The New England Revolution: It wasn’t always this way…
Better days.
So dismayed am I at this point with the listless and directionless on-field performances of the New England Revolution and the, shall we say, “curious” decisions of the club’s front office that I find myself yearning for the days when being a supporter of the club was something that caused enjoyment rather than hopelessness.
With the better days of yore in mind I thought I might create my version of the New England Revolution “Best XI” (plus an adequate amount of bench players). In creating this all-time team I had only one criteria: that a player must have made more than a single season (or its equivalent) contribution to the club. The carrying out of this whimsical exercise unexpectedly revealed a few things about the club’s history which I will discuss after revealing my all-time roster.
Best XI
GK: Matt Reis
D: Michael Parkhurst
D: Jay Heaps
D: Alexi Lalas
D: Mike Burns
M: Steve Ralston
M: Shalrie Joseph
M: Clint Dempsey
F: Pat Noonan
F: Taylor Twellman
F: Joe-Max Moore
Bench Players
GK: Walter Zenga
D: Ted Chronopolos
D: Joe Franchino
M: Andy Dorman
M: Jose Cancela
M: Jeff Larentowicz
F: Paul Keegan
Coach
Steve Nicol
Revelation, the first: Goalkeeping has never been a problem for the club. Reis, Zenga, and the others who have logged significant numbers in goal for the club (Adin Brown, Juergen Sommer, Jeff Causey, etc.) have all been “good enough” for any goals the club might have had in its history. Zenga was clearly the most talented, but he was with the club in his declining years. Matt Reis, has now been a steady- and occasionally spectacular- presence for the club for fully two-thirds of its existence.
Revelation the second: This is a club that has always struggled defensively. Not for lack of talent in most cases, but rather, for lack of tenure. Heaps and Parkhurst are the only two defenders in the history of the club who combined both ability and longevity. Lalas and Burns make the team almost by default. Both played a decent amount of matches for the club and each made unique contributions (Lalas was intimidating and useful scoring off set pieces, Burns brought some speed and the ability to pass the ball and get forward), but neither was really a star on the pitch. Beyond these players, the history of New England’s back line has been one of one-offs, not-quite-there-yet (Alston and Barnes), and, thankfully, a couple of players who might be able to make this list in a few years (Soares and McCarthy).
Revelation, the third: Historically speaking the best formation for New England might be something like a 2-5-3. The club has, and it seems has always had, strong players in the midfield. Ralston, Joseph, and Dempsey (remember, he played mostly as an attacking midfielder while he was with the Revolution) in fact, would probably be in a list of the top five players ever to pull on the red, white, and blue. Even midfielders who would be “second tier” players in the club’s history have gone on to successful careers since leaving the club. Larentowicz has been a perennial starter since joining Colorado and even made a few USMNT appearances and Dorman has done well in the SPL and Championship as well as making a few appearances for Wales. Feilhaber and Nguyen may some day make this list, but it’s to soon to tell at the moment.
Revelation, the fourth: The club has had some pretty impressive goal-scorers down the years, but there have been a lot of lean years in between. Moore was good for a goal every other game, though 90% of those came before the 2000 season. Between 2002 and 2010 the tandem of Twellman and Ralston were good for 143 goals- mostly from Twellman with many of the assists coming from Ralston (though he scored 40+ times as well). Before, after, and in between the tenures of these players there was a succession of one season wonders (I’m using that term generously) like Lekic, Savarese, Perovic, and Cate and busts like Caraglio, Diallo, Jankauskas, Chacon…and Moreno. It’s too early to tell on Saer Sene.
Revelation, the final: Perhaps it’s just the nature of the league- or any relatively young league- that a seemingly inordinate number of players come and go each season, so in that regard what has happened in New England historically is not exceptional. I think what is unique in New England’s case is that with the exception of the club heyday (so far) of 2002-2007, when the core of the team was essentially the same- including coach Steve Nicol- is that the season-to-season turnover of players has not been gradual, it has been wholesale. Throughout the club’s history the approach following a down season tends to be to clear the decks of all but a handful of players and start over again. Until this season, that is, when they’ve decided to clear the decks and midseason.
