As Caleb Porter criticism grows louder, his Revolution players are the way out — one way or the other
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'The guys are obviously down, but we'll keep fighting,' Porter said. 'There's no quit in this locker room. Certainly, I'm not a quitter. They're not quitters. We're going to keep going and keep doing our jobs and keep fighting and giving everything we have. Whether we won the game or lost the game, the story would be the same — we have to win the next game. That's the mindset.'
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There have been breakdowns, mistakes, misfortune. Probably the biggest letdown, though, has been misfirings up front.
Leo Campana, projected as a scoring leader, has only four goals and squandered two first-half chances against Montreal. Tomás Chancalay, recovering from knee surgery, expected to find a groove late in the season and has four goals in league after opening the scoring in the third minute Friday. But it has not been enough, and that has helped neutralize the overall rebuild.
Porter's tactics have mostly been effective, the Revolution combining defensive security with sufficient scoring opportunities. The final touch, though, has seldom been there. Nearly a third of the season remains and the attack could yet break out, but it might be too late.
Not that promising or proven strikers guarantee success.
Montreal (4-15-6, 18 points) stands in last place despite Prince-Osei Owusu (11 goals), whose ninth-minute left footer equalized on Friday. Toronto FC (12th place) seemed to have plenty of firepower, but lost Owusu to Montreal, plus let high-priced Federico Bernardeschi (four goals) bolt for Bologna in Italy's Serie A. Atlanta United (13th) acquired Emmanuel Latte Lath (seven goals). D.C. United (14th) boasts Christian Benteke (seven goals), who has been limited by injury.
Caleb Porter has struggled to escape the shadow of the man whom he replaced on the New England sidelines, legendary coach Bruce Arena (right).
Jason Dalrymple/New England Revolution
Then there is the tough-act-to-follow coaching syndrome. Toronto has not finished better than 22d in the overall standings since the departure of Greg Vanney for the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2020. Atlanta has been inconsistent since losing Tata Martino following
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The Revolution are still, apparently, transitioning from Bruce Arena, who was
Porter, who arrived last season, has constructed a balanced roster far from striker-heavy, but the rebuild has been radical. Nineteen players that started at least once last season have been replaced, the team's average age reduced from 30 to 24.6. After three weeks of preseason, the Revolution began with a road-heavy schedule and set up in defend-first mode. The plan functioned well, but they have been unable to transition out of survival mode and capitalize on a now-favorable schedule.
Two Eastern Conference teams have fired coaches, each of whom were (like Porter) hired before the 2024 season. D.C. United went 6-11-7 in all competitions this season under Troy Lesesne, then lost its first three matches under interim replacement Kevin Flanagan. Montreal started the season 0-8-3, replacing Laurent Courtois with interim Marco Donadel after five contests.
Porter deserves time to follow through on this project, but his players' faith in him will determine his fate.
'That's the most important thing, to stay as a team,' midfielder Alhassan Yusuf said. 'We shouldn't get broken, and I think that's the job of the coaches, and also the leaders of the team we have in the squad. So, they have to step up and try to hold everyone together.'
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