The holiday season is upon us and the new year is rapidly approaching, bringing with it a new USL season. But before anyone breaks out their 2016 calendars and starts counting down the days until Sacramento Republic’s February 1st training camp, it’s time for the Question of the Week.

This time around on Question of the Week, we ask our staff what they want to see from Sacramento Republic FC in 2016. Here are their answers, let us know yours in the comment section below.

Josh Beeman, @josh_beeman

Sacramento Republic went through a major upheaval in the past season, with people who were important parts of the club’s early success moving on to pursue other opportunities. The most significant departures were those of Preki and Rodrigo Lopez. Both Preki and Lopez put their marks on the Republic, Preki because he built the team from the ground up and Lopez because he was the team’s MVP two years in a row.

What I would like to see from the Republic in 2016 is for the team to bounce back from the upheaval of 2015, complete the transition from Preki to current Head Coach/Technical Director Paul Buckle, and hit the ground running. Buckle has his first offseason in Sacramento, and while he has been disappointed to see some players leave, he also now has the opportunity to change the team through free agent signings.

A full preseason will also allow Buckle to better prepare the team for what he will be expecting from them, rather than coming in midway through the season and trying to make changes. The cohesion and continuity that Buckle’s first preseason will hopefully bring will certainly help the Republic next season.

While there’s no knowing for sure exactly what Buckleball will look like next season, the prospect of another season of continuity after 2015’s upheaval is certainly exciting.

Evan Eyster, @IronPonyChef

I would like to see the defense that is eventually fielded by Sacramento to be on par with what we saw in the 2015 campaign. 2015 was a down year for the offense, and the defense kept Sacramento in games that they otherwise may not have been in. If the Republic can replicate their 31 goals allowed campaign, which had them tied for 3rd lowest in USL, with the loss of Daly and the gain of Newton and Da Fonte, I believe that an abnormality on the offensive end will be able to fix itself. The best defense to miss the playoffs in 2015 was Charlotte Independence, who were 7th best and were eliminated from the hunt on the final day of the regular season. On the other hand, Tulsa Roughnecks and Harrisburg City Islanders, the two teams tied for the 4th best offense league-wide, missed the playoffs. In the Western Conference the only one of the top six defenses who missed the playoffs was 6th ranked Austin Aztex, a team that allowed only one fewer goal than the playoff-bound Seattle Sounders 2.

Defense wins championships in the USL. Defense makes you playoff bound in the West. What I want for Sacramento is a way for them to be able to find a starting back line that complements Newton and continues what the true strength of Sacramento Republic is: a top defense. They have been tied for third best in their first two seasons. Lets make it three straight top three finishes.

Jeff Shunta, @JTShunta

The prolonged scoring droughts suffered by the Republic this last season is one problem I would like to see solved within this upcoming season. While the old adage of “defense wins championships” still holds weight, there is no easier way to separate yourself from the USL pack than to find an efficient and consistently successful attack. Based solely on my eye-test of watching matches, it seemed that an abundance of chances were wasted and caused the outcome of quite a few games to be swayed negatively.

Utilizing USL statistics, the Republic were ranked third in the league in shots with 356 (12.71 per game) but were only ninth in goals scored with 43 (1.54 per game). This demonstrates that while their offense was one of the more potent ones league-wide, their conversion rates left much to be desired. These statistics, combined with the fact that the Republic were whistled for the most offsides in the league with 89 (3.18 per game), showcase that a lot of scoring chances being lost likely put them in a position where they had to fight for their postseason life.

A healthy frontline and perhaps improved offensive tactics should provide the Republic with better opportunities to convert a higher percentage of shots and thus squeeze out a few additional points over the course of the season. Furthermore, the additional margin would allow for more instances of playing defensively-focused, thus allowing for any shortcomings on defense to be concealed for a greater period of time. Improving scoring efficiency would seemingly aid both sides of the ball and put the Republic in a position to stare down at the rest of the league come the final whistle.

Now that we’ve had our say, it’s your turn. Let us know what you want to see from Sacramento Republic FC in the new year down in the comments below.