FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Changes are afoot in Foxborough for the New England Revolution prior to Saturday's contest with Toronto FC.
New England started the week with zero open roster slots. It ends the week with a pair of open roster slots and a match against a team that has changed its roster this season as if doing its laundry.
The Revolution roster shuffling started when midfielder Daniel Hernandez was waived by the club on Wednesday.
Circumstances hampered much of Hernandez's second stint with the Revolution. He saw the field in 14 regular season matches over parts of three seasons after returning from a stint at Necaxa in the Mexican first division in August 2005.
When healthy, Hernandez was a regular starter and featured in all eight playoff tilts for the Revolution in 2005 and 2006, including both MLS Cup Finals. But he could not recover from a groin injury and was released this week in an attempt to clear some cap room prior to the July 1 deadline to guarantee contracts.
"He couldn't shake off the injury," Nicol said. "It's only been the last couple of weeks [that he's been involved with the team]. The circumstances have hurt him."
The Revs also placed Joe Franchino on the season-ending injury list after he suffered a tear to the peroneal tendon in his right ankle.
He is scheduled to undergo surgery on July 2 at Massachusetts General Hospital and should be sidelined for six months.
With Hernandez shipped out and Franchino injured, it opens up a pair of senior roster spots for New England.
Revs head coach Steve Nicol said his team is trying to bring in some fresh blood "offensively and defensively" for the second half of the season.
"We've been trying to get some players in," Nicol said. "As of yet, we haven't got it done. But we wouldn't have made those moves if we didn't have players we thought could step in."
Nicol's side faces a team proficient in mixing and matching when Toronto FC come to town on Saturday night. TFC have experienced an upturn in form since the Revolution's 4-0 hammering of the Canadian side on April 14.
"It will be totally different than the last time we played them," Revs defender Jay Heaps said. "It's just like having a new team."
"He's had I couldn't even tell you how many moves this year," Nicol said of TFC head coach Mo Johnston. "When he's got people in and not been happy, he's had the conviction to say 'I'm wrong' and moved them on. If making all these changes did not work, people would have jumped on his back."
Nicol cautions that those changes will result in a stern physical test for the Revs.
"The team we're going to play on Saturday is the complete opposite of the one we played earlier in the season," Nicol said. "The changes Mo has made has made the team stronger. He's brought in better players that are more physical."
The uptick in physical play is best embodied by striker Danny Dichio. The English League veteran has four goals in seven league contests this season and presents a handful for the Revolution backline.
"You either stop the supply of the ball to him or you just have to compete and be smart," Nicol said of Dichio.
Keeping Dichio and strike partner Jeff Cunningham off the board will require a better defensive performance than the one displayed in last Saturday's 3-3 draw with Columbus, according to Nicol.
"There's no way of cutting it up," Nicol said. "We just didn't defend well. We have to be smarter. We have to use our brain. We have to compete."
Nicol expects a difficult challenge as his side aims to break its three-game winless streak at Gillette Stadium. The Revs have gone 0-1-2 on the recent homestand, which concludes with Saturday's contest against Toronto FC, and have been outscored 7-6 in those three matches.
"It'll be an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth out there," Nicol said.
New England remains without defender Michael Parkhurst, midfielder Steve Ralston and striker Taylor Twellman as all three Revs starters are on duty with the U.S. national team for the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Reserve defender Amaechi Igwe has joined up with the U.S. under-20 national team in preparation for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, held in Canada from June 30-July 22, and is unavailable for duty until the USA concludes play in the competition.
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
