Looks like it could be a long year for Peter Nowak. (Getty Images)

I know folks like myself and other writers out there didn’t make this one easy going into the season. We all kept saying the Eastern Conference was the weaker side and how it would struggle against the West.

After two weeks of the new season, that statement rings true. Outside of Kansas City and Houston – who are both off to strong 2-0-0 starts – nearly everyone else in the East has stumbled out of the gate. I’ll ignore Chicago and Montreal for the moment too. The Fire have only played a single game and it was on the road while Montreal is an expansion team, and we can’t expect the world from them yet.

The same can go for Toronto FC and the Columbus Crew. The Trillium Cup rivals have both only played a single game in league play as well but neither were good in the process. Toronto has had two extra CCL games to their name which makes me want to leave them out of this discussion. Should their league play continue to be dreadful in a month or two, I’ll talk about it then. Columbus should bounce back in my mind this weekend as they host Montreal.

So that leaves the likes of the Philadelphia Union, D.C. United, the New York Red Bulls and the New England Revolution. All are 0-2-0 with negative goal differential.

Only New England has failed to score a goal out of the gate (they join Chivas USA who is the lowly Western Conference side to be 0-2-0 and score no goals) but I’m giving Jay Heaps a bit of a pass at this point.

Two teams have coaching issues going on (Philly and NY) while DC is struggling through some growing pains in Ben Olsen’s second full season as manager.

Only in towns like New York and LA do two losses raise such questions but with the Red Bulls those questions are being raised left and right. Consider what Hans Backe has done so far this season with his starting lineups. While on the road for both goals Backe made it down right tough on his star player Thierry Henry to get any sort of offense going. Yes, no Luke Rodgers or Rafa Marquez didn’t help the situation out but in neither Dallas or Salt Lake did the Red Bulls look really dangerous.

As for the Union. Things are sliding quickly out of control after Peter Nowak’s latest debacle involving Danny Califf. Nowak suddenly leaves Califf out of the line up due to a knee injury that was never really reported. Then the Union go on to lose a rare home game against a 10-man Colorado team. Fans are still feeling the burn of the preseason trade of Sebastien Le Toux as well. **

I haven’t done a coaching hot seat post yet but if I were do to one today Backe and Nowak would certainly be on it*. I do however think that Nowak has a little more leverage with the Union front office. He’s made every move for this club thus far and will continue to do so. I think it will take a massive collapse by his club to get him fired this season. As for Backe, lose two more games (both at home) and that hot seat will be burning.

So is panic mode setting in on these clubs? Maybe, it certainly is very early to tell but I would imagine most of the fans for these clubs aren’t feeling too comfortable about their club’s outlook today.

Where do you stand with your club today after two weeks? Feeling good about things or are you close to hitting the panic button?

That tone probably comes from the top down as leaders of the club probably feel the same way. In a recent interview with MLS Reserves (how good is that site by the way?), Revs president Brian Bilello gave a deep sigh before talking about the Revs hopes and plans for a new soccer stadium.

“No, we’ve been working. I’m hoping in the next 60 days we might be able to talk about that. We feel good about the direction its heading, but we’ve said from the beginning: even if it takes long and costs more money, placing the stadium in the right, urban core is more important than getting it done.”

“You know what, on that, I think it’s absolutely fair. Fans are tired of hearing things like that and to be honest that’s fair. They just want to see results, you know? They want to see here in New England, the things they saw in Portland the other night. And it is hard. You know, it’s hard for me that I can’t give that to them. I get it. I understand why the fans are frustrated. Believe me, I try to be as open as I can with the fans, you know, I’m on twitter, I will talk to them, I will meet with them.”

“I’ll never lie to them, I always say that. I may not be able to tell them things, but I’ll never lie to them. We’re not ever going to ‘string fans along’ with a stadium or anything. It’s just been a slow and difficult process here. We’ve spent a lot of money and we probably could have done something in a much less desirable location in the suburbs that might grow our attendance by 20-30% but we’d really like to do something in the city that will change the dynamic of soccer here.”

Yeah, Bilello seems frustrated to me too on this subject as I’m sure this isn’t the first time he’s been this open and honest on the subject.

Stadiums as we know just take time to get going, especially in large metropolitan areas. Let us not forget how long it took New York to get their own venue for the Red Bulls. Remember the old “60-90 days” quote? Same goes for the San Jose Earthquakes who just got over the final hurdle for their own stadium quest. I won’t even go into D.C. United as that is another sore subject for fans across the league.

I’m sure Revs fans feel this all too much at the moment.

To me it has always been a matter of when and not if for the Revs in regards to their stadium hopes. I always believe patiences breeds good things to those who wait. It is really just a matter of time and hopefully that frustrated feeling goes away.

Darren Mattocks has shown well already for Vancouver. (Photo via MLSSoccer.com)

Each season Major League Soccer has a new crop of rookies that don their respective clubs jerseys for the first time and try to prove that they have what it takes to be something in this league.

In seasons past it has been the top picks in the draft that have shined the most in getting the Rookie of the Year award. Other times like with Jonathan Bornstein (a 4th round pick back in 2006) or even a mid-first round pick like CJ Sapong last year have gone on to win the award.

So who has the inside track this season out of the group of rookies that are entering the league? Will it be one from the draft or will another Home Grown Player follow the footsteps of Andy Najar and steal the award away from one that was drafted?

Below are my early season favorites to win the Rookie of the Year award, in my season’s first Rookie Watch post. (Just note there is no meaning behind the order here, so don’t read into that)

1. Darren Mattocks (Vancouver Whitecaps) – So far this preseason he has shown he is hungry for goals. He’s also shown at least to Montreal that they were dumb not to take him with the first pick. I love players that want to prove a point like that and if he can do it to all the other 18 clubs in the league and not just Montreal, then he has to be the odds-on favorite to start the season to win this award.

2. Casey Townsend (Chivas USA) – He’s had some solid minutes so far this preseason. Sometimes this award comes down to goals scored and if he can bag more than the rest, he’ll be in good shape.

3. Kelyn Rowe (New England Revolution) – Some still have questions on Rowe but early preseason reports indicate he’s doing pretty well under Jay Heaps. I think he’s definitely one of the most intriguing rookies to watch out of this season.

4. Tom Meyer (LA Galaxy) – Not a big name from the draft but he is already looking like he may be the Omar Gonzalez replacement for the season. He’ll have some rookie issues early on but with all that talent around him he could sneak up and do very well this season.

5. Ben Speas (Columbus Crew) – I’m throwing a HGP out there for good measure. Speas showed well at the College Cup last year for UNC and earned himself a pro contract with the Crew as a result. This one is a long shot but anything is possible these days with HGPs.

6. Dom Dwyer (Sporting KC) – Hard not to argue with Peter Vermes’ track record with young players as of late. He scored huge with Teal Bunbury and with Sapong last year. If he can make it three in a row with Dwyer then he may be the new coach that others should be modeling their SuperDrafts after.

7. Andrew Wenger (Montreal Impact) – Hard to not include the first overall pick but I do worry that his lack of time with the club this spring will hurt his chances at this award. A lot of expectations will be placed upon him as well. Can he handle it will be the key question.

Toronto and Kansas City have faired pretty well so far this winter. (Getty Images)

Many clubs are a few weeks into their pre-seasons and now that the international transfer window has shut, it is a good time to look at how each MLS side has done so far this winter. (Note: the MLS window doesn’t close until April, which means players who failed to land new jobs in Europe can still head to MLS.)

Keep in mind, these grades are based on the offseason to this point, not on how good I think the team will be. I know there will and can be a lot more moves between now and April. I’ll go more into how I think each team will be before the start of the season with various rankings and previews then. The transaction page at MLSSoccer.com was where the majority of the info seen on this post came from.

I’ve also thrown in some thought about what I think each club still needs before the start of the season in terms of depth and areas of concern.

(Side note: I’m not including any Supplemental Draft picks in with any of the teams. Some players have already been let go by their clubs while some are still trying to make the teams. Once they have definitely signed we’ll discuss it more)

Chicago Fire

Players in: G Jay Nolly (12/5: trade from Vancouver); F Kheli Dube (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/New England); M Rafael Robayo (1/9: free/Millonarios); F Federico Puppo (1/11: free/Danubio); D Austin Berry (1/12: SuperDraft); F Lucky Mkosana (1/12: SuperDraft); D Hunter Jumper (1/12: SuperDraft)

Players out: F Christian Nazarit (12/7: option declined); F Gabriel Ferrari (12/7: option declined); G Alec Dufty (12/12: option declined); M Baggio Husidic (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/Colorado); G Jon Conway (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/LA Galaxy); F Diego Chaves,(1/15: free/Palestino)

What is still needed: Defensive help and another striker

Thoughts: For some reason the Transaction page lacks the losses of Yamith Cuesta and Josip Mikulic, Those two losses leave their defense in a bit of a pickle. Only Cory Gibbs and Jahil Anibaba have MLS experience. That being said however I did like their SuperDraft with them landing Berry and Jumper. There will be some growing pains in the back for sure to start out with but I think before long they’ll be okay. I’m very interested to see how Puppo works up top with Dominic Oduro, Patrick Nyarko and Pavel Pardo. If it works out that could be a very nice move for the Fire. Losing Diego Chaves is a tough loss even though his output wasn’t a whole lot last season due to injuries (six goals, one assist). Frank Klopas still has some work to do here, that is for sure.

Grade: C-

Columbus Crew

Players In: D Carlos Mendes (12/5: Re-Entry Stage 1/New York); G Matt Lampson (12/15: Home Grown); M Milovan Mirosevic (1/4: free/Universidad Católica); F Olman Vargas(1/6: free/Club Herediano); F Ben Speas (1/11: Home Grown); F Ethan Finlay (1/12: SuperDraft); D Aubrey Perry (1/12: SuperDraft); M Kevan George (1/12: SuperDraft)

Players Out: D Josh Gardner (11/23: expansion draft); M Santiago Prim (11/23: waived); D Dejan Rusmir (11/23: waived); F Andrés Mendoza (12/6: option declined); M Kevin Burns (12/12: option declined); F Jeff Cunningham (12/12: option declined); M Robbie Rogers (1/11: free/Leeds United)

What is still needed: Possibly another striker and some defensive depth

Thoughts: Still no word on what Emmanuel Ekpo will be doing this season. Is he still with the club or not? The club hasn’t talked about it too much this winter but from what I can gather he is a free agent (some MLS side should take note and grab him). Outside of that the club did lose a couple big names in Mendoza and Rogers but Gardner could be one of the tougher losses in the back. On the flip side they did bring in Mendes from New York, which I thought was a smart move and they signed two home grown players. Vargas could be a huge addition for them down the road, as will Mirosevic. The Crew went young once again this winter with their moves and I think it will pay off for them.

Grade: B-

DC United

Players In: D Robbie Russell (11/29: trade from RSL); M Nick DeLeon (1/12: SuperDraft);  F Maicon Santos (1/18: free); M Danny Cruz(1/20: trade from Houston); D Emiliano Dudar(1/25: free/BSC Young Boys)

Players Out: M Santino Quaranta (12/7: retired); DMarc Burch (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/Seattle); M Clyde Simms (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/New England); M Brandon Barklage (12/12: option declined); G Steve Cronin (12/12: option declined); F Joseph Ngwenya (12/12: option declined); D Jed Zayner (12/12: option declined); D Devon McTavish (12/22: retired)

What is still needed: Defensive depth and another striker

Thoughts: It looks like they lost more than they gained but really when it comes down to it Ben Olsen has done a solid job this winter. Getting players like Cruz, Russell, Santos were all smart moves while rookie DeLeon was a nice pick last month. The big question will be if Dudar can make an impact with the side or not. I still believe their defense could use a little more work but these moves should help Perry Kitchen move back into his more natural spot in the defensive side of the midfield.

Grade: B-

Houston Dynamo

Players In: M Nathan Sturgis (12/29: trade from Toronto); F Colin Rolfe (1/12: SuperDraft); MWarren Creavalle (1/12: SuperDraft)

Players Out: F Brian Ching (11/23: expansion draft); MFrancisco Navas Cobo (11/23: waived); GEvan Newton (11/23: waived); F Carlo Costly(11/24: option declined); D Hunter Freeman(12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/Colorado); F Jason Garey (12/12: option declined); D Eddie Robinson (1/11: retired); M Danny Cruz (1/20: trade to D.C.)

What is still needed: Depth all around but most pressing need is a couple strikers

Thoughts: I’m not exactly sure what the Dynamo are waiting on here this winter. Possibly the Bring Ching situation shook them more than they thought it would. Only three moves this winter and two of them came from the SuperDraft. That isn’t enough at all for a club that will have additional games on their slate this season with the CCL. Even with the new format of that tournament it will still be more games to deal with than what they have had the last couple of seasons. The good news in all of this though is the club has to have plenty of cap space. Nearly all the players they lost this winter took up plenty of caps space, especially Costly, Ching and Freeman. For now this club feels incomplete but I don’t like giving out those kinds of grades.

Grade: D-

Montreal Impact

Players In: D Nelson Rivas (10/3: free/Inter Milan, Italy); G Evan Bush (10/21: NASL Impact); DSinisa Ubiparipovic (11/1: NASL Impact); M Hassoun Camara (11/3: NASL Impact); D Jeb Brovsky (11/23: expansion draft); DBobby Burling (11/23: expansion draft); F Brian Ching (11/23: expansion draft); D Josh Gardner (11/23: expansion draft); M Justin Mapp (11/23: expansion draft); M Sanna Nyassi (11/23: expansion draft); D James Riley (11/23: expansion draft); D Seth Sinovic (11/23: expansion draft); M Collen Warner (11/23: expansion draft); D Zarek Valentin (11/23: expansion draft); F Justin Braun (11/23: trade from Chivas USA); M Gerson Mayen (11/23: trade from Chivas USA); D Tyson Wahl (11/23: trade from Seattle Sounders); M Bryan Arguez (11/25: free/Ft. Lauderdale Strikers);  M Davy Arnaud (11/28: trade from Sporting KC); G Donovan Ricketts(11/28: trade from LA); M Ian Westlake (12/5: NASL Impact); M Miguel Montaño (12/7: free/Seattle); G Greg Sutton (12/9: free/New York); M Patrice Bernier (12/19: free/Lyngby); M Felipe Martins (12/21: free/FC Lugano); D/FAndrew Wenger (1/12: SuperDraft); M Calum Mallace (1/12: SuperDraft); D Geinier García(1/17: trade from Vancouver); D Shavar Thomas (1/20: free)

Players out: D James Riley (11/23: trade to Chivas USA); D Seth Sinovic (11/28: trade to Sporting KC)

What is still needed: That big-named player they’ve been talking about for weeks would be nice.

Thoughts: For an expansion team, this club sort of feels like the Seattle Sounders when they came into the league. Smart moves, a couple risky ones and enough MLS guys that could make this club very watchable in year one. They are young for the most part but talented enough that they could surprise some people. If they can get that big DP signing that they have been claiming to have on the radar before the season starts then this grade could end up being higher. But overall I can’t fault them too much for what they have done thus far.

Grade: B+

New England Revolution

Players In: D Danleigh Borman (12/5: Re-Entry Stage 1/Toronto); F Nate Jaqua (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/Seattle); M Clyde Simms (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/D.C. United); D John Lozano(1/9: free/América de Cali); M/F Fernando Cárdenas (1/9: free/América de Cali); M Kelyn Rowe (1/12: SuperDraft); D Tyler Polak (1/12: SuperDraft); F Jose Moreno (2/2 loan/Once Caldes)

Players Out: F Alan Koger (11/23: waived); D Otto Loewy (11/23: waived); M Andrew Sousa (11/23: waived); F Milton Caraglio(11/30: option declined); F Monsef Zerka(11/30: option declined); D Ryan Cochrane(12/1: option declined); M Franco Coria (12/1: option declined); M Pat Phelan (12/1: option declined); F Kheli Dube (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/Chicago); F Rajko Lekic (1/31: free/Lyngby)

What is still needed: A go-to striker with experience (Moreno may be that guy), and some depth on the wings

Thoughts: Jay Heaps has done a decent job so far this winter are building his roster. He cut a lot of fat and made some interesting calls early on. Re-signing Shalrie Joseph to a DP deal was fairly smart and if his three Colombian players can pan out like others have in this league then he could have a competitive team in 2012. I still have a ton of reservations about this club though for this season. I want to like what they have done this winter but I have a feeling it won’t be nearly enough to be a playoff side. They are too young in some places and we still don’t know how well this offense will actually be.

Grade: D+

New York Red Bulls

Players In: D Connor Lade (12/5: Home Grown); D Jonathan Borrajo (1/5: free/Hamarkameratene); D Markus Holgersson (1/12: free/Helsingborg); F Kenny Cooper (1/12: trade from Portland); G Ryan Meara (1/12: SuperDraft);  G Jeremy Vuolo (1/25: free/AC Oulu); D Wilman Conde (1/30: rights from Chicago)

Players Out: G Alex Horwath (11/23: waived); DMychal Jones (11/23: waived); D Tyler Lassiter (11/23: waived); M Marcos Paullo (11/23: waived); M John Rooney (11/23: waived); D Teddy Schneider (11/23: waived); DCarlos Mendes (Re-Entry Stage 1/Columbus); D Chris Albright (12/12: option declined); GBouna Coundoul (12/12: option declined); DTim Ream (1/26: transfer/Bolton Wanderers)

What is still needed: A goalkeeper with plenty of good experience, defensive cover, depth in the midfield

Thoughts: The Conde-Holgersson combo in the back could be good. Keyword there is could. I do think it is a step in the right direction though for this season. You have to imagine it will still be a high expectation season for Hans Backe and these Red Bulls though. The depth is still an issue but is getting better. It still comes down to their goalkeeper situation for me though, it hasn’t gotten any better and don’t think for a moment that Vuolo is the right answer there. He’s decent but not nearly decent enough if the club goes through some growing pains with this new defense.

Grade: B-

Philadelphia Union

Players In: M Nizar Khalfan (11/23: waiver draft/Vancouver); F Josué Martínez (12/7: transfer, Deportivo Saprissa); M Jimmy McLaughlin (12/12: Home Grown); M Gabriel Gómez (12/21: Indios/Mexico); D PorfirioLópez (12/22: Dalian Haichang/China); FChandler Hoffman (1/12: SuperDraft); M Greg Jordan (1/12: SuperDraft); D Raymon Gaddis(1/12: SuperDraft)

Players Out: D Juan Diego González (11/23: waived); G Thorne Holder (11/23: waived); M Justin Mapp (11/23: expansion draft); G Chase Harrison (12/12: option declined); M Stefani Miglioranzi (12/12: option declined); F Levi Houapeu (1/17: option declined); M Morgan Langley (1/17: option declined); M/D Ryan Richter (1/17: option declined); D Joe Tait(1/17: option declined); F Veljko Paunovic (1/18: retired); G Faryd Mondragón (1/30: released); F Sébastien Le Toux (1/30: trade to Vancouver); M Kyle Nakazawa (2/1: trade to LA)

What is still needed: Backup goalkeeper, some depth in the midfield and in defense

Thoughts: What a difference a couple days makes for a club like this. Losing Mondragon and Le Toux in one day was rough. Peter Nowak is committing to the youth movement in a big way and I don’t mind it really. I know fans are attached to players like Le Toux but give it some time and it should all work out. I do like their other moves with Martinez and Gomez coming on board. Lopez should also be an interesting player to watch while Hoffman and Gaddis should be able to contribute in their rookie seasons. Adding some depth behind Zac MacMath has to be done before the start of the season though. That is a huge area of concern.

Grade: C

Sporting Kansas City

Players In: D Seth Sinovic (11/28: trade from Montreal); M Paulo Nagamura (11/29: trade from Chivas USA); M/D Bobby Convey (12/2: trade from San Jose); F Dom Dwyer (1/12: SuperDraft); DCyprian Hedrik (1/12: SuperDraft); M Michael Thomas (1/18); F Jacob Peterson (1/19: free/San Jose Earthquakes)

Players Out: M Davy Arnaud (11/28: trade to Montreal); M Jéferson (11/23: waived); D Scott Lorenz (11/23: waived); M Craig Rocastle(11/23: waived); D Seth Sinovic (11/23: expansion draft) M Milos Stojcev (11/23: waived); F Omar Bravo (12/12: Cruz Azul/Mexico); D Shavar Thomas (12/12: option declined)

What is still needed: More defensive depth and cover

Thoughts: I still have to think that the Eastern Conference will go through KC this season. I’ve really enjoyed the moves that Peter Vermes has made this season. Their defense should be better while their offense will be just as tough, if not tougher in 2012. Convey should be a fun addition to watch. I do still have concerns about their defense going into 2012. I think they need at least one or two more moves in that area to ease my mind a bit. Also, this club will have to get mentally tougher in 2012 as they lost a lot of games late due to lack of maturity. Still, overall, not a bad winter.

Grade: B

Toronto FC

Players In: D Jeremy Hall (11/29: trade from Dallas); M Reggie Lambe (12/7: free/Ipswich Town); M Luis Silva (1/12: SuperDraft); D Aaron Maund(1/12: SuperDraft); D Geovanny Caicedo(1/26: LDU Quito); D Miguel Aceval (1/30: Universidad de Concepción)

Players out: D Kyle Davies (11/23: waived); M Matt Gold (11/23: waived); M Leandre Griffit (11/23: waived); F Javier Martina (11/23: waived); DDemitrius Omphroy (11/23: waived); D Eddy Viator (11/23: waived); M Gianluca Zavarise(11/23: waived); D Danleigh Borman (12/5: Re-Entry Stage 1/New England); M Nathan Sturgis(12/29: Trade to Houston) F Mikael Yourassowsky (1/18: waived); D Andy Iro(1/20: declined extension); F Peri Marosevic(1/20: declined extension)

What is still needed: Some depth up top behind Koevermans

Thoughts: Is this going to be a playoff team in 2012? Time will tell on that one but one thing is clear, this club is much better than before. Smart moves this winter that followed the smart moves that took place late last year. They seem to have brought in some defenders that they are very high on in Aceval and Caicedo. If those two moves pan out, then expect huge things from this side in 2012. Aron Winter is certainly taking this club places and its nice to see the management there give him the time and freedom to do it.

Grade: B

Arturo Alvarez was picked up by Chivas USA. (Getty Images)

The first stage of the 2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft has come and gone with a bang. Only three players were selected in the first stage today as 16 clubs passed on their selection.

The terms of the first stage mean the three players selected today, their new teams will have honor their current contracts or offer them a 5 percent raise over what they made last year if they are currently out of contract. Stage 2 of the draft will take place next Monday and is expected to be more active, as teams can renegotiate the players’ contracts.

Danleigh Boreman was selected first by the New England Revolution. The outside back/midfielder spent most of the 2011 season with Toronto FC after being traded to the Reds from the New York Red Bulls. The speedster should add some quality depth to Jay Heaps’ roster. Last year, he made the league minimum ($42,000), one should expect him to get a small bump in pay with the Revs.

Chivas USA selected journeyman Arturo Alvarez next in the draft. This was certainly the most surprising pick of the first stage as Alvarez made close to $200,000 last year with Real Salt Lake.

Lastly, the Columbus Crew selected defender Carlos Mendes. The veteran defender made $100,000 last year with the Red Bulls and should be a nice pickup for the Crew.

Jay Heaps is now the new boss of the New England Revolution (photo via Boston Globe)

It didn’t take the New England Revolution that long to find a replacement for Steve Nicol. Today the club announced the hiring of former defender Jay Heaps as their next manager.

The 35-year old Heaps is just two years removed from playing for the Revolution, where he spent 11 seasons. He becomes the second youngest active head coach in the league (Ben Olsen is the youngest).

“I am thrilled to accept this position,” Heaps said. “Throughout my playing career and with my involvement with the team after I retired, I’ve made no secret about my commitment to the Revolution, and I’m honored to be entrusted with this responsibility as head coach. I’d like to thank the Kraft family, Brian Bilello and Mike Burns for believing in me, and in the vision I have for the club as we move ahead. We have a strong base to build on, but we also have a lot of work to do as we look ahead to 2012.”

One positive of this move is that Heaps knows the Revolution in and out. He spent 11 years with the club and the last two in the broadcast booth or as a club ambassador.

But it all will come down to how much money is actually put into helping Heaps make this club a winner again. Time will tell if this is a good move or not. I mentioned on Twitter earlier this morning that this move feels like a big gamble for the club. Heaps has no coaching experience, similar to others that have stepped up into the head coaching role around the league. It feels more like a gamble like when Real Salt Lake hired Jason Kreis.

Lucky for Heaps, I think the expectations have to be fairly low for him and the club next year so anything more than 30 points in the season should be deemed at least some progress.

Twellman went on to explain in the article that he was seeing double and at some point he was completely helpless. Yes, helpless.

Steve Nicol did a lot in New England but the last couple years weren't enough. (Getty Images)

This is news we have to say we saw coming a long time ago. The writing was pretty much on the wall last year, if not the year before that, and it most certainly came full circle this season. The New England Revolution announced today that they have mutually parted ways with long-time manager Steve Nicol.

Nicol leaves the Revolution after 10 seasons, a league record for tenure with a single club. He posted a career record of 112-108-81, ranking second in MLS in overall career games coached (301) and fourth in wins.

Nicol took the Revolution to six successive MLS Eastern Conference Championship matches from 2002 through 2007, winning four to advance to MLS Cup four times: 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2007. He also led the team to its first-ever cup championship, the 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, as well as the SuperLiga 2008 crown to become the only MLS team to win the tournament.

“Robert and I met with Stevie today and we had a productive discussion about this past season and the direction the club needs to go in the future,” said Jonathan Kraft. “We all agreed a change of direction was needed to reverse the trend of the past couple of years. Stevie was a successful head coach and a tremendous ambassador for the Revolution for the past decade and set a high standard for success, leading us to four conference titles in six years. We thank him for all of his contributions.”

The downward trend the Revs had over the last two seasons was the worst in MLS. New England had 60 points in 64 matches between the 2010 and 2011 seasons.

I talked a lot this season about how the Revs were trending in the wrong direction and how Nicol was on the hot seat. After having the worst record in the league, the club did the wise thing to make this change. Mutual or not, it was a move that needed to happen. Over the last three or so seasons, the Revs have in a way been passed up by newcomers in the league. With the owners not willing to spend enough resources on the club, Nicol’s job became more difficult and in a way too much to overcome.

The biggest thing though in this is once Paul Mariner left the Revs, the club went into a decline. I’m not saying he was the sole reason why Nicol and the club did well all of those years, but the partnership between the two was the best in the league.

Who the Revs move on to will be a big question this fall and winter. I would say a move needs to be made quickly with the expansion draft coming up. A couple names pop up like former FC Dallas manager Colin Clark and current LA assistant manager Dave Sarachan.

New England has some tough decisions to make in regards to the expansion draft. (Getty Images)

It may be the final week of the season but we are moving on in the 2011 Expansion Draft lists here. I’ve already covered the Vancouver Whitecaps and now I will tackle another club that is out of contention – the New England Revolution.

The Revs have struggled a lot this season and will likely be in rebuilding mode yet again this winter. It will be interesting to see if Steve Nicol keeps his job as head coach or if this will be the year he and the club part ways.

Either way here are the 11 players I see getting the protection stamp placed on them.

1. Kevin Alston – Young, talented defender that Montreal’s Jesse Marsch would probably take in a heartbeat if he were available.

2. Darrius Barnes – Kind of in the same boat as Alston. Quality defender, cheap and worth taking if available.

3. Milton Caraglio – Their lone DP, he’ll be saved no matter what.

4. Benny Feilhaber – Expensive sure, but he is too valuable to this club as long as he remains in MLS. Pretty sure Marsch would take him if he were available – even at his crazy $300k salary.

5. AJ Soares – Another young, cheap defender that has to be kept.

6. Sainey Nyassi – He was saved last year and his international status will likely save him again.

7. Rajko Lekic – He’s pricy at $275k but he’s an international that you have to save.

8. Ryan Guy – Another cheap player, I can see him being a part of this club next season.

9. Franco Coria – International, he’s gonna get saved.

10. Bobby Shuttlesworth – He’s the younger of the two keepers and for that I’m saving him over Matt Reis.

11. Shalrie Joseph – Okay, let me explain this one. You have to save him even if this is his last year with the Revs (he stated it would be earlier this year). For one you don’t want to just give him up for nothing here in the expansion draft. If anything, you get rid of him via a trade (depending on his contract of course).

Protected list due to GA or Home Grown Status:

• Diego Fagundez

Exposed List:

• Matt Reis
• Zach Schilawski
• Zak Boggs
• Chris Tierney
• Kheli Dube
• Otto Loewy
• Kenny Mansally
• Alan Koger
• Monsef Zerka
• Andrew Sousa
• Stephen McCarthy
• Pat Phalen
• Ryan Kinne
• Tim Murry
• Ryan Cochrane

Notes: Okay, the Revs are tricky because they have quite a few guys that they could just get rid of right now. Being the worst club in the league this season (it’s still possible if they don’t win their final game this weekend) means you need to blow up the roster a bit. You could make the case to save Cochrane, Reis, Phalen, McCarthy, or someone else but really, if you lose them it isn’t a huge deal in the end. It will be interesting to see which internationals they do save – as you do have to save a certain amount.

As far as saving one keeper of the other, it really comes down to who they value more. I know Reis has been there forever but he also makes close to $200k – something an expansion club will likely stay away from. I can see Montreal going after a foreign keeper as it is anyways. I just had a hunch about that. Last year the Revs saved both Reis and Shuttlesworth, mostly because there were two clubs picking. With only one doing the picking this season, they can afford to put one on the unprotected list. If it were me, I’d place them both on there and save someone else. But again, that is just me.

Philadelphia hosts rivals New England tonight. (Getty Images)

I will try to keep this one fairly brief. Both the New England Revolution and the Philadelphia Union come into tonight’s midweek clash a bit on the downside. Neither club has come into this match on a hot streak of any kind.

But here we are, with at least the Union in playoff contention at the moment. Games like this are increasingly more valuable as we go on here into the last part of the season. A win tonight for Philadelphia puts them back into the automatic bid in the Eastern Conference. They’ll need a huge game out of rookie keeper Zac MacMath, who is in for the injured Faryd Mondragon.

New England is in spoiler mode for me at the moment. Sitting at the bottom of the East, they could present a challenge tonight for the Union but that’s only if the Union fail to show up here. Philly has to keep an eye on young DP Milton Caragilo, he’s looked good so far in a Revs uniform.

WVH Prediction: Philadelphia 2, New England 1