Gershon Koffie has been touted to fill the Jermaine Jones sized hole in the Revs midfield, but is he up to the challenge? Photo Credit: Kari Heistad
Foxboro, MA — When Gershon Koffie limped off in the 27th minute of the New England Revolution’s game against FC Dallas the collective hearts of Revolution fans sank. In a season already underpinned by injuries to key defensive and offensive players, this would be a major blow.
In the 25th minute of the game, Koffie rose above Tesho Akindele to win a header, and came down awkwardly on his right leg, his knee buckling beneath him in the process. “That was a tough one for us” lamented New England head coach Jay Heaps “he [Koffie] makes the game for us a bit more physical, his presence was certainly missed.”
Ghanaian-born Koffie has been a fixture in the Revolution’s midfield since joining from the Vancouver Whitecaps. When he joined Vancouver as a 19 year old he was widely regarded as a promising midfielder who would potentially move to Europe one day — a future mooted for most teenagers who perform well in MLS. He was described as a midfielder who could grab the game by the scruff of the neck and dictate the play from the middle of the field — something the Revs would miss given Jermaine Jones’ departure.
A lot of the focus post-FC Dallas in the locker room after the game was how the Revs will miss Koffie, rather than how will they cope without him. Revs fans may not know it at this moment, but they are better prepared than they think to survive a lengthy Koffie-less period.
Here are some New England Revolution central midfield statistics; Player A, and Player B.
Offensive stats:
Player A: 10 key passes, 1 assist, 11 chances created, 86% of passes completed.
Player B: 2 key passes, 2 assists, 4 chances created, 83% of passes completed.
Defensive stats:
Player A: 48.65% total duels (aerial and ground) won, 10 fouls committed, 1 yellow card, 0 red cards, 14 clearances, 27 interceptions.
Player B: 44.92% total duels (aerial and ground) won, 22 fouls committed, 4 yellow cards, 1 red card, 11 clearances, 28 interceptions.
No prizes for guessing whom is whom — player A is Steven Caldwell, and player B is Gershon Koffie — the defensive statistics alone give it away, but the offensive stats should be eyeopening to Revolution fans who think that Koffie is invaluable to this Revolution side.
Things much talked about from Gershon Koffie’s time in Vancouver are consistency and potential. The thought in Vancouver was that “Gersh” would be playing in Europe by now — he’s 24 —, but by the end of his tenure in Vancouver the thought of European soccer was now an afterthought. Now? The hope is that Koffie might fulfill his potential.
The last time Gershon Koffie outperformed his central midfield partner was when Scott Caldwell was benched in favor of Daigo Kobayashi. Scott Caldwell has quietly had a very important season for New England, emerging as the lynchpin in a Revs team that has had to deal with injuries to important players, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
According to WhoScored.com Gershon Koffie has outperformed Caldwell on just a handful of occasions. This is largely due to his erratic play on defense, picking up 4 yellow cards and a red, forcing him to play a watered down version of his game.
Caldwell has more of a measured approach to his defensive game. He wins more tackles, he attempts more tackles, and he has been cautioned just once this season so far. The misconception is that Caldwell allows Koffie to dictate the play, and while the Ghanian has 2 assists on the year to Caldwell’s 1, he has far less key passes, and less chances created.
Koffie is just 11 games into his Revolution career so it may seem a little unfair to judge him so quickly, but when you’re filling shoes as big as Jermaine Jones, and coming with a reputation like “Gersh” brought with him from the Whitecaps, you have large shoes to fill.
The Revolution’s defensive woes are apparent, which is perhaps why Jay Heaps continues to play two defensive midfielders to protect the inexperienced Sambinha and the rest of his beaten-up back line. Perhaps there would be less pressure on Koffie to protect his defense had the Revs splurged on trading for Laurent Ciman and not Kei Kamara.
Things surrounding Koffie’s injury will become clearer as the week goes on — he left the locker room limping, but not on crutches — as New England gets ready to host Clint Dempsey, and Jordan Morris among others when the Seattle Sounders come to town this coming Saturday.
Right now Scott Caldwell plays the “Koffie” role better than Koffie plays it. For a team with just two wins on the season and an apparent desire to score more than concede (see the Kei Kamara trade, again), perhaps it would behoove them to play the much more creative, and versatile Kelyn Rowe in the center of midfield alongside Scott Caldwell.
Follow on twitter: @scottnicholls
