Joseph Needs to Reconnect with his Teammates and his Club

While this is Alston’s first disciplinary incident, Joseph has faced numerous on-field and off-field setbacks in the last couple of years. The Grenadian international missed several games early in the 2010 campaign due to a thigh injury and incurred a five-match suspension and an MLS-mandated rehab stint for testing positive for marijuana in April.

As Shalrie struggled, so did his team, crashing to 6^th in their conference and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2001. He let his on field and off-field frustrations mix into an ugly tempest, mishandling his disappointment with his contract negotiations and an inexperienced starting eleven. He freely admitted in an interview earlier this year that he, “wasn’t mature enough or man enough to tell the guys what they should be doing (on the pitch).”

The 2011 season was supposed to be a year of revival for the man who wears the arm band, but in the early stages of the preseason, Joseph has already twice ran into trouble. He missed the opening day of training camp due to personal reasons and now has been banned from the Orlando training grounds.

Veteran keeper Matt Reis had this to say regarding the newest incident: “It’s very unfortunate, very distracting, something I think could have been avoided. But we have to move on and we can’t stop doing what we’re doing to get ready for the season.”

Despite these shadows, Shalrie Joseph has had a shining career for New England. Along with Reis, he is the longest tenured player at the club, tallying 210 appearances and 28 goals. The four-time MLS Best XI midfielder has always been known for his outstanding ability to see the field, delivering perfectly weighted balls on the attacking end and no-nonsense tackles on the other.

But as many know, holding the captaincy is much more than simply being a great player. The 2011 New England squad desperately needs an element of true leadership from its captain. Struggling against a slow decline in quality and enduring the departures of star players and hometown favorites alike, this young, largely untested squad needs a player to come forward. If Joseph has finally proven his lack of reliability, than another player must come forward. As coach Stevie Nicol stated: “At the end of the day we’re looking for everyone to step up. I’m a believer that it’s not just one guy who’s captain. We need everyone to step up, that’s what you look for in preseason…it’s my call (to name the captain). The good thing is I can decide when I want.’’ At thirty-two years of age and in the last year of his contract, the final grains of sand may very well be falling on Joseph’s time with New England.

Remaining 2011 Preseason Match Schedule:

Wednesday, February 23: vs. FC Dallas (ESPN), 11 a.m. ET

Sunday, March 6: vs. Columbus Crew (Finley Stadium, Chattanooga, Tenn.), 4 p.m. ET

Atlanta MLS Challenge (Kennesaw State Soccer Stadium, Kennesaw, Ga.)

Wednesday, March 9: vs. Columbus Crew (Kennesaw, Ga.), 7:30 p.m. ET

Friday, March 11: Columbus Crew vs. Houston Dynamo (Kennesaw, Ga.), 7:30 p.m. ET

Sunday, March, 13: vs. Houston Dynamo (Kennesaw, Ga.), 2 p.m. ET

Schedule for 2011 Season:

All matches will be televised on Comcast Sports Net unless otherwise noted.

March

Sunday 20 at LA Galaxy 8:00 p.m. ET

Saturday 26 D.C. United 4:30 p.m. ET

April

Saturday 2 Portland Timbers 7:30 p.m. ET

Wednesday 6 at Vancouver Whitecaps 10:00 p.m. ET

Saturday 9 Real Salt Lake 7:30 p.m. ET

Sunday 17 at Houston Dynamo 7:00 p.m. ET

Saturday 23 Sporting Kansas City 7:30 p.m. ET

Saturday 30 at Chivas USA 10:30 p.m. ET

May

Saturday 7 Colorado Rapids 7:30 p.m. ET

Saturday 14 Vancouver Whitecaps 7:30 p.m. ET

Saturday 21 at San Jose Earthquakes 10:30 p.m. ET

Saturday 28 LA Galaxy 8:00 p.m. ET

June

Saturday 4 at FC Dallas 8:30 p.m. ET

Friday 10 at New York Red Bulls 8:30 p.m. ET FSC

Wednesday 15 Toronto FC 8:00 p.m. ET

Saturday 18 Chicago Fire 7:30 p.m. ET

Sunday 26 at Seattle Sounders FC 4:00 p.m. ET

July

Monday 4 at Real Salt Lake 8:30 p.m. ET ESPN2

Saturday 16 Philadelphia Union 7:30 p.m. ET

Wednesday 20 at D.C. United 7:30 p.m. ET

Saturday 23 at Colorado Rapids 9:00 p.m. ET

Saturday 30 at Sporting Kansas City 8:30 p.m. ET

August

Wednesday 3 San Jose Earthquakes 8:00 p.m. ET

Saturday 6 Chivas USA 7:30 p.m. ET

Saturday 13 at Columbus Crew 7:30 p.m. ET

Wednesday 17 Houston Dynamo 8:00 p.m. ET

Saturday 20 Red Bull New York 7:30 p.m. ET

Sunday 28 at Philadelphia Union 7:00 p.m. ET

September

Sunday 11 FC Dallas 7:30 p.m. ET

Friday 16 at Portland Timbers 11:00 p.m. ET FSC

Sunday 25 at Chicago Fire 4:00 p.m. ET

October

Saturday 1 Seattle Sounders FC 7:30 p.m. ET

Saturday 15 Columbus Crew 7:30 p.m. ET

Saturday 22 at Toronto FC 12:30 p.m. ET

Fagundez

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION PRESEASON ROSTER

• Key:
  *= non-contract
  += SuperDraft pick
  ^= Supplemental Draft pick

For more info on New England’s Supplemental Draft picks, go here

Rd. 1 Pick #6:  AJ Soares, Central Defender, University of California

Soares was a great choice for the squad. He started every match in his four years at Cal, making the All Pac-10 first team his senior year and the second team his junior year. He also scored ten goals and had four assists in those four years—not bad for a deep man.  Though not terribly big at six feet tall, the MLS scouting report touts his defensive prowess: “A cerebral defender who… wins many early balls because of his ability to read the play before it unfolds … has a keen tactical sense, but is physical when needed … excellent in the air and can get forward as a target on set pieces.”

Soares at Cal

Click here to watch a brief interview with Soares after his selection.

2) Rd. 2 Pick #24: Stephen McCarthy, M, Univeristy of North Carolina

McCarthy is a strong, physical holding midfielder who stands at six foot four. He played his first three seasons at UC Santa Clara, tallying eight goals and two assists. After succumbing to injury at the beginning of his senior year, McCarthy took a medical redshirt and transferred to Chapel Hill where he played his final year of eligibility, notching two more goals and one assist while leading the Tar Heels to the NCAA semifinals.

3) Rd. 3 Pick #39 Steven Perry, F, University of Notre Dame

Rd. 3 Pick # 42 Ryan Kinne, F, Monmouth University

Rd. 3 Pick #54 Alan Koger, F, College of William and Mary

In the third and final round, the Revolution highlighted their commitment to infusing finishing ability into a squad that struggled to find the back of the net in the 2010 MLS season. Perry looks like a player who has blossomed at just the right time. After largely coming off the bench in his first three years for the Irish, Perry dominated the pitch his senior year, hitting the mark twelve times. Kinne scored thirty-five times in his college career, and scored three times in ten games in the USL Premier Development League after graduation and has the potential to be a genuine sleeper pick. Koger, the last pick of the draft, tallied an impressive nine goals in his final year of college.

But before all the reviews of 2010 and all the projections of 2011, one piece of saddening, yet nostalgia-inducing, news must be properly addressed—the retirement of Rev’s legend Taylor Twellman. Twellman had a stellar career for the Revolution, with 101 career strikes he is the 5^th leading scorer of all time in Major League Soccer, and he did it in only 174 matches (all with NE of course). He was a recognizable face in an often all too anonymous league. But his career was also marked by devastating injury and missed opportunities to meet his full potential. A series of head injuries hampered his decade-long career and virtually kept him on the sidelines since the 2008 season, forcing his retirement at only thirty years old. For all he did in MLS, he was never able to achieve the great heights one would expect of him on the international level. He played sporadically for the USMNT and while injury was certainly a culprit, he failed to impress Bruce Arena in the qualifiers leading up to the 2006 World Cup while fully fit.

With Twellman’s departure there will be perhaps a bigger hole in the hearts of the fans than in the squad itself. Though he was an instrumental player when healthy, his absence from the squad over the last few years has at least prepared the Revolution for this moment (though they have still failed to make effective signings). With one long-tenured star gone, we now hold dearly to Joseph and Matt Reis till their times come and look hopefully to the future for the rise of our next great on field stalwart and off field icon—perhaps he will come in the form of home-grown teenager Diego Fagundez.

To watch Twellman’s farewell press conference, click here.

Some take aways:

Shalrie Joseph Shalrie Joseph Shalrie Joseph. My adage from last year looks to remain true in 2010, the Revs NEED Joseph on the pitch. Without out him Saturday the never really stood a chance.

New additions provide a silver lining – Rookie Zach Schilawski looked great at times and posed the biggest threat for LA defenders. GK Preston Burpo had a good game making a big stop in the last 10 minutes of play keeping the game manageable. With Matt Reis hurt and Brad Knighton taken by Philly in the expansion draft, the GK will be an important position to watch.

Mainstream recaps here:

RevolutionSoccer.net

With just one week until the Revs face off against west coast rivals, Galaxy, in LA, Let’s take a look back at key off season highlights.

11/25/09 – GK Brad Knighton taken by Philadelphia in the Expansion Draft. Sad to see, but not surprising. Knighton got a lot of playing time in 2009, and left an impressive impression. Matt Reis is great, but his injury problems and a downward trend in form make this hurt all the more.

11/11/09 – Jay Heaps announced his retirement.

1/14/10 – Revs trade Defender Chris Albright to NY Redbulls for 2 SuperDraft picks(31st and 48th overall)

1/14/10 – 5 players drafted at SuperDraft. From revolutionsoccer.net: “The New England Revolution selected five players in Thursday’s 2010 MLS SuperDraft, conducted at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. With the team’s top pick, the Revolution selected Zack Schilawski out of Wake Forest. The team then chose Seth Sinovic (Creighton), Zak Boggs (South Florida), Jason Griffiths (Kentucky) and Adam Welch (Lehigh).”

1/22/10 – Revs acquire GK Preston Burpo and D Cory Gibbs from the Colorado Rapids in exchange for midfielders Jeff Larentowicz and Wells Thompson. Burpo expected to play a big role this season with Reis struggling with injuries, and Knighton’s departure to Philly.

1/29/10 – Captain Steve Ralston leaves Revolution and MLS. One of the Revolutions best and most consistant players. It was hard to see him go.

2/22/10 – Revs sign Senegalese MF Niouky Desire. Steve Nichols has done a great job scouting African clubs/players in the past as evidenced by the success of Gambian players Nyassi and Mansally, Ghanan Osei, and Kelly Dube of Zimbabwe.

MLSNet Preview

Brad Knighton to get the start

Revs are lucky to have Knighton as backup. I thought he played well at the beginning of the season. Reis is a champ, but i’ve felt like he’s been on the decline. Glad Knighton is getting some more caps.

INJURY REPORT (As of Tuesday, September 1)

New England Revolution

PROBABLE: Brad Knighton (lumbar disc irritation), Kenny Mansally (L ankle sprain), Matt Reis (R leg contusion)

QUESTIONABLE: Edgaras Jankauskas (L adductor strain)

OUT: Chris Albright (L lateral meniscus tear/bone bruising), Taylor Twellman (Disabled List: concussion)

Kansas City Wizards

DOUBTFUL: Matt Marquess (knee strain)

OUT: Eric Kronberg (shoulder surgery), Kevin Souter (sports hernia surgery)