With the preseason ready to start on Monday, I thought it'd be a good time to take a look at Wizards situation at each part of the field. I'm hoping to get the forwards and midfielders out today, with defenders and goalkeepers coming tomorrow.
With the departure of Eddie Johnson, the Wizards only have 2 "true" forwards on the team, Scott Sealy and Ryan Pore. Last season, Davy Arnaud, Eloy Colombano, and Carlos Marinelli all saw some time up top, with little results at all. On the Wizards roster, Jack Jewsbury, Will John, and Michael Kraus are all listed as M-F. Jewsbury, though spent all last season in defense, while John and Kraus played a combined 3 games (all from John). The rumors of Iván Trujillo are still around, and some time in the next few days I'd expect that deal to be officially announced. Still, 3 forwards is not going to be any where near enough of a forward line for the coming season. The Wizards likely need to bring in at least 1 more forward before the season starts in my opinion. I'd prefer someone with MLS experience that can come in and score a few goals off the bench, but there isn't really anyone on the market now that fills that whole. This is the only area of the squad that the Wizards haven't improved through the draft, so it will be interesting to see what the team does in the coming weeks to shore up their forward line.
Friday, January 25, 2008
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3 comments:
This is my MAJOR concern. Tru-who-lo? I hope the guy gets signed and pans out, but we know almost nothing about his MLS abilities. I've just never seen a ton from Sealy...but playing with Eddie isn't easy. If they play two on top, those guys have to work well together.
They have to land a big one on forward, and fast.
I think the forwards we have are going to do fine. Yes I agree with the fact that another forward is needed to keep the competition level up but talent wise I think it will be a breakout year for Pore and Sealy. Last year should have been Sealy's year but injuries got in his way. He proved it in the first couple of games partnering with Johnson, which is no easy task. If he stays healthy Sealy will prove to be a constant threat. Pore on the other hand had a great year for the reserves and i feel could be a great super sub this year. We don't need to look to the market for that missing piece, we already have it. Ivan Trujillo...well...i've watched him play and he can help us on set pieces and could be a constant threat, unlike EJ. I think there is room for improvement but we are above average at this position.
Sealy can't have much more of a break out year. He's averaged about 9 goals a year over his first few seasons as a pro. That's a consistently good level.
As for Pore, sure he had a decent year with the reserves, but how's that any different from past years? He had 6 the first year of the reserve league, 9 last year, 3 this past season. And he's still yet to give anything significant with the first team. Pore doesn't strike any fear in the opposition when he comes off the bench.
Look at Houston last year. They had Ching and Jaqua to start and Ngwenya off the bench. New England had Crisman coming off the bench. KC is certainly lacking in the 3rd forward department. And Pore is not the answer.
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