It's never easy to waive a player. But waiving a guy who's been with the same club for more than half a decade? That brings some pain.

New England general manager Michael Burns was in exactly that position last week when he and the Revs bid adieu to Kenny Mansally. The Gambian concluded his Revolution career on Friday after spending parts of six seasons with the club.

The move came as a result of the attacker’s increasingly peripheral role within the first team, according to Burns.