playoff soccer weekend

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World Cup time (video)

These two videos give you the sense and spirit of the World Cup. Two approaches, two results. driven by "life in the jungle"

get a good start

Getting a good start to the day, to your run, to the game... whatever can be very important. Starting well helps you to finish well. There is no automatic connection between these two. It requires the hard wired concentration of the individual to perform well.

Getting the performance of a team all on the same page is a challenge. This is a challenge that a coach faces everyday.The success of the team depends upon the coach to structure the overall practice and build up to a competition and the competitive performance is what is talked about. The 'public' doesn't see the performance in practice. The competition results are what is seen and talked about.

The New England Revolution have started their past couple of games poorly. Both times giving up a goal in the opening minutes. One time they were able to recover and win. This last time, they were not able to recover. Frustrating!

soccer in the rain

Soccer in the rain can be fun, especially when you team plays well and wins 2-0!



For good stretches of the game, they play the triangle passing game to keep possession. About time! Yea, Revs!

Revs game

My favorite Revs fans all ready for the game on Saturday evening

Carolyn, Dolores, Allison

The Revs played well to win 2-0. This was the video shown in the pre-game ceremonies

moon over Gillette

It was a pleasant evening weather wise. It was not so pleasant soccer-wise.

The Revolution played some good soccer for 21 minutes to go up 3-0. Then forgot how to play defense and ended up in a 3-3 tie. Frustrating!

Not sure what to make of this team. They seemed to be on track for playing great soccer earlier this year and have gotten progressively worse the last 8 games.

So long, Shalrie!

It was a busy work day, I wasn't aware of the trade until I got a text message from one of my daughters. Trading Shalrie for another midfielder, a draft pick and additional allocation money? Does this solve the congestion in the midfield for the Revs?


Shalrie is a natural defensive midfielder with good passing skills. I think the best pairing this year was with Feilhaber in front of Shalrie. Shalrie could focus on the defense, helping out the back line and shutting down the pay before it got there. With Shalrie there, what do you do with Simms? 


With Shalrie up in the playmaker spot, what do you do with Feilhaber? Even without Shalrie, the Revs don't seem to be able to solve their midfield issues. As pointed out by Sean Donahue at New England Soccer Today:

One doesn’t have to look back far to see the impact Joseph’s presence has on the Revs results – just take a glance at the last four games. Without Joseph in the starting XI, the club has lost to the three worst teams in the East. With Joseph, the club grabbed an impressive road point against the then-first place Sporting Kansas City.

With choices to make among Rowe, Nguyen, Cardenas, Guy, Nyassi, Simms, Feilhaber, and yes, Tierney too, the Revs do need to settle on who will do what and then execute.


Will this help resolve the issue? Not sure. Time will need to play out to see.


I wish Shalrie all the best. He can deliver. Let's hope the Revs can figure out how to do the same.

NE Revolution soccer making the news

For NE Revolution fans, there is much more being written about the team this season. A quick round up this morning provides some interesting stories to read:

From ESPN:

Lechner's role is loud and clear

by Brian O'Connell

From MLS:

Revs Notebook: Heaps moves training due to record heat

From the Revs:

Old friend Paul Mariner now foe with Toronto FC

From NE Soccer Today:

A.C. Milan, Cruzeiro On Tap for Foxboro Friendly

by Brian O'Connell

From the Bent Musket:

Hard Work Becoming A Culture For The Young Revolution

by Steve Stoehr

Quick recap

Dolores and I had a nice bike ride along the Blackstone River Bike Path on Saturday, went to watch the NE Revolution play (and lose) to DC United and then closed out the day with a singalong concert at the Circle of Friends Coffeehouse with Peter Yarrow. The later was a special treat. How often can you get about 300 folks singing together in harmony?

Revolution parts ways with head coach Steve Nicol

It is sad to see Steve go but I think it is indeed time for a change. There was a good run with Paul Mariner by his side but since then, it was a different story. The team just hasn't done well. Yes, there were multiple issues but for what he could control, performance on the field, I don't think he did enough. I wish him well in his next venture.

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

Revolution parts ways with head coach Steve Nicol

via RevolutionSoccer.net News on 10/24/11

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Revolution Investor/Operators Robert and Jonathan Kraft and head coach Steve Nicol met today and have mutually decided to part ways. The club will begin the search for a new head coach immediately.
Nicol leaves the Revolution after 10 seasons, a league record for tenure with a single club. He posted a career record of 112-108-81, ranking second in Major League Soccer in overall career games coached (301) and fourth in wins.
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If I were Steve

Steve Nicol, that is, the coach of the struggling New England Revolution soccer team. I would concentrate on just a few things, all within the span of control. One field, one ball, two teams, 11 men each side and 90 minutes to play.

Possession: you can score if you have the ball. They can't score if you have the ball.

Passing: small passes, give and go, triangular movement, moving to the open team mate. No long punt from the goalkeeper, a small pass to one of the defenders.

Patience: the small passes, keeping possession will require patience and discipline. When to break or when not to. Don't force what you don't have. Don't make a pass that your teammate can't handle. You wouldn't want that kind of pass either.

Yes, it would be nice to have another player or two. But the game can be played well with those who want to play when they play together keeping possession, being patient and making good passes.

Handwriting on the wall

The headlines in the RSS Feed today say it all:

Revolution Struggling to get back to Glory Days

from Revolution Press by Julian Cardillo

Galaxy sign Ireland international forward Robbie Keane

from MLSsoccer.com

Other teams are signing top talent and the Revs are struggling, what else is new?

"nothing left to moan about"

I almost canceled my Boston Globe subscription this morning. The nerve of Joseph P. Kahn!

A city and region that have suffered through curses and exorcisms, dreamed impossible dreams, counted banners in rafters, and worn bloody socks (with hearts on sleeves), woke up to a fresh reality yesterday morning: We have nothing left to moan about.

We have "nothing left to moan about"?

Yes, I can do the math very well. 39 is more than 15. I get it. I do feel sorry for the Kraft family. For 15 years, they have struggled to build the New England Revolution franchise into something and all for naught.

"nothing left to moan about"!

The Revs having made it to the playoffs for 8 straight years (more than any one of Boston's other pro teams) , been to the final twice and yet have not won the Major League Soccer (MLS) title. Yes, they have won a US Open Cup. They have even won a SuperLiga Title. But no MLS Cup. And the few loyal fans remaining do moan.




I did not cancel my subscription.
I do not blame Joseph P. Kahn.

This is the real soccer issue with the USA. They will come out to support the national team but little else. The US Women's team can create a following but the Women's pro league can hardly stay in business. Boston had a team (Boston Breakers) in the first try and the league stopped operating. The Boston Breakers have returned for this second go around with professional soccer.

I get it. This is reality.

It is as constant as the sun rising, the sun setting. Soccer has been and will be under appreciated in the USA.

New England Revolution fans will continue to moan over the team's lack of goal scoring this season and likely for sometime, their lack of success in winning the MLS Cup. Despite what the Globe says.

death and taxes

Several famous authors have uttered lines to this effect. The first was Daniel Defoe, in The Political History of the Devil, 1726: 

"Things as certain as death and taxes, can be more firmly believed." 

Benjamin Franklin (1706-90) used the form we are currently more familiar with, in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy, 1789, which was re-printed in The Works of Benjamin Franklin, 1817: 

"'In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." 

Another thought on the theme of death and taxes is Margaret Mitchell's line from her book Gone With the Wind, 1936: 

"Death, taxes and childbirth! There's never any convenient time for any of them."

Quotes from this place

Saturday started with the funeral of Dolores' Aunt Norma and closed with doing Carolyn's taxes. In between, many family conversations at the funeral and reception following. More conversations as the girls joined us for the NE Revolution home opener and dinner following. There is plenty of catching up to do. It was cold at Gillette Stadium but the Revs won 2-1 so that helped us stay warm.

Shakira - Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)

With all the conversation around the decision to hold the World Cup in Russia and Qatar, let's go with Shakira to help remember the joy that was South Africa's turn. The game is still in US.



Enjoy!

NE Revolution - gritty win

Gutsy, gritty, not pretty.... call it what you want, the NE Revolution still managed to come out with three points in the 1-0 victory over DC United on Saturday night.

Yes, the other team was wearing the familiar DC United kit, but who were they? I think I heard only five names amongst the starters that I had heard before (Pontus, Burch, Talley, Quaranta and McTavish). Adam Christman, a former Revolution player (lost in one of the expansion drafts) came on as a substitute in the second half. And of course, the new coach, Ben Olson; his name is well known amongst MLS followers.

DC United played like they wanted to win but the Revs had just enough to stop them. Pat Phalen found the net for his first goal off a lone free kick from Chris Tierney to provide the 1-0 margin.

With two new players available (Linck, and Stolica) and a full week to help the injured recover, the Revs should be prepared to continue their streak next Saturday.

Go Revs!

Gillette Stadium: new video scoreboard

Gillette Stadium: new video scoreboard, originally uploaded by shersteve.

The south end scoreboard is now functioning. This photo was taken at the SuperLiga game on Wednesday. We go back on Saturday for a league game against DC United.

While the Red Sox are complaining about injuries, the NE Revolution have been hurt more so this season than any other. Despite the injuries, the team has started a good run of play and should do well as the injured return to health.

Go Revs!

NE Revolution - Ralston moves on

As a long time New England Revolution fan, this has been a roller coaster year for Steve Ralston. The year started on a down note to hear that Steve Ralston would not be returning to the team as the 2010 season open. For his sake, the note picked up as we found out he would be a player coach for a team in St Louis, his hometown. Turned down again, when the word came out that due to financial troubles, the franchise in St Louis would close out operations. Turned up again when we heard that while Steve was 'free' again, he would return to the Revolution! Then down again as seconds after getting onto the field in his return, he dislocated his elbow setting him out for 4-6 weeks. True to his hardiness, it was going to be shorter than forecast so he was going to return to the pitch earlier than expected. Unfortunately, this didn't last long as the announcement came out that he would play his last game and retire.

Even this up didn't turn out to be true as he didn't get some papers together officially to get clearance to play, so he simply retired from the game.

He is not gone. The Revolution will see Steve at least two more times this season as they as scheduled to play the Houston Dynamo where Steve has taken a position as an assistance coach.

For Steve's sake, I hope he has more ups than downs for the remainder of this year. In fact, if the Dynamo only lose when they play the Revolution that would be fine!

Best of luck Steve, you were a pleasure to watch through the years!

Steve's retirement press conference
The interview with Jay Heaps, part 1 and part 2.
The announcement from the Houston Dynamo

Revolution re-sign Steve Ralston

This is good news!

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

Revolution re-sign Steve Ralston

via Corner Kicks on 6/8/10

Steve Ralston has re-signed with the New England Revolution, the team announced Tuesday. The 35-year-old midfielder played eight seasons with the Revolution from 2002 to 2009, and was a player/coach for AC St. Louis of the USSF's Division 2 pro...

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4 things the NE Revolution must do

The New England Revolution played a friendly against SL Benfica on Wednesday night in a light mist at Gillette Stadium. Their offense played like the mist and they lost 4-0.

Soccer is a relatively simple game. 11 players to a side, one ball to be controlled and put into a net on either end for a score. The one side with the most goals wins. Can't score unless you have the ball so ball possession means a great deal. Ball control means you can maintain possession.

Most of the relatively simple aspects of the game revolve around the movement of the ball. A player can dribble or move the ball with him. If they do so, they are likely to attract the attention of the opposing team. If they pass the ball, good short passes can move the ball up field faster than a single person dribbling. Good short passes into the space between defenders is where the offence can take advantage.

The Revs showed little ball control. They were rarely able to string several passes together. In fact, even when their goal keeper had a re-start on a goal kick or from an off-sides play, the goal keeper ended up turning the ball over to the other team. So the Revs ended up playing defense most of the game.

Three trialists played for the Revs last night. This provided a different line up and created unique opportunities. It does take time for players to get to know one another. At best, using the trialists saved some energy for the remaining members of the team. They will need to with another game coming up on Saturday in Toronto.

What do the NE Revs need to do?

From my vantage point -

1 - control the ball. The keeper should stop going deep with a long ball in the air and bring the ball up out of the back on the ground via one of the defenders.

2 - get into the simple triangle game of passing into the open space between defenders. This means the offense must keep moving but that is how to be successful. Simple passes, ball control, keep possession, eventually the defense will make a mistake, creating extra space for the offense to take advantage.

3 - the Rev's ball control will have an added effect of keeping the other team on the defense giving them less time with the ball. Once they do get it, the Revs need to be compact. The defense will be more successful if they don't have to play defense for 90 minutes. Let the offense control ball for some time and give the defense a break.

4 - the injured players need to get and stay healthy. The list of injured payers is too long and contains too many of the top players for the Revolution to really be playing a quality game. It is providing a good deal of real time experience for the younger players and that will provide benefits in the long road.