US vs. Spain MEGAPOST

Well folks we are only a few days away from a re-match of the 2009 Confederation Cup Semi-Final between the US and Spain (we won by the way).  Seeing as how this game is in our home turf (Fieldturf that is) we figured we should probably you know... mention it or something.  So we have been down and out for while with some computer issues but we're coming back with this.

So as a recap the USMNT is taking on Spain this coming Saturday at Gillette Stadium at 4:30pm.  We are suggesting parking with the American Outlaws who have secured their own lot.  Parking will be $40 per car unless you are an AO member, members should have been emailed a pass that will get you in for $30.  The lots will open at 12:30pm and AO supporters will be marching to the Stadium at 3:00pm to ensure the best seats and make sure the "pink hats" are relegated to the top of the sections.  If you don't have  car or would like to take public transportation well you're shit outta lu... wait no you're not this isn't a Revs game... The MBTA will be running a special train for this game leaving from South Station in Boston and costing only 15 bucks, more info here.

As a special treat to all of you that make it there TDIF's DJ alter-ego Brigade Loco will be spinning tunes all day as well as post game (hang with us or sit in traffic.... if you rather sit in traffic you are lame), expect to hear a smattering of punk, reggae, ska, rock and roll, whatever we feel like spinning and a set of fine 80's/new wave post game.  The lot is BYOB so stock up but there will be food available cooked up by lovely AO volunteers.  So this brings us to one of the things we do best... partying... so for those out-of-towners and those who are just looking for a good time we break down some options for you in our lovely home... The City of Boston.

FRIDAY

The Banshee-934 Dorchester Ave, Dorchester Ma.

AO Boston will be hosting it's night before party at one of the Boston area's best soccer bars, The Banshee. there really is no excuse not to be here the night before so we won't even give you options for other things to do for Friday.  The Banshee is one of Boston's many Irish bars (no Rangers jerseys) and has a great selection of imported beer and all at very reasonable prices (They've been known to have Newcastle for 3 bucks.... unheard of!!). If you are staying in the city the Banshee is accessible by the MBTA Red Line, take the T Red Line to the JFK/Umass stop. Exit the train station by following the Columbia Road signs. Once on the street, turn left. Go through the first intersection. Take a left at the second intersection (approximately a 3 minute walk) onto Dorchester Avenue. The Banshee will be two blocks down on the left hand side. MBTA fares are 2 bucks each way and there are machines at every station where you can purchase a ticket, they take cash and credit cards.

SATURDAY

Allstonians, Sprained Ankles, Yesterday's Heroes @ The Cantab (Downstairs)-738 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA

So you need something to do after the game right?  Of course you do and this is our first suggestion, it also happens to be where the TDIF crew will be heading to celebrate another epic victory over Spain.  The Allstonians are Boston Ska legends and are pretty much our the official band of TDIF.  Sprained Ankles are well... words cannot describe... think the Ramones meet Chuck Berry and you got the Sprained Ankles.  Yesterday's Heroes are pure bred Boston Punk... so you know that it has to be good.  For those of you that are new to us we always post videos when talking of bands so here we go...








"Heroes" 80's Night @TT The Bears-10 Brookline St., Cambridge Ma.

Chris Ewen spins the best new wave, retro, electro, punk and more.  Heroes is always a good and eclectic crowd.  This has become a TDIF favorite as well and don't be surprised if we stop in after the Allstonians.

Other Places To Check out...

Don't like those options, too bad....

Focusing on the Central Square Cambridge area, you can check out The Middle East.  The Middle East is one Boston's legendary rock clubs, there's the main room 'Downstairs', the small room 'Upstairs', the Corner, and ZuZu and all are pretty happening on a Saturday night.  In addition to music they have you guessed it... great Middle Eastern food.

Staying with the Ethnic theme, there is Dosa Factory for great, fast and cheap Indian food.  It's tucked in back of an Indian market but well worth checking out.

Tavern on the Square is a good bet for more standard fare and more of a normal bar atmosphere.

Middlesex is where the hip and trendy go to dance.

Looking to stay in Boston? Check these out...

Kings, like bowling, pool, beer, food, video games? Go to Kings... it's like Chuck E. Cheese for adults.

McGreevy's is the unofficial Red Sox bar... owned and founded by members of the Dropick Murphys there is usually good music on (and by that we mean punk rock) and tons of Red Sox memorabilia.

The Red Sox are in town this weekend as well as the Bruins Stanley Cup playoffs... Boston will be a madhouse so proceed with caution...


Got any suggestions? Let us know and we'll add them here...

TDIF Band Of The Week-Hammer And The Nails

Do you like your music loud, hard and angry? We do and that's why we present some of Boston's finest Oi, Hammer And The Nails, bringing some serious quality to the Boston scene. Members credits include Tommy And The Terrors as well as Dropkicks in addition to running Sound Action Limited who have brought us great events such as the Play It Loud festivals.

HATN doesn't play all that often but when they do you want to be there, and you have that opportunity this weekend. Sunday 2pm at O'Briens in Allston, Hammer And The Nails will be playing with Pist N' Broke, S.C.F.F(If you have to ask you don't want to know) and MFP.  Because what else are you going to do on a Sunday?








Get Your tickets here, check out Hammer And The Nails here, check out Sound Action Limited here and buy music here.

Possible Summer Transfer Targets?

Milan Baros

So from Fank Dell'Apa's article in the Globe this week we learned that the New England Revolution are actively pursuing a European player who is among his countries top goalscorers.  Today we learned from a Kyle McCarthy Tweet that Steve Nicol and Mike Burns have been in Europe scouting this week.  Using this information we have compiled a list of realistic and not so realistic potential transfer targets, all teams had midweek games:

David Villa-Barcelona
David Trezeguet-Hercules
Alessandro Del Piero-Juventus
Zlatan Ibrahimović-AC Milan
Alexei Eremenko-Kilmarnock
Cristiano Ronaldo-Real Madrid
Milan Baros-Galatasaray
Dejan Stanković-Inter Milan
Andriy Shevchenko-Dynamo Kiev
Artem Milevskiy-Dynamo Kiev
Roman Pavlyuchenko-Tottenham
Niko Kranjčar-Tottenham
Edin Džeko-Manchester City
Mirko Vučinić-Roma
Goran Pandev-Inter Milan
Ilčo Naumoski-SV Mattersburg
Alexander Frei-FC Basel

Alexander Frei

Ok and now we have what we think is the most likely list of targets.We feel comfortable with these names and will be keeping our eye on them. Some are still on the unrealistic and/or pricey side, some have contracts ending, some are cheap and some are old.  We'll let you decide:

David Trezeguet-Hercules
Alexei Eremenko-Kilmarnock
Milan Baros-Galatasaray
Dejan Stanković-Inter Milan
Andriy Shevchenko-Dynamo Kiev
Artem Milevskiy-Dynamo Kiev
Niko Kranjčar-Tottenham
Alexander Frei-FC Basel


What do you think??

Quality Of Life: 2011 Season 25%

Yes yes y'all it's time for a they latest installation of TDIF's New England Revolution Quality of Life Index, lets get right into it...

B-B-B-Bennny, Beeeeeeenny, Beeeeennnyy and the Reeeevvvvvvsss

What can we say that hasn't already been said?  The Revs finally lucked out and didn't get screwed over by the returning US National Player Allocation Order.   We all were on the edge of our seats for a  few days while we waited to hear if Chivas would take him or pass, then Philly was up.  Philly and Chivas both passed and Benny landed squarely in lap of the Revs.  This was a no-brainer decision, we had to take him, he helps fill a need and really got the Revs fan base fired up.  While he hasn't totally wowed us yet with the few games he has under his belt we're still excited.  PLUS 20









Wait... The Front of the Jersey Doesn't Say 'Revolution' Anymore?

Well well well, looky what we got here the Revs finally picked up a sponsor.  About damn time.  It's not a flashy brand or anything but we got it.  This basically means money for almost nothing and if what we have speculated in the past about the budget His Royal Highness Kraft bequeaths on the lowly soccer playing peasants, we need it.  Now the question is how much and what will it be used for, better marketing? a Designated Player? orange slices for everyone?
PLUS 10



PSYCHO!!

Tramp Stamp?

Wow the Revs signed an attacking player... like people had been asking for... for a few years... and he's not 38... thank you, what took yous so effin' long? "Psycho" Rajko Lekic comes to the Revs from Danish side Silkeborg IF.  He's looks good on paper and we like what we've seen so far including a pretty nice goal against Sporting KC.

We want more though, and we're hoping that with the upcoming transfer window we will see another piece of the puzzle come in to help get Lekic some service, service he desperately needs.  Lekic's outburst against Nyassi during last weekends match against the Colorado Rapids definitely shows his intense passion and well maybe where he got his nickname from.  Some people thought it was over the top but we don't, Nyassi needed the criticism and someone dishing out criticism is might be what this team needs to light a fire under their collective asses. PLUS 15

The Season So Far

Draw vs. LA Galaxy
Win vs. DC United
Draw vs. Portland
Draw vs. Vancouver
Loss vs. Real Salt Lake
Loss vs. Houston
Win vs. Sporting KC
Loss vs. Chivas
Tie vs. Colorado

The team is better than last year.  The team's results are not yet good enough for us though. We'd love to see some consistency in the line up, i.e. less injuries, as well as some better cohesion between the team.  The time for the team to "gel" was in the pre-season and maybe the first few games of the season.  The Revs still needing to "gel" in the middle of the season is starting to get old as well as the use of that as an excuse. Our new system for rating the season is perhaps the most un-arbitrary number we've put out on these posts, 3 points for a win, 0 points for a tie, -3 for a loss.  Yes I am sure someone has done this somewhere else but I don't care. MINUS 3 (For comparison NYRB is +9)

Ousmane Dabo Finally Plays His 1st League Match...

...and ends up back on the injury list... He looked good while he played and the team looked better with him,  but his situation is getting worrisome as we had feared was possible in the past here and here, oh and here. MINUS 7 (I like you Ousmane, I really do... don't take it personally)

Revs vs. Red Devils

Well the Revs announced that they would be playing an international friendly against Manchester United and the world was happy, flowers were coming up, war was stopping, cats and dogs were friends.  Then the Revs announced that for the first time in recent history (ever?) that this international friendly would NOT be included in the season ticket package.  Apparently the price or our package doesn't reflect the added price that bringing in an opponent like ManU would require.

It's still a big heaping pile of bullshit. I am not going to rant anymore on this one, did enough already here and here.  Sales for this match have topped 35,000 and the lower bowl is "almost sold out", except for the Fort where the supporters groups have been given a longer window to try to sell tickets to their members.

I'll leave you with this thought on it, the die-hards the ones who make the atmosphere, sing chant and scream their hearts out, travel to great lengths to support their team, will have small numbers.  These are the people you screw over by not including this in the season ticket package and by doing so the Revs have shot themselves in the foot by alienating one of their best game-day marketing tools.  In my own small group there were probably a good 20 or so of us that were planning on going prior to the news that it wasn't included, now there is 2.  MINUS 18

Stoli, and Tim Murray loaned to FC New York

We learned that the Revs loaned Ilja Stolica and goalkeeper Tim Murray to USL Pro side FC New York last month. It is a multi-month loan and either player may be recalled at any time.  We feel that Stoli is getting the short end of the stick here, and we'd would like to have him still with the team especially seeing as how his friendship with fellow Serb Marko Perovic has been good for Perovic.  We have inquired with the team to see if this helps clear cap space or not but we will have to wait for an answer until Mike Burns returns from his current scouting trip to Europe. PLUS/MINUS 5

Final Thoughts

It's been an interesting season for the Revs for sure and overall some good things have happened and the team has started to make moves that we've been asking for for a long time.  Everything isn't all rosy but there have definitely been improvements made both on and off the field.  It's looking better being a Revs fan these days although there is still a lot to be desired... for the first time ever though the QoL Index hits positive numbers.

OVERALL: PLUS 17 (+/- 5)
LAST QoL: MINUS 23

Walking In A Wint... err.. Revolution Wonderland?

Sources close to Revere Mayoral Candidate and City Councilor At-Large, Dan Rizzo, have informed us that within the past 2 weeks Councilor Rizzo has had a conversation with Jonathan Kraft and representatives of Kraft Sports Group about the facilities at the now-defunct Wonderland Racetrack.  We are told that arrangements are being made to tour the site and facilities within the next 6 months.  We asked the team for comment but they have nothing to say at this time.

The Wonderland site is just north of Boston and accessible by Rt. 16 and Rt. 1A as well as being accessible via the MBTA Blue Line which terminates at Wonderland. There are infrastructure concerns as the area is notorious for it's traffic problems including multiple rotaries in the area. The area is slated for a larger waterfront redevelopment as well but that seems to be delayed.

We here at TDIF feel that despite the traffic concerns this would be a good location although not as optimal as the previous Somerville site.  The site is within the Metro-Boston area, and within the "urban core", accessible by public transport, close/in diverse ethnic communities and in an area desperately needing a major project and overhaul.  We will end on these 2 words as food for thought... Beach Tailgates.