Photo/Kari Heistad
That the Portland Timbers beat the Columbus Crew in the MLS Cup this year—after numerous collective bargaining agreements and a decade into the designated player era—is good news for all teams, especially the New England Revolution.
Portland’s championship team didn’t differ that much to the Revolution squad that made its way to the MLS Cup two years ago. Both Portland and the 2014 Revolution had a strong core of young, American, attack-minded players and one or two experienced, game-changing players.
For Portland in their 2-1 Cup victory over the Crew on Sunday night, it was Darlington Nagbe and Diego Valeri. For the Revolution two seasons ago, it was Lee Nguyen and Jermaine Jones.
Teams don’t need to be spendthrifts like the LA Galaxy and New York Red Bulls to win a championship, which fits the Revolution’s model perfectly as they get on with the off-season and gear up for next year.
That said, there are numerous issues requiring the attention of both General Manager Mike Burns and coach Jay Heaps.
The biggest, however, is how a team that loves to boss the attack and play a fun, possession-minded style will control the midfield now that Jones is all but gone.
If we’re to take the signs that Jones is leaving at face value, then it’s obviously time for the club to turn its attention to solidifying the center of the pitch before preseason starts in mid-January.
Burns and Heaps exercised contract options on 14 players and signed Daigo Kobayashi, Jones’ back-up in central midfield, to a new deal. Scott Caldwell, arguably the Revolution’s best possession player, will be back, as will fellow midfielders Lee Nguyen, and Kelyn Rowe.
As of now Andy Dorman, who competed with Kobayashi for playing time throughout last season, will not be back. Neither will Steve Neumann, the promising second-year professional whom the Revs drafted fourth overall in the 2014 Superdraft. That said, the club has until Thursday, Dec. 10, to re-sign both players.
Right away, finding a new top player to replace Jones as well as some depth to shore up the middle of the pitch is a huge priority for the Revolution braintrust.
Arguably just as important, though, will be solidifying the back line. The Revolution paid dearly for not finding a replacement for AJ Soares last year. Though they converted Andrew Farrell to center back, a move that paid off tactically, it put serious pressure on both him and Jose Goncalves to remain fit, especially once Darrius Barnes went down in a long-term injury mid-season.
All three of those defenders will be back, though it would behoove the Revolution to find another capable center back. The club is particularly vulnerable on the flanks now, too.
Chris Tierney is invaluable, but is currently the only true full back on the roster. Both Kevin Alston and Jeremy Hall had their options declined, though like Dorman and Neumann, could get re-signed before Thursday.
Teams are expected to make a whole host of trades on Monday, as is typical of the day after MLS Cup.
That said, the next organized, league-wide transaction date is stage one of the re-entry draft, which is set for Friday, Dec. 11. The list of all re-entry draft eligible players will be released on Monday evening. Stage two is on Dec. 17.
The Revolution have accrued tons of talent via the re-entry draft in recent years, club using the mechanism to sign the likes of Hall, Chad Barrett, Clyde Simms, and Ryan Cochrane.
There are typically a number of intriguing options on the table for all teams in both stages of the draft. With the Revolution having serious needs both in midfield and defense, the re-entry process could provide a way for those holes to be filled early on in the off-season.
