This week the New England Revolution will declare their intent. They will attempt to value the ball, create goals, and win games. Wednesday at Gillette Stadium the Revs host Toronto FC and Saturday the Chicago Fire come to town. An early season string of ties is really the only difference between the Revs and these two teams in the standings. All three teams are muddled on the outside of the playoff hunt.
Toronto FC’s new coach, Aron Winter, doesn’t look set to change Toronto’s playoff history, yet. I hope he is given time to build a team up there. It will take a some effort to turn around the play on the field to match the passion the Red Patch Boys supporters group bring to the stands. I have seen Martina make other MLS teams look bad this season. Tchani and Plata also have shown skills that could flummox opposing teams, though Tchani is likely out injured. Julian de Guzman is wearing the maple leaf for Canada in the Gold Cup, so he won’t be in the middle looking to create. Their keeper, Frei, is likely to make saves, so we wil have to test him frequently to increase our odds of beating him. Despite their historic lack, Toronto will like their chances coming off a come-back tie against the Galaxy. The Revs must protect their home field.
Chicago has already sacked one coach this season. Former MLS player Frank Klopas has stepped out of the office to take over. Klopas was a part of the staff who selected most of the current Fire roster. This might be a put-up-or-move-on season for him, as well as the roster in general. The Fire have battled, their tie games attest to that, without finishing victorious often. They were winless for all of April and May. In Columbus last week, Chicago broke that streak, on the road no less. The Fire have posted three straight shut-outs and last week’s win since Klopas took the helm. Chicago does not play a mid-week game and will bring all the confidence of their recent success along with those rested legs. The Revs must protect their home field.
In New England, Steve Nicol has been given years to challenge for a cup and now rebuild a challenger. The club’s commitment to our coach is reflected in the effort that most Revolution players show during their matches. Consistent leadership simplifies the job for each player on the team from practice to game changing set pieces. In this, New England has an advantage over both Toronto and Chicago. Last week’s game against the Red Bulls showed that New England can score against a weak defense, unfortunately the Revs defense did not play as coherently as they might have. Concentration on defense will return, though fatigue on Saturday could be a concern. With Feilhaber and Perovic out injured, the starters know who is likely to earn minutes. Our offense will come from some combination of Shalrie Joseph, Tierney, Boggs, and Lekic. The outside backs: Alston, Domi, and midfielder Dabo will look to dispossess and immediately turn to connect possession further into attack.
In the game against the Red Bulls, when Kenny Mansally came on, the Revolution played with two forwards. This formation, perhaps Mansally himself, is something to watch for in both games this week. I wouldn’t mind seeing Nyassi get a few minutes at forward to see what his speed and impulsive runs to take on players one-on-one could do with Lekic crashing back lines alongside him. This seems to likely be where any additional attacker might slot in, should New England’s rumored, transfer-window, pursuits come to fruition. Whether a white knight from another league, or improved performance from our current roster, the Revs have to get more scoring from someone in the lineup.
Toronto, Chicago, and New England are all incomplete teams. No one would accuse any of these three teams of overachieving. I will be disappointed with fewer than four points from this home stand. I hope we take all six points and I hope we make a statement, at least in Toronto and Chicago, that we are not a bottom-of-the-standings team.
(image courtesy of mlssoccer.com)
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