We examine Seattle's disconnect and Diego Valeri's chance-creation brilliance.
Disconnect
Last year, the Seattle Sounders went into dormant mode in the summer. With Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins out of the starting lineup for various reasons, the Sounders lost nine of 11 summer matches, nearly ruining their playoff chances and prompting talk of legendary manager Sigi Schmid getting fired. The lack of depth in attack — Chad Barrett, Lamar Neagle, and Andy Craven were among the main pieces — is what killed them, as they scored a total of five goals in that 11 game stretch.