It’s not every day that a MLS coach travels halfway around the world to find more competition for the likes of Pat Phelan and Mike Videira:
With the offseason departures of veterans Steve Ralston and Jeff Larentowicz, the Revs will be relying more heavily on the development of younger players like Pat Phelan and Mike Videira, both of whom are likely to see increased playing time this season. It’s essentially a given that 2009 MVP finalist Shalrie Joseph has locked down one of the central midfield roles, and Nicol envisions Desire, Phelan and Videira in a battle for the second spot.
Please let him be an undiscovered Essien. Please let him be an undiscovered Essien. Please let him be an undiscovered Essien.
My favorite quote from Stevie: “He likes to keep the ball and pass the ball,” Nicol said.
Which is it? Does he like to keep the ball, or does he like to pass it? And what midfielder doesn’t want to either keep the ball or pass the ball. It’s brilliant. It’s the kind of quote that he can use to describe just about every midfielder on the face of the Earth without telling us anything.