Jan. 24, 2008 – Revolution draft Dube, Chris Tierney; lose Noonan to Norway

Two excellent pickups for the Revolution, the day after losing Pat Noonan to Aalesund FK. Dube totaled 14 goals in 72 regular-season games, 18^th on the Revolution scoring list. Tierney’s 214 regular-season matches rank him No. 4 on the team list.

But the Revolution were unable to compensate for the loss of players such as Andy Dorman and Noonan, the team’s demise accelerating. Below es excerpt from my story for The Boston Globe 1/24/2008 editions:

Noonan leaves Revolution for Europe

Pat Noonan became the second Revolution player to depart for Europe on a free transfer this winter, joining Aalesund FK in Norway yesterday.

Noonan, the Revolution’s No. 2 all-time scorer (46 goals in all competitions), and Andy Dorman (now with St. Mirren in Scotland) tied for second on the team with seven regular-season goals last season.

Noonan, 27, signed a four-year contract worth $225,000 annually before last season, but the Revolution did not pick up the option, allowing him to become a free agent. He signed a three-year deal with Aalesund FK worth more than $400,000 annually.

“We wanted to restructure his contract and he didn’t particularly agree with that,” coach Steve Nicol said of Noonan. “We knew it was a bit of a risk, but we felt it was something we had to do. We didn’t do it without thinking about things. But it’s the type of game where things are constantly on the move and things are changing, whether it’s Pat or me or anyone else. Things move along and that’s the nature of the game. If you look at our roster the last three or four years, there have been subtle changes. But at the end of the season Dorman wasn’t playing, and we will have nine of the 11 who started in the MLS Cup coming back. Pat was a great guy to have in the dressing room, but we still have a real strong presence there.”

Adam Cristman, 23, and Abdoulie Ken Mansally, who played for Gambia’s Under-20 national team, will compete for the second striker spot alongside Taylor Twellman. Forward Jose Angulo, 20, has also been claimed as a discovery player.

Aalesund previously imported former Revolution players Paulo Dos Santos (2000) and Adin Brown (2004), now the team’s starting goalkeeper, on free transfers.

TODAY IN NE SOCCER HISTORY