Ivan Guerrero

We bring you this brief interruption to the MSR with the news that DC United has acquired Ivan Guerrero from the Earthquakes. The best endorsement of Guerrero has to be this one from Bryan Namoff: "He took us apart in the playoffs [with Chicago]. Very skillful, very quick, good technically on the ball and he gives us some speed."

So does Guerrero step immediately into the starting lineup? With Martinez suspended Saturday due to a red card, I think he's got to. But not necessarily in the left back spot, because I don't think that's what he was brought here to play. That spot belongs permanently to Martinez, and I don't really want someone who has been with the club for only two days to be starting in such an important position so quickly.

I don't have a problem starting him in the midfield though, and if he's still got it, I think he should probably be our starting left midfielder for the rest of the season. DC United has lost plenty of games this season (and last) because of stupid giveaways, or generally poor possession in the midfield, or a failure to pass the ball adequately from the defense to the midfield. We've all become fans of Quaranta lately, but he is a culprit, and so is Simms, and most of all is Dyachenko. Guerrero adds experience and hopefully consistency to the mix in midfield that would be a solid step towards solving that problem. Less giveaways is the key!

With all the injuries, and now a new one to Francis Doe, it's still hard to put together a starting lineup for Saturday's home match against the Wizards. I still can't get over how unfortunate it is for Dan Stratford right now, because this would be a perfect game for him to step in and start in central midfield. With some regrets, here's my starting XI for Saturday:

-------Wells-------
Namoff-McTavish-Burch-Carroll
Fred-Simms-Moreno-Guerrero
------Emilio---Cordeiro-----

And then here's my starting XI for the rest of the season when healthy:
-------Wells-------
Namoff-McTavish-Peralta-Martinez
Fred-Simms-Gallardo-Guerrero
------Emilio---Moreno-----