Player Profile: Marc Burch

A bit of a surprise pickup when the Seattle Sounders traded up in the Re-Entry Draft in order to acquire him, Marc Burch was basically as advertised. Burch was a heavily left-footed player who showed a decent cross and a rocket shot. Unfortunately, he'll probably be best remembered for an exceedingly poor choice of words that put the already short-handed Sounders in an even worse situation by forcing Burch to miss the final two playoff games.

His numbers won't blow anyone away, but as far as backup left backs go, you can do a lot worse. He proved to be a decent passer in the offensive third and was a better defender than many wanted to give him credit for. He played a role on this team and did a decent job filling it.

Skills on offense: Blessed with a massive left foot, he has the ability to hit a ball as hard as anyone on the team. That skill was rarely called upon, though, and it was his crossing ability that proved more useful. There's a glaring hole in his game, though, and it's called his right foot.

Skills on defense: Never considered a great defender, he was not nearly the liability that some would lead you to believe. Seemed to have a strong sense of positioning, even if he wasn't a great one-on-defender.

Best Case in 2013: He seems to be best deployed as part of a change-of-pace player and to provide depth. Ideally, he'll play fewer minutes next season, which would probably require Leo Gonzalez being replaced with a younger player. I suspect he'll be back, though, and that's not a bad thing.

As always thanks to sidereal for formatting and advanced stats