Nicol Gone... Where Do We Go From Here?

Today the New England Revolution announced that Steve Nicol and the team had mutually parted ways and Nicol would not be returning next season. While this is something we have called for a while now, it is a bittersweet moment. Nicol will always be a Revs legend, but this move is the best for the team and for Nicol as well. We wish Nicol the best and look forward to seeing what the next step is in his career.

Don't Renew 'til You See The Whites Of Their Eyes....

Sigh... it's that time of year again.  The phone calls every week, the emails, the pretentious invoices that come in the mail.  Season ticket renewal crunch is here.

Why is it worth it? No one has been able to answer that question, no one can give me a good reason to renew my season tickets.

It used to be that Special Event ticket, excuse me tickets in years past, you knew you were going to get a friendly or two, some sort of international competition, US Open Cup, and/or playoffs. Well this is the second year of no playoffs so I won't be using it for that. We are in no position to qualify for any international competition. We regularly blow off the US Open Cup which would be helpful for getting into international competition, and the FO decided to fuck over its STH's on our friendly this year forcing people to fork out more money to see the match.  The ManU game would have had a solid showing of Revs supporters if they didn't screw that one up, but hey at least the few of us fools that did spend money on it got free parking... So why should I renew my tickets, because my unused special event ticket will be credited to next years?  I don't fucking think so.

Marko Perovic... You fucking morons.

Last year the hook was statements about signing one and quite possibly two Designated Players in the offseason.  That didn't happen, yes we finally did sign one halfway through the season, but he is hardly what we expected as a DP and is only a DP by a technicality... his transfer or loan fee or bribe to his agents... whatever it is... it's still fishy to us.  I won't call it an empty promise, but it was a half-assed promise to get people to renew.  We all knew we had a ton of cap space as well, and the Revs acted within their Standard Operating Procedure of signing aging/injury prone Europeans that otherwise were looking at retirement and didn't make it a whole season.  Yep they sure didn't do enough with that cap space...  Why should I renew?

Apparently we are at most 14 months away from breaking ground on a stadium. If you believe that I also have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.  Krafty Jon said in an interview last December that they hoped to be breaking ground in 12-24 months.  Well with the amount of time the permitting and approval process would take before a shovel would even hit the ground, the likelihood of this happening is zilch.  Now of course every ticket renewal crunch we start to hear rumors of stadium news and this year is no different, they've already started. The fact is there is no deal yet, and there is no hard evidence that there will be soon (Please Revs, make me eat crow on this).  Foxboro is killing this team, it sucks to go there, the stadium is too big and it perpetuates the feeling of being second class citizens... You aren't fooling me with empty promises to make me renew.

Fortgate... way to make me feel like a valued customer... You fucking morons (again).

You want me to renew? Fire Burns and let Nicol go.  It is obvious that they can not rebuild this squad or even field a competitive team.  It's no secret around here that we despise Mr. Burns, I don't know why they thought he had any qualifications to do this job but he doesn't, he's not good at it, just because he played the game doesn't mean he is going to be any good in an FO.  Nicol won't be fired, his contract is up at the end of the season, but I do not want to see it renewed.  I think Nicol is a great coach, and have always enjoyed speaking with him, I wish him the best of luck elsewhere but his time has run it's course here.  The team needs fresh blood and new ideas.  Many people want to see Bilello gone, I haven't touched on this that much.  If I can say one thing, personally I like that guy, professionally it's another story.  If he is one thing it's easy to read and see through, Fortgate proved that more than anything.  Listen, getting rid of him will do nothing unless there is a total philosophical and cultural change in the organization starting at Krafty Bob and working it's way all the way down.  A new COO will just be more of the same if there isn't that shift, Krafty Bob and Jon need to decide that they want this team to meet and  hopefully exceed the standard set by Portland, Seattle, Toronto, Kansas City, otherwise nothing changes.  You want me to renew... this would be a start.

We need to see a lot of new faces next year, both in the FO and on the team.  Shalrie will likely leave and if he does it's a shame but understandable.  There are not many players here that I want to see next year, the squad needs to be blown up other than a handful of them. If we see the same players that at most are riding the bench for other MLS teams as starting players next year then I have no interest in renewing.  If we plan on rebuilding with draft picks I have no interest in renewing.  If we rebuild with way past their expiration date European players I have no interest in renewing. 

I am not alone.  This is why many will not renew, it is also a path to get those people to reconsider but only if this organization is smart enough to see that.  It is likely that I will not renew, that doesn't mean I will stop supporting the team, or even stop going to games.  It is incredibly easy to get a free extra ticket on the plaza before a game and I will most likely do that.  The best way to send a message to this team is not renewing your tickets, they need to be hurt in their wallet, just as they have hurt us in ours.  Please give us a reason, we really do want to give you our money but this abusive relationship needs to end or we're out.

Talk to us the week before the season starts and we'll see if you've even remotely done a good enough job...

The End of an Era and Error

We've been holding off on doing this for probably longer than most people expected, but we wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt (foolishly) one last time.  That time has now ended with the transfer window closing at 11:59 last night.  Its time for Nicol to move on and Burns to be shown the door.

This team is lacking talent and they have been given every chance to fix this... for years.  The downfall of this team is not sudden or even shocking, we have been watching it precipitously fall since 2008.  We have signed many failures Domi, Dabo, Jankauskus, Assengue, Niouky, Castro, Badillia, Augustine and for no apparent reasonable reason we let go of last years MVP.  The team seems to be relying on the Superdraft while other teams are going out and searching for successful players and having good luck in places like South and Central America and landing some major transfers.  Whereas we take a trip to Africa every year and usually end up with a player that doesn't even make it a full season.

'Baby come back...'

The team now has 5 roster spots open...  you don't get anything for having that many open spots (teams do get 35k for each spot up to 2 open for allocation money), and as long as the players are not DPs the league pays the salary for players under the cap. The Revs are not saving any money, they are pissing away hundreds of thousands of dollars.  The team has cut or had 5 players retire since the season started, Marko Perovic, Iilja Stolica, Ousmane Dabo, Didier Domi and Michael Augustine.  You would think we would have had a very active transfer window especially with the cap space that opened up, but instead we signed one player.  Now of course he's a DP but only because we had to pay off his handlers (seriously paying a transfer fee for an out of contract player?).  We had the room, the money and the URGENT NEED to bring in multiple players in and we brought ONE. The team only accomplished 20% of the work that was assigned to them... If I only accomplished 20% of the work I needed to do at my job I would be fired, especially if I had a track record of failure.

Mike Burns is horrible at his job.  He has done more to hurt the Revolution than he has ever done to help it... he is public enemy number 2 for Revs fans (#1 being Krafty Bob/Jonathan).  There is a history of players not feeling as if they were treated well here, with 3 recent examples in Perovic and Castro and Larentowicz.

"Teams have decisions to make on players and players have decisions to make for themselves they have to feel comfortable with. Over time, [the Revolution] weren’t doing right by their players. I watched a lot of talented players and friends go and a lot seemed unhappy who were still there."-Jeff Larentowicz in the Boston Globe 11/2010

So Burnsie can't keep the good players here, cuts ones that should be here and apparently can't seal the deal.  How many times have we heard that "we were close but it fell through" or "we have an offer out".  This is almost as good as 'The Krafts are committed to the team and sport'  or 'We are seriously looking to build an Soccer Specific Stadium in the urban core of Boston'.  Burns always seems to come up with the same excuses and the same bullshit answers whenever anyone questions him and the teams scouting and player acquisition record/strategies.

I like Steve Nicol, no seriously I really do, it pains me to say that he should go but I honestly don't see any other option.  Team sources have told us as well as others on multiple occasions that the scouting and signing of players is split between Burnsie and Nicol;  Bilello even said this on the now defunct Defend The Fort site (man I wish I had saved some quotes from there).  Nicol does the scouting and identifying targets, while Burns does the paperwork and negotiations.  Burns' reasons for a pink slip should be obvious by now.  Nicol as a selector of talent hasn't done that great a job, we've had far more busts than successes.  The downfall of the team and the current record are also unsatisfactory, these things coupled together are our reasons for asking Nicol to leave.  Nicol has done great things for this team and is a great coach but his time and methods have run their course in New England. I would truly hope that Nicol stays in MLS and finds success elsewhere but the Revs need an infusion of new blood to turn things around.

In the end hearing that they 'tried' to get players or land some big deals is not enough.  If you try and try and do not succeed eventually it is time for you to try something else, somewhere else.  Again in a normal job situation it doesn't matter if you try all the time and never get a positive result, or fail more than succeed...you lose your job.  Steve, I thank you for all the work and time you have put in here, I hope to see you leave New England of your own free will, but either way we need a change of pace.  Burnsie... don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out...

Thoughts on the eve of Revolution vs. Manchester United

(Credit: Yoon S. Byun/Boston Globe)

 So I suppose this site is usually half op-ed style writing and half news but I am going to just ramble on here today (OK ya that is pretty much what I always do).

We wrote in the past of our disappointment in the fact that for the first time the Revs have not used a season ticket special event ticket for an international friendly and the questionable reasoning behind it.  Yet despite that I decided to purchase a ticket and go anyways, it's my team and I want to support them and show the bandwagon/pink hat/euro-snobs/what-have-yous that there are in fact people here who care about our local team and will support it. 

Supporting your local is the only way that soccer will take off in this country. Those who rather sit on the sidelines and only show up for the big stars aren't doing themselves justice and are not doing justice to the sport they claim to be a fan of.  Don't get me wrong, seeing that troll Wayne Rooney and Co. will be a blast and it will be exciting to see a team of that quality first hand.  I love the sport and when it comes down to it I am a sucker to see ManU play, even thought I hate them (COME ON YOU IRONS!).

I am also very conflicted about tomorrow.

1) We are second to last in the league, we are not winning, and the team just looks lost these days.  We are about to take on one of the best teams in the world.  Listen, I would be beside myself and elated with getting a draw in this game.  When the game was announced I never thought it was a game we would win, just being realistic, but now I worry about a blowout.  A blowout in front of 50k+ potential fans would be a disaster. Yes I realize that the Kansas City Wizards/Sporting KC beat them last year, but even they were surprised at that.  I just hope Sir Alex shows Nicol, a former player of his on the Scottish national team, some mercy if things start going badly.

2) Fortgate. If you are stumbling across this blog click that link to get caught up.  I am apprehensive about being a supporter in The Fort at the first game since that incident/movement started.  What are we going to do? I imagine everyone is going to be a little sheepish at first, and this is not a game for that.  We need to be at our loudest and at our best... we will be away fans in our own home.  Defending and supporting The Fort tomorrow is very important.

Things are going to be different however, we are going to be in a post Fortgate era and we do not know if that will be a positive or negative yet.  As of right now with the amount of friends planning on giving up season tickets and not attending further games after Sunday's match with Philadelphia, I have to think that the initial phase of this is going to be very negative.  All of this will be on the minds of the supporters in The Fort tomorrow the question is how will it affect our normal raucous support.

--------------

So I attend tomorrows match with the excitement of the rare opportunity to see some of the best soccer players in the world and one of the best teams in the world, yet I also attend with a heavy heart over the events of the past month and questioning the future of this team.  I will cheer and sing and support our guys as I always do, but with the suspicion that my actions and words as a supporter will be scrutinized more than ever in the past.  These things always have a negative affect on a supporter, I just hope we can all overcome that for tomorrow.  Oh and Revs front office... for the love of God can we not wear our away jerseys this time?


SUPPORT THE FORT

An Open Letter Regarding the 2011 Season

Dear Steve Nicol, Mike Burns, Brian Bilello, Jonathan Kraft, Robert Kraft, Kraft Sports Group, and most importantly the fans and supporters of this team,

Aw, S#!t not again...

It has been a interesting season to say the least up to this point, in both good ways and bad ways.  There was a prospect of interesting things happening, the signings of two players with a great pedigree, Didier Domi and Ousmane Dabo.  The signing of an exciting striker in the form of Rajko Lekic.  The Revs announced a shirt sponsor and were able to acquire Benny Feilhaber.  On the bad side our record is currently 3-6-4, 3 wins in 13 matches.  The team has not scored a goal in the run-of-play since April 23rd.

We've needed offensive help for a while (years?) and we finally got some however Lekic is struggling.  This lone striker formation is not getting him the ball and therefore he is not scoring. Lekic's confidence must be in the trash can at this point, we need to put someone up top to help him out. When the Revs took on LA  a few weeks ago the attack looked much better once Schilawski was brought into the game.  The current "4-3-3" formation, really a 4-5-1 is not working and it's time to try something new, the defense is surely improved and possession has gotten a little better but we are not scoring and we are not winning.

What happened to Dube? Dube went on a tear during the USOC play-in game vs. DC United, doesn't he deserve a chance? Why has a former starter (although purely because we didn't have anyone else) now been benched? Further on the attack front is what happened to Stolica, loaned to FC New York he's disappeared. He's still on our books, although per league rules we don't know if his salary still affects the cap space or not, and it might be worth bringing him back and pairing him with Lekic.  Stoli seems to have gotten a bad rap this season and we're not quite sure why. 

Benny Feilhaber was a gift from the soccer gods and yet it appears that he can't help right this ship and now he looks extremely frustrated in his new home.  Marko Perovic is now gone for the entire season with the outlook on our attack improving now looking grim.  This brings us to another issue, injuries.

Why is it that over the past few seasons that we seem to have multiple players out, key starters, with nagging injuries over long periods of time?  I have not looked into other teams and what their injury situations have been but ours just seems ridiculous.  They seem to be the same type, strains and sprains. Our trainers and medical staff must now be brought into question.  This track record is unacceptable and it's time to stop chalking it up to bad luck. Maybe it is the medical and training staff, they need to be evaluated and it needs to be determined if they are doing their jobs a) to the best of their ability and b) to the standards that these type of jobs require in professional sports and top flight soccer.  Also we must look at the fact that this team practices on grass yet plays on FieldTurf, these are not the same no matter what anyone says.  One only needs to see that sod was laid down on top of the FieldTurf for this weekends US vs. Spain friendly.  Are potential signings going to start to worry about coming here and playing on this surface?  Do they already?  We have heard offhand from current players that they do not like playing on it and that it doesn't feel right, Perovic being one of them.  As long as the Patriots don't want to have real grass this situation is not going to change, but maybe training and conditioning needs to be better suited to deal with the plastic grass.

You guys haven't learned from me...

We seriously need to look at the player acquisition strategy as well.  Domi and Dabo have been solid players in their time, but now they are being paid around $200k each and have spent more time on the trainers table than playing, they cannot even be considered starters.  The Revs desperately need to bring in a striker and a right midfelder/winger during this next transfer window, however given this teams track record of signing during windows and bringing in international talent we are worried. Perovic seems to be one of if not the only real success, and he's currently sitting with his leg elevated wth ice on it watching TV.  Can this team's staff really go out and get the type of players we need? Can they sign people who are not aging and on the down slope of their careers? Can they sign players that are not injury prone?

This team needs an strong influx of talent to improve, sorry guys but that's just the way it is and if it's not obvious you aren't looking hard enough.  This team had quite a bit of work done to it in the off season, an unprecedented amount of cap space, and we brought in defensive players and seemed to think our problems were solved.  This team is clearly not what we expected it to be and the disappointment is now coming to the surface.  What happened to our 1-2 DPs?  

"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.''  -Brian Bilello

For 2 consecutive seasons we've needed a player that could finish in the attacking third and we have not seen that player come in, Lekic might be that guy but only if we can get the ball at his feet.  The team made major upgrades at 5 our of 11 positions and yet the performance has not improved all that much.

So where does this lead the 2011 New England Revolution?  Will we not make the playoffs for 2 years in a row?  It sad to think that we have to ask the question already at this point in the season, however by the end of this month we will have reached the halfway point.  The time is soon upon this team where peoples jobs will and must be seriously questioned.  Has Nicol lost the locker room? Does Burns have any idea what he's doing? Do both of them truly know how to go out and find difference makers? Nicol came to this team inheriting a great core of players but now all we have left is Shalrie and Reis, and Nicol/Burns have yet to prove that they can rebuild a core.

What is the team going to do to fix this current situation? Are the equipped to do so properly and if so do they know how to do it?  The past few years seem to point to no, they don't know how to or are not equipped to do so properly.  The team has to show it's fans that they realize that there is a problem and that they know changes are need, but at the same time actions speak louder than words.  We have heard a lot of words but not seen them supported by actions.  This team needs to figure out where it is going and how it is going to be able to compete in this league, the level of play is progressing rapidly but the team does not seem able to keep up.

Uhhh, it's supposed to be league "parity" not "parody"

The Revs have NYRB away this Friday, and then 2 struggling teams, Toronto and Chicago, next week.  If this team comes out of the next three games without 3 points we are indeed in very serious trouble. The season isn't over yet and a win streak can change the attitude of both the fans and the team, but that needs to happen and needs to happen soon.  The real question is will that be enough?  A band-aid is not going to fix what seem to be repeated problems over the course of the last few seasons.  The stewardship of this team and this sport by Jonathan and Robert Kraft in this region is questionable at best.  We realize the FO has it's finger on the pulse of the fans and supporters but do the Krafts? Do they truly understand what is going on and what has been going on with their team and their fans over the past few years?  There was almost a fan revolt last year that was put down by the team turning things around, albeit briefly, unfortunately there seems to be a similar problem simmering again.

This team needs changes to be made and if they are not and do not happen soon I fear what will happen to this team and it's fans.  Many of the most hopeful of this teams fans are seeing their optimism wane.  The team and current staff should be given until the end of the transfer window to make things happen.  If not the fans and supporters will have to stand up and demand changes from this team, although they may not even give them that long.  I for one propose that the leaders of the supporters groups and prominent fans demand a meeting with Jonathan and Robert Kraft, I do not think it is likely that they will be given an audience with Bob but it is worth a shot. I mean let's face it the NFL still might not play and that is where KSG's priorities are, not with the kickball team. This team is in danger and it's time that we get them back to the level and the position that the fans truly deserve, because without the fans the team is nothing, the fans are what makes the team possible and the fans need to hold the leadership of this organization responsible if the team stagnates or falls.


"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." -Albert Einstien


Sincerely ,
          The Drug Is Football

ATTN: New England Revolution, Steve Nicol, Mike Burns, et. al...

That is all...

Uh Oh Spaghettios...Perovic Out For Season

Well... there goes our attack, 'Serb'd' by the Turfmonster.  New England Revolution midfielder/striker Marko will be out for the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery today on his left knee.  He is expected to be out of action for 6-9 months and has been placed on the season ending injury list.  Perovic had his left ACL and medial meniscus repaired at Mass. General Hospital.

The amount and frequency of injuries on this team is getting ridiculous and there has to be more to it than just bad luck.  Is it FieldTurf? Poor training/trainers? Poor stretching and practice routines?  Our guess is d. all of the above. These same stories have been playing out repeatedly over the past few years, a lot may have to do with aging players but Perovic isn't 'old'.  If we can't keep young guys healthy and in good shape how are we supposed to keep the likes of Jankauskus, Dabo, Domi, etc in good shape?  Sure it may have just been an ill fated play during the game, but it did happen on our lovely FieldTurf.  One thing we know for sure, our best attack option is no out for the rest of the year (sounds sadly familiar doesn't it?), Benny is still M.I.A. and who knows about Dabo, at least Shalrie decided to stay with the team rather than joining up with Grenada for Gold Cup.  The transfer window opens soon and boy... Nicol and Burnsie better be pretty damn active.

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??

Steve Nicol Answers Supporters Questions

Well ladies and gentleman, we decided to forgo the Motorhead concert tonight to cover the Revs supporters "Meet The Coach" event (actually I couldn't afford the Motorhead show....).  Steve Nicol met with members of the Midnight Riders, The Rebellion and this lone member of the Rev Army to answer their questions at the Phoenix Landing in Cambridge, Ma..  Instead of wrting some big long narrative we will present you with subjects and Nicol's comments on them... Enjoy there is some good stuff here... We'll start with the Designated Player issue...

Quality of Life Index: End of Offseason Entering Pre-season 2011

Apparently most of our off season transfers got snowed in and couldn't make it...

So the last time we brought you the Quality Of Life Index it was somewhere around the halfway point of the offseason, with pre-season having started we look at what's gone on since the last QoL post.

I Bless the Rains Down in Africa...

...Gonna take some time to do the things we never have...

Like find a good player from one of Steve Nicol's African scouting trips... Assengue, Niouky, whoever else... Fail. Despite freeing up over a half a million in cap space and being told that the Revolution will be actively pursuing a Designated Player this off season our illustrious gaffer is off in Africa looking for another cheap diamond in the rough.

Let us know when that coal turns into a diamond Stevie...