Scouting Report: Tristan Bowen

Tristan Bowen came to Chivas USA prior to the 2011 season from the LA Galaxy. He only made a few appearances with Chivas that year before being sent on loan to the Belgian second division, where he was largely forgotten. He ended up coming back to Chivas midway through 2012, and played a handful of games in the second half of that season, where he frankly looked quite good. In 2013, he had a few bright moments, but like too many Chivas attackers, he struggled considerably.

One of the biggest issues regarding Bowen, at least on Chivas, was his position. He started out as a forward, and in 2011 and most of 2013 played as a striker. Yet he never looked like much of a threat up top, and he confirmed as much in interviews, stating his actual position was at right wing.

As a winger, he's looked like a much better player, though Chivas had Eric Avila play that position this year, and I think he was a better option. Still, on the right, Bowen did pretty well. Instead of sticking to the byline and sending in crosses, he liked to cut inside and dribble diagonally on goal, looking for an opportunity to pass or shoot while moving toward goal. When he dropped back, he could get involved with the ball much more, and he looked far more comfortable farther back in the formation.

Bowen has not been prolific as a scorer for Chivas, getting two goals, both this year for the Goats, in addition to a total of four assists during his time with the team. Despite that, I think there's hope for Sounders' fans that he can produce more, considering Chivas had major issues with scoring both in 2012 and 2013. There simply were not enough quality attacking players to score consistently. Sure, Bowen never broke games open singlehandedly, but he can still contribute.

The other issue is his temperament. He's a fiery guy, which isn't such a bad thing in itself, but he hasn't always shown he can harness his temper into good play. The worst example of this, and it is a bad one, is when he spit atChris Klute this past season right in front of the assistant referee, and was promptly sent off. Initially, he tried to claim he wasn't spitting at an opponent, but before long, he came to his senses and apologized.

Players make mistakes. There's no doubt in my mind Bowen dealt with a lot of turmoil in his tenure with Chivas, and that would frustrate just about any player. But it's still something he's going to have to work to live down.