Big Questions Loom Over Revolution II Ahead of 2025 Season

From performance to positioning to injuries, big questions loom in the air as Revs II prepare to kick off the new season.

Photo By J. Alexander Dolan

We are just days away from New England Revolution II opening their 2025 season against Philadelphia Union II at home. While the organization has made moves on and off the field to prepare the squad for the new year, questions loom over the club heading into 2025.

How much of an improvement will 2025 be over 2024?

Considering 2024 ended with the club putting up some of the worst numbers in MLS NEXT Pro history in stats like total wins, points per game, goals for, and goals against, it seems quite likely that 2025 will fare better for the club but how much of an improvement it will be.

Looking at the 11 players returning from 2024’s squad, seven of them (JD Gunn, Victor Souza, Eric Klein, Gevork Diarbian, Alex Monis, Olger Escobar, and Marcos Dias) played in 50 percent or more of last year’s matches. Furthermore, the 11 returning players combined to clock 13,264 minutes, which accounts for a little over 48 percent of total minutes last season.

Again, it will be nearly impossible to replicate the near-historic lows of the 2024 season, but when you bring back a big chunk of last year’s roster, how much better will 2025’s squad be?

Where does Eric Klein play?

After leading the team in minutes played with 2,125, the question is not whether Klein can play, but where do you put him?

Some say adaptability is the best ability, but 2024 saw the Manheim, Pennsylvania native scattered across the midfield and back line. Over his 23 starts, Klein made eight at center back, seven at center midfield, five at defensive midfield, and three at right back.

At 18 years old, now is about the time when the Revolution need to determine where Klein fits best to assist Revs II in 2025 and become a potential first-team prospect for the future.

Can this team stay healthy consistently?

While they thankfully all didn’t pile up at once, 2024 saw injuries spring up throughout the year.

Whether it was Liam Butts’ multiple injury spells or knocks to players like Marcos Dias, Giovanni Calderon, or others, it always felt Revs II were down a man or two each game due to injury.

Hopefully, head athletic trainer Darrell St. Jean, plus the addition of former PSG U-19 fitness coach Bilal Bejaoui’s appointment as Sports Performance Coach, injuries will temper down for Revolution II in 2025.

Can Richie Williams balance youth development with results?

As seen above, things went horrifically wrong for Revolution II in the results column in 2024. Despite that, the small glimmer of light from that horrendous season was the club incorporating a plethora of youth prospects into the mix.

2024 gave us a continued look at names like Eric Klein, Olger Escobar, Joshua Bolma, Victor Souza, and Tiago Suarez while also getting prospects like Sage Kinner, Damario McIntosh, Gevork Diarbian, Javaun Mussenden, Cristiano Oliveira, and Liam Butts get their first taste of professional action.

Following their 3-1 loss to Crew 2 in their season finale, The Blazing Musket asked Richie Williams about 2024’s results.

“It’s a developmental team, so it’s not based on results…You know, we’re just moving forward and trying to continue to develop players for the first team,” Williams said.

Correct! The main goal of MLS NEXT Pro is to develop prospects into first-team players, but you know who else developed young players in 2024? The 28 other teams who finished above Revolution II in the table.

Yes. Losses and struggles are just as crucial for player development as wins and triumphs are, but Revs II needs to have a better mix of the two to have meaningful development.