“We’re all part of Heaps’ Army, we’re all off to win the league, and we’ll really shake them up when we win the cup, because New England has the greatest football team”
It is part of a chant sung by the passionate supporters groups in the Fort that have stuck by the Revolution for 22 tumultuous years. I cannot say I would chant this anymore.
To clarify, I absolutely loved Jay Heaps as a player. He was a great defender/midfielder for the Revs for eight great years. He was always a strong presence on the field wherever he played. I just don’t believe that he is fit to be the Revolution coach anymore.
Yes, Heaps has been behind them when the Revs have gone for a MLS Cup run in 2014. Beyond that, there is no telling reason to keep a man who has lost the will to win. 38 percent of games played during regular season play under Heaps have been losses. As we continue to lose this year under Heaps’, his loss percentage over six seasons grows.
To compare, the previous head coach, Steve Nicol, had a loss percentage of just under 37 percent over 10 seasons. If you take 2003-2008 as a six-year comparison, Nicol had a loss percentage of 30 percent. In those years he had given us four MLS Cup runs, one US Open Cup Championship trophy and one SuperLiga trophy.
There are enough talented players on the current team in 2017 that should allow Jay to have a contending team this season. New England have Kei Kamara, who was previously the joint top-goalscorer of the year for 2015 in Columbus with 22 goals in the regular season. Lee Nguyen who had a crack-up year in 2014 scoring 18 goals. Diego Fagundez, who scored 13 goals in 34 appearances
They bought two new defenders this year – Antonio Delemea and Benjamin Angoua – who have made a name for themselves with strong showings throughout the season. Continuing through with great strength in the midfield, we recently received Gershon Koffie back from Hammarby IF in Sweden on loan.
The Revolution have skillful players that should be being used correctly in their positions. Kelyn Rowe has recently been being used as a defender/midfielder with the Revolution. As we have seen in the US men’s national soccer team games, he has been playing as a winger. It seems that a change in strategy and location of playing that Rowe flourishes under another coach’s ideas.
I don’t entirely put the blame on Jay. The GM of the team Mike Burns has also not provided a full roster. Right now, the roster of the Revolution has room for six more players to provide depth for a severely lacking team. The Revs also have had an absentee team owner, Robert Kraft, who has just recently announced spending $20 million on an eSports team for the game Overwatch. Kraft would rather spend his money elsewhere.
That being said, Heaps is no longer the revolutionary that New England needs. The Revs need a strong-minded coach to come in and change the necessary. A losing coach will not bring in strong players to our team. Replacing Heaps could be the spark for a lot of new signings and a revival of team spirit across the board. If you check Twitter under the #NERevs, all you see right now is negativity and barrages of harsh words for the team. New England needs change and it needs it now.
Photo Credit: Twitter.com
