Mid-Season Report Card: New England Revolution

The results for the New England Revolution during this 2011 season have not brought back memories of the MLS Cup contending teams of the early 2000s, except perhaps in contrast or thoughts of nostalgia. The highlights include barely beating Sporting KC in the midst of their tortuously long season opening roadtrip, and several ties. Their best result might have been their very first game. The Revs traveled to the west coast and brought back a tie against the Galaxy. Rumors, injuries, and supporter discontent summarize the rest of the storyline.

Here are some mid-season awards for the Revolution.

Most Valuable Player: Shalrie Joseph

Which will happen first, he gets a forward who can help him win or he leaves? I fear he’ll be traded or worse: play out his contract and the team will not improve around him. I hope that one offensive talent in front of him could change this team’s fortunes. He carried the team this year by pushing forward to knock in goals. He is being asked to play deeper in the midfield this year, though still has provided offense.

Offensive Player of the Year: Benny Feilhaber

I hope his best days as a Revolution player are still ahead of him. His technical ability and feisty desire to create scoring are just the type of injection this team needs. He would also benefit from the addition of a productive forward. That mythical forward or “no one” both were in strong contention for my pick in this category.

Defensive Player of the Year: AJ Soares

Matt Reis is more important to this season’s squad, but AJ is a talent. He will either anchor our backline for the next few years or could be a potential trade chip. That potential was the factor that edged him just ahead of Reis in this category for me.

Rookie of the Year: AJ Soares

AJ for the same reasons as above. He has also played more minutes than some of our young vets in their third seasons.

Outlook for Second Half:  

Dismal, though, check back if a DP forward actually does arrive in Foxboro.

(image courtesy of revolutionsoccer.net)