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FOXBOROUGH, MA– New England Revolution fans have showcased their displeasure with their team’s front office after I posted a survey that polled 100+ supporter group members.
Fans were asked their ages, length of support, a ranking system of who to blame for the seasons failure (1-6 including the ownership, team president, sporting director, head coach, players, or others), what frustrated them as fans, changes they would make if they were able, and to rank the Revolution first-team rostered players.
All fans polled came from respective fan-led discord servers, private Facebook groups, and on Instagram by fan-led accounts.
March 3, 2024; Revolution fans cheer an early shot during an MLS regular season game between the New England Revolution and Toronto FC at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (c) Burt Granofsky/Prost Amerika
Number of responses in survey: 134
Ages of polled individuals:
Youngest: 13-years-old
Oldest: 74-years-old
Average Age: 34-years-old
Supporter length average duration: 13 years
June 15, 2024; The Fort cheers on the home side during a game between the New England Revolution and Vancouver Whitecaps FC at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (c) Burt Granofsky
Who is to blame for the 2024 failure (via ranking system):
#1 – Sporting Director Curt Onalfo: (32% of first place votes)
#2 – President Brian Bilello: (27% of first place votes)
#3 – Head Coach Caleb Porter: (19.5% of first place votes)
#4 – The Kraft Family: (18% of first place votes)
#5 – The Players: (2.75% of first place votes)
#6 – Other: (0.75% of first place votes)
We’re fed up with the decline of this club. We voiced our displeasure last night.
What do you think needs to change this winter?#NERevs #WheresTheFight pic.twitter.com/Zm5Jpk0bFz
— The Rebellion (@NERebellion) October 7, 2024
Frustrations:
(Imbedded in the survey was a “short answer” section for supporters to showcase their frustrations with the team and its recent results.)
A large quantity of responses showcased the team’s lack of responsibility, lack of support from the Front Office, lack of communication between the Club and Supporters, as well as the incompetence of President Brian Bilello and Sporting Director Curt Onalfo. Below are some of the many responses:
“The FO pretending they care while doing nothing to fix the situation.”
“What frustrates me the most is the club doesn’t change and there is no improvement. I loved the Bruce Arena era of the club; it made me feel so proud of the team. When he left without specific reason, it was heartbreaking. The Kraft’s aren’t properly invested in the club, and nothing excites me about going to Revs games anymore.”
“The absolute complete lack of communication between the club and supporters. They left everyone in the dark during Bruce Arena’s investigation and still no explanation has really been given directly from the club. The team has developed a lot of great players in the last few years and sold players for a lot of money and I have seen very little investment back into the team. Besides Langoni, no one has been a highly valued pick up. Also, letting DeJuan and Kessler go was ridiculous especially because of what we received in these trades. That’s solely on Onalfo. Also, Caleb Porter should have been fired after five games. The fact that he has made it this far has magnified the lack of ambition from the higher ups and ownership.”
“The front office only spends when they feel pressure. I believe they want the Revs to make playoffs but aren’t willing to spend as other teams have been. Not sure what happened with Bruce, but it seems like Onalfo and Richie set him up to take his job and now they are awful doing their jobs.”
There are fans in the fort waving a literal white flag after the #NERevs fall behind 2-0 at home in a must win game. Not great. Also had a banner that read “where’s the fight?” pic.twitter.com/jyorHS6sBl
— Hayden Bird (@haydenhbird) October 5, 2024
Another huge portion of the responses included the lack of a Soccer Specific Stadium. A portion of those responses targeted specifically President Brian Bilello.
“20+ years in the organization, has been working to get a stadium for 15+ and has had zero success? No social media posts in over a year? No statement to Supporters? WHAT DOES BILELLO DO?”
“At this point, Brian should step down before he lets us down another time.”
Two fans chose to answer the question a different way and noted that the team has no hope whatsoever and the results on the field are solely on the Kraft Family & the front office that Caleb Porter was provided with.
“The fact that we don’t have hope. These other newer clubs: LAFC, Atlanta, Miami, they all have hope that success can happen. This club feels so hopeless both on and off the pitch. Even back in 2014 when we lost the cup, I genuinely had good feelings about the future of this team. Now we’re at a crossroads: sell or simmer in mediocrity. The Kraft’s do not care about this team. Bring people in who do. Until then, the revs will be simply a skeleton of a football club, and Gillette will remain lifeless.”
March 17, 2024; The New England Revolution lost 2-1 to FC Cincinnati at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (c) Burt Granofsky
Changes:
(Imbedded in the survey was a “short answer” section with the question: If you could change anything, what would you change about the team?)
In 88/133 (66%) of responses, the Front Office was mentioned in each response.
Below are some of the many responses:
President Brian Bilello and Sporting Director Curt Onalfo pose in a photo.
“New ownership structure. From the Kraft’s to Biello to Onalfo, no one has any care for this team, and we won’t reach anywhere close to where we were a few years ago without change. I am not one who wants Bruce Arena back, because I believe he was let go for a reason, and I trust that whatever he said was enough to get fired. However, what he did give us was passion, and intelligence when it came to running a soccer team, which we have not had since.”
“Fire curt and Brian and get someone new at head coach”
“New upper management and obviously a stadium. The stadium seems to be more in the MA legislation control now but new owners, president, and sporting director for sure.”
“I would change the head coach, the entire front office staff, and a new ownership group”
“Fire Bilello”
“100% fire Curt, Brian and Richie. Porter, I actually think he is okay as a coach but doesn’t have it here and is unlikeable. So, if the results aren’t there it’s tough to keep him around too.”
Giacomo Vrioni (9) celebrates scoring a goal during an MLS match. Image Courtesy of New England Revolution.
A number of the surveys were targeted at forward Giacomo Vrioni, who this season scored 12 goals and registered 2 assists, his best season to date in a New England Revolution kit.
“Desperate need of a new striker and missing other key pieces and I just don’t feel anyone in the office cares about the team.”
“Add a new striker please! I cannot stand another season with Giacomo Vrioni and Bobby Wood!”
“Justin Rennicks would be a better option than both of our strikers right now. If they’re throwing 1 million at anybody, let alone Vrioni, I’ll do it for 20,000 and still be better.”
“Bring in a young striker with potential to create more opportunities depth and pressure for that starting seat. I also feel Onalfo was a poor and rushed hire and should be replaced, however unlikely. After 2023 the staff should have been cleaned out and started fresh. I believe that decision, along with keeping others on board has not allowed this group to build back the stability it needs. The locker room is a mess and is imploding.”
“Get rid of Vrioni and sign a striker”
“Please remove Vrioni, Head Coach, Sporting Director, all upper management”
New England Revolution Old & New Logos.
Many of the supporters also called for the cancelation of the teams rebrand.
“The logo back to crayon flag, reorganize the front office, build a stadium across the street while still utilizing the MBTA line right there”
Revolution Player Rankings:
(Imbedded in the survey was a “Pick-A-Player” section with the question: Who were the top performers of the 2024 season?)
1. Carles Gil (32.5% of the vote)
2. Aljaž Ivačič (28.8% of the vote)
3. Peyton Miller (16.4% of the vote)
4. Brandon Bye (9% of the vote)
5. Luca Langoni (7% of the vote)
(DeJuan Jones (2.5%), Esmir Bajraktarevic (1.7%), Alhassan Yusuf (1%), Ian Harkes (0.7%) & Dave Romney (0.3%) received the remaining most votes.
New England Revolution Logo. Image Courtesy of New England Revolution.
If you would like to add your thoughts to the survey and potentially have your words added to this article, you can add them in the form listed by clicking here
The New England Revolution have been eliminated from the AUDI MLS Cup Playoffs. To watch the rest of the playoffs, you can follow along on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.
(Editor’s Note: For more of Burt Granofsky’s photos, click on the link)
