For the 2nd year, Soccer Banter is back with "Five Minutes with Five People That Know MLS", and the first to be interviewed is Travis Clark. Clark is currently a staff reporter and editor at TopDrawerSoccer.com covering the next big thing in U.S. Soccer. Previously his work appeared at ESPN.com and MLSoccer.com. Follow Clark on Twitter: @travismclark
Soccer Banter: Which team(s) will win the Supporters Shield and MLS Cup in 2012?
Travis Clark: The Seattle Sounders, despite undergoing a good amount of change, will win MLS Cup. The gamble to go out and acquire Eddie Johnson is going to pay benefits, as he'll stretch the field in ways other players couldn't, opening up space for Fredy Montero.
As far as the Supporters' Shield goes, it's impossible to look past LA. The Sounders and Real Salt Lake are going to tussle for it as well, but I think the Galaxy is going to cope just fine without Omar Gonzalez, as the rookie Tommy Meyer is going to adjust quickly and help fill that gap along the LA back line.
SB: Which clubs were the winners/losers this offseason with their transactions?
Soccer Banter: Which team(s) will win the Supporters Shield and MLS Cup in 2012?
Travis Clark: The Seattle Sounders, despite undergoing a good amount of change, will win MLS Cup. The gamble to go out and acquire Eddie Johnson is going to pay benefits, as he'll stretch the field in ways other players couldn't, opening up space for Fredy Montero.
As far as the Supporters' Shield goes, it's impossible to look past LA. The Sounders and Real Salt Lake are going to tussle for it as well, but I think the Galaxy is going to cope just fine without Omar Gonzalez, as the rookie Tommy Meyer is going to adjust quickly and help fill that gap along the LA back line.
SB: Which clubs were the winners/losers this offseason with their transactions?
TC: Since a ball hasn't been kicked, everyone's a winner. At least they think they are right now.
As far as winners go, the San Jose Earthquakes have made several smart moves, that on paper, appear to have moved this group in the right direction. The difficult thing is, even if they've made some good moves, they've still got to find a way to compete in the ever-difficult Western Conference. Out in the East, D.C. United has improved its roster immensely, re-signing the MLS MVP last year Dwayne De Rosario and adding depth and firepower around him.
I know that it's unfair to bag on an expansion team, but the Montreal Impact for me are among those in the loser category. Instead of going with the electric option of Darren Mattocks with the first overall pick, the Impact plucked Andrew Wenger, and instead of playing him in one position, are pulling him all over the field. That's not even mentioning the Brian Ching saga, where the Impact passed on the chance to take a player with MLS experience, and instead, ended up with a 2013 draft pick. A waste of time and opportunity.
SB: On the topic of offseason transactions, who do you believe will win Rookie of the Year?
TC: As folks continue to bag on college soccer, it continues to produce pretty good talent for MLS ranks. There are a handful of Rookie of the Year candidates out there, and two stand out in particular -- Toronto FC's Luis Silva and New England Revolution's Kelyn Rowe. Both fit the profile of a Rookie of the Year candidate -- looking likely to get the playing time and put up the numbers needed in order to attract voters. I'm going with Silva, who I think will get a number of starts as an attacking midfielder this year.
As far as winners go, the San Jose Earthquakes have made several smart moves, that on paper, appear to have moved this group in the right direction. The difficult thing is, even if they've made some good moves, they've still got to find a way to compete in the ever-difficult Western Conference. Out in the East, D.C. United has improved its roster immensely, re-signing the MLS MVP last year Dwayne De Rosario and adding depth and firepower around him.
I know that it's unfair to bag on an expansion team, but the Montreal Impact for me are among those in the loser category. Instead of going with the electric option of Darren Mattocks with the first overall pick, the Impact plucked Andrew Wenger, and instead of playing him in one position, are pulling him all over the field. That's not even mentioning the Brian Ching saga, where the Impact passed on the chance to take a player with MLS experience, and instead, ended up with a 2013 draft pick. A waste of time and opportunity.
SB: On the topic of offseason transactions, who do you believe will win Rookie of the Year?
TC: As folks continue to bag on college soccer, it continues to produce pretty good talent for MLS ranks. There are a handful of Rookie of the Year candidates out there, and two stand out in particular -- Toronto FC's Luis Silva and New England Revolution's Kelyn Rowe. Both fit the profile of a Rookie of the Year candidate -- looking likely to get the playing time and put up the numbers needed in order to attract voters. I'm going with Silva, who I think will get a number of starts as an attacking midfielder this year.
SB: Which designated player will have the biggest impact on his teams success this season?
TC: There hasn't been a huge uptick in Designated Players this past offseason, but aside from the usual suspects (Robbie Keane, Beckham, etc) I'm going with Hamdi Salihi. If the Albanian goal poacher can replicate his fantastic scoring record for D.C. United, this is a playoff team, especially with Branko Boskovic returning to fitness and Dwayne De Rosario waiting in the wings.
SB: If you could pick one MLS match this year to attend just as a fan, which would it be?
TC: I'd love to go to a game in Portland -- any game really -- but it would be particularly special to see Portland-Seattle at either JELD-WEN Field or at Century Link in Seattle.
SB: Bonus Question: Off-topic, but with the Olympics happening this summer, if the United States qualifies, who (and why) do you think will be selected as the three overage players?
TC: Depth in defense is a huge issue for this team, so one of these players for me would be Carlos Bocanegra, no matter how his club situation shakes out. Two others, I'm going to go with Sacha Kljestan (Brussels to London isn't that far) and Earthquakes forward Chris Wondolowski.
TC: There hasn't been a huge uptick in Designated Players this past offseason, but aside from the usual suspects (Robbie Keane, Beckham, etc) I'm going with Hamdi Salihi. If the Albanian goal poacher can replicate his fantastic scoring record for D.C. United, this is a playoff team, especially with Branko Boskovic returning to fitness and Dwayne De Rosario waiting in the wings.
SB: If you could pick one MLS match this year to attend just as a fan, which would it be?
TC: I'd love to go to a game in Portland -- any game really -- but it would be particularly special to see Portland-Seattle at either JELD-WEN Field or at Century Link in Seattle.
SB: Bonus Question: Off-topic, but with the Olympics happening this summer, if the United States qualifies, who (and why) do you think will be selected as the three overage players?
TC: Depth in defense is a huge issue for this team, so one of these players for me would be Carlos Bocanegra, no matter how his club situation shakes out. Two others, I'm going to go with Sacha Kljestan (Brussels to London isn't that far) and Earthquakes forward Chris Wondolowski.
RSS Feed