The impetus for Ryan Guy's move onto the New England front line started with a suggestion from assistant coach Remi Roy.
Guy featured defensive and midfield roles at various points so far this season, but his attacking qualities prompted Roy to suggest that the versatile midfielder could fill the vacancy alongside Saër Sène against LA Galaxy this past Saturday.
“Ryan was a player this week where we gave him a lot of opportunities up front,” Revolution head coach Jay Heaps told reporters after the game. “Assistant coach Remi Roy was like, 'Hey, look, he does well up top, let’s give him a chance.' So, we trained him up top this week and he was flying.”
Those displays – and a tactical game plan designed to frustrate and harry the Galaxy from the opening whistle – prompted Heaps to select Guy over Blake Brettschneider and Fernando Cárdenas up front. The choice paid significant dividends as Guy's tireless work rate caused problems for the Galaxy in possession and played an important role in the Revolution's success in the attacking third.
“Ryan was excellent, all over the place,” Heaps said. “[He won] all the first balls, was there for the second ball and created a great little bit of space down on the side for the first goal and again for the third goal.”
While Guy may not always feature up front for a side more than willing to use him in several spots, he relished the opportunity to partner Sène and staked his claim for a second consecutive appearance in that spot in Thursday's visit to FC Dallas (8:30 pm ET, watch LIVE online).
“I felt great,” Guy said. “Saër and I have a good relationship, on and off the ball. And I think with the players that we have, Jay made a decision and it’s my job to go with that decision. Hopefully, with the result today, it’s proof that both the personnel and the coaching staff are doing stuff right.”
