Freddy Ljungberg and Sigi Schmid lead the way again in 2010 for Seattle. (Getty Images)

We only have two more clubs to look at here in our preseason look-ins of each Major League Soccer club. Today we head to the Pacific Northwest to see how Sigi Schmid and his Seattle Sounders FC are doing this winter.

For the most part things have been fairly quiet for last year’s expansion darlings. Schmid has kept the majority of his club intact from last season which came very close to a western conference final birth, not to mention they were the winners of the US Open Cup.

So far this winter the Sounders have been fairly quiet, only signing a couple players. Though they will get one big boost this summer with Swiss striker Blaise Nkufo joins them. Until then the Sounders will have to rely on young star Freddy Montero to carry the offensive load, which shouldn’t be much of an issue.

Anyways, let’s dive in to see who Seattle has going into the new season and where else they need to fill in the holes.

Keepers:

Who they have: Kasey Keller, Chris Eylander, Terry Boss.

Notes: When you have one of the best American keepers in US soccer history you’re pretty set, even if Keller is up there in age. Also they have a pretty solid backup in Eylander too so this is an area I think Sounder founds aren’t at all worried about. I’d be even willing to bet that should Keller be out for an injury at some point in this season that Eylander will be a fine replacement. But for their sake I hope Keller stays healthy for the year.

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Defense:

Who they have: Tyrone Marshall, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Patrick Ianni, Tyson Wahl, James Riley, Nathan Sturgis, Leonardo Gonzalez, Zach Scott, Taylor Graham.

Notes: This is a group I like but am not totally in love with…yet. Between Hurtado, Marshall, Riley and Gonzalez I think they’re pretty good but after that they’re pretty young and raw. I’d like to think that Sturgis will finally be fit enough to show his true potential this season. If he can be the player LA draft him to be a couple years back then they’ll be doing very well in the back this year.

I’d still like them to get a little deeper in the back though by getting another center back. Times they got beat least year were right down the middle on some sloppy plays. Possibly improving on their outside backs wouldn’t hurt either. I know they’ve had Jeff Parke in camp some this winter, that wouldn’t be a bad pick up for them.

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Midfield:

Who they have: Freddie Ljungberg, Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Steve Zakuani, Stephen King, Sanna Nyassi, Peter Vagenas, David Estrada, Kevin Souter.

Notes: When 100% the group of Ljungberg, Evans, Alonso and Zakuani are as close to being the top midfield group in the league as possible. I’d argue they are one of the best on any given day. Thing is you can’t count on them to be 100% all the time, especially not when they play 15 games on turf.

We could also see them lump in guys like Nate Jaqua to this group since they typically play more out wide than up top. But something tells me Jaqua could be on his way out with that recent signing. I would like to see them add a little more depth on the wings though and maybe another guy to facilitate the offense when Ljungberg isn’t out there.

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Forwards:

Who they have: Freddy Montero, Nate Jaqua, Roger Levesque, Miguel Montano

Notes: They’ve address this light area with the signing of Nkufo but he won’t be there until the summer. So a lot of pressure will be on Montero to live up to his hype yet again this season. If Montero struggles early it could be a bumping couple months until Nkufo arrives to this club.

I think adding another striker here for the short term could be beneficial. They do have young Montano but not many know exactly how productive the 18-year old will be. Adding someone with experience is the way to go here but it looks like they’re just waiting on Nkufo for the time being.

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Overall:

This should be an interesting year in Seattle. The club has a little more on their menu with the CONCACAF Champions League later in the year. Should they have any issues before then in terms of depth it could be a rocky road in the second half of the season. I think however Schmid’s club is set up nicely to brace any kind of storm that their schedule could present them this year.

The big wonder on most folks mind is whether or not they’ll be able to keep Montero for the entire season. My bet is they will so they’ll have to make the most of things this season.

Seattle should be in prime position to remain near the top of the west and the league this season should all the right parties be healthy this year. Lets not forget they were only a couple points out of being a Supporter’s Shield winner in their first season. I think they’ll be contending again in 2010.

Could Bobby Convey be headed home to Philly? (Getty Images)

The speculation has begun for the Philadelphia Union and their expansion draft that takes place tomorrow afternoon. The 15 clubs released their protected list last night and now the Union have a full list of guys that they can get 10 players from. And the talent is there for Union to get off on a good foot here.

I do have a feeling a deal or two will be worked out tomorrow but that is just a hunch.

Below are the ten I believe the Union could go for tomorrow. I went fairly defensive minded as I think that may be the way Philly goes since they haven’t made any moves yet like Seattle had already done by this time last year. Defense is always a good place to start with a roster and they can fill in the holes offensively this winter. Some of these I may be off on but we’ll see.

Bobby Convey (San Jose): His salary may be a little high ($220,000) but we know Convey is going to be on his way out of San Jose this summer, it just seems likely. He’s a Philly guy and it makes perfect sense.

Anthony Wallace (Dallas): He’s cheap, he’s young and has plenty of solid experience with the U-20 national team. He just graduated from his Generation adidas contract and he’s totally cheap ($75,000).

Pat Phelan (New England): He was a guy plenty of us debated about for being protected but the Revs had to leave him off the protected list. I think he will fit in well in the defensive midfield part of Peter Nowak’s lineup.

Brian Edwards (Toronto FC): He’s young, from New Jersey and a very solid keeper that would give them a decent start in goal. I know Jon Conway is out there and is a Philly guy but I think Edwards gives them a better shot than Conway. Also, I just don’t buy in to Philly taking Amado Guevara from Toronto here either.

Matt Besler (Kansas City): I was kind of shocked to see his name on the exposed list. He’s young and cheap for sure and no doubt he would be a good fit for the defense as he has plenty of league experience (he played in 28 games this year for KC).

Andy Iro (Columbus): He’s big, physical and has plenty of great potential for Nowak. He’s played center back and would easily fit into the type of system Nowak likes to run with his defense I think.

Stephen King (Seattle): A Philly boy that has been stuck on the bench in Seattle. I know he is an impressive player and will fit in well in the midfield for Philly.

Jacob Peterson (Colorado): A young midfielder with loads of experience. While his salary may be a little high ($100k) compared to others on this list I think he would be a guy that could not only use a change of scenery but probably fit in well in Philly.

Alan Gordon (LA): He’s the lone striker that I’m selecting here and for a reason. I see Philly going out and finding other strikers in the winter to fill their offensive needs. Gordon isn’t expensive and he brings plenty of talent for Nowak.

Robbie Russell (RSL): Kind of hard to believe he could go from kicking the winning PK on Sunday to a new club on Wednesday. His experience factor abroad and here leads me to put him here.

Think I missed on someone here? Let’s here it.

Usually by now we have a solid understanding of who will win what award by the end of the season. The thing is this award may be the most up for grabs right now because of injuries and players finding themselves out of favor with their coaches.

Take the number one pick in the 2008 SuperDraft Chance Myers. He started the year out and before the mid-season he was out of favor with the Wizards coaching staff. Not because of attitude but because of performance. Usually number one picks are suppose to be good but Myers certainly was not. His decision making seems careless, which has caused numerous goals scored against KC.

Then you have LA’s Sean Franklin. For a while we figured he was the best rookie, then injuries took their place and knocked him off the top. More recently poor play has hurt his chances of getting this award, not to mention the overall play of his club.

Then you had New England’s Kheli Dube. Finally it seemed like we had a rookie that knew what he was doing. Playing well, scoring goals and making people in New England forget they had an injured Taylor Twellman on the bench. What happens to Dube? He got hurt and hasn’t been seen from in about a month now.

So who has stepped up since then? Anyone? The door was open when Dube went down for guys like Chicago’s Patrick Nyarko and Chivas USA’s Justin Braun. But both went down before anyone could even place their name at the top of a list.

So what’s the list look like now? Some names are still there but some are rising to the top very quickly anymore.

1. Andy Iro, Columbus Crew: When things are going for you club you begin to find players who are the reason for it. We know about Schelotto in the middle, Hedjuk in the back, and Moreno up top. But this rookie in the middle of the defense has really impressed lately. He just scored his first career goal this past weekend and has been a force in the Columbus defense lately. Will it last? Will he get hurt now?
2. Kheli Dube, New England Revolution: Even though he’s been out lately you still have to look at him for this award. Four goals from a Supplemental pick is pretty impressive any year. And yes this high while being hurt means this rookie class has not been that great too.
3. Geoff Cameron, Houston Dynamo: He hasn’t seen as much playing time lately but that is due to his club being healthy again. I would imagine once the Dynamo start playing more in the CONCACAF Champions League you will see his name on the starting XI again. Which is good too because he’d depth to his club cannot be overlooked right now.
4. Stephen King, Chicago Fire: Hey, when everyone else is hurt in this rookie class its been King who has stepped up when needed. Two goals on the year from a pick that I thought was a total steal by the Fire. Can he continue his climb up in the final months is the question.

Still trying to find their way up here:

Juluis James, Toronto FC

Eric Avila, FC Dallas

Danleigh Boreman, New York

Anyone else that I missed?

A few more rookies are really starting to make an impact on their clubs here as we move forward and approach that half-way line of the season (believe it or not we are only a couple weeks from that). More rookies are starting to get playing time as the US Open Cup rolls around and even more so in league play. They are either earning their spots in practice or are filling in for injured veterans. Either way, some are starting to make the most of their chances here.

Again, this is a watch list, so for now there isn’t a real order here on the players. Though before long expect the order to be one of a ranking-style, but that won’t come until later this summer I would assume. I know I said before I would need a few weeks to truly get a top five, well it looks like I need more time on that. Mainly I want more time on that.

Here we go…

1. Sean Franklin (LA) - As I’ve probably mentioned before, he’s got a real shot at winning this award this season because of how he is playing on LA’s backline. He’s been a real consistent force in the back for a club that doesn’t have consistent defense. Without him back there this club would have given up way more goals than they already have.
2. Danleigh Boreman (NY) – This Supplemental Draft pick provides loads of pace on the wings for New York. Not great a shot though, even with the two goals he scored. He has gotten better, I will admit that but he still needs work on his touch and striking. If he helps lead New York back into the playoffs, expect him to get a lot of votes.
3. Kheli Dube (NE) – Another Supplemental pick on the list. We’ve seen in recent weeks just how good this kid is becoming. All the goals he’s provided were at big moments in the game. Makes me wonder if he will be that spark that allows New England to finally get over the hump in big games.
4. Chance Myers (KC) – Number one pick has to be on the watch because he is the number one pick. Because of the way KC has played this year it is going to take a lot for Myers to get more press in this award. Right now his chances aren’t that good of winning this because of his club’s form. Though, like Boreman, should he lift his club into the playoffs he will get plenty of votes.
5. Justin Braun (Chivas USA) – Stepping in for Ante Razov and Maykel Galindo in recent weeks. I liked Braun when I saw him in week one in Dallas and thought he had the potential to be a solid rookie. There are still aspects of his game that need work but that will come in time. I’m curious to see the playing time he gets when Galindo and Razov are finally healthy here this season.
6. Julius James (Toronto) – I know this is mostly on one game where he scored but I know this kid has the real potential to be a rookie of the year candidate. He is starting to get in John Carver’s lineups more and over time we will see exactly how good this kid really is.

Some guys on the fringe of moving up into the main discussion:

1. Stephen King (Chicago) – Getting plenty of time in US Open Cup games (scored last night against Columbus) and in regular season games too. The kid can score as we all know, but a guy like Brian McBride on the way, it looks like King will play more in reserve this season.
2. Geoff Cameron (Houston) – Has played well off the bench for the Dynamo. A couple assists and a goal on the year if I am not mistaken. I only have him down here because he comes off the bench and doesn’t start. Most of the guys above him start.
3. Shea Salines (San Jose) – So raw and yet so much pace from this kid. I’ve said before the potential is there but before long it has to come out and show. Plus we don’t see him for a full 90, that will hurt his chances at this award.
4. Andy Iro (Columbus) – He may make a serious run to move up the discussion here once he starts more. Sigi Schmid has full confidence in Iro and really for good reason. He’s big, strong and has a great soccer IQ. All the things you want in a center back.

Anyone I’ve missed? Let’s hear it