New England Revolution Season Review 2017
THE GOOD
The home record was exceptional, 12-2-3, with a record like this, parallels can be made with the New England Patriots whom they share a stadium with. Successful seasons are built on making your home a fortress. Look at Burnley in the Premier League, a fantastic home season was essential to the season’s targets being met. If the Revolution continue to make Gillette Stadium a fortress next season, they have every chance of making the play-offs. The New England Revolution’s recruitment showed plenty of promise and leads them in a good position for the future. Anthony Delamea and Gershon Koffie are now key players of this Revolution team moving forward. Claude Dielna and Krisztian Nemeth also look like they have the ability to establish themselves as crucial players for the New England Revolution. Again, with any good sports organisation recruitment is vital if you want to compete. New England may not have the glamour of LA or New York, but if they can continue to unearth hidden gems, who will make them competitive against teams who have the ability to sign the bigger names then this should be the mantra going forward. The appointment of Brad Friedel may even mean that the Revolution can mix in some established names with the hidden gems. The appointment of Friedel in itself can be viewed as a positive from the season. There is an excitement around this appointment and what the vastly experienced Friedel can achieve.
THE BAD
The away record was absolutely woeful 1-13-3. Unlike Burnley, the Revolution are not battling relegation, and a season without the play-offs cannot be deemed a success. The managerial turmoil was another low point in the season. Jay Heaps was a dead man walking. The tactics were not proving effective as demonstrated best away from home. It’s always felt that red cards are a representation of a lack of discipline in the club, in a period of two away games the Revolution had three players sent off. While Tim Soenh should be applauded for keeping the Revolution in the play-off hunt even with the away record, the appointment of Friedel will raise expectations. While it is fantastic that the Revolution have unearthed some hidden gems, they will need to add a marquee player this summer to put themselves in a realistic position to win a championship. The task is not east for Brad Friedel,
