It's Pat.... Noonan!

"You're a lot of woman, you know that? Yeah, wanna make $14 the hard way?"
                Al Czervik - Caddyshack

How many obvious jokes can we make with this guy's name? I'll limit myself to a Caddyshack quote, but not one involving Danny Noonan.

So Pat Noonan is on trial with the Sounders. Noonan was formerly with the Columbus Crew, and prior to that he was a long-time contributor with the New England Revolution. No word yet on whether or not he's going to get signed to the roster, so for now all we can do is speculate. But I think there are two points to be made from him even being in camp. And I'll make them together.

A guy like Pat Noonan gets a trial with Seattle because Sigi is not entirely comfortable with the options he currently has at outside midfield and forward. That means that Jaqua is probably out indefinitely (they are not sure what's wrong with his groin or how to make it better - I think the problem is that he has a vagina instead of a penis), and that Sigi doesn't think that guys like Estrada, Chewy, Nyassi and Souter are capable of being everyday players.

I do not think that Chewy or Nyassi are everyday players. Nyassi is the posterchild for ADHD, hyperactive hypoglycemic. He can't sit still, and he can't stop running everywhere at full speed. Guys like that often find themselves out of position. Chewy just can't cut it for 70 minutes. He needs to come in when everybody else is tired, and his poor first touch won't get punished the way it does when everybody else's legs are as fresh as his.

Souter, well, we haven't seen much of him other than the Portland friendly. I wasn't impressed. That leaves Estrada, the top draft pick. If we're looking at Noonan, then apparently Estrada hasn't made Sigi comfortable enough to start him.

Miguel Montano is a bit of a wild card here, but I don't think he's going to play much until the SSFC starts competing in CONCACAF Champions League play later this summer.

I think Noonan would be a good signing. He is a solid all-around player who can score and do the dirty work. He's not going to solve our scoring problems. But he should be able to stabilize the right midfield position and make the job his. Hopefully, we won't really need him to play up front, but he can do that also. Overall, this move makes a lot of sense because it adds depth at the two places we need it. I think Sigi will sign him, and at the end of the year we'll consider his addition a smart one.