Sunday, February 7, 2010

Revs hire Stephen Myles, Matt Reis has surgery

As announced last week, the Revolution have hired Stephen Myles as assistant coach. Myles comes over from the David Beckham Academy, where he had been the assistant director of competition since 2005, according to revolutionsoccer.net. He had also been the coach of the LA Galaxy U-16 team for the past two seasons.

We're kind of surprised by this move. Is this guy the direct replacement for Paul Mariner? Mariner had been a top pro in England, a guy who knew the game very well; he was good enough to be an MLS head coach. We are surprised the Revs didn't get a higher profile assistant to replace a guy like Mariner. At the same time, maybe this is a guy that the Revs feel has a lot of potential down the line.

In other news, Matt Reis has undergone successful knee surgery, according to revolutionsoccer.net. The article says Reis is expected to be out of action for 12-16 weeks. This is a concern. The Revolution have a young defense, and they need a solid keeper. Hopefully Burpo can fill in as a stop gap and Reis comes back sooner than the 16 weeks that he might miss.

In the meantime, we're going to go get some iced coffee.

Andrew and John

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Castro and Shuttleworth re-sign

The Revolution have announced the re-signing of GK Robert Shuttleworth and MF Mauricio Castro. Terms of the two deals were not disclosed. However, the Revs recently traded for veteran GK Preston Burpo, which makes it appear that Shuttleworth will be the second string goalie going into this year, and probably third once Reis returns. Remember: the Revolution lost their 2009 second stringer, Brad Knighton, to Philadelphia in the expansion draft. The Shuttleworth signing suggests that Burpo is strictly a stop-gap solution while Reis is out, and therefore that Shuttleworth is looked at as the long-term successor to Reis. With all of this in mind, it's a good move for the Revolution.

The other signing of Castro is very difficult to analyze since we don't know the terms of the deal. Last year he made $120,000. For what Castro has done the past couple of years $120,000 is about $90,000 too much. Castro's got some talent but he just hasn't shown it in a Revolution uniform, and now with the departure of Steve Ralston the Revolution either need someone to step up (lets face it there's not much of a chance of Mansally stepping up but that's another post) or they need to go out and sign someone. Castro could step in and fill in the void left by Ralston but it's far from a sure thing. If we knew the terms of the deal it'd be much easier to analyze. If the Revolution did get Castro for $50,000 or less then it's not a bad deal as Castro does have the potential to be a starter on the team. However, if they paid more than that then it's too much of a risk.

-Andrew

Monday, February 1, 2010

Ralston to St. Louis

Three days ago we heard that Steve Ralston had declined a contract offer by the Revolution. However, as Kyle McCarthy wrote in the Boston Herald, Ralston was "expected to consider other potential playing options." Per MLS rules as they stand now (a new CBA is expected by February 12), Ralston is not allowed to consider other playing options within MLS. Today, however, we've found out it's not an MLS move he was considering, but an NASL move, to AC St. Louis. He will co-function as a player and an assistant coach.

This marks the departure of a second key Revolution midfielder this offseason (Ralston and Larentowicz). Ralston made $150,000 in 2009, and he was worth it. Mike Burns & co had even less bargaining power here than they had in the Larentowicz case, because whereas Larentowicz couldn't bargain with other teams himself, Ralston could bargain with AC St. Louis because they are not in MLS. For this reason, I do not hold Burns responsible for Ralston's departure. I do, however, expect him to have a succession plan for both players (Zak Boggs?).

On the St. Louis side, it's good to see the new 2nd division get such an accomplished player as Steve Ralston. It's a sign that although it may change in composition over the next few years (in fact it necessarily will change, since Vancouver and Portland will join MLS in 2011), the 2nd division as a whole in this country is here to stay.

John