{"id":16967,"date":"2012-11-17T09:27:02","date_gmt":"2012-11-17T14:27:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/?p=16967"},"modified":"2012-11-20T00:21:23","modified_gmt":"2012-11-20T05:21:23","slug":"offseason-notebook-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/?p=16967","title":{"rendered":"Offseason Notebook"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Revolution midfielder Fernando Cardenas is hopeful that he’ll get another opportunity to showcase his skills in 2013. (Photo: Kari Heistad\/CapturedImages.biz)<\/p><\/div>\n

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. \u2013 The regular season schedule may have ended for the Revolution on Oct. 27, but on Friday, the\u00a0players officially said farewell to Foxboro following their exit interviews.<\/p>\n

While some left Gillette Stadium safe in the knowledge that they\u2019d be back next season, others \u2013 like veteran defender Flo Lechner \u2013 passed through the Revolution locker room for the final time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very conscious of the fact that it\u2019s not an easy day for a lot of players,\u201d Revolution general manager Mike Burns said on Friday. \u201cWe take the approach that we\u2019re 100% honest with players. We tell them what we\u2019re thinking. At the end of the day, some guys are happy, some guys are not happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

For first year head coach Jay Heaps, the process of informing players who won\u2019t have their contract options picked up is a reality that hits especially close to home.<\/p>\n

Only three years removed his playing days, the former defender knows the uncertainty a player can face once the season\u2019s over.<\/p>\n

In light of that, he and Burns, a former player himself, carefully examine each player\u2019s performances, and attempt to make an informed judgment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a thorough decision,\u201d Heaps said on Friday. \u201cYou have to be thorough in this process. The decision process is a fluid conversation through many weeks (toward) the end of the season. Once we were out of the playoffs, it was a long process of (determining) who is going to be here and when we were going to tell them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Telling a player that he\u2019ll be back, of course, is not exactly a challenge. But\u00a0saying goodbye to\u00a0someone who gave his all is, well, another thing entirely.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s never easy,\u201d Heaps said. \u201cBut at the same time, we\u2019re preparing for next year. We have to make tough decisions to get better and that\u2019s what we\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

GUY LOOKING FOR \u2018SPECIFIC\u2019 ROLE IN 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

While some said their final goodbyes on Friday, others left Gillette Stadium looking ahead to their return in 2013.<\/p>\n

Ryan Guy, who filled in a variety of roles this season, chatted with Heaps about the future \u2013 and the expectations the head coach has for his versatile veteran.<\/p>\n

The biggest thing that Guy took away from the conversation?<\/p>\n

\u201cNext year is going to be more about defining myself in a specific role,\u201d Guy said on Friday. \u201cI think that\u2019ll help me focus on production. As a player, you always want to see your statistics and see where your production lies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although the reference to statistics \u2013 perhaps, offensive statistics \u2013 might lend credence to Guy returning to his usual right midfielder\u2019s spot, Heaps hasn\u2019t told him what his role will be just yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t quite know,\u201d Guy said. \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to just staying fit and finding it out in the preseason.\u201d<\/p>\n

CARDENAS LOOKING FOR ANOTHER SHOT<\/strong><\/p>\n

While Guy is looking forward to a defined role next year, fellow midfielder Fernando Cardenas is unsure whether he\u2019ll be back for a second season.<\/p>\n

Following his exit interview, the Colombian international touched upon the idea that he wasn\u2019t given a full opportunity to showcase his talent.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the challenges was not being consistently in the starting lineup,\u201d Cardenas said through an interpreter. \u00a0\u201cIt doesn\u2019t give the players a chance to expose themselves or give everything they have. It doesn\u2019t get to that point where they can demonstrate what they can do on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another challenge Cardenas encountered this season: the departure of fellow Colombian John Lozano, whom the 23-year-old grew close with before the Revolution waived him on Jul. 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were more than just soccer players or teammates,\u201d Cardenas said. \u201cWe were like brothers. It hurt to see him leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the setbacks, Cardenas knows there\u2019s only solution to the uncertainty he faces in the coming weeks: Work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to keep in shape and whatever happens (will happen),\u201d Cardenas said. \u201cI don\u2019t know if I\u2019m going to come back. Right now, I don\u2019t know. My agent will have to talk to the team.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jay Heaps and Mike Burns talk exit interviews, Ryan Guy searches for a specific role, and Fernando Cardenas’ first year in Foxboro.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16977,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nesoccertoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Fernando1.png?fit=480%2C260","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16967"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16967"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16967\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17073,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16967\/revisions\/17073"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}