Usseglio: Enough is Enough

Change is Needed in New England

Photo By J. Alexander Dolan

Here is a hypothetical question for you. Let’s say your team is playing a must-win game at home to keep your playoff hopes alive. In what minute of the game do you think your team will have its first shot on goal?

The first minute? Tenth minute? Maybe the 20th minute if it really takes a while for your team to get going? Well, for the New England Revolution, their first shot on goal in a must-win game at home against Orlando City came in the 55^th minute.

The Revs had zero shots on goal in the first half. Zero.

Pathetic.

This is not working. The sample size is big enough. It has been for a while. What more do we need to see?

The Revolution under Caleb Porter do not generate enough chances to win games. Especially when you consider the fact that they struggle to convert the very few chances they do create.

On top of that, they get broken so easily in defense, giving up goals that professional teams should not give up. Case and point was the first goal Orlando scored on Saturday night, which came from a simple ball over the top of the Revs back line.

A second piece of evidence: when the Revs did actually get their first shot on goal, which was scored by Tomás Chancalay in the 55^th minute, they then proceeded to give up a second goal to Orlando three minutes later.

It has not been good enough. Not for a long time.

We were told last year, in Caleb Porter’s introductory press conference, that the Revolution had a win-now roster. That they expected to be a top team in the league and compete for an MLS Cup. We were also told that muscle injuries were entirely preventable.

This year we were told that the old players actually did not fit Porter’s system so the roster had to be overhauled. Everybody out. Fire sale. We had to bring in a ton of new faces. Now this was Porter’s team, formed in his own image.

We were told the players would fit his system. A system that would bring the Revs their first MLS Cup, as it had previously in Portland and Columbus.

Then we were told these players needed more time to gel in their first season together. Pay no mind to San Diego, a team at the top of the Western Conference in their first season, made up of players who have literally never played together.

Next, we were told that injuries and congested schedules were to blame. That the players being called into action from the bench were not up to the level needed to get results in this league.

When is it enough?

Correct me if I am wrong here. Wasn’t tonight’s game against Orlando City a must win game? Would you know that by how the team performed?

Does a good team only win two home games by the middle of July?

Can you really say at this point that the Revs have just been unlucky? Catching bad breaks?

If something is always wrong, if there is always something preventing the Revs from succeeding, at what point do you run out of things to point your finger at?

What will be the excuse for the result Saturday night against Orlando?

At some point, you have to admit that whatever you are trying to do is not working. We are there. We have been there for a while.

Change is needed in New England. The players are giving their all. The talent should be enough to make the playoffs. There are certainly holes in the roster and a lack of depth at key spots, but there are talented players in the team.

The system is simply not working.

Can you imagine what would happen if the New England Patriots had successive terrible seasons? Oh wait. We don’t have to imagine that. Have the Kraft’s kept silent about the struggles of the Pats? Or have they spoken out? Have they actively tried to make things better?

I ask the following question sincerely. Has anyone heard from Robert or Jonathan Kraft about the state of the Revolution within the past 2 years? Has anyone heard from Brian Bilello this season?

Why is this acceptable? If you are an owner that is invested in your team and wants to see them win, why haven’t you said anything? We don’t see or hear from the owners about this team. They don’t care. I am sorry, but that is the message I am getting from your silence.

You don’t care. You don’t care about the fans that keep showing up in your stadium to root on a team that has won twice at home this year. For a team that has been stagnant for years. For a franchise that has not made a dent in the Boston sports market like so many other MLS teams have done in their own markets. Soccer is thriving in many places in America. What have the owners done to make soccer thrive here?

When you don’t say anything, the message you send to the fans is that you accept mediocrity.

Mediocrity is where the Revs have been for two years now. What else are we supposed to think if you don’t take five minutes out of your day to let us know that this isn’t acceptable? That change is needed. That you take winning seriously. That you take this team seriously.

Revolution fans have suffered enough. The Foxboro Faithful are still showing up and trying to support the team despite not receiving anything in return.

How can this be acceptable to you? This is a game of results. The sample size is sufficient. The results have not been there under Caleb Porter.

If I had a say in the direction of the team, I would submit a vote of no confidence in the leadership of Curt Onalfo and Caleb Porter.

Unfortunately for me, the Revs organization doesn’t give a damn about what the fans think. If they did, someone from ownership would have spoken about the unacceptable state of the team. As I wrote last September, their silence has been deafening.

Change is needed. Now.