Revs Offseason Update

First off, congratulations to Toronto FC on the MLS Cup win. Obviously with the USMNT ties through Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore people rooted for them, but I love Sebastian Giovinco. For as much as he absolutely pulls our pants down, he's such a joy to watch and I'm glad he got his title. In my mind he's the current talisman of the league, and a championship only reinforces that. 

Now, on to more pressing matters. First up...

A post shared by Kei Kamara (@2k3) on Dec 11, 2017 at 1:34pm PST

Yeah, Kei Kamara got traded to Vancouver. Not a huge shock honestly. His contract was running out and with Brad Friedel now in charge we were bound to see this kind of turnover given the relative lack of production and poor results. Even Kamara was aware of this...

Hey @NERevolution fan, I would like to thank you for the love you gave me and my family the past year and half. You guys are truly special. I’m sorry I couldn’t be the piece to the puzzle. Continue your support for the boys #HeartShapedHands ❤️ pic.twitter.com/nysrCJXij4

— KEI KAMARA (@keikamara) December 11, 2017

I was very excited when we first got him, thinking that with the talent around him he would be a 15-goal scorer at the least. He was still sneaky our top scorer last season with 12 goals, but it definitely seems like less given the expectations. What I did not take into account was Chris Tierney going through a shocking run of form, in which it was crucial we utilized his fantastic left foot for crosses to Kamara. This obviously did not end up happening.

So we get some draft picks in return to aid in Friedel's search for new talent. It's a bonus that we have two good forwards left on the roster though. Having Juan Agudelo and Krisztian Nemeth means the Kei became expendable without having to then go out and look for a new striker. We seemingly have the solution in house. And so, the Kamara Era in New England ends. I will never forget the time you twerked after a goal and got a yellow card.

Next up: the LAFC Expansion Draft. We once again went through the process of arguing over who should be protected and who should not. Or did we? Brad Friedel's roster moves (including those who had options declined, which I will get to later) left the team thin for this. Since Zach Heriveaux and Scott Caldwell are auto-protected due to their HGP status, the Revs were able to protect a total of 13 players. The total list: 

#NERevs Protected List: Agudelo, Bunbury, Cropper, Delamea, Dielna, Fagundez, Farrell, Koffie, Nemeth, Nguyen, Rowe

Automatically Protected: Caldwell, Herivaux

— Jeff Lemieux (@jeff_lemieux) December 10, 2017

I think they got it very right. LAFC wasn't going to take Chris Tierney and I wouldn't have been distraught if they took Femi. We protect Our most important players through the spine of the lineup, and by protecting Farrell, Bunbury and Koffie, it would appear a few moves are around the corner. Farrell and Bunbury are out of contracts, so protecting them means they are actively working on new deals with the two. And Koffie's loan spell is up, so while we did not have an option to buy him after it ended it seems like they may be trying to get a permanent transfer done. In the end, no Revs were taken in the Expansion Draft.

Now, those with no contracts or options declined. Like Farrell and Bunbury, Brad Knighton and Daigo Kobayashi are out of contracts. I think Brad is a very good backup, but Friedel might be looking to give a younger guy the #2 role. To be completely honest, I do not know what the situation  with Matt Turner is (the same goes for a few other young guys). But he would be my next choice for a backup from the current roster, and with Friedel we could see him and Cropper really start to develop.

Daigo is one of my favorite players. He's the ultimate closer. Normally when you see him subbed in its because we are protecting a lead, a good thing. The few times he has to come in and get 6-out saves he can pull through with a goal or assist or maintaining possession that leads to a goal.

Those with options declined: Benjamin Angoua, Xavier Kouassi, Donnie Smith, Josh Smith, Je-Vaughn Watson, London Woodberry, and Brian Wright.

I thought Josh Smith and Brian Wright showed flashes of promise and wouldn't hate it if they came back on low-salary deals. The one I'm really upset about is Kouassi. I thought he was going to be our new Jermaine Jones and possibly a future captain. When he was healthy he was a destroyer. But injuries absolutely derailed his career. Hopefully this is just Mike Burns re-doing the contract to free up more money for other signings.

Next up is the SuperDraft, I'll cover that when it actually comes around.

And so, Go Revs.

Revs Reportedly Hire Brad Friedel As Manager

GOAL-The New England Revolution have hired Brad Friedel as their new head coach, multiple sources have confirmed to Goal. 

The former U.S. national team goalkeeper and long-time English Premier League standout will take over the Revs in what will be his first professional head coaching job. Friedel most recently spent the past two years coaching the U.S. Under-19 national team along with working as a television analyst for FOX.

We have the #WojBomb and the #ShamsBomb in the NBA. I think we need to officially start up the #IvesBomb. Big news from Ives Galarcep, one of the most trusted reporters in US soccer. Former US goalkeeper Brad Friedel will soon be announced as the 7th manager in New England Revolution history.

Friedel had a brilliant career that spanned over 20 years and, aside from a 38 game stint in Columbus, entirely abroad. His 544 professional matches saw him suit up for the likes of Turkish giants Galatasaray and England's Liverpool, Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur. He also played in 82 matches for the United States.

Former Rev and current ESPN analyst Taylor Twellman first broke the news that Friedel was at the top of the Revs wish list.

At the top of @NERevolution "wish list" for their head coach position is @friedel_b. #NERevs #MLS

— Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman) November 6, 2017

The news has proven to be polarizing early on. Some fans wanted a more proven choice with more managerial experience, while others argue that bringing Friedel in is just as risky as hiring a European manager like former Bayern Munich boss Carlo Ancelotti (not that the Revs had any chance in the slightest to land him).

Among the names in the running were New York Cosmos manager Gio Savarese, US national team assistant Pat Noonan, San Jose assistant Steve Ralston and US U-18 coach Omid Namazi. Bruce Arena, former LA Galaxy head man and USMNT manager from 1998-2006 and most recently November 2016 (following the firing of Jurgen Klinsmann) until his recent dismissal after the US failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, was the other finalist opposite Friedel.

Following his playing days, Friedel has worked as a broadcaster for FOX Sports while coaching the US U-19's not he side. Friedel has been at the helm of the U-19s since their inception in January 2016. Under the former US international, the Baby Nats hold an 8-8 record, though they have not played a match since a 2-1 win over El Salvador in early February 2017.

It may be fair to say he could be a bit rusty when it comes to being a head coach as a result. And the entire situation makes it fair to question the hire. You have a raw coach now with a team that got the previous manager in Jay Heaps, a Revolution legend, fired in September. This is not a rebuilding team in the slightest. I would be far more confident in the move if the Revs were starting from scratch and Freidel were really able to set his team up the way he wanted. But you currently have a squad full of MLS veterans, and good ones at that despite their underachieving nature we have seen the past few seasons.

So instead we get Friedel being thrown to the wolves and being expected to figure out how to get the likes of Lee Nguyen, Kei Kamara, Kelyn Rowe, Diego Fagundez, Juan Agudelo, etc. to click. One thing I will say is that he inherits an interesting defensive situation. The back line has been a mish-mosh of personnel. Cody Cropper will be the likely #1 choice at goalie again next season, so hopefully Friedel can help the youngster take his game to the next level, while also helping the likes of Andrew Farrell, Antonio Delamea, Claude Dielna, Benjamin Angoua (if he comes back) and Chris Tierney gel into a better defensive unit.

Adding to the Revs problems, in my eyes, is the problem with the personalities in the dressing room. You have a lot of egos to manage, which is why Savarese was a hot choice among fans given his experience in that type of setting. We saw Tierney wear the captains armband a few times late in the season despite Nguyen actually being the captain. Hopefully Friedel can nail down the egos and get a strong identity starting with a captain who will wear the armband whenever he is on the field.

All in all, its not really a great situation for Friedel to come into as his first true professional managing gig.

Friedel is friendly with Revs GM Michael Burns as well, so there is some familiarity in that regard.
On Burns, prominent soccer agent Ron Waxman had choice words regarding the man and the hiring of Friedel.

1/5 If indeed reports of Brad Friedel as next #NERevs manager are true, this is GM Michael Burns hiring his friend and former roommate

— Ron Waxman (@RonWaxman) November 7, 2017

2/5 who has zero experience as a professional coach. I am not making any judgment about Brad’s abilities. Just stating facts.

— Ron Waxman (@RonWaxman) November 7, 2017

3/5 Michael Burns is a terrible GM. He hired Jay Heaps who had no coaching experience. No other teams want to deal with #NERevs. No other

— Ron Waxman (@RonWaxman) November 7, 2017

4/5 agents want to deal with #NERevs. Michael is not good at his job. He treats people poorly. He is the one who should have been fired.

— Ron Waxman (@RonWaxman) November 7, 2017

5/5 if and when #NERevs fail next year, I hope that the Krafts will wake up and get rid of the guy who is responsible.

— Ron Waxman (@RonWaxman) November 7, 2017

The tidbit on other teams or agents not wanting to deal with the Revs (read: Burns) is the most  troubling thing in that thread. This would make Brad's job that much harder in trying to shape the roster to his liking. There was an unconfirmed report on Reddit that former Rev defender AJ Soares refused to come back to the team  few years ago as long as Burns was still involved, and these Tweets from Waxman only add to the legitimacy of the rumor.

It's an interesting time to be a Revs fan. We have a new, inexperienced manager who will try top deal with a roster in a weird place and a GM who apparently has no fans around the rest of the US Soccer community. Can Friedel set up a style of play suited for today's MLS? Can avoid the mistake of Jay Heaps and adapt fast enough to keep New England competitive and keep himself employed? What will this fresh mind do with this Revs roster?

The last two points on Friedel, one for and one against:

Against-He played for Tottenham and I, as an Arsenal fan, cannot root for him on principle.

For-He looks like Red Skull from Captain America.

Bonus Point-Hopefully he can add the Boston Accent to his already weird voice. 

It's not quite English and not quite American and almost sounds a bit Dutch. His accent doesn't have home. We will give your voice a home in Boston, Brad. Drop your R's and come home. 

Jay Heaps Is OUT As Revs Manager #SackSzn

GOAL-The New England Revolution have parted ways with head coach Jay Heaps, sources confirmed to Goal on Monday night.

 If you haven't noticed, I haven't posted about the Revs since their 3-0 loss to Philly on July 2nd. The title of that blog was "It's Becoming A Chore To Watch The Revs". And I meant that because, like my chores, I stopped doing it. After that game I rarely watched the Revs. I kept up with results and transactions (Dielna and Nemeth, that KC bonehead getting sent off for an elbow against his old team). But they made me stop caring enough to actually follow and watch closely, and write about it. I was tired of it, fed all the way up with that club.

But now, maybe a breath of life? It probably should have happened earlier, but Jay Heaps is reportedly out as manager of New England Revolution. Ives Galarcep is the man reporting this, and he's considered very reliable in the soccer world. CSNNE, the longtime broadcaster of the team, is also reporting this now.

I'm a big Jay Heaps guy. He served the club loyally as a top player from 2001 to 2009, and was brought in as manager in 2011. He had exciting tactics that ended up turning the team around and getting them to the brink of an MLS Cup in 2014 before losing narrowly to LA Galaxy in the Final. But then something happened. It felt like the rest of the league caught on to Heaps and left him in the dust. His tactics no longer producing results, he was lost. Big name attackers like Kei Kamara, Krisztin Nemeth and Juan Agudelo (people forget he played with the Revs in 2013 and then came back in 2015) were brought in, but the goals seemed to never follow. Heaps and the front office finally tried bringing in defenders to fill the cracks. Antonio Delamea seems like he could be the real deal, but the jury (in my opinion) is still out on Benjamin Angoua and Claude Dielna. Its all too little, too late.

Aside from falling behind tactically, it feels like Heaps lost the dressing room. The players became too complacent and too comfortable with him. When you look at managers and coaches who hold long tenures, the Arsene Wengers, the Sir Alex Fergusons, hell, the Bill Belichicks, what do they have in common? They are ruthless (well, Wenger was once that, different topic for a different time). Players were on their toes constantly. The successes of the past did not factor into the future in any way but one: excellence was still expected. Those guys kept players hungry, and probably scared.

Like I said before, huge Jay Heaps guy. I loved the fire and the passion he brought. I think he really did put all he had into this job, he didn't pussyfoot around. He just wasn't able to adapt, both to changing league tactics and to a locker room environment that didn't want to win for him.

I'll always love Jay Heaps for what he did as a player and for the success he brought in the early years of his tenure at the helm. To quote a #WengerOut banner, "Thanks for the memories but its time to say goodbye".

As far as replacements, it's a good bet assistant Tom Soehn will be interim manager. The early rumor/hope on Reddit is for Giovanni Savarese, a Venezuelan who played for New England in 1999, appearing in 27 matches and scoring 10 goals. Savarese has been head coach of New York Cosmos since 2013.

As Reddit user AdamInJP wrote about Savarese: "The Cosmos are the Island of Misfit Toys. MLS cast offs, international imports that didn't like the structure of the real big league, kids in their way up, foreign players who are just a shade below MLS level. Savarese makes that eclectic group of players win. Also of note, he busted his ass last fall to find landing spots for his players when it looked like the team was going under. He did that after his pay checks ended. Players love him. I want that in a coach."

With the eclectic group we have and the egos in the locker room, it sounds like Savarese might be the right man for the job.  I'll update when coaching changes happen, but I won't be blogging about the games the rest of this season. Hopefully theres enough hope for next season to warrant regular blogs again.

PS-Burns and, unfortunately, Kraft need to be next out. At the very least Mike Burns needs to be ousted form the GM role. He STINKS. Getting an owner completely dedicated to the Revs would be great, but if we can get a GM who, along with a manager and team president in Brian Bilello, can convince Kraft to splash cash on the team in the hopes of creating even more revenue through winning, then I'm OK with Kraft remaining as owner.

Boy's Club, Men's League: Quarterfinals

The heavyweight bout we all knew was coming finally happened. Black had beaten us twice prior to this game. The first was a blowout, the second much closer, both going in their favor. Would this be the game that finally saw Maroon pull out a big win against their hated rivals? 

Actually Good

Squad depth. The full roster was there. Subbing out Jake for New Chris, of course. 

Actually Bad

Squad depth. We had 4 guys who do not sub out, and one who in this game barely subbed out. 

Actually Good

Black missing all their big guys, and only having five guys total. 

Actually Bad

They are still DEADLY from 3.

Actually Good

Emmett played the game of his life. He was an x-factor on offense and played good defense. 

Actually Bad

We missed Jake's scoring. Especially since we didn't really heat up that much until the second half.

The end result was a 2-point loss for Maroon, meaning the season is over. This matchup was the best chance we had against them, and they still pulled it out, so hats off to Black. We still don't like them, but whatever. 

In the end, Chris 1 fouling out in crunch time, New Chris not being near the scorer Jake was, and not playing Emmett on their best shooter all game hurt us a lot. Even two missed threes as a result of Emmett's defense in the first half would have been game-changing. We didn't get some bounces either, which sucks. It just wasn't our year. 

Who knows what incarnation Maroon will have next year. Who will be back? Who will be off to other ventures? For now, all we can do is look back on the past few months and wonder about what-ifs. And remember to always #BelieveInMaroon 

Boy's Club, Men's League: Playoffs Round 1

I haven't played in 3 weeks. Since my last game, I had to miss one due to an overnight at camp and then we had a bye before the playoffs started. Our final record stood at 5-3, which is not indicative of our actual talent and ability. We lost the first game without our full team, and lost twice to a team who might be the best in the entire league. Other teams did not have as tough a schedule as Maroon did, but you can only play who's on the schedule and thats what we did. The result of our first playoff game? A 112-72 win. 

Actually Good

Our win was actually a forfeit win, since the other team did not have enough players to play a playoff game. So there was no stress when we actually took the floor to have a little scrimmage. 

Actually Bad

It would have been nice to get some real playoff action in against a weak opponent considering it's gonna get real tough going forward. 

Actually Good

Evantz is back. After tearing his ACL nearly one year ago exactly, Evantz was back on the court for his first bit of real action. There's only so much that shooting against 10 year olds can do, so getting some real basketball against actual opponents in a stress-free game is exactly what he needed to knock some rust off. 

Actually Bad

Chris 1 apparently has a broken elbow or something? What is actually going on is pretty murky, I have no idea if thats true or not. If so, it would be a massive blow to our chances. He's great on defense and can contribute offensively. 

Actually Good

Our depth for next week. We have Jake for one game only and it is next week against Black, who has beaten us twice. Now that Evantz is back and we have another kid named Chris who is in the 6'5"-6'6" range, our best lineup with a full squad against black is likely: Jordan/Jake/Chris 1/Chris 3/One of Emmett, Evantz, Chris 2 or me. That should be able to get the job done against a very good team. 

Actually Bad

We are still playing Black and might still not have a defensive answer for them. New Chris (Chris 3) is tall, yes, but Black has someone just as tall and a lot more built and beefy, so we could still get punished down low. and then if we switch to zone to negate him, they can bombard us from deep. Need to figure something out. 

Actually Good

I made a 3 pointer. 

Actually Bad

I only took two shots in a scrimmage.

Actually Good

I had a p good stat line imo. 3 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks. Didn't even play that much either. 

And so, Maroon rolls on. Next week is like a championship matchup happening in the quarter-finals. We will likely not be playing a team as good as this one further down the line should we pull out a W. White could give us a run for our money, and so could Blue, but hopefully those two cannibalize each other like us and Black are likely to do. We need Jake to put up a monster game in his final appearance for Maroon. 

Boy's Club, Men's League: Week 8

Full disclosure, I was not in attendance for this game. I had an overnight at camp so I had to miss out. Regardless, I was told enough the day after that I can put together an abbreviated recap.

Actually Good

Winning by like 30. 

Actually Bad

Not having Jake. We only have a few games left with him and he likely will not be available for a possible championship. 

Actually Good

Winning by like 30 without needing Jake.

Actually Bad

Not being able to play in this game where I could have possibly put up a decent stat line. 

Actually Good

Winning by like 30 without Jake and against a team who is very bad.

I will be back in action next week. Hopefully my groin heals up by then.

Boys Club, Mens League: Week 7

Hard to believe we've been at this for like 9 weeks total now between games, scrimmages and bye-weeks, but we're starting to near the end of the regular season as the playoffs loom large. This week saw a new opponent, the absence of Jake and the return of Chris #2. 

Actually Good

Playing a lesser opponent when we needed a bounce back. Not something we could control, but after dropping a three-game win streak to a team who already blew us out once, we needed a confidence boost. I'm still waiting for the teams we could beat without any of our top players though...

Actually Bad

Help Defense. While it wasn't exactly the most offensively potent opponent we've faced, the defense this week was pretty good. One thing that wasn't good, and in fact actually bad, was the help defense. Aside from one guy who could hit a few threes, their entire game was getting it into the paint through post passing and driving through the middle. We just didn't talk or help on D. That'll kill us when it comes to better teams. 

Actually Good

Rebounding. It might have been a product of our opponent or a product of luck, but the rebounding was much better this game. There were still a few lapses where they got easy offensive boards and putbacks. But it at least shows potential is there to not lose 85% of rebounds per game. 

Actually Bad

Chris #2 does not have his scoring touch back. He had a good first few weeks, but has been off since then. He still can get his buckets, but nowhere near the volume he's capable of. If he gets back on track and hits a stride alongside Jake and Jordan, we will be deadly. 

Actually Good

Scoring inside the three-point line. We normally jack up a bunch of threes, mainly from Jake, that will go in. We still had a fair share of three's from both Chris's, Jordan, Brian and Jacob, but less than normal, and we ht a good amount of them. But a lot more of the scoring came from midrange jumpers, attacking the basket and especially free throws. We got to the line a ton, definitely more than previous weeks, and shot a very good clip from the line. 

Actually Bad 

Relative lack of scoring without Jake. We still put up good numbers, but not the 90 to 100 point outbursts of recent weeks. It's no secret Jake's our best pure scorer. Jordan has better handles and can absolutely score at will, but is more rounded than Jake. Jake is the guy who will drop 50 points with no assists, Jordan is the guy who can drop 50, but would rather go for 20 points and 20 assists, which is awesome but when he's the top scoring option we'd rather he go for the 50 than the double-double. 

Bonus Actually Bad

My groin. Like two weeks ago my right groin got super tight and despite stretching I would just aggravate it anytime I did anything more than walk. It got worse when I played kickball at camp and thought I damn near tore it off the bone. Well flash forward like a week and it still wasn't better, but I still decided to try and play. I played a fair amount to, but my God was I hurting after. Think I have a break this week since I won't be at our game, so that hopefully helps the healing process. 

Back on track with a good double digit win (writing two days after the games is not conducive to remembering the scores exactly). 4-3 on the season with playoffs coming.