Atlanta United vs. New England Revolution preview: Three questions with The Blazing Musket

After just under two seasons, the Caleb Porter era came to an end in New England as the Revolution parted ways with the embattled head coach. Porter joined the club after Bruce Arena’s departure (the specifics of which we still don’t know) and, well, let’s just say he never caught on. Now the Revs, who, like Atlanta United, are out of playoff contention, are on the hunt for a new head coach.

To get the scoop on the Revs, we reached out to our good friend Jake Catanese from The Blazing Musket.

What went wrong during the Caleb Porter era? Based on some of what I’ve read (and based on the number of players that left to join Bruce Arena in San Jose), it sounds as if the culture under Porter was more than a little toxic.

Let me explain…no, there is too much, let me sum up. The Porter Era was established on the premise that New England was going to run it back with more or less the same team that had been second in the East prior to Bruce Arena’s initial suspension in 2023. The Revs didn’t make a ton of offseason moves for Porter, started horribly and with several injuries, and ended up needing Aljaz Ivacic to stabilize the goalkeeping spot a couple of months in via a trade. His possession based system was always ill-fitting for the pacey Revolution ,and the team got caught in their own half a lot to the tune of 70+ GA in 2024. Even with the massive trade for Leo Campana this past offseason, the Revs struggled to generate the big chances like they did in the Bou/Buksa/Buchanan era with Carles Gil pulling the strings.

As far as the locker room toxicity, I am literally never in that place — I live three hours away — and rarely join any media Zoom calls for postgame or midweek pressers, so I don’t have any firsthand knowledge here. However, Caleb Pongratz’s article for Prost Sports is particularly damning but not surprising given Porter’s interactions with the media and the one time he tried to figuratively bite off our managing edtior Sam Lattof’s head so badly it actually made the rounds on Boston sports talk radio.

As head coach, Porter was largely set in his ways, and tried to repeatedly fit a round peg into a square hole, which is ironic because the one time he actually moved off his 4-2-3-1 and into a 5-3-2 wingback look out of necessity due to injuries is probably when the Revs played their best soccer this year. That formation highlighted both of the Revs’ outside defenders — Peyton Miller and Ilay Feingold — who both are on MLS’ 22 Under 22 list and was about the most dynamic and direct the Revs ever were under Porter.

Despite the disastrous tenure as head coach, the Revs do have some quality on the roster. The two new center backs, Mamadou Fofana and Bryan Ceballos, did improve the defense greatly, and Allan Oyirwoth is one to watch for the future. But the new head coach will have to sort out a still dysfunctional attacking group with Leo Campana, Tomas Chancalay, Luca Langoni, and new striker Dor Turgeman. 

Jim Curtin has been reportedly contacted for the vacancy, but that’s the only name linked to the Revs so far. Do you feel they’ll continue to target coaches with previous head coaching experience like they have with Arena and Porter, bring in a successful assistant within the league, or look outside the league?

I am very much in the Team Curtin camp, not just for his MLS prowess but also his youth development acumen as well. I think there has been a disconnect the past few years (not just the Porter era) with the Revs’ academy system. Yes, they hit on blue chippers like Esmir Bajraktarevic and Peyton Miller, but given the amount of injuries the team has had the last two years, the lack of playing time for homegrowns has bothered me. Add in selling low on Noel Buck (San Jose), Olger Escobar (Montreal), Justin Rennicks (Finland) and Jordan Adebayo-Smith (Minnesota), and I’m thinking those four in particular could have helped you a bunch the last two years if situations had been managed better across the board.

I would imagine the Revs’ search would mostly feature coaches with MLS experience, and Curtin should be the first call out of that list. Gio Savarese got a good look last time as well, and Rob Valentino has also gotten a shout being a former Revs player — we remember his good spells as Atlanta interim. If Curt Onalfo is sticking around as GM, I don’t think someone from outside the league should be off the table because you would have someone with the expertise in league mechanisms/trades/etc. to backup a good coach.

That being said, like when the Revs hired Bruce Arena, if Curtin wants the keys to the operation as well as the head coaching spot, I think that’s an easy decision to bring in arguably the best available MLS coach.

The Revs are, of course, in the same boat as Atlanta in that they’ll miss the playoffs. What are you hoping to see over these last three matches?

Hang on, let me find that article I wrote like a week ago.

The short version (TL;DR – do the kids still use that?) is to play the kids, and hopefully that means a heavy dose of Allan Oyirwoth in central midfield. He’s still a raw prospect from Uganda but had overseas interest and it’s easy to see why – high motor, some playmaking ability, solid two-way player. Basically the Revs are his first professional stop and I think it’s great he doesn’t look out of place in his limited MLS minutes. I’m really excited to see how he develops. He should be getting regular minutes next year, even if it’s off the bench – and it’s possible he can spell Carles Gil at the #10 role too.

The big move secured a while back is Israeli international Dor Turgeman, but he’ll make his debut this week (hopefully). An international break and visa paperwork held up his first Revs appearance until now, but essentially this is a three game pre-season stint for him and the Revs to figure out as much as they can. An out and out striker, does he play best by himself, with a partner, can he both a hold up option and a facilitator? It’s asking a lot from him in three games, but with no pressure needed from the results, the Revs can tinker around freely and hopefully gain enough information to help whatever offseason strategy they have.