This is not to say that I have given up on this year. I believe (with fingers crossed) that we will make the playoffs and still have shot at something nice. But, this seems to be a team that makes it easy to start thinking about the next season before this one is over. This year we did the major overhaul and it didn't work out as well as we hoped. So let's go with the consistency theme this year. We have 23 players this year due to Serna's injury, so let's (for the sake of argument) say we drop/trade 5 players and add 4 new ones to get us to 22. Question 1. Which 5 players would you waive/trade? Question 2. What 4 positions/players should we try to fill/get? Question 3. What happens to Coach Nicol?
1.I would definitely keep Brown, Llamosa, Pierce, Kante, Franchino, Griffiths, Kamler, Ralston, Twellman, and possibly Wolde. I would send off Sommer, Rooney, and possibly Chacon for monetary reasons. I would get rid of Cullen only if we got a better defensive midfielder. Otherwise I'm fairly indifferent. 2.Attacking mid, 2nd forward, defensive or utility midfielder, and backup keeper. 3.Keep him (unless we can get someone like van Gaal or Hidink)
The last two games have made some of the off-season decisions kind of interesting. If the Revs finish the season strong, these are the issues I think they have to deal with: 1. Coach - Full credit to Steve Nicol for not letting the Revs give up on the season. But is this turn-around for real, or is it an illusion. If the Revs finish strong, I'd bring him back. If he doesn't show me anything, then he's gone. 2. Attacking Midfielder - Hernandez and Cullen are doing a decent job, but at some point, they've got to find their playmaker. From a player personnel standpoint, this HAS to be their biggest priority in the offseason. 3. Defensive Midfielder - Find one. Right now, there are five or six guys on the team (Hernandez, Cullen, Cloutier, Pierce, Franchino, etc.) that you could safely put in this position, and there's no need for that much depth at one position on an 18 man roster. 4. Forward - They need another forward to pair with Twellman. Wolde's been fine the last two games, so if he ends the season well, I'd think about bringing him back as the first guy off the bench, but I don't want to count on him as a starter going into next season. 5. Left Midfield - Griffiths has until the end of the season to prove he can improve his passing and his crossing. Otherwise, he's not worth the SI spot (I think) he'd take up next year. And I don't want to start Brian Kamler there, either - although he's good to have on the bench. 6. Right Back - Heaps has been OK this season, I think, but that's also Rusty's best position, and I think he's got to play. I don't like Rusty playing in the center of defense on a full-time basis. How can we keep both Heaps and Pierce happy? 7. Center Back - Kante looks like a player, but does anyone trust Carlos Llamosa to continue to stay healthy? We could use another young, athletic center back, just for depth. 8. Goalkeeper - Adin Brown's been good, but Juergen Sommer has not. Given Sommer's age, shaky form, and salary, I think we could find a better alternative for a backup.
my 2 cents This year's roster - The players in bold go next year. The players in italics stay provisionally, that is, unless there is a better option that becomes available. 1. M Shaker Asad - P40 8-18-79 2. GK Adin Brown 5-27-78 3. M Braeden Cloutier 10-3-74 4. D Leo Cullen 2-26-76 5. D Nick Downing -P40 1-25-80 6. D Joe Franchino 8-8-76 7. M Tony Frias - DP 11-16-79 8. F Ian Fuller 8-31-79 9. M Winston Griffiths 9-12-78 10. F Wolde Harris 1-26-74 D/M Jay Heaps 8-2-76 D/M Daniel Hernandez 7-23-76 D/M Brian Kamler 2-12-72 D Daouda Kante - TI 7-16-78 D Marshall Leonard - D D Carlos Llamosa 6-30-69 D Rusty Pierce 7-24-79 M/F Alex Pineda Chacon - SI 12-19-69 M Steve Ralston 6-14-74 M Jim Rooney 9-9-68 F Diego Serna- SI 10-2-73 GK Juergen Sommer 5-12-77 F Taylor Twellman 2-29-80 So much for the Revofusion. First choices for acquisition: 1. left back 2. forward 3. central mid Clearly this depends on who's available. That is, if Valderrama Jr. pops up, then grab him. I wouldn't fire Nichol for anybody. Hector Cuper, Sven Goran Erikson, Bruce Arena, etc. aren't looking for work. I'm not sure if an improvement on Nichol is available.