Real Salt Lake Far Too Familiar With Spooky Season

SALT LAKE CITY – Real Salt Lake is far too familiar with the spooky season, unfortunately.

The last handful of years have provided far more tricks than treats in the world of Real Salt Lake. Remarkably, the club is still standing proudly with its chest puffed, showing no signs of ailment despite recent controversy as the fight for the playoffs deepens in 2021.

well that’s not great pic.twitter.com/MpC3AIDPRC

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) October 30, 2021

Scary Times In Sandy

For those that have been living under a rock, Real Salt Lake is without an owner and a full-time manager. Dell Loy Hansen talked himself off a cliff last summer and was forced to sell the team, but no buyer has officially made the purchase yet and Freddy Juarez abruptly ended his tenure in Utah by accepting an assistant coaching job in Seattle.

The front office, led by General Manager Elliot Fall, and interim manager Pablo Mastroeni has guided the ship to this point.

Real Salt Lake is well and truly in the playoff hunt. The chemistry of the team is as high as it has ever been this season and the belief is back. Real Salt Lake is playing a brand of football that is exciting the fanbase of old and Rio Tinto Stadium is starting to rock – maybe not as much as it used to, but a gentle sway nonetheless.

Damir Kreilach is on the verge of scoring more goals in a season than any other Real Salt Lake player in club history, he is also amongst the best players in the league as the conversation for Most Valuable Player heats up. Albert Rusnák, despite starting his season slowly, has returned to the sort of form that was expected of him and is impacting games more than maybe he has ever done.

Cap was on fire yesterday. pic.twitter.com/7cOp5T9Tpe

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) October 31, 2021

One Obvious Issue Remains

Real Salt Lake is scoring goals under Mastroeni. They are flooding numbers forward in an attempt to throw their opponent off.

The one issue that Mastroeni has run into is figuring out the defensive shape of the team in transition. When Real Salt Lake turns the ball over in the opposition’s half, because of the numbers they have forward, they are often exposed on the counter-attack. The most recent experience against San Jose is a great example of the issue at hand.

If Mastroeni does have the interim tag removed, he, alongside the front office, must find a disciplined holding midfielder to sign to help establish a more structured defensive shape. That is priority number one as far as the offseason goes.

When you consider the trauma that this club has endured over the years, it is truly remarkable that they find themselves in the position they do. Most national pundits pegged Real Salt Lake to finish towards the bottom of the western conference simply due to the constant controversy that has suffocated them.

This club is stronger than many realized. Built on the foundation of youth, competition, and a desire to win together.

Vamos RSL. Spooky season is their season…we hope.