Extra Time with Collins
Introducing a new series with Sacramento Republic FC Manager Neill Collins to discuss the Quails.
I am excited to launch a new content series, Extra Time with Collins, with Sacramento Republic FC Manager Neill Collins.
For those that have followed my coverage of Republic FC over the years, Extra Time was something I originally launched YEARS ago with Paul Buckle and later with Simon Elliott for Indomitable City Soccer, and I am excited to be bringing it back. The plan is to periodically sit down with him the rest of the season to provide insight into all things Republic FC.
In our conversation, Collins and I discussed his time in Sacramento so far, the development of Blake Willey, an update on the academy, Open Cup, and more. In some instances, our conversation was edited for clarity and brevity.
If you have questions you’d like me to ask Collins for a future edition, drop a line in the comment section and I’ll ask him. If you hate it, please share that too. :)
Thank you for taking time to meet. It was just over a year ago you and your family arrived in Sacramento. How are things going so far? Any thoughts on the city or the Region that you enjoy?
One of the big things for anyone is just making sure your family’s happy and content, and I don’t think they could be happier. They love being in Sacramento. There’s many things to love. I think the weather is, of course, one of the biggest things. Like my kids love to be outdoors. So the fact that they can get outdoors at night after school and just play…[there are] so many great places to go. Being so close to the Bay, you’ve obviously got Napa and wine country and you’ve got Lake Tahoe. I think just having this all at our doorstep, like it’s just trying to recognize, not take it for granted how many great landmarks that people travel from all over the world to visit are just, you know, within driving distance. So we’re all really enjoying that and just trying to make the most of it.
On the pitch, this is your second season as manager. Obviously, last year you came in, you’re working with Todd Dunivant and now you have a new President and General Manager in Tim Holt. Do you feel like the makeup of this roster now has your stamp on it and is what you need for Republic FC to be successful?
Part of your job as head coach is to work with what you’ve got, and I think we had a good squad last year. We had a good season, and it could have been great. There were a lot of good players. I feel that we’ve been able to adapt this squad to try and improve it and freshen it up, and I don’t think we’ve seen it all on the pitch yet because we’ve had to deal with a few injuries. But you know, [I look forward to] the squad that we will have when everyone’s fit. I’m very excited about what they can achieve.
A big part of it now is, we’ve got the players, it’s just getting them on the pitch and building those relationships and then really seeing what we’re capable of. So I’m definitely excited. I do feel that we put together a team that can do some of the things that we maybe couldn’t quite commit to last year.
There are a number of players who have stood out the first few months of the season, but I have really been impressed with the development of Blake Willey. What are your thoughts on Blake? Anything different that you’re seeing from him?
Blake started my first league game last season for a reason. He’s got so much energy and I like players in the midfield that have energy and intensity. And he’s obviously proven a lot since then. I think he’s just a very intelligent player at both sides of the ball. He tactically can implement what we want in and out of possession. He’s going to start creating more goals. So I think that’s the part that we’re seeing him influence—probably in that final third of the pitch. Good midfielders are able to [manage] both sides and I think that’s his evolution is to just be on the score sheet. Be on the stat sheet and he’s got the ability to do that.
Republic FC have done a great job developing players over the years through its academy. Willey is a great example of that. Can you provide an update on the academy and anyone fans should be looking out for the near future that might be pulled up to the first team?
We are working closely with the academy all the time. We’ve got a number of players that come through our training sessions with the first team based on the kind of performances that they’re putting in with the academy. I’m in attendance regularly in their training sessions to keep an eye a lot of these players so I know them. The one player who has been on an academy contract is Rohan Chivukula. He played against El Farolito in the Open Cup, but got a red card tackle on him. He’s been very impressive through preseason and had it not been for that injury, we would have probably featured him in the next round of the Open Cup. So he’s someone that has been pushing hard behind the scenes to earn more minutes and again, just a sign of academy producing players that allow us not only to enhance our training, but also our first team and create that competition.
The club just signed forward Tyler Wolff on loan from Real Salt Lake. He made an immediate impact against Spokane Velocity in group play of the USL Cup with a goal in just a couple minutes. What do you think fans can expect from him, and is your thought he will be consistent goal scorer for the club moving forward?
I think as a forward player goes, he will contribute the goals, no question about that. Between him and Forster [Ajago], they’ll score goals, but I think we’re going to need goals from Mayele [Malango], Dominik [Wanner], and from Arturo [Rodriguez]. I want us to be an attack that can score more goals. The last two games have been more of what we want, you know, seven goals at home. And that’s that’s definitely what we really want to add because our defense as a team has been fantastic. So yes, Tyler definitely has a bit of dynamism in terms of his movement. He’s quick. He makes runs and has a great eye for a goal.
Shifting gears, were you happy with the club’s performance this year in the Open Cup, and do you take anything away from the grittiness of the tournament with you into league play and into the USL Cup?
I have to be honest with you, I think we were very unfortunate to go out in the fashion that we did. We didn’t concede a goal the whole tournament in the run of play. We really should have beat Minnesota based on the chances we created in the opportunities through the shootout.
Playing against different types of team in El Farolito was a real challenge for some in [different] aspects. I think then going to the Valley (Valley 599) and really dominating there was good for the club to go through that, and then Minnesota was a different challenge. While we weren’t able to get past that round, you know, I thought it gave the team a lot of confidence.
You’ve been around the game a long time. Can you recall a match as wild as the one against Orange County? What does it say about the resilience about your squad?
No, that was that was pretty wild. I mean, that was a spectator’s dream. Right from the fifth or sixth minute when we scored and it was ruled offside, it just felt that it was constant action. As a club, it’s something that we’ve been working towards, though…being able to come from behind.
We were [down] two nil to Lexington on the road last year and we tied 2-2. We scored in overtime, [the goal] was onside, but the referee called it offside. That was a sore one because the players had been working on adding that aspect to our game. And I think this year we’ve shown it tying a couple of games, but Saturday was great in front of our home fans.
They got right behind us and the players went right to the last minute, and I think it’s important all good teams win in different ways. And sometimes you have to win from coming behind. It was just an excellent game…obviously slightly different circumstances and the way it happened with the penalty, but I think you’ve just got to put yourself in position to take advantage of kind of some of those moments and we did that.
There are just a couple points separating first to fourth place in the Western Conference table. Is this what you expected heading into the season, and do you anticipate the season will be a grind all the way through?
Yeah, it’s exactly what I anticipated. I do think there's going to be a lot of ties across the league. I think there's going to be not a lot [gap] between the teams. From our perspective, if we can turn a lot the ties into wins occasionally, we'll find ourselves in a very good position. But I think wins are going to be hard to come by and you have to earn them, and the team that can just get that momentum is going to find themselves in a good position. And I think we can do that.
William Hodges is a contributor with U.S. Soccer, TheCup.Us and was formerly editor of Indomitable City Soccer. You can follow him on X @william_hodges.