Through the month of December, Burgundy Wave will do a short review of every player who received even a paltry sum of minutes in 2012. We start with the goalkeepers and then move our way up to the forwards. Today, we'll cover Andre Akpan.

Name: Andre Akpan
Number: 19
Appearances: 15
Stats: 3 goals

I have always been a fan of Andre Akpan, but he remains a frustrating player to watch. The talent is clearly there for the guy -- he has great footwork, decent strength and ability to hold the ball up, a powerful shot with decent accuracy and enough speed to get past most defenders. Unfortunately, he still lacks confidence and good off-the-ball movement, which has killed him in some game situations. Passes simply don't find him as often as they should since he is so often out of position -- of course, when he is in position, the ball often goes in.

He is slowly improving year by year, but I don't know how much more patience the Rapids are going to have for Akpan if he can't start putting the ball in more often when he's out there. As a fan, I'm hoping to see him eventually become a solid center forward. (To replace Edson Buddle, ideally!) We know he can do it, but will he?

Ah well. Still better than Quincy Amarikwa.

PLAYER RATING: 4

.GIF TO SUM UP HIS SEASON:

Still seems like he's biting off more than he can chew.