Revolution experimenting with formations
Revolution experimenting with formations
Dave Romney spoke on the subject after New England's preseason loss to the Philadelphia Union on Sunday
The New England Revolution have played two preseason friendlies while down in Florida and even though details have been hard to come by, it is now known that New England has been experimenting with formations.
Formation experimentation in preseason isn’t that uncommon but considering the acquisitions that the Revs made in the offseason, it is worth keeping an eye on. Especially considering that New England has three starting-caliber centerbacks after the acquisition of Dave Romney from Nashville SC.
Romney has made 155 MLS starts and played more than 14,000 minutes. He is a veteran of the league and very capable of earning a spot in the starting XI.
Acquiring a player such as Romney allows for head coach Bruce Arena to possibly deploy three center backs in the starting lineup or he can stick with the standard two that the Revolution trotted out in 2022.
After New England’s loss to the Union on Sunday, Romney discussed experimenting with different formations and tactics.
“Yeah, I think it's huge,” Romney said. “You want to be able to play different formations because different teams are going to bring a different test, or say we want to move to a different formation in the closing moments of the game. You want every player to be comfortable playing multiple positions and multiple formations. So, it's just kind of getting that base underneath you, kind of getting those relationships used to each other whether I'm playing on the left or in the center, stuff like that, and who's playing next to me. So, just getting those lines of communication open and kind of knowing what you're doing so that when you are tired and hot, it's just second nature to you.”
Romney has also been pleased with what he has seen out of himself and his teammates during the first two preseason matches.
“It has been good work,” The 29-year-old stated. “There's been a lot of positives we can take out, some things we've got to correct, but all-in-all, it's kind of these first couple games just getting a fitness baseline. You kind of get used to playing 45, 60, 70 minutes and get used to this heat, which is always tough. But we're going to have to be down here in the summers, so just kind of getting acclimated to that stuff.”
The Revs next friendly will once again be closed to the public as they face off against Romney’s former side on Friday.