Chris Henderson Confirms Seattle Sounders Are Looking For A Forward

Mainly because of the urgency of finding a good target forward. Not much time though unless they have already been talking 10 days is a very short time to get things in order from scratch.

Dreaming of Drogba to the Sounders over here. I can hope, beyond hope, right?

but I really do feel like White can be that 10 goal guy. I really believe in he and Friberg, and now that he has his first cap, I expect his finishing to be much better. He has already had so many chances that he’s bound to increase production.

Any word as to who Henderson was looking at or what games he watched? Drogba seems like a pipe dream for the MLS and even more so, the Sounders. I think when Montero and Fucito get healthy they can contribute to what OBW is producing. Until then, Rosales has looked good and deserves another shot.

He’s not free and he’s expensive…but…..?

I look at the Sounders FC roster and I see solid potential that simply needs time to gel. Yes, more depth at the striker position would be good, but it isn’t critical. Remember the run of form last year’s team had at the end of the season? Look at the lineup changes since then:

Out: Nkufo, Nyassi, Sturgis & Marshal

In: OBW, Jacqua, Rosales, Friberg, Evans & Hurtado

Factor in the depth provided by Fucito, Fernandez and Carrasco and you are looking at a significantly deeper and stronger MLS roster.

Now look take a moment and look at the way in which the preseason and early season rolled out regarding injuries and churned line ups. Nkufo got most of the 1st team starts in preseason. Rosales joined the team with maybe a week and a half left to preseason? Hurtado, Evans, Jacqua, Fucito, Riley, Zak and now Montero have all had late preseason or early season injuries. The staff hasn’t had time to evaluate the combination of players in game situations and the players haven’t had time to learn what to expect from each other. And Rosales, Hurtado and Jacqua still haven’t gotten their sea legs yet.

This instability is directly responsible for the tantalizing and frustrating quality of the early season results. Many of the mid field give aways are often a function of learning where your team mate will be or where they will pass the ball. Finishing your chances is a result of knowing where to put the ball for each player and being on game form so that the ball goes where you intend. During the Houston game I heard one of the announcer talking about how Rosales was just a bit off with his pass placement and when he got a bit more into game shape those same passes weren’t going to drop in the goalie’s hands.

Yes, this team has made mistakes. Every team will make mistakes over the course of any game. Integrated teams are able to absorb these mistakes into the flow of the game and limit the damage. The Sounders are not yet an integrated team. Over the course of the next few weeks, I expect that Sigi will settle on a core starting 11 and the roles of the remaining players will become clearer. Barring major injury, this core will begin to understand each other in ways that we can only anticipate and they will start to function as a team.

MLS is a team league. This isn’t a superstar league. The best MLS teams are an alchemy of raw, developing youth on the rise, veteran’s enjoying a final moment in the sun and professional yeomen. I follow MLS precisely because the players have to buy into the notion of team in order to be successful. How the pieces fit together is far more important than what those pieces are. I look at the Sounders current roster and I see a team that if they stay healthy is liable to be good. Scary good.

but we need to be looking for another player like Alvaro Sabario. A guy with a track record, under 30 and still hungry enough to do the hard work up top while paired with Montero. I’m done with the aging Euro-leaguers who view MLS as a last easy paycheck before retirement.