Rapids Class VI

VI Questions with Coach Clavijo: LA Victory

Rapids Coach Fernando Clavijo takes some time to answer some questions for Rapids fans in light of our 4-0 victory over the LA Galaxy on Saturday which starts our 2008 quest for our first MLS Cup.

I. A lot of young inexperienced players stepped up against the likes of Beckham, Donovan, Xavier, and Ruiz. Can you give us you thoughts on the performances of Kimura, DiRaimondo, Cummings, Keel, & LaBrocca?

I believe that actions speak louder than words, but the level of play and the maturity of play of our young “old” players were excellent. Kimura was up to the task in stopping the best American player today in Landon Donovan; John Dirainmondo and Nick LaBrocca control the midfield like to season veterans’, Stephen Keel was very solid and did an outstanding job complementing Erpen and Omar Cummings was always busy, needs to make better runs and be able to keep the ball a little longer to allow Christian to get forward.

II. Terry Cooke and Colin Clark were able to attack Los Angles relentlessly. Can you give us your thoughts on how Christian Gomez's and Jose Burciaga's successful Rapids debut contributed to the play of our flanks?

Terry Cooke was the engine on the right side; He found ways to be in the ball more and his constants run forward force Gavin and Landon to be more defensive that they anticipated. Colin Clark outstanding speed kept Klein and Beckham most of the night defending and Christian Gomez connected well with those two. Jose Burciaga was excellent defending but also was able to go forward and creating lots of problems for LA,

III. You went into the locker room with a one goal lead. Can you tell us what was said at half time and what adjustments or focuses you had going into the second half?

The message was clear, keep the pressure on LA back four, don’t allow Beckham or Landon space to play and keep playing. The other point was that we need it was to found Christian more and early than before.

IV. Can you describe what the atmosphere inside DSG Park was like from the field and how it affects the players?

Every time to have a sold out stadium you notice it, and the level of energy is there, but I was a little disappointed after watching the game in TV that the announcers mention how quiet the fans were, I didn’t understood it at the beginning but the energy from the fans was less that many people expected.

V. Rookie Ciaran O’Brien comes in late in the game and gets ejected. Can you give us an account of what happened and how a coach handles such a devastating event for a player's first 15 professional minutes?

Emotions run high for a younger player, more in a game of that magnitude, Ciaran is an incredible talented player and situation like that we hope make him a better player in the future. He made the wrong decision at the 90 minutes mark to chase down the play and tackle Ruiz. As a coach you need to bring the situation back and make him see why he right choice was not made at the 90 minutes mark.

VI. Next up, KC. A couple dozen of us are taking a bus to the game to give the team our support. Can you tell the fans what sort of affect that has on a team?

Fans can have a positive or negative impact on the Team, when you see the fans going the extra mile for the team, make all the players and coaching staff more appreciated, Look at Toronto fans, 2,000 fans into Columbus for a game, do you think for a minute that anyone in that team will not like that?

As always coach, we appreciate your endless efforts in taking time for the fans! Congratulations on the win and good luck in Kansas City. Be sure to stop over and say hello to the Road Trip Supporters.

Top of the Table & No Looking Back!

Building on what hopefully becomes Rapids tradition, the opening game of the season at DSG Park was not only a victory - but also an incredibly entertaining and flowing game of soccer!

The weather was perfect and the atmosphere buzzing at the tailgate. In a wonderful show of solidarity, all supporters put their efforts together to host Colorado's best soccer tailgate in history.

Inside, the stadium was rocking! The players came out and showed tremendous heart and Rapids pride as they took apart Beckham, Landon, and Ruiz. Stunning goals by Cookie and Clark were only part of the celebration. The young Rapids players stepped up and showed that the Cobras' (Rapids Reserve Team) back to back Reserve League Titles are achievements to be very proud of.

Some stunning goals by the good guys and an absolute wonderful time with Rapids fans, has put smiles on a lot of faces to start out the March to MLS Cup 2008.

Check out CVI's Nick Thomas' post from WeWantRapidMan.com to sum up the game.

Saturday Tailgaiting Begins At 4:30pm

Tomorrow's the home opener for the Colorado Rapids at Dicks Sporting Goods Park. Class VI will begin it's tailgaiting early at 4:30pm. We tailgate in the NE corner of the parking lots. For a map, click here. Please feel free to join us and enjoy the company of follow soccer fans.

On another note, keep in mind that even with highs in mid-60s tomorrow the weather folks are talking about snow that night. Be prepared for a the temps to drop. When it's 60F and sunny at 6:30pm that t-shirt's going to feel good. But when the sun goes down it's going to get chilly.

VI Questions with Coach Clavijo: Pregame

Fernando Clavijo took some time out from game preparation to answer some questions for Class VI and all Rapids fans as we approach the kick off to the 2008 season. Go Rapids!!!

I. The team has so many injuries. Can you give us a quick run down of who won't make the game Saturday?

Many players will be game time decision, and we need to look into game fitness with many of them.

Out for sure are:

Conor Casey, Hugo Ihemelu, Mike Petke, Jovan Kirosvki, Mehdi Ballouchy

Players that we will monitor and may play some time are: Daniel Gargan, Herculez Gomez, Pablo Mastroeni, and Rafael Gomes.

II. It seems Rafael Gomes has excellent skills on the ball, but Rapids fans don't know much about him. Can you tell us a little about him and what role do you expect Gomes to play for the team this season?

Rafael is a great player from Brazil, he is eager to show to the fans and to us what is he capable of doing, He will be playing behind Christian and help him connect with the rest of the team. Great on the ball and will get forward always in good positions to score.

Christian is happy and he feels welcome in Colorado, this will be a big year for him and is looking forward to help the Rapids win a championship.

IV. Is there a player Rapids fans may be surprised to see in the starting lineup come Saturday?

Like I told you before, many of the final decision will be on game day, will be premature to tell you any names right now, but you can count on that which player step into the field is going to make you proud.

V. When you come in against a team that has made so many changes and hasn't played a regular season game yet, how do you approach the game strategically?

My biggest concern on regards to a team that we don’t know much is to play our game, dictate the phase and the speed and force them to play or react to your style. We know they have some very good players but we are at home,

VI. Can you give Rapids fans an idea of what you, as coach, do the morning of a game until kickoff?

I wake up around 7 am, my wife bring me breakfast in bed (she is the best) take a shower and drive to the office. Look into articles to find out a little about injuries on the team we will be playing, get into a Match Analysis, a program that allow us to check players and games and review free Kicks, offensive and defensive- check for tendencies of teams. And anything that I can learn and pass along to the players. After that go to the weight room, work out a little, home get lunch and comeback around to the stadium 3 hours before the game.

Thanks for your time coach - Class VI Rapids fans greatly appreciate your taking time for the fans. Good luck Saturday!

Rapids OwN Fire!

Not sure we intended to have the "sellout" blog entry sit at the top of the site so many days, so let's move on to something more positive.

Rapids OwN Fire!

Yep.... nice to see that all that firepower the Fire brought in (what, 10 forwards or something?) doesn't mean crap.

Congrats on the win guys, let's use the momentum to get off to a nice start in front of the home crowd Saturday!

And if you can't wait for the 7:30pm kickoff or are just a bit fidgety that Beckham won't be back from the France game, stop by the great CLASS VI tailgate Saturday afternoon! We'll get things rocking around 4pm, and won't stop until the first whistle (or perhaps just before that).

Please consider bringing some food to share and help make the tailgates even better. We'll have two kegs on tap for those who like variety, and some soft drinks and extras for those who don't roll the hard way.

Anyone see the weather outside lately? Is it March or is it June? Can't wait to see everyone there!

Rapids don't want to be a sellout

I'm assuming that the Rapids don't want to be known as a sellout.

As of this morning, the 2nd day of Spring and just one week from kicking off the season, the Rapids are not even close to selling out their home opener game, against the LA Galaxy and David Beckham.

How far the once-mediocre have fallen.

Sorry for the negative post, but when life gives you rotten lemons, it's time to make some sugary lemonade. What is the lemonade? Well, there's still great seats left for the game, at every price level from club seats to cheap seats.

Another great positive? Legroom! Everyone can spread out since there will be empty seats.

$70 Club seats (tables for four behind general seating): Still Available
$35 VIP Midfield: Still available for single seats only (midfield, row 4!)
$30 Premium seats: Still available for groups
$20 South Stands: Still available for groups
$15 North Stands: still available
$12 North Endline: Still available

* NOTE: There's a $7 fee for purchasing a single ticket from the website.

**Note: I would like to add two notes to this post. First, section 108 where Class VI resides is essentially sold out, thanks to the passion and interest of fellow Class VI members. Great job!

Second, I want to note that I may have given the wrong perception of thousands of tickets still available. I have it on good authority from the Rapids that only hundreds of tickets are available for the game. As always, I leave it to you to decide whether there should be any tickets left for the home opener, or not.

Hola, I'm Bonji...

Many of you know me, for those who don't I'm the one who designed the sweet Class VI logo...so give me respect. :) Ok, I kid. But seriously, what do you think of the logo?

Mark has been pestering me to get more involved around here. So I will while not working on my job, my real estate deals outside of work and my other blog. No, I'm not running for City Council like some Class VI knobs, but I am a busy guy.

So, who went to the Burgundy and Blue game last night? I did, I did! It is a decent event. I went with fellow Class VI member, Justin "Mustache" Blum. We enjoyed the $7.25 Tecates. Does anyone remember how much the tap beer was last year? That seems like a huge increase. I also enjoyed the Cantina's food for the first time. I recommend the Tex Mex Wrap. Also $7.25. Rapids games are getting more expensive folks, I guess we shouldn't be surprised. Back to the Cantina, they were showing the CONCACAF Champions Cup match...good work Rapids. Soccer in the Cantina. Perfect. Just turn off CNN.

On to the match. The play on the field was marginal. I'll just focus on the notable things in my opinion. Rafael Gomes is obviously Brazilian. His skill on the ball is incredible. It will be a joy to watch him weave in and out of opposing players. He had a couple small moves where he just danced around guys while maintaining possession. Young footballers out there. Watch his footwork. Silky.

Kelly Gray is on trial with the club. As is Tam The Hitman and another tall striker who totally looked out of place. While I haven't seen Gray enough to judge, he's had a solid MLS career and Chelo is hot on him. I think he may be able to earn a deal. Not sure who would be dropped if Gray signs.

The 29 players listed on the Rapids roster mystery has been solved. Rapids draftee, keeper Mike Graczyk, was listed last night on the "program" as a MLS Pool keeper. So, now 29 = 28. Same goes for Aussi Chris Sharpe, who isn't listed on the Rapids site but was reported as signed by tribal football. Props to tribal for actually posting a correct story and not something they made up.

Another rookie, Brian Grazier, saw a lot of the ball despite the fact that the Rapids couldn't get his name on his jersey. I believe he was the only player out there without his name. He played for the Burgundy team and filled in for absent Colin Clark. He looked decent. Time will tell if he is MLS ready, but he showed he can perform against his own teammates. Not sure where Clark was since the Rapids haven't said he is injured...have they?

Herc Gomez played and is now sporting a fro. Nothing too notable from him.

Justin Hughes played well in the back. While Bouna was rarely tested, Hughes made some solid saves. I hope Bouna does not leave in the summer transfer window, but if he does, Hughes looks serviceable.

Jordan Harvey showed he knows what to do around the 18. He received the ball at the top of the box, didn't panic, took his time, made space and scored a great goal. I'd like to see more of him in 2008.

Danny G Gargan looks to be fully healed. He was at full sprint down the right flank a number of times. He took a hard tackle and snapped back up.

Christian Gomez had an inauspicious debut. He should have buried one shot where he was wide open and could have been more creative and created more offense, but he showed he's still learning about his new teammates. He did show he will be able to maintain possession and start the offense.

Kosuke Kimura looked solid in central midfield. He looks like he'll be a dependable backup.

Ciaran O'Brien had a nice debut. He is fast and can play on the ball. He certainly won't come out and be a starter from day 1, but he'll be a solid MLS prospect.

Ok folks, back to work. I'll try to help get some more content out here on a regular basis. I'll do my best to bring a different perspective from the regular posters. In the meantime, check out my main blog From College To The Pros.

Another TD bails on Rapids

Let me start by apologizing to Mr. Chris Henderson. Sorry Golden Boy. Perhaps I was wrong about you.

Why? Because Juergen Sommer has left the Rapids. That's the second person in a row who has deemed Technical Director of the Rapids to be a position not worth the compensation, prestige, or challenge.

Pucker up Rapids!

So what's going on here? Two well-qualified candidates. One was at the point of an imminent announcement (Henderson) and the other deal was actually completed (in Sommer's case), and yet both walked away.

This speaks loudly for the situation at hand. It's no secret that the rift between Jeff Plush and Fernando Clavijo could comfortably fill an aircraft carrier. Could it be that taking the Technical Director position would be more tortuous than spending a weekend in a snowed-in cabin with Hillary and Obama?

The situation is dire. Winning organizations never have this kind of political madness in their front offices, let alone the locker room. It would appear that being a subordinate of Jeff Plush would be even more difficult than being the boss of Fernando Clavijo.

The Colorado Rapids have a terrible situation at hand - and if we fans ever want to see success on the field, either KSE or Jeff Plush is going to have to settle this embarrassment.

It's time to start focusing on winning and give up this power struggle that has infused this team, from director to coach and from coach to players. We cannot move forward with both of these men in charge of our team. At the very least, one must go.

(Ed. note: Given that Mark has vociferously defended the Rapids management regarding the Hendo debacle, I think it truly states how bad the situation has become that he now advocates such a drastic potential move).

Sunday Party & KC Road Trip

There's still time to join us for a quick weekend trip to Kansas City to see our Colorado Rapids play the Wizards. We're renting a bus so just kick back, enjoy the company and contemplate the important things in life. Like why Kansas City signed a player known as "The Louse" (Claudio Lopez; pictured) or if Jimmy Conrad will cry more that night than his baby daughter.

Reminder: Sunday is our pre-season party.

What: CVI Preseason Party, A chance to get together with your CVI fiends and get primed for the 2008 Season, featuring 2-4-1 Drink specials, Door Prizes, Raffles and Auctions. We will also be unveiling and hanging the 2007 CVI Player of the Year Plaque awarded to Bouna Coundoul by CVI members!

When: Sunday, March 16, 3-7 PM

Where: At the British Bulldog, 2061 Stout ( Corner of Broadway and Stout, Downtown Denver) Admission is free.

Who: All Class VI members invited; bring family and friends who you feel may be interested in CVI. Not a CVI member but you'd like to see what we're all about? Come join us!!

Why: Not only will you see your friends and hash out the Rapids' 2008 prospects, but you will have the opportunity to bid on auctioned items donated by the Rapids and others, with the proceeds going to other great CVI projects, such as road trips and tailgates! It's a win-win situation for dedicated Rapids fans!

Road Trip!

Class VI & C-Firm are taking the passion on the road. After the Rapids show Los Angles that fielding a team with nothing but a few diamonds and a whole lot of coal is no way to go through life, we're going to Kansas City for the Rapids first home game of the Year.

The bus is over half full, and today is the deadline for guaranteeing the hotel cost.

Bus may or may not look like this here!

Lots of friendships have been made on these trips - lots of fun memories have been created. How could it not be, we put down the deposit so we can have beverages of our choice on the bus!

For more details or to put down the deposit and join the adventure Click Here

Posted by mark at 12:10 PM

Tam McManus???

In late January, there were rumors that the Rapids were interested in striker Tam McManus,. Tam? Yes, that's the Thomas Kelly "Tam" McManus goes by. Over a month came and went without his name appearing again. But the rumor didn't prove to be false with the Rapids taking McManus on trial. And now it looks like the Rapids are about to sign him with Dunfermline's Player/Manager Jimmy McIntyre reporting on the team's web site :

"Tom's been on trial with Colorado Rapids since Monday and he'll sign subject to agreeing personal terms."

Rapids victorious in England

RAPIDS RECORD 3-2 VICTORY OVER IPSWICH IN ENGLAND

Gomes, LaBrocca and Kirovski Score for Colorado

HERTFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND (Wednesday, March 5, 2008) – The Colorado Rapids put on a strong showing this afternoon earning a 3-2 win over Ipswich at the Arsenal Training Centre. With the victory, Colorado remains undefeated during preseason play with a 3-0-3 record.

Throughout the first half, the Rapids were the aggressors coming close to finding the back of the net on multiple occasions. With a beautifully played corner kick by midfielder Terry Cooke into the area, midfielder Rafael Gomes netted the contest’s first score with a finishing header in the 23rd minute.

Colorado continued their attack with several other near misses, as the Ipswich defense had problems the first 45 minutes of play handling the Rapids’ passes across the middle. With just under a minute left before the break, ‘keeper Bouna Coundoul made a key save as Colorado was out-numbered in the box to preserve their 1-0 lead at the half.

It did not take Ipswich long to equal the score at 1-1 in the second half. Having trouble clearing the ball out of their own area, the Rapids found themselves looking at a tie score in the 57th minute.

Colorado quickly responded just two minutes later when midfielder Nick LaBrocca struck the ball from nearly 20+ yards out giving the Rapids the lead once again at 2-1.

Both teams continued to battle for much of the second half without either side gaining complete control.

Colorado forward Tom McManus, who joined the team in England earlier in the week for a tryout, worked in well with his new teammates and Ciaran O’Brien looked to put the Rapids clearly on top on several occasions to no avail.

With the Ipswich attack coming on strong once again, the Colorado defense suffered a hand ball allowing the Tractor Boys to tie the score at 2-2 in the 68th minute on a penalty kick.

The Rapids were able to quickly response a second time in the half answering the Ipswich goal in the 74th minute. Defender Tim Ward played a long ball from the Colorado defense laying it perfectly in for forward Jovan Kirovski, who had no problem striking the back of the net to lift the Rapids to victory.

Scoring Summary:
COL - Gomes (Cooke) 23

COL - LaBrocca (unassisted) 59

COL – Kirovski (Ward) 74

Lineups:

Colorado Rapids: Bouna Coundoul, Cesar Zambrano (Dan Gargan 67), Stephen Keel (Mike Petke 59), Facundo Erpen (Jordan Harvey 45), Jose Luis Burciaga Jr. (Tim Ward 45), Terry Cooke (Jacob Peterson 45), Rafael Gomes (Ciaran O’Brien 45), Christian Gomez (Nick LaBrocca 45), John DiRaimondo (Tom McManus 45), Colin Clark (Nico Colaluca 45), Omar Cummings (Jovan Kirovski 45)

Pre Season Party!!

Joe Higgins has been hard at work putting together our first event of the year ...

Have you been starving for some live soccer at DSG Park? Well the season is almost upon us and the Second Annual Class VI Preseason Party is fast approaching! This year's version will be at the same place, but promises to be bigger and better. Here are the vital statistics:

Joe & Mary get down at the 2007 Preseason Party!

What: CVI Preseason Party, A chance to get together with your CVI fiends and get primed for the 2008 Season, featuring 2-4-1 Drink specials, Door Prizes, Raffles and Auctions. We will also be unveiling and hanging the 2007 CVI Player of the Year Plaque awarded to Bouna Coundoul by CVI members!

When: Sunday, March 16, 3-7 PM

Where: At the British Bulldog, 2061 Stout ( Corner of Broadway and Stout, Downtown Denver) Admission is free.

Who: All Class VI members invited; bring family and friends who you feel may be interested in CVI. Not a CVI member but you'd like to see what we're all about? Come join us!!

Why: Not only will you see your friends and hash out the Rapids' 2008 prospects, but you will have the opportunity to bid on auctioned items donated by the Rapids and others, with the proceeds going to other great CVI projects, such as road trips and tailgates! It's a win-win situation for dedicated Rapids fans!

We are also working on player guests for the party, so come on down and kick '08 off with a bang!

Forwards Preview

Time to check in with our experts on our forwards. The long delay in posts is due to me having the chills and 103 temperature - it felt as though I may never post again!!

First, we'll start off with Nick Thomas
So, to the forwards. This is where my enthusiasm and anticipation for the upcoming season begins to wane somewhat. Strong defense, potentially exciting midfield -- but can someone tell me who is the player to notch 15 goals this season?

Christian Gomez may be playing a practical forward role, but he is still a midfielder. He will create chances but he should not be expected to score like a striker. People discuss the welcome return to fitness of Herculez Gomez, but to me? I have never really seen him as an out-and-out forward.

He is a brilliantly offensive winger (maybe he could persuade Terry Cooke to be a little more attacking) and his pacy runs frighten defenses everywhere. But he is not a striker in the true sense of the word. Not a target man.

We all know the problems we had scoring last year (Kirovski top scoring with six goals, four of them penalties) and we haven’t found a suitable scorer in the off-season. Maybe Hernandez will step up to the plate? He is still there so maybe he is back in favor because I honestly thought he would be sold (Editor's note - Nick shows off his knowledge! Niko has been traded off to the Crew for Tim Ward after he sent this report in!).

Conor Casey is a player with tremendous heart but he is not going to score a 10-gallon hat full of goals. Omar Cummings had the best strike rate given minutes played and is a good player who consistently performs well when he gets the chance but it is hard to see him scoring many. Maybe it will be one of the Brazilian players rumored to be signing?

Right now, that looks the most likely chance of scoring goals this season. We have some good forwards (Casey, Cummings, Jacob Peterson) but none of these guys are Taylor Twellman. I wouldn’t be turning in my sleep if I was a defender visiting DSG Park this season. May everyone prove me wrong.

Now the editor will chime in with his opinion - maybe there's a wee bit of news in the post too?
Goal scoring. With the exception of the Spencer years with a sprinkle of Bravo here and there, it's always been the elusive part of soccer for us Colorado fans. As it stands now, it's still an unfortunate aspect for us fans.

Heading into the new season, we're pretty much sitting where we were last season, which as every Rapids fan painfully knows, isn't a good thing. There are a couple differences. First and foremost, the addition of Christian Gomez brings in a player that can actually create chances for our forwards. That's the obvious. The not so obvious is the emergence of Colin Clark on the left which will hopefully keep our gaffer from putting forwards in the midfield again. Both these factors mean a return to the front line of Herculez Gomez and Kirovski, where both belong.

But our personnel remain the same with the exception of Niko. I think this is a make or break season for Peterson since he's probably forth choice for Coach Clavijo and needs to capitalize on injury opportunities. Kirovski is moving to a role that he's much more suited for.

Herculez remains my hope to be the break out goal scorer with my belief that Cummings could certainly increase his value with the team this season. Casey provides a valuable holding target, but I don't see him putting ten or more in the net.

So while I think we're deep with capable players, I've yet to see the player that puts this team into contention with a dangerous scoring ability that puts other teams on their heels.

With the signing of unknown quality Brazilian Reinaldo mired in difficulties beyond the fault of the Rapids, who is going to provide for us? This team needs another John Spencer. Hopefully one of our boys will step up and show us what we've been starving for.

Let's see what Deron White has to say...
What can you say about the Rapids' forwards?

Everything I can think of begins with two words, "I hope..."

I hope Herculez Gomez recovers from knee surgery and really delivers on the potential he has given MLS fans glimpses of over his career. It is no longer good enough for Herc to be streaky. He needs to be consistent.

I hope Kirovski can stop pacing himself, toughen up, and discover a blood and guts side to his game. We don't need his name on the field, we need him to leave his sweat, blood, and lungs on the field. If he gives us that and comes off after 20 minutes, it will be the best 20 minutes he ever gave this team. This is probably his last year as a player, he has nothing to lose and should play like it.

I hope Casey can recover from injury and can be more than just a big target. Goals matter more than size.

I hope Omar gets more minutes and ends up forcing his way into the starting line up.

I hope that Peterson does as well.

I hope the Rapids can choose the guys who score over some misguided adherence to tactical rules that say you have to have a big man/small man tandem. The game isn't played on paper or on a video game screen.

I hope we can add speed to the attack, just because it's fun for the fans.

I hope we can acquire a striker that brings pace, skill, creativity, and a pure will-to-score to the offense. With the exception of pace, we really haven't had that player since Spenny.

I hope our forwards prove my assessment of the group wrong. The outcome of the season, whether we make the playoffs or miss it, is up to these guys. The defense looks likely to hold up their end of the bargain. The Rapids have acquired the creativity in midfield that has been a poor excuse for even poorer production.

It is up to the forwards to put their shots on goal (Please! At very least.) and make the most of every little opportunity they get. Turn my hopes into beliefs.

Maybe Daniel Clark is a little more optimistic?
The Rapids were abysmal on offense last year. They scored a whopping 29 goals in 30 games. They recorded 9 scoreless games and averaged less than ONE goal per outing. It didn’t even matter whether the Rapids were at home in their new stadium or away, scoring 16 at home and 13 away is not going to get the job done.

While Clavijo was busy trying to figure out who was the best front line, the Rapids never gelled. He put too many different line ups in that never worked out. Trying to find a bright spot amongst the offense is hard.

The forwards as a whole had less than 60 SOG. Between the 6 forwards used in 2007, they recorded only 18 goals, hardly enough to win any hardware. Two of those 6 forwards have been traded, another 2 were injured, and that leaves youngster Cummings and veteran Kirovski to carry the load this season.

Although Hercules and Casey are expected to return, their injuries may hamper their product on the field this upcoming season. The Rapids will look to Omar Cummings, who scored twice in 2007 in only 182 minutes of play. If he can continue that streak of almost 1 goal per game, he would give the Rapids their desperately needed scoring threat.

With acquisitions this off-season, expect a rejuvenated Rapids offense. Christian Gomez will bring that much needed light amidst the darkness that is the Rapids offense. If he can match last year's performance of 10 goals and 10 assists, this team would be one of the best.

Ben Woolf, bring us some sunshine on this situation!
On the surface it doesn't seem like there is much to talk about with the Rapids forwards corps. In 2007 they were terrible. The Rapids scored 29 goals in 30 games. Only expansion club Toronto FC was worse with 25 goals.

Team leading scorer, Jovan Kirovski, scored 6 goals, of which 4 were penalties. Roberto Brown was a much heralded off-season signing up top, scored 3 goals, and then got dropped from the team. Conor Casey came to the club injured, finally found some playing time and scored 2, the same total scored for the Rapids by other teams' misfortunate own goals.

The problem in 2007 was that the Rapids were one dimensional and wracked with injuries. Herculez Gomez would look good for a few weeks, creating chances, making strong runs, and then he'd be on the bench for weeks. His season was ended early with surgery. Conor Casey looked strong after an extended period getting accustomed to the team, and then got injured.

Then there was Nicolas Hernandez. A bright spot for the Rapids in 2006, he scored 1 goal in over 1,400 minutes of 2007 playing time. In many games it was like he wasn't even on the field...but he was. There were extended periods of time where he played out of position, but still....

Here we are in 2008 and little has changed amongst the forwards group. The Rapids finished the 2007 season with Jovan Kirovski, Herculez Gomez, Conor Casey, Omar Cummings, Nicolas Hernandez, Daniel Osorno and Jacob Peterson on the books.

So what has changed in 2008? Osorno "retired." Yes, that is it. Otherwise the forwards are unchanged. Editor Note: Niko was traded since this was written. The Rapids did draft Kevin Forrest out of Washington, however he has injured himself in pre-season and is no longer with the team.

As discussed in the midfield section, the addition of Christian Gomez should help the forwards with better service and added creativity. Furthermore, opposing defenses won't be able to focus on one aspect to defend, the Rapids now have more threats. But, is that enough? It seems like the Rapids are still putting too many eggs in one basket. I hope it works out, but what if it doesn't?

On the bright side, Jacob Peterson and Omar Cummings are another year older and more experienced. With better midfield play, their speed and ability to get into space should pay off. I know coach Murphy is excited to see what this pair can do in '08. Again, I hope these two youngsters up their production in 2008, but what if they don't?

For me, the but, but, buts are too many when it comes to the offensive end. While I am very excited about the addition of Christian Gomez, I wish the Rapids had made an additional move to further fortify the offense against injury. If the forwards go through more pain in 2008, there will be problems.

The Rapids history of thriftiness explains why Gomez was the only big signing of the off-season. Us fans can't expect them to act like DC United or anything. However, I would have liked to see some kind of improvement to the front line. Right now there is too much hanging on "what if" scenarios to be overly optimistic about the Rapids' ability to score goals in 2008.

Ouch... okay, I think we have our verdict: The Great, The Hopeful, and The Ugly appears to be the pre-season promise for our Rapids in 2008. Let's see if they can prove our predictions wrong and end up Good, Better, and Best!