The Sounders and the Expansion Draft

A couple of weeks ago, the expansion draft was held for the two incoming teams for next season in the MLS, the Portland Timbers and the Vancouver Whitecaps. Having had an excellent first few seasons, it does not surprise that the Sounders were not left alone in the draft. They ended upon losing Sanna Nyassi and Nathan Sturgis to the Vancouver Whitecaps in the first and third rounds, respectively. There is a lot of debate around the loss of these two players and who the Sounders ended protecting.

To start off, the protected list looked like this:
Osvaldo Alonso
Brad Evans
Alvaro Fernandez
Mike Fucito
Jhon Kennedy Hurtado
Nate Jaqua
Kasey Keller
Fredy Montero
Jeff Parke
James Riley
Steve Zakuani


I think that you'll agree that most of the key players are present in the list, among them Zakuani and Montero. There is a glaring omission for me on that list, though. Blaise Nkufo. He was signed and came onto the team mid-season, but the impact that he made was more than evident with the improvements that the Sounders made with him on the pitch. There are many haters out there that only care about his goal production, but a forward can make a lot more of an impact than simply scoring goals. Nkufo was a big body and drew defenders because of that, opening up opportunities for others, like Montero. Nkufo proved to be indispensable, even so far as scoring the clubs first hat trick in an absolute domination over the Columbus Crew. Because of this, it is puzzling to me why they would him un-protected.


Moving past that, the main players on that protected list that I have read a lot of complaints about are Brad Evans, Nate Jaqua and Michael Fucito. Each has their place in the team, and in my opinion more than deserve protection. Many complain about Evans and his injury problems, giving preference to Sturgis, but Sturgis has had his own injury problems hasn't he? And when you compare the statistics, Brad Evans did more last season in the limited time that he was on the field than Sturgis did the rest of the season. The key here: Evans is an attacking midfielder, Sturgis isn't. Then there is Jaqua. He was absent most of last season, recovering from abdominal surgery and when he came back the Sounders had found a more than suitable replacement in Nkufo. It's a shame, because Jaqua was the teams second best striker in their first season, with nine goals and six assists I believe (correct me in I am wrong). He did make a splash in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, however. Scoring five of the eight goals scored throughout the duration of the tournament. How do people not see the value in him? It is truly puzzling to me. Finally, we have Fucito. He was absent most of the season due to injury as well, but when he played he made an impact. His first career goal was the game winner in stoppage time against Kansas City last May. He scored several times in the CONCACAF Champions League, and even during the friendly against Chivas de Guadalajara. As Arlo White has said, he has ice in his veins when in front of goal. For people not to see value in him is a travesty.


In terms of players lost, Nyassi is certainly a painful loss. He really started to prove himself last season, so far as scoring his first career goal against Toronto and then four days later scoring both goals in the US Open Cup final and being the key in the Sounders' lifting of another Cup. Yes his speed will be missed, but it mustn't be forgotten that the Sounders had El Flaco (Alvaro Fernandez) sitting on the bench the entire time.


To be finished later...