Shhhhhh buddy, its about that time. The renewed hope, a fresh sense of direction and restored confidence that may be baseless. The Revs are back in action this weekend at Philly to kick off the 2018 MLS season.
The Brad Friedel Era is ready to officially begin after an interesting off season and preseason. His side went 2-3-1 in the preseason, with that one loss coming in the first game against Malmo FF. We've seen a glimpse of what to expect this season, but nothing is set in stone in terms of roster, depth chart or formation.
So lets look at a few things ahead of Saturdays matchup.
The Lineup (Likely Starters in Bold)
GK (3): Cody Cropper, Brad Knighton, Matt Turner
This position remains unchanged from last season. Cropper stays the likely starter with Knighton as a very good backup, and Matt Turner at 23 does another season as the younger project.
Defenders (9): Gabriel Somi, Antonio Delamea, Claude Dielna, Andrew Farrell, Chris Tierney, Mark Segbers, Brandon Bye, Jalil Anibaba, Nicolas Samayoa
The biggest storyline out of this group is probably newcomer Gabriel Somi taking the starting left back spot from Revs legend Chris Tierney. CT is 32 and has seen his play decline rather rapidly. I could see Friedel using him as a left side center back in a 3 or 5 man backline though. Dielna and Delamea showed promise at the tail end of last season, so a full preseason to build chemistry and get Dielna fully in the program should pay huge dividends. Brandon Bye also impressed a number of people in preseason. Bye and Somi can also play in the midfield, while Segbers and Tierney are listed as also being midfielders.
Midfielders (8): Kelyn Rowe, Diego Fagundez, Cristian Penilla, Wilfried Zahibo, Scott Caldwell, Lee Nguyen, Isaac Angking, Zach Heriveaux
The Nguyen situation is one we will get to in a bit. Rowe and Fagundez looked real good in preseason and will be deployed in their natural midfield positions under Firedel (no more Left Back Kelyn!!!!). Penilla has blazing speed that will come in handy on the outside. Zahibo has shown he is a solid option at CDM but has a knack for playing a little reckless at times. Honestly, we don't know if he will be used with Caldwell in a two-CDM system or what. Time will tell.
Forwards (5): Juan Agudelo, Krisztian Nemeth, Brian Wright, Femi Hollinger-Janzen, Teal Bunbury
Agudelo is ready for a huge season in my opinion. He's gotten USMNT call-ups very recently that show he's in good form and as the likely #1 target now that Kei Kamara is gone he should see plenty of action. I'm intrigued by what Nemeth will do as a sort of 2nd Striker or what his role will be. Wright and Femi are the young projects while Teal is your veteran experience.
The Captain Situation
We saw a very weird situation with he captains armband last season. It started with Lee, we saw Tierney wear it at times, but it never felt like there was any actual captain. We haven't had that feeling really since Jose Goncalves left. Friedel said at the start of preseason he had a captain in mind but wouldn't reveal it until the start of the regular season, but with Claude Dielna wearing the armband in every preseason match, I think we have a good idea as to who will don it on gamedays this season.
What's Up With Lee Nguyen?
I have previously written about the Lee Nguyen Saga, but he basically has demanded a trade and no-showed most of preseason. The front office has denied his trade request as Friedel wants to use him as an important piece this season while also giving off a vibe that the inmates will not run the asylum under his watch. Lee has a contract and the Revs are going to make him see it out until it expires or a favorable trade comes along. Lee did report to camp in Florida for the last two or so weeks, but was kept in what was essentially solitary confinement, working solo with trainers to get his fitness back up after his lengthy holdout. This is why I do not have him pegged as a starter; he won't be one, at least not to start, given his delay. I still think he is one of the best attacking midfielders in the league and the US player pool. He has vision, good touch, and finishing ability. He may never again replicate his MVP Finalist season of 2014, but he's still pretty damn good in "down years". Being able to use Nguyen, Penilla, Rowe and Fagundez in the midfield all at once will give opposing teams fits. It would mean one of Agudelo or Nemeth starts on the bench and that either Zahibo or Caldwell is alone at CDM, but that is a ton of attacking firepower for other defenses to worry about.
Lee was spotted in an Instagram story playing cornhole (I think) with Juan, so I'm hoping the fact he's good friends with guys like Juan and his fishing buddy Diego, along with the managerial change and a likely promise to be a center piece of the attack is enough to get him back at the negotiating table to sort things out with the Revs.
More Signings To Come
Big Baller Brad saying two signings are close, with 21 year old Luis Caicedo and 26 year old Didier Moreno the rumored targets. Both are DM's, so going back to Lee, they are not his replacements. Obviously you'd probably want to have the younger guy if you can only have one, but I'm also not going to pretend I watch enough, or any, Colombian soccer to give an actual opinion on the guy. It's just good to see Brad getting after it with these signings.From Brad Freiedel: The #NERevs are "very close" on one signing, "close" on another.— Jonathan Sigal (@JonathanSigal) February 28, 2018
Friedel added it's a matter of negotiation now, wouldn't disclose positions or further details. #MLS
What To Expect
It'd be foolish to expect Brad to win the Cup in his first professional coaching season with this revamped of a roster. But they have a contender over at 1 Patriot Place. This team should reach the playoffs and probably even make it past the first round. I don't think its unreasonable to look for 15 or 16 wins and north of 50 points after the 13-win, 45-point season in 2017.
I was very, very skeptical of the Friedel hiring when it first happened, but he's put the right foot forward at every turn thus far and has instilled a new confidence in the fanbase. It obviously means nothing if the results do not follow, but as of now, things are looking up for once.
So that's it. This Saturday it all begins. Only two things to take care of now.
1) I need to pick a victory song for this season. Past songs have been "Thughearted" and "Old Thing Back". I'll spend most of Friday contemplating the various possibilities in a meditative state.
2) I need a new GIF to replace Kei twerking and then getting booked for twerking. Thats an all-time GIF that I hat has to be retired.
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