The Side: The New England Revolution won the 2007 US Open Cup, but other than that one major trophy, they have never delivered any hardware to Robert Kraft, a man who likes to win titles. Kraft is also a man who loves good coaching, and that is why he has employed Stevie Nicol almost as long as he has Bill Belichick. Both men are well-respected strategic minds who seem to get more of their players than most coaches. But, can Nicol win an MLS Cup?
The Pride: Of course he can. His teams have been notorisouly devastated by injury many years (in fact, both Twellman and Ralston could be nominees for the “Mr. Glass” of MLS the last few seasons), and he has often had to win games with young, raw players, including some unknown foreign guys. Well, those raw guys like Darrius Barnes and foreign guys like Sainey Nyassi are getting older and better. And Sharlie Joseph is still the league’s best defensive mid.
The Guide: New England is famous for its revolutionary role in history, and I believe a man named Paul Revere knew a thing or two about hardware. After all, he was a silversmith. But, I don’t think the Revs will deliver any hardware unto the Midnight Riders this season. Now, I won’t give them cheesy odds like “10:1 by land, and “25:2 by sea”, but I will put their chances of winning one of the major trophies (MLS Cup, Supporters Shield, US Open Cup) at 20:1.
Anyone want to give me 100,000,000,000:1 odds that Belichick spends 2010 on the sidelines in a Che t-shirt instead of his classic hoodie?
