Photo by ISIphotos.com
By CARL SETTERLUND
The losses have stopped for the New England Revolution, at least for now, but victories are still proving extremely difficult to find for a short-handed Revs team lacking firepower.
A draw against an improved Colorado team should be taken as a modest result, but it doesn't erase the fact that New England just doesn't look very dangerous these days. The Revs fell behind for the second straight week before Steve Ralston buried an 18th-minute penalty. That makes five games the Revs have gone without a win, the lowlight a 6-0 loss at Real Salt Lake.
It might be a little early to strip New England’s “perennial contender” status, but with Matt Reis, Taylor Twellman and Chris Albright just some among the walking wounded they need to get healthy and they need to do it quickly because the offseason departure of Michael Parkhurst has left little room for error. Here are some thoughts on both New England and Colorado:
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I’m not a big fan of the Rapids, but a glance at their lineup shows what could be the most unheralded attack in MLS. Conor Casey is really playing good soccer right now and although Omar Cummings didn’t have his best game he was a threat at times. Colin Clark had several good moments feeding the guys up front and Mehdi Ballouchy was very active all night long, getting off a couple night attempts on goal.
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Was checking out the Colorado roster at one point before halftime and my reaction was: “Wait, Pablo Mastroeni is out there? Really?” I heard his name called by the Revs broadcast for the first time with about 20 minutes left. So much for wanting a last shot at Europe.
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Conor Casey looked sharp, but he’s got a little bit of a temper on him. It seemed like Revs defener Emmanuel Osei got into his head early and it affected him for the rest of the game. Casey had six fouls called on him in total, including a 41st minute yellow card. Gary Smith took him out in the 77th, two minutes after Casey berated referee Shane Moody. The Rapids were very lucky not to be reduced to 10 men given how long Casey went off on Moody.
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Stevie Nicol started Shalrie Joseph up top for the second straight game, with Steve Ralston pairing him instead of Kheli Dube. It’s clear the Revs miss Twellman up front because the current personnel is forcing Nicol into some weird lineups. It was nice though to see what it would be like if New England had a big, strong forward who can hold the ball up front, such as Casey.
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Rookies Osei and Darrius Barnes didn’t look bad in central defense but I think the lack of someone really dependable like Parkhurst is putting the Revs into a position where they have to play a 4-4-2 instead of the 3-5-2 they’ve had a lot of success with over the past few years.
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It’s clear how much of a difference it makes having Steve Ralston in there for 90 minutes again. It was a tough night as far as creativity goes (the field conditions were to blame for that) but, especially with Twellman gone, Ralston is the only guy that makes something out of nothing. Joseph might be one of the best all-around players in MLS, but he’s been a little off so far this season as far as creating scoring opportunities for himself and teammates.
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The one group of players who are actually at full strength right now might actually be New England’s weakness. The Revs really don’t have much on the wings right now. Chris Tierney is the only one who provides quality crosses on a pretty consistent basis. None of those guys are complete players right now and none of them has a specific skills that makes them stand out at anything either. There might be some of you who scoff at this, but I think the Revs miss Khano Smith.
What did you think of the Revs-Rapids match? Disappointed in the Revs? Happy to see the Rapids take a road point? For a detailed look at the match, go here.
Share your thoughts on the match below.
(Carl Setterlund covers the New England Revolution for the Worcester Telegram)
RE: Jason,
I agree with you that Ihemelu got in a clean touch but that doesn’t really mean anything. If he’d kicked the ball away if would have been different but his touch put the ball right in front of Rally, and then as Ralston went to make a move on it he got clipped. Basically, the first touch is irrelevant for me because the ball was still completely up for grabs.
RE: Berlin,
I can assure you that Twellman is not mailing it in, they’re just trying to be careful over a head/neck injury, which he got by sticking his nose where it shouldn’t be. He was being his usual self, scored a goal and got punched in the face. I can tell you from when we interview Taylor that it’s killing him to watch on the sidelines while the offense flounders.
On another note, I kind of figured the Khano Smith comment would get mixed reviews but I stand by it. He was underrated based on how much everybody loved to hate him. He’s a worthy starter, not a great player, but a worthy one. And he’s also the right kind of team guy, the one who would go to battle with you.
Jorge,
It’s a concussion I believe. He had one just before the playoffs last season and the doctor said if he had another one he would be out for the rest of his career so he decided to not take the risk and let it heal.
As for the Pablo haters, I think it’s unfair that Mastroeni plays his position so well but no one cares because it’s not attacking soccer. Pablo’s defensive work rate helped us in matches like Guatemala(away) so that we could be just a bit more free going forward. He plays like a third center back so that our attack minded player can have the space. He hasn’t played all that important of a role because we haven’t played a team where we’ll need that kind of a player.
What exactly is Taylor’s injury? I saw him outside the Garden on Sunday and he was chatting away on the phone, hung up, and had a brisk walk down the street to meet up with someone. I didn’t notice any limp or anything that leads me to believe its a problem in one of his legs.
We had our own personal fogbank at Gillette, but it was easy to see that the Revs are improving from that disaster against Houston, but there’s a long way to go. Passing was better. I actually like Castro, his workrate and ability to hold and distribute are underrated. Tierney is improving, but maybe not at the rate we need. What is clear is that Shalrie and Ralston are not forwards, but no one seems to play high enough to receive any service.
The Rapids had a lot of shots, but the defense was shaky. And I don’t know why Conor Casey had to be so obnoxious, he’s a better player than that, but Osei ( a real find) really got to him. Loved it.
John, I usually think that Phelan provides a cool head and a solid defensive role when he is on the field, but yeah he definitely didn’t show up to this game. He gave the ball away with his first touch as much as he kept it. We definitley could have used an attacker in his place, especially with Alston, Osei, Heaps, Barnes, Tierney, Lawrentowicz all in the lineup and all defensive minded players.
I’m not a big fan of Pat Phelan (he was the other red-headed central midfielder in there for the Revs). He is just terrible. He is slow as hell and doesn’t have very good touch. I honestly don’t know what he adds. I would have preferred Ralston to play in midfield and to add in Dube or Mansally in there.
Why has no one mentioned that Ihemelu actually got a clean touch on the ball BEFORE Ralston ran into him. Yes, at full speed the play looked close and if you were at the game you did not have the benefit of replay, but every replay showed a close, but clean tackle.
Just like last year, the Rapids get off a lot of shots, but are not very productive. Also, LaBrocca looks better in a central role then on the right wing.
Bkupp, in all honesty re Castro: What has that guy done in 2 seasons? When he has been on the pitch, I haven’t seen anything exciting and actually preferred Khano to him last season – and believe me I agree with Chris A. I liked having Tierney out there and he seems like he could be a decent choice there. Wells, on the other hand, should not start on an MLS team. I like to call him our version of Rudy; he works his butt off, but just doesn’t have the talent or the skill. Everytime he touches the ball, I cringe.
There is no way around it, the Revs need to bring some players in in the midfield and perhaps cut some losses (ie Castro, Wells, maybe Mansally and if we don’t see anything by the all-star break TT). At least our defense seems solid enough, despite its youth.
I’ll give Khano this though – he really liked playing for the Revs. I remember him wanting to take that deciding penalty kick last year in a superliga game (Pachuca?) and nailing it. Inconsistent and frustrating often but he fought for the team.
Yeah we do not miss Khano, he was fast with big strides but was very inconsistent. I hear you about the wingers – Nyassi has pace and good moves but can’t cross; Tierney isn’t as fast but he can cross very well; Wells is feisty with a high work-rate. I was worried when they traded Christman that they weren’t balanced in attack – no target player. At least someone to win balls in the air against defenders and play it out to all these speedsters we have now.
Anyone notice that Twellman has completely checked out since his failed transfer? Seems like he’s going to mail it in until his contract expires.
Revs are really weak on both wings, which is what makes it really tough on their forwards.
They need Castro back badly (we wouldn’t be talking about Khano if Castro were fit) and need Twellman back so that Ralston and Joseph can return to midfield where they are badly needed.
The good news is that the whole defense has been remade over with all young players. Heaps, Albright and even Reis are no longer indispensable.
I think I speak for most of us Revs’ fans when I say that we do NOT miss Khano Smith. Once or twice a season he would produce a world class moment. The rest of the time we just wondered what he was thinking.
Anychance we could get these for all the games? I really enjoyed this not having watched the game…
Great read thanks Ives ..the defense will gel, Barnes Tierney and Alston will prove to be great choices from nicol/mariner , and when the injured come back NE will be strong again… But they still need to do a key signing up from either to add to the existing tactic, or for something completely new
What are the Revs going to do in July when they lose Shalrie for a few weeks to Gold Cup duty?
it was a horrid, ugly match. wells thompson backslid in a big way after playing pretty well in previous matches. tierney got more done, but is too slow. colorado was working harder and did a good job of breaking things up in the midfield for probably 75 minutes of the game, but while they could string passes together better, they weren’t exactly a flowing offense, either. the revs should have done a better job of exploiting colorado’s early defensive lapses, too. provided that the new guys on defense continue to mature, i hope steve nicol, et. al. consider that problem solved and move on to more pressing issues.
I was at the match and boy was it sloppy. The only real highlight I saw from the Revs was the Centrebacks. Osei was everywhere and stoppign everything and the fact that he got into s#*tbag’s head, so much so that he had to be subbed in the 77th is a testament to how good those 2 were playing.
Lacking any speed and or scoring threat up front was obviously the Revs’ biggest problem. Joseph is great at control, but with an inexperienced players in back, the only option they EVER FRIGGING GAVE HIM was the long ball. Every time that Knighton touched the ball he booted it down to the other keeper, as if Joseph could outrun anyone on the Rapids backline. But of course is to make matters worse, we do have the speed in Mansally and Dube, but they aren’t exactly potent goal-scoring threats.
I’m really worried that this season is looking to be kind of a waste.
I totally agree on most of what you said.
Mastroeni is a joke – it bugs me so much when people say he should still be one of the main contenders for one of the central midfield roles for the USMNT. Bradley, Edu, and Torres should all be rated above him and deserve to get a lot of playing time with the nats.
As for the Revs, they need someone up front like Twellman, and if they can’t get him fit, then they need to replace him, as hard as that may be.
scoff