Some New England Revolution Questions That Needed Asking

So there’s this little competition called the World Cup going on. And yet, I’m writing about the New England Revolution—a team that’s not actively playing right now. How could this be? Well, there are too many pundits talking about the World Cup already, some of which even make sense (some). And something came up about the Revolution that interested me. The Revolution offered an online question/answer time with Revolution Chief Operating Officer Brian Bilello and VP of Player Personnel Michael Burns. Being a cynic, I might call this damage control for an increasingly disinterested or frustrated fan base. But given the floodgates that will likely open on them, it is indeed a generous offer. The offer is appreciated, and I know many fans hope the answers are more than a simple  “you don’t get it,” “we tried that before,” and the ones that nearly say, “hey, this is really hard, you know.”   Yes, we know. But first, here’s what I’d really like to know, and this round—at least—I humbly send to Mr. Bilello. I’ll skip the Soccer Specific Stadium questions, since that just hurts my head. Question: Do the New England Revolution have a “mission statement” from an overall perspective (not specifically on the field)? Why I ask: Sometimes, the ...

The New England Revolution: The Great Unknown

Tonight I played in an after-work soccer league.  The game itself isn’t much to talk about, especially my contributions—which are never much to speak of. But as I tried to stay warm on the sideline during a cold (for June) driving rain, I had a very interesting conversation that made clear a problem that I always guessed the New England Revolution had, but never saw so obviously.  While chatting with a teammate I mentioned that I was hoping to see Brazilian club side Cruzeiro play the Revolution at Gillette Stadium on Sunday. He nodded, knowingly.  (Or so I thought.) Ten seconds or so later, he said something like ”Wait, Cruzeiro, the Brazilian team?”  “Yes.” I replied. “Really?  Here?”  He questioned. “Yup.  Against the Revs, at Gillette.”  I reminded him. “Wow.  Cool.”   He remarked. And then we went back to watching our team run around, mostly out of position, in a losing effort. Nothing remarkable, for sure. But let’s be a little more specific about this situation. The person I was speaking with?   He was ON A soccer field.  He was an immigrant from Costa Rica.  He was asking me about who I supported in the World Cup.  He loved soccer. His younger brother was also on the team, potentially even a better player—or at least one with ...

Is Steve Ralston’s Return to the New England Revolution Good News?

Steve Ralston is back with the New England Revolution. Revs fans are rejoicing the return of one of their favorite, most dependable, and talented players.  As one of those fans, I should be screaming, “Thank God, the Ralston-forcements are here!” And to a degree I am—but only to a degree. In fact, it pains me so to say that this is the worst good news I have heard for a long time. Let’s start with why this is clearly good news for the Revolution. Ralston is a great player. Be it his status as the first-ever MLS Rookie of the Year, his league leading number of starts or assists, or the simple intelligent play he brought to the hectic Revolution midfield for as long as fans can remember. It is clear that Ralston easily fits within the MLS elite. Ralston appears to be a great guy. I’ve briefly met him a number of times at games and season ticket holder events. And while certainly I don’t know him, he always lived up to his reputation as an excellent person. Ralston seems to be a great teammate and captain. As captain, he clearly had the respect of his teammates.  Many have talked publicly about how hard a loss he ...

Seattle Sounders Thump New England Revolution: Rub It In, Why Don’t You?

Well, for any New England Revolution fan, last night’s 0-3 disaster versus the Seattle Sounders was the salt in an already wounded season.  But enough is enough already… It might have been enough that the Revs were outplayed from whistle to whistle. Revs fans have seen that movie before.  Though when Shalrie is on the field, it hurts that much more. It might have been enough that Seattle has a "designated player" that adds significant value.  Did you notice “aging” Freddie Ljungberg (born 1977) create a dangerous chance by running right around Chris Tierney (born 1986) at the end line last night?  But, yes, I know…the Revs don’t need a designated player, they have a “balanced roster.” It might have been enough that little Fredy Montero played with skill, guile, and trickery that Revolution fans haven’t seen since Clint Dempsey’s days in Foxboro. At this point, Revs fans don’t really even expect such play. It might have been enough that Seattle’s goalkeeper, Kasey Keller, has probably played in more European first-division leagues than New England’s Bobby Shuttleworth has played in professional games (yeah, yeah, injuries…). It might have been enough to see Taylor Twellman’s ex-strike partner, Pat Noonan, starting up front for Seattle and looking ...

USA, Revs and Burpo Offer a New Perspective

I would typically sum up a US Men’s National Team game with a glass half-full vs. half-empty review.  Often, I’ll offer thoughts on New England Revolution games as well, focusing on what went right or wrong.  However, this time I’ll be taking a different direction. Today, it’s all about perspective, both soccer-wise and otherwise. For the US game, fans could talk about how José Torres was a revelation.  Or how Clint Dempsey can at times appear to coast along, but still come up with a clutch goal out of nowhere.  Or how the rust of inactivity was so thick on some of our players that they appeared not to see each other in midfield for the first 45 minutes.  Or how Robbie Findley, however imperfect, might just belong on this team. But that isn’t what I am focused on. The United States vs. Turkey game was a tale of two halves.  To keep it simple, from the US perspective the first half was a complete mess.  The second half was pretty good.   At the end of the first half, fans are left wondering how badly the USA will be abused by England on July 12th in our first World Cup game. At the end of the second half, fans are ...

Logic Trumps Emotion: The U.S. National Team’s “Provisional 30”

U.S. National Team coach Bob Bradley announced the 30-man provisional U.S. World Cup team that will head to Princeton, NJ, for its pre-World Cup camp today.   This is not an easy task, and Coach Bradley will inevitably have people pick away at his choices from every conceivable angle. Choosing this team, and soon having to narrow the list to the 23-man FIFA limit, is a difficult task for any World Cup bound coach—at least as far as media/blogger critics are concerned.   I do not plan to second-guess the coach...but that does not mean I don’t have some opinions on the choices—or on those left out.   Goalkeepers Tim Howard, Marcus Hahnemann, Brad Guzan   Thoughts on the Goalkeepers Frankly, this was the position with the least mystery.  The three choices are all capable keepers and probably well ahead of others that follow on the depth chart.   No surprises.   Defenders Carlos Bocanegra, Oguchi Onyewu, Steve Cherundolo, Jonathan Spector, Jay DeMerit, Clarence Goodson, Jonathan Bornstein, Heath Pearce, Chad Marshall   Thoughts on Included Defenders   Hard to say that there are any real surprises here.   Bornstein seems to get more criticism than he deserves, but is a Bradley favorite.  Onyewu is coming back from injury and—if we are honest—didn’t look like a world-beater in his preseason ...

New England Revolution’s Steve Nicol and the Intelligent Foul

Steve Nicol’s recent rant about the lack of referee protection for his creative players (namely the much improved Sainey Nyassi) was interesting on a number of levels.   When I first read the quote, I was struck by the unabashed choice of words that sounded as to me as if Steve was expecting, or at least wouldn’t be surprised by, a league-imposed fine. The soccer-literati picked up on the quote as well. Paul Gardner of Soccer America jumped on the apparent contradiction in such complaints from Steve Nicol.  Gardner’s focus was on the fact that Steve Nicol’s teams push the physical envelope as far as they can as well.   Though Gardner sneaks in a commentary about not thinking the Revs are a “dirty” team, the general theme is that you cannot have your cake (push physicality) and eat it too (have your “skill players” see no physicality applied to them). He also uses some arguments about Nicol’s ESPN commentary on other matches that allude to Steve’s respect for a physical game.   Fine.  Perhaps there is a some latent contradictions there, but Steve is not what I think most people would call out as a serial complainer; either when the Revs players are getting fouled or getting called ...

New England Revolution: Stink, Brink, and Other Overreactions

Having last written about the budding optimism surrounding the New England Revolution’s current state, I now sit here at 36,000 feet on a cross-country flight worried. About what? Stink and brink. Stink, as in “they stink,”  and brink, as in “a franchise on the brink.” I’ll freely admit that before going off the grid for my flight’s take-off, I was barraged in the Twitter-sphere about midfielder Shalrie Joseph’s “indefinite leave” from the Revolution to attend to personal matters. (I wish him all the best, and a quick return.) However, this barrage has spun me into a reactionary state, which I’m sure is bad for my sanity, but turns out to be pretty good for blogging. The importance of Joseph to the Revolution is no secret, and something I’ve talked about before in “The Steve and Shalrie Show ”, and elsewhere—but that anyone who watches the Revolution with their eyes open can see. Do the Revs stink? Maybe not. But they’re not great. The Revs have always found ways to have terrible performances mixed in with their usually Eastern Division strength.  “This too shall pass,” we might think. Perhaps winning isn’t out of the question. I remember sitting in the 2002 MLS Cup championship with 61,000-plus friends cheering ...

The Revolution Was Televised

For the New England Revolution fan that, like me, was not fortunate enough to make the stadium today, there was a question as to whether or not we’d tonight’s game on TV.  You see, some green/white basketball team apparently had a game at the same time.   Luckily, some odd arrangements were made by all involved  (Thank you!) and even on my not-so-glamorous Charter Communications cable, I was able to watch. So not only was the (New England) Revolution televised, but it was a bit of a Revolution on the field.  Against what?  Against the pessimism that most Revs fans have had about this season...and potentially against the status quo on the field. The pessimism was palpable a few weeks ago. Steve Ralston is gone? Paul Mariner is no longer prowls the sidelines? Jay Heaps is an announcer, not a defender? Jeff Larentowicz is not part of red-and-dread anymore? Matt Reis is hurt? Taylor Twellman is still perpetually dizzy? Hopes were at rock-bottom.   Then however, a few things happened.  The Revs visited the Los Angeles Galaxy  and “only” lost 1-0 – and that without Shalrie Joseph in the lineup.  Then the Revs went to D.C. United and Kenny Mansally wowed everyone watching by pulling a 2-0 victory out of an ...