What Went Wrong, Playoff Edition: Columbus Crew Need To Go Back To Drawing Board
What went right: The first two-thirds of the season went about as well as Robert Warzycha could have possibly planned. On Sept. 4, his team was tied for the Supporters' Shield lead, heading to the U.S. Open Cup final and were competing in CONCACAF Champions League. The first MLS Treble (or Quad) seemed to be within the Crew's reach. They also advanced to the quarterfinals of CCL for the second straight season. Steven Lenhart also emerged as an offensive force, scoring six goals and adding two assists.
What went wrong: Almost nothing went right after Sept. 4. The Crew lost in the Open Cup final, they went winless in six straight MLS matches, goalkeeper William Hesmer was lost for the year in their end-of-season victory and they bowed out in the first round when their final penalty kick in the shootout sailed high. Simply put, this team was ill-equiped for the crowded fixture that came along with playing deep into three concurrent competitions and it caught up with them in a big way.
What we learned: It’s probably not a good idea to enter a season where your most important player is also your oldest player, especially when that player is 37 and has never played an injury-free MLS season. So much of what the Crew wanted to do was dependent on Guillermo Barros Schelloto not only remaining healthy, but continuing to play at a high level. Although he played a career high 29 regular-season matches, scored nine goals and had eight assists, anyone who watched him knows he has lost a step. Schelloto is just not capable of carrying a team the way he has in the past.
Where we go from here: Schelloto still has some gas in the tank and will almost certainly be back next year, but the younger players like Robbie Rogers and Emmanuel Ekpo need to take the stop forward they didn't take this year. Rogers and Ekpo combined for one goal and no assists a year after combining for two and 11. More telling than their production was their combining for 12 fewer starts and about 1,000 fewer minutes than they had last year. Injuries played a part in that, but Warzycha also seemed to lose confidence in the wide midfielders Schelloto seemed poised to be passing the offensive reigns to. Obviously, the Crew are going to need more production from this pair moving forward.
Core 11 (players that should be protected): Schelloto, Brian Carroll, Hesmer, Rogers, Eddie Gaven, Emmanuel Ekpo, Lenhart, Adam Moffat, Eric Brunner, Chad Marshall, Andy Iro.
