New England Revolution: Bruce Arena picking wrong fight with supporters
By Sam Minton
When talking about how the coronavirus will affect MLS, New England Revolution head coach Bruce Arena has picked a fight with his own team’s supporters. It is the wrong move.
Bruce Arena doesn’t beat around the bush. He tells it like it is. New England Revolution fans — like all fans of the teams Arena has managed throughout the years — have seen this hard-nosed, opinionated attitude plenty of times.
The Revolution have had a disappointing start to the season. They have only tallied one point and have been marred by a variety of issues. Even if their performances have been encouraging, the end result is still somewhat lacking.
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Despite these bright spots, Arena, who is ever the whip-cracker, has seemed to be rather hard on his players. A few well-executed opportunities and the Revs could have been near the top of the Eastern Conference. But that has been the problem for the New England Revolution. They have been able to create scoring opportunities but have struggled to take advantage of them and put the ball in the net.
Arena’s charm was on display in an interview on Tuesday. Reporters asked him about the impact the coronavirus has had on MLS but veered in a different direction when asked about what it would be like to play in an empty stadium. And it seems as though Arena is not happy with the attendance figures in New England.
The former USMNT head coach was asked if it would change things if his team had to play in an empty stadium as has been the case in Italy and other European countries this weekend. Arena responded, wryly, ‘Well, we played in one on Saturday so we are used to it.’
Fans might take the barbed response in several ways. Arena is known for his pointed answers when jousting with the media and there is a degree of acceptance that he will say things like this, but attacking the fans of the team you are the head coach of does not seem like a particularly wise move. He might want to ease off a little.
https://twitter.com/JoeGiza/status/1237441017638531072
15, 289 fans watched New England draw 1-1 with the Chicago Fire at the weekend. The capacity of Gillette Stadium is 20,000 for an MLS game, meaning they filled over three-quarters of their capacity. Admittedly, these numbers rank the Revolution in the depths of MLS attendance rankings. Only the New York Red Bulls and Colorado Rapids fill a smaller percentage of their capacity and only the San Jose Earthquakes and Colorado average fewer supporters per home match this season.
But there are also extenuating circumstances here. It was 30-degree weather for the home opener. A large contingent of the supporters made their way up to Montreal for the season opener the week prior. The fans also deserved better than the result they got on the field. Those that were in attendance cheered for 90 minutes, hoping to see their team pull out a victory. They were left in disappointment, just like Arena.
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So until Bruce Arena and the New England Revolution start winning games, perhaps he needs to focus on the product on the field. The fans are not the reason the Revs have failed to win a game.