and suffered an injury that kept him out of action until the next-to-last game of the year.
"We have to have a stabilized situation in goal," said head coach Sigi Schmid. "When you go through five goalkeepers in a year, it makes it difficult."
In addition to avoiding the injury bug, the Crew's roster needs a few tweaks in terms of personnel.
"The players have an understanding of what I want. They know how to play with each other," said Schmid. "We need to find the right complementary pieces to make the whole thing work."
WHAT WAS THE TEAM'S BEST MOMENT IN '06?
While Schmid pointed out the win at FC Dallas on June 3 and the improved results as the season came to close, general manager Mark McCullers picked out a truly special moment.
"I think the best moment was when Duncan Oughton came back and ran through the tunnel with the captain's armband on," said McCullers. "We had a great crowd that night."
The Crew entered the match riding a 13-match winless streak and needed Oughton's veteran presence to pull the them out of the doldrums. The MLS veteran missed the entire 2005 season after suffering a severe knee injury in the preseason. The Crew's Comeback Player of the Year picked up two assists while the Crew closed the season well under his leadership.
WHO MADE THE MOST IMPROVEMENT OVER THE COURSE OF THE SEASON?
With the Crew's offense coming out of hibernation towards the end of the season, it is not surprising that Schmid picked out a couple of his young forwards as making the biggest strides.
"Jason Garey, certainly once he got his injuries under control and got out there on a regular basis, showed that he could score goals," said Schmid. "He made some pretty good improvements over the season."
Garey also began make his presence felt as a leader for the Crew.
"His personality came out towards the end of the season. He is another player who offers some leadership," said Schmid. "It is something that this team definitely needed. He is just that kind of guy. He is mature and not afraid to lead."
In addition to Garey, Ricardo Virtuoso improved greatly. His performance against New England over Labor Day weekend allowed the Crew faithful to see a glimpse of his full abilities.
"He'll get have to get used to playing here and get used to the tempo of the game," Schmid said. "He showed that he will be a very bright spot for us in the future."
WHAT RESERVES ARE MOST READY TO MOVE INTO THE TEAM?
With the number of injuries, almost everyone on the Crew's roster had a chance to play. That said, the Crew want to see several veterans return from injuries to get back on the field.
"We want to see Frankie [Hejduk] back out on the field," said Schmid. "We want to see Busch get back out there."
In addition, Schmid sees Kei Kamara as someone with a large upside.
"Kei Kamara is someone who is still learning and we want to see him get on his game," said Schmid. "I expect a much bigger impact from him next year."
WHAT AREA OF THE TEAM NEEDS THE MOST IMPROVEMENT?
The Crew need to make some personnel adjustments all over the field, but the turnover will not be as drastic as when Schmid first took control.
"I think we are in the position of making some improvements, but not on making whole-sale or large-scale changes," said McCullers.
The main areas for improvement are at striker and in the midfield.
"We need to find a quality and experienced forward. We need to find a two-way midfielder," said Schmid. "Those are probably the two main things that we need to add to the team."
While the Crew is looking for a proven striker, the Crew's offensive woes will not just be solved with a front-runner.
"It doesn't just happen with a (Premier League) caliber striker. I agree with Sigi that our engine room needs some help. Our central midfield needs some help to create those opportunities," said McCullers. "Hopefully for our young forwards, what we saw near the end of the year will be the norm for those guys and not the exception. But, we still need some experience up front, somebody that has an established nose for the goal. We need a high profile striker.
"We will see what happens with Frankie and Busch coming back. Sigi has talked about a left back. We have a couple options there. I think it is a much better situation that going to the offseason that I have been in as general manager," he added. "We are not making decisions to get short-term results. Although it would be nice, we are trying to build the base of the team that will be good for quite a few years."
John Kuhn is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
