Down year? what down year? He did what they wanted and that is create offense. He owned the AM position over Benny. Why do none of the players named in other posts here want to stay in New England? Why, with the exception of Juan, do players that leave here, not want to come back here (Dempsey, Parkhurst)? I wonder if ANYBODY in the Kraft family has any idea at all just how their investment is being run into the ground by one person? We could have the big crowds you see in Atlanta IF we had something people would pay to go see. You will never get crowds in New England with the product the Revs offer up. I havent been in years and unless we field a real team at some point, I'll just continue to watch on TV
And then there was AJ Soares, who was a decent player, but not a yuge star. He had an EU passport and was able to quadruple his salary with a move to Europe when his contract expired. And Mike Burns was "caught off guard."
Not buying what? We seem to agree on Dempsey, Parkhurst and Larentowicz approach to forcing or waiting out their contracts My post was not about "lucrative offers" and I certainly don't think Larentowicz had lucrative offers (vice Parkhurst). But he was smart about moving on and maximizing his career. Parkhurst was good from day one. It is hard for me to tell that the Revs improved him at all. They helped his stock rise because they let him play? If that is your point, I can't argue but I can say you set the bar pretty low. I think well run teams would have helped his stock rise by selling him on, profitably for both the team and the player. See the other follow-up someone wrote about why people sign extensions.
I wasn’t replying to your post Tom, but rather the Dormant comment. In retrospect, it’s stunning that someone who draws a salary from this club could make the Dempsey/Dorman comment. I was an admirer of Andy’s late runs into the box, but, he was not going to be an offensive force in our 3-5-2.
I think that Nicol could have had some part in improving Pankhurst as a player. Beyond that, playing on a successful team probably raised his visibility, and may have opened doors in Europe. On the flip side, I don’t believe the current state of the Revs is doing anything for Diego’s career.
Reaching back to the term “equitably” in my original post, I think Parkhurst did far more for the REVs. I also think they could have shopped him around, potentially resulting in a better deal for them AND the player. I think the fact we have to reach as far back as Dempsey, Twellman, Joseph, Parkhurst, and Larentowicz for a conversation is telling. That’s quite a while ago. But the rare successes of the distant past always emerge to pump up the image of Rev ownership/management. We agree about Diego. Now expand that thought to Rowe, Farrell, Caldwell, Aguedelo... heck every player under Heaps and Friedel (jury still out on Turner)
Parkhurst finally got to lift the MLS Cup. He played a big role in the game, including creating the turnover that led to the opening goal. I'm happy for him. The fact that he would rather play for the yellow football team than return to his home town team still speaks volumes to me about the Revs FO...
IIRC Parkhurst was a starter from day one at CB in 2005, anchoring the 3 man back line. If Nicol taught him anything it was just hoping his already strong skills. I wouldn't say the revs developed hum as much as gave him a strong platform to showcase his skillset.
Stejskal: Keep up with ATL, or get left behind https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2018...-atlanta-show-just-how-high-theyve-raised-bar Very depressing to read as a Revs fan.
It was pretty clear VERY early on Dempsey, Parkhurst, Larentowicz, and Dorman would not be signing any extension and were planning on playing out their contracts. Most of that based on how they saw Twellman and Joseph situations play out. Dorman came back, but Dempsey, Parkhurst, and Larentowicz wanted nothing to do with the Revs in future stints. Players and agents talk. This is true, and being a savvy savvy business man is one way to go about things. The Revs really blew it not transferring a Homegrown when interest in Diego was out there. Instead if felt like were trying to lock in the local boy to sell tickets. Meanwhile, everyone is raving about the Adams story that will only attract MORE talent to those type of organizations.
Atlanta Raises the Bar as MLS Cup Champion–and a Soccer City https://www.si.com/soccer/2018/12/08/atlanta-united-mls-cup-champion-soccer-city one more - sigh
this is some nice scouting. how did you manage to watch the CONCACAF league? i haven't seen it advertised where i live
Multiple people tell me FC Dallas is going to go young next year. Multiple names likely on the move in and out of the league. #MLS #FCD— Paul Tenorio (@PaulTenorio) December 9, 2018 A central defense pairing of Mancienne and Hedges wouldn't upset me.
I was watching the europa league on univision (because i refuse to pay bleacher report $10/ english broadcast) and saw ads for the semifinals. You can watch repalys of both legs of the final on concacaf go (its still free through the end if the year)
I actually had a conversation with Parkhurst in his first year here, and the gist of it was how much more stable the D was in comparison with years past. As a defender who reads the game well and also is quite skilled, he routinely played the ball out of the back with shorter, crisper passes to the midfielders. Of course, those guys were also better at keeping possession, and if you have the horses who can do that, you don't need to be panic-stricken and hoof the ball upfield, making every clearance a 50-50 ball at midfield, which is what usually happened in the past (and still happens now). How much of this was on Nicol, I don't know, but it sounds reasonable that a guy who played for Liverpool in the '80s would encourage a style like that if he recognized that he had players who could do it.
I don't disagree, for the most part, but Dempsey was a different story. He viewed MLS as a stepping stone long before there were any issues with Twellman or Joseph. This was known when he was drafted.
Is this true as I do not remember that was the case? If you can point/find something that would be great. From my recollection, Dempsey was actually under the radar, clear quality of course, but a sub for the U-20s - there was no real indication that he was going to break out the way he did. And I really do not remember it being reported or him saying that he was going to play out his contract from the very beginning, even before the draft. Really it is a moot point, and the past anyway - the Revs have got to focus on the now and changing all of this perception.
I really don't think that's true. As @dncm stated, Dempsey was a surprise pick for the Revs and certainly didn't seem destined for Europe.
It wasn't until almost at the end of camp when Nicol realized he had to find a place for Dempsey and switched from the 4-4-2 to the 3-5-2. I don't think anyone projected him going to Europe before that point.
Yes, Dempsey was projected to be a very good player, but not a star. The difference is that Dempsey believed he was destined for Europe. Not necessarily the levels he ended up reaching, but I sensed right away that the Revs and MLS were not his destination, but his stepping stone. Nicol had a tough time getting him to play a role - he started out pretty much doing what he wanted to do on the field (and that's part of why he suffered his broken jaw, IMO - it was kind of an upstart, know-it-all play against a rough, savvy veteran). I think Nicol ended up creating a role for him, after realizing that he wasn't going to fit Dempsey into an existing role. He was defensive-mid who spent a lot of his time running at goal! The Revs never had a chance to extend him and it was not because of anything they did or didn't do. The Revs were actually a pretty good place to be in MLS at that time.
Great post. This is exactly how I felt the Dempsey years went. After one of the Meet the Coach sessions, I specifically asked Stevie about the Deuce's coachability and he rolled his eyes a bit, but said something like "if he would learn to listen better, he'll have a hell of a career ahead."
Could be that I am , ... ... the way I remember it, Dempsey went low to head a ball going out of touch, while vie-ing with a tough veteran (I can still visualize it in my memory-challenged mind). I'm thinking it was Tony Sanneh?