Dec. 5 - Rev News - Reis new contract

Hey Burnsie, this should not be difficult. 3 of those 4 players you cut earned it, with the exception of Burpo who is just old and coming off his unfortunate injury. Make the team better without being sentimental about Nico Colaluca's illustrious Revolution career.

 

If Burns found releasing any of those 4 players "difficult" he is in way over his head with this job. Those 4 players all sucked.

Edit: Burpo didnt suck, I should have left him out.

 

I don't think we know about Colaluca. He looked to be in the Revs plans in pre-season, and then he was injured much of the year. I'm not on top of how roster management works, but I'm under the impression that his GA status is expiring so his contract would now count against the cap and he hasn't shown he is worth anything more than minimum wages. . . but he may be worth minimum wage.

I'm not saying he is the answer to the Revs attacking problems, but I think the Revs think he might be a squad player (a developmental player who would fill one of slots 20-24 on the roster). Maybe "squad player" is what you mean but "sucks," in which case, okay. But given the way the cap works, MLS teams do need some cheap players -- virtually all of whom would probably be on your "sucks" list.

Gibbs is probably in the same category in the sense of having some value but not being worth the money they paid him in 2010. If no one else takes him at a reduced price (phase two of the re-entry draft), the Revs might try to re-sign him at a lower salary and carry him as a back-up in case of injury.

Khano -- I'll be surprised if his MLS days aren't over. I liked him 3 years ago, but I agree with virtually everyone else here that our roster in 2011 should be good enough that it doesn't include my favorite loose cannon.

I'm looking forward to the re-entry draft, the college draft, and the promised other signings -- thinking about these minor roster moves isn't much fun.

 

Colaluca seemed to be alright, not anything that's going to really make your team much better but not that bad either. Personally I thought Gibbs was just plain bad, the guy is just way, way past it and I think you can find alot better players his age at his money or less

 

I'm curious about Gibbs. I've asked this on other threads too, and maybe you answered there. What do you think went wrong with the defense -- specifically, what did Gibbs (and the other backs, or keepers, or mids/wings/strikers) do or fail to do that caused us to be so leaky? In Gibbs case -- bad decision making? Bad touch? lack of speed? In what way was he "bad'?

I heard Nicol say last year, a number of times, that we were undone by "mistakes." Not lack of speed, or talent, but "mistakes" -- by which I assume he meant people not making good decisions about position, not following runners, leaving guys open on corners and crosses, failing to clear the ball when it needs to be cleared and to possess it when it needs to be held onto. You wouldn't expect a guy with Gibbs' pedigree to make a lot of mistakes.

edit: Nicol also said near the end of the year that we just weren't good enough, so maybe he does think it is a shortage of talent, as opposed to, or in addition to, bad decisions and lapses of concentration.

 

- weak clearances, particularly balls in the air.
- too slow to close down attackers
- allowed too much space for attackers
- never really sync'ed as well with Barnes or Osei as they did with each other

 

I'm not sure that this is what he meant by difficult, but as a manager, I can tell you that it is *always* difficult to tell someone they don't have a job anymore.

 

Okay. And isn't it odd that someone with his background could have those problems? "Slow" he can't help -- it happens to all of us, eventually. But why wouldn't a former USMNT player be able to clear the ball, and why would he allow too much space, and fail to communicate with his partners?

Oh well, I guess the reason doesn't matter.

The question now is whether the Revs will re-sign him at a lower contract (assuming no one else takes him). I'm guessing you vote No.

 

I don't think he was ever the same after his 2006 knee injury. It ruined his European career, and now perhaps his MLS career.

 

I thought Gibbs' positioning was poor in most of the games I saw. It's not really his fault, I just think he doesn't have the speed to play the way he used to and he hasn't adjusted his positioning to it.

 

I think you've hit the nail on the head here. As with many super-gifted athletes who play pro sports, he couldn't adjust to becoming the "wily veteran" type.

Back to topic, I'm pleased that they re-signed Matt. He's a solid presence in the locker room, one of the faces of the team to the media, and will be a good mentor for Shuttleworth, plus he's just one likable guy.

 

Just to be clear, they haven't re-signed him yet. They made him a contract offer good enough to keep him out of the re-entry draft, but he hasn't accepted it so far.

 

You are right. I'd be really surprised if he doesn't sign, however, given that he's coming off an injury year.

 

And it's also confidence. If you are unsure of your ability to defend someone 1v1, you hang back a bit, defend less aggressively.

I think pairing him with Barnes didn't work well, because they are too much alike physically (and don't complement each others limitations).

One thing that gets missed in the discussion of Osei is how strong and aggressive he is at going after balls in the air.

And I don't think Gibbs worked well with Osei, because they had limited time before the season to work together and I got the impression that both expected to be the defensive leader. Being a young player, Barnes was more willing to defer to either and be a complementary defender.

 

Agree on this totally. He's tiny, as you know if you've ever stood next to him, so it's truly amazing that he can compete with 6' strikers (both in the air and on the ground). If he were only 3-4 inches taller (of course, then he probably wouldn't have been available to the Revs).