Tag: Supporters’ Shield

Caleb Porter guarantees last-place Revs will beat Charlotte FC

This one could really backfire on the Revs coach

The pressure is already growing on Caleb Porter just a couple months into his tenure as New England Revolution head coach.

Now, Porter has taken a step that will undoubtedly ratchet that pressure up even more.

In an appearance on a Boston radio station, Porter guaranteed the Revs would defeat Charlotte FC at Gillette Stadium on Saturday.

The promise was notable, given the Revs are currently the worst team in MLS on a points-per-game basis. Porter’s side has one draw and four defeats in five games thus far, with a league-worst goal differential of -7.

New England is also coming off a dismal 4-0 home loss against Club América on Tuesday, essentially ending their Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal tie after just one leg.

Porter appeared on 98.5 The Sports Hub on Thursday, and closed out his interview by saying: “We’re going to get a win Saturday. I promise that.”

Word of Porter’s guarantee quickly reached Dean Smith, whose Charlotte  side currently sits six places and seven points above the Revs in the table.

“He shouldn’t make promises he might not be able to keep,” the coach fired back.

Whether Porter’s guarantee ends up being suicidal or a brilliant bit of motivation, we have to give the coach credit for turning a nondescript early-season matchup into a game MLS fans will now be closely monitoring.

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FC Cincinnati coach Noonan: Supporters’ Shield more relevant than MLS Cup

Noonan’s side clinched the Shield with a win at Toronto FC on Saturday

FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan has said he believes the Supporters’ Shield is now more relevant than MLS Cup.

Noonan’s side clinched the Supporters’ Shield on Saturday with a 3-2 win over Toronto FC, completing an incredible turnaround that saw the team finish dead last in MLS for three straight seasons (2019-21).

The Shield is awarded to the team with the best regular-season record, which is, of course, how the majority of leagues worldwide crown their overall champion.

In MLS though, winning the Shield is merely a guarantee of homefield advantage throughout the playoffs and MLS Cup.

In a league where 18 of 29 teams currently reach the postseason, Noonan said on Monday that he felt winning the Shield represented something even bigger than taking home MLS Cup — though he stressed his side’s desire to do both.

“It’s a big achievement, and maybe that conversation is different years back but for me, it’s the consistency of a team over the course of a season,” Noonan told reporters in quotes published on the Cincinnati Enquirer.

“For me, now, and even my own opinion of it has changed: I think it has now surpassed MLS Cup in terms of relevance. That’s not to take away from the desire of our team to hold an MLS Cup but for that team to be the top team over the course of the season, I think, is very meaningful. The hope is that we can find a way to achieve both.”

Noonan’s side will now look to match Los Angeles FC, which won a Shield-MLS Cup double last year, becoming the eighth team to achieve the feat.

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