New England: A Couple Pieces from Greatness?

It's part of what we all want, isn't it, in our sadness?

I read an article by the The Armchair Analyst, Matt Doyle, in which he broke down the transfer-window needs of every team in Major League Soccer. What he wrote about New York City FC, in particular, really caught my eye:

"Work the phones trying to unload one of their youngish guys with potential (Steven Mendoza, Patrick Mullins, Khiry Shelton) or – if anybody wants him – midfielder Mix Diskerud for a starting-caliber center back."

First of all, Mix...how do you feel about an opportunity where part of the compensation includes an opportunity to get out from under that inflated contract? If so, we can talk. If not...

Odd as it might be to argue this the week after a team picked up an encouragingly comprehensive win, but, if you switch around a couple names, that same argument applies to the New England Revolution and, as I see it, with bells on. Doyle's piece goes on to argue in favor of bringing back an out-of-contract A. J. Soares, but that's just something I'd encourage most MLS teams to consider (yes, even Portland).

New England Revolution 2015 Season Preview: Strength to (More) Strength

Lee Nguyen is the large brown dot, presumably.

What Happened Last Year
Well, there was MLS Cup. The New England Revolution didn't come close as they did in, say, 2006, when Taylor Twellman scored a goal in extra time, curse broken, etc., only to have Brian Ching cancel it out, literally, a few minutes later (Oh, holy memories, Batman! Joey Franchino taking the field, Clint Dempsey in a Revs jersey, Pat Noonan...Khano Smith...on the assist? Wowsers!). Gawd, to think Seattle bitches about their bad luck (fuckers). At any rate, New England fielded a deceptively exciting squad in 2014 (deceptively, because see their stats), that featured this weird amoebic attack that flowed largely through Lee Nguyen's career season. My memory tells me most the chatter started a year prior when Diego Fagundez and Kelyn Rowe ripped it up, with Juan Agudelo up top (more later), but there they were in 2014, with former forward Teal Bunbury converted to a wide player, Charlie Davies returning to a big stage, Jose Concalves paired with A.J Soares in a fairly effective backline. There was also the mid-season controversy/season-turning signing of Jermaine Jones, too, which arguably catapulted the Revs into MLS Cup. Yep, with so many players popping up on top-of-the-league lists and a deep, exciting run into the playoffs, it was a good year in New England.
Final Stats: 17-13-4, 55 points, 2nd in the East; 51 gf, 46 ga (+5 differential? Seriously?)