2011 was an atrocious year for the New England Revolution. We finished at the bottom of the league, but there was one team who finished lower. Vancouver ultimately claimed last place overall. Both teams changed their coaching staffs and large portions of their rosters. Vancouver might offer the best comparison for how effectively our Revs have rebuilt. When we play against Vancouver Saturday evening both teams will want to prove that they are much better than last year.
Vancouver has almost equalled their total season wins already. Well done, Martin Rennie, you have changed the storyline and marched up the table. The biggest change has been from leaky 2011 to defensive powerhouse in 2012. Just last weekend Vancouver shut out Sporting in Kansas City. They scored two goals in that game, bringing their season total to 9, only one better than the Revs. If Vancouver can score as consistently as they stop other teams defensively they may be able to press deep into the MLS Cup playoffs. Watch for Chumiento, Camilo, perhaps even Salgado, to feed passes to Le Toux and Hasili when the Whitcaps are on attack.
AJ Soares and Matt Reis will keep our Revolution defense organized during the run of play. I will be interested to see, though, who Jay Heaps lines up next to AJ. Will the other center back be John Lozano or Stephen McCarthy? Whoever starts the Revs have to defend set pieces consistently. Watch New England’s marking during free kicks from the field and corner kicks. If a Vancouver player gets open for a goal on a corner kick he won’t have been the first this season.
At the other end of the field our Revs will feel confident that they will get shots. Our rebuilding efforts have improved our style of play with more possession passing and more shots. With his red card over turned I hope to see Fernando Cardenas start again. With a week at home to rest after playing three games last week our forwards should be rested and healthy. Moreno and Sene have proven to be our best forwards so far, though, Brettschnieder’s goal in Utah has moved him up the depth chart in my estimation. With Moreno on the injured list Brettschnieder could get his second straight start. Joining Cardenas are likely to be the names most fans could pick off of our roster: Benny Feilhaber, Shalrie Joseph, and Clyde Simms. This group is talented. We do, however, have to prove we can score and win. Visible improvements for New England’s game haven’t brought consistent results.
(image courtesy of revolutionsoccer.net)
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