Know Thy Enemy: Revolution vs LAFC New Favorite Son Edition
LAFC land a major star for a big time playoff push while New England needs to start thinking about next year.
As the New England Revolution host LAFC tonight at Gillette Stadium (7:30 PM EDT / MLS Season Pass), it’s hard to find two teams with a wider gap as far as season goals right now.
LAFC coming off a record setting transfer signing in Tottenham Hotspur captain Heung-Min Son while the Revs are shedding veterans by waiving Maxi Urutti and Luis Diaz. Not to mention the gulf in the standings, with LAFC sitting fifth in the West with games in hand while the Revs are well below the playoff line in 11th, eight points behind ninth-place Chicago. While the Revs do play the Fire twice in their remaining schedule, I don’t think that decision day game at home is going to mean anything in two months.
It’s not exactly a murderer’s row of opponents left on LAFC’s schedule either, with the Revs, a home-and-home with RSL, games against St. Louis, Toronto, and Atlanta who are all below the playoff line. Yes, LAFC is horrid away from home, with just two wins and 11 points in ten games on the road this year - well off the pace of any of the playoff contenders out West. Perhaps adding a superstar in Son is the move that puts them over the top the rest of the way.
New England on the other hand signaled a different intent, at least I hope so. Releasing Urutti and Diaz who were two of the few regulars Caleb Porter used off the bench now opens up opportunities for the rest of the Revs supplemental/developmental roster to get minutes.
I think Allan Oyirwoth should be getting minutes in central midfield and probably will get moved into one of those supplemental spots though there might be full season loan/international spot regulations to clear up before this can happen and that might have to be done in the winter. Damario McIntosh getting minutes at fullback off the bench over Will Sands at this point would be beneficial as well. Eric Klein and Malcolm Fry are two academy/Revs II regulars that should also be getting looks, which would force New England off of this ridiculous notion that they can still make the playoffs.
Also, just to be clear, the Revs are never going to be an LAFC top transfer spending type of a team and they don’t need to be. I like their current model of U-22 signings, developing and selling youngsters, even if it hasn’t led to much success on the field since winning the Shield. The Revs have never had a talent identification/development problem, but it sure feels like they’ve had more misses recently with Noel Buck and Olger Escobar getting traded away for not much in return.
If New England loses today, they really need to pivot into getting their kids minutes. Right now there is no identity or plan on the field, and starting to get ready for next year and handing significant substitute minutes - twenty to thirty minutes or more, not last second Maxi cameos - is at least accomplishing something.
The Revs might also be in the market for another attacker in Dor Turgeman from Israel as a U-22 signing. Spending the next two months rotating a group of TAM/U-22/DP attackers up front, including one loanee that isn’t likely to return, to chase a playoff spot without integrating any of your lower roster players would perhaps be a bigger failure than missing the playoffs.
This is also an edict that needs to come down from somewhere on high in the Revs front office, as we know Caleb Porter has been trying to figure stuff out on his own for the better part of two years…and that has not been going well. It would be nice to see the Revs end 2025 on something positive, making the play-in game would not qualify as a positive. At the very least I’d like to not complain about substitute usage for the next two months, if I hadn’t lost my sanity years ago I would be losing my mind currently.
Anyway, on to a team that actually should make the playoffs and just became significantly more dangerous. Today we chat with our good friend Trebor Tracy of Angels on Parade on everything the great Son could do the rest of the year and maybe some improved LAFC MLS Cup odds. Be sure to check out Angels on Parade for their game coverage as well.
TBM: So LAFC recently signed Hueng-Min Son, who I hear is pretty good at soccer. What was covering that transfer saga like, how did Son look in his first game for the black and gold?
TT: The transfer saga went from rumor to sure thing really fast. There were whispers for a few weeks, though with LAFC there are always some form of whispers and rumors like with the Griezmann ordeal, but once Son started making it clear he was leaving, it felt like LA was the only destination. Which isn't a surprise, LA are really good at getting in the ear of top players who visit the city whether it be club friendlies in offseasons, or with their respective countries, LAFC always build those relationships early and Son was no different. His first match was really exciting, coming off the bench was a bit expected, and while he didnt play a ton, it was great to see him start building that chemistry with Bouanga.
TBM: Are there any major tactical/formation changes LAFC is going to have to make to accommodate Son? Also, which regular starter could improve the most due to Son's impact on the field?
TT: I think we saw a bit of how Cherundolo will run tactics as we saw a 4-4-2 briefly for the first time, really ever, under this coaching staff. I think more often than not we one of Bouanga or Son start as the focal point with the other either coming off the bench, or playing a more reserved role until needed. I think of the regular starters, players like Nathan Ordaz will do really well to learn from someone like Son. Midfielders like Timothy TIllman and even Mark Delgado will really benefit from having another target to service. Especially if Son can get familiar with them quick, they could see their assist chances skyrocket the latter part of this season.
TBM: It's a loaded top of the Western Conference, but LAFC has a few games in hand from their 5th place position currently. How much higher could they get in the West and how much more dangerous are they to make a deep playoff run?
TT: The games in hand are what are really saving LAFC at the moment. This is a crucial stretch with a handful of matches on the road, where they havent done well all season, so they will need to get results to at the very least, keep pace. At the moment, it feels like if San Diego keep winning and playing well, finishing first wont be in reach, but if LAFC can figure out the away form, this is still a very strong roster that can finish as high as second in the West. However, if they don't figure out the road form, it could be a situation where they are fighting for a postseason spot. I think if they do get to the postseason, they have experience to make them a very difficult draw. At the moment an MLS Cup run feels unlikely, but with Son now here, things can get turned around real quick.
Lineup/Injuries/Predictions/Etc.
Predicted Lineup: Lloris, Palencia, Nielsen, Segura, Hollingshead, Jesus, Tillman, Delgado, Martinez, Ordaz, Son
Injuries: Aaron Long (Season), Jeremy Eboobisse, Maxime Chanot.
Match prediction, LAFC get the draw. This is a team that lately seems to be more focused on not losing away from home than pressing for a win. Think we see them a bit aggressive when Son is on the pitch as he searches for his first LAFC goal, but on the whole, can see this one ending in split points.