We have all heard stories about how difficult a person Serna is to work with. We also know he's a very talented forward. We have never really seen what he can do as a Rev and if things work out as Rev Management seems to intend he will be gone before the beginning of the season. Here are a few questions for discussion: Why are the Revs dumping a proven MLS star forward? How will he leave--trade--sale--waiver? If Nowak was to decide to Retire whould the Revs reconsider getting rid of Serna? George
I suspect all the answers to Serna/Revs lie in one place, Steve Nicol's head which is more secure than Harvard's self-image. In other words, if Nicol thought Serna was the answer to our future, Joe Max would be elsewhere. I can't imagine Nicol having ANY player foisted on him. He just isn't that kind of coach or person. I tend to agree that pound for pound (and Diego is a big guy) Serna could be the most talented player to ever don a Revs shirt. But that doesn't make him the best player or even a reasonable risk when it comes to building a team that plays for one another in the old Liverpool way. Personally, I'd love to see Serna up top with Twellman, hell I'd even like to see him with Joe Max but I think what we are seeing in the current Rev roster is exactly what Nicol wants, at least as far as the forward position goes. JIM DOW
i believe that Nowak will be in a revs uni this season. Reportedly, he was excited to go to NE, and he's in shape. Does anybody know if he has been in practice?
So says the fax machine: ***Media Advisory*** Revs Do Not Pick Up Option With Diego Serna; Colombian forward becomes a free agent.
It's official: Serna gone Revs just sent a release reading only "Revs do not pick up option with Diego Serna; Colombian forward becomes a free agent," followed by his career stats. Damn, Tony beat me to it
Yee-HAH! ...No tears here. Rather have a less talented player with more team spirit. (Now Joe-Max can get his old number back.)
Too bad. It would have been fun to watch teams try to control Serna and shut down Twellman simultaneously. JMM will be easier to cover and will allow more defensive attention to be placed on Twellman. Nevertheless, Serna was an unpredictable factor and JMM is a far more dependable quantity. JMM will also do more defending. Still, there is something unsettling about this team's reluctance to keep attack oriented players from Central and South America. There must be two sides to the problem. It will be interesting to see how Serna, APC, and AW do elsewhere, even if the Revs are better without them.
What about Woldi? There is no ethnic issue here. Players who have been released by the Revs are gone because they don't fit with what SN is trying to do. It's about style of play and ability to be a team player not country of origin..
I can't say that I'm upset about this, never having been a Serna admirer. Still, there are unanswered questions. Serna must have been shopped to the other nine teams, who must have all said no thanks. This tells me that Steve N. isn't the only one wary of Serna's psychopathology. Does Serna have any future in MLS, and if so, are the Revs compensated in any way? Serna has been on the Revs' payroll until now. Shouldn't his departure free up some serious cash which could be thrown at a discovery player? Or has this money already been spent on JMM? If that were true, wouldn't the Revs have been over the cap at the cap deadline? The Revs didn't pick up his option, but Serna is, of course, hired by the league, not the Revs. If Serna is still under contract to the league, then logically they must be trying hard to sell him. If he is sold, wouldn't that bring an allocation to the Revs? In the worst case scenario, in which the Revs lose Serna and get nothing in return, the recent crowing about how we ate Metro's lunch in last year's trade would have to be re-examined. Last I heard, Diallo was morphing into a 21 year old Spanish midfielder from FC Barcelona.
Just a pet peeve, but last I checked, the Revs still have two guys by that transaction (obviously not counting Serna), and the Metros...? And by this reasoning, if the Metros do well this year, maybe we should start re-examining whether it was worthwhile for the Revs to go on the late season Cup-run last year. Just consider: finishing in the crapper got the Metros the most mythical coach in the league (certainly in his own mind) - The Bob, a U-suck allocation, and the second pick in the SuperDraft (the very-promising Ricardo Clark). Boy, it may turn out that winning all those games at the end was a BIG mistake. (Consider also, if the tables were turned, do you think the Spanish player would be coming here? Maybe). Sometimes you just gotta say, "Damn...for once that glass was three-quarters full!"
Someone close to the Serna situation once said to me (and I'm paraphrasing here): Diego is the sweetest guy you're going to meet. He's really a pleasure to have around. When he comes to training he works very hard. He gets along well with everyone. He's talented. You couldn't ask for much more. In the games, he leaves it all out on the field. He's great. Really. But we take up only about two hours of his day. Who the hell knows what he gets up to in the other twenty two hours? He creates more drama than a Mexican soap opera. You can't believe some of the stuff that happens to this guy. Forget about the Osbournes. Diego should have his own show. There is always something going horribly wrong for him. In the end, it's just too much. Again, I'm paraphrasing here. This is not a direct quote, but it captures the general feeling I've gotten from some folks in Foxboro and some from further afield.
I'm sorry, but I'm not buying this at all. It would be much more unsettling if we had kept APC after the way he played last year. I don't care how he does for LA, he wasn't a good fit here and our lineup/strategies probably won't change enough to expect him to contribute this year if he had stayed. I might end up wishing we'd gotten more for him, like maybe a conditional pick, but he needed to move on. It's also hard to claim some kind of regional bias in not bringing back Serna. Since Nowak is unsigned, it wouldn't surprise me if we couldn't afford them both, and Nowak would be more of a priority with JMM aboard. John Harkes' version of football utopia probably involves him being the captain and coach, directing the other midfielders on the pitch to move out of whatever spot he wanted to play. The other players could be any nationality as long as they fit into his system.
Sorry to step on your toes, Rodan Just to clarify, I think things worked out well. Again, I was particularly surprised and impressed by DH, who I think is still underrated outside of NY and NE. Obviously, I wouldn't have wanted to be Metro fan then or now. (Not that I could be, given my occasional use of table utensils.) Even if the Metros get a good player for Diallo, we may still have gotten the better deal. It's just that some people have described the trade as a knock-out swindle for the Revs, and I think some significant good may yet emerge for Metro, despite squandering AW and Chrono. That is, if the trade ends up NE - Kamler and DH, Metro - Morera (sp?), who knows? Disclaimer - I seem to like Andy Williams better and Diego Serna less (based on what John L. wrote) than people whose opinions are based on more than surfing BS and going to games. George, Rodan was throwing sarcasm grenades at me - he didn't mean it.
Soccertim: When the original blueprint for the League was put together, the basic style book they were using was one that emphasized Latino-style soccer. One of the authors, ironically, was none other than Sunil Gulati, El Jefé do Revs. Well, the blueprint has apparently hit the cut-out bin and the Latino guys have been bid hasta luego. Moreover, the facts bear out what the numbers tell us: There are fewer Latinos on the Revs roster right now at the start of 2003 then there were a year ago. Reportedly, even the Revs soon to be former Media Relations guru Jurgen Mainka was conflicted. The Mexican part said "Go." And, the German half said, "Stay." As for the team, I'd like to think it's evolution. There are those, however, who'd intimate that it's racial profiling.
I'm not trying to say that "evolving" from Central/South Americans to Europeans is an improvement, but it is a natural progression based on some of the coaches. Originally they went scouting down South because of the bargain prices, now they have Euro coaches who bring in the type of player whose style they prefer. In our case, FC favored a Latin game, Nicol doesn't. If we switch coaches again, the mix would change again. I also can't believe that the fans would prefer non-Latino players, or that the Krafts would think so. First of all, all soccer fans are aware of Brazil and Argentina's success in the sport. Secondly, if the local fans were like that, Pedro and Nomar (to name 2) wouldn't be on the Red Sox.
"I suspect all the answers to Serna/Revs lie in one place, Steve Nicol's head which is more secure than Harvard's self-image..." Ouch! The Magpie... who happens to work in communications for Harvard ;-)
Danny, I've said it once and I'll say it again: I don't care of the players are Hispanic, African, European, America, Inuit Eskimo, or tribesmen from Borneo... ... as long as we can field a competative side of eleven players who stand a good chance of winning each game then I'm happy. If Nicol goes with a roster of players whiter than Wonderbread and they win... I'm happy. If Nicol goes with a roster of Hispanic players and they win... I'm happy. If Nicol goes with a roster of players that does include Inuit Eskimo or Borneo tribesmen and they win... Hell, I'll renew season tickets for life ;-) The Magpie
Ouch! The Magpie... who happens to work in communications for Harvard ;-) Yeah, ouch indeed. I sometimes teach there so I know. JIM DOW
I don't see an "Euro" movement on the roster - Nowak withstanding. I don't see any Brits, Scots, Irish, Dutch, Germans, Russians, "Ray Hudson's hairy Bulgarians", or even Swiss players coming to the Revs! If there's a shift, it's to the US player, if anything. The Revs have always, and are continuing, to underutilize the SI spots. As a whole, the league is getting less dependent on those players, who, in the past, would make or break the team. I think, in general, if you want to sign a foreign player as a SI, it's usually accompanied with some baggage (age, $$, rigid contract, etc.). So, I think some coaches, like Nicol, would just as soon go with a US player unless they see a major difference in impact. A player like Jaime Moreno is a good example. A few years ago, he was a major impact player - now he's just another player. Unless he makes a major return to form, why not go with a young american forward instead?
as for the big change from the FC days, where Grand Dragon Harkes declared the revs to be infringing on his anglo-ness or whatever, to the Nicol pragmatic euro-defense wins strategy, race doesn't seem to have anything to do with it. Nicol is the Rev's version of Filipao, it is simple as that.
Given that SN's brain is a "Lock-Box" how do you know he doesn't want latin players? What must have latin players has he passed up? Which does he have that didn't get a chance??? They are going to Brasil for preseason, have invited brasilians to camp, (not to mention that latin america is an off season destinaiton for many league coaches) have give the likes of APC more than enough chances to not suck etc. nobody misses arguably the best south american talent to grace foxboro - because, well, he wasn't that great. (and i don't mean argintinian so called talent playing in the 4 divsion of the welsh league). i'd bet SN covets south american talent, JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER european coach...