Midnight Riders Blogs

A Manager’s Job Never Stops

It certainly has been way too long since the Revs last played. I actually had to see my family this past weekend. Thankfully, that won’t happen again anytime soon as the Revs are about to embark on an incredible stretch of matches. A portion of the schedule that would put even the deepest European sides in a tough place, never mind a team constrained by the salary cap among many other league mandated roster rulings.

Steve Nicol doesn't rest, he scouts!

The Revs could potentially play 10 matches over the next four weeks. Including, as I wrote a few postings ago, a stretch where they will be in three countries (Canada, Trinidad & Tobago, and the U.S.) within 7 days. Coach Steve Nicol, however, will have one more stamp on his passport than the rest of the squad when this wild ride is all wrapped up. He spent the past weekend in Honduras scouting a potential signing. No word on who or what team he was checking out but the fact that Nicol is still out there scouring the globe for talent is a very promising development.

The easy rumor is that he was out there in some capacity to lure George Welcome back to the Revs who claimed him with a discovery pick. The chances of the Revs signing Welcome, in my opinion, are very slim. With Taylor Twellman and Adam Cristman not too far off from full recovery and the youngsters Kheli Dube and Kenny Mansally already on board, the Revs do not really have a need at forward. Hopefully, Nicol is attempting to sign a defender or two to make up for the loss of Michael Parkhurst to the Olympics. If the player turns out to be Gabriel Badilla I would be very happy. Badilla is the versatile defender the Revs were linked to earlier in the season.

The hole in the back

Parkhurst will be doning a different Red, White, and Blue.

Speaking of Parkhurst, when I wrote a few weeks ago that Nicol wouldn’t allow Parkhurst to leave for Beijing I was not completely wrong. Apparently the USSF made no attempt to reach out to Nicol to request if the club would allow the player to leave for the Olympics. The organization just went ahead and made the announcement which left Nicol and the Revs in a tough situation. If they then decided to block the move it would be a very public affront to one of their star players who is also coming to the end of his deal. If he was not allowed to leave the squad the possibility of Parkhurst signing with the Revs would have taken a severe blow.

I’m still not happy Parkhurst is there but I do wish him the best in Olympics and I hope he shows the world what he can do. In his absence there is really only so much Nicol can do. If he sticks with a 3-5-2, who is the sweeper? I don’t see anyone who can do the job that Parkhurst does. The last time someone else tried to play his role was when James Riley filled in on a few occaisions at the beginning of last season. Those performances were certainly not memorable ones. I also could not see Heaps or Albright stepping into that role. The only person I could envision enjoying any success would be Igwe but he is still to raw and apt to give up a foul.

So with out further ado, let me give my best guess on the line up that will go out against Atlante on Wednesday:

———————Reis——————–

—–Albright—Heaps——Igwe——Tierny—–

—————Joseph–Larentowicz————-
—–Nyassi———Ralston———-Smith—–
——————–Dube——————–

The 4-5-1 is probably a little shocking but I think the more conservative approach is what needs to be taken in a one-leg playoff match up. Tierny played well in his only other match at left back and I feel that he is far more ready to play in such a big game than Valentino or Brill at center back.

First things first - TeamOps security is the biggest fucking joke I have ever encountered.

That being said, I have decided to turn this week’s blog into…

Tailgating: SuperLiga Style

Sunday 7/13 vs Santos Laguna: A

Oh man. A late game start is the first ingredient to an absolutely glorious tailgate. The second is weather. Now if you have been reading my posts vigorously, you know how much I have been complaining about the lack of cooperation from Mother Nature for our pre-game festivities. Not on Sunday though. The sun was shining, the wind was calm, not a cloud in the sky. Beer was plentiful, food was exquisite, and music was pumpin. Everybody was excited for the Revs inaugural SuperLiga match at home. Great stuff all around, including the Santos fans who joined in a little “Wipeout” after the game to celebrate the good times.

Wednesday 7/16 vs Pachuca FC: n/a

And of course a tailgate review wouldn’t be complete without another mid-week game. Seriously, what the fuck. Another mid-week game? Gimme a friggen break. I understand that this is a special tournament, and time and scheduling come into conflict with both the league and the Open Cup, but I just can’t stand these times. Either I miss the match, get in late for the match, or take time off from work to make the match. If you have no problems making these games, consider yourself fortunate that live and work close to Gillette, or you don’t have to work normal hours. Because thats the only way your making it for the entire tailgate.

Either way I made it solo for about 30 minutes before the game and everyone seemed to be packing it up and heading inside for the start. However, with that said, it did seem like the tailgate was pushing the B- range on the grade scale. So thats alright. Good job Riders.

Corner Kick of the Week: Soccer Resort Tournament (Lexington, MA)

Fresh out of ideas due to you not emailing me with questions (or just lazy to think of one to put here), this week I am here to plug a tournament I will be playing in this weekend. It is also relative because the winners of each division are receiving complimentary tickets to a Revolution game later this year. I am hoping after my team wins they have some sort of celebratory thing on the field so we can get recognized for our mad soccer playing skills. Either way, we get free beer at the after party sponsored by Carlsberg. So think about it - if we win, we get free beer and a trophy. If we lose, we get free beer and more free beer. Its a lovely win-win situation. So if you have nothing better to do, come watch me and my team (Maniacs I believe, not sure if it has changed) put on a smoke show known as soccer.

Well drop a line at the address below. Peace out cub scouts. And go fuck yourselves TeamOps.

Craig’s Corner writer Fiero can be reached at fierogt20@yahoo.com

This blog entry was God’s will, honest…

Farewell, Chase Hilgenbrinck. You accounted for yourself well in your brief time in the Revs’ red, white, and blue but now you are off to the clergy. I hope we get some allocation money or at least some cash considerations in return. One thing is certain, Chase, you willl be in my prayers to the Flying Spaghetti Monster in the Sky.

Hilgenbrinck’s departure, all future sainthood aside, appears to be the type of transaction that you find in small print at the end of the sports page. Hilgenbrinck is just a back up after all. A glance at the schedule ahead quickly ratchets up the importance of even the seldom used bench players on the Revs roster. If you thought the Revs faced a fixtures glut at the beginning of the season just wait until you see what is in store in August. Couple this with the news that the Revs could be without Michael Parkhurst due to Olympic team duties and the depth that Hilgenbrinck provides makes his role with team seem even more important.

Parkhurst could potentially miss up to nine matches for the Revs including the Super Liga semifinals and finals, the U.S. Open Cup semifinals and finals, and their first leg against Joe Public FC in the CONCACAF Champions League. Being without Parkhurst for these big matches, potentially some of the biggest of the season could really hurt the Revs chances of earning some silverware this year. Without Hilgenbrinck the Revs are left with only one defender on their bench with real game experience against another first division side (Amaechi Igwe) and as a result, if Parkhurst is lost Shalrie Joseph, Pat Phelan or Jeff Larentowicz will most likely be forced into central defense. Playing one of your more important players like Larentowicz or Joseph out of position is not something that a team that is competing for two international club trophies should need to do. This is why I think (and hope) that Steve Nicol will not allow Parkhurst to travel to the Olympics. One look at the upcoming matches and how important they are should be enough for even Parkhurst to draw that conclusion.

The upcoming schedule is a lot even for Steve Nicol. Nicol spent much of his career globetrotting with the Scottish National team and of course aiding Liverpool in successful quests for European glory. He knows a lot about a busy travel schedule but he has never played in 3 countries in one week, which is what the Revs will do when they take on D.C. United at Gillette Stadium on August 20^th, Toronto F.C. in Canada on August 23^rd and then wrap up their international tour on August 26^th taking on Joe Public FC in Trinidad and Tobago. The wildcard in all of this is the fact that U.S. Open Cup final is also scheduled on the 26^th. I can’t, for the life of me begin to predict which match will take precedent if this occurs but either way it would make for another fixture cluttered week.

Sure, the pressure of all of these extra matches may wind up wearing down the Revs but this year they seem to have the depth to cope, and when you consider the alternative of not playing in any competitions outside of the MLS this seems like a pretty good place to be.

Put the Red, In ‘Red, White, and Blue’

A case can certainly be made that Jeff Larentowicz is most underrated player in the MLS. His consistency and high work rate have made him a perfect complement to Shalrie Joseph in the center of the Revs’ midfield. This season, however, Larentowicz has turned in some performance that should drag him out from behind Joseph’s impressive shadow. One match in particular, where he dominated current national team member Maurice Edu, gave me reason to believe that Larentowicz should be given a shot to wear the red, white, and blue. He plays a position where many players have been given a shot over the past few years and no one has really stuck. If Ricardo Clark and the aforementioned Edu are given the opportunity there also must be a chance for Larentowicz whose passing and vision this season have really improved greatly.  If Bob Bradley wants to give his son some room to roam he should look no further than Larentowicz for protection.

So let the campaign begin, lets not let Jeff join a long line of snubs from the national team!

Of course, let’s just hope he doesn’t have to miss any important mid-season matches to get the respect he deserves.

Upcoming Match

Match day two in the Super Liga for the Revs is fast approaching on Wednesday and I see the same line up making its way onto the field to take on defending Super Liga champions Pachuca CF. There is a prevailing opinion that Pachuca is the best of the bunch in the Revs group which includes Chivas USA and Santos Laguna but this does not give me a reason not pick the Revs here. They played pretty conservative at times against Santos Laguna but I think they got some of the opening tournament jitters out of the way and couple that with a home field advantage I see the Revs clipping this one in a similar fashion to that of Santos Laguna match, 1 – 0.