10 questions for the Revolution ahead of the 2022 MLS season

This season preview posts up questions — and delivers some answers.

The New England Revolution enter their 27th season in Major League Soccer as reigning Supporters Shield champions and still on the hunt for their first MLS Cup title. The Revolution are a team on the rise: They will compete in CONCACAF Champions League this year; are returning last year’s MLS MVP and assist leader as well as two of the top nine scorers in the league, and three of the four MLS Best XI selections; and have cashed in on the international transfer market, with more transactions and incoming funds likely on the way.

New England kicks off the 2022 season away at the Portland Timbers on February 29.

Here are 10 important questions facing the team as it prepares to start a new competitive campaign:

How will the Revolution respond to Matt Turner’s departure?

After almost seven seasons in New England, including four in which he established himself as one of the top shot-stoppers in North America, Matt Turner is headed to Arsenal this June on a deal reportedly worth more than $7 million. That gives the Revolution the better part of four more months to scout a new replacement, or evaluate whether they can get through 2022 with backups Brad Knighton, Earl Edwards Jr., and Jacob Jackson. For what it’s worth, no one in this trio seems like a suitable replacement — at least not right now. Knighton is now 37 and on the brink of retirement, Edwards hasn’t been convincing in limited appearances with Revolution II, and Jackson is an undeveloped rookie.

It might be helpful to look back at how Bruce Arena treated the starting goalkeeper role when he coached the LA Galaxy. His tact there was to either find an experienced international goalkeeper from CONCACAF (like Jamaica’s Donovan Ricketts and Jaime Penedo of Panama) or an experienced MLS quantity (like Josh Saunders). There will be no like-for-like replacement for Matt Turner. That said, the Revs don’t exactly need one. Considering they’ve used the winter to strengthen their attack, which was the league’s best last season, the best defense might still be a good offense. That means Turner’s replacement could wind up being a serviceable shot-stopper, albeit a highly experienced one.

What will Jozy Altidore’s goals per 90 minutes be?

One of the centerpieces of the Revolution’s bolstered attack is Jozy Altidore, who Arena lured to Foxborough from Toronto FC in February. Altidore probably doesn’t get penciled into the full strength starting XI with Adam Buksa still on the team, but between CONCACAF Champions League games and a more congested regular season schedule, squad rotation could be such that Altidore nevertheless receives regular playing time.

Altidore has recorded just six goals in 29 games over the last two seasons, which included injuries and a public spat with the Toronto front office. That said, he remains one of the best center forwards in American soccer history, and will be a presence on the field that opposing defenses won’t be able to ignore. There’s really no pinning down what Altidore’s output could be in 2022. If he’s healthy and earning minutes, it’s a safe bet he’s contributing to balls going in the net in some way.

Can the Revolution make a deep run in CONCACAF Champions League?

The Revolution have more depth than they did last year and have quality in several key areas including goalkeeper, playmaker, and striker. What they lack as they take their fortunes into international competition is prior Champions League experience. It’s no small loss that the team was unable to dip its proverbial toes into Champions League waters when its round of 16 opponent, Cavaly AS was forced to forfeit amid its inability to secure visas to travel to the U.S.

We’ll learn a lot about the Revolution’s chances by the way they play Pumas in leg one of the quarterfinals. Even a loss in that game — depending on the final score and the quality of performance — could say a lot about whether the Revs are up for this tournament should they be able to come back and win leg two. Champions League might be the club’s best shot at winning a trophy this year given that they’ll retain Turner and Buksa through the tournament final.

Are the Revolution a legitimate contender to win MLS Cup?

Anyone is a contender if they make the playoffs, and the Revolution should certainly do that. Despite losing Tajon Buchanan in the offseason, they also look like a team that’s built to win right now.

But regular season achievements don’t equate to MLS Cup success. The Revs can tell you that better than anyone. It seems like the team that wins the trophy year after year has a mix of quality, luck, and momentum on its side. Last year, the Revolution had plenty of the first but not enough of the second and third. So much of last season’s Supporters Shield win came down to the team’s momentum. It finally ran out when the playoffs started following a three-week hiatus from regular season play.

So yes, the Revolution are contenders to win MLS Cup. They retain a deep roster with top players up and down the lineup. They are also led by arguably the best coach in MLS. This alone, however, won’t see them lift MLS Cup in the fall.

Will the back line surrender fewer goals than in 2021?

The Revolution surrendered 41 goals last season, which gave them the sixth-best back line in MLS. On paper, that sounds OK. Then you look at the +24 goal differential and see that they also had the highest-scoring offense in the league (65 goals) as well.

Whether they concede fewer or more than 41 goals in 2022 is somewhat irrelevant. Sometimes, the best defense really is a good offense. And so long as the Revolution have Carles Gil, Adam Buksa, Gustavo Bou, and Jozy Altidore on the roster, that’s probably still the case. Whether the offense works as well this season — independent of the transfer rumors involving Buksa, the departure of Tajon Buchanan, and the arrival of Sebastian Lletget — very much remains to be seen.

Ultimately, the defense is better going into 2022, too. Omar Gonzalez will add much-needed experience and championship clout to a fairly young back line, and both Henry Kessler and Jon Bell are more experienced now than they were at this time last year. That said, it’s going to be hard for the Revolution to produce a top defensive record given their tendency to push so many numbers forward, as well as the increase in travel and schedule congestion. Matt Turner’s departure in June will play a part as well.

What kind of impact will Homegrown players have?

The Revolution have three Homegrown players on their 2022 roster: Justin Rennicks, Damian Rivera, and Noel Buck. Rennicks is the most senior, but has appeared in limited minutes for the senior team since 2017. Rennicks scored five goals for Revolution II last season in USL League One, but this feels like a make-or-break year for the 22-year-old in terms of his first team prospects. Buck joined the Revolution this offseason, scored as many goals as Rennicks for Revolution II last season, and got decent playing time in preseason, but doesn’t face the same pressure to perform because he’s only 16. Rivera made one first team appearance for the Revolution off the bench last year and also led Revolution II in scoring with six goals. At 19, he’s also in a similar situation as Buck in terms of pressure to perform.

It seems like all three will probably continue to get reps with Revolution II, though schedule congestion could see them earn occasional minutes with the first team as well.

Which senior team player is poised to have a breakout year?

After earning Best XI votes and a call to the USMNT January camp, why not DeJuan Jones? The fourth-year player has shown he’s capable of playing in a multitude of positions, particularly left back, where there’s a scarcity of quality options league-wide. Jones came into MLS as a speedy, attack-minded player and he’s brought that to a new role that he’s made his own over the last three years in Foxborough.

How active will the Revolution need to be during the summer transfer window?

For now, the Revolution appear to have decent cover everywhere, but that will change this summer when Turner leaves and the prospect of losing Buksa once again becomes real. How Altidore settles in combined with the contributions of Gustavo Bou will impact whether the Revolution make an offensive move in the summer months. Replacing Turner is the key personnel task Bruce Arena and his staff will otherwise face.

Depth-wise, the Revolution could probably use extra numbers at left back, right back, and central midfield. On the plus side, they opened up two international roster spots this winter by moving on from Luis Caicedo and Christian Mafla. They also have serious spending power given the transfer fees they collected from selling Turner and Tajon Buchanan.

It was surprising to see the Revolution not make an international signing this winter, but they didn’t necessarily have to given the quality of their roster and their financial flexibility.

Who are the Revolution’s biggest rivals in 2022?

Here’s a quick round-up of contenders:

• Philadelphia Union:

• New York City FC: A New York-based team that plays in Yankee Stadium, has more championships than the Revs, and knocked the Revs out of the playoffs to extend a title drought? Where have we heard this before?
• CF Montreal: #MaplySyrupDerby!
• Chicago Fire FC: This was arguably THE rivalry during the mid-2000s when both teams met almost annually in the playoffs. Chicago is in the middle of a rebuild and is hoping to regain its former glory. If the Fire are in the post-season hunt this year, there’s probably renewed bad blood between the teams.

Will the Revolution have any representatives taking part in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar?

There are currently five players on the Revolution’s roster that have been involved in international competition during this World Cup cycle: Matt Turner, Henry Kessler, DeJuan Jones, and Sebastian Lletget (USA), and Adam Buksa (Poland).

Turner will be an Arsenal player by the time the World Cup starts in November. Should the USMNT qualify, Lletget probably has the next best chance of being on the plane to Qatar, as he’s been a consistent call-up for on head coach Gregg Berhalter. Jones and Kessler are on the outside looking in, despite having both received recent looks.

Poland, at least for now, needs to play a one-game elimination against Russia followed by a one-game elimination against either Sweden or the Czech Republic to qualify for Qatar. It’s not any easy path for Poland, but one that’s certainly doable. Should they qualify, Buksa is probably on the plane to Qatar. Then again, given the serious interest in Buksa from abroad, there’s a strong possibility that, like Turner, his time in New England will have long ended.