Head Coach Caleb Porternoted that there is a particular reason the Crew played well on both the front and back ends of the 2019 season.
New signees; the initial lack of injuries; then, of course, players returning from injury; call-ups and general player availability - they all played a role.
"You should go back and look at the line-ups again…It’s important to understand the perspective and the reality of the season and who was in when we won and who was in when we lost, and who was in when we played well and who was in when we didn’t," Porter said.
Crew SC earned 13 of a possible 18 points in the first six matches of 2019, then ended the season unbeaten in 11 of its last 13.
"It’s really important to have that evidence, and these days, now, we have so many measurable things to look at as well, in terms of analytics, to make what we feel are educated measurable decisions. But also, there is a feel in it and you can’t lose sight of that," Porter continued.
The unprecedented loss of Milton Valenzuela and Federico Higuain - two Designated Players - in the same season combined with periodic absences from international duty players made for a hectic middle portion of the season that depended upon a level of depth the Club did not have.
Columbus did not win or draw a single match in which Gyasi Zardes andWil Trappdid not play, with the U.S. Men's National Team duo notably missing a four-match stretch from June 23 to July 6 in addition to the March 23 match at Philadelphia.
As part of his end-of-season press availability, President and General Manager Tim Bezbatchenkoreinforced the team's focus on depth moving forward, noting the level of play this year dropped too much when the team had players out for international duty, which also included Crew Defensive Player of the Year Jonathan Mensah, who missed eight consecutive games from June 23 through July 27.
After the midsummer slump, however, Bezbatchenko noted the steadying presence provided by the new signees and the bigger picture their success meant to the front office's scouting process going forward.
"I was pleased with how the players came in and had an impact. That is not always the case with international players," he said.
With 12 total appearances for Crew SC, newcomer goalkeeper Eloy Roomhas only been a part of two defeats, while eight of his 12 total games featured one or zero opposing goals. Additionally, Luis Diaz earned two goals and four assists in nine starts while Youness Mokhtartallied one goal in five starts
"It’s also great to see that as you come in and change and create a scouting process that reflects how I like to do things and how Pat [Onstad] likes to do things, that you know that it works," Bezbatchenko continued.
"You have to be methodical about it, you have to make sure you involve the coach at various stages of the scouting process, make sure that they’ve seen them, make sure that they are as much as anyone a part of the decision-making."
Currently, the Crew's roster stands at 18 players. Moving forward, combining depth and evolving the style of play is the focus, Bezbatchenko said.
"When it comes to our style of play, we need to be able to dictate the game. And so, there are a number of positions where we need to have offensive production, so whether or not that’s on the wing, up top in terms of depth positions. I think across the board we are evaluating our depth."
