Red Bull New York comes to town again. They lost at home Wednesday night to Sporting Kansas City, 2-0. Our New England Revolution are coming off a loss in DC last Saturday. The team that plays in New Jersey hasn’t won in Gillette Stadium in 18 matches. We learned on The Rebel Alliance Podcast from Mike Drickel that RBNY has only taken 5 points from those 18 matches. Their record in games played here in New England suggests that Red Bull will struggle agains the Revs despite sitting far above our team in the standings. In the lead up to this match the biggest question for both clubs centers around starting line ups.
Thierry Henry, the French star with a World Cup and spectacular performances at Barcelona and Arsenal on his resume, has never played against the Revs in New England. His team lost on Wednesday night and dropped back in the standings. A drop that could continue this weekend if results go against them, even possibly pushing them out of a playoff spot.
Henry will not play in New England this weekend. This time we won’t hear about how our playing surface causes injuries. This time Henry received a one-game suspension for head butting an opponent. So, RBNY is still hunting a favorable spot in the playoffs, or perhaps simply a spot in the playoffs at all. Our New England Revs have a chance to make that quest more difficult and we won’t have to play against their star striker.
Our Revs have begun to use the word rebuilding. We haven’t heard it from players and staff too often during 2012, though clearly the first year with a rookie coach after an atrocious 2011 was always going to be a rebuilding year. We have seen a statistical improvement in the New England’s attack, but we haven’t seen much of an improvment in the standings.
Without even a miniscule chance of a miracle run somehow vaulting us into the playoffs what kind of line up will Jay Heaps choose? Recently Ryan Guy’s endless effort and determination seem to have won him starts. Guy will make his international debut for Guam and will not play for the Revs this weekend. With a spot open in the midfield, could we see Benny or Toja? It would be Benny’s return to starting, a move many fans have called for. Juan Toja starting would add something to this Revs team that we barely glimpsed in DC. And surely Toja is not yet 90 minutes fit, right? There are also questions about who should be partnered with Jerry Bengston at forward, and even questions about the backline. Listen to #TRAP to hear our discussion of some of the options and who we would start for the Revs.
Whether or not RBNY starts LeToux or Cooper at forward, or even if our Revs look to give younger players experience instead of starting veterans, we are looking for a win. Jay Heaps, ever the competitor, has said that no matter who starts the objective is to win. Henry doesn’t feel the points on the line in New England warrant his effort, a sign of disrespect for our entire club that certainly motivates me to cheer louder for a New England victory. From a season series perspective, this game is meaningful. We have won and lost to New York this season, and we have outscored them 2-1. A result against this Red Bull team would hurt them in the standings, give us a season series victory, and possibly show us which of our current players should be involved in our plans for 2013. There are lots of reasons this game is significant and they all boiled down to the fact that we can win this game. C’mon you Revs!
(image courtesy of revolutionsoccer.net)
