In 2022, Real Salt Lake was picked by by nine of 10 MLS pundits to finish in the 10-12 range. These spots are reserved for teams who are unexciting and lack top end talent. 13th-15th are reserved for spectacular disasters, while the rest are for teams that really could be special (though a few still become spectacular disasters). RSL beat expectations and finished 7th.
Read MoreWe’re publishing three team previews every weekday until MLS First Kick on April 16th (THAT’S TODAY!). You can find all of them here.
Today we’re looking at three teams which have all approached their roster construction and team-building in completely different ways.
Read MoreReal Salt Lake are not a team that’s going to spend big to bring in foreign talent, like a lot of Western Conference teams did this winter. According to Transfermarkt, RSL’s roster has the lowest total market value of any team in MLS. Under former manager Mike Petke, RSL were decent, though, in spite of their talent deficit. Last season they finished third, won their first round playoff matchup, and were that not far off from beating the eventual MLS Cup winning Seattle Sounders in the Conference Semifinal.
Because they did not do much to strengthen the squad in terms of talent, RSL’s most important offseason move was naming Freddy Juarez the team’s fifth head coach, after he guided the team from August on as the interim. Their ability to improve in 2020 will hinge on Juarez’s ability to coach up the roster. His two biggest opportunities are two things that were consistent roadblocks for the team under Petke - RSL’s attacking mechanics and creativity, and their youth development. If Juarez can get those two things right, Real Salt Lake has the capacity find themselves consistently in the top tier in the West. It will, however, probably take more than just 2020 to figure it out.
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When the assignments came out for playoff previews I begged, pleaded, and asked Ian nicely for the opportunity to write about RSL (editors note: there was literally no other person interested). I feel like I somehow owe this fanbase a little something because of the harshness with my pre-season picks. Let me start off with this: I was wrong. Very wrong.
But. Let’s talk about why I was wrong.
Read MoreGoing into the 2018 season, Real Salt Lake’s success depended on a few key signings and the growth of their young talents. Both were mixed bags. Heading into 2019, that mix will tilt more heavily toward their youth, as RSL furthers their dependence on an ability to raise and develop young prospects.
Read MoreWelcome to Setting the Table. Each week we take some time to focus on the best chance creators in MLS from the last weekend. If you want to see the best chances that were wasted check out Lowered Expectations. Here we focus on chances that ended with the ball in the back of the net.
#5 Nicolas Lodeiro to Raul Ruidiaz, Seattle Sounders, 22nd minute, 0.318 expected goals
Passes in sequence: 2
The last 24 months for Real Salt Lake have been quite the saga. A solid CCL run in early 2016 ended in the semifinals against Tigres, which was followed by a disappointing 2016 season. That was followed by terrible start the 2017 season, but then led to an inprobable late run at the playoffs.
Gone are the years of peak Kyle Beckerman and Nick Rimando with a magnificent Javier Moralez leading a jewel of an attack. But here again are the days of a potent Real Salt Lake built upon a staunch defense force and skilled playmakers. Much of the cast has changed, but the style has been reborn.
Read MoreAfter not making the post-season for the first time since 2007 in 2015, RSL made small improvements to sneak into the playoffs in the 6th and final playoff position. The return of striker Yura Movsisyan to Utah brought high hopes that RSL could relieve some of the offensive burden that was placed upon Joao Plata after Alvaro Saborio's departure after the 2015 season. Movsisyan's nine goals were respectable, but certainly not enough to recapture his 2009 form (his last stint in RSL) where he managed 0.42 goals per 90. His 2016 returns were a paltry 0.37 G/90.
Plata still carried the bulk of the offense, nearly pulling a double-double in goals and assists (9 goals, 12 assists) and took the bulk of RSL's shots. However, his returns were even worse than Movsisyan's as Plata only managed 0.32 G/09 when compared to his breakout season in 2014 of 0.59 G/90.
Read MoreThe abysmal 2015 season for RSL was predicated on the failure to adapt to a new formation and lack of offensive depth. In Jeff Cassar's second season in charge of RSL, the team managed to compile anemic attacking numbers. Transitioning from a 4-4-2 diamond formation that seemingly defined RSL through the Jason Kreis era, the new shape exposed some players that were previously pivotal components to RSL's consistent success in the past.
Both Kyle Beckerman and Joao Plata were sluggish to figure out how to thrive in a new shape and struggled with their new identity, but for different reasons. As Beckerman ages, the expectation is that his motor will slow, his poor first step and general quickness will get even worse, but his game IQ and game management skills will improve. The issue with the attempted 4-3-3 shape is that the single, central midfielder is burdened with a more intense physical workload because of the vertical space that is now only occupied in front by the central forward in the middle channel. Beckerman struggled with the spatial requirements, his significant numbers have been declining for the past three seasons, and was ultimately exposed in the middle of the park.
Set for another terrorizing season in the final third, Plata came back from being injured during the beginning of the season and never found his feet in the new spacing. Although he seemed to thrive in open space, the lack of connection and compactness saw him struggling on isolated islands through many of his appearances.
Our projections for 2016 after the jump.
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