The quality (or lack thereof) of MLS referees is always a hot topic and frequently leads to amusing column or blog titles (like this one). But after watching the Chelsea/Arsenal game today I'm reminded that referees suck everywhere, not just in MLS.
After calling Chelsea forward Solomon Kalou wrongly offsides twice in the first half, the same linesman allows Robin Van Persie's first goal to stand after he was clearly a couple yards offsides on the goal. The referee, Mike Riley, bizarrely points to Chelsea defender Jose Bosingwa, who was yards ahead of Van Persie, as somehow playing Van Persie on. The match commentators speculated that perhaps a Chelsea defender had deflected the ball, as there would be no other possible reason to allow the goal to stand (if the ball came off a Chelsea player, Van Persie couldn't be offsides). However all the replays showed obviously that there was no deflection. The wrong call totally changed the momentum of the game, and Chelsea lost, 2-1 (Chelsea had been winning 1-0, Arsenal's goal came out of nowhere). So refs in England can be awful too.
They can also be awful in Germany, where they fixed games in exchange for being paid off by the Croatian mafia. They can also be awful in Italy, where Juventus appoints which refs referee their games. They can be awful in Spain, where they are apparently fooled by every player that falls down as if shot. They're every bad in sports other than soccer, like the NBA or any NFL game involving a Manning brother (just the personal opinion of this Patriots fan).
So lets cut MLS referees a bit of slack. Nobody's perfect, and in fact the refereeing situation could be a lot worse.
Showing posts with label MLS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MLS. Show all posts
MLS playoffs, round 1
As noted earlier, the Revs lost. This wasn't very surprising given the injury situation. The other matchups were Columbus vs. Kansas City, Chivas USA vs Real Salt Lake, and New York Red Bulls vs. Houston Dynamo.
Columbus was favored against KC and won easily, no surprise there. Chivas USA had the higher seed against Salt Lake but Salt Lake had been on a roll at the end of the season and so I wasn't surprised to see them beat a Chivas USA side that had a couple injury problems of its own. The shocker was today, the New York Red Bulls knocking out the Houston Dynamo by winning 3-0 away. New York's only away win this season came in week 7, beating a bad LA Galaxy team 2-1. There was a magical force field protecting New York's goal, and that plus Dane Richards having the game of his life put New York through to the Western Conference championship where I'm sure Real Salt Lake will beat them. I expect the MLS Cup final to be Columbus vs. Real Salt Lake. Columbus will be favored but I wouldn't be surprised to see Salt Lake win the whole thing.
You can see video highlights of all the games at MLS's website.
Columbus was favored against KC and won easily, no surprise there. Chivas USA had the higher seed against Salt Lake but Salt Lake had been on a roll at the end of the season and so I wasn't surprised to see them beat a Chivas USA side that had a couple injury problems of its own. The shocker was today, the New York Red Bulls knocking out the Houston Dynamo by winning 3-0 away. New York's only away win this season came in week 7, beating a bad LA Galaxy team 2-1. There was a magical force field protecting New York's goal, and that plus Dane Richards having the game of his life put New York through to the Western Conference championship where I'm sure Real Salt Lake will beat them. I expect the MLS Cup final to be Columbus vs. Real Salt Lake. Columbus will be favored but I wouldn't be surprised to see Salt Lake win the whole thing.
You can see video highlights of all the games at MLS's website.
Revs season is over
The New England Revolution lost 3-0 to the Chicago Fire and were knocked out of the playoffs.
The game started out with the Fire getting a lot of shots, including one that Parkhurst cleared off the line. Then New England started getting in to it, getting some of their own attacking players going. Right at that moment, the Fire's John Thorrington came in late and from behind on Jeff Larentowicz, who had been our best player, and broke his ankle. He walked off the field anyway because he's hardcore, but then went to the hospital. We then lost the midfield, gave up a goal just before halftime, and lost the game. In exchange for taking out Larentowicz, Thorrington got a yellow card and got the Fire into the next round of the playoffs. Larentowicz himself was ejected for a far less serious foul against the Fire in the second game of the season, (view the highlights here if you don't believe me).
Basically I felt good about the game until Larentowicz was hacked down by Thorrington. We were holding our own, and we went from competing in the midfield to relying on a gimp (Shalrie's knee) and a slow galumphing rookie (Pat Phelan). In the beginning of the season I thought that our combination of speedy youth and experience would be a good mix, but that doesn't work if all your experience is sent to the hospital (or in Shalrie's case, should have been sent to the hospital). I think if you take any team in the world and subtract their star forward (Twellman), their 2nd forward (Cristman), their star attacking midfielder (Ralston), their most dangerous winger (Khano Smith, deservedly suspended), and then injure both their central midfielders, that team will be in trouble. I'm not really disappointed in the players or the coaches at all for mistakes or lack of effort, I just feel cheated by Lady Luck.
On to next year.
The game started out with the Fire getting a lot of shots, including one that Parkhurst cleared off the line. Then New England started getting in to it, getting some of their own attacking players going. Right at that moment, the Fire's John Thorrington came in late and from behind on Jeff Larentowicz, who had been our best player, and broke his ankle. He walked off the field anyway because he's hardcore, but then went to the hospital. We then lost the midfield, gave up a goal just before halftime, and lost the game. In exchange for taking out Larentowicz, Thorrington got a yellow card and got the Fire into the next round of the playoffs. Larentowicz himself was ejected for a far less serious foul against the Fire in the second game of the season, (view the highlights here if you don't believe me).
Basically I felt good about the game until Larentowicz was hacked down by Thorrington. We were holding our own, and we went from competing in the midfield to relying on a gimp (Shalrie's knee) and a slow galumphing rookie (Pat Phelan). In the beginning of the season I thought that our combination of speedy youth and experience would be a good mix, but that doesn't work if all your experience is sent to the hospital (or in Shalrie's case, should have been sent to the hospital). I think if you take any team in the world and subtract their star forward (Twellman), their 2nd forward (Cristman), their star attacking midfielder (Ralston), their most dangerous winger (Khano Smith, deservedly suspended), and then injure both their central midfielders, that team will be in trouble. I'm not really disappointed in the players or the coaches at all for mistakes or lack of effort, I just feel cheated by Lady Luck.
On to next year.
Big Red Spanks One
The New England Revolution beat Chivas USA 4-0 in a nationally televised game on Thursday night, although it was a pretty close game until the last ten minutes. Jeff Larentowicz, aka Big Red, scored the 2nd goal of the game that killed Chivas' hope with 10 minutes left. The highlights are below the fold, with Big Red's tremendous goal starting at 2:40.
Jeff Larentowicz is the most under-rated player in the league.
Jeff Larentowicz is the most under-rated player in the league.
Revs win the Superliga
The Revs won the 2008 Superliga last night, beating Houston in the eighth round of penalty kicks after overtime ended 2-2. See the video here. It was a fantastic, wide-open and attacking game played by two teams who clearly respected each other - all this action despite the fact that the teams had agreed to split the prize money evenly between them no matter who won due to a dispute between MLS management and the players union. The Revs knocked off three Mexican teams 1-0 and tied Chivas USA to make it to the final.
This is only the first of four titles the Revs can win this season....
This is only the first of four titles the Revs can win this season....
Quick soccer post
Two quick soccer notes: Joey Franchino and Gary Flood's "incident" at Fenway Stadium, my account of the Revs game at New York.
First up - last week, Revolution midfielders Gary Flood and Joey Franchino got tossed from Fenway Park last week for public drunkenness. Usually Franchino gets ejected from games when he is a player, not a spectator. Supposedly Flood peed on someone, but that report has been denied (it'd be denied either way, frankly).
Franchino had some personal issues last year, and the Revs and us fans gave him his privacy to allow him to deal with his issues. Apparently he hasn't, so the Revs organization got fed up and traded him to LA. Flood played in the reserves game this past weekend. I think Flood will be allowed to stay with the organization for two reasons. First, coach Nicol thinks Flood has big potential. Second, the Revs seem to give one freebie - Franchino used his last year, Clint Dempsey used his when he got in a fight with Franchino in training (Dempsey was apparently at fault). This is Flood's freebie - shape up or you're gone.
I get irked when people who get paid to play a game for a living turn out to be numbskulls.
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I went to the Revs game in New York last Saturday with a bunch of friends, some of whom came from out of town. It was a fantastic night. The Revs went down to a Jozy Altidore goal, then went down a man when Mauricio Castro had a fit of stupidity and kicked a Red Bull player in the balls, but Brown University 2004 graduate Jeff Larentowicz tied it up with a free kick in the 2nd half. It was perfect, as I was even wearing my autographed Larentowicz jersey from his rookie year. It ended a 1-1 tie, but it was a moral victory for the Revs as New York couldn't hold a one goal lead at home with a man advantage. An ugly yet gutsy result.
Regarding Castro's red card: Castro has been in MLS for only 5 games, and is used to much less physicality and more protection from the referee. He was getting pushed around a lot on Saturday and in all 5 games. I think the foul directly proceeding Castro kicking Goldthwaite in the balls was the straw that broke the camel's back and led to Castro's moment of madness. This isn't to excuse him, but I think once Nicol yells at Castro and makes him realize that he isn't going to get the same calls he's used to, Castro will be a more effective player - less time on the ground crying, more time on his feet scoring goals and making assists.
We had an interesting incident with some home fans sitting in front of us. We were all cheering for the Revs and engaging in some friendly banter with neighboring RBNY fans, although there were some other Revs fans around too. We even grudgingly applauded Altidore's goal.
Then after Larentowicz's goal, all of a sudden people turned on us - we were "spilling beer" (untrue) and yelling swears (also untrue). A soccermom in front of us turned around to yell at us for these perceived offenses, and another guy called security on us. The security guy showed up and was pretty wise. I think it helped that nobody else near us seemed to back up his story. He said "hey guys don't do it again [wink]" and that was that as far as security was concerned.
However our new friend sitting in front of us wouldn't let it go. He then yelled at us for "destroying US soccer" because back in the NASL, someone threw a beer bottle at his grandmother's head and then his grandma didn't want to go to soccer games anymore. Apparently cheering for the away side is a comparable crime to chucking beer bottles at grandmothers heads. However his accusation of "destroying US soccer" was actually a close one, as one of my friends confessed later that he actually had attended the soccer game for the sole purpose of destroying US soccer. Plus, seeing as the NASL ended the year many of us were born, I guess a credible case could be made that we destroyed the NASL as well. So I guess we got away with one there.
Here's the video of Larentowicz's goal:
First up - last week, Revolution midfielders Gary Flood and Joey Franchino got tossed from Fenway Park last week for public drunkenness. Usually Franchino gets ejected from games when he is a player, not a spectator. Supposedly Flood peed on someone, but that report has been denied (it'd be denied either way, frankly).
Franchino had some personal issues last year, and the Revs and us fans gave him his privacy to allow him to deal with his issues. Apparently he hasn't, so the Revs organization got fed up and traded him to LA. Flood played in the reserves game this past weekend. I think Flood will be allowed to stay with the organization for two reasons. First, coach Nicol thinks Flood has big potential. Second, the Revs seem to give one freebie - Franchino used his last year, Clint Dempsey used his when he got in a fight with Franchino in training (Dempsey was apparently at fault). This is Flood's freebie - shape up or you're gone.
I get irked when people who get paid to play a game for a living turn out to be numbskulls.
----------------------------------
I went to the Revs game in New York last Saturday with a bunch of friends, some of whom came from out of town. It was a fantastic night. The Revs went down to a Jozy Altidore goal, then went down a man when Mauricio Castro had a fit of stupidity and kicked a Red Bull player in the balls, but Brown University 2004 graduate Jeff Larentowicz tied it up with a free kick in the 2nd half. It was perfect, as I was even wearing my autographed Larentowicz jersey from his rookie year. It ended a 1-1 tie, but it was a moral victory for the Revs as New York couldn't hold a one goal lead at home with a man advantage. An ugly yet gutsy result.
Regarding Castro's red card: Castro has been in MLS for only 5 games, and is used to much less physicality and more protection from the referee. He was getting pushed around a lot on Saturday and in all 5 games. I think the foul directly proceeding Castro kicking Goldthwaite in the balls was the straw that broke the camel's back and led to Castro's moment of madness. This isn't to excuse him, but I think once Nicol yells at Castro and makes him realize that he isn't going to get the same calls he's used to, Castro will be a more effective player - less time on the ground crying, more time on his feet scoring goals and making assists.
We had an interesting incident with some home fans sitting in front of us. We were all cheering for the Revs and engaging in some friendly banter with neighboring RBNY fans, although there were some other Revs fans around too. We even grudgingly applauded Altidore's goal.
Then after Larentowicz's goal, all of a sudden people turned on us - we were "spilling beer" (untrue) and yelling swears (also untrue). A soccermom in front of us turned around to yell at us for these perceived offenses, and another guy called security on us. The security guy showed up and was pretty wise. I think it helped that nobody else near us seemed to back up his story. He said "hey guys don't do it again [wink]" and that was that as far as security was concerned.
However our new friend sitting in front of us wouldn't let it go. He then yelled at us for "destroying US soccer" because back in the NASL, someone threw a beer bottle at his grandmother's head and then his grandma didn't want to go to soccer games anymore. Apparently cheering for the away side is a comparable crime to chucking beer bottles at grandmothers heads. However his accusation of "destroying US soccer" was actually a close one, as one of my friends confessed later that he actually had attended the soccer game for the sole purpose of destroying US soccer. Plus, seeing as the NASL ended the year many of us were born, I guess a credible case could be made that we destroyed the NASL as well. So I guess we got away with one there.
Here's the video of Larentowicz's goal:
Stuff is happening in Liberia
I saw a few Liberia stories pop up recently so I thought I would highlight them.
First, Voice of America has a story with video (also picked up by Chris Albon) about how the US military, using private contractors, is helping rebuild Liberia's military. The UN does not want to become Liberia's permanent police force, so the US is helping Liberia build an army that will hopefully not partake in its past excesses.
My take on it is that the US is using contractors because it doesn't have any Special Forces available. Past efforts training West African militaries have used both contractors (like MPRI) and uniformed U.S. Special Forces. Based on this 2004 interview regarding the now-defunct Pan-Sahel initiative, actual US personnel were used when they were available because it signaled that we took it seriously and weren't just throwing money at the problem. However with the massive strain Iraq and Afghanistan are putting on our ground forces, including Special Forces, it's likely that there just aren't any uniformed military available for the job.
While there's progress, all is not fine and dandy with Liberia's new military. Soldiers aren't happy with their conditions, and progress in training isn't as fast as some had hoped. The UN says it will not withdraw prematurely. One might say... as Liberians stand up, the UN will stand down.
A more positive story regarding the American military's involvement in Liberia is shown in this Navy press release. The Navy seems to be stepping its efforts up in West Africa, probably recognizing that the Gulf of Guinea's oil production will make it a key area in the future. The Navy press release talks about how Navy personnel in Liberia are renovating two clinics, a school, and repairing a road.
And the final, most important Liberia story is that Liberian former New York Dead Bulls striker Francis Doe is on trial at DC United. Doe is very fast and has good dribbling skills, formerly played in Minnesota and Greece, and has two goals in seven appearances for the Liberian national team. DC United has lots of attacking midfielders but needs another finisher to put the pressure on Emilio, so he doesn't stay fat and happy (Emilio was awful last Wednesday against Pachuca). DC United would be wise to pick him up.
First, Voice of America has a story with video (also picked up by Chris Albon) about how the US military, using private contractors, is helping rebuild Liberia's military. The UN does not want to become Liberia's permanent police force, so the US is helping Liberia build an army that will hopefully not partake in its past excesses.
My take on it is that the US is using contractors because it doesn't have any Special Forces available. Past efforts training West African militaries have used both contractors (like MPRI) and uniformed U.S. Special Forces. Based on this 2004 interview regarding the now-defunct Pan-Sahel initiative, actual US personnel were used when they were available because it signaled that we took it seriously and weren't just throwing money at the problem. However with the massive strain Iraq and Afghanistan are putting on our ground forces, including Special Forces, it's likely that there just aren't any uniformed military available for the job.
While there's progress, all is not fine and dandy with Liberia's new military. Soldiers aren't happy with their conditions, and progress in training isn't as fast as some had hoped. The UN says it will not withdraw prematurely. One might say... as Liberians stand up, the UN will stand down.
A more positive story regarding the American military's involvement in Liberia is shown in this Navy press release. The Navy seems to be stepping its efforts up in West Africa, probably recognizing that the Gulf of Guinea's oil production will make it a key area in the future. The Navy press release talks about how Navy personnel in Liberia are renovating two clinics, a school, and repairing a road.
And the final, most important Liberia story is that Liberian former New York Dead Bulls striker Francis Doe is on trial at DC United. Doe is very fast and has good dribbling skills, formerly played in Minnesota and Greece, and has two goals in seven appearances for the Liberian national team. DC United has lots of attacking midfielders but needs another finisher to put the pressure on Emilio, so he doesn't stay fat and happy (Emilio was awful last Wednesday against Pachuca). DC United would be wise to pick him up.
Heckling Tony Meola
USA Today did an interview with ex-New York goalie Tony Meola in which Meola gave New England fans a shout-out:
What's the most creative insult you ever heard in MLS, on the field or from the stands?Heckling Meola was great fun. He lost his starting spot in Kansas and came back to New York a little overweight, which gave New England fans the cheer "He's back, he's fat, he ate too much spaghetti!"
On the field, guys generally respect each other enough not to insult each other. There's trash-talking, and I never really got involved in it.
In Boston, they do the beeps (like a truck) as you're walking backwards, then they do the hiss like the brakes settling when you stop. I think that's pretty creative. They're very creative in New England and they're great fans. They're great for our league.
The D.C. fans are also great fans, but I always think one day I'm going to run into the one guy who constantly tried to spit at me, and I'm not exactly sure what's going to happen.
My thought process has been that if you pay for a ticket, you can go ahead and have fun and do whatever you want. I'm not into personal insults, and people are going to do that anyway. If somebody bought a ticket for you, if you got a comp, I think you sit there and you shut up.
If you put your money, your hard-earned money, to go see a game, you've pretty much got the right to say anything. As long as you stay on that side of the fence, I'll stay on this side of the fence and we'll see who wins at the end of the day.
Say hello to the new-look Revs
The Revolution completely dismantled defending champs Houston Dynamo tonight, 3-0, despite being without three normal starters (Twellman, Thompson and Smith). Goals came from Ralston, Cristman, and Nyassi. Nyassi's in particular was a fantastic solo effort. Highlights (4 minutes) are posted below.
New England looked like a totally different team from last season - they have a flair they've been missing since Clint Dempsey left. The addition of Kenny Mansally, Mauricio Castro and especially Sainey Nyassi gives them speed and skill that they were lacking last season. Nyassi is incredibly fast, doing step-overs at full speed, and was sprinting back to play defense even in the 80th minute. He was man-of-the-match for me. He set up the first goal and the third goal.... well just watch the highlights.
Mansally also played extremely well, setting up Ralston for the game winner, drawing fouls and looking dangerous the whole time. Castro wasn't on the same page as his teammates, which is expected as he's trained with them for only a week and doesn't speak English, but he was still able to use his skill to frustrate Houston defenders. He drew a hilarious yellow card by doing three cutbacks in a row, running up and down the sideline, until the Houston defender got fed up and hacked him down.
New England looked like a totally different team from last season - they have a flair they've been missing since Clint Dempsey left. The addition of Kenny Mansally, Mauricio Castro and especially Sainey Nyassi gives them speed and skill that they were lacking last season. Nyassi is incredibly fast, doing step-overs at full speed, and was sprinting back to play defense even in the 80th minute. He was man-of-the-match for me. He set up the first goal and the third goal.... well just watch the highlights.
Mansally also played extremely well, setting up Ralston for the game winner, drawing fouls and looking dangerous the whole time. Castro wasn't on the same page as his teammates, which is expected as he's trained with them for only a week and doesn't speak English, but he was still able to use his skill to frustrate Houston defenders. He drew a hilarious yellow card by doing three cutbacks in a row, running up and down the sideline, until the Houston defender got fed up and hacked him down.
Revs season preview
If you are looking for something more than just my cliff notes on the offseason, check out Jimmy Chowda's excellent 2008 Season Preview for the Revs. And it would be past time for Big Red to get the attention that over-the-hill Ben Olsen gets.
MLS 2008 season starts on Saturday!
The 2008 MLS season is upon us. The New England Revolution get a chance to avenge their loss to Houston in the MLS Cup Final last year (their third straight Cup final loss) on Saturday, playing Houston at home. Here's the cliff notes on the offseason.
The Revs lost four players in the offseason. Midfielder Andy Dorman went to Scotland where he now plays for St. Mirren. Striker Pat Noonan was bought by a Norwegian team, Aalesunds FK. Defenders Avery John is not returning for the team, reportedly hawking his wares in the UK. And James Riley (aka Giggles) was picked up by the resuscitated San Jose Earthquakes.
The loss of Avery John has been compensated for by bringing in US National Team defender Chris Albright (see him bonding with his new teammates in his underwear in a hottub in Cancun here). Amaechi Igwe, a rookie last year who played for the reserves, may also get playing time depending on whether the Revs play 3 or 4 at the back. Some people have been saying they don't expect much from Igwe because he didn't get any time last year for the senior team. However, Jeff Larentowicz played 5 minutes for the senior team his rookie year, and started half the games his sophomore year, so I won't write off Igwe. The Revs also drafted a defender, Rob Valentino, with their highest draft pick, and signed a local trialist, Sam Brill of Newton Mass. and Boston College.
The loss of Pat Noonan, who's contributions the last couple seasons were scant due to injury, will probably be offset by the development of Adam Cristman and Kenny Mansally, both rookies last year although Mansally didn't play last year due to visa issues (he is Gambian). Fellow Gambian Sainey Nyassi, a fast outside winger, arrived with Mansally last year. He played one sub appearance and I liked what I saw, although coach Nicol says he needs to develop aspects of his game that don't include running at defenders, beating them, and putting in crosses. Frankly I don't see why...
Hopefully Dorman's departure will be made up for by the signing of two players from Honduran clubs: Mauricio Castro and Argenis Fernandez (who is Costa Rican). Castro can reportedly play the creative midfield role that the Revs have been lacking since they let Jose Pepe Cancela leave a couple years ago. Fernandez is a 21 year old striker. The Revs also signed Kheli Dube, a Zimbabwean striker. They also drafted striker Spencer Wadsworth from Duke, making it five (six if you include Khano Smith) strikers competing for the honor of starting alongside Taylor Twellman. Mansally and Cristman are the favorites.
The core of the team remains intact. Shalrie Joseph and Larentowicz in the midfield are in my opinion the best central midfield pairing in the league. Steve Ralston and Jay Heaps are getting older - I'm not sold that either of them will be still starting come the last day of the season. Twellman will score goals. Michael Parkhurst is still the best central defender in the league - hopefully he doesn't leave for Europe as well. Reis is solid in goal.
In short, lots of changes in the offseason, lots of potential upside if even only two or three of the new young guys like Mansally, Nyassi, Fernandez, Dube, Brill or Valentino end up making valuable contributions. Because the two best teams in the East, DC and the Revs, both lost experienced players (DC lost Christian Gomez to Colorado) and one of the poorer teams improved (Kansas City got Claudio Lopez), I think the East will be pretty even between DC, New England, Kansas City, and Chicago.
Other relevant Revs news: the Revs have an official blog that is regularly updated.
The Revs lost four players in the offseason. Midfielder Andy Dorman went to Scotland where he now plays for St. Mirren. Striker Pat Noonan was bought by a Norwegian team, Aalesunds FK. Defenders Avery John is not returning for the team, reportedly hawking his wares in the UK. And James Riley (aka Giggles) was picked up by the resuscitated San Jose Earthquakes.
The loss of Avery John has been compensated for by bringing in US National Team defender Chris Albright (see him bonding with his new teammates in his underwear in a hottub in Cancun here). Amaechi Igwe, a rookie last year who played for the reserves, may also get playing time depending on whether the Revs play 3 or 4 at the back. Some people have been saying they don't expect much from Igwe because he didn't get any time last year for the senior team. However, Jeff Larentowicz played 5 minutes for the senior team his rookie year, and started half the games his sophomore year, so I won't write off Igwe. The Revs also drafted a defender, Rob Valentino, with their highest draft pick, and signed a local trialist, Sam Brill of Newton Mass. and Boston College.
The loss of Pat Noonan, who's contributions the last couple seasons were scant due to injury, will probably be offset by the development of Adam Cristman and Kenny Mansally, both rookies last year although Mansally didn't play last year due to visa issues (he is Gambian). Fellow Gambian Sainey Nyassi, a fast outside winger, arrived with Mansally last year. He played one sub appearance and I liked what I saw, although coach Nicol says he needs to develop aspects of his game that don't include running at defenders, beating them, and putting in crosses. Frankly I don't see why...
Hopefully Dorman's departure will be made up for by the signing of two players from Honduran clubs: Mauricio Castro and Argenis Fernandez (who is Costa Rican). Castro can reportedly play the creative midfield role that the Revs have been lacking since they let Jose Pepe Cancela leave a couple years ago. Fernandez is a 21 year old striker. The Revs also signed Kheli Dube, a Zimbabwean striker. They also drafted striker Spencer Wadsworth from Duke, making it five (six if you include Khano Smith) strikers competing for the honor of starting alongside Taylor Twellman. Mansally and Cristman are the favorites.
The core of the team remains intact. Shalrie Joseph and Larentowicz in the midfield are in my opinion the best central midfield pairing in the league. Steve Ralston and Jay Heaps are getting older - I'm not sold that either of them will be still starting come the last day of the season. Twellman will score goals. Michael Parkhurst is still the best central defender in the league - hopefully he doesn't leave for Europe as well. Reis is solid in goal.
In short, lots of changes in the offseason, lots of potential upside if even only two or three of the new young guys like Mansally, Nyassi, Fernandez, Dube, Brill or Valentino end up making valuable contributions. Because the two best teams in the East, DC and the Revs, both lost experienced players (DC lost Christian Gomez to Colorado) and one of the poorer teams improved (Kansas City got Claudio Lopez), I think the East will be pretty even between DC, New England, Kansas City, and Chicago.
Other relevant Revs news: the Revs have an official blog that is regularly updated.
Pay the man his money!
English club Preston North End put in a $2 million offer for Revolution striker Taylor Twellman. MLS turned it down, and Twellman's not happy.
The same situation happened to Shalrie Joseph last year when Celtic put in a $2 million offer. During the offseason after Celtic's offer, Joseph got a raise. Since MLS just raised the salary cap level, I'd hope that Twellman gets the same. However Twellman already makes the league maximum for non-marketing cash cows, so Kraft would have to pay Twellman out of his own pocket by making Twellman the designated player. Given Bob Kraft's notorious cheapness when it comes to the Revs, I think that's unlikely.
End result, an unhappy Twellman to go along with the unhappy Joseph.
"My salary would have tripled what it is now," said Twellman, who has completed one year of a four-year contract worth $395,000 annually. "There has to be an adjustment and the fair thing to do would be either to sell me or adjust my pay accordingly."Preston is doing pretty poorly in the Coca Cola Championship (the league right below the Premiership) and they might actually get relegated to the First Division. That might have played a role in MLS' refusal to send Twellman over there - they don't want the US' best goalscorer stuck on a 3rd tier English side.
The same situation happened to Shalrie Joseph last year when Celtic put in a $2 million offer. During the offseason after Celtic's offer, Joseph got a raise. Since MLS just raised the salary cap level, I'd hope that Twellman gets the same. However Twellman already makes the league maximum for non-marketing cash cows, so Kraft would have to pay Twellman out of his own pocket by making Twellman the designated player. Given Bob Kraft's notorious cheapness when it comes to the Revs, I think that's unlikely.
End result, an unhappy Twellman to go along with the unhappy Joseph.
MLS Cup Final
I figured with the amount of coverage I gave the Revs during this playoff run, I should mention the bad news. The New England Revolution lost in the MLS Cup yesterday to the Houston Dynamo, 2-1. It is the 3rd time in a row that the Revs have lost in the Cup final, and the 4th time since 2002.
Taylor Twellman:
"I've got no emotion in me. We've lost every final every which way we can. The way I look at it, we've got absolutely nothing to lose next year. Get back here, we should play four forwards and try to score 12 goals."
Next year!
Here's a video clip of the Revs fans before the game. I'm in there somewhere.
mov00984.mpg
Taylor Twellman:
"I've got no emotion in me. We've lost every final every which way we can. The way I look at it, we've got absolutely nothing to lose next year. Get back here, we should play four forwards and try to score 12 goals."
Next year!
Here's a video clip of the Revs fans before the game. I'm in there somewhere.
mov00984.mpg
MLS Cup
The New England Revolution are playing the Houston Dynamo in the MLS Cup on Sunday at noon. It's televised on ABC. Tailgating starts at 8.30AM.
Here's the highlights of the last time the Revs and Dynamo met - July 22nd 2007 at Gillette stadium. I'm not posting last year's highlights - still too painful.
Also, here's a link to Frank Dell'Appa's preview at ESPNsoccernet:
Here's the highlights of the last time the Revs and Dynamo met - July 22nd 2007 at Gillette stadium. I'm not posting last year's highlights - still too painful.
Also, here's a link to Frank Dell'Appa's preview at ESPNsoccernet:
After hobbling through two MLS Cup defeats in two years, this time the Revolution are homing in on the final in a position of strength.
The Revolution's style of soccer
A blogger for the Houston Chronicle has attacked the Rev's playing style:
The MLS Cup final is Sunday, November 18th, at RFK Stadium in DC. The Revs will be there. I will be there. Houston might be there - we'll know in a few hours whether it's them or Kansas City.
...the skillful cynicism Nicol brings to the playoffs, especially with the talent he has, frankly has met its just end in all his three MLS Cup finals.Other Revolution fans have occasionally voiced frustration with Stevie Nicol's playing philosophy. He emphasizes defense first, work ethic over flair, and winning over running up the score. In the playoffs, this becomes really obvious - for the Revolution's away game at New York, their objective was "finish 90 minutes without having conceded a goal". This frustrates fans who want to see high-scoring games, but it suits me just fine. Here's my reply to the Houston Chronicle blogger:
Ah yes - that maddening style of anti-soccer that earned the Revolution a 3-3 draw the last time they played Houston!I'll add two things. First, the "work ethic before flair" style is what Stevie Nicol knows from playing for Liverpool for fifteen years (masters of the 1-0 win in the 1980s ) and from the Scottish National Team (they are not Brazil). Second, after losing in the MLS Cup final three times in the last five years (all in overtime or on penalty kicks), this season the Revolution are determined to win the Cup any way they can. Emphasizing defense is the natural reaction to losing the Cup by conceding a goal when you were six minutes away from winning it.
As a Revolution fan, I agree that I'd rather see the Revs score more goals. But to say that the MLS Cup finals that the Revs have been in were "dragged down into the muck" is wrong - first of all, cup finals are usually tactical matchups because neither team can lose - that's just the way it goes. Second, six out of eight of the first round results were either 1-0 or 0-0 - not all of us get to score bags of goals against the 2nd string Dallas defense. Nicol's style is to build a solid team from the back forward and to have players that work really hard for 90 minutes. It's not 'anti-soccer', it's British soccer. We can't all be Brazilians.
Besides, in choosing between nail-biting 1-0 victories and complete blowouts like Liverpool's recent 8-0 destruction of Besiktas, as a neutral I'd rather watch a game that could still go either way. Although if the Revs blow out Houston/KC, I won't complain!
The MLS Cup final is Sunday, November 18th, at RFK Stadium in DC. The Revs will be there. I will be there. Houston might be there - we'll know in a few hours whether it's them or Kansas City.
Revs into the MLS Cup final
WOW.
Taylor Twellman scored the best goal of his career to carry the New England Revolution into the MLS Cup final against either Kansas City or Houston. 1-0 the final score.
Here's Twellman's goal:
Taylor Twellman scored the best goal of his career to carry the New England Revolution into the MLS Cup final against either Kansas City or Houston. 1-0 the final score.
Here's Twellman's goal:
Revs advance!
Yes!!!!
I watched the Revolution beat Red Bull New York at Luckybar. Unbeknownst to me there were two other Revolution fans somewhere else in the bar - I heard them yell when Taylor Twellman scored the winning goal!
Shalrie Joseph was man of the match, for me. Twellman's goal was ugly but they all count equally. A pretty ugly game all around really - played in 40 degrees Fahrenheit, 30 mile-an-hour winds and heavy rain - a real English game. A nail biter to the end.
Next Thursday the Revs play Chicago on ESPN. Winner goes to the MLS Cup!
I watched the Revolution beat Red Bull New York at Luckybar. Unbeknownst to me there were two other Revolution fans somewhere else in the bar - I heard them yell when Taylor Twellman scored the winning goal!
Shalrie Joseph was man of the match, for me. Twellman's goal was ugly but they all count equally. A pretty ugly game all around really - played in 40 degrees Fahrenheit, 30 mile-an-hour winds and heavy rain - a real English game. A nail biter to the end.
Next Thursday the Revs play Chicago on ESPN. Winner goes to the MLS Cup!
MLS playoffs!
The Revolution's regular season is over. Here are the top ten goals of the year (from Blue Blooded Journo). Jeff Larentowicz gets numbers 2 and 3 - but nothing can top Michael Parkhurst's goal against Toronto last week.
Now it's on to the playoffs. The Revs play the first leg of the home-and-away series with New York at Giants Stadium tomorrow night at 7.30PM. It's on Fox Soccer Channel. For me and 10,000 other people in New England, this takes priority over the Red Sox World Series game at 8PM, although hopefully I'll find somewhere that will show both. After all, with the success of the Red Sox and Patriots, the Revolution are now the cursed team of New England (3 MLS Cup appearances, 3 losses, all in overtime or penalty-kicks).
Now it's on to the playoffs. The Revs play the first leg of the home-and-away series with New York at Giants Stadium tomorrow night at 7.30PM. It's on Fox Soccer Channel. For me and 10,000 other people in New England, this takes priority over the Red Sox World Series game at 8PM, although hopefully I'll find somewhere that will show both. After all, with the success of the Red Sox and Patriots, the Revolution are now the cursed team of New England (3 MLS Cup appearances, 3 losses, all in overtime or penalty-kicks).
Michael Parkhurst, wonder goal
Michael Parkhurst of the New England Revolution is leading a charmed life. He's a professional soccer player, playing for the team he supported as a child (his parents took him to the first-ever Revolution game). He won Rookie of the Year in 2005, and he's also won fan awards for his charity work. He's also recently been called to play for the United States. And now, finally, he's being compared to David Beckham.
Parkhurst, a defender, had never scored a goal as a professional until now. He scored on his first ever shot. Take a look:
For comparison:
David Beckham:
Dwayne De Rosario:
Parkhurst, a defender, had never scored a goal as a professional until now. He scored on his first ever shot. Take a look:
For comparison:
David Beckham:
Dwayne De Rosario:
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