Football Season Review

In an up and down season, Real Salt Lake would finish the 2016 campaign in sixth position in the Western Conference table, ultimately being knocked out of the playoffs in a first round 3-1 defeat to the Los Angeles Galaxy. After missing out on the playoffs last season for the first time since 2007, Salt Lake knew that they needed to improve this time around, and they did, although it was certainly a year far from their best. After a blistering start which saw Jeff Cassar’s team go 6 games unbeaten, the remainder of the season would be a real rollercoaster ride for the side from Utah, ultimately culminating in an 8 game winless run at the end of the year. Salt Lake most definitely improved when it came to scoring goals in the league, with the claret and cobalt adding a lot more strength to their strike force. Juan Manuel Martinez would hit the ground running after signing in the summer of last year, going on to score a total of 7 goals. Joao Plata and Yura Movsisyan would also add an extra spark, the pair recording both 9 goals each, and a combined 15 assists, 12 of which came from the boot of Plata. Justen Glad would also prove to be an emerging star at the back, with the 19 year old defending putting in a number of steady performances in the centre of defence. The biggest disappointment of the season can perhaps be viewed as Javier Morales’ underwhelming contributions in midfield. The skilful playmaker would score only 4 goals this campaign, and net only 4 assists, his lowest total for 5 years. With an ageing midfield, Jeff Cassar may want to inject some more youth into his side going forward, perhaps giving Real a chance of improving on their sixth place finish in the West in 2017. With big names such as Matinez, Morales and Olave having all been confirmed as leaving the club, Salt Lake have a big rebuilding job to do over the winter, and it will be interesting to see which names they try to bring in.

Player of the Season: Joao Plata