Reflecting on Caleb Porter's 1st Year

With the Revolution officially out of playoff contention, Caleb Porter's first season has been a disappointment

Photo By J. Alexander Dolan

The New England Revolution were officially eliminated from playoff contention on Saturday evening as D.C. United took a 2-1 victory at Gillette Stadium. While the season isn’t officially over, now seems like an appropriate time to look back at Porter’s first season in charge.

Porter entered the season with high expectations. He was a proven MLS Cup winner that was inheriting a mostly unchanged roster from 2023. While finding early success in CONCACAF Champions League play, in MLS the team struggled out of the gate, digging itself a hole that would prove to be too big.

New England opened the season with four straight losses. The Revolution won their first game in MLS against Charlotte FC on April 6 before embarking on a three-game losing streak.

Throughout this stretch, and the season as a whole Caleb Porter dealt with injuries. Tomas Chancalay missed the majority of the season and Dylan Borrero didn’t return until April 27 against Lionel Messi and Inter Miami. Brandon Bye would make his debut as a sub towards the end of June bolstering New England’s back line, albeit well into the season.

The Revolution also had the likes of Carles Gil, Nacho Gil, Giacomo Vrioni, and DeJuan Jones spend time on the sidelines due to injury. Between injuries and poor results, Porter called it the mist difficult season of his MLS coaching career.

“Yeah, by far the most challenging year that I've ever been through, for sure,” Porter said after New England’s loss to D.C. United. “What doesn't kill you makes you stronger is the saying, right? So, in the end, it's been brutal, but I think we've all gotten stronger. We've all learned a lot about ourselves. We've all made mistakes. We are sure all of us can do better, play better, coach better. I still don't think we're far off. We'll see in the next two games, because that's where we need to be. The level of the next two teams, that's the level we need to be at, so we'll see in those next two games where we're at in terms of level. Obviously, we were hoping to squeak in the playoffs. We don't want that to be our standard. We want our standard to be, I've said it, winning trophies. So, I think we've gotten better this year, for sure. It might not seem that way, but 100 percent, we've gotten better, but we still need to continue to get better. That's very evident to me with the ways we're still falling short.”

Around the time of the Miami game, rumors arose that Dave Romney was on the trading block. Romney was spending more time on the bench than on the field but the center back managed to work his way back into the starting XI while DeJuan Jones and Henry Kessler ended up getting traded.

After the loss to D.C. United, Romney took some time to credit Porter for his development as a player.

“I would say for myself, it's been an adjustment but it's something that we've adjusted to and I have a better relationship, obviously now, [with Porter] and I've kind of adapted to a different style,” the center back said. “I think it's worked for me throughout this season and have a good relationship. I can just speak for myself, but I've enjoyed it. It's definitely brought out a part of my game I didn't always have, just being more aggressive and stuff like that so I'm just learning things always, even if I'm 31 now.”

One of the lone bright spots of Porter’s debut season has been the emergence of Esmir Bajrakatrevic. Whether it be for club or country, the winger has had a breakout year.

Bajraktarevic made his debut for Bosnia & Herzegovina’s senior men’s national team where he tallied an assist and also tallied three goals and three assists so far this season with New England.

The faith that Porter has put in Bajraktarevic has helped the winger have such a successful season.

“He's put a lot of trust in me and gave me a lot of playing time, and that's definitely giving me the confidence to do what I do,” the winger said.

But Porter was unable to bring the Revolution to the playoffs, never mind a trophy. The season can only be viewed as a failure no matter the circumstances.

Still, the head coach remains steadfast in his ability to bring the Revolution a trophy, particularly an MLS Cup.

“I am still more convinced than ever that we are going to get to where we need to get,” Porter said. “The vision doesn’t change. It is not a vision you set for one year, it is a long-term vision. Sometimes, it takes two or three years. In Portland, it took three years to win an MLS Cup. In Columbus, it took two. So, you never know the path it is going to take and you never know how that is going to go. It just depends, but I am never more convinced that we are going to get there. Even though we are out of the playoffs, these next two weeks, nothing changes. We are going to keep working, keep building, keep growing, keep fighting, and I expect the players to keep playing to a high standard and to keep showing they want to be a part of the future of this club, to be a part of the project, and that they are on board, they are on the bus, and excited for the future.”

While Porter stressed that it takes time to become a winning team and that it’s a long-term vision, the head coach doesn’t have that luxury. If New England continues to underperform, Porter will be on the hot seat.

So 2025 will be make-or-break for Porter and the Revolution. New England needs to become a contender in the Eastern Conference once again or the club needs to make changes whether that be on the sidelines, on the pitch, or in the front office.