The top two teams in MLS will meet at Crew Stadium this weekend when Columbus hosts the New England Revolution. Shawn Mitchell generously labels it “the most anticipated Major League Soccer game of the week, perhaps even the season,” although New England, who will head to Ohio trying to forget the 4-0 home spanking by Joe Public in the Concacaf Champions League, doesn’t exactly look like a team in form.
“Those [Concacaf] results don’t look good for MLS,” Crew coach Sigi Schmid said, referring also to Chivas USA’s elimination by Tauro FC of Panama. But he implies that New England’s cautious team selection and the limitations of the MLS roster size were behind the defeat, and that the midweek result will have no bearing on Saturday’s game. “Joe Public basically brought a team together and all they have been focused on is [the Concacaf league],” he said. Crew technical director Brian Bliss added: “I think if New England would have had its full complement of players, it would have gotten through the series.”
The Crew hopes to qualify for the Champions League and SuperLiga next year, but Schmid says he would need a bigger roster to cope with the extra games. “The 18-man [senior] roster needs to be expanded,” Schmid said. “I think there are players in [the minor leagues] who are better than some players who are developmental MLS players. The depth is not there.”