Quality Of Life Index: Pre-Season

Yes yes y'all it's time for another Quality Of Life post, we take a look at the pre-season goings on an arbitrarily assign value to said goings on.

Pat Phelan Re-signs

Some people love him some people hate him, but nonetheless he is back this year.  He is an excellent athlete and plays with great heart but we're not quite so sure that it's enough in today's MLS.  Phelan was a starter last year but we are guessing he will be coming in off the bench this year due to the arrival of Ousmane Dabo. EVEN



Ousmane Dabo Joins The Revs

We like this signing, really we do.  Dabo's experience at top levels in Europe, Man City, Lazio, is a welcome addition to a very young team. Dabo will hopefully help out with possession and distribution of the ball from the midfield and we look forward to seeing him do his thing...

...notice the 'hopefully' and 'look forward', Dabo has been injured pretty much since he got here, we've expressed these concerns when he was signed and well he hasn't had much time at all to train with the team and get used to his new teammates.  We hope that this is only a speed bump but we are concerned.  Dabo will not be available for our season opener against LA Galaxy, maybe we'll get to see him the following weekend against DC United.  So in the past we have given a big/good signing somewhere around a 10 but this injury and the fact that he hasn't had much preseason time is a worry. PLUS 5

Revs Pick Up Argentinian Franco Coria

Ok we're not sure about this one to be honest, we have picked up a lot of defensive players so picking up another defender seems a bit over the top especially with the fact that we have not signed anyone to help with the attack.

That being said we are glad that the Revs have gotten on to the South American bandwagon that MLS is driving right now.  The terms of the deal are also appealing as Coria joins the team on a loan with the option to buy.  So we're willing to give the kid a chance. We're not sure where he fits in yet to Nicol's plans but we'll see soon enough. PLUS 5

Something For Nothing...

Ok so I'm done with the Right Said Fred references... The Revs picked up the rights to Fred in the re-entry draft process and traded those rights away, back to DC which is where he came into MLS in the first place.  We got DC's second round draft pick for the 2013 SuperDraft, not a bad move.  PLUS 2

Joseph And Alston Like To Party

Perhaps a but too much... You all should know about this by now.  Joseph gets arrested after being evicted from his hotel, Alston was apparently with Joseph when the shenanigans occurred, both got sent home.  Joseph is still talking to the league and other than being sent home there have been no disciplinary actions taken as of yet against either player.  No matter how you view this incident it wasn't good for anyone.  MINUS 10

Pre-Season Matches

2-0 Win over UCF
2-0 Win over US U-17
1-0 Win over FC Dallas
2-1 Win over Columbus Crew
1-3 Loss to Columbus Crew
1-3 Loss to Houston Dynamo

Alright so we're not sure what to think about all this 4 wins total 2 of them against MLS teams, 2 losses to MLS teams.  We could only watch the Houston game and it was disappointing to watch, that being said we also were missing a lot of starters, Alston, Reis and our key new signings, Domi, Dabo and Coria due to injury.  I think there are a lot of questions left and the preseason hasn't answered many.  The multiple injuries of which there are a few hammy or quad related problems are sending up red flags.  These sort of injuries seem to be a common theme on this team and we are really starting to wonder why. Things seemed strong in the beginning but didn't look so hot towards the end... EVEN

Revs Re-sign Boggs, Murray and Sign 3 Draft Picks

We didn't get to see much of Boggs last year to to a season ending concussion... and as we all know around here you don't want to mess with those.  Murray is a back up keeper and well that's that.  In addition to those the Revs offered contracts to F/MF Ryan Kinne, F Alan Koger and MF Andrew Sousa. PLUS 5

Is This Another African Project Or A True Difference Maker?

The Revs signed Nigerian midfielder Michael Augustine, 18, as challenger to Nyassi.  We know pretty much nothing about this kid but Nicol tells us he has "bags of potential".  Our African signings don't have that great of a track record and well the last thing we need is another project, that's what draft picks are for, we need difference makers right now.  He may be a diamond in the rough or he might not.  We're calling this one EVEN.


Attack! The DP

So as a recap we were told the team would be looking for a Designated Player during the offseason... didn't happen.  Despite finding out that Fenerbache star Alex was close to coming to the Revs and despite finding out other deals were close but fell through we're not impressed, close only counts in horeshoes and hand grenades. 

The fact of the matter is this team desperately needs a attacking option, perhaps multiple attackign options.  We like the additions that have been made, but only if Domi and Dabo can stay healthy, but I'm not sure we have much hope for doing well in the playoff race if we do not get a top striker soon. It was a bout a 40 day pre-season... MINUS 40

Northeast Helping The Far East

So with the Earthquake/Tsunami/Nuclear disaster occurring in Japan Revolution supporter groups have stepped up to the plate to help out those in need.

The Midnight Riders are selling discounted tickets to the home opener and are donating $1 from every ticket sold to the Red Cross.  Go buy cheap tickets, drink some beer, watch some soccer and have a good time... all well helping out our friends in Japan.  
 
The Rebellion are raffling off a 2010 Revs training jersey autographed by the entire team and donating the money to the Red Cross as well.  You can get your raffle tickets from The Rebellion here.  

In additon to that we will be donating a portion of the proceeds from our viewing event at Church Boston to the Red Cross as well.

Revs fans doing a good deed... PLUS 10


So the Revs have gotten their best score to date so far on our QoL Index, now if only we could pick up a DP or at least a productive striker we may actually make it into positive numbers soon...

OVERALL: MINUS 23
LAST QoL: MINUS 103