Akwari the answer?

To be clear he's a young defender, and has expirience with the U 23 setup I believe. He definately has made a handful of mistakes, but to me it's down to the fact he rarely gets playing time. I think if we were to give him the same opportunity that we're giving Williams he would be a serviceable defender.

 

anything is better than williams. hell i think eggy would have more pace than what williams has.

 

He's not a finished product by far, but he has the talent to be a good very good CB. He just needs the minutes to put him over the hump. I think Andrulis tied his hands a little with Williams. He told us that this was the guy to bring stability to our backline. However, in waiting for him to get his visa, Akwari stepped up and showed he deserved minutes. Andrulis isn't going to sit Clark so in order to get the guy he spend all this time trying to get in he has to take Akwari out. Except Williams is a dud, a slow one at that. Andrulis looked at the backline and said we needed experience, instead he should have looked at the backline and gone after what the Crew hasn't had back their since Bonsue left, speed. Then again the league wouldn't let us get Gibbs when he was ready to come over so maybe the league tied his hands as well.

 

He might develop in the future, but I really do not think he is ready for a full time job yet. He can be only part-time off the bench right now.

Case in point, in Dallas-Crew game, he was burnt one-on-one by three Dallas players in a single game - one is EJ but I forgot the other two.

 

But one can just as easily point to the previous Dallas - Columbus match (in Dallas) where, after a rough first couple minutes, Akwari totally cleaned up the back for the remainder of the match. Every ball into the middle he won and, contrary to a typical Columbus back, actually looked to build rather than boot it long.

 

I don't think Akwari is the cure-all for this team, but there is no doubt in my mind that he is a better player than Williams.

Also, I thibnk the best game I seen a Crew defender play this season was Akwari up in Naperville in early September. I remember being down smoking a cig at halftime and people noticed my Crew jersey and asked, "Who is that big black guy in defense?" he hasn't shown to be the model of consistency yet, but he definately has the ability to be a strong CB in this league for years.

 

I agree, the kid has talent, he just needs the proper staff around him to develop it. I think this offseason will have a positive effect on him, as I have a gut feeling telling me the Crew are going to pull a good coaching staff together (at least I can hope, right?).