bit more of an issue. So, you kind of have to look at your group as a whole for sure, look at individuals and where they're at, their previous injury history and figure out a rotation.”