FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England midfielder Wells Thompson would have struggled to improve on 2007.
Thompson's statistical line during that campaign: 27 appearances, 11 starts and four playoff starts, including a trip to MLS Cup. Not bad for a rookie winger out of Wake Forest.
"My first year was almost as good as it got when we went to the championship game," Thompson said.
The only problem with starting off well is the need to come up with an encore. By the statistics, Thompson regressed a bit in 2008 after making 19 appearances, eight starts and two cameo appearances. In this case, the stats reflect Thompson's slip down the pecking order.
Thompson's problems started during preseason after he picked up a heel injury. Instead of preparing his encore and improving his game, Thompson hobbled into the start of the season by missing the first four games.
By the time Thompson got healthy, Sainey Nyassi had entrenched himself in Thompson's right midfield spot.
"It's important that you start well," Revolution coach Steve Nicol said. "Sainey started well and there's somebody else in [Thompson's] place. That's the way it goes. If Sainey's doing well, it's up to the other guy to do better."
Nyassi's emergence left Thompson on the bench, resigned to making the occasional substitute appearance. When he earned his opportunities, Thompson didn't do enough to dislodge the speedy Gambian from the lineup.
"He had a couple of opportunities during the season," Nicol said. "As far as we're concerned, he didn't take them. That's the way it is."
After a solid rookie season, the Revolution coaching staff expected Thompson to continue his improvement during the 2008 campaign. Thompson didn't progress as robustly as the team would have hoped, with Nicol particularly citing Thompson's need to improve his passing.
"There's no doubt he can run at players and take people on, but there are other parts to his game that need to be better in order for him to be playing on a regular basis," Nicol said.
Thompson said he hadn't discussed what he needs to do to regain his spot in the lineup, but thinks he needs to improve on his consistency in order to carve out more playing time in 2009.
"We haven't sat down and talked about it too much," Thompson said. "It's just the little things and doing them on a consistent basis. I can do it, but it's whether I do it day-in, day-out. I need to work on my crossing game with my left foot. When you get to this level, it's the little things that separate the good players from the great players."
A new season brings a new opportunity for Thompson to stake his claim for a place in the team. This year, Thompson has managed to avoid injury in the opening stages of camp in order to give himself a better chance. Nicol said Thompson needs to stay off the treatment table and play well during preseason to vie for playing time.
"Every year starts the same," Nicol said. "Everybody has to prove what they can do and show what they can do on the field. It's up to us to give him a fair crack of the whip. That's the biggest thing. If it has to do with working hard, then he'll make it. He's been working his socks off."
Thompson said he has faith that he can force his way into the starting lineup and return to the form he showed during his first season.
"Last year, I didn't get to play as much as I wanted to play," Thompson said. "That's the last thing I want to do this year. I feel like I belong out there. I want to be out there. I will do whatever I can to fight hard to get my spot back."
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