Colorado Rapids 2008 Season Preview: The Midfield

Deron White by Correspondent Written on February 22, 2008
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As excited as most Rapids fans are, and should be, about Christian Gomez, I remain very excited about Colin Clark.  

Clark's pace and tenacity made things happen for the Rapids last season.  More "cultured" fans will criticize Colin for over running the play, going to ground too easily, and missing some shots.  

For my money, he was often the only player with the pace to chase down the ball—and as a result found himself with few options as the team really lacked pace elsewhere in the attack.  Hopefully, this year he can continue to start, grow in confidence, and improve.  With luck Gomez won't be trailing the play, and we will have some forwards that can keep up as well.

Overall, there is a lot to be excited about; an accomplished d-mid, an accomplished a-mid, a classic winger, and a pacey prospect.   It will certainly be more entertaining than last year. 

I have three concerns with the midfield for this season: 

First, any injuries to Pablo or Gomez will set the team back, we just don't have another solid d-mid or attacking player to fill the holes. 

Second, I don't generally like the a-mid/d-mid setup that I've been praising here.  I think it works great in tournaments.  Over a season the team will need Pablo to competently support the attack otherwise Christian will get marked, kicked, shouldered, elbowed, and beaten out of games. 

Finally, the midfield will create chances, but someone has to finish them—however, that's an issue for the next installment.

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written on February 22, 2008 Sports


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