Signing The Status Quo

Pat Noonan and Joey Franchino resigned with the Revs today. Although Joey brings leadership and toughness to the team, he would have been easily replaced if lost. With the way MLS works, the only way we could have lost his rights is if he went to another league. Seeing that there was little chance in that happening, I'm not throwing any parties.

The real news here is Pat Noonan. Coming off of a year of injuries, it was unlikely he could have signed with a club in a better league. However, he could have hired an agent to shop him around the scandanavian leagues which would have netted him more cash than what he makes in MLS. With the turnover in the national team, Pat probably wanted stay closer to home so he could attend MLS-only US camps. The league usually doesn't release contract specifics, but I'm hoping he's obligated to the Revs for quite some time.

Noonan brings some touch and class to our front line. Twellman works well with him. Hopefully, this leads to Taylor signing an extension. I would also like to see if Noonan can be converted to a midfielder. I cringe at the thought of Hernandez, Franchino, and Larentowicz all playing in the same midfield. The offense sputtered through much of last year. Losing Dempsey, Cancela, and possibly Joseph will leave us listless in the middle. Dorman can do a lot, but what he can't do is control a game like those other players could.

Well, here's to the Rev's offseason looking less like a dismantling and more like a mediocre team in the making.