The Omar Bravo signing is great news for the Wizards, but for our five forwards it adds added pressure
to perform and prove themselves to maintain their squad position or even their jobs.

With more than half the season gone the Kansas City Wizards things hang in the balance. Thanks to a recent run of good form and decent results, as amazing as it sounds the Wizards are within shooting distance of making the play offs. They will need to not only improve a little more, but also look to score more goals. Will we make the play offs? I don’t know – all I know is we are capable of doing so, the question marks hang over whether this team will finally start to find the consistency and goalscoring that has undermined the talent on the team so far.

The 2010 Kansas City Wizards are better than the 2009 Wizards by a country mile in terms of talent but it has taken time for things to gel and a starting eleven to become solidified. On the out seem to be Josh Wolff, who despite his early season work rate has proven to be ineffective and Jack Jewsbury who still has a role to play but will be unable to command a regular start so long as Stephane Auvrey and the increasingly impressive Craig Rocastle continue to dominate the central midfield spots. Their impressive partnership and blossoming understanding seems more than anything to have brought around the changes that have us back in contention.

The big question marks lie in the forward roles, not just for 2010 but heading beyond into 2011. With the official news that Mexican international striker Omar Bravo will be joining the Wizards in 2011 it is time not only the Wizards to continue to impress, but for the forwards to stake a claim on next years squad. None of them should feel safe, all of them have to prove and improve themselves. For others it may just be to late. The forwards are not only playing for the team and the playoffs in 2010 but also for jobs and starting positions in 2011. This is a breakdown of the forward positions as I see them.

Kei Kamara

Kei Kamara is a bit of an enigma. He has an abundance of talent, he has speed and skill and yet it has taken him seasons to become established as a starter in MLS. The Wizard’s lack of depth up front has obviously been a boon to his career and he has responded with seven goals so far this season. This is not a bad tally at all, 7 goals in 18 appearances, one as a substitute puts him on pace for a 11-12 goal season. Kudos. With zero assists to his credit he on paper appears by the numbers to be 2009 Josh Wolff, he is scoring but not contributing fully. His game and his team mates are consistently undermined by his sloppy passing, and his lack of awareness of where other players are. He almost fastidiously makes runs that take him away from attacking positions and does not create the space a man with his pace should.

Despite the goals he misses the target far more than he should.

I am not down on Kamara, however he has the potential to be a player that commands a starting spot in any team in MLS, however there is a sloppy side to his game that underlines the fact that he still needs to put some serious work in to fulfill this potential. I am tough because I hate wasted potential. As a striker he is in with a shot at starting in 2011, if he plays as a winger he will need to improve his game significantly. I believe he can, but as it is Special K isn’t so special and unless he puts the work in he is destined to become a journeyman squad player.

Teal Bunbury

Rookie Teal Bunbury came to the Wizards with high expectations. As the 2010 MLS Superdraft first round pick the Wizards acquired a young, handsome bull of a player who is physically powerful, fast and a gifted finisher. 7 starts, and 8 substitute appearances has yielded only two goals and an assist however his season long growth from a college player into an MLS pro has been evident and he has claimed the starting role that was formerly Josh Wolff’s. Alex Ferguson referred to Teal as a “handful” and that is what he is, a harrying, pacey, passionate player.

Teal is obviously still learning, however the composed and clever header over Toronto FC goalkeeper underlined the fact that he is a natural striker, and a thoughtful one at that. It was a moment of real footballing intelligence and a valuable goal for Kansas City.

That said, he needs to keep his forward progression going and start to find the net with more regularity. He isn’t an MLS starter yet, he just happens to be starting.  He needs to better recognize when he surrounded and start looking for the simple pass to help the Wizards maintain possession in the forward third and needs to control a petulant streak that has earned him cards that were entirely unnecessary.

The future is bright for Teal Bunbury, but will he compete for a starting spot with Kamara and Bravo in 2011? We will find out in these remaining twelve games. I believe he has all the tools, now we just need to see the goals.  I am confident we will.

Josh Wolff

Josh Wolff is a goal poacher. The kind of player who will score if you put the ball in the penalty area with a one on one with the keeper. His 2010 season started with him being pushed to a less familiar right wing position where he was unfairly maligned for not scoring goals. Ever the scapegoat for fans Josh Wolff would have to set the world on fire to actually get any recognition from Wizards fans who are tired of what they perceived to be his most fundamental flaw: laziness. I for one believe much of the work Wolff did early season was quite good, especially as he was part of a midfield that wasn’t functional however what chances he did have he didn’t take and with one goal on the season and the development of Graham Zusi and Teal Bunbury he finds himself playing against college kids at Swope Park as part of the reserve squad.

Wolff has had his day, and there is no future in him for the Wizards. Another side in need of goals and not lacking the service which starved Wolff of goals in Kansas City could take a one year shot on him but ultimately he is a 33 year old striker having his worst season to date. In a nut shell he has no upside.

Sunil Chhetri

I am confident in one thing regarding Sunil Chhetri. He is the best natural finisher on the Kansas City Wizards roster. Finding the back of the net when given real opportunities was all he did during scrimmage games and friendlies however the Indian international did not make an impact at all when it came to MLS proper. Playing 45 minutes in a US Open Cup Qualifier that the Wizards treated very much like a friendly was all the action he got as part of the ‘first team’ not seeing the starting lineup at all until the Wizards played Manchester United.

He didn’t look bad against United, and managed to get involved and retain possession against defenders that simply made him look like a dwarf however the writing was already on the wall for his season and he was loaned to the Indian International team who are running an extended training camp ahead of the 2011 Asian Cup in January.

On one hand Sunil going looks bad, but as part of the Indian squad, and throughout India’s involvement he will be playing competitive football and that is nothing that MLS can offer a reserve player. He should be fighting fit by the time the 2011 MLS Pre-Season starts and if he is going to make an impact that will be his time to seize the day. Can he? With Bravo, Bunbury and Kamara ahead of him in line? Maybe not but if he works hard and continues to develop there is no reason he can’t sneak into the first team squad as a substitute.

Zoltan

Zoltan joined the Kansas City Wizards at the height of the great 2009 goal drought and almost immediately got sent off on his debut. Aside from this odd start he proved to be an intelligent player who the fans appreciated. When Peter Vermes took over the reigns he continued to play however by the time the final pre-season friendly was underway in St Louis (against A.C. St Louis) he seemed destined for the bench. He got a start against AC St Louis, scored, was looking good when he suffered a ruptured ACL in the second half. At the moment he is still in recovery, the word is things are going well however he is unlikely to return to first team action this season.

Where this leaves him for 2011 is unknown. MLS squads are small, and when he returns for pre-season 2011 we will have six forwards on the books before any Draft or further signings. Much like Sunil Chhetri it is hard to measure his quality against the rest of the team because we have simply not seen him.

In conclusion

The remainder of this season, and especially the 2011 pre-season should be competative.  With six forwards arguably fighting over four spots our potential depth at the position is looking good. It is unlikely the Bravo will not make the team, which essentially leaves the remainder fighting over one starting position and two reserves spots.  Who will fall?  If it is a decision about money under the wage cap then Josh Wolff may be traded if we can find a taker, otherwise Zoltan and Chhetri will need to really get busy.  The competition between current strike partners Bunbury and Kamara should be enough to drive them both forwards developmentally and that can only be a good thing.

Got an opinion on who makes the cut?  Comment below – I want to hear what you think.