The New England Revolution and Manchester United coaches are both Scottish and the similarities stop right there. Manchester United starts their preseason tour of the USA in Foxboro, Massachusetts Wednesday night. This will not be an opportunity for a top European club to learn just how far the club game has advanced in the states. If they look to win, the Revolution will have to hope that Man U start slow and field new players who have yet to integrate fully.
Sir Alex Ferguson will have Nemanja Vidic, Ryan Giggs, Ji-Sung Park, Nani, Federico Macheda, and Wayne Rooney available as well as many of the players who methodically, if without much flash, dominated the English Premier League last season. New keeper David de Gea, new forward Ashley Young, and new defender Phil Jones may also square off against the Revs. Chicharito will join Manchester United for the tour. We might see the “Little Pea,” though given that he carried Mexico to a Gold Cup championship this summer, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him sit. Manchester United may not have played with the flair of Spanish futbol and they might be just barely beginning their training for the next campaign, but do not doubt that this team is well prepared to take the game from New England.
I hope that Steve Nicol uses this game to simply provide his roster with more experience. Shalrie Joseph will miss the next MLS match against Philadelphia due to yellow card accumulation so it would be great for him to test himself against a top side. Steven McCarthy at defensive midfield and AJ Soares at centerback are probably too inexperienced for us to expect them to completely stop the Red Devils, but hopefully the speed with which Manchester United can play makes an impression on them. I would love to see New England homegrown player, 16 year-old Diego Fagundez thrown into this match and asked to create combination play going forward. It might make sense for him to go in if Benny Feilhaber comes out, or to try to work with Benny. There has been no successful combination that has worked so far this season for them. Really, the Revs have nothing to lose. I hope they avoid embarrassment.
No one will be surprised if Manchester United completely dominates New England. Breaking up plays rather than simply standing by as the champs try out their new passing patterns would be a satisfactory result for the Revs. If the home team can score and hold Man U to limited chances then this game will be a success, even in a loss. The expectations have reached incredibly low levels.
(image courtesy of manutd.com)
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
