Sounders Lose 1-0 in Uninspired Outing at Colorado

Let's face it, the Sounders aren't just bad at this point of the season, they are a crisis club. The worst part of the 1-0 loss to Colorado wasn't the lack of points for the division table (though, all those zeros are starting to add up), it was the uninspired effort, the disjointed and (at times) panicked play, and the insipid, unprofessional finishing.

Thing is, I don't believe the team is this bad. The team chemistry is terrible, and their self-confidence is shot, and there is at least one cancer on the team...

...which brings me to Freddie "Yappy Lips" Ljungberg. His behavior is so obviously hurting the club, and his play and production are so poor (no goals since june '09, no assists this year), that he has to be the focal point of the club's efforts to right the good ship Sounders. Do they have the cajones? I doubt it.

As long as I'm talking about Yappy Lips, his miss at the end of the first half has to count as one of the worst attempts to strike on goal since...Brad Evans against Boca. Although Evans had a wide open net, Ljungberg had the space, the position and time to juke the defender, and pull the ball back onto his right foot for a shot on the keeper. Instead, he just lamely panic-kicked with his left foot from a difficult angle.

Given that the Sounders don't look likely to score more than 10 goals this season, their end of year DVD will have to be "Sounders Best Clankers and Whiffs of 2010" and Ljungberg's attempt will be top five, for sure.

One final thought, Leo Gonzalez really struggled in this game. He is one of those offensive fullbacks, who does more for the team going forward than he does with defensive abilities. He is a decent defender, and can stop attackers with average pace. He struggles mightily, however, with pacy players like Colorado's Norm Cummings. The speedy striker blew past him all night long. Leo looked to be struggling with the Colorado altitude, as well, but we will likely see more teams expose this weakness in our back line.