I’m putting together an MLS Regular- Season Review for a soccer magazine and I wanted to get the supporters’ opinions about the Revs in 2003. I would love it if some folks could answer the questions below. Thanks So Much! MVP: Surprise of the season (player or other): Disappointment of the season (player or other): Game of the season (a few details): Goal of the season (a few details): Young player to watch: 2003 will be remembered for . . . (game, moment, chant, incident etc):
MVP: Shalrie Joseph Surprise: Pat Noonan Disappointment: Rev v. Metro, 3-3, or Rev v. United, 2-4 Game of Season: Rev v. Crew 3-2. Goal of season: (can we say the Harris non-goal?) Harris non-goal, and if not, Joe Franchino's FK against the Crew Young player: Marshall Leonard 2003: The Streak - 2.0
I guess the others are going to put more thought into their replies....here's some initial thoughts over lunch... MVP: tough race in my mind between Cancela, Twellman and Adin Brown and even Ralston for his consistency. TnT's injuries with our still succeeding gloriously without him kind of knock him out. Cancela has been essential since about the second game he joined us, but that was relatively late in the season, so he is tough to select. Brown has saved our bacon on any number of occasions and so he is a strong candidate, but I am surprising even myself with going with Ralston. We lead the league in points while our attackers have been a patchwork of players and while we struggled finding a central midfield combination early in the season. Steve has been the one constant throughout the season to help keep us on an even keel. Ralston gets my vote, though it is hard to pick him over Adin. Surprise(s) of the season: Kamler's early season offensive outburst, Noonan and Joseph's strong contributions. Disappointment of the season: JMM and TnT's injuries as well as Duode Kante's inability to recapture last year's success. Game of the Season: To me this is a no-brainer: September 28th vs. Columbus. Trailing Columbus by 1 point with 5 games remaining we go into a 2-0 hole. We score two in last 18 minutes to tie (beautiful free kick by Max-Moore then Shalrie Joseph's first MLS goal off a corner by Max-Moore). Then Franchino's sublime free kick in overtime...we then close out the season from there. Goal of the year...too many to choose from, but any of the three above are good candidates as well as any of the 'goals of the week' candidates we have had. But Franchino's was a huge goal in a huge situation by our 'hardnosed', aka supposedly not so skilled captain. Young player to watch....pick 'em Pat Noonan, or, for my money anyways - Shalrie Joseph. 2003 will be remembered for.... the emergence of Steve Nicol as more than a 'flash in the pan' coach, the introduction of Pepe Cancela as a (if not THE) playmaker of the MLS (a unique combination of grit, perspective and flash), Noonan and Joseph's emergence as players, our ability to win without TnT, TnT's continued success and the FIRST EVER ABOVE .500 FINISH BY A REVS team!!! To me the play of the year will be Cancela's bicycle kick double assist to Kamler from midfield where he hit Kamler in full stride about 20-30 yards behind him and with a man all over Pepe. Absolutely brilliant!! I will remember that more than anything other single moment from the regular season.
MVP: Adin Brown Surprise of the season (player or other): Shalrie Joseph Disappointment of the season (player or other): another midseason slump Game of the season (a few details): Defeating Columbus 3-2 in OT, Revs first OT win ever. Revs down 2-0, fighting for a playoff spot, and they just turned around their season with a win. Haven't lost since (knocking really hard on wood). Goal of the season (a few details): The Joe Franchino shot that won the aforementioned game. There were others that were more artistically beautiful, but I think this meant the most. Young player to watch: Shalrie Joseph 2003 will be remembered for . . . (game, moment, chant, incident etc): A variety of things. The ups and downs of another Revs season. Getting off to our best start ever, hitting our normal slump, then finishing off with our best regular season ever. Seeing young players like Joseph, Leonard, Noonan step up their player. And seeing Cancela bring an amazing level of talent to our team at central mid. Twellman having another good year, and the team surviving his injuries.
MVP: Jose Cancela Surprise of the season: Shalrie Joseph. At the start of the season, he was considered "good depth" for our solid back 5. The fact that Nicol played him in Costa Rica raised my eyebrows and suggested that he was more than originally thought. Indeed he is. Disappointment of the season: The string between the KC game at home (up 2-0 at 75' and ending up 2-2) and the DC game away (0-1, Twellmanm hits post, they score in added time) where we should have had 12 more points than we did. Game of the season: Home game vs Columbus, down 0-2 at 75', ended up winning 3-2 in OT on Franchino's free kick. Goal of the season: Wolde Harris' bike vs Colorado that landed a foot and a half inside the net but didn't count. Or Franchino's goal above Young player to watch: Shalrie Joseph, Pat Noonan, Marshall Leonard 2003 will be remembered for: The emergence of Pepe Cancela as the midfield general, and winning MLS Cup in LA!
MVP: Adin Brown Surprise of the season (player or other): Shalrie Joseph Disappointment of the season (player or other): Joe-Max, sad as I am to say it. Game of the season (a few details): The 5-1 whomping of Chicago that really started the Revs' insane end-of-season tear up the table. The Revs were in last place at the time, and only lost once and tied once since then.... Goal of the season (a few details): The one that stands out is JMM's goal against the Mutts on July 12th. The video on MLSNet doesn't show it, but it had an absolutely brilliant series of give-and-gos before Joe-Max finally put it away. Still, there were a hell of a lot of good goals this year.... Young player to watch: The Revs aren't exactly swimming in young players, so Pat Noonan wins by default. Still, Marshall Leonard's got some skill - maybe Stevie Nicks has some player development ability after all.... 2003 will be remembered for . . . (game, moment, chant, incident etc): Another pathetic losing streak followed by another improbable (TnT-less) march to the playoffs.
The Revs first ever OT win was in April 2000. Our good old pal Imad Baba with the strike against DC in that season's home opener.
MVP: Pepe Cancela Surprise of the season: Shalrie Joseph. He made the step up to MLS and dominated. Before I actually saw him play, I had the impression he was a one dimensional defensive player who would get very little playing time. He stepped up big time. At the home opener, Hernandez started at central mid and had an awful first half. I remember being very frustrated with him. Then at half time, Shalrie Joseph comes in for Daniel Hernandez. Joseph's play was rough around the edges, but you could tell he had incredible potential. He was so much better than Hernandez. He was hungry and played all out. It didn't take long for him to settle into the system and get used to playing ball in MLS and realize his potential. I remember watching him make huge improvements each game in the early part of the season. I might be a little biased, but I don't think there's a D-Mid in MLS who's played better this year. Disappointment of the season: Joe-Max Moore. I expected more from him. In fairness to Moore, he did have a lot of bad luck with injuries. The injuries were also disappointing. Game of the season: Our come from behind home victory over Columbus, capped off by Franchino's spectacular OT free kick. That game vaulted the Revs ahead of Columbus and into a play off spot for good. Goal of the season: Franchino's game winning overtime free kick against Columbus. Young player to watch: Marshall Leonard. Everyone already has their eyes on Noonan and Joseph, so their solid play won't surprise anyone. Leonard has done extremely well when he's had the chance to play. I feel just as comfortable with him on the field as I do with Franchino. I think he'll get more chances to impress in the next year or two. 2003 will be remembered for: Overcoming injury troubles to put together another great late season run to make the playoffs.
2 replies: From my son: MVP: Cancela Surprise of the season: Noonan Disappointment: Twellman breaking his foot Game of the season: Columbus Goal of the season: Joey v Cowlumbus 2003 will be remembered for: Twellman's injuries Mine: MVP: Joseph Surprise of the season: Noonan (remember how "thrilled" we were that they drafted him?) Disappointment: Kante. Everyone and his brother expected much better from him. Game of the season: Columbus, just over the shutouts over Chicago and LA Goal of the season: Joe-Max vs Columbus. Joey's strike is getting all of the votes, but we were near the 80th minute, not really in the game, watching our season slip away. JMM to the rescue with a shot that gave the team new hope. As much as any moment, that play turned our season around. 2003 will be remembered for: The Cancela-Joseph midfield duo.
It's nice to see so much agreement on the board for a change I too would agree with Tom on most everything. Although the biggest disappointment of the year for me was the loss to the Mutts in the Open Cup. We were snakebitten that game (I don't want to hear the Mutts whinging about crossbars, they advanced because that's all we could hit that night). It was also host to the most embarassing moment of the year, Franchino's dust up with Cleetus.
My son was going for Joey beating up Clint in the "the 2003 season will be remembered for..." category. I told him MLS season only. I guess I got a little too involved on the "Noonan vs Ralph" rookie of the year threads on the MLS board...
I also have two entries. First up, my son Billy: MVP: Joseph Surprise of the season (player or other): Midfield level of play Disappointment of the season (player or other): Twellman getting hurt Game of the season (a few details): Fire 5-1 Goal of the season (a few details): Wolde's bicycle off the bar Young player to watch: Noonan 2003 will be remembered for . . . (game, moment, chant, incident etc): ah, i don't know... we didn't suck? And here's mine: MVP: Adin Brown Surprise of the season (player or other): Goals galore courtesy of Kamler, Noonan, Chris Brown and of course Twellman. Disappointment of the season (player or other): Jose Vazquez never getting a chance, or the DC 2-0 to 2-4 10-minute collapse, or the US Open Cup game at Metros NOT being televised. Game of the season (a few details): Fire 5-1 (featuring Chris Brown hat trick) and the 3-2 OT win over the Crew. Goal of the season (a few details): I have to agree with Billy, Wolde's bicycle off the bar vs. Colorado June 28th, perhaps the best shot in Revs history. Young player to watch: Shalrie Joseph - I love watching this kid play - hope we can hang onto him, which could be hard because he's presently playing for peanuts. 2003 will be remembered for: A repeat season-ending stretch run, after our confidence was shaken by concentration lapses that cost us many midseason points and our playoff chances looked slim. Oh, and finally WINNING MLS CUP - without Twellman. DSFC, what soccer magazine are you writing for, and how can we get a copy?
What the Hell, here are mine: MVP: Cancela/Joseph - you can't have peanut butter without the jelly. Surprise of the season (player or other): The emergence of Pat Noonan. Disappointment of the season (player or other): The big-time drop in attendance. Game of the season (a few details): The September 28th OT win over Columbus at home. The current momentum started to build with that result. Goal of the season (a few details):Noonan's goal against Dallas in the 75th minute in early October where he beat Lord knows how many defenders then cooly put the ball away. Young player to watch: Marshall Leonard 2003 will be remembered for . . . (game, moment, chant, incident etc): For some reason this stands out in my mind - for every time Cancela was kicked, knocked down, clotheslined, etc... he always got up, dusted himself off, always seemed to have a smile on his face... and never went after a player or ref. An incredible professional that young players could learn a lot from. In a word, "class".
MVP: Adin Brown - How many world class saves did he have this year? Remember people, he's almost as good as Howard, and Howard is the starting goaltender for one of the best clubs in the world. Surprise of the season (player or other): Signing of Cancela - What a long shot this was and someone Nicol and Revs Management pulled it off. I was remembering names of Ngozo (spelling?), Uribe, Vasquez, and of course Cancela. We got the best one, and look where we are. Disappointment of the season (player or other): The Slump - Without that slump, we could have easily contended and won the Supporters Shield. Which leads me too... Game of the season (a few details): Chicago Fire, 5-1 win. With Twellman out, Brown steps in and nets a hat trick, stunning the Fire 5-1, also ending the winless streak in a fine fashion. The Columbus comeback and the clinching game against DC also come to mind. Goal of the season (a few details): Since Wolde's not going to count, I have to go with Twellman's cross-the-body volley in Dallas. A sweet touch and into side netting, just a great goal. Young player to watch: Marshal Leonard - We have something special here. We actually have a great defensive sub that can come in and we don't have to worry about him screwing up. Its also going to put pressure on Heaps and Franchino to fix their mistakes. 2003 will be remembered for . . . (game, moment, chant, incident etc): The fact that even after last year's MLS Cup run and finishing SECOND in the conference this year, people still don't take us seriously. That's fine with me, cause they'll take us seriously when Brown and Ralston are hoisting MLS Cup come Nov 23rd.