When the New England Revolution and D.C. United come together for a tussle, we have a fun or even morbidly entertaining time, discussing the relative state of each team. So I spent some time with Jake Catanese from our Revs friends at The Blazing Musket to learn about what’s going on in Foxboro. For my responses to his questions, do give them a read there!

The District Press: I get doing it for nostalgia’s sake, but from an outsider’s perspective it doesn’t seem like Matt Turner is the answer to the question for the Revs, am I wrong?

The Blazing Musket: No, the Revolution’s biggest issues are actually on the other side of the field with the attack. Mainly our head coach’s absurd logic of not playing a direct counter attacking style with a team that scores almost all of its goals that way…but I digress. 

Bringing back Matt Turner has a clear short term goal of getting him games ahead of the World Cup next year, and there’s no better place for Turner to do that than the place he broke into the USMNT as an MLS Best XI level keeper a few years ago. Now if Turner doesn’t stay past the World Cup (the Revs have an option to buy after the loan ends next summer) then this move will make almost no sense whatsoever. It’s an odd financial move to squeeze Turner in as a DP for a half year before using TAM next year and then you have to figure out what to do with Aljaz Ivacic either via trade/transfer/release/out of contract/etc.

For the record, Ivacic has been fine this year, he was significantly better in the early part of the year and his defense has not been helping him of late but his form is not even close to the biggest factor for the Revs slump. But if New England can bring back a fan favorite and potential USMNT #1 still in the net, I get why they would do it in the middle of a secondary window when there’s clearly much better needs that you probably aren’t going to be able to address until the offseason.

TDP: Since we talked last, the fanbase appears to be taking a bit of action Saturday night. Is there an expected impact with the Rebellion’s demonstrations (no chants, no concessions, etc.)? (Ed: the response to this action is here)

TBM: It’s been a really bad summer for the Revolution front office – your SG’s are mad at you, you’re not really close to making the playoffs, and the 43rd* (*-approx/unofficial) SSS site you want in Everett appears to be heading down the red tape road to nowhere. The supporter’s groups staging a protest on alumni night will probably sting a bit too but if it creates any urgency for Porter to use a sub near the hour mark or Onalfo another roster move, it will be a success.

Whether or not there will be some impact in The Fort not buying a potentially significant amount of overpriced chicken fingers and adult beverages remains to be seen, but financially New England has been doing pretty well attendance wise this year. Gillette has its problems as a soccer site with mediocre at best atmosphere when things are going well on the field, but given the nearly two decades of futility in finding a new site closer to Boston, home is home. And the Revs have been putrid there with just two wins and eight total points in eleven games so far in Foxboro. They have three out of four games at home this month and I can’t imagine losing to D.C. United at home is going to dampen the cries of Porter Out from The Fort. Or The Morgue as we should be calling it cause Gillette is going to be very, very quiet…perhaps uncomfortably so.

I think the writing is on the wall for Porter to be sacked at the end of the season at least, the issue then is does Onalfo go with him. There was a decent chance of Onalfo staying on as sporting director at the beginning of the year but even that idea is fading quickly and probably rightfully so.

TDP: Let’s say if the team hears the Rebellion and decides to part with Curt Onalfo and/or Caleb Porter, most of the senior roster is locked in until the end of 2026; Matt Polster, Brandon Bye are the only ones who can walk at the end of the season and Aljaz Ivacic have club options for next year.

So if a new coach or sporting director comes in, can he really transform this group immediately?

TBM: I am very much of the opinion that the Revs roster is not bad, and I think they should absolutely be making the playoffs. Now, that being said, simply making the playoffs (the play in game does not count) is not an accomplishment when half the league gets in and the first round best of three thing has got to go… but even if I think this New England side is a playoff team I don’t think they’re capable of beating anyone in the Top 4 in the East currently and the two Florida teams are probably outscoring them over three games. Porter was billed as an MLS winning coach, those were the aspirations last year which didn’t go well, and making the playoffs were the goal this year and it’s still not going well.

As far as head coach goes, it’s very simple to everyone not occupying the position now that this is a countering group. They are average at best when they possess and build up play from the back and significantly better when they generate turnovers and go direct the other way. Carles Gil is still playing at an MVP level but the attacking organization around him is just a mess. Some of that can be fixed by having healthy attackers but the Revs are so far away from the team that had Buksa/Bou/Buchanan four years ago. I think in the short term you have to figure out central midfield because Polster is 32 and Jackson Yueill is making seven figures to never get off the bench, and Noel Buck is in San Jose. At this point Yusuf, Polster, and Gil are playing like 99% of the minutes in central midfield and while finding a backup for Carles is probably impossible, I think that’s the position group to focus on in the offseason if your strikers/wingers mostly stick around.

If the Revs opt to also hire a sporting/technical director/GM type as well as a head coach (I’d give the entire set of keys to Jim Curtain right now if he wants them), New England has to get their academy sorted. Yes big names like Esmir Bajraktarevic and Peyton Miller are at this point can’t miss prospects and Miller will get sold in a few years as well, but the Revs have been very wasteful in their youth ranks of late. Olger Escobar’s breakout campaign with Guatemala at the Gold Cup gave the Revs their second straight Young Player of the Tournament there (Buchanan won in 2021 and there wasn’t a winner in ’23), but he was traded to Montreal in the offseason. Attacker Jordan Adebayo-Smith was had his rights shipped off to Minnesota, Justin Rennicks is playing in Finland, and Buck is back with Arena with the Quakes. I’d like to think a number of these players could be doing a job for the Revs this year, especially with Porter constantly not using all his subs the injuries they’ve had up top. 

Talent identification hasn’t been the issue for New England, outside of some fairly miserable SuperDraft classes of late, they’re able to identify solid players abroad but recently the injury bug has bitten the Revs hard and when it does the Revs depth is either sorely lacking or not being used at all. The Revs identity of being a good stepping stone kind of team that will transfer players out could be a good one and I think they want to lean into that with the U22 model, but they need their top end players to be on the field and producing and the last few years that hasn’t been the case.

Lineups/Injuries

Forward Ignatius Ganago (on loan from Nantes) has been out for I think two months now with a quad injury he picked up on international duty, which is a shame cause his brand of attacking chaos was very fun (super aggressive in the box) and very frustrating (can’t buy a finish). Otherwise a full strength roster:

4-2-3-1: Turner; Miller, Ceballos, Fofana, Feingold; Yusuf, Polster; Chancalay, Gil, Langoni; Campana

Prediction: I think this is the Revs best roster provided the attacking four provide a little back-check on the press and then can start some breakouts. If Turner is ready to go after a week of training there’s no reason not to put him in the net regardless of rust. These teams are bad and I want this to be over already, 1-1 draw is fine.