TBM Roundtable: One Blazing Take for 2025

With the 2025 season on the horizon, the staff of The Blazing Musket gives one Blazing take.

Photo By ©J. Alexander Dolan

With the 2024 season on the horizon, the staff of The Blazing Musket gives one Blazing take.

Sam: The Revs will have a top defense

I was going to say the Revs have a positive goal differential or allow fewer goals than they did in 2024 but that doesn’t seem like a bold enough take.

While New England allowed two goals in the only match we have been able to observe, overall the back line looked much more organized and less chaotic. Both Mamadou Fofana and Brayan Ceballos were impressive on the ball and didn’t make mistakes when facing pressure. These two will anchor the back line and play important roles for New England this season.

Having Alhassan Yusuf for an entire season will also play a crucial role in the potential for an improved defensive effort by the Revs. Yusuf should help bridge the defending gap between the midfield and the back line and is tireless in his effort on both sides of the ball.

As long as everyone can stay healthy, the additions New England has made on the back line along with having the likes of Yusuf for an entire season, Revs fans should expect a stark improvement defensively and the potential to be a top defense in MLS.

Josh: Carles Gil breaks the MLS single-season assist record

Throughout his tenure, Carles Gil has been a world-class creator for the Revolution. Something evident from his 73 career assists through 159 MLS matches.

Gil’s highest assist total came during his shortened 2021 campaign when he bagged 18 over 28 appearances.

Considering the sheer amount of talent the Revs have on the offensive side of the ball (Leo Campana, Tomás Chancaly, Luca Langoni, Ignatious Ganago, Maxi Urutti, and others), Carles will have plenty of quality outlets to get the ball to in 2025.

If the Revolution's offense can be as good as it appears on paper, and if Carles Gil can stay healthy, breaking the single-season assist record could be a real possibility.

Seth: Alhassan Yusuf will earn some sort of individual recognition

I’m really high on Yusuf, who recorded two assists in seven appearances in 2024. The defensive midfielder has looked good during preseason, scoring two goals.

Yusuf was described as a “modern midfielder” when he signed with the Revolution, and he certainly fits the bill. Defensively, he covers plenty of ground. Offensively, he can hit a line-splitting pass.

I’m predicting that Senior Man will get some sort of recognition this year. That might be an MLS All-Star nod or the Team MVP award.

Jake: New England will have three double-digit goal scorers in 2025

This is mostly for MLS regular season but we can throw in all competitions/playoffs as well. The Revs have had more seasons in recent memory without a 10+ goal scorer (2024, 2022, 2020*) then they have with two players netting double figures (2021 Buksa/Bou with Buchanan at 8).

I think Josh is correct that Carles is looking at a 20+ assist type of year but the Revs attack should be incredibly fluid with the talent they have up front that most of that group should be at or near 10 assists on the year especially if the coaching staff realizes the potential this team has on the counter attack.

Campana and Langoni feel like locks for 10+ goals if the Revs are in for the rebound year we expect this season. That leaves Carles, Chancalay, and Ganago as the most likely candidates for that third spot and Tomas and Ignatius aren’t guaranteed a full season of minutes.

The Revs had 65 goals in their Shield-winning campaign and I think that’s a good target number for the team to aim for as far as being a top playoff team in the East this year. Miami had almost 80 goals last year and Columbus just over 70 with 3rd/4th place Cincinnati and Orlando just under 60. I don’t expect New England to keep pace with Messi and Co but hosting a first round playoff series should not be out of reach.

Andy: Only 1 of the “Day-1 starters” in defense will finish the season as a starter.

I struggled to phrase this prediction properly, but the gist is this: I have a sneaky suspicion that the Revs starting back line could see a fair amount of flux in 2025. We haven’t seen the best from Caleb Porter’s defenses in New England, and he has shown he’s willing to mix things up if he doesn’t like what he sees.

Originally I intended this prediction to be focused on Wyatt Omsberg’s path to starting minutes. The Maine native hasn’t made much of an impact in his 7 years in MLS - making just 67 league appearances in that time. But everywhere you look, you find people pulling for his success. He appeared to be a fan favorite in Chicago and Caleb Porter has had some very positive things to say, as well.

It’s starting to feel like he’s working his way up the depth chart to the primary CB backup. Given the Revs injury history (and ignoring Omsberg’s personal injury history), I think there’s a chance he gets on the field and impresses the coaching staff. Even without injury, both presumed CB starters (Ceballos and Fofana) are new to the league and are far from proven commodities.

There’s more fluidity than just at CB though. Both outside back positions have a bit of built-in competition. I, personally, expect Bye and Sands to get the nod as starters in week 1, but both have promising young talent behind them on the depth chart. Peyton Miller anchored the left back spot for a bit last year at just 16, and the expectation is for him to continue to progress this year.

Meanwhile, at right back, the Revs invested a reported $2.5M in Ilay Feingold according to Tom Bogert. Bye has been good for the Revs, but you don’t spend that kind of money (and one of your coveted U-22 initiative spots) without hoping you get some productive games out of the player in return.

Depending on how things go in 2025, Bye could find himself on the trade block, just like DeJuan Jones did in 2024. That would open up minutes for Feingold to make his mark.