Seattle Sounders slasher Freddie Ljungberg: good – but good enough?

I’m on the record as saying I love everything going on with the Seattle Sounders.

Passionate crowds filling up a downtown stadium for a team that loves to attack. Furthermore, they are doing it for engaged, committed ownership.  In most areas, it really is a blueprint for what MLS expansion clubs should be. The only way the Sounders scene could improve is if Drew Freakin' Carey himself were handing out $10 bills as fans walked through the Qwest Field gates.

(One nitpick is playing at turf, inside an NFL stadium, which certainly isn’t ideal. On the other hand, any club that can set an MLS single-season attendance record, as the Sounders are sure to do this year, gets a pass from me on this one.)

But none of that means things are perfect for the soccer pros in the Emerald City. First, they need a broadcaster who knows the game. No need to kick that dead nag anymore.

The roster needs to improve. They need defenders who are better passers. They need more options in the central midfield and one more top-shelf finisher. But as an expansion side, you can’t get everything right away, so that’s nobody’s fault at the moment. Suffice to say, Sigi Schmid and Chris Henderson did a tip-top job building a side from the ground up.

But there’s one other element about this team that’s been eating away at me. I think you have to ask the question about whether Freddie Ljungberg is worth the money?

Ljungberg is a quality player, no doubt. And his particular attributes certainly have helped shaped the team’s likeable personality, one that’s built around speed in the attack, one that pushes the pace and gets numbers forward. (The attacking mentality is there ... even the final product isn't.)

So, he’s certainly got value. But what is that value, exactly? Because in MLS, where salaries remain threadbare by global standards, getting value across your roster means everything.

Ljungberg is Seattle's Designated Player, which means that he counts just $415,000 toward the salary cap. So, he’s certainly worth the cap hit. But the former Arsenal man is set to make $1.3 million this year. That’s a lot of strong Seattle coffee, especially at MLS prices.

Observationally, I noted earlier this year that he might not be the best fit for MLS. His speed of thought helps Seattle, but his foot speed is frequently neutralized by lenient refereeing in MLS. That is, he gets pushed around a lot and that’s inexplicably allowed in MLS. That’s not Ljungberg's fault, but the effect remains the same.

Plus, I wondered if Ljungberg would even make a full season for the same reason. He’s a guy with injury history who is coming off a significant surgery, and who gets tossed around like a Swedish rag doll by bruisers along the back line.

Sure enough, at this point he's started 17 of 26 games. Not terrible, but not great either.

As the Sounders’ first season is drawing to a close, we now have a significant statistical sampling, something to provide backing for those observations. And I have to say, it looks like I had this one right. Ljungberg has just two goals and five assists. Again, that's not awful. But is it $1.3 million worth?

Rookie Steve Zakuani, who makes about $160,000, has four goals and four assists. Or consider that Nate Jaqua has seven goals and seven assists. I know Jaqua plays a slightly more advanced position on the field, but that doesn’t account for such a wide gap.

And the gap matters. It’s no crying shame for the Sounders if they can’t make the playoffs. As an expansion team, just being in the running in late September says a lot.

Then again, it must be said that the opportunity is there, one that looked a lot better a few weeks ago. But the inability to score in four consecutive home matches -- let that sink in -- may have crippled the Sounders' post-season dreams. And Ljungberg’s inability to produce over that period can’t be ignored.

Saturday’s scoreless draw with Chivas USA may have been the fatal blow. With 20 minutes remaining, Chivas USA went a man down thanks to Marcelo Saragosa doing what he does best: getting thrown out of matches. (That man really is a red card waiting to happen. Preki has spoken recently about the importance of maintaining discipline. Well, I respect the heck out of Preki and the alchemy he’s managed at the Home Depot Center. But you don’t get to carp about discipline if you trade for a disciplinary disaster like Saragosa.)

But I digress. Ljungberg did try to put the game on his slender, underwear-model shoulders. But there’s only so much he can do, which is exactly the point.

One issue is that he's a 'tweener. He’s a slasher and a good winger, but he’s being asked to be a playmaker, which he really isn’t. Put the guy on the outside, especially opposite the dynamic, young Steve Zakuani, and he could potentially dominate – if he had a central, attacking midfielder with some sophistication, someone to get him the ball in the right places.

As it is, Pete Vagenas is a sub-standard passer, not even an average central attacking midfielder. But he’s playing that role because the Sounders really don't have anyone better.  (FYI, I know that Ljungberg does play on the right frequently, but he drifts inside so much and is asked to do the central playmaking, even from that spot.)

Finally, Ljungberg is 32, not exactly at an age where he needs a pill to keep up with the grungy young gals of Seattle, but not getting any younger either.

In Major League Soccer, $1.3 million buys you a lot. You have to wonder if Sounders FC can squeeze more out of the dollar?