If I Was FC...-Issue 2

If I was Fernando Clavijo, I would be searching high and low during the offseason for Chrono's replacement. Ted Chronopoulos is a valuable member of this football club. Rumours persist that he will leave for greener European pastures during this offseason. He's served the club for five years through thick and thin. In that time, he was capped by the U.S. National Team and named to the MLS Eastern Division All-Star team. His play is valuable to this franchise; it would be hard to see him go without a heir apparent to take his place.

YEAR  TEAM                        GP GS  MIN  G  A PTS SHT SOG 
--------------------------------------------------------------
1996  N.E. Revolution             14 11 1000  1  0   2   8   4
1997  N.E. Revolution             30 30 2624  2  1   5  30  13
1998  N.E. Revolution             23 23 1960  2  3   7  16   8
1999  N.E. Revolution             31 31 2710  1  5   7  25  14
2000  N.E. Revolution             25 25 2205  5  2  12  20   9
Five-year totals                 123120 10499 11 11  33  99  48

Ted Chronopoulos's worth to the franchise is not in his statistical output. Chrono lends flexibility to the tactical whims of Fernando Clavijo. He can play at either the left wing or left back. He is a quality attacking midfielder with pace and vision. Chrono flights in better crosses than most MLS left mids. While this is not a glowing recommendation for future employment, it helps the Revolution just fine.

We know what Chrono can do, but do we know who will replace him? His successor could come from a group of well-qualified candidates. If this was a perfect world, we wouldn't be having this discussion. Chrono is too valuable of an asset to lose. However, when faced with his loss, Pitchside came up with these possible solutions.

Jamar Beasley is better known as a Revs striker. However, Pitchside thinks that he could make an impact out on the flanks due to his speed. In all honesty, his body type is much more suited for a flank position. He has the trademark family speed in his favor. This would also eradicate all of his ballstriking problems. Jamar has problems putting the ball in the back of the net like Massachusetts has Democratic citizens. He can't seem to score on even a semi-regular basis. If we want a true playoff team in 2001, it makes sense to switch Beasley out to the wing. The main question is: Can he put in a decent cross?

Yup, this is a true pipe dream. Lewis has a tremendous amount of skill. Unfortunately, he is a Trinidadian citizen over the age of 25. This would put him in the senior international bracket. One other minor problem: the Revolution aren't likely to be in a position to take him on draft day. The first Revolution pick is at number 46. This would surely prove to eradicate the possibility of a Lewis pickup, right? The answer, in Lee Corso's words, is not so fast, my friend. Since he counts as a full international, his MLS options are truly limited. He would be a perfect fit in New England. Darin is solid and composed on the ball. There is little doubt that Lewis would contribute more to the Revs' cause then a benched Mauricio Ramos. We'll file him into the "Wishful Thinking" file.

William can be an effective flank player for the Revolution. He was deployed outside on numerous occasions during the 2000 season. Like the others mentioned, he is a pacey player who possesses great ball skills. There are two major drawbacks to this plan in our mind. First, William would be taken away from his striker spot. I'm not sure I like Sunsing's scoring ability as much as I like his ability to pester opposing defenses into terrible giveaways. The other reason is that Pitchside doesn't trust William's defense out on the flank. Sunsing tends to stray a bit too much towards the penalty area while he's a winger. While our back three is solid, they shouldn't be over exposed at every opportunity. He's not our best option.

Shaker is an unknown quality to most Revolution fans. He has a total of 246 minutes played in MLS. From what we've seen, he possesses good technical skills. He's a slight man, but he possesses good vision. He can also hit a cross, as evidenced in the late cross to Mauricio Wright in the June 21st game in San Jose. With his talent, there also come some questions. How is Asad defensively? No one really knows at this point how or if Asad plays defense. Can Asad play on the left? Honestly, we don't know. The major question is whether or not Asad can handle a 28 game season on his 5'7" 140lb frame. Only regular playing time will prove that case.

It's just a thought. Harskie will be somewhere on the field in 2001. It's pretty obvious he's there for leadership, not playing, skills at this point at this time. If he was put on the wing, he could use that boot of his in a constructive manner, rather than hitting aimless longballs to opposing defenses. This plan doesn't hold much weight. Harkesie has little or no foot speed, and he is not as technically gifted as the other players mentioned above. However, with his trademark determination, I wouldn't put it past him to play out on the wing. We just hope it doesn't come to that.

Ted Chronopoulos will not be an easy man to replace. Pitchside thinks that the above candidates could do a reasonable job filling his sizable shoes. The staff likes the Lewis option best of all. In our minds, Darren Lewis is the guy to fill Chrono's shoes. However, in the event he doesn't make it to town, Jamar Beasley would be a more than adequate replacement. He has the speed. He has the talent. Now Jamar just needs the chance.