New England Revolution: Lee Nguyen trade shows who’s boss
The New England Revolution traded star midfielder Lee Nguyen to LAFC for Allocation Money and potential picks on deadline day. The trade shows everyone who’s boss: Brad Friedel.
Being a new head coach at a new team is never an easy thing to do. Even when that team is struggling and is in need of a fresh, culture-changing approach, there are still traditions and processes and elements of the club that the new manager will have friction against.
These problems are only accentuated when the new head coach in question is a young and inexperienced one. Even if they are an established and revered player, that does not mean that they will command the same respect when they are in the dugout, especially if things start to go a little awry.
Related Story: New England Revolution trade Lee Nguyen: Reaction and best moments
The issue of power is one that many young managers struggle. Obviously, complete and unchallenged power is not hopeful. But the players must listen and react positively to what the manager says. Sometimes, that is not quite so with a less significant figure.
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It can be, then, advantageous for a new manager to make a splash move, whether it be bringing in a certain player, selling a star, establishing their style in the dressing room, cementing their role in the organisation. That is precisely what Brad Friedel has done with Lee Nguyen during his first season at New England Revolution.
The midfielder has been a staple of the Revolution midfield for many years. Even during their wandering in the wilderness, Nguyen was always a glistening oasis. He has over 40 goals and assists for the Revolution — 51 goals and 49 assists in six years, to be precise –, the second player in the club’s history to reach such a mark, and is coming off a third-straight campaign with more than 10 assists, scoring 11 and assisting 15 last year.
He was at the heart of one of the few successful Revolution seasons in recent years in 2014, where he was named to the MLS Team of the Year, was a finalist for League MVP, and scored 20 goals including the MLS Cup playoffs from midfield. Nguyen has been the beating heart of this Revolution team. And he has also been a problem.
He requested a trade in the offseason. He turned up late for training camp. He outwardly wanted to leave and was not especially quiet in making that known throughout the league. For all of his brilliance on the pitch, off it, he was an unwanted and unhelpful distraction. And so, this season, Friedel has not hesitated to show who’s boss.
Nguyen has not been involved in one 18-man, matchday squad this season, has found himself supplanted by Deigo Fangundez in the central-attacking-midfield role, and has been shunted in the shadows at a club that he was previously the shining light of. And now, to add to all that, he has been traded away completely.
Los Angeles FC are the welcome beneficiaries, though they had to pay a pretty penny of $350,000 in General Allocation Money and $350,000 in Target Allocation Money — the fee could reportedly rise to as much as $950,000 with draft picks included if certain clauses are met. It remains to be seen who gets the better of the trade. Nguyen is 31 and LAFC have a number of talented attacking midfielders so it does seem a little strange of them to acquire such a player. But for now, one thing is clear: Friedel is showing everyone in New England that he is boss.
If there was one player who could have gotten away with such offseason behaviour, then it was Nguyen. But Fridel is no-nonsense. He wants players to behave and play in the manner that he dictates. There won’t be many questions asked of his authority now.
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And that is important moving forward. The Revolution, its players and its coaches, can now unite behind a manager who is having a positive effect on the team. They know that if they aren’t, then they won’t be at the club much longer. They know who’s boss, and that is a very good thing indeed.