For the 2nd time this season I have read that Bobby Thompson from BC has signed a developmental contract with the Revs. With the other developmental players, the Revs have only signed them when they were really ready to use them. The Revolution site doesn't mention it yet.
I like Bobby Thompson as a player. He was huge for them in the NCAA's two years ago, except at the end when he was playing injured. He's a smart player with good vision. I wonder if he's fast enough to play at this level though. I had heard that he was really unsure about what he wanted to do with his life after graduation and that soccer wasn't his top priority. Maybe that has changed. Or maybe I just got the story wrong from the person who told me.
What's nice to see is that the Revolution are giving opportunities to a variety of "local" players, and that some of them are making immediate contributions.
It's official, he was signed yesterday: The Revolution announced on Thursday, July 1st that the team signed midfielder Bobby Thompson to a Developmental contract. Thompson, who played four seasons for Boston College, was named the Most Outstanding Player of both the 2000 and 2002 Big East postseason tournaments. Prior to his BC career, he was a standout at Framingham (Mass.) High School where he was a Boston Globe and Boston Herald All-Scholastic honoree.
Did he get on the plane to Col? Has he been working out with the Revs? What will he bring to the table that Big Luke V and Dorman doesn't already provide?
"Did he get on the plane to Col?" He's listed as a sub, so I'd assume he did, especialy since our bench isn't even full with him: Clint Baumstark GK Daouda Kante D Luke Vercollone M Bobby Thompson M "Has he been working out with the Revs?" I believe he has been
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Revs won't travel to Colorado until tomorrow. Anyone know what this guy looks like and I can let you guys know if I see him tomorrow? I think the Revs will go through my checkpoint when going down to play the Crapids.Saw JMM this morning and spoke to him for a couple of mins. He said that he expects to be out for at least another month!!!. The bump on the inside of his right knee looks sore to me.Hopefully he will be back in time for the playoffs.
They didn't sign Brilliant, Dorman or Vercollone until they were ready to put them on the bench (and the 1st two saw action fairly soon after), so I think it's safe to say they signed him now in order to have him available on Sunday. As for what he provides that Vercollone and Dorman don't, Vercollone is a pretty small, slight guy and Dorman is injured. Thompson is listed by BC as 5'9", 170. Here's an article about BC's excellent 2002 season, which mentions Thompson, Singer and Casey Schmidt: http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/rvp/pubaf/chronicle/v11/d13/soccer.html
Vercollone was the MVP of the national champion PDL team last year, a team that included Brillant and Ngwenya, the third pick in this year's MLS draft. He played holding/defensive midfield on a team that prioritized defense. He is small and has a unconventional but effective frenetic style of play. Nicol likes big and strong, not small and tenacious, hence it is no suprise Vercollone has not gotten a chance in the middle. He is less effective as an outside midfielder but given a chance inside I'd bet he would be useful.
Thanks for the info. Sounds like Luke V has done well at a lower level. It will be interesting to see if he can fight his way onto the field and step up and win some playing time. Heck, this week could be his big chance
So I guess this leaves us one open DV Roster slot. We have Singer, Dorman, Thompson, Big Luke and Dempsey. Any rumors as to who they might be looking at for the 6th slot? I'm sure there has been a steady stream of players in for tryouts but I'm wondering if we may be able to uncover a bit of quality from outside the country. Some of the other teams seem to have been able to uncover and sign Brazilians et al as TI's to DV contracts. My guess is that SN is not willing to sign just anyone but is holding out for players he feels have an upside that he can develope and that have a chance of making it at this level. So far he seems to have done very well with his picks in the draft and should do even better if he gets a chance to have them on the practice pitch for a few weeks.
http://www.revolutionsoccer.net/news/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=78139&itype=&iCategoryID=429 Looks like it was announced 7/2 to me. Anyone have an official announcement from the 1st? Congratulations on no longer having the fewest players on the DEV squad, Nicol now actually has an excuse to complain about not having enough players to fill the bench. A pulse is enough reason to justify this signing ($850/mo, can be cut month by month) given the current injury problems.
Au revoir, Douda? Not sure if this belongs in the Bobby Thompson thread, but a little birdy tole me that the Revs are looking at a central defender from Leicester City, a big guy, who is over six feet. I tried to look up the squad on the LCFC site, but you have to register, but I figure it shouldn't be that difficult to see who might fit that description who would be out of contract. My guess is that if this guy works out, it's bye-bye Douda. I heard Saturday that they were going with the 4-4-2 in Colorado, and I assumed that meant Kante would start. Given that Ralston was our right back and Heaps was in the middle with John instead of Kante and Ralston on the RW, Nicol must have lost all confidence in Douda. At least with Kante in the lineup, he could bring Baker in off the bench for some speed late in the game, something that clearly was not an option last night. It should be an interesting week. Whether this guy from Leicester is a SI or a TI, it shouldn't matter, since there will probably have to be some salary manouvering in any case. Tom
Re: Au revoir, Douda? "...a little birdy tole me that the Revs are looking at a central defender from Leicester City, a big guy, who is over six feet. I tried to look up the squad on the LCFC site, but you have to register, but I figure it shouldn't be that difficult to see who might fit that description who would be out of contract..." The player who fits the profile (to a point) is Matt Elliott. He's 6"3, 210 pounds, and 36 years old. He has a reputation for being a tough, but skilled player, who's versatile enough to have played as a central midfielder, forward, but has played most recently as a defender. He has a habit of getting forward and scoring goals. He's also a former Scottish international, played in France 98, and went on to earn 18 caps before calling his international career quits. His career started in non-league football with Chelmsford City FC, then Epsom and Ewell, and has gone on to play for Charlton Athletic, Torquay, Scunthorpe United, Oxford United, and joined Leicester City in 1997 where he's been club captain. He spent the past part of the 2003-2004 season on loan to Ipswich Town. Thing is, even if we were to release Kante, I doubt we'd have enough money to sign this guy (if indeed this is the player), not unless we put one of our higher-salaried players on the season-ending DL... or something like that. I'm also not sure whether he's still under contract. Thoughts? The Magpie
Re: Au revoir, Douda? Sure he's not playing rugby? Perhaps since he has played forward, midfield and now defense, the Revs are eyeing him as a backup keeper as the next logical progression? At 36 and speaking the same "foreign" tongue as the coach, perhaps Nicol is going to save some money by bringing him in as an player/coach?
There is no question at this point that Dauda is Dead Man Walking as far as the Revs are concerned. Maybe a bigger question is Rusty. With him being out of contract at the end of this season and the nature of his most recent injury which often results in chronic problems SN may be looking at bringing in Elliott for a 6 to 18 month fairwell tour and look to trading/drafting for his replacement. In case Rusty is unable to fully recover we will need more than Kante. As to how the Revs would pay for Elliott, the Revs could invoke the MLS's "Jello Rule" usually reserved for LA or the Swamp Rats
Actually, the player I was told about is not Scottish, but English, so it wouldn't be Elliott. As to the question of cap-ology, we supposedly still have some allocation money left over from the Hernandez sale, so if we could use say, $100,000 and by cutting Kante, we could bring in a decent player for at least this year, and then have to deal with the unplesantries of cap crunching over the next winter, but that's a problem for another time. Tom
Well, looking through the list of players Leicester's let go during the off-season, there's only one other big man who might be a possibility, but that's Nicolas Priet, a 6-4, 21 central defender who is out of contract... but is French. Junior Lewis might have been an option at 6-3 and 30 years old, but he just signed for Hull City. FWIW: Elliott is English, and qualified for his Scottish caps only through a grandparent who was born in Scotland. Thing is, Eliott was one of a few players retained, and has recently been (and may still be) Leicester's captain. Hard to dial this one in. The Magpie
Hmmm, there is typically a bit of house-cleaning when a team gets relegated, so I wasn't sure who'd be in that group of Leicester players. It seems as if Elliott was the captain and one they didn't put on the transfer list (when there presumably were several who were), it would be unlikely that the Foxes would want to part with him. Especially since any player signing for us would have to be on a free transfer, since any allocation money we might have available would have to be used for the salary, not the fee. Supposedly, this player will be here this week, so any of you guys who make it to practice keep an eye out. Tom
D'oh! I usually do a good job of utilizing my news-tracking and archival resources. See here: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=121773 The Magpie