We may find that some of these guy who "really suck" just might not really suck so bad. Playing in the right system for the right coach can do wonders. And the opposite is also the case.
It might be too late in his career, but I would still love to see Arena will give Teal the Chris Albright treatment and move him to outside back.
Bruce has more than 10 games of tape on guys like Anibaba, Zahibo, Caicedo,Somi, Delemea, Farrell, Mancienne etc... I suspect that he may have already formed an opinion on a few guys already. 20 dollars says Anibaba will be replaced and will either be released or delegated to back up in the next 7 months
Anibaba is a cost-effective back up. The only reason he starts so much is due to Delamea and Mancienne's inability to stay healthy/play effectively/avoid red cards. All I'm saying is that evaluating players based solely on how they performed in Friedel's "system" may not be a completely accurate assessment of their talents.
After Wednesday's performance, Id be surprised if Herivaux is on the roster by July. He's not even worth loaning out, a complete waste of time. A few of my other thoughts on the current roster: Farrell - I love the guy, but it seems he is always emergency defending. He seems to have lost a step from never having been very fast. Caldwell - I've always liked him. If I put a name on the back of a jersey it would be his, but the more I watch him I think he's a USL level player. At best he should be 3rd option off the bench for a good MLS team. Agudelo - Has never showed the same quality he did in 2013. Time to sell for pennies on the dollar. Horrible contract extension. Bunbury - Past sell by date. Fagundez - I'd be willing to give him another chance. This is his first time with an actual experience coach, perhaps we can get him Zahibo, Mancienne, Somi, - gone at end of season New Caicedo - TBD; but can anyone look more awkward when they run?
Correct about Anibaba he is a back up, nothing more. The fact that Delamea and Mancienne can't stay healthy, avoid cards and are inconsistent sends the message that they should be replaced. Bruce has almost 30 days of no games to evaluate talent in practice and watch game films and then the rest of the season to confirm his opinion.
Agree with everthing. I'd add that the first Caicedo is not all that. At times he plays out of position, makes sloppy tackles and looks confused. Some of this could be due to Friedel and his lack of clarity
i mostly agree, with the caveat that Anibaba is the only Defender, let alone CB, on the team that has any kind of aerial presence. On a team that concedes from set pieces like the Revs do that counts as a valuable talent and might keep him in the lineup over his ground bound compatriots
I left him off because I have mixed feelings about him. He has enough that I think he might be redeemable with the right tutelage, but he could also be gone after this season.
For now, the game remains unchanged - 1st step is to actually land better talent, then (and only then) jettison the players you already have. In each case above, tell me first who the new player is, then I ** may ** agree with getting rid of the existing player. (Especially with the multiyear practice of running with unfilled slots, and the generally acknowledged weaknesses in some of the filled slots.) I think its a good assumption that Bruce will do a better job than Burns on landing talent. How much better, let's see how that goes. He's got a lot of long-entrenched forces arrayed against him, and it will take time to remove those and get momentum behind his preferred direction(s). If he gets to a cadence where he can be assured quality will regularly walk in the door, well he can then occasionally preemptively drop players. He's a fair way off from being there.
With so many lower level soccer teams available in New England, hopefully BA will utilize these places to train younger players with potential. Sending players out of state to Heaps, seems a little unreasonable to recall quickly. Keeping the younger Academy or similar players close by, means living expenses can be monitored, and the team can help out as needed. Integrating these secondary players into an occasional practice or scrimmages would be even more helpful for player development.
Agreed on all the other players. For Diego I think this is his last season here good, bad or ugly. The talk of a move to Uruguay probably distracted him and I don't think he's happy or confident. I really think Friedel destroyed Bunbury's confidence and damaged Diego's. Arena probably can motivate Diego to play well with the carrot being playing in Uruguay but I think his long term future with the revs has been all but decided.
It seems that what Friedel did for many of the Revs players is what the Dementors did for the Hogwarts players......left them broken, hollowed, shells of what they once were.
I haven't heard of him getting his citizenship, so I think a move abroad is unlikely until that happens.
I think Arena should be exactly the right guy to find the best role to put him in to be successful. The Revs, through 4 head coaches now, have all tried using him in different ways/positions. I think he needs some clarity, direction and consistency in finding a role. We've seen what he can do in the right situation.
This. And I think you could probably say that about a lot of our players. Guys like Delamea and Penilla, in particular, and Kellyn Rowe in the past seem like they were never really able to thrive to the level of their talents. Bunbury, on the other hand, seemed to peak last year under Friedel's high press. I can see him as a useful 70th minute sub, but not with the role he has been in recently.
He's signing up his staff at the moment. He hasn't even had a chance to assess the squad yet. That's what's up with that.
Arena has been here a week now and he hasn’t signed his full staff or any players yet. What’s up with that? It’s almost all in fun. We’re just anxious for things to start happening.
I'm guessing that the expectation that Arena won't be on the sideline until, maybe, the LA Galaxy game, is because he needs a semi-full staff in order to take on the day-to-day coaching responsibilities.
First priority is to fix the management structure of the team. Lapper is good enough for now, but the rest of the organization is not. Glad to see he's focused on that, because very few of us have any confidence in this organization. He needs to get that piece right first for the long haul. And by long haul, I think he is also looking (I hope anyways) to institute people who will outlive him in the organization and continue a legacy.
Having heard rumors and stories of hazing of new foreign players, hope BA handles that. It would be helpful if the Kraft Group hires or sub contracts out someone to help foreign players to integrate into the area. Matching up players with others who speak their languages, finding restaurants with familiar foods, and neighborhoods where they will be valued and not just another non English speaker. I was specifically thinking about the car incident with the (crazy at times) African player, Tierney and one of the other guys moved his car, and the player started to walk home (several miles), believing his car was stolen.