Revolution Notebook: 0 Gils, 3 Strikers, and 1 Interview
What could the Revs look like without Carles Gil?
The New England Revolution travel to Red Bull Arena to face the New York Red Bulls on Saturday. Here are some notes ahead of kickoff.
Carles Gil Suspended
The Revs will be without their midfielder maestro on Saturday—a newly named MLS All-Star, by the way—because Carles Gil will serve a one-game suspension due to yellow card accumulation.
His most recent card was a controversial one as Gil was deemed to have dove despite replays showing that opposing defender Santiago Arias made contact.
During his weekly interview with Zolak and Bertrand, head coach Bruce Arena said, “It was a glaring error by the referee. What makes it even worse is we don’t have a process where they can review that play and take away the card. So that part is even more disappointing.”
Arena later said, “From this play, I think there’s a chance there’s going to be a new policy that [the league] would review a caution on simulation. If they had to review all yellow cards, they’d be working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so I understand that part of it. But this particular play, I think in the future, they may be allowed to review.”
Since there currently isn’t a policy in place to review this type of play, the Revs will be without Gil when they travel to New Jersey. This absence is obviously a big one because there’s no one on the roster quite like the former league MVP.
“No one will fill that role,” Arena said. “We will find a way to put 11 players on the field and it's all part of it. This happens throughout the year with suspensions, injuries, or whatever, so we'll be prepared to play on Saturday.”
The Revs have played without Gil before and they do have some options regarding what the starting lineup will look like on Saturday. My Twitter thread on this can be found here.
Wood, Bou, and Vrioni Are Options At Striker
While the Revs will be without their regular No. 10, they do have some options up top.
Bobby Wood (7 goals, 4 assists in 1157 minutes) and Gustavo Bou (4 goals, 2 assists in 739 minutes) have been the starting strike force recently with Giacomo Vrioni (4 goals, 1 assist in 625 minutes) coming off the bench.
As mentioned in the Twitter thread above, Gil’s suspension does open the door to start all three forwards.
On Thursday, teammate Matt Polster offered praise for Wood, Bou, and Vrioni.
“They’ve all done a good job in their own ways,” Polster said. “Bobby has come in and done a very good job of taking that role and been a very good piece up top for us. He’s scoring goals, he’s getting assists but there’s other factors that you don’t always see. His pressing is pretty good and his hold-up play is pretty beneficial for the group. “
Adding, “Gustavo is that wild factor where he’ll take shots from any range and pop up with a goal here and there. He’s just difficult to deal with in a 1v1 situation and he’s very elusive.”
Polster finished by saying, “Giacomo is a very willing runner when he comes into games. He’s able to run in behind, and you could see that he gave us a little bit of energy when he came into the Cincinnati game. He’s able to run in behind and make it very difficult for the back four. They’ve all done a very good job in their own ways, and it’s been helpful for the group to be where we are right now.”
Egan Says Revs Are One of the Top Teams in MLS
On Thursday, we had the pleasure of speaking to Kevin Patrick Egan of MLS Season Pass. The commentator spoke highly of the Revs, noting that they’re one of the top teams in the league.
“I think Cincinnati for sure [are one of best teams in the East] and I think the Revs are right there with Philadelphia.
“Look, Philadelphia had a really tough start to the year with Concacaf Champions League play. [They] didn’t exactly perform overly well in the Champions League. [They] had a rough start to things in Major League Soccer.
“I know they just got bounced by Atlanta on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium but I think that Philly will be there, thereabouts and I would peg them as the joint second-best team in the East along with New England. That’s two teams in behind Cincinnati. Cincinnati are the clear frontrunner.”
Egan went on to talk about how LAFC, one of the top teams in the Western Conference, compares to Cincinnati, New England, and Philadelphia.
The full podcast version of the conversation can be found here while the video version is found here.