Hello Again-
Well, in my second attempt as a journalist (first attempt went well – well MEANING no hate messages), I will be giving a somewhat brief season summary of both the Wizards and myself. Remember, of course, this is my version of the story and I am sure many of our fans will not agree with the optimistic nature of my post.
In the beginning of the season, we had many question marks regarding the starting lineup as Davy Arnaud was out with an injury and we had many new acquisitions; including Claudio Lopez (Argentina National Team star). Being that the coaches have always seen me as versatile, I saw myself starting (keyword here is starting) at right midfield. This was okay with me as it gave me a chance to join in the attack more (like the glory days at Kickapoo) than the previous year at right back. We started off very well going 3-1-1 in our first 5 games – putting us atop the Eastern Conference.
In the middle part of the season is when things went a bit astray and we had lost our identity a bit. I had moved to right back as Davy had returned and we were struggling a bit defensively. We were on a tough stretch where we had 7 of our next 8 games on the road and this proved to be detrimental. During the next 18 games, we went 3-8-7 and found ourselves in 6th place in the East. With only 7 games left, people had written us off in the playoff race.
We used this disrespect to fuel our chase towards the playoffs. With some new acquisitions and a new lineup we hoped things would turn around, and fast. I now was playing defensive midfield; a position I have always felt fit my game in the professional ranks the best. This new lineup gave us new life and an identity that we had lacked for months, leading us to 5-1-1 finish which put us in the playoffs. The only negative was we had to play the Columbus Crew, who were the best and most consistent team throughout the season. We ended up losing a hard-fought series against Columbus and they went on to win the MLS Cup.
Overall, it was a very up and down season but the positive thing was that we were playing our best soccer of the year when it mattered the most. This consistency which we lacked throughout most of the year finally came together, and that is something we will continue to build on entering the 2009 season.
For me personally, 2008 was the best season of my career. I started all but 1 game (suspended – too many yellow cards – crazy MLS rule), led the team in assists, and seems as if I have finally found a position to call home. That position being defensive midfield (If you haven’t realized it yet, this is supposed to be the happy ending).
Well, hope you enjoyed the rundown of our season. Stay tuned as next week I will have another EXHILARATING topic to post about before the Christmas break.
ALSO DO NOT FORGET TO REGISTER FOR MY CLINIC THAT STARTS DEC. 29TH. GO TO THE LAKE COUNTRY WEBSITE, SCROLL DOWN TO THE JACK JEWSBURY CLINIC LINK AND SIGN-UP. DON’T MISS OUT, AS THE SPACES ARE FILLING UP QUICK!!!
THANKS FOR READING-
JACK
