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did not exactly reach Turner’s levels, with the duo conceding 16 goals in 8 matches between the two of them. Replacements Brad Knighton and Earl Edwards Jr.

What was often their saving grace was star goalkeeper Matt Turner, who of course departed for Europe in the beginning of the year. Arena’s high risk, high reward system results in a lot of transition defending for the Revolution, who despite their defensive dominance conceded many big chances.

Whether teams are adjusting to playing against them or the quality of play has gone down is a bit of a chicken-egg dilemma, but the goals have slowed down, which will almost always correlate with the points total slowing too.Ĭompounding the offensive mediocrity are unexpected defensive struggles, as the goals allowed per game has risen from 1.21 to 1.45 in a single year. The offensive problem for New England this season has simply been the team not doing things as well as they did last year. Of course Arena is not a one-trick pony, he has one of the league’s best creative players in Carles Gil, who is perfectly capable of playing a precise through ball to tear a team apart through the middle. The Revolution lead the league in crosses into the penalty area, with Gerhard Struber even commenting on their effectiveness. Numbers are poured into the box regularly, leaving ample targets for fullbacks or wingers to cross to when the ball is eventually worked wide. He sets the team up in a fluid 4-4-2 or a 4-2-3-1 depending on striker availability, with his wingers in particular encouraged to take players on and get the ball into the box quickly. Regardless of the reasoning behind it, it’s sure that the über-experienced Bruce Arena has been very disappointed with the way the season has turned out.Īrena has defied the stigma of old, defensive coaches with the Revolution, implementing a direct, transition based system that overran the league in 2021. But the performances have simply not been there, perhaps a victim of their own success as teams are now extra motivated to beat the defending conference champions. Player departures have mauled the organization, with the team losing the likes of Matt Turner, Tajon Buchanan, and Adam Buksa to transfers throughout the course of the year. But in 2022, the Revs have been unrecognizable, currently 8th in the East on PPG, and looking pretty average on the pitch. The 2021 Revolution was one of the most dominant sides the league has ever seen, cruising to a Supporter’s Shield and breaking the points record along the way - naturally, this led to a first-round playoff exit. New England have been the newest addition to the group, turning in an extremely mediocre campaign after the incredible feats they reached in 2021. MLS has a funny way of being unkind to formerly dominant teams, with a plethora of its best squads inexplicably falling apart rather quickly. Of course, it’s not over ‘til it’s over, but the next stop to getting it over with is the faltering New England Revolution. While not technically clinched, New York stands a healthy 9 points above the playoff line, and can even reasonably hope to host their first round game. Despite the loss, there’s plenty of reason for optimism in the fanbase, as the Red Bulls played about as well as you could in a loss, and further solidified their place in the postseason. The promised spectacle of the burgeoning Red Bulls- Philadelphia Union rivalry did not disappoint last Saturday, as a 2-0 New York loss still provided plenty of entertainment, and unfortunate controversy for some English midfielders. Doesn’t that index finger look particularly enticing? Tactics Board I’m not sure how true it is, but I suggest you meditate on that. I once read that humans have enough strength to bite their finger clean off like a carrot, and the only thing preventing us from doing so is our own brains.