Revs Hand Reinaldo Navia a Three Day Trial

According to numerous sources, including the team’s official blog, the Revs will fly in 31-year old free agent Chilean forward Reinaldo Navia into town next week for a three day trial.  A bronze medalist from the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Navia is a veteran of the Mexican League, who has played sparingly the last several seasons.  In fact, FC Dallas tried to sign him two years ago, but were unsuccessful.

In this video, he certainly looks the part:

Reis Goes Under the Knife… yes, again.

As if Steve Nicol didn’t have enough to worry about:

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis underwent successful surgery on his left knee on Thursday afternoon. The procedure, quadriceps tendon debridement, was performed by Dr. Thomas Gill at Massachusetts General Hospital earlier today.

Reis, 34, underwent rotator cuff surgery on his left shoulder on Dec. 1, and has been rehabilitating since then. While Reis’ expected rehabilitation time for his knee is 8-12 weeks, he is expected to be sidelined for approximately the next 12-16 weeks in total while he continues to rehabilitate his shoulder.

So, how are ya feelin’ about a 34-year old goalkeeper with a bad shoulder and a bad knee?

2010 Schedule Revealed

Initial reactions to the 2010 Revolution Schedule:

• Only three National TV appearances?  There are 56 nationally televised games this year (25 on ESPN, 31 on FSC), so that means 112 total appearances.  The average MLS team will get seven nationally televised games.  Wonder if someone out there is as concerned as many Revs fans appear to be about the 2010 edition.
• One one home game that’s not scheduled for a Saturday night?  Gotta think that’s a gift from the league for a club that’s shedding fans.  Doubt it will last, though.
• The Revs better get out of the gates relatively fast, because their September schedule is brutal.

Alston Called up to USMNT

Congratulations are in order for Revolution defender Kevin Alston, who was called up to the USMNT Training Camp in preparation for their February 24th friendly with El Salvador.  Kid’s gonna be a star, and I’d sure like to see him earn his first cap in the near future.

Revs Sign Castro, Shuttleworth, Schilawski

Let me get this straight…

The Revolution had a chance to rid themselves of Mauricio Castro, and they passed it up?  Ummm… why?  Did they think it would be to tough to pass up the one assist every five games of playing time that he currently provides?

I mean, “bravo” to the Revs for getting Shuttleworth and Schilawski signed, but what does Castro bring to the table that Kenny Mansally doesn’t at a fraction of the cost?

Also worth noting that Edgaras Jankauskas is in camp with the club, so it looks like a safe bet that if he’s not officially resigned, he will be shortly.

Revs Hire Stephen Myles as Assistant Coach

Not much of a professional men’s soccer coaching resume, but it seems like a reasonable hire.  It’s just a complete bonus that he’s a dead ringer for Steve Nicol.

“We’re pleased to add Stevie to our staff,” Revolution head coach Steve Nicol said. “He’s someone who will fit in well with us in the way he goes about his job, the experience that he has and the knowledge that he’ll bring to our staff. He also has a great understanding of the U.S. soccer system, which will help us in developing our player programs.”

Myles, 48, comes to the Revolution from the David Beckham Academy in Los Angeles, where he has been the assistant director of competition since 2005. He has also spent the last two seasons coaching the LA Galaxy’s Under-16 team in the club’s youth development academy. Myles’ other previous coaching experience in the U.S. includes stints as the director of coaching with the Santa Anita Soccer Club, assistant coach with the San Jose Cyberrays (WUSA) and director of coaching for the Tulsa Thunder youth program.

Sobering Thought of the Day

Who was the last high impact foreign player to sign with the Revs from outside the league?  A friend suggests the only two players in club history that fit that description are Walter Zenga and Ariel Graziani.

The Revs are now in a position where they likely need to sign two such players in a row.

Farewell, Stevie Ralston

Revolution captain Steve Ralston, Major League Soccer’s all-time leader in games played, minutes played, and assists, announced today that he has decided not to sign with the club for the 2010 season, bringing a run of eight outstanding seasons in Foxboro to an end.

The 35-year old midfielder’s immediate future remains uncertain as he battles to recover from torn knee ligaments suffered late in the 2009 campaign.

Arguably the greatest midfielder in MLS history, Ralston has amassed 76 goals and 135 assists over the course of his 14-year professional career.  The last eight seasons, the St. Louis native has collected 42 goals and 73 assists in Revolution red, white, and blue.  A seven-time MLS All-Star and three-time MLS Best XI selection, Ralston is the only player to win the MLS Fair Play award three times, and one of only three Revolution players to play in all four of the club’s MLS Cup Finals.

Twellman: I’m not ready

Revolution forward Taylor Twellman told The American Soccer Show on Wednesday that while his condition is improving, he has not yet fully recovered from the effects of a devastating collision with Los Angeles Galaxy goalkeeper Steve Cronin in August of 2008.

“Can I say that I feel a lot better than I did six months ago?  Of course I do,” said the New England striker.  “Am I ready to go out and do diving headers, yet?  No.”

“It’s one of those processes that, you kinda have to go through it day by day – literally exercise by exercise.  You have to start over.  You have to retrain your brain.”

While speaking with hosts Jason Davis and Zach Woosley, the Revolution’s all-time leading goalscorer also talked about the difficulties in recovering from the injuries sustained in the collision.

“The complicating factor to my injury is my neck.  I’ve dealt with a serious neck injury.  It’s basically severe whiplash.”

“Getting over whiplash and post-concussion is definitely a hassle.  But every doctor I’ve seen has said ‘You’re gonna be fine.’  Unfortunately, time is the only healing factor, and right now I’m waiting.”

Mike Burns: Professional Liar

I realize that you can never take snippets of information from coaches and General Managers as absolute gospel.  If the Revs really are in the market for an attacking midfielder, it doesn’t do them any good to announce it to the world, because most player agents have internet access these days.

But honest to God, Mike Burns… who ya crappin’?

New England will have fill the significant hole created by Larentowicz’s departure. Larentowicz and Shalrie Joseph formed one of the top central midfield tandems in the league over the past couple of seasons, forging a bond that saw Joseph lobby publicly for a new deal for his partner several times during the course of the 2009 season and prompted Larentowicz to say he was “indebted to Shalrie for being able to play next to him” after the deal went down. There are choices in-house – Pat Phelan would make the most sense as a like-for-like replacement – but no one player currently on the books can replace Larentowicz’s contribution.

“If (the deal) means we have to go out and try to replace Jeff, then we’ll do that, but we feel like we have guys on our roster that can fill that void,” Burns said.