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Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
2021 has been a wild year to be a New England Revolution fan. Carles Gil and Matt Turner have been the cream of the crop and the Revs are looking to bring home an MLS Cup for the first time in club history.
So the staff here at The Bent Musket gathered around to explore what Revs fans are thankful for.
Sam: That Carles Gil is here to stay
You don’t need me to tell you this, but Carles Gil is a magician out on the pitch. He is clearly the best player in MLS and he decided to stay in New England.
The midfielder led MLS in assists (18) and also tallied four goals. Gil also had the most chances created in a single MLS season (130).
What makes things even better is the fact that Gil decided to re-sign with New England and show his commitment to the club. The Spaniard’s new deal has him staying with the Revs through the 2024 season.
At 29-years-old, Gil has plenty of years of good soccer ahead of him. He will ensure that the Revs can compete for years to come.
While Revolution fans will already be thankful for Gil being a member of the organization, they will be even more thankful if he helps New England win its first MLS Cup.
(Also the entire point of this article was basically so I could say that this writer is thankful for the one and only Seth Macomber. Seth is the reason I’m the site manager and living my dream and might be one of the kindest people out there. Besides that he is an amazing journalist who is a must follow if you aren’t already doing so on Twitter)
Seth: The arrival of Bruce Arena
The Brad Friedel era wasn’t a good time for the Revolution. Besides a brief run at the beginning, results were poor and it was affecting the locker room. Friedel constantly criticizing the players’ mentality didn’t help.
Enter Bruce Arena.
Arena became the Revolution’s head coach and sporting director on May 14, 2019 and it made a world of difference. Originally thought to be dead in the water, the 2019 Revs made the playoffs, exiting after a noble 1-0 effort against Atlanta United. The 2020 team made it to the Eastern Conference Final but lost 1-0 to eventual MLS Cup champions the Columbus Crew. This year’s squad has a real chance at winning the Cup after breaking the single-season points record.
Arena has turned the Revs around in 2.5 years on the job, which is certainly something Revs fans are thankful for. And this happened without fans having to meet players at their car.