Nashville SC 2020 Report Cards: Dave Romney

We’re continuing our Nashville SC report cards with a look at center-back Dave Romney.

Position: Center-back
Matches played: 26
Minutes played: 2,578
Goals: 1
Assists: 0
Goals added: 0.10 (44th among MLS center-backs)
Average Speedway Soccer rating: 7.3
Average WhoScored rating: 6.7

What went right in 2020?

Signed from LA Galaxy for just $300,000 GAM, Romney is the perfect example of Nashville’s “value the undervalued” philosophy. After playing a bit-part role for a terrible LA defense, Nashville made Romney a core piece of their squad, and it paid of.

Romney played every minute of Nashville’s inaugural season, the only outfield player to do so. Partnering Walker Zimmerman, he was a key part of the best defense in expansion history. In fact, Zimmerman’s success in 2020 probably overshadowed the fact that Romney was one of the league’s defenders of his own accord.

Solid defensively, Romney’s ability on the ball was a huge asset to Nashville. His ability to play out of pressure and break multiple lines with a single pass was often used to jump start a Nashville attack. Like this:

This pass from Romney breaks two lines of defense and starts what should've been a dangerous chance for Nashville. Really promising signs. #EveryoneN pic.twitter.com/HnhUFsCAFm

— Ben Wright (@benwright) March 2, 2020

And this:

And this:

Overall, Romney’s 2020 season was emblematic of Nashville’s success.

What went wrong in 2020?

From Romney’s perspective, basically nothing. His individual mistakes were rare and had minimal consequences. An incredibly solid season.

What needs to improve in 2021?

A successful 2021 would look a lot like 2020 for Romney. Continue to build his partnership with Zimmerman, stay sound defensively, and continue to develop his passing range.

Most memorable moment

Romney scored his first goal in a Nashville jersey in Orlando. Nashville ended up losing 3-1, but it was a great moment for the defender.

2020 Grade: A+

Author: Ben Wrightis the Director of Soccer Content and a Senior MLS Contributor for Broadway Sports covering Nashville SC and the US National Team. Previously Ben was the editor and a founder of Speedway Soccer, where he has covered Nashville SC and their time in USL before journeying to Major League Soccer since 2018. Raised in Louisville, KY Ben grew up playing before a knee injury ended his competitive career. When he is not talking soccer he is probably producing music, drinking coffee or hanging out with his wife and kids. Mastodon

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