I was going to add this to today's news thread, but what Jim writes isn't necessarily news, it's perspective and analysis - required reading for Revs realists to chew on. Enjoy: The Revolution Have The Resources But Do They Have The Resolve to Reach A Resolution In The New Year? Plus An Interview With Chris Tierney A VIEW FROM THE FORT BY Jim Dow
"In 2010, with sixteen teams in the league Soccer America rated only Kevin Alston (6), Chris Tierney (10), Sainey Nyassi (10), Shalrie Joseph (6) and Marko Perovic (6) as being among the top 10 at their positions" Fascinating -- both the analysis and the interview. And now, by show of hands, how many here had Tierney as one of the top ten in the league at his position, either at the beginning or end of 2010?
Shalrie at 6? Tierney top 10? I'd love to see the entire list to see who they put ahead of SJ and who the rate below Tierney
Anybody know what position they put Tierney at? LB or LM? Also, great write up. (I knew practicing on grass and playing on turf was messing them up, you can see it in the early moments of games. Way to give your team a enviroment to succeed in KSG)
So Soccer America pretty much agrees with what many of us here said, that the majority of our starters don't even hit anywhere near the top of their positions. I also want to see where a) Soccer America has Tierney's position listed and b) how #10 in a position where there are 16 starting players is supposed to be something to be impressed about?
http://www.socceramerica.com/article/40579/hartmans-resilient-season-tops-goalie-rankings.html http://www.socceramerica.com/article/40610/real-salt-lakes-colombian-is-tops-in-central-d.html http://www.socceramerica.com/article/40599/galaxys-franklin-is-top-right-back.html http://www.socceramerica.com/article/40622/attack-minded-bornstein-the-best-left-back.html http://www.socceramerica.com/article/40657/sa-positional-rankings-holding-and-central-midfie.html http://www.socceramerica.com/article/40635/dallas-man-takes-tops-at-right-mid.html http://www.socceramerica.com/article/40673/donovan-dominates-on-the-left.html http://www.socceramerica.com/article/40689/le-toux-rates-top-attacking-mid-for-remarkable-sea.html http://www.socceramerica.com/article/40704/forward-wondo-a-wonderful-revelation.html http://www.socceramerica.com/article/40719/buddle-heads-the-striker-corps.html
Thanks for posting this. So according to Soccer America, the Revs had three players that they consider to be in the top half of starters at their position. 3 out of 11 starters, that even fall into the top half. Amazing.
Thanks to Tony, Jim and Mr. Wahlberg for posting. Good writing, (as always Jim), and good info for chewing on.
that list reminds me of how much MLS sucks. thanks for wrecking my day. the fact that two rev cast offs are the two best holding midfielders (a 70 year old danny hernandez and rent some tits) in MLS, Andy Williams is the 4th best at his position etc means that the talent pool doesn't require a lifeguard.
Making the top 10 list of a 15 team league is kind of like making the playoffs in MLS. Also, this is Soccer America we are talking about. Probably the worst Soccer publication in the world.
MLS has the talent it can afford to have. I think the level of play is pretty good, and league wide the play is improving every year. I find it entertaining, and I am very glad we have a place for American kids to develop -- the Dempseys and Holdens of the 1970s and 1980s became bankers or mechanics or golfers or whatever, because they had no place to play professional soccer. If the level of play really wrecks your day, why don't you just follow one of the top leagues -- it's easy enough to do in the cable/internet era.
the level of play doesnt wreck my day, its being reminded that it sucks and thinking about it that wrecks my day.
Agreed. The talent level is definitely better than it was, and I hope to see that continue to improve.
...says the guy who submitted a write-in vote for Tony Frias III as one of the Revs all-time best mids. Happier New Years!
Yeah, without him, we never would have had enough cement to build that top deck of the stadium! Seriously, the Soccer America positional lists are a bit puzzling. I think of some of the guys listed as "Holding" MF and "Central" MF as very similar, and then you have "attacking" MF who are more the creative types. Then there are the left and right MFs, which is fine if everyone played a 3-5-2 and had a player in each category, but they don't. Then some teams that play a 4-4-2 have 2 central defenders as well as a left and right back, but what about teams that play a sweeper. Then you have "Forwards" and "Strikers." Hard to accurately and fairly rate players with such ambiguous terms. Joseph really only the 6th best player at his position? Are you kidding me? Still, even if you do account for a fair amount of flexibility, it doesn't say a whole lot about our team.
they should have lumped all central MFs together. there are 0 creative MF in this league - they are all just guys that play farther from the touchline most of the time. to be fair about the "6th best at his position" Joseph wasn't sharp this year. sure, the team around him sucked, but he also didn't have his head in the game.
A few thoughts. Great stuff, as always from Jim Dow. Now we know where Jim gets all the 50 cent words from - he listens to NPR. What's a "concrete rumor?" That TFIII is coming back? On a more serious note (OK, my first point was serious), I could care less about rumors -- concrete or otherwise. I want to see a signing. To paraphrase Yoda, there is no try, do or do not.