Franck Songo'o Appreciation Thread

What an unfortunate turn of events. Of all appreciation threads that I've had to write so far, I think this one might actually be the hardest. I won't claim that Franck Songo'o was the perfect player, or that he was without faults. But, when everybody else seemed to give up in games last season, it was Songo'o's engine that kept us entertained, and continued to give me hope for a positive result. The fact that he was not able to secure a deal with the Portland Timbers for 2013 is both depressing and frustrating.

I think it's fair to say that Songo'o's Timbers career got off to a slow start last year. While in the midfield he was adept at going forward, his defensive skills were always lacking. However, when he was used as an all out forward player he had a much bigger impact. In a sense he was the creative element that so many fans desired. While he only scored a single goal and earned five assists in 2012, I have no doubt that he would have been able to make a bigger impact in 2013 as his confidence level and familiarity with his surroundings increased.

It's worth noting, at this point, that the Portland Timbers have not "officially" released a statement that Songo'o is out. However, since Caleb Porter has acknowledged the fact that he is gone and Songo'o has been trialing at the Houston Dynamo, it's pretty much as confirmed as it's going to get.

Good luck wherever you end up Franck, whether it's the Houston Dynamo or someplace else. We'll certainly miss you in Portland.

Will you miss Songo'o? What did you like about him most in 2012?