Resetting the roster (again!)

Hey, remember that time earlier this month when I told you that United's senior roster appears set. And that the final senior roster slot would go to Jamil Walker. And that Guy Kpene would remain on the developmental roster. Yeah about that... Um...

Walker: Out! Kpene: Out! Dane Murphy: In! Jeremy Barlow: In! (More on these two in a future post when I get time to do some research.) Leaving us with...

18 Senior roster players:
1 Emilio, 2 Moreno, 3 Niell, 4 Gallardo, 5 Fred, 6 Olsen, 7 Simms, 8 Martinez, 9 Peralta, 10 Namoff, 11 Burch, 12 McTavish, 13 Wells, 14 Carvallo, 15 Mediate, 16 Dyachenko, 17 Quaranta. 1 spot remaining!

10 Developmental roster players:
1 J. Carroll, 2 P. Carroll, 3 Kirk, 4 Moose, 5 Stratford, 6 Cordeiro, 7 Thorpe, 8 Murphy, 9 Barlow. 1 slot remaining!

Removed from these lists since our last chat formally on this topic: Walker, Kpene, David Blumer, Josh Gardner, and Tony Schmitz.

Players still in consideration for contracts: Dan Owens, Jeff Curtin, and Cezar. Goff said it himself that the team will be in no hurry to finalize the roster, and I tend to agree. With 27 players under contract, the team is in pretty good shape, and it's not at all unusual to go into the season with less than the maximum of 28. I guess the front office and coaching staff don't expect to need Owens, Curtin, or Cezar in the next few games, so what's the point in officially adding them to the roster? Now its important to recognize that all three of these guys are eligible for the developmental roster. But also, judging from recent history (Burch, McTavish), United is not cheap about promoting players from the Dev roster to the Senior squad, so a guy like Stratford could always get a bump up if he earns it this year.

Now to back up and say peace out to our old pals 'Mil and Guy. Although both were completely absent from the scoring sheet in 2007 (one due to injury, one due to a lack of skill), both did make significant contributions to the team during their stay in DC, and I'd be surprised if either one didn't earn an opportunity with another MLS team at some point. Walker had 4 goals for the original San Jose Earthquakes in the 2003-04 seasons, so they'd be crazy not to take him back, unless they think they already have enough quality forwards (note the sarcasm?). I know I've been one of Kpene's most frequent detractors, so at the risk of contradicting myself, he did have some great touches/flicks, and was perhaps not utilized by United in the best way. If not other MLS teams, there's always the DC United Canadian Contingent.