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New England Revolution Comment: How MLS Crushes Dynasties
Aug 19, 2010 6:46:00 PM
By Steven Stoehr
Four years ago, the New England Revolution was one of the most feared teams in MLS. Their core group of players all represented the league’s highest quality, and the front office’s team-building strategy could only be described as exceptional.
Today, that core is beaten and broken, and what remains is weighing down the franchise like cinderblocks chained to its feet.
Since 2002 the Revolution have qualified for the MLS playoffs in eight straight seasons and appeared in four MLS Cup finals (three consecutive). Despite not winning any meaningful league silverware, MLS fans still know them as the prevalent dynasty of the Eastern Conference, regardless of a mostly dismal 2010 campaign thus far.
At the height of their powers, New England could boast some of the best players MLS had ever seen at any spot on the pitch. Taylor Twellman, Shalrie Joseph, Steve Ralston, Andy Dorman, Jay Heaps, Michael Parkhurst, Jeff Larentowicz, Pat Noonan, and a young Clint Dempsey all roamed the FieldTurf in Foxboro.
To an outsider, that team looked to have at least eight to ten seasons of pure dominance in it. Twellman, Joseph, Ralston, and Heaps were all just entering their prime, and the others were young enough to carry the mantle forward as the stars began to age.
The reality is that only two of those players remain. In fact, only four players on the current roster were part of the side that lost to Houston on penalties in the 2006 MLS Cup final, and the others who were present for the heartbreak in 2007 played no part in the match.
The attrition started early in 2007 when Clint Dempsey was sold to Fulham in January. From a league perspective his $4 million transfer fee was a major boon, but from a team perspective it cut the legs right out from under the Revolution. Clint was the future; aged just 24, he’d already won MLS Rookie of the Year (2004) and the Honda U.S. Player of the Year (2006), and scored in a World Cup.
Dempsey’s dynamic play and attacking flair is something the Revs have failed to replace in the three and a half years since his departure. However, Clint’s desire to test himself at the highest levels, coupled with the Revolution’s inability to compete with salary figures offered in England, meant that his exodus was always a question of when rather than if.
Salary then became the disease that systematically destroyed New England’s packed stable of talent. The 2007 MLS season ended with Revolution yet again falling just short of MLS Cup glory against Houston, but the ensuing offseason did more damage than any one match to date.
Andy Dorman had emerged in the previous two seasons as a midfield force in MLS, racking up 13 goals and 13 assists in 62 regular season games, and 2007 was the last year on his contract. Despite his obvious worth to the team, he was making a paltry $30,870 per year. Dorman expressed his desire to stay in New England but naturally went into negotiations with the Revs and MLS with every intention of getting the raise he deserved.
It wasn’t forthcoming. When talks stalled and finally broke down with MLS, Dorman signed with St. Mirren in Scotland on a free, erasing a proven creative player in his prime straight from the books in Foxboro.
Pat Noonan was next. The Revs opted not to pick up their second-highest earner’s option (he made $227,500 in ’07), and the forward also left MLS for free, this time to Aalesunds FK in Norway. He returned to MLS in August and New England still held his rights, but by now they had given Shalrie Joseph, Michael Parkhurst and Jay Heaps raises while signing Chris Albright, Gabriel Badilla and Amaechi Igwe to six-figure contracts. Noonan was traded to Columbus, and none of the latter three players made an impact commensurate with their level of compensation.
Despite getting a raise to $147k, Parkhurst left the following season after his contract expired to take a more lucrative deal in Norway. New England used the money freed up to give Joseph another raise (to $450k) and paid Twellman a higher premium as well ($420,000). Bit-part player Mauricio Castro was bumped over six figures, and veteran striker Edgaras Jankauskas was signed to a $240k contract.
2008 was also the season Taylor Twellman suffered the head injury that restricted him to two 2009 appearances and left him on the season-ending injured reserve this season without a single match played.
Castro made just thirty appearances in ‘08 and ‘09, and was this season. Jankauskas has made just 12 appearances since his signing, scoring two goals, and has yet to take the field in 2010 due to injury. The ’09-’10 offseason saw another crippling departure as Jeff Larentowicz broke off negotiations to attempt a move abroad. It fizzled, but rumor is that the Revs’ unwillingness to pay him (he made $34k in ‘09) had left a sour taste in his mouth and he was traded to Colorado, where he makes $150k.
The Revolution stand today with $699,500 out of a $2.6 million cap locked up in just two players (Twellman, Jankauskas) who have not seen the field in 2010. Add the $475k owed to Shalrie Joseph, and that’s 45% of New England’s cap space in three players, none of whom are Designated Player signings and two of whom don’t contribute on the field. Heaps and Ralston have retired.
Ever mindful of the salary cap, New England has gone to the bargain bin to replace lost talent. The bulk of their current roster is light on the wallet but underwhelming on the pitch.
As the Revs’ young core matured and grew into good players, they began to command better compensation. In a system less restricted, the Revolution could have loosened the purse strings and given Dorman and Larentowicz their raises, picked up Noonan’s option, and competed with the salaries offered to Parkhurst and Dempsey. Instead, they were forced to pick and choose who to reward and watch as brilliant talents slipped away, usually for nothing in return.
With salaries becoming more concentrated as they fought to hold onto their very best (Joseph, Twellman), New England was forced to fill out the rest of the roster with draftees and unknowns, paying them non-cap Generation Adidas contracts, developmental contracts and league-minimum numbers. As a result, the quality of the side crumbled and much of the chemistry built in the mid-2000s disappeared.
While the Revolution front office can be blamed for several poor decisions, in the end they have been bowing to a rigid and confining system that forces teams into bad contracts and hampers long-term team-building. New England, and MLS teams on a whole, can’t afford to pay all of their best players what they’re worth and also can’t compete with the sort of salaries offered in leagues overseas.
In short, MLS destroys dynasties, and the Revs are just one victim.
For more on Major League Soccer, visit Goal.com's MLS page and join Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page!
Today, that core is beaten and broken, and what remains is weighing down the franchise like cinderblocks chained to its feet.
Since 2002 the Revolution have qualified for the MLS playoffs in eight straight seasons and appeared in four MLS Cup finals (three consecutive). Despite not winning any meaningful league silverware, MLS fans still know them as the prevalent dynasty of the Eastern Conference, regardless of a mostly dismal 2010 campaign thus far.
At the height of their powers, New England could boast some of the best players MLS had ever seen at any spot on the pitch. Taylor Twellman, Shalrie Joseph, Steve Ralston, Andy Dorman, Jay Heaps, Michael Parkhurst, Jeff Larentowicz, Pat Noonan, and a young Clint Dempsey all roamed the FieldTurf in Foxboro.
To an outsider, that team looked to have at least eight to ten seasons of pure dominance in it. Twellman, Joseph, Ralston, and Heaps were all just entering their prime, and the others were young enough to carry the mantle forward as the stars began to age.
The reality is that only two of those players remain. In fact, only four players on the current roster were part of the side that lost to Houston on penalties in the 2006 MLS Cup final, and the others who were present for the heartbreak in 2007 played no part in the match.
The attrition started early in 2007 when Clint Dempsey was sold to Fulham in January. From a league perspective his $4 million transfer fee was a major boon, but from a team perspective it cut the legs right out from under the Revolution. Clint was the future; aged just 24, he’d already won MLS Rookie of the Year (2004) and the Honda U.S. Player of the Year (2006), and scored in a World Cup.
Dempsey’s dynamic play and attacking flair is something the Revs have failed to replace in the three and a half years since his departure. However, Clint’s desire to test himself at the highest levels, coupled with the Revolution’s inability to compete with salary figures offered in England, meant that his exodus was always a question of when rather than if.
Salary then became the disease that systematically destroyed New England’s packed stable of talent. The 2007 MLS season ended with Revolution yet again falling just short of MLS Cup glory against Houston, but the ensuing offseason did more damage than any one match to date.
Andy Dorman had emerged in the previous two seasons as a midfield force in MLS, racking up 13 goals and 13 assists in 62 regular season games, and 2007 was the last year on his contract. Despite his obvious worth to the team, he was making a paltry $30,870 per year. Dorman expressed his desire to stay in New England but naturally went into negotiations with the Revs and MLS with every intention of getting the raise he deserved.
It wasn’t forthcoming. When talks stalled and finally broke down with MLS, Dorman signed with St. Mirren in Scotland on a free, erasing a proven creative player in his prime straight from the books in Foxboro.
Pat Noonan was next. The Revs opted not to pick up their second-highest earner’s option (he made $227,500 in ’07), and the forward also left MLS for free, this time to Aalesunds FK in Norway. He returned to MLS in August and New England still held his rights, but by now they had given Shalrie Joseph, Michael Parkhurst and Jay Heaps raises while signing Chris Albright, Gabriel Badilla and Amaechi Igwe to six-figure contracts. Noonan was traded to Columbus, and none of the latter three players made an impact commensurate with their level of compensation.
Despite getting a raise to $147k, Parkhurst left the following season after his contract expired to take a more lucrative deal in Norway. New England used the money freed up to give Joseph another raise (to $450k) and paid Twellman a higher premium as well ($420,000). Bit-part player Mauricio Castro was bumped over six figures, and veteran striker Edgaras Jankauskas was signed to a $240k contract.
2008 was also the season Taylor Twellman suffered the head injury that restricted him to two 2009 appearances and left him on the season-ending injured reserve this season without a single match played.
Castro made just thirty appearances in ‘08 and ‘09, and was this season. Jankauskas has made just 12 appearances since his signing, scoring two goals, and has yet to take the field in 2010 due to injury. The ’09-’10 offseason saw another crippling departure as Jeff Larentowicz broke off negotiations to attempt a move abroad. It fizzled, but rumor is that the Revs’ unwillingness to pay him (he made $34k in ‘09) had left a sour taste in his mouth and he was traded to Colorado, where he makes $150k.
The Revolution stand today with $699,500 out of a $2.6 million cap locked up in just two players (Twellman, Jankauskas) who have not seen the field in 2010. Add the $475k owed to Shalrie Joseph, and that’s 45% of New England’s cap space in three players, none of whom are Designated Player signings and two of whom don’t contribute on the field. Heaps and Ralston have retired.
Ever mindful of the salary cap, New England has gone to the bargain bin to replace lost talent. The bulk of their current roster is light on the wallet but underwhelming on the pitch.
As the Revs’ young core matured and grew into good players, they began to command better compensation. In a system less restricted, the Revolution could have loosened the purse strings and given Dorman and Larentowicz their raises, picked up Noonan’s option, and competed with the salaries offered to Parkhurst and Dempsey. Instead, they were forced to pick and choose who to reward and watch as brilliant talents slipped away, usually for nothing in return.
With salaries becoming more concentrated as they fought to hold onto their very best (Joseph, Twellman), New England was forced to fill out the rest of the roster with draftees and unknowns, paying them non-cap Generation Adidas contracts, developmental contracts and league-minimum numbers. As a result, the quality of the side crumbled and much of the chemistry built in the mid-2000s disappeared.
While the Revolution front office can be blamed for several poor decisions, in the end they have been bowing to a rigid and confining system that forces teams into bad contracts and hampers long-term team-building. New England, and MLS teams on a whole, can’t afford to pay all of their best players what they’re worth and also can’t compete with the sort of salaries offered in leagues overseas.
In short, MLS destroys dynasties, and the Revs are just one victim.
For more on Major League Soccer, visit Goal.com's MLS page and join Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page!
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