Coach gets a different perspective

Real Salt Lake coach John Ellinger caught a glimpse of his squad from a different angle Saturday evening.

Banished from the field for one game because of comments he made about officials after RSL's 2-1 defeat to Houston a week earlier, Ellinger watched Salt Lake's 0-0 draw against New England from the Rice-Eccles Stadium press box.

However, while the experience gave him a chance to see things from another perspective, Ellinger quickly said afterward he doesn't want to be there again anytime soon.

"I don't like the view up there," he joked.

Watching the game from the press box wasn't all bad. Ellinger was able to pick out formations and shapes extremely quickly. With Mehdi Ballouchy and Carey Talley ripping through New England's midfield early in the match, Ellinger quickly realized that the Revolution needed to make changes.

"You definitely pick up your opponent's shape," he said. "We were playing well right from the start, and I felt, from where I was sitting, that New England had to make a change right away, from a 3-5-2 to a 4-5-1, because we were playing right through them."

On the other hand, watching the game from the press box, which towers high above the field, allowed Ellinger to have a great view of his squad's missed opportunities. Salt Lake botched a number of quality chances throughout the evening, and Ellinger had an almost painful view of the proceedings.

"The thing that frustrates you," he said, " . . . is the missed opportunities, how close they are. Usually, you see them on the Jumbotron and on tape, but it shows up pretty quickly up there."

Ellinger used a radio to transmit information down to assistant Brian Johnson throughout the game. Johnson then passed the information to Peter Mellor, who was Salt Lake's acting coach.

Per MLS rules, Ellinger could have spoken with his squad before the game and at halftime. He addressed them before the match, but opted not to at halftime, instead leaving the responsibility to Mellor.

"The league rules say you can go at halftime," said Ellinger, "but, if you're in my place, you feel a little odd."

From the perspective of the players, did anything really change without Ellinger on the sideline?

"No, it was business, as usual," said right midfielder Chris Klein. "He prepared us during the week, and so when we went out there, we knew what we needed to do."

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E-mail: drasmussen@desnews.com