photo courtesy of the official New England Revolution Website
After watching the first three Revs games (two on television and one in the bitter cold in Gillette) I have a few observations.
First, although I am not sure how, the Revs need to find a way to have Kevin Alston on the field. He was the best Rev’s player on the field against San Jose and shut down Darren Huckerby to the point that San Jose switched him over to Tierny’s side in an effort to free him up. I don’t know if you keep Chris Albright off the field because he brings a lot to the table as well so there is a dilemma here.
Second, for not being on anyone’s radar, I am impressed with Darrius Barnes. He is strong in the air, fast and provides an attacking throw in option the Revs didn’t have before. Another reason, by the way, that Alston needs to be on the field. His attacking throw-ins into the box against San Jose provided a few goal scoring opportunities which were hard to come by in that game.
Third, when Ralston is in the lineup, the Revs are a completely different team. I think Ralston is perhaps one of the most underrated players in the league. When he entered into the game Saturday night, the game was transformed. The Rev’s played with their customary attacking style and quickly regained the lead. When I think back on the players that New England has lost (Dempsey, Parkhurst, Noonan) overseas and the amount of injury time suffered by some key players such as Twellman, Castro and even Joseph, the one player whose loss last year eliminated any hope of advancement in the playoffs was Ralston. Finally, any team that has Joseph and Larentowicz in the midfield will be a tough team to play.
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