Signing consistent, quality defensive players has been a tall task for the New England Revolution since their inception.
Many of the defenders who arrive in Foxborough last less than two years—and often less than a full season—without making a meaningful impact.
But this year, the Revolution have taken their struggles to acquire defensive players to a new level: MLS preseason commences next Monday—January 23—and New England do not have a true center back on their team.
There’s London Woodberry, a right back, who unconvincingly played in central defense at length last season, plus full backs Andrew Farrell and Je-Vaughn Watson, who can both play at center back but are more useful in their natural positions.
The only two natural center defenders from 2016, Jose Goncalves and Darrius Barnes, probably aren’t coming back. In fact, Barnes is negotiating to join another MLS team.
All of this spells danger for a club that missed out on the playoffs last season due to goal differential, and by extension, a porous back line that conceded 54 goals.
For the record, the Revolution are self aware of their current deficiency. They know they have a sizeable gap on their roster.
I asked Revolution coach Jay Heaps about his off-season plans after New England beat Montreal in the season finale. He said, “Just getting better…Solidify some spots on the field. We want to be better and we can’t concede as much as we conceded. We have to stop giving away goals.”
Fast-forward three months, and the Revolution have done little to improve their team, let alone its back line.
Re-signing Daigo Kobayashi and selecting forward Brian Wright as well as midfielder Napo Matsoso in the Superdraft are the team’s only incoming transactions since the end of last season.
And while there is an expectation that the Revolution will address their defensive needs before the new season kicks off on March 4, there are concerns about why transfers have taken this long in the first place.
On the one hand, the Revolution have a thin staff and lack a scouting department. There’s also, relatively speaking, plenty of time to sign a defender.
But on the other hand, the Revs are the only MLS team to not sign a new player outside of the Superdraft. They even got a head start on preseason by missing out on the playoffs. And they added one of their best all-time defenders, Carlos Llamosa, to serve as a defensive coach and provide tactical input.
Not to mention the fact that Heaps and General Manager Mike Burns were not only defenders on the Revolution, but members of the U.S. national team, too. If there was any head coach-GM duo knowledgeable enough to solidify a back line, surely—on paper—it would be this one.
But the Revolution haven’t been the best judges of character, in terms of tactics, durability, and even fitting in with the rest of the group, with regard to defenders.
In 2004, they acquired former Premier League defender Steve Howey to help deepen their back line, but he only appeared in three games and was released at the end of the season.
Gabriel Badilla, a Costa Rican center back who played at the 2006 World Cup and started regularly for Central American powerhouse Saprissa, arrived in 2008 and lasted less than two seasons after appearing in just six games.
The Revolution traded Colorado for Cory Gibbs, a U.S. national team veteran, in 2010, but he struggled to anchor the team’s back line. The Revolution did not reach the playoffs that year and conceded a league-high 50 goals.
It’s also worth noting that the Revolution drafted Seth Sinovic just before the start of the 2010 season. As a rookie, he showed tremendous upside. Then-coach Steve Nicol even said during preseason that year that Sinovic and the rest of the Revolution rookies were the future of the club.
But Sinovic was inexplicably waived the following season. He was picked up by Sporting Kansas City, where he stills plays, and even scored against the Revolution in a 2013 playoff game en route to winning the MLS Cup.
And in 2012, the Revs signed John Lozano, a Colombian center back, who played in just two games before getting released prior to the end of the season.
On the flip side, the Revolution have had opportunities to sign veteran center backs from Europe’s top leagues in recent years. But the club has often chosen to not even show up to the negotiation table. And while it’s not uncommon for MLS teams at large to do this, it’s worth noting the Revs have rarely acquired a proven defensive veteran with experience in top leagues, as teams like Montreal, Los Angeles, and Real Salt Lake have done with success.
This isn’t to say the Revolution haven’t acquired fine defenders in the past. Players like Llamosa, Goncalves, AJ Soares, and Michael Parkhurst are among the top center backs to ever wear a Revolution jersey.
But they’re also the exception to the rule.
Besides, both Parkhurst and Soares were acquired in the Superdraft, so there was never a guarantee they’d end up in New England.
Goncalves joined the Revolution after being mired in Switzerland’s second and third divisions and, fortunately, panned out nicely in Foxborough.
And Llamosa arrived in New England in 2002 due almost exclusively to the dissolution of his former club, the Miami Fusion; he was allocated to New England.
A handful of days remain before the Revolution begin pre-season and they have no central defenders.
It’s entirely possible that the team signs a single or multiple new players in the coming days or during preseason that slot in nicely, train with the team, and perform at a high and consistent level in 2017.
But the Revolution’s high turnover of defenders—plus their questionable handling of player personnel in the past—is a matter of record.
And it could be very indicative of why the Revolution are in their current position.
To reach Julian email him at julianccardillo@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @juliancardillo
