In MLS, the ability to rebound from worst to first is not as difficult as other professional leagues in the United States. Also, the ability to go first to worst is pretty easy as well. With potential player turnover on the cards for Sporting KC, this offseason is the most crucial offseason they’ve come across in the last few years.

Sporting KC Approaching Most Important Offseason Yet

Why is this the most crucial offseason? Well, after they chose to replace Kristian Nemeth with a few vets during the last offseason, those vets didn’t turn out that well. It looked like Sporting KC “won” free agency while signing Brad Davis, Paulo Nagamura, and Justin Mapp. Davis seemed to be the most fruitful of all the signings, but an injury late in the season provided a segway into retirement. Mapp didn’t play more than 50 minutes for Sporting and Nagamura didn’t show anything decent until the final three games of the season.

Now, with those three contracts off the books, Sporting HAS to do a better job of filling those holes, especially to help provide squad depth. On top of that you have Diego Rubio out until the summer due to a torn ACL. Cameron Porter is a good third option at best. So they clearly need a backup striker. And of course, on top of that, is Benny Feilhaber’s contract situation.

Get Squad Depth

Sporting needs to create some squad depth. When guys like Graham Zusi go down with injury, they need to be able to adequately replace them. Their back line depth is certainly fine. However, Ike Opara might be a coveted option should he not be protected in the upcoming Expansion Draft. However, with $804,070 coming off the books with Nagamura, Davis, and Mapp, those top three depth signings need to be perfect.

They could easily split that figure of $800,000 over four players and get really good ones at $200k a piece. There are a few names to consider in this, both Mike Magee and A.J. DeLaGarza could be free agents next year. With Steven Gerrard leaving, it looks like LA may or may not experience a decent sized turnover. Snagging a couple of those guys off of LA might be a good idea. There is depth available for outside positions within the organization though. Guys like Tyler Pasher and Kris Tyrpak were absolutely fantastic for Swope Park Rangers last season, and they would definitely be worth a look for squad depth roles.

Striker Depth

This might be the most crucial upgrade in depth. Rubio is going to be out until at least June, maybe July. While Dom Dwyer is usually injury-free, that can change in an instant. Cameron Porter is just not a good second option to go with for the first 3-4 months of the season. He’s a fantastic third or fourth option, but not a second option. Sporting will most likely need to go outside of MLS to get this depth. Alan Gordon going somewhere other than Los Angeles again is highly unlikely. Chad Barrett should be available, but physically he can’t go 90 minutes. Sporting would be better served scouring South America or Southern Europe to get a solid second striker.

Bring Back Benny

I think the headline speaks for itself. They MUST bring back Benny if they want to be a playoff team for 2017. As I was getting this article published, it has become clear that Benny Feilhaber will be back for 2017.

Feilhaber set to re-sign with #SportingKC: https://t.co/lMozXXqwvg #mls

— Jeff Carlisle (@JeffreyCarlisle) November 15, 2016

He may or may not be on a Designated player salary. Jeff Carlisle of ESPNFC has mentioned that his salary would technically be above the Designated Player threshold. With that being the case, they will have to buy down somebodies DP contract. The easiest would be to re-negotiate Diego Rubio’s contract to fit below. The only issue with Rubio is that while his salary is below the threshold, his transfer fee demanded a DP tag to his contract. If they re-negotiate it, the tag would likely go away. Or, they can use allocation money to buy down Zusi, Besler, or Feilhaber’s to make it under the DP threshold. A precedent for that has been set by the San Jose Earthquakes who worked all that out last season when they brought back Simon Dawkins.

We most likely won’t find out how they do it until either the contract is announced, or when the rosters are finalized before the season starts. Regardless, Sporting KC have crossed off a crucial piece of their offseason to-do list

Why So Serious?

Why is there such an importance placed on being a contender again in 2017? Outside of the natural competitive drive of professional sports, Peter Vermes has put that there himself. In the post-match press conference on October 23rd, Vermes was asked about making the postseason for the sixth season in a row. In his response, Vermes said this,

“I wouldn’t even call it a streak. I would just say the fact that we made a commitment when I took over. Our biggest thing was what we don’t want to have are these aberrations where one year we are winning and the next year we are last place in the League. We want to continue to be competitive. We want to continue to do well and always put ourselves in a position to compete for MLS Cup. Our first goal is making the MLS Playoffs and we have done that now six years in a row.”

Vermes has that expectation, so it’s quite fair for media and fans alike, to have that expectation of Sporting KC. This offseason is crucial if Sporting KC wants to continue what Vermes has set out to do. If they don’t go about it correctly, they most certainly won’t be able to compete in 2017. It starts with depth, especially at striker, and ends with Benny. So pay attention Sporting fans. This offseason really, really matters.