Revolution Notebook: Club Legend Brad Knighton Hangs It Up
New England Goalkeeper Calls It A Career, Club Getting Active As Offseason Ends
Many fans were wondering what the future was for goalkeeper Brad Knighton and on Wednesday things became clear. Knighton announced his retirement from soccer after an impressive 16-year career, 12 of which came with the New England Revolution.
Knighton won’t be going anywhere however as he will be joining Revolution Academy’s U-17 team has its head coach. He earned his U.S. Soccer “B” coaching license during his playing career which he put to use throughout his career. Knighton served as an assistant coach for Wheaton College’s women’s soccer team from 2007-09.
Knighton was a fixture in New England for the last decade appearing in 52 regular season matches and a 1.70 goals against average which ranks fourth in club history.
Back in 2006 Knighton came into Revolution training camp after earning an invite after a invite only combine that he partially got an invite because his college coach was former Revs keeper Aiden Heaney. After earning an invite to preseason training in Bermuda he was able to beat out a drafted goalkeeper for the position and decided to come out of college before finishing his degree to play professionally.
When looking at social media it is clear to see Knighton is beloved by the fans. During his final media availability he called the response to his retirement “incredible” and reflected on his entire career. Ultimately its great to se Knighton sticking around with the club and New England continuing to fill its ranks with alumni.
Revolution Reportedly Very Active
Officially the Revolution have only announced one addition this week with the acquisition of Latif Blessing. That being said the reports of further additions are adding up.
Per Seth Macomber of The Bent Musket the Revolution are acquiring center back Dave Romney from Nashville SC.
Following up was Tom Bogert of MLS Soccer confirmed the report stating the deal is worth $525,000 in General Allocation Money. The 29-year-old would fit the bill as a center back upgrade and a clear starting caliber candidate having started 86 matches for Nashville in the past three seasons. It will be very interesting to see how the CB position shakes out in preseason between Romney, Henry Kessler, and Andrew Farrell.
It’s worth noting that Romney played under Bruce Arena during his time with the LA Galaxy.
Another rumored move is the resigning of Carles Gil’s brother Nacho Gil which was first reported by Caleb Pongratz and later confirmed by various outlets.
Another smart move by New England with Nacho impressing in his brief tenure with the club at the end of the 2022 MLS season.
Both of these moves have not been confirmed by the club yet.
Worst Signing In Club History
Omonoia FC of Cypriot First Division announced on Wednesday that midfielder Ismael Tajouri-Shradi had signed a 1.5 year deal with the club.
New England paid $400,000 in GAM to LAFC to acquire Tajouri-Shradi last season and he wasn’t able to play a single minute with the club due to injury. The Revolution cut their losses with the player by declining the team option for 2023. At the time it looked like an overpay given he had only played 161 minutes in 2022 and was already dealing with injuries but now it looks like one of the worst moves in club history.
New England will start preseason operations next week. More to come on Trifecta Sports, make sure to subscribe for more great Revolution content going forward.