MLS Rumors reporting that a club is on the move, and it may be New England.
Destination.... New England
http://www.mls-rumors.net/2008/12/relocation-mystery-mls-club-may.html
Speculation and unsubstantiated claims of overheard conversations in the ownership box point to the Krafts selling out to Hartford Connecticut investor called Northlands Investment Group. Northlands manages both Rentschler Field & the Hartford Civic Center along with AEG & wanted a United Football League team in Rentschler. Conditions of the sale prohibit a UFL team (which would protect the Patriots interest), and the current owner (presumably Kraft) would buy into the ownership of NHL franchise. They've also proposed building a $250 million arena in order to land the new NHL team all seems to fit with the rumors as reported on mls-rumors.net.
Not 100% convinced yet.... I just don't get the feeling that the Kraft family has really thought this through. With all the renovations they've done to Gillette Stadium plus the building of Patriot Place, you would think that they would want to maximize the return on their investment. But the more I read it, the more likely it seems.
Compared to Galaxy's Marketing, Revolution Come Up Short
The following is in response to Dave Denholm's (ESPN 710 AM, Los Angeles) argument (heard September 16 on Around the League in 90 Minutes, on www.csrnusa.com) that the Galaxy have saved MLS by signing Beckham, and went on to attack other teams in the league for not following suit and signing some big name players. His tirade ruffled more than a few feathers, and his comments provoked a number of dissidents into firing back at him, calling his attack on the rest of the league unwarranted.
I don't think so.
Yes Denholm's arguments can be repetitive, and often tired and overused, but the ruckus he stirred up last Tuesday was damn good radio. Misguided and sad, but damn good radio.
And while his argument was ...well... argumentative, it was not without some merit. New England has been terrible in it's marketing efforts. They mainly concentrate on youth soccer programs and soccer moms. The only thing that saves them is the annual Brazil vs whoever match. If they would spend some money and advertise during the Red Sox or Patriots games.... they may get some results. While those markets are hard to tap into, they aren't even trying. They should at least advertise on the local sports networks. there are tons of SPORTS fans here that are interested in more than Baseball and Grid Iron Football. They have consistently failed to make this team appealing to the casual soccer fan, not to mention the hordes of Celtic fans (not to be confused with Celtics, with an 's') who crowded the stadium when they would play the Revs.
I also agree with his point about bringing in Beckham is what saved this league. It put MLS on the world map, but now the league needs to do something about it. Yeah we won SuperLiga, but in the global game that means nothing. With the amount of kids who play this sport every day, this sport should be bigger than baseball. But it isn't. It's time to bring the league into the same scale as the rest of the world. But who is going to step up and make the league better? It has to start with the ownership of the league. If we want to attract world class talent, we need to get rid of the salary cap, because anyone of quality is not going to play for peanuts. We also need to get rid of the plastic pitches, because anyone of quality will scoff at the idea of playing on artificial surfaces.
If I were working for New England, I would be talking to Ronaldo's (not Chrissy) agent RIGHT NOW. He is still worshiped as a god among the Brazilian population here. If New England signed him we'd have a full house every home game.
And then Denholm would have to find something else to bark about.
I don't think so.
Yes Denholm's arguments can be repetitive, and often tired and overused, but the ruckus he stirred up last Tuesday was damn good radio. Misguided and sad, but damn good radio.
And while his argument was ...well... argumentative, it was not without some merit. New England has been terrible in it's marketing efforts. They mainly concentrate on youth soccer programs and soccer moms. The only thing that saves them is the annual Brazil vs whoever match. If they would spend some money and advertise during the Red Sox or Patriots games.... they may get some results. While those markets are hard to tap into, they aren't even trying. They should at least advertise on the local sports networks. there are tons of SPORTS fans here that are interested in more than Baseball and Grid Iron Football. They have consistently failed to make this team appealing to the casual soccer fan, not to mention the hordes of Celtic fans (not to be confused with Celtics, with an 's') who crowded the stadium when they would play the Revs.
I also agree with his point about bringing in Beckham is what saved this league. It put MLS on the world map, but now the league needs to do something about it. Yeah we won SuperLiga, but in the global game that means nothing. With the amount of kids who play this sport every day, this sport should be bigger than baseball. But it isn't. It's time to bring the league into the same scale as the rest of the world. But who is going to step up and make the league better? It has to start with the ownership of the league. If we want to attract world class talent, we need to get rid of the salary cap, because anyone of quality is not going to play for peanuts. We also need to get rid of the plastic pitches, because anyone of quality will scoff at the idea of playing on artificial surfaces.
If I were working for New England, I would be talking to Ronaldo's (not Chrissy) agent RIGHT NOW. He is still worshiped as a god among the Brazilian population here. If New England signed him we'd have a full house every home game.
And then Denholm would have to find something else to bark about.
Revs show interest in Joe Public's Richardson
Revs among MLS clubs bidding for Joe Public's Guyanese striker Gregory Richardson
http://www.nationnews.com/story/292703238118808.php
Regarding Richardson, Griffith announced that United States Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs Columbus Crew, New England Revolution and San Jose Earthquakes all wanted to sign the fleet-footed Guyanese, following his terrific showing over two legs in the CONCACAF Champions League against the Revolution, including scoring a hat trick in Public's 4-0 victory, in the away leg in Boston earlier this month.
"He has to take his chance now," Griffith said. "What I can say is that it is very unlikely that Gregory Richardson will be a Joe Public player next season."
I look at Richardson as a Kheli Dube who can pass the ball. More importantly he is someone who can sneak behind the defense and put the ball in the net on his own, as well as draw the defense away from Taylor. Dube can score but he needs to play off of other people - like Taylor (who would draw the defense away from him).
I think they need to either get Taylor a partner he can work with - a Dube/Richardson type of player, or a true attacking midfielder, or they need to sell him. If they do sell Twellman, they could easily afford Richardson. But there are so many holes this club need to fill in the off season, I expect that they will try and address these first.
1) Attacking Midfielder - Steve Ralston will not play forever. They need to bring a playmaker in who can play off the forwards as well as set up goals. (Remember Clint Dempsey....). P.S. Shalrie Joseph is NOT this person.
2) Striking PARTNER for Twellman.... not just a forward that lays the ball off for Twellman, but someone that can score on his own and is not afraid of upsetting TT (Richardson, or someone like him)
3) Left wing - Khano Smith is a huge question mark and Mauricio Castro has been a flop and I don't expect him back. I don't see them spending a ton of money for a left footed winger, and expect them to promote from within. Igwe could play left back and Tierney play forward.... but Nicol prefers Tierney at left back. Is Chris Tierney the answer? Who's left?
4) Center Back - Parkhurst is out of contract. Who is going to take his place? Badilla? He has been spotty at best.
5) Assistant coach - if Mariner goes to Seattle (Seattle Mariner... heh) who will be the Robin to Nicol's Batman?
Don't forget there is a new team coming in to the league (Seattle) - which means there will be another Expansion draft. I will be very curious to see who Nicol leaves unprotected. My Money is on Igwe, Castro, Manzanelli, and Warren.
Oh Say Can You See....? A back line made of three...
Parkhurst is back and so is the dreaded return of the three man back line for the Revs....as witnessed in the game last night against DC United.
It was with mixed emotions that I listened to the starting lineup. Michael Parkhurst, returning from the olympics late last week, would be making his first start for the Revs in almost a month. His return was most welcome as the defense over our last two league games has let in 6 goals, (5 of them scored in the last 15 -20 minutes either game). However I suspected that it would mean the end of the very effective 4-man back line employed during the Revs historic, undefeated Super Liga Run, with which they shut out their Mexican opponents.
My suspicions were confirmed when the rest of the line up there was announced. Noticeably absent was speedy left back Amaechi Igwe, and the more recently favored left footed Chris Tierney. Both were available as substitutes.
It is no secret that I much prefer the four man back line. Especially with Igwe and Albright making knifing inward runs from the back, creating space on the wings for the speedy outside players to move into and attack.
But it came as no surprise to me. It was, after all, just a matter of time before Steve Nicol returned to his preferred 3-5-2 line up, especially after the collapse of the defense in the last two games. Granted, the goals were all scored against a lineup that was not only without Parkhurst, but without Shalrie Joseph as well (sent off against Chicago, they score two; suspended for San Jose, they score four). With both of them available for last night's game, I was hopeful to see a 4-4-2 with a reinforced spine of Parkhurst and Joseph. But I didn't see it.
What I did see amazed me. I got up to buy my kids a blanket and what did my wondering eyes see on the pitch but a three man back line consisting of Parkhurst on the right, Heaps in the Center, and Khano Smith at left back. I shook my head in disbelief....but there he was. When I returned to my seat, I looked again.... and there was a three man back line, with Parkhurst playing left back, Albright in center and Sainey Nyassi playing right back.
And it went on. Albright would make a run, and the back line would shift to the right, with Khano dropping back. Heaps would move forward and Nyassi would drop back on the opposite side. Steve Nicol finally got through to his players and for the first time ever I saw what Nicol has been trying to do. Effectively employ the 3-5-2 with a three man back line consisting of five players.
I don't know how Nicol got through to his team, but whatever it was, it worked. The Revs defense was omnipresent and solid all night long. There were a couple of close calls, one of which resulted in a rebound for Moreno of DC who capitalized, but that was it. More impressive to me was the composure they showed on and off the ball, rarely getting out of position and covering well when they did. There was also only one yellow card for the Revs when Sainey Nyassi made a reckless challenge late in the game (who will be suspended for this weekend due to yellow card accumulation).
Only in the final minutes, when Nicol made a tactical substitution sending in fullback Chris Tierney for forward Adam Cristman, did the Revs use a four man back line, but by then he had made a 3-5-2 believer out of me.
At least until this weekend.
It was with mixed emotions that I listened to the starting lineup. Michael Parkhurst, returning from the olympics late last week, would be making his first start for the Revs in almost a month. His return was most welcome as the defense over our last two league games has let in 6 goals, (5 of them scored in the last 15 -20 minutes either game). However I suspected that it would mean the end of the very effective 4-man back line employed during the Revs historic, undefeated Super Liga Run, with which they shut out their Mexican opponents.
My suspicions were confirmed when the rest of the line up there was announced. Noticeably absent was speedy left back Amaechi Igwe, and the more recently favored left footed Chris Tierney. Both were available as substitutes.
It is no secret that I much prefer the four man back line. Especially with Igwe and Albright making knifing inward runs from the back, creating space on the wings for the speedy outside players to move into and attack.
But it came as no surprise to me. It was, after all, just a matter of time before Steve Nicol returned to his preferred 3-5-2 line up, especially after the collapse of the defense in the last two games. Granted, the goals were all scored against a lineup that was not only without Parkhurst, but without Shalrie Joseph as well (sent off against Chicago, they score two; suspended for San Jose, they score four). With both of them available for last night's game, I was hopeful to see a 4-4-2 with a reinforced spine of Parkhurst and Joseph. But I didn't see it.
What I did see amazed me. I got up to buy my kids a blanket and what did my wondering eyes see on the pitch but a three man back line consisting of Parkhurst on the right, Heaps in the Center, and Khano Smith at left back. I shook my head in disbelief....but there he was. When I returned to my seat, I looked again.... and there was a three man back line, with Parkhurst playing left back, Albright in center and Sainey Nyassi playing right back.
And it went on. Albright would make a run, and the back line would shift to the right, with Khano dropping back. Heaps would move forward and Nyassi would drop back on the opposite side. Steve Nicol finally got through to his players and for the first time ever I saw what Nicol has been trying to do. Effectively employ the 3-5-2 with a three man back line consisting of five players.
I don't know how Nicol got through to his team, but whatever it was, it worked. The Revs defense was omnipresent and solid all night long. There were a couple of close calls, one of which resulted in a rebound for Moreno of DC who capitalized, but that was it. More impressive to me was the composure they showed on and off the ball, rarely getting out of position and covering well when they did. There was also only one yellow card for the Revs when Sainey Nyassi made a reckless challenge late in the game (who will be suspended for this weekend due to yellow card accumulation).
Only in the final minutes, when Nicol made a tactical substitution sending in fullback Chris Tierney for forward Adam Cristman, did the Revs use a four man back line, but by then he had made a 3-5-2 believer out of me.
At least until this weekend.
Blogged with the Flock Browser
US Open Cup Semis: Revolution were out of it before it started
http://www.boston.com/sports/soccer/articles/2008/08/13/lacking_usual_punch_revolution_are_kod/
Fielding a side primarily made up of reserves, the New England Revolution lost a hard fought match Tuesday night, to DC United in the US Open Cup semi-finals. Despite tying the score before halftime, the "Reservolution" was clearly outmatched by their east coast rivals.
With Twellman, Mansally and Dube all left off the roster nursing injuries, the Revs had only one true forward available to them: Adam Cristman, who has started a few games this season, but has lost his starter status to Dube and Mansally. Playing as a withdrawn forward was the young and untested Brandon Manzanelli. Joe Germanese, Pat Phelan, and former starter Khano Smith, joined Shalrie in the midfield. The back line consisted of newcomer Rob Valentino and perennial reserve Gary Flood, along with sometime starter Amaechi Igwe at left back. Relegated to Right Back was another former starter Wells Thompson.
DC United fielded their senior squad.
To his credit, Steve Nicol gave the team that got him to the semis, primarily a reserve side, the opportunity to prove themselves. Still, I have to question how much Nicol really wanted to win this. He fielded only one regular starter in Shalrie Joseph. Reis, Ralston, Larentowicz, Castro, Nyassi, Tierney, and Heaps were all left at home, leaving only Albright, Brill, and Tyler available on the bench. They even flew in Brad Knighton from Portland to serve as backup goal keeper, to save Matt Reis for this weekend's match in San Jose.
The Revs have an unbelievable schedule coming up which will test the limits of their core group of players. New England are on a two game per week schedule, starting last week with the SuperLiga final, and continuing through the first week of September. On the line for the Revs is the MLS Cup, the Supporters Shield, as well as CONCACAF Champions League qualifying. It's easy to see how the US Open Cup, a tournament that players play primarily for bragging rights only, as there is little reward for the teams other than a trophy, would take a back seat to the other competitions that offer more prestige and financial reward.
Nicol may have done the right thing in the end by putting more emphasis on the Revs' MLS Cup campaign. I just don't buy the fact that he was trying to win the match.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)