Real Salt Lake GM Elliot Fall Speaks On Club Turning Season Around
May 26, 2023, 12:30 PM
Real Salt Lake General Manager Elliot Fall boards a plane prior to RSL's road fixture against Seattle. Photo courtesy: Real Salt Lake
SALT LAKE CITY – Real Salt Lake General Manager Elliot Fall joined the KSL Sports Zone on Friday to talk about RSL turning the season around after a rough start.
Real Salt Lake started the season 1-4. In the 11 MLS and U.S. Open Cup games since then, RSL has gone 6-2-3.
“There’s a lot of explanations,” Fall said. “There were a lot of little things that weren’t working. There were a lot of little things that we needed to clean up. Our players, our staff, and our coaches buckled down and committed to correcting a lot of that stuff.”
“The most important thing is we finish the game as winners.”
Done. Let’s do it again tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/PvPA1lKIKW
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) May 24, 2023
The Road Ahead
Despite the turnaround, Real Salt Lake is still on the outside of the playoff race looking in. With 15 total points, RSL sits in the West’s 11-seed.
“There’s a way to go still,” Fall said. “We’re not perfect. There are some scoreless draws in there. Of course, we would love to put the ball in the back of the net and turn some of those into three points. We’re trending in the right direction. I think there’s a lot of positive things to feel good about.”
RSL has done a lot of lineup experimentation to figure out how to best utilize the group. Young players like Emeka Eneli have given the club a much-needed boost in games down the stretch.
“In those 11 games in the last six weeks, we’ve played something like 25 players,” Fall said. “Which is a lot of guys getting an opportunity. We’ve gotten to see what they have to offer. Some of the best performances, some of the biggest wins, have been driven by young players. We want to be a club that’s committed to development.”
Goals Win Games
One of Real Salt Lake’s biggest shortcomings is goal scoring. RSL’s 13 goals scored is tied for 20th in the MLS. Fall said that the front office has an opportunity to strengthen the club’s play in the attacking third.
“It’s an important summer window ahead of us,” Fall said. “We have a really well-rounded group. (RSL) could use some guys who can threaten for 90 minutes and be difference-makers in the attacking third. We have some guys who can do that, but you need more of them. We have an opportunity to look for some of that.”
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Chandler Holt is a Digital Sports Producer for sports.ksl.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter at @ChandlerHoltKSL.
