FC Dallas: Critical season for Clarke

Editor's note: ESPNsoccernet will preview all 12 MLS teams as they prepare for the 2006 season.

2005 record and finish: 13-10-9, lost to Colorado in conference semifinals.

Key additions: F Kenny Cooper, M Dax McCarty, D Blake Wagner.

Key losses: F Eddie Johnson, D Steve Jolley, GK Scott Garlick.

John Todd/WireImage

With Eddie Johnson gone, Carlos Ruiz will pick up the slack for FC Dallas.

1. Can the goalkeepers bear any weight?

The team's situation in goal looks wobbly at best. Jeff Cassar has been good in spots, but has never grabbed a solid hold on a starter's spot in eight previous MLS seasons. A history pockmarked by injury hasn't helped.

His backup (or challenger for starting duty) is Dario Sala, an Argentine who has similarly never nailed down a job as the solid No. 1. And that's despite playing 10 years in Latin America leagues, which are hardly known for crackerjack goalkeeping.

An offseason trade for solid Joe Cannon (who was most responsible for bouncing FC Dallas out of 2005 playoffs) was close, but fell apart at the last minute. That may haunt the Hoops.

2. Can Greg Vanney be a force in defense?

Dallas' attack looks mighty impressive. But not so with a defense that allowed 22 goals through one pitiful 10-game stretch last summer, before the club got matters sorted out a bit prior to the playoffs.

Vanney, 31, looks like the best hope for a turnaround. He wasn't terrible last year, but needs to be more of a authority along a back line that is otherwise rife with youngsters. Drew Moor and Clarence Goodson have something to offer -- but they aren't yet proven in big matches. Bobby Rhine gives the team a lot going forward (8 assists led all MLS defenders) but he can still be a liability in the back.

And whoever plays on the left of FC Dallas' flat four, they'll need the steadying guidance of a strong presence in the middle -- Vanney simply must step forward to provide it.

3. Who's on the left?

Sometimes lineup choices are tough because a manager has so many good options. And sometimes the choices are tough because no one has aggressively seized the spot. So it is with FC Dallas' left back and left midfield spot. Most troubling is the team's search for a left back, which slogs on for a fourth consecutive year. Incumbent Chris Gbandi? Challenger David Wagenfuhr? Rookie Blake Wagner, fresh from the U-17 residency program?

Gbandi did just enough late last year to hold off Wagenfuhr, who never regained his spot after providing Youri Djorkaeff too much space and permitting the game-tying goal in the last year's ballyhooed Pizza Hut Park opener.

In front of them, management appear to be giving Arturo Alvarez, 20, the first shot at left midfielder. Alvarez looked dangerous last year but ultimately failed to produce goals. Simply put, that's gotta change.

Ramon Nunez could play there, but the 4-4-2 demands lots of defense out of that position. The man who shows he's up for the dirty work can lock down a spot.

Biggest X-factor: Richard Mulrooney.

The busy central midfielder was driving the team as Colin Clarke's men sprang fast into the 2005 season. He already had two goals in seven games (exactly half the number he scored in 163 regular seasons games in San Jose). But he collapsed on the Spartan Stadium pitch in late May and the air slowly leaked out of Dallas' season from there. It's been nine months since his reconstructive knee surgery. Mulrooney had a slight setback in the winter, but arthroscopic surgery cleaned out some scar tissue and the 29-year-old midfielder is back at it. Previously doing conditioning work on his own, Mulrooney began easing back into team workouts on March 3.

The team sorely needs his leadership; Landon Donovan had a lot to do with San Jose's two MLS titles, obviously, but don't dismiss Mulrooney's significant contributions. And FC Dallas needs his industrious work. Simo Valakari is a tough tackler and adequate passer in the middle. But the veteran Finn is limited because he can't cover as much ground as other holding midfielders. With Mulrooney sitting alongside Valakari, Clarke's preferred 4-4-2 becomes far more viable.

Breakout player to watch: Ramon Nunez.

The young Honduran (who grew up in Dallas) prospered last year as a winger, scoring five goals. Most of his strikes came late in the season as Clarke developed more trust in his talented young attacker. Nunez may already have the best touch in tight spaces and looks like the team's best passer outside of Ronnie O'Brien. Teams learned last September that they must respect his shooting from distance, and his free kick ability will be a growing influence.

But none of it will matter if Nunez can't continue to develop a suitable defensive mentality. He is sometimes too happy to pass on an opposing attacker to the next man instead of closing down the trouble himself. Clarke would prefer to use Nunez, 20, in the middle -- but only if he can trust the attack-minded youngster going both ways.

Outlook: Who in MLS can hit a better ball from the right than Ronnie O'Brien? And who can convert the faintest of chances into telling goals the way Carlos Ruiz can? O'Brien, 27, is reaching the ideal age for a soccer player. He had 12 assists last year, despite limited availability from trusty strikers Ruiz and Eddie Johnson. Fifteen assists seems like a worthy goal for O'Brien -- even if and that has happened just once in MLS in the last three years (Preki in 2003) as the league strengthened its assist criteria.

Ruiz, who will earn about $450,000 this year if he approaches all of his bonuses, says he's recommitted to MLS after a season weighed down by AWOL episodes and evidence of indifference.

With Ramon Nunez, an emerging Roberto Mina and a healthy Mulrooney, the Hoops aren't likely to lose because of a bogged down attack. But what of that defense and iffy goalkeeping? That will tell the tale of FC Dallas in 2006.

This much seems certain: Colin Clarke must prove he's the man to get things done. New GM Michael Hitchcock, focused intently on selling tickets at spiffy new Pizza Hut Park, has put everyone in the organization on alert. They've got to prove their worth -- and that apparently extends to Clarke, who received only a one-year contract extension. It's his third full year in charge, and anything short of landing in the MLS Cup -- once again inside it's the club's building -- may not be enough.

Steve Davis covers soccer for The Dallas Morning News and ESPNsoccernet. He can be reached at stevedavis@dallasnews.com