The Gold Cup is Breaking up the Band

A little FanPost action from my old college classmate CMajor here, bringing up a really good point about some issues the New England Revolution might face with the Gold Cup this summer. Leave some comments and let him know what you guys think!

It’s been reported by GrenadaFA.com (and Kyle McCarthy via Twitter) that Shalrie Joseph will be called up to compete for the Grenadian national team in the CONCACAF Gold Cup Tournament. With Benny Feilhaber most likely being called up to compete for the US as well, the Revs will find themselves in a real pickle without their most upstanding talent in the midfield for at least a few games.

In light of this news, the Revolution community surely will be holding its breath to see if the staff can get Ousmane Dabo back to full health, or at least close to it. Presumably, with a healthy Dabo and the return of a healthy Pat Phelan the Revolution should be able to make a concerted effort to withstand its opponents in the weeks that the two internationals may be missing. But certainly plenty of pressure will also be put on the shoulders of rookie Stephen McCarthy to step up and bring his A-game during that trying time.

Perhaps the biggest blow will be losing Joseph for the Revs’ high-profile match against the star-studded LA Galaxy, a game that will surely test the Revolution on all aspects of the pitch.

The team will be able to use Sainey Nyassi and Kenny Mansally in the midfield as they have done before, but regardless, the lineup will be less than ideal for the few games ahead. And no one can deny the strength and tenacity that the steadfast captain brings to the club, nor the spark that the New Kid On The Block can create.

Although nothing is certain yet for Joseph, the need to get Dabo healthy should be high priority followed closely by any and all other preparations that would benefit or preserve our midfield for the near future.