Shifting sands of squad seize Estridge, Arnoux as Watson-Siriboe steps in

Arrivals so often require departures to balance things out, and when the signing of Kwame Watson-Siriboe was officially announced yesterday, it was to be expected that somebody would have to leave. Exactly who would leave: the question of the day. It's now been answered.

Learning that two players are departing was perhaps a little more surprising, though. Watson-Siriboe, a center back, fills a definite need with our side: The departure of Leone Cruz left us with only three natural center backs, and that has been rather problematic.

Jason Kreis, only recently, said difficult decisions would be made. Following the magnanimous defeat to Minnesota and the conciliatory losses to Los Angeles and San Jose, it became clear that depth was perhaps an issue. Our ability to rest key players outside of the midfield (our midfield depth is very good, really) has become rather in question. When Chris Schuler, Nat Borchers and Jamison Olave all took to injury – Schuler rather severely, with Olave also unable to play — it because shockingly clear that there simply weren't proper options. Now, Chris Wingert filled a need in the center, too, and I think he did so well — but it's just not his position anymore. It's hardly a sustainable move. But with the entrance of Watson-Siriboe, that perhaps changes things a bit.

Chris Estridge, who seemed to be getting rather a trial in a center back spot after being ousted from the full back spot following the arrival of Kenny Mansally, seems to have been deemed excess to requirements. Likewise, Young forward Cody Arnoux has been shuffled off this side, and has either been deemed superfluous or is simply not seen as a viable option. They kid was a much-vaunted pick-up in the lottery, but injury issues took over, and he just wasn't able to cut it with the club, it would seem.

Both leave the club having made a minimal impact on the pitch, with Estridge seeing reserve and friendly minutes and Arnoux seeing only 69 minutes over two league matches in late 2011.

The nature of our squad depth, owing largely to salary cap and squad size restrictions, demands that players who aren't likely to play soon be cast off, save a few project players (in our case, mostly midfielders — and with good reason, given the promise they show) and standard sorts of backups — second- and third-choice keepers, mostly.

I'd like to wish both guys luck in their futures as professional footballers. In my experience, both have been nice, upstanding individuals, and if they find a place where they can get some minutes and make a difference, all the better.

I suspect we'll be seeing another move soon, as this leaves us with only 25 players in the squad. I doubt that's quite enough, really, as we prefer to have 26 players in there. I'd prefer to have 100, but I think that's a bit impractical. Also, it surely violates squad limitations. Bummer.

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I hope everyone enjoyed Kreg's post yesterday. The guy's great with these Power Rankings, and it's interesting to see how we and others are perceived in the media, isn't it? Right, well, if you haven't read it, go forth and do so.