Revolution Continues to Spin Off Its Axis
This perhaps is not the moment to remind Thomas Rongen of something he said four months ago. But then again, why not?
“Not to be cocky, but our ultimate goal is to advance one or two rounds in the playoffs,” the New England Revolution coach told the Boston Globe in April. “I’m not concerned at all about our record now. This team has too much going for it not to get results. I have a good feeling about this team from a chemistry standpoint.”
The Revolution was 0-3 when Rongen voiced those words.
Today, going into its nationally televised game against the Galaxy at Foxboro, Mass., New England is a league-worst 8-17 and struggling more than ever.
The Columbus Crew gave the Revolution a blunt reminder of its shortcomings earlier this month with a 6-1 victory in Ohio, after which New England midfielder-defender Edwin Gorter delivered one of the more memorable quotes of the Major League Soccer season.
“It is better to lose once, 6-1, than to lose four times, 2-0,” he said, borrowing liberally from former Revolution goalkeeper Walter Zenga, who said much the same thing last year.
Still, despite one disastrous season after another, New England fans have remained loyal, and the club ranks third behind the Galaxy and the Chicago Fire in average attendance with 17,152 a game showing up at Foxboro Stadium.
Media jibes have neither lessened fan interest nor stirred the team to any extent.
“The Revolution has now lost so many games in so many ways that losing has become expected,” the Globe’s Frank Dell’Apa wrote recently.
Which is surprising, because the Revolution roster is not that weak and includes U.S. national team players Mike Burns and Joe-Max Moore; El Salvador national team striker Raul Diaz Arce, the league’s all-time leading goal scorer; and up-and-coming youngster Jamar Beasley, 17, drafted straight out of high school and already making an impact as a member of the U.S. under-20 national team.
With crowd support, a reasonable group of players and the financial backing of the Kraft family, New England should be one of the league’s top teams. Instead, this season it has set an MLS record for consecutive home defeats with eight and tied last year’s league mark with nine successive regular-season losses. The players can’t explain why.
“I’ve always thought we had the talent to win games with this team,” Moore, a former UCLA standout, said recently. “It’s just crazy that this team doesn’t have a lot of wins. I have no idea why we don’t. It’s like we’ve been jinxed for three years; something is not allowing this team to win. It’s not the coach. The coaching staff has all done a good job. But it is so hard to go year after year without winning.”
Burns was equally baffled.
“We never thought we would be in this situation again,” he told the Globe earlier this month. “The expectations of the coaches, players, management, owners are so much higher than this.
“I can’t say we’ve been unlucky, not with our record. But it’s not one area or one player, it’s everyone. It’s a combination of everything. We’ve never been on the same page all year. It’s disappointing. We’re in our third season and we are in the same situation as Year 1 and Year 2. . . . The only way to salvage the season is to get into the playoffs, and it’s remarkable we still have a chance to do that.”
To bolster that effort, the Revolution tried to get midfielder Carlos Valderrama from the Miami Fusion for Moore, but the trade fell through when Valderrama’s wife objected to swapping the sunshine for the snow.
Instead, the Revolution last week traded Colombian midfielder Oscar Pareja to the Dallas Burn for Mexican forward Damian. Today’s game will be Damian’s New England debut.
