Outside midfielder



Boy there are a lot of these. Cristian Roldan was a steady presence out on the right wing last season, and his ability to find ways to contribute there despite being a more natural center mid is just one more testament to this kid’s versatility and talent. He’s not likely to be part of the wing rotation this year with Alonso gone, but it’s nice to know he can do the job in a pinch. His younger brother Alex Roldan is admittedly less bright of a talent, but managed to earn a few starts early last season and has looked somewhat improved during the preseason stretch of matches. Brian Schmetzer seems to like him, and that’s unsurprising considering his strong work rate and effort.

This year though, the starting jobs are likely to fall to Victor Rodriguez and Jordan Morris. Morris is finally back after battling injuries for two seasons, and while the starting striker position was comprehensively filled by Raul Ruidiaz, he may well find a second lease on life out on the wing. His pace is undeniable, and he does possess an explosivity that we saw flashes of in his rookie campaign that could serve him well bursting forward in the wider channels. The only issue with Morris in this type of position is that in the past he has not been exactly super great at passing, crossing, or using his weaker foot. It seems foolish for me to draw any conclusions based on preseason matches, but in Seattle’s last two preseason matches, Morris was one of the best players on the pitch spraying accurate crosses from the right-hand side. If this is to be the new Jordan Morris it would go a long way towards repaying the faith the organization showed in him when they handed him a potentially (albeit loaded with incentives) big contract this offseason.

I honestly can’t tell you if Rodriguez is an amazing player, an average player, or merely a serviceable one. The Spaniard has struggled mightily to get a long consistent run in the side with injuries hampering him at every turn. He has looked brilliant at times, however, and there has to be a reason they’re keeping him around at a pretty big salary hit. If Rodriguez can manage 2000 minutes this season I predict Sounders fans may finally see what all the fuss is about. His xG+xA p96 of 0.46 last season puts him in the comparable range of players like Justin Meram, Ismael Tajouri-Shradi, and Aleksander Katai, and sits just below far more costly players like Albert Rusnak and Luciano Acosta.

This part of the depth chart gets even more crowded when you include young players with a ton of potential like Henry Wingo (who has actually also seen some time at right back this preseason), and Handwalla Bwana who would likely have seen a lot more minutes last season were it not for an unfortunate injury.

I’m forgetting somebody.

Oh! Harry Shipp! Harry Shipp is fine! There aren’t a lot of teams that wouldn’t like a Harry Shipp. He’ll rarely be a headline maker but he’s a good and decent midfielder that stays healthy and seems to be content to fill in whichever midfield spot is needed. Given Seattle’s injury history, I’d wager we’ll see plenty of Mr. Shipp this year.

Central midfield



Nicolás Lodeiro will be lining up in the central attacking role per usual. There’s not much to say about this guy that hasn’t already been said by me and many others, but he’s an elite MLS player and what makes Seattle tick. In the final third nobody passes as often as Lodeiro (well Miguel Almiron had ONE more pass than him last year but Almiron is gone), and nobody passes as well in the final third as Lodeiro (his 2018 pass score of 49.4 dwarfs the next highest tally of 33.3). As Lodeiro goes so to go the Sounders. Should Lodeiro need to miss any games, it’s likely that Cristian Roldan or Victor Rodriguez will deputize here.

Speaking of Cristian Roldan. He’s very likely moving back to his deeper-lying role this season where he’ll once again assume more defensive responsibility. The last time we saw him spend considerable time in this position was 2017 when he led the league in tackles. He was also one of the league’s best passers that year with his pass score of 65.5 only superseded by six other players (four of which were center backs). Roldan was given a substantial raise this offseason and while some members of the MLS media seemed taken aback, I can’t think of a young player more deserving. He’s looked more comfortable every season and I wouldn’t expect this season to be anything but a continuation of that progress.

Sitting next to Roldan will be Swedish international Gustav Svensson. Svensson signed with Seattle to little fanfare but has become omnipresent in the team since the beginning. The Swede pairs well with Roldan in the middle, and may also need to fill in at center back should the situation require it.

Striker



Ruidiaz’s first campaign with the Sounders didn’t get anywhere near the attention that Lodeiro’s did, and that probably has a lot to do with the fact that the team had started to turn things around before his arrival, but 13 goals in 15 appearances is an outrageous early return on investment, and I think that got somehow glossed over. I actually went back and counted because I hadn’t realized just how good it was. While this was obviously over a shorter period of time and therefore less of an accomplishment, that was more or less the same scoring rate as Josef Martinez. I’m not saying Ruidiaz is going to break the goalscoring record next year or anything, but I’m pretty comfortable saying that if he stays healthy he’s going to easily be a 20 goal a year guy and that’s something the Sounders haven’t had before.

Will Bruin is a fan favorite because of his amusing antics and also his ability to pop up late and score crucial goals. When the Sounders were struggling the most last season it was Bruin scoring and setting up goals that kept their head above water long enough to keep them from drowning while they waited for help.

2019 Expectations

Seattle have set the bar for a “successful season” pretty high, and merely making the postseason is no longer enough cause for celebration. Their recent early season woes have left them unable to compete for a Supporters Shield, and at least being back in that conversation would be one of the positive steps they could make this year. As I point out in nearly every one of these things, success in MLS comes down health, wealth, and luck. One of the reasons Seattle have been such slow starters recently is due to injuries. Not competing for MLS Cup or being in the CCL this time around the Sounders have actually had a full length preseason for the first time in a while and they appear to be entering the season with their first choice lineup more or less intact (although Brad Smith did leave the last preseason match early). A full season of good, fun, successful soccer and a Supporters Shield race are exactly what fans want to see, and what a team with the resources and support that Seattle have should be achieving.