he had some starts at the beginning of the season, but some poor choices on the field limited his time for much of the way. By the end of the season, however, Harris became an integral part of Ellinger's offensive strategy.
WHAT BENCH PLAYER IS MOST READY TO CRACK THE STARTING LINEUP?
Who to choose? Nearly every player on the roster had at least one start this season. But limiting the question to only those who saw action in less than 10 games this season, it becomes a tossup between Chris Brown, Jafet Soto and Jamie Watson.
Brown has proven himself to be a capable goal scorer on other MLS teams, and he still has plenty of drive. Soto likely would have seen much more time had he been with the team since the beginning of training camp, but he was acquired late in the season and needed to work on his match fitness. Watson never made the starting lineup, but became one of Ellinger's favorite late-game subs for his pesky play.
WHAT AREA OF THE TEAM NEEDS THE MOST IMPROVEMENT?
Real improved its level of consistency. But RSL needs to improve in that same area if it is to make the playoffs next year. The team can not afford any more six-game winless streaks, like it had to start the season and like it experienced again during June.
"Our consistency level improved the most. Week in and week out, we showed that we were a team that was capable of competing and winning our fair share of games," Kreis said. "Obviously, there was a couple of letdowns, but if you looked at last year to this year, last year it was about 50 percent of the time the team showed up. This year, I felt like the team was in every game and played good soccer through stretches of almost every game."
As well, Real had a decent defense, but it needs to be a lot better. The stats tell the tale: Real and Colorado each allowed a league-worst 49 goals this season. But things can only get better once Danny Torres sees his ankle heal. Between Pope, Novak, Forko and Jack Stewart, along with Torres, Real's defense should have the depth it needs.
Peter Richins is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
