FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - For the first time in a long time, the New England Revolution enter a game with questions about their formation.
The rise of the Revolution over the past few seasons has been built upon the 3-5-2 formation. The team tinkered with a 4-4-2 alignment during the preseason and might be ready to unleash it on Sunday afternoon against Chicago.
"Why would we change the formation," Revolution manager Steve Nicol queried. "It would be just to suit us. It's a possibility [to keep the 3-5-2] as well. We're pretty open. To be honest, we've played enough games with the 3-5-2 and the 4-4-2 where we wouldn't be affected by either."
The mooted change entered the reckoning due to the red card picked up by defensive midfielder Shalrie Joseph in Thursday's 1-1 draw with D.C. United. With both James Riley and Avery John featuring prominently in the Revolution's success during the opening stages of the season, the 4-4-2 would accommodate both players after John was dropped from the starting lineup on Thursday night.
New England pondered an appeal to Joseph's dismissal, which has left the team fuming and without one of its most influential players for the key division tilt, but decided against it because it had little chance of success.
"It is impossible that it can be overturned," Nicol said. "The league has to look at it. I know they don't want teams appealing every week for no reason, but it's wrong to punish us twice when you have something obviously as wrong as that."
This is the third consecutive contest between the Revolution and the Fire in which Joseph has not featured. Joseph was out with a calf injury when the teams met in the first game of the season, a 1-0 victory by Chicago at Toyota Park on April 7, and missed the second leg of last year's semifinal after being suspended for violent conduct in the first leg.
John believes that playing without Joseph changes how the Revolution approach the game.
"Anytime Shalrie is missing, you know it's a different game," John said. "Anyone stepping in can't be expected to replace him. When he missed the first game against Chicago, we struggled a little bit in the first half before we settled down."
The second meeting within a month keeps the teams familiar with each other, according to John.
"It feels like we see them every other week," John said. "It is good for the teams; there's nothing malicious between us. It is just a pure soccer battle. It brings the fans in and gets them excited."
But Nicol is not focused on the things that led the Revolution to defeat one month ago. His team is in the midst of a four-match unbeaten streak, including the accumulation of five points out of a possible nine on a recent three-match road trip.
"We really try to go from one week to the next to accumulate points," Nicol said. "There is nothing for the last game or the last season."
With Kansas City atop the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of the Revolution with a game in hand, John believes that this match is importance to keep the Fire within touching distance.
"We don't want anyone to pull away," John said. "We have done well on the road and we could have done even better. When you're at home, you have to get the points."
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
