Dave Romney Discusses Being Back In The Starting Lineup

Romney: “You can never take any starts for granted so I’m just loving being back there and competing and being with the guys again."

Photo Courtesy of John McGloughlin

Dave Romney played every minute for the New England Revolution during the 2023 season, so it was a bit of a surprise to see him dropped from the starting lineup for six straight games this year.

But Romney said he remained focused on working hard in anticipation of an opportunity.

That moment came against his former club, Nashville SC. With Henry Kessler suspended due to yellow card accumulation, Romney started next to Xavier Arreaga.

The Revs won that game and Romney retained his spot for the next two games, which were also wins.

“You can never take any starts for granted so I’m just loving being back there and competing and being with the guys again,” Romney told The Blazing Musket after Saturday’s game.

Naturally, players want to be on the field instead of on the sidelines. As such, hearing your name left out of the starting lineup can be difficult.

“It's obviously going to be a shot to the confidence and who you are as a player,” Romney said. “Knowing what I've accomplished in this league, I just think back on that and know that I'm a good player and I can contribute to the team when I'm given a chance.

“I've had to do it in L.A. when I was in my younger years, just in and out of the lineup here and there and trying to make the most of every chance. So I kind of pulled on that experience.”

Romney is now back in the starting lineup, part of a backline that features Aljaz Ivacic, Arreaga, Nick Lima, and DeJuan Jones.

Head coach Caleb Porter has praised Romney’s contributions, noting he had a “great performance” against Nashville and was “excellent” against the New York Red Bulls.

After the Nashville game, Porter said he liked the chemistry between Romney and Arreaga. On Saturday, Romney explained that the partnership is still being forged.

“It's still building, it’s still very early,” Romney said. “It’s just three games for me and all of them, so it's definitely very fresh. But [we’re] just keeping lines of communication open, [I’m] learning [Arreaga’s] style of play, what he likes to do, when he gets more aggressive at times or steps at times, stuff like that.

“So just picking up on the nonverbal cues and then just getting our lines of communication better and just how we need to talk to each other to organize the guys in front of us and each other and the outside backs.”

During the period when Romney wasn’t starting, Tom Bogert of The Athletic reported that the centerback was made available to other clubs, something that Porter refuted.

Romney ultimately stayed in New England.

“I’m just happy to be here,” Romney said. “I want to be here and so my loyalty is obviously to here, just helping the team get on the right track and so far we’ve been doing that.”

When asked what he likes about being part of the Revolution, Romney gave several answers.

“It's a great locker room, great staff,” Romney said. “It's an amazing city. I really love Boston. We live in an amazing neighborhood and my wife loves it here.

“It's not easy to move your family and twins and find a new nanny and all that stuff. So it's definitely not an easy thing to uproot your family in the middle of a season. So I’m just thankful that I'm still here. I love Boston.”

You can support The Blazing Musket by purchasing items from Homage via this link.