In the three months before Jermaine Jones' arrival, the New England Revolution had won just twice. In the 12 games since, they've lost just once.
The New York Red Bulls, who face the Revs on Sunday in the first leg of the Eastern Conference Championship (1:30 pm ET; NBC), know this. They know the Revs team they're 2-0-0 against this year is, now, a very different animal.
“Since Jermaine Jones arrived, he changed the team, period,” the Red Bulls’ Thierry Henry said in a conference call on Thursday. “He allowed everyone to go forward. He’s more the guy who’s going to stop the play. He’s the guy who will get into you.
"It’s not easy to come and change a team just because you played in Europe. The guy came with the right attitude, and you can see that in every single game they play.”
Here are some numbers:
With Jones Starting |
Stat |
Without Jones Starting |
9 |
Games |
27 |
8 |
Wins |
11 |
1 |
Draws |
3 |
0 |
Losses |
13 |
2.4 |
Avg. Goals For |
1.3 |
1.2 |
Avg. Goals Against |
1.4 |
88.9% |
Win Percent |
40.7% |
2.8 |
Points/Game |
1.3 |
11.2 |
Shots/Game |
10 |
11.9 |
Shots Conceded/Game |
13.2 |
48.3% |
Possession |
49.2% |
9.7 |
Crosses/Game |
9.7 |
11.7 |
Crosses Conceded/Game |
12.7 |
62.0% |
Passing Accuracy Final Third |
62.8% |
69.4% |
Passing Accuracy Opp Half |
69.9% |
12.1 |
Fouls Won/Game |
11.8 |
11.2 |
Fouls Conceded/Game |
12.9 |
18.5 |
Tackles/Game |
17.6 |
Most of the run-of-play numbers confirm the eye test: New England aren't really doing anything different with Jones in the lineup. They're not a possession team, they don't hit a lot of crosses, and they prevent you from playing effectively from out wide.
There's no indication - save for an ill-fated attempt at at diamond midfield in LA - that Jay Heaps was considering a switch of his team's tactics or formation even when the Revs were in the depths of an eight-game slide that spanned two months. And if he'd had any doubts, a solid 2-1-1 run just before Jones came on board probably buried them for good.
A midseason arrival is always tricky to navigate, but Jones has slotted in seamlessly because of his attitude, and because New England already had more than a spot for him, they had a need.
"He brings everything you want a No. 8 to bring," Revolution teammate Lee Nguyentold the New York Times. "His muscle and his grind in midfield. We knew he would be a tough player to play against in the middle, getting into tackles. It’s what we needed."
Here's what I wrote in my column on August 24, when he officially became a Rev:
The Revs currently play a 4-1-4-1 that often looks like a 4-3-3 ... The central midfield trio – which is where Jones will slot – shares box-to-box duties.
It's a fairly standard and intuitive lineup that just hasn't quite worked, mostly for defensive reasons. New England's got two wins since the end of May, against tail-spinning Colorado and death-spiraling Chivas TBD. They've proved relatively easy to beat with 12 losses, seven of those by multiple goals.
Much of New England's struggles are down to the lack of a true field general in central midfield – a Michael Bradley, a Benny Feilhaber or even a Gonzalo Pineda.
"Midfield general" is Jones' role now. He has slotted in directly as a box-to-box midfielder, a No. 8 whose ability to cover ground and control the game has allowed for a bit more specificity in the roles of Nguyen and Scott Caldwell, but not meaningfully changed the shape or tactics of an already solid team.
That's Jones' power. He's allowed the Revs to do the same stuff they've always done. Now, though, they're doing it much, much better.
