The Montero to Fulham Rumors - The Impact of a Montero Departure

The rumors have been floating around for the past few weeks that Fulham of the EPL has been in contact with Fredy Montero. Schmid reportedly would not stand in the way of a transfer to Fulham (doubtful that Sounders FC could if they wanted to, although the terms of the loan deal with Deportivo Cali are not public). So what happens if they are true and Montero is gone in the next few weeks?

Count me among those who thinks that the loss of Montero would be devastating to Sounder playoff and Open Cup hopes. My first argument is an obvious one - how do you replace Montero's point production? As of today, Montero has played in 15 of the 17 MLS league matches, and has accounted for 9 goals and 6 assists. This puts him 2nd overall in MLS for goals scored behind Schelotto's 10, and in a tie with several others for 2nd overall in MLS for assists with 6. And if the Sounders learned how to capitalize on set pieces, his 39 fouls suffered (2nd in MLS) would provide a number of great scoring opportunities for others. I'm not sure how you argue against these numbers. They exceed anything that could be accomplished on luck alone....

Which leads to my second point. Sounders do not have another natural forward that gets it like Montero does. In the last month, as Montero, Jaqua and Ljungberg have developed an understanding of each other's games, the scoring opportunities have gone up significantly. And Montero is the one who has been the most consistent (if maybe not efficient) in scoring goals during the stretch, scoring in the last 5 MLS games. Additionally, Montero is one of the few guys on the roster that can create a goal out of nothing but his own individual talent. It is this ability to create that neither Jaqua nor Le Toux possess. And it's why I don't believe that anybody on the roster right now could step up their production to make up for Montero's absence.

Man, that last point has me on the verge of launching into several other Jaqua and Le Toux-related issues, but I need to stay focused.... Look, I'll grant you that Montero has had a lot of chances to score lately that he has failed to put away. Golden opportunities at that. The Houston Open Cup match on Tuesday was one prime example, with Montero failing to even get a shot off. But it's MONTERO that seems to find himself in that position. It's not Le Toux, and it's not Jaqua. I don't care how tall you are, or how hard you work. The truth is that Montero's ability to read the game and be in the right place at the right time will always be more valuable to a team than Le Toux's work rate.