Pat Noonan was eyeing Saturday's match in Columbus as he was set to join the Crew on Aug. 6. When it became apparent at the time that his return to Major League Soccer after six months in Norway would not be with the club he had spent the previous five seasons with, he looked at the schedule and saw two Crew games against Eastern Conference rival New England in September.
Noonan's first meeting with his former team is here this Saturday but the midfielder's focus is on the tight race, not renewing acquaintances. The front-running Crew hold a two-point advantage ahead of the Revolution with eight games left.
"It's a very big game, a possible six-point swing," he said. "We see them one more time (Sept. 27) and a lot of other Eastern Conference teams as well. To be playing at home against the team right behind you is a big win to get. It will be great to see them before and after but for the two hours we're playing in the game you forget about the friendship and you be competitive."
He opted to go overseas after the Revolution offered him a contract below the $225,000 he made in 2007. Noonan, who had 37 goals and 29 assists in 119 appearances for New England, signed with Aalesunds FK of Norway's Tippeligaen. He appeared in only 11 matches for Aalesunds and let his agent know in June he would be willing to return to MLS.
The Revolution still retained his rights and resigned him before trading him to Columbus for the Crew's first pick in the 2009 SuperDraft and allocation money.
New England was two points ahead of the Crew with two games in hand when the deal was struck but has had to endure an arduous schedule of U.S. Open Cup, SuperLiga and CONCACAF Champions League matches in addition to its MLS fixtures.
"They'll be ready to go," Noonan said. "They're exhausted -- anybody who plays that schedule would be -- so maybe we'll get a chance to take advantage of some tired legs. But at the same time maybe they get a little burst of energy going against the team ahead of them and find a way to win. We've got find a way to come out of the gate quick and put them under pressure and wear them down."
While the Revolution were eliminated from the Champions League on Tuesday following a 4-0 loss to Trinidad and Tobago's Joe Public, Crew coach Sigi Schmid is still wary.
"They're an experienced team and obviously by what happened on Tuesday they showed MLS their emphasis is on MLS," he said. "They could care less about the CONCACAF tournament. They obviously had some injuries but they rested key people to play in the MLS games.
"They've won a lot of big games but they haven't won the ultimate crown, which is the MLS Cup. That's something those guys feel very, very hungry to do. They are still the team to beat in the East."
The Crew have won three in a row to take the lead in the chase for the Supporters' Shield. Noonan, though, has seen little of the field as tries to regain top form after a lack of playing time in Norway.
He started and went 58 minutes in his Crew debut Aug. 16 but was a substitute in the next two matches. He has no shots in 101 minutes.
"Obviously, I'd like to be out there from the get-go but I wasn't fit in the first game and you could tell. It was smart to bring me off the bench," Noonan said. "The two games I came off the bench we were winning so it was more defensive-minded so there's not going to be a whole lot of offensive output in those types of games, late in the game. I understand the decision and I'm behind it because I wouldn't be starting, either, if I wasn't 100 percent fit. As long as we're winning games, that's all that matters."
Schmid is not concerned, either.
"He's a good player and good players find their way on the field," the coach said. "It's not so much the fitness. It's the sharpness. When you don't really play first-team football for awhile -- he was really spot playing a little bit -- it takes awhile to get your sharpness and timing back and emotionally what he went through probably takes a little time.
"It's not like he's struggling with any of that but I've found that if you're rushing a player at that point that what you usually get is a guy that's injured or not performing the way he wants to and gets frustrated. That's not good for anybody."
Noonan admits being in the starting lineup against his ex-teammates would be special.
"Absolutely. You want to play against them and battle against them the entire game and have a laugh afterwards but whether it's 90 minutes or five minutes at the end it would still be nice to go out there maybe kick somebody or be kicked," he said.
His quest for more minutes could be met because forward Alejandro Moreno (Venezuela) is out of the first 11 because of national team duty. Schmid could start Jason Garey or Noonan up top.
"Pat's one of the options even though that's not necessarily one of his strongest positions," Schmid said. "He's still getting his feet wet with our team. We're still trying to get him into the rhythm of playing and training. Every day he is getting better and sharper. His time will come. I have no worries about that."
Schmid also has to make a change defensively because right back Frankie Hejduk will be in Cuba with the U.S. national team for a World Cup qualifier. Danny O'Rourke, who returns after a one-game caution points suspension, could get the nod.
"It's going to be a battle. Those guys really want this game because they've been in a rut just because of the number of games they've played," goalkeeper Will Hesmer said of the Revolution. "It's a big game for us. It's not only a six-point game but we can keep them down. We don't want to give them any confidence in the race for the Supporters' Shield and playoff position."
Playoffs? Columbus has not made the postseason since 2004 but Schmid said a match like Saturday's is exactly what's needed to gauge the progress.
"If the players feel a little bit of pressure from it I'm OK with that because if you want to win championships you're going to have to play some pressure games," he said. "That's the next stage of our evolvement. We have to be able to step into pressure games and the pressure's going to make us perform better and not make us nervous. That's the real test."
Craig Merz is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
