![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nesoccertoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/soares2.jpg?resize=250%2C300\" "\\"soares2\\"")
<\/a>A.J. Soares, pictured here with MLS Commissioner Don Garber, was taken by the Revs with the 6th overall pick. (Photo courtesy MLSSoccer.com)<\/p><\/div>\n
A.J. Soares was arguably the best center back at the Superdraft, regardless of whether or not he had a good Combine. He has the potential of being just as much of a difference maker for the defense as Michael Parkhurst was, but make no mistake, they both have very different playing styles.<\/p>\n
The Revolution did somewhat answer the call for a better offense by picking up 3 forwards, though I doubt Ryan Kinne, Steve Perry, or Alan Koger are forwards who can replace Taylor Twellman and score 15-20 goals a season. If you don\u2019t believe me, just look at the numbers. Twellman was drafted second overall in the 2002 Draft. Kinne, Perry, and Koger were all drafted in the third round. These boys, while very talented, have some developing to do. I say this was a move for depth and we will likely see the Revolution\u2019s hopeful DP signing be the real offensive weapon.<\/p>\n
Finally, the midfield. The Phelan-Joseph combination is not working well enough to open up space and serve the ball to the forwards and wingers. The Griffiths-Joseph combination is also untested. The Revolution looked to change the midfield situation by selecting Steve McCarthy, who was touted by many as the best central midfielder in the Draft, in the second round. McCarthy can pass, open up space, and at 6\u20194\u201d he is a dangerous weapon on set pieces.<\/p>\n
So, all in all, the Revolution had one of their best drafts in recent years. They added depth to the offense, further solidified the defense with arguably the best young defense talent in America, and added a spear-head to the midfield.<\/p>\n
Sean Donahue<\/p>\n
Grade: B<\/strong>
\n2011 has the potential to be one of the Revs best drafts in years \u2013 and that\u2019s just if their first two picks reach their projected potential. The Revs avoided past mistakes, staying away from injury prone players, steering clear of those likely to check their options in Europe before signing, and not reaching for players expected to go much later in the draft.<\/p>\nInstead, the team ended up with two players already signed to the league that could well be in the starting XI to begin the season. In selecting A.J. Soares, New England got the top ranked center back according to many pundits prior to the Combine. Soares may well prove the perfect partner to Darrius Barnes, and at the very least adds needed depth to a team that saw everyone on the backline miss significant time to injury in 2010.<\/p>\n
In Stephen McCarthy, the Revs got a player who seemed likely to go in the first round. The imposing center midfielder should have a great opportunity in the preseason to prove he\u2019s the right partner for Shalrie Joseph. McCarthy looked to be one of the top prospects at his position prior to the draft and seems a steal with the 24th pick.<\/p>\n
Their grade is only lowered because of selecting three forwards in the final round. The Revs need help up top, but seem unlikely to have found any upgrades, instead just adding to a crowded field of forwards who failed to stand out. That said, Ryan Kinne, a two-time First Team NSCAA All-American may well be another steal so late, especially if he can put pressure on Sainey Nyassi at right midfield.<\/p>\n
Brian O’Connell<\/p>\n
Grade: B+<\/strong>
\nOverall, I think the Revs did a pretty good job strengthening their spine, which was probably the biggest culprit behind much of their failures last season. Looking at some of the curious selections made by the competition (Omar Salgado at 1? Really, Vancouver?), it\u2019s fair to say the Revs came away early winners at SuperDraft.<\/p>\nBy many accounts, A.J. Soares appears to be a classic cerebral defender who could successfully inherit the lone center back’s spot that Michael Parkhurst once occupied when the Revs played a 3-5-2. Note: the Revs won a lot in the 3-5-2.<\/p>\n
Adding Stephen McCarthy, an imposing presence in the central midfield during his time in Chapel Hill, was a masterstroke of a selection \u2013 one that the front office must be thanking the soccer gods for after the Tar Heel fell into their laps in the second round. If he partners well with Shalrie Joseph, there\u2019s no telling how much better the Revs could be in 2011.<\/p>\n
Taking three attacking players in the final round are low-risk\/high-reward selections that, bare minimum, bolsters the competition up top. Competition = good.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s rare that an MLS team finds a pair of quality players who could, realistically, find themselves in the starting XI once March 20th arrives. My only reservation is that they should have taken a forward (either Will Bruin or Corey Hertzog) in the first round. But, then again, it\u2019s hard to argue that contention after they landed a stud center back at six.<\/p>\n
Carl Setterlund<\/p>\n
Grade: A-<\/strong>
\nStevie Nicol\u2019s Revs squads have historically been outstanding up the spine. Over the past few years the inevitable, unpredictable nature of sports has hit New England hard as Michael Parkhurst went abroad, Steve Ralston finally aged and retired and Taylor Twellman picked up an injury he couldn\u2019t come back from.<\/p>\nI like Darrius Barnes and Ryan Cochrane but adding a top centre back prospect was necessary. A.J. Soares was probably the best fit available and I can\u2019t think of a better pick at #6 except maybe adding forward Will Bruin. With Shalrie Joseph turning 33 in May and Pat Phelan still something of an uncertainty, defensive mid Stephen McCarthy was a great value and a great fit in the second round. I can\u2019t say I know too much about the third-rounders, but I\u2019ve watched Nicol pluck too many contributors out of nowhere in the late rounds and supplemental draft in the past few seasons to question him too much.<\/p>\n
If one of Kinne, Perry or Koger play any sort of role I think you can upgrade this to a straight A. Only Houston had a better draft relative to where they were picking in my estimation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The final bell has rung, and our writers issue their grades on the Revolution’s 2011 SuperDraft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2442,"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":[38,24,8,3],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nesoccertoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/soaresfeature2.jpg?fit=490%2C225&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2436"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2436"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2448,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2436\/revisions\/2448"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}