New ownership brings a new attitude to the Wizards

Editor's note: This is the 11th of 13 MLS team previews by ESPNsoccernet for the 2007 season.

2006 record and finish: 10-14-8 (fifth in Eastern Conference)

Eric Schlueter/WireImage

Jimmy Conrad spurned Europe to re-sign with the Wizards.

Key additions: GK Kevin Hartman, D/M Michael Harrington, M Kurt Morskink

Key losses: F Josh Wolff, D Shavar Thomas, M Dave van den Bergh

Key questions facing team:

1. Did they get Hartman, or Hartman-lite?

Jimmy Conrad and Nick Garcia form a highly respectable central defensive pairing. Most other spots in the back and in midfield will be manned by capable defensive players. So the Wizards could prove awfully tough to score upon if new goalkeeper Kevin Hartman is fully engaged in the project.

Hartman had slipped a bit in his last year at Los Angeles, and is no longer a dominant MLS keeper. That's why the Galaxy traded him (and his high salary) last December.

In Kansas City, Hartman represents an upgrade from Bo Oshoniyi. Whether he's a wee little upgrade or a significant one is up to Hartman. Word is that he's using the trade out of Los Angeles as motivation, determined to prove the Galaxy was wrong to let him go.

2. Does the roster have enough difference makers?

New coach Curt Onalfo can fill out a lineup of competent players with the likes of Nick Garcia, Sasha Victorine, Davy Arnaud, Jose Burciaga Jr., Jack Jewsbury and Scott Sealy. But the roster of game changers is pretty thin.

Jimmy Conrad is a difference maker. Kerry Zavagnin and Kevin Hartman are close, and can be on a given day. Eddie Johnson? Who knows anymore?

So this team may require some big performances from players heretofore unknown for them. And the pending addition of an unnamed attacking midfielder could tilt the difference-maker factor a little further in the Wizards' direction.

3. Can a heightened sense of professionalism translate to wins and losses?

Hunt Sports Group finally achieved its longstanding wish last year to unload the laggard of its three MLS holdings. Life for the Wizards under the new ownership group, with a firmer commitment to the club and the spending to prove it so far, is night-and-day different, players and managers report.

The practice situation, for one, has improved dramatically. The club is no longer consigned to an inferior training field or reduced to vagabond status as it occasionally was before. The team will soon settle into its new, permanent training facility. New technical director and former U.S. international Peter Vermes drove the effort for the $3 million practice site.

Onalfo is certain that better commitment from the top down can create the stability and sense of ownership that may have been missing before -- and that it will be reflected in the standings.

Biggest X-factor: Eddie Johnson

If Eddie Johnson can somehow swim back up to the surface, Kansas City has a chance to improve this year. But that's a huge "if," considering Johnson scored just two goals in 19 games last year. (That matched the goal output of defender Jimmy Conrad, who played only 15 games.)

Onalfo knows Johnson quite well from their days with Bruce Arena's national team. Johnson remains fairly young (23), which Onalfo says people tend to forget, because the mercurial striker already has six years of MLS experience. So the first-year Wizards manager still has big belief in Johnson, who not only struggled last year in MLS matches but has not distinguished himself at the international level in more than a year.

"You gain confidence by putting balls in the net," Onalfo said. "I believe he is taking all the right steps, taking players on more often, shooting more, making defenses worry a little more. Once he gets his goal, I believe he'll gain more confidence."

Breakout Player to Watch: Jack Jewsbury

A part-time starter asked to man various roles over four years in Kansas City may have found a permanent home at right back.

Onalfo looked at his roster and saw similar players in Jewsbury, Kerry Zavagnin and Sasha Victorine. Now, Victorine will move out wide (with the freedom to come inside) and Jewsbury will get his shot at right back.

Onalfo wants a team that can attack from all positions; Jewsbury has a decent shot from distance and will bring a midfielder's ability to pass and maintain possession.

Outlook:

This is mostly the same group that scraped bottom last year. But Onalfo, a debuting MLS coach, thinks he has something to work with. If he can unearth a dependable right back among several contenders he would indeed appear to have a solid back line. The club certainly owns one of the best attacking backs in Jose Burciaga Jr., whose offensive production (eight goals and eight assists) last year had to be among the best ever for an MLS defender.

The attack looks like a bigger problem, which is ironic because Onalfo wants the Wizards to be an attacking team. There is a gaping hole at attacking midfielder, although the club may already have a solution in pocket, awaiting only a final contract signature.

The team was OK at home last year but struggled mightily on the road with 10 losses and just 12 goals in 16 matches away from Arrowhead Stadium. That will have to change in 2007.

With Josh Wolff gone, even more pressure falls on Scott Sealy to score. He has 19 goals in 57 games, which isn't terrible. But it's fairly ordinary stuff for someone looking to lead the team in scoring for a second consecutive season.

The Wizards have the misfortune of dwelling in what appears to be the tougher conference, and making the playoffs could be difficult.

Onalfo is leaning heavily on the team concept and the injection of club spirit from the new owners to manufacture a big turnaround. "I love this ownership group," he said. "I've become very fond of this team, and I believe in this team."

Steve Davis is a Dallas-based freelance writer who covers MLS for ESPNsoccernet. He can be reached at BigTexSoccer@yahoo.com.