Tag Archives: Shalrie Joseph

A Near Scoreless Start

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Lee_Nguyen

After 5 games, Lee Nguyen is still searching for his first goal of 2013, as well as the team’s second.

New England is off to one of the most unusual starts Major League Soccer has ever seen, sporting a somewhat remarkable stat. Through five games played this season, they are both the worst offensive team and best defensive team in the league. Allowing just two goals, the Revolution have scored a sad one goal of their own and somehow sit 8th in the Eastern Conference at 1-2-2.

Last week’s draw against Seattle was the team’s second game in which they recorded zero shots on targets. It also marked the 4th game in a row the Revs have not scored, as their lone goal came in a 1-0 victory in Chicago to start the season. Although speculation arose whether or not the Revs could score in the absence of striker Saer Sene, no one predicted scoring to be this bad of a problem. Where has Bengtson been? Where has Nguyen been? Sure Sene is coming back to full health, but it is hard to tell if the team will get their swagger back so soon.

It is time for roster changes up top, possibly a formation change as well. Jay Heaps loves his 4-4-1-1 now because New England’s back line arguably the strongest in the MLS. Nothing is getting past Goncalves, Soares, or Farrell, but the team must open up the pitch to allow players like Lee Nguyen and Kelyn Rowe play their run-and-gun style of offensive. Hopefully Heaps will shake things up when Sene returns to the Starting XI, placing both Sene and Bengtson in a more conventional 4-4-2 formation.

If all else fails New England may have to fit Chad Barrett or Diego Fagundez into the starting lineup more often. Although young and less experienced than their teammates, they could be the spark the club is looking for. A scoring drought cannot be ignored, and even though the next goal could be the one to get things rolling, that goal needs to come soon.

The Revolution will have a great opportunity to score this Saturday, as they face Eastern rival New York Red Bulls in Harrison, NJ. Kickoff is at 7pm ET, coverage can be found on the Comcast Sports Network or 98.5 The Sports Hub.

Matt Bloom

**All of us here as The Foxboro Fort wish Matt Reis’ father-in-law John Odem and Chris Tierney’s girlfriend a healthy recovery following the tragic events at the Boston Marathon**

Preseason Predictions

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With the MLS Combine looming and the SuperDraft nearly a week away, the New England Revolution are in a wonderful position to capture some prime youth talents for the future. The Revs not only hold the 4th pick in the draft from their dismal 9-17-8 regular season record, but three picks in the second round thanks to prior D.C. United and Chivas USA dealings.

So Who Should The Revs Target Exactly?

An enormous amount of new signings have occurred the past month or so in Foxboro, and all of them aid the team with their inconsistent defensive and midfield play. Now that New England is stacked at the midfield position, pressure could fall on the goal scoring forwards as the season progresses. Obviously Indiana forward Erik Zavaleta would be a steal if he was to drop, but Maryland’s Patrick Mullins or Elon’s Chris Thomas look like the more practical option. The club had chemistry trouble to produce goals for a good chunk of last season, if history is to repeat itself, a rookie forward may be starting sooner than later.

Does Matt Reis’ Future Change Anything?

Fans are unsure if senior keeper Matt Reis will get even half the starts he did in the 2012 season. With Bobby Shuttleworth playing superb in the final stretch of last season, picking up another goalkeeper may be a wise decision. Figure Reis has one last go around, David Meeves of Akron or Andre Blake from UConn could be promising in net behind Shuttleworth.

Building The Right Team

Now that head coach Jay Heaps has a year of MLS coaching under his belt, we get the feeling he is pushing his game plan on Michael Burns and the front office more and more. His swift dealing of Shalrie Joseph shocked the entire MLS community in August, but his aggression shows just how hungry he is to win now. Heaps is confident in his signings of Jerry Bengtson, Kalifa Cisse, Jose Goncalves, and Andy Dorman over the past year. There is no doubt Burns and Heaps are still searching for the perfect fit, whether it be an international player, or a rookie out of college.

Matt Bloom

Is Matt Reis Getting the Boot?

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Photo: David Silverman

Revolution fans will eagerly await the fate of the club’s beloved goalkeeper Matt Reis as Reis and the team plan to come to a contract decision (or lack of) this Friday. The veteran has stuck through the good and bad for ten years at New England, including back-to-back MLS Cup appearances in 2005 and 2006. Reis’ 1085 career saves and 70 career shutouts is quite remarkable, but the organization may lean to the young and talented Bobby Shuttleworth to be the future starter.

Shuttleworth finished the season with a 3-3-1 overall record and a 0.71 goals against average. Although we only got a glimpse of Bobby in the final matches, his command and work ethic looked promising. Moving from a keeper at age 37 to age 25 is not a decision teams think twice about if the talent is there. No Revs fan wants to see a dedicated ten year player go, but his time is soon approaching. This would make the second ‘player loss’ of it’s kind since Shalrie Joseph, another fan favorite, was surprisingly shipped off to Chivas USA in August. If Reis stays fit and perhaps compromise a one year deal with the Revolution, a 50/50 split between keeper starts may be Heap’s decision moving forward.

Matt Bloom