Deus Ex Machina: New England Revolution Rejoice as Feilhaber Falls from Sky

“Twice blessed is help unlooked for.” Tolkien always understood this. If Michael Burns and Steve Nicol didn’t previously, it’s a fair bet they both do now. The New England Revolution’s surprise acquisition of Benny Feilhaber on April 21 certainly falls into the category of help unlooked for. The Revolution (1-3-2) have looked mostly mediocre this year, save for the opener against the LA Galaxy, and are mid-table with six points from a possible 18. “Speaking frankly,” said Burns, the Revs VP of Player Personnel, to GOAL.com’s Alex Labidou. “There’s no way we thought he was going to be available.” Feilhaber, a Brazilian-born midfielder who has been capped 38 times with the US National Team, was twice passed over in the allocation draft before he fell into the laps of Burns and Nicol.Both Chivas USA and the Philadelphia Union declined to claim the former Hamburg SV player, reportedly because of his high salary, rumored to be in the neighborhood of $400,000 per year. Chivas needs help putting the ball in the net, and as Feilhaber is more of a creator than finisher, it is likely Chivas wanted to retain right of first refusal should a more attack-minded player come along. Think ...

New England Revolution: Why a New Stadium in Somerville Makes Sense

During my first season covering the New England Revolution, one of my initial observations was that the Kraft family would do well to move the club into a soccer specific facility in the near future. That was back in 2001. A decade later, and the Revs continue to play in a football stadium. Anyone who has attended a match at Gillette Stadium will readily testify that the sight of 12-14 thousand fans rattling around the cavernous expanse of the Big Razor is slightly absurd, and not likely to inspire the players on the pitch all that much.  The idea to build the team a new home closer to Boston is not a new one. It has been something that has been in the works for several years now, but the major obstacle has been where exactly to put a new 20-25 thousand seat soccer specific facility in a city where viable tracts of land for such an undertaking are few and far between, and often carry prohibitive price tags. Team owner Robert Kraft and his Kraft Group have their hearts set on moving closer to the city, as they believe a move into a more urban setting would put the ...

New England Revolution Welcome Back Old Buddy Brown, Host Timbers at Gillette

When the New England Revolution host the expansion Portland Timbers on April 1 at Gillette Stadium, while it will be the first ever meeting between the two teams, they will not be on completely unfamiliar terms. Making his Foxborough return will be old friend Adin Brown, who manned the space between the sticks from 2002-2004, including the 2002 MLS Cup Final run, before leaving for Danish side Aalesund FK. After signing with Portland last season, Brown will be making the third start of his return to Major League Soccer on a pitch he knows quite well. Brown backstopped 48 games for the Revs in his three years with the team, and compiled a tidy goals against average of 1.73 during that span. Indeed, his steady presence played a vital role in the club’s success during the early years of the previous decade, and Brown was unquestionably one of the league’s top stoppers. Posting four shutouts in seven games during the 2002 MLS Cup playoffs, Brown sealed his place as a fan favorite in Foxborough and is sure to be received warmly at the start of Saturday’s proceedings. In current Revs net minder Matt Reis, Brown squares of against the man who took over for him ...