But he does know one thing.
"This is all about the team," he said.
On the eve of RSL's departure today for the first of three preseason training trips, the coach seemed to suggest that he did not think all that highly of previous attempts to build the team around a few high-profile players - even though he was one of them, as the legendary first player in franchise history.
"Real Salt Lake is now all about the team," Kreis said. "We're going to try to develop all-stars, we're going to try to develop very good players in this league by having a successful team and not doing it the other way around. The other way around is to bring in a bunch of all-stars, bring in a bunch of personalities, and try to make a team out of it. We're going to do the exact opposite."
Why not?
Nothing else has worked. RSL failed to make the playoffs in each of its first three seasons, and will start on its attempt to end the drought when it opens the season against Chicago at Rice-Eccles Stadium on March 29.
Until then, nearly three dozen players - including four draft picks and newly signed defender Ian Joy - will work on forging the kind of team that Kreis envisions, at training sessions in Utah, California, Florida and Argentina. RSL is also expected to sign midfielder Matias Cordoba and defender Jamilson Olave soon, leaving them only a handful of players remaining from the start of last season.
"We're all going to be honest players," midfielder Kyle Beckerman said. "I feel like if we're honest and we put in the work, then we should be able to get some results out on the field."
mcl@sltrib.com
* The team will spend the next 10 days training in California, with later trips to Florida and Argentina scheduled in between returns to its training base in Utah.
* Striker Robbie Findley, midfielder Nathan Sturgis and goalkeeper Chris Seitz will miss much of the preseason while trying to help the U.S. qualify for the 2008 Beijing Games.
* Midfielders Carey Talley, Kyle Beckerman and Duke Hashimoto and defender Nik Besagno all are out with injuries, though Talley and Beckerman are expected back soon.
