In an Athletic article in 2019, written up by Dan Barbarisi, Scott Caldwell was called the Team “Dad”. They break it down through a few quotes from Andrew Farrell, Turner and himself. Turner goes on to speak about the fact that the new players get books on financing. As well, the vets know to go to Caldwell with their taxes and other financial needs. Beyond all that, he also has a house that he rented to players.
Well, sadly, the team is going to have to find a new “Dad”. Scott had been left out-of-contract by the Revolution at the end of the 2021 season. Had been hearing that he just wanted to play but the Revolution weren’t offering a contract. For me, it was only a matter of time that we would hear an announcement. Surely enough, a tweet by Jeff Carlisle, a soccer columnist for ESPN, noted on Tuesday, January 4th that Caldwell would be headed to Real Salt Lake. The newlywed Scotty would no longer call New England his home. What is better than a restart in a new city with your new wife?
Club Legend? His Tenure Says Yes
The Revolution central midfielder held together the team with tough tackles and blocks throughout his stay in New England. Caldwell started 175 regular season MLS matches. Scott logged over 15,000 minutes with the Revolution in 229 matches. On top of that, the veteran also played in 13 MLS Cup Playoffs matches, including the entire 2014 run to the MLS Cup Final. He turned in close to 1,000 minutes in those matches. As well, he shared the glory by way of assist on two goals, in two of the five 2014 playoff games.
Over the nine regular seasons in MLS, the team “Dad” managed to score five goals and assist on 18 more. For a player who usually plays a deeper, central defensive midfielder role, this is very decent. As well, he generally keeps an 80 percent or higher pass accuracy. This places him within the 70 to 75th percentile in the whole league.
With him playing a much more defensive role, over the years, his tackling has been on point. In the recorded stats, he performed winning tackles 50 percent of the time. Caldwell earned 40 clean sheets in the Regular Season over the course of his career with the Revs. In the end, Scotty managed to earn a clean sheet every 384 minutes on average. That’s once every four games, not bad for a CM with major defensive responsibilities.
Caldwell Will Be Missed
Scott has found a way into everyone’s heart here at the New England Revolution. If you were his teammate, you knew he would give his all to help. Jermaine Jones says it best in a quote that the Bent Musket’s Seth Macomber got out of the former Revolution player about Caldwell. “He’s a really humble guy but then on the field he was doing the dirty work for everyone.” A major benefit of having Scott on your team is having a board member of the MLSPA. Someone you can always go to, if you have questions or issues with the league rules. Jones continues on to note that Scotty was the reason Lee Nguyen and Jermaine could rule the midfield.
If you are a fan, you knew Scott would always give his all no matter the circumstances. Caldwell was always one to joke around in the video content that the Revs have made in the past nine years. From what I know, I never saw Caldwell turn down meeting with fans. The player Scott has become over the years here at the club, it’s been great watching the glow up. All the while not worrying about the money, just to continue playing soccer for his local club. Hope he’s getting a decent pay bump.
A Final Farewell
Scott, you were a heart of this team for a number of years. You always performed on the field for your fellow teammates. As well, always for your fans. We’ll miss you here in New England. When you come back home from Salt Lake, expect a big welcome!
To the Real Salt Lake fans, you’re getting a player who will always go above and beyond. He’s the real deal, keep him safe!