| Top Ten changes to the Burn this offseason. |
| 1 | Capping of the Guard. | Zarco, Jordan, Rhine, and Broome are out of contract; and Cerritos has a big salary. All five are guys who might be backups at some point this season; so some, or maybe even all, of these guys won’t be back. Welcome to Cap Economics 2003. |
| 2 | #4 pick | The number 4 overall pic should become a starter sometime this season. Here are some recent #4 picks: Justin Mapp, Ryan Nelson, Carlos Bocanegra, Lazo Alavanja, and Chris Klein. Point being, that with the #4 and a healthy Gbandi there is gonna be some serious competition for places. |
| 3 | Lefty | The Burn do not want to go into the 2003 season with only one option at left midfield. That means either another left back so Broome (or Gbandi) can play left mid or a new left mid to fight Chivas for the spot. This is not a criticism of Chivas… but think what would have happened if he had gotten hurt in 2002. |
| 4 | Graduating Class | Do not be surprised if Eddie and DJ graduate from P-40, Vaca graduates to senior international, and Behncke graduates off the developmental squad. Only Stone looks safe to stay on the DR. |
| 5 | Forward Shuffle | This is the season, barring injury, Eddie should be playing a ton. That means Kreis, Cerritos, and Rhine will be looking at less PT… Everyone better get their ego in check, that includes Eddie too. |
| 6 | Stadium | Is the Burn gonna play at Southlake? Unknown yet. But if they do that will certainly be a big change, just for the Field turf alone. |
| 7 | New Discovery | Percy didn’t pan out, but ROB looks to be legit. Jeffries is a big fan of the Discovery Signing so expect one or two more this season. |
| 8 | Reserve Squad | The USL deal is over. Reserves are gonna have to come from somewhere. Either there will be a lot more Developmental Roster players (7 or 8 maybe), or there will be some sort of deal locally to get call-ups. Texas Spurs Anyone? |
| 9 | Morrison Sinking | Lee is gonna have a fight on his hands. As the lowest player on the depth chart last year, he will have to raise his game way up to make it again this year. But cheer up, a year in the A-League playing full-time leading up to expansion might be the best thing for him. A year on the Burn bench again is not where this kid needs to be. |
| 10 | Jerseys | No real radical design change, but 3rd Degree is hearing there will be a fabric material change. So your old jersey will still look right anyway. |
