Even after a weekend off, nothing is quiet for the New England Revolution. The club might have been without an official game since its suffered its first defeat of the season on April 15 to the Kansas City Wizards, but there has been plenty going on Gillette Stadium.
With an embarrassing scrimmage defeat to a local college side as well as more injury worries among recent events, Steve Nicol no doubt sees preparation for his side's home opener against the Chicago Fire on Sunday as a welcome distraction from the other disruptions he has been facing.
To maintain match fitness, the Revolution have played three friendly scrimmages against top local college programs over the last two weeks. Comfortable wins over the University of Connecticut (3-0) and Harvard (4-1) were par for the course, but a 3-1 reverse to Boston College was not. The game featured more of the offensive problems Nicol's side has had this year, as a 23-6 shots advantage failed to translate into a favorable goals output.
"(The Boston College game) might do us a favor," said Nicol this week. "We think we've got a good team but, every now and then, we could use a kick up the backside. If we're going to lose, we'd prefer to lose on a Monday morning."
Striker Taylor Twellman, who scored twice against Harvard a day later, echoed the views of his coach, admitting that he and his teammates need to "pay attention to detail and wake up." Twellman is yet to score this season in MLS and Sunday would be a good time to get off the mark, with Bruce Arena scheduled to name his U.S. World Cup squad two days later.
The decision of Nicol to switch to a 3-4-3 formation this season, which sees Pat Noonan and Clint Dempsey playing in deeper-lying attacking roles, has been tough on Twellman, who has been starved of regular service and often found himself outnumbered by opposing defenders. Never was this more in evidence than against Kansas City, when Jimmy Conrad and company shut down the current league MVP.
In previous years, the front two of Twellman and Noonan has developed into one of the most formidable attacking duos in the league, yet the alteration to incorporate Dempsey further forward has required a longer-than-expected adjustment period. Given that Dempsey would be more than capable of playing in an attacking midfield role ahead of more defensively-minded Shalrie Joseph and Daniel Hernandez, the attack has been stuttering from the start of the campaign. However, Twellman argues that the formation is just one part of the problem.
"Pat and I have a different relationship now," said Twellman at the Revolution's media day this week. "Anytime you have a new formation, no matter what it is, it will take players time to acclimate to it and that has showed. Us three up front is new and is puts us in different situations. But, at the end of the day, if we pass the ball the right way and help each other out, we'll be fine, whether we're playing four or one up front."
"The fact that Pat (Noonan) and Clint (Dempsey) are playing out wide makes it different," added Steve Ralston, who has almost recovered from a groin strain and hopes to play some part on Sunday. "You get those guys isolated one-on-one and we attack pretty much with those three, so there's lot of weight on their shoulders. Now that we're at home, I think we will be able to go forward a lot more with extra midfielders.
One midfielder who will not be getting forward is Marshall Leonard, whose name was added to the Revs' injury list this week after he ruptured his left achilles tendon against BC. Surgery followed, ruling him out for the year, which makes the hoped-for return of Ralston this weekend all the more vital. The veteran admits that the side has struggled a little out of the gate but, so early in the season, is not worried.
"We've only played three games," said Ralston. "We got a great result at Los Angeles, then a tie (at New York) and just didn't play very well in Kansas City. Four points after three games? Yeah, we'd like to be better, but we've been on the road, we're still trying to work in this new formation so we're still positive."
Ralston highlighted the time off as being important from both a physical and mental point of view. Certainly, the break has allowed the likes of himself, Noonan and Joe Franchino extra time to shake off injuries, while Michael Parkhurst and Hernandez, both of whom missed time during preseason, have also benefited.
Furthermore, three games on the road have involved a lot of traveling and living out of hotel rooms. This Sunday will see the Revolution look for a little home comfort against Chicago, which itself is in the midst of a nine-game road trip while it waits for its new stadium to be completed.
"Anytime you play at home, whether it's one game or not, is important. We are playing here at home for (three consecutive games) and we need to put pressure on teams, the way we used to," said Twellman, whose desire to start things off the right way at Gillette Stadium was shared by Ralston.
"We have too good a team and coaching staff for us to push the panic button right now," he said. "I think we're fine. It's a matter of executing and the more games we play, the better we'll get. We do want to come out and set a tone early. This is our home field and we want to play well and get a good result."
Andrew Hush is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
