The group is feeling confident after the win against Seattle. After a tough lose on Wednesday, the Rapids were happy to get back to winning ways. They have 16 points at the moment (5-3-1), enough to put them in a 3 way tie for 3rd. Plus, the Rapids have a few games in hand. At the moment, the Rapids are on a good pace and looking to improve as the season progresses. Not much to report on today, but here are few things of note.

Training Observations:

• Julian Baudet, Ciaran O’Brien, and Jamie Smith participated in full training and the fitness session.

• A few players practiced freekicks. Mehdi Ballouchy and Jeff Larentowicz were the most impressive among them.

• Kimura was not at training and there is no set date for his return.

• Ciaran O’Brien is likely going on loan, but he doesn’t know when or where. He says he’s been healthy for a month and is waiting to get off the injury reserve list.

Notes:

• The Rapids host the Columbus Crew on Saturday June 5.

Final Thoughts:

I noticed that both Jaime Smith and Claudio Lopez were training at full stride with the group.  Both have struggled with fitness issues, Jaime had a hamstring injury and Claudio joined the group late. As of right now, both think they are ready to play but have to wait on Coach Smith and the staff to see if they get that chance.

Nevertheless, watching them train made me ask myself, “do the Rapids finally have depth in their attack?” Although there is a great deal of improvement in that particular area, my answer at the moment is “no”.  We have plenty of bodies but we don’t know enough about certain players to really say we have depth.

Here are the players available: Wells Thompson, Conor Casey, Omar Cummings, Mehdi Ballouchy, Colin Clark, Jamie Smith, Claudio Lopez, Andre Akpan, and Quincy Amarikwa.

This season; Conor Casey, Omar Cummings, Mehdi Ballouchy, Wells Thompson, and Colin Clark have shown they are quality MLS players. The jury is still out on Jamie Smith, Claudio Lopez, Quincy Amarikwa, and Andre Akpan.

As of right now, the Rapids only have one quality attacking sub coming off the bench in Colin Clark. Quincy Amarikwa has contributed but, to some extent, has shown his limitations. Akpan has yet to feature in a league match and it might still be a little too early for the young striker to contribute.   That leaves Jaime Smith and Claudio Lopez holding the key to the Rapids depth.

I think we can reassess the Rapids depth when both Claudio and Jamie start playing significant minutes.  Both have impressive resumes and are highly regarded, but neither has had the opportunity to impress on the field.    When Jaime and Claudio are fit the Rapids would have cover for Mehdi (attacking center mid) and Omar (right wing) in the attack.

Until then, my answer to the depth question is “no”. That being said, their recent progress at training shows promise and we should have the opportunity to assess them soon.

Share your thoughts on the Rapids current depth in attack? What areas do you think the Rapids are solid and where would you like to see Coach Smith bring in new players or possibly a DP?

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