FanPost

Making Sense of the Latest Revs Roster Moves

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports


With yet another round of expansion drafts just around the corner, the Revolution did a little roster house-cleaning recently, and instead of firing off about a dozen or so tweets, I thought I'd bring my blogging talents out of retirement. So, here goes nothing:

PLAYER OPTIONS EXERCISED FOR 2017

Juan Agudelo - No brainer. Do I really need to analyze this? People forget just how young Juan still is, and with a veteran strike partner like Kei Kamara, hopefully he continues to evolve. Speaking of veteran attackers...

Teal Bunbury - Teal is another player that's probably a little younger than you think because he's been around for so long. His price tag continues to rise, but with his engine and work rate, as well as physical skills, I was happy to see the option picked up.

Cody Cropper - With Cropper's pedigree and experience at both the club and international level at such a young age, there's no reason why he shouldn't wear the #1 jersey next season from the very start.

Andrew Farrell - An MLS All Star last year as a right-back, Farrell continues to shine, and it's only a matter of time before he garners more attention nationally. The Revs were smart to pick up his option, which is probably cheaper than what he's most likely truly worth by MLS standards. I see a pay-rise in his future.

Zachary Herivaux - I like what I've seen from the Haitian youngster, and his bravery, physicality, and overall ability continue to develop. His stronger traits are ones I really want in a central midfielder in a tough league.

Femi Hollinger-Janzen - You can't teach the heart and physical skills this kid possesses, but what Jay Heaps is going to need to figure out is where he belongs on the field. I'm not sure he's a true right winger, where he saw most of his time in 2016.

Brad Knighton - By biding his time, and making the most of his opportunities when they were presented to him, Knighton proved he was the best goalkeeper on the roster last year for this team. He could either win the job outright, or serve as a great veteran mentor to Cropper in 2017, provided he's not snatched up in the expansion draft.

Donnie Smith - Surprising, in my opinion. We don't REALLY have a ton of game film on Donnie Smith. While it's difficult to find a true left-footed player that can attack and defend, I'm not sure if Smith truly deserved the option be exercised. My guess is, given his experience and knowledge of the system, the price was right.

Chris Tierney - Club legend. Hometown hero. End of story.

Matt Turner - RED FLAG. Turner is the FOURTH goalkeeper under contract in 2017, which could mean the Revs are almost banking on losing one of them in the expansion draft.

Je-Vaughn Watson - The Jamaican international's versatility and knack for scoring goals in the box made him a very enticing option for Heaps down the stretch. Happy to have him back.

London Woodberry - I'll admit it. I don't get it. Outside of his ability to "play" multiple positions along the back line, although none of them particularly well, I don't understand bringing Woodberry back. He's a league veteran and has been around a bit, which means his salary would be a little higher than some.

PLAYERS ALREADY UNDER CONTRACT IN 2017

Scott Caldwell

Diego Fagundez

Kei Kamara

Xavier Kouassi

Kelyn Rowe

Lee Nguyen

Bobby Shuttleworth

They'll all play a role, I would assume, in 2017 for this team. Shuttleworth remains the only question mark here, for reasons I've already disclosed regarding the expansion draft and depth at the position.

PLAYER OPTION NOT EXERCISED

Jordan McCrary - This move sort of goes hand-in-hand with the Woodberry move. McCrary as a sophomore player would most likely make less than Woodberry, one would assume, and given how highly-touted he was in the MLS SuperDraft, this move shocks me. Heaps and Company must really not like the skill set, or mental makeup of this kid. We saw almost nothing of McCrary in 2016, and he certainly didn't even get a look in Rochester, so this basically will go down as an unsolved mystery case in the long files of Revolution draft picks.

Steve Neumann - I personally really liked Neumann out of college, but this roster is very deep at the attacking positions and he just never really seems to gain any traction within the system. Nguyen and Fagundez just seem untouchable (unfortunately) in this lineup and Rowe's versatility just seems more attractive. A good player, hope he finds his feet somewhere.

PLAYERS OUT OF CONTRACT IN 2017

Darrius Barnes - One of my all-time favorites. Marred by injury recently, it just seems like DB could never really get all the way back to getting a fair shake within the squad. He's a good candidate to come back at a lower salry cap number, so we'll see.

Jose Goncalves - It's time. A steady decline in quality from the aging center back proved to be his undoing in 2016. He's lost a step or two, and at his salary, the Revs should look elsewhere for a replacement. Thanks for the memories, JoGo.

Daigo Kobayashi - Sort of feel the same here as I do about JoGo. He's getting on in years, and at the salary he would most likely command, perhaps a younger, fresher face could get the same job done.

Gershon Koffie - Let's not forget that Koffie was brought aboard after Kouassi tore ligaments in his knee, ending his season. Koffie was an excellent veteran replacement, and if the Revs can come to an agreement on a good contract, I'd love to see him back. A three-headed monster of Koffie-Kouassi-Caldwell would be a nice centerpiece in that midfield.

ANALYZING THE REVS ROSTER MAKEUP, AS IT STANDS

The first thing that jumps out at me, is that the team is incredibly attack-heavy...again. The team is loaded going forward, which is great, but I'm really not interested in going through another campaign without any quality depth at the back. Right now, you have your starting left-back, and your starting right-back, and then not ONE, but now TWO giant holes in the center of defense.

New England went through most of last season with the worst goal-differential in all of Major League Soccer. If the team is to right the ship, and head back to the playoffs where most fans and pundits alike think they perennially belong, they need to figure out the spine of this team.

I don't expect a massive change in formation or tactic, at least from the start, unless Jay Heaps sees the need to mold his system around the talents of Kamara and Agudelo. This means, once again for the second year in a row, the Revs need to figure out a solid pairing at center-back, and please, for my own selfish reasons of personal sanity, name a #1 goalkeeper going into the season, and build from the back.

Looking forward to another offseason of uncertainty and expansion draft madness, and I just pray the Revolution come into 2017 better equipped for the upcoming campaign than they did a year ago.

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