Well, we're a third done with the season and it's time to take a look at the team.
Goalkeeping: Bouna is doing his job, there's no doubt about that. He's only had to make a few spectacular saves this season, so we've yet to see the best of Bouna Time. Hopefully the team will be able to hold on to him during the transfer window.
The backup situation looks to be very solid now as well. With an injury to Justin Hughes, the Rapids acquired a very capable keeper in Preston Burpo. I know a lot of people are very high on Justin Hughes too, so if Bouna gets what he deserves, we should be fine for 2008! A+
Defense: The Rapids defense has allowed 12 goals in 10 games - among the top half of MLS teams. Our back line doesn't always stifle the opposition, but they do have four shutouts. Right back is still a questionable position, but there are options to be had with our deep bench. Erpen has been the constant this season, and is proving capable.
Combine the above average defense with stellar defensive play from the midfield, and the Rapids are not an easy team to score on. Nick LaBrocca's emergence this season, along with a healthy Pablo Mastroeni has even enabled the Rapids the option of playing three in the back. B+
Offense: Surprise, the Rapids have put the ball in the net 16 times this season, fourth most in the league. The acquisition of Christian Gomez is proving the spark to put the 2007 offense in the past. The question still remains whether one of our strikers will emerge as a consistent threat but Conor Casey, Tom McManus, and Omar Cummings are certainly players opposition need to be wary of.
The play on the wings hasn't been great with Colin Clark not looking as effective as last season and Terry Cooke spending time on the bench. But Gomez is making up for that with not only his play, but his ability to draw away attention from his teammates, giving them more space. But four of our five wins have come via shutouts, so there certainly is room for improvement.B
Coaching: Coaching was the number one criticism of the team in 2007. 2008 is proving otherwise. Fernando Clavijo, faulted in the past for playing players out of position and sticking with others that weren't getting it done, has turned over a new leaf this season.
The starting line up has featured 22 of the 28 man roster regularly. When a player goes down, the next player on the depth chart has stepped up (instead of putting strikers in the midfield, for example). He's changed the shape of the team three times this season, each time with success.
The team is in first place in the West, and yet, consistency seems to be this team's biggest hurdle. We've enjoyed some tremendous efforts, followed by some games where nobody showed up to play. Having yet to win two games in a row this season the question remains, which Rapids team is going to emerge? B
Front Office: A busy off season that has had it's successes and failures. Among the failures has been the inability to get a Technical Director in place and to land a jersey sponsor.
But I've yet to find a person that isn't much more pleased about the on-field product. Player acquisitions seem to have been successful so far with the additions of Christian Gomez, Rafael Gomes, and Tom McManus as well as shipping off Kirovski, Niko Hernandez, Tony Sanneh, and Jose Cancela.
Is McManus the striker everyone knew the Rapids needed in the offseason? Time will tell, but with a nice little influx of the Rapids $250,000 share of the Altidore transfer to Villareal, perhaps the team will consider adding a goal scorer this summer. B-
Overall: The team is doing much better than at any point in the KSE and Fernando Clavijo era. Bowing out of the US Open Cup is a bit of a disappointment and we're certainly not the favored team to win MLS Cup. But if our young players continue to grow and the team can achieve a winning mentality where every game counts, we should make the playoffs and could very well battle for a Super Liga spot for 2009. B
Posted by mark at June 5, 2008 11:59 AM