COLUMBUS - At the Columbus Crew's 2005 awards ceremony on Wednesday evening at the Southern Theatre, Jonny Walker visited the podium so often that he was nearly rendered speechless and almost ran out of people to thank.
Following his first season with the Crew, Walker won the OhioHealth Comeback Player of the Year, the Crew Newcomer of the Year, and the Crew Defender of the Year.
Walker, acquired in July in a trade with the MetroStars, provided a strong presence in the net after Jon Busch was lost for the season with a knee injury. He began the season recovering from a rotator cuff injury and then hurt a calf muscle in a reserve league match, but had a wonderful season once coming to Ohio. He finished second in the league in goals against average en route to five shutouts in 16 matches.
Another midseason acquisition, Chris Henderson, was the other multiple winner on the evening as he garnered the Crew Chiefs Hardest Working Man of the Year and the Crew Coaches Award. The other winners were Simon Elliott as the club's Honda Most Valuable Player, Robin Fraser as the Huntington Man of the Year, Jon Busch as the U.S. Soccer Foundation Humanitarian of the Year and Jane Scott as the Crew Fan of the Year. While Edson Buddle won the club's Budweiser Golden Boot, Eric Vasquez and Jamal Sutton shared the team's Sierra Mist Goal of the Year.
Despite the generally enthusiastic ceremony, it capped a largely disappointing campaign for the Crew as they dropped from MLS Supporters' Shield winners to last place in the Eastern Conference.
"Things sure have changed in the last year," said Crew general manager Mark McCullers in his introductory comments. "It has been a challenging year, but we are professionals and need to accept responsibility."
Added club captain Robin Fraser: "Obviously this season didn't go as we wanted. We need to learn from this."
Among other changes from last season, McCullers noted the excellent job Robert Warzycha did in a difficult situation as interim coach. The Crew have scheduled a press conference on Thursday to announce their new head coach.
"He brought the same passion and determination to coaching as he brought as a player on the field," said McCullers.
One recurring mention in the post-award speeches was the departure of athletic trainer Craig Devine, who will be leaving the Crew's staff following this season.
"People ask how I keep playing," said Fraser. "He has been the answer."
John Kuhn is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
