It's not that I think the team won't care about the Champions Cup or Open Cup, but I think the Krafts have let eveyone know that the bottom line has dollar signs all over it. I think the message from the top will be clear that these 2 tournaments are not important (i.e. money losers) and there is no support for their doing well in them and making management come up with new and better excuses for not opening the Gillette Stadium for home games that will draw about 20 people.
I see the Revs finishing just behind Columbus in the East, but advancing to the Finals as the Crew again come up short in the playoffs. I truly believe the Revs fortunes at the end of last season weren't an abberation and that this team is for real. This will be LA's season, however, as the Galaxy are almost unstoppable in their new home. I mean they are going to have an incredible home-field advantage with 20,000 packed-in fans every home game. As long as they stay around .500 on the road, I just don't see the Galaxy being dethroned. Then again, you never know. This season will be exciting though!
Last year the West was far superior to the East, as evidenced by the Revs winning the division with a sub .500 record. That won't happen this year. With the exception of Chicago, the rest of the East has improved. DC and NJ have rebuilt, so it will take them a while to gel (see 2002 Revs), but with the right coaching (and they both have it) they will be in the hunt in October. However, I see it as a 2-horse race between the Crew and the Revs, coming down to the last game of the season. LA repeats as MLS Cup winner.
i would say this but one reason is stopping me. NO OFFENSE. Revs got Moore to take pressure off of Twellman, and hopefully it will take enough off to let both score goals. I hardly doubt Chacon will take the pressure off of Ruiz to break him free. You'll find this year that goals will be hard to come by and that they will be winning games with their defense.
It's really too early to tell at this point, but I chose: "The Revs will take second place in the east. They will lose in the first round of the Champions Cup, make it to the semifinals in the MLS Playoffs and might make it to the Open Cup finals." The Magpie
Maybe it's the Boston pessimist in me, but I have a feeling that Chacon is going to have a much better season in LA than he did in Foxboro.
Re: Re: How do you think the Revs will do in 2003? It would be pretty hard for him having a worse season.
Rev Camp is very quiet and that is a good sign--it spells stability. We have a seasoned roster to which we've added JMM. Joseph and Noonan--and maybe an AMF. The team knows the Nicols system and the present roster has shown that they can play well against any team in the league (last half of 2002). With the exception of LA the other teams have been making significant changes and it will take time for them to develope any cohesiveness. ~I see the Revs coming out of the gate strong and developing a significant lead in the East. ~I see the Revs losing in CR but showing well and gaining a lot from the quality compatition in preseason. ~I see the Revs looking to make a strong showing in the Open Cup as one of the two ways of making it back to the Champions League next year where they can hope for a better pick than this years and will make a serious run, esp at home (smile) ~I see the Revs and Crew (aka the mega speed gang) being the class of the east with the Eastern Conf Champs being determined on the last day of the season. ~Revs will do well in the playoffs ~LA will repeat for the Cup George
I see another year with a lot of parity. 6 or 7 teams, all of whom should be able to beat any of the others on any given day. 3 to 4 teams, those who significantly rebuilt their rosters (DC, NJ, Chi and maybe SJ) will be competing against each other for the scraps and building towards next (2004) year. The Revs and Cbus will get a little boost in the standings because they get to play their 3 little sisters a little more often than the other conference, while the west will spend more time beating each other senseless.
My 2 centavos I think this year will again show the West to be completely dominant over the East. A lot of people are impressed by Crew this year, but I'm not sure why. Their defense was awful last year, and has not improved. I still can't get over the fact that they passed on Shavar Thomas. With Heydude they have another guy who can run, but so what? They ran all over the place last year. Unless they can find a way to free up McBride, they will beat the weak teams and lose to the good ones - again. Metro fans understand suffering, and know they are in for a long year. DCU fans are charmingly oblivious to how long it takes for a team to get organized. I agree that the team is capable of making a second half run, but a lot can happen before the second half, like injuries, backbiting, and just plain bad luck. The Fire this year in a strange way remind me of the Revs last year. They are a more than decent team, who know each other, but are getting to know a new coach. They are going to have to figure out how to play without an attacking mid after surfing PN's wake for their entire existence. I expect them to settle into a pattern much like the 2002 Revs. They are going to dig in defensively, play for the counter, and frustrate the Crew, and everyone else who can't cover their butt on offense. Fire-Rev matches are going to be low-scoring wars. The boys will be at least OK. So much depends upon whether JMM is who we expect him to be, whether Noonan amounts to anything, and just plain luck (injuries, etc.). I can't see the Revs finishing below third in the East, and in all likelihood will be first or second. Unfortunately, I don't see anyone in the East taking more than a game from Galaxy, Burn, KC, or Rapids. The Quakes will be serving (their own) lunch to all comers. The playoff picture will look a lot like last year, with the advantage going to whomever is hot at the moment.
aim low. last in everything. that way - 2nd to last means fantastistc! really I see too much parity to call it. this is going to be a fun season to watch. directv just sent me a shootout ad and for the first time i can't wait to send them money.
The Revs should be pretty good defensively, but I think that they'll struggle with posession unless they upgrade at either central mid or left mid. Right now, we're very thin in the middle, unless someone like Joseph can contribute to that spot.
I'm really surprised at the pessimism (maybe I shouldn't be, it's NE after all). Only %39 think we'll do as well OR better than last year (when we lost the championship by one goal, with our top scorer playing on a gimpy knee!). We haven't lost anything from last year, and have upgraded several areas (Moore, Reis, Noonan, Joseph), including the fact that we have better players from day 1, rather than integrating during the season (Hernandez, Kante, Kamler, Brown). I guess many fans see last year as a fluke.
I'm hoping for a break-out year from Griffiths and a production surge from JMM in the playoffs. If we can get hot in the playoffs, then we'll be hard to beat... with the exception of L.A. ... they're just too good on paper to bet against them.
It's not that bad a bet, either. The only way that the Revs will put any effort into the Open Cup is if they do suck, and are trying to distract us from the team's poor showing, like in 2001.
Well, as for the hint of pessimism... Maybe due to the fact that we haven't seen them play yet. Reis' impact will not be immediate on the field. Noonan is fresh out of college, Moore has not seen first team action in a while, plus ya gotta worry about his being injury-prone. Also, Joseph is an unknown quantity along with Noonan, (unknown by MLS standards). Sure, maybe some people might say, "wow" here in pre-season, but when the games mean something, it might be different. Oh yeah, and who's running the midfield? One thing I am optimistic about is our defense, which should, for once, have us in the + column on differential, (has that EVER happened??). Let's just say, we have reserved optimism. We want to win it all...but that fall from the bandwagon can be painful sometimes!
Sure, all of the new moves are question marks at this point although I look at the Reis acquisition as the difference between him and the way Sommer played last year (I don't want to pick on JS, as I think he was a really good player, but last year had to be the worst of his career). I just don't see any reason to expect them to do worse than last year - particularly when they'll have the lineup/system that roared down the stretch last year from the get go. As for who's running midfield, while it would be nice to see a "real" distributor, we could do (and have done) worse than the Cullen/Hernandez partnership.
The biggest factor in our favor is the coach and his staff. The turnaround last year was not a temporary phenomenom. Nicol knows exactly what it takes to give confidence and inspiration to the team. He really had very little time last year to turn things around and yet he did it. It was a magnificent coaching performance. I am confident he will bring us at least the Conference championship again.
Although our ventures in Costa Rica will be telling, I see the team this way....Defense and keeping should be good, maybe even better than that. If Llamosa remains effective and calm, Kante continues to improve and Rusty, Joey and Heaps do well, with Joseph coming in and learning, then we should be pretty good. Midfield may be settled but I see too much emphasis put on Ralston. Unless he gets relief from the total responsibility for bringing the ball upfield, I forsee difficulties. Even with Hernandez/Cullen continuing to prosper. Forward could be significantly upgraded with Twellman supported by a newly ramnpant Wolde, Joe Max in behind and Noonan coming in off the bench. Overall, I think the team will be better but playing in a division with an improved D.C, Columbus and possibly Metro. Fire will probably be less effective but dangerous. We could be better but third. However, above all we have Stevie Nicks and that is the best thing to happen to this team since its' inception. Check out Soccer America this week. JIM DOW