On Wednesday, the New England Revolution signed Andrew Farrell to a long-term extension. Amid an exciting rebuild of a talented roster, signing a key player and high-character leader is crucial.
The New England Revolution are building something new under head coach Bruce Arena. After sacking Brad Friedel early last season, following years of neglect and being overlooked, Robert Kraft has decided to finally invest in his team.
It started with Carles Gil, a new playmaker who proved himself to be among the best attacking midfielders in Major League Soccer. Gustavo Bou was added later in the year, the attacker immediately displaying his value with nine goals in 14 games. Then in the offseason, Arena continued to add to the team.
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The Revolution added a third Designated Player, something that is not renowned in their parts, in centre-forward Adam Buksa. The Polish goalscorer scored once in the opening two matches of the 2020 season, showing excellent sharpness and skill to beat the Chicago Fire defence and lash home from within the penalty area.
However, while Arena has looked retool the entire squad, the need for continuity remains. Building a new team is not about conducting an entire overhaul but instead adding the right players to fit into a system, slowly building the talent base available to the head coach. Cohesion is crucial in a team and signing 11 new players rarely goes well.
That is why it is important that the Revolution signed central defender Andrew Farrell to a long-term extension this week. The defender has been ever-present for New England in recent seasons. And now he is set to play a key role moving forward.
In a statement, Arena heralded Farrell’s impact, on and off the pitch:
Our friends @SpOlympicsMA have some exciting news to share about @2Fast2Farrell ‼️ #NERevs pic.twitter.com/sO4AOYjgXr
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) June 24, 2020
"“Andrew Farrell has been an outstanding player and person for the Revolution over the past seven years. He is a great leader and representative for our club, and has proved to be a durable and consistent player throughout his career. We are pleased that Andrew will remain a Revolution player for many years to come.”"
Farrell is hugely experienced. He has totalled 19,511 minutes played across 221 appearances in his MLS career. He is almost certain to break the New England Revolution record for the most minutes played in MLS and he played in 90% of the team’s total regular-season minutes from 2013 to 2019. Moreover, since 2013, he leads all outfield players in the entire league in regular-season appearances and games started.
He knows the Revolution innately, is embedded with the club and fanbase, and is well-respected in the dressing room. It is easy to overlook these things, but as New England look to rebuild their squad by adding elite-level talent, having continuity and consistency in other areas is equally as important. Farrell provides precisely that.
An oft-overlooked contributor in the league, Farrell is a New England Revolution stalwart and his contract extension is key for Arena’s project.