FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Revolution players are dismayed their season is over, but are now looking forward to the MLS offseason and the 2020 campaign with renewed optimism.
Players and head coach Bruce Arena said as much Wednesday evening as they all gathered at Gillette Stadium for the last media availability of the year.
Though they were knocked out of the playoffs by Atlanta United last Saturday, the consensus seems to be the club is not in rebuild-mode.
“We built a good foundation to get better next year – that’s going to be our goal for sure,” said Arena, who went 9-5-9 with the Revolution this year. “The second half of the season was a good starting point in building the club and making the club more competitive to get moving up the ladder in MLS.
“We know what our needs are and we’ll try to fill those needs. When I came in, I would have anticipated we’d have to make a lot more changes to the roster than we really need to. I don’t know how you want to describe it, if it’s a rebuild or a tweak, we’re just trying to get better. But that’s the case with every team, regardless of where you are. I remember winning championships, and the next day it’s ‘can we get better?’”
Arena, who took over from ex-coach Brad Friedel in May following the Revolution’s 2-8-2 start, met with players in a group setting Wednesday evening. He will hold one-on-one discussions later in the week.
Contract decisions are due by Nov. 21, but it’s likely the Revolution will release them sooner.
Many members of New England’s core said they’d like to be back and are excited to have a full year with Arena at the helm.
“We grew a lot, not just as a team but as an organization, and I think Bruce has taken us in the right direction,” defender Andrew Farrell said. “Obviously with a full year of him it’s going to be exciting.
“It’s been exciting with the ambitions Bruce has and the players he’s going to bring in and the guys who are here who have shown growth. Playing a team like Atlanta, and showing we can do well though obviously not getting the result we wanted, shows we can compete with the best.”
Jalil Anibaba, Brandon Bye, Teal Bunbury, Scott Caldwell, and Matt Turner all struck similar chords.
But not everyone will be back.
Cody Cropper, Edgar Castillo, Michael Mancienne, Diego Fagundez, and Juan Agudelo are all likely entering option years or have expiring contracts. No one in that quintet spoke to media on Wednesday, though each of them could be moving on this offseason.
Cropper, who is unlikely to get ahead of Turner in the pecking order at goalkeeper, is hungry for playing time and spent the last three months on loan.
Castillo and Mancienne have been injured for large portions of the season, are both over 30, and have significant salaries, according to MLS Players Union figures.
Fagundez, who contributed two goals in 28 games this year and was rumored to be leaving last spring, is either entering an option year or out of contract on Jan. 1.
The Revs will have to make a value judgement on Agudelo, as well, especially if he’s entering an option year. He made $605,000 in 2019, but contributed just two goals playing mostly as a striker.
The team’s Spanish-speaking players were not available for interviews as the club didn’t have a translator on site, though there is little doubt both Carles Gil and Gustavo Bou will be back. But Juan Fernando Caicedo, who spent this year on loan to New England from Independiente Medellin with a purchase option, may not return.
Role players and depth pieces are at risk of having their contract options declined or getting selected by Nashville SC or Inter Miami CF in the Nov. 20 expansion draft.
But Arena will be back in 2020 – that is, assuming his luck doesn’t change.
“I’ll be coaching next year, I can tell you that, I know that much,” he said. “Well, hopefully I’m coaching next year. I might get hit by a bus between now and then.”