So we are going to start a new piece here at TDIF, the Quality of Life index. Yes I am stealing this from Boston's Weekly Dig, but well it is one of my favorite pieces in that periodical.
So we will start this QoL with reviewing the offseason thus far.
Taylor Twellman Retires
After 8 Years and 101 goals scored for the Revolution Taylor Twellman retired due repeated concussions. Taylor was the face of the revolution and was a huge asset both on and off the field. Replacing him will not be easy and if anything the Revolution have shown that they are not very good at replacing star players when the leave (i.e. Clint Dempsey).
MINUS 101
Revs Players Head to Plymouth Argyle For Offseason Training
Zack Schilawski and Bobby Shuttleworth went to train with former Revolution assistant Paul Mariner with his side Plymouth Argyle for 10 days. We had been told that there would be some sort of loose alliance when Mariner left the Revs to take over the Pilgrims and this was the first instance we've seen so far. While we hope we see more of this Argyle's financial problems do make us worry about the long term viability of the club... like will they even exist next year... If Plymouth does fold can we please get Mariner back, we seem to have lost a major piece of the puzzle when he left.
PLUS 10
Revolution Sign First Ever Home Grown Player
Fifteen year old Diego Fagundez become the Revolution's first ever home grown player when he signed with the team. Fagundez has been playing for the Revs Under-16 squad where he scored twenty goals, and got U.S. Soccer Development Academy National Starting XI honors. Fagundez has also been called into the US National Under-15 squad.
PLUS 15
Expansion Draft
The Revs for the first time ever did not have anyone selected in the expansion draft...
EVEN
Revolution Put Up Four Player for Re-Entry Draft and Take 2
Khano Smith, Corey Gibbs, Nico Colaluca and Preston Burpo were all cut in for placement in the new Re-entry draft. We have no problem with these selections, however we did like Burpo and thought that he did a good job as keeper until his unfortunate/horrific leg fracture during a game vs. the Red Bulls.
On the other side of things the Revs picked up the rights to Fred and Ryan Cochrane, whether they actually come to an agreement of terms and sign with the team will remain to be seen.
PLUS 3 (We left a point out for you Preston)
Revolution Stadium Groundbreaking Soon... But Maybe Not...
In an interview on the D.A. Show on 98.5 The Sportshub, Revolution Investor/Operator stated when asked about a Soccer Specific Stadium for the Revolution that
“From our perspective, we would hope in the next 12-24 months we would have something we would be breaking ground on … ” Stop us if you've heard similar talk before...
Later that week COO Brian Bilello stated that
"I think that we will definitely have a stadium at some point" in an interview on Fox 25 News with Ryan Asselta. This would have been a perfect opportunity to reinforce Kraft's assertions of 12-24 months however it wasn't and the idea of a stadium in the near future seemed to be backtracked on a bit.
Actions speak louder than words...
MINUS 12-24
Revolution Seeking Double Pe... uhhh DP.... Designated Player
Legitimate media outlets for the first time reported that the Revolution was seeking to add a DP or possibly even 2 to the roster.
"At the ownership level, we've talked about it,'' said Bilello
. "This team hasn't performed the way we wanted it this year, and in talking to ownership, their priority is not only getting better but they want to get better quickly. In talking about it, it was very clear they understand that there might be things that might take some time to do, and they wanted to think of ways that we could get better very quickly. So frankly, what we decided on is we are going to be looking bring in a Designated Player this off season.''
This was early in October, and there has only been one player even loosely associated with the Revs as a possible DP candidate.With all the roster space and cap space available this year we are pretty disappointed that there have been absolutely no signings made yet, DP or not. Other teams have made moves already and have had rumored moves, sorry but the using the excuse that the transfer window doesn't open til January is not a good excuse anymore.
MINUS 2
So for an offseason that should be full of major news for Revs fans there hasn't been much we have less than 3 months till our first game against LA on March 20th... the clock it ticking...
OVERALL: MINUS 87-99
