Portland Timbers 2012 Player Rankings #23: Futty Danso

Futty Danso is one of three remaining USL hold overs and may not make it to year three. Last year Futty played in 24 games with 23 games started but this year he played in only 10 games with 9 games started. His lack of playing time was partly due to an injury early in the season and partially due to may be a preserved lack of energy during games when Portland was routed.

Futty does bring a lot of positives that cannot be seen on the field as he is a glue guy in the locker room. Everyone in the locker room likes Futty and he can bring people together which can be a very good thing when a team is struggling like the Timbers did this season. Futty also knows what it means to play for the Timbers and seemed to have his best games against Seattle.

Futty looks to be a very emotional player and he plays to his emotions and evidence of this can be found in his performances in the bigger games and in the games when Portland was routed. When Portland was down big, like against FC Dallas and against Seattle, it appeared as if he quit and would jog over to cover a player. However when Portland was winning, like against Seattle the first time, his energy was up, he was willing to fight for any ball and was going to do anything to win.

With all that said Futty looked at times to have taken a step back instead of a step forward and with the trouble Portland had with keeping the ball out of the back of the net Portland needed someone who was consistent. We the editors all agreed that it was time to let Futty go and to move in a new direction.

What do you think?