Mid-Season Review part 2: Departures

Continuing on in our mid-season review of DC United's roster decisions in the offseason, we move on to the departures. For this entry, our definition of "departure" will be any player who was on the club roster last season, but who is no longer under contract with the team, for reasons other than a trade with another MLS club.

1. Before the start of this season, I figured that it would be the replacement of Gomez with Gallardo as the decision that shaped United's immediate future As it turns out, the decision to sell Troy Perkins to a Norwegian club might actually have been more significant. I guess it's just part of DC United tradition not to keep any goalkeepers for more than a year or two. We've never had a constant back there like Reis and Onstad have been for their clubs (note: the two most successful teams the past 3 years). Simpson, Presthus, and Garlick were all here for too short a time. And of course it made sense at the time to let go of Rimando when Perkins had beaten him out for the starting job, but wouldn't we all love to have Nicky back right now? It's hard to put a number on the amount of wins it has cost us to lose Perkins. Because I can't think of any game specifically that we have lost due only to a poor performance by Zach Wells. But Troy was occasionally a game-changer when it came to making point-blank saves, and the defense as a whole was more composed and more organized with him in net. Perkins was vocal: not afraid to yell at Boswell for making a mistake. That's a trait I've never seen out of Wells. With so much change (and now so many injuries) to the back line this year, it would have made a huge difference to have a constant at the keeper position to keep it all together.

2. It was really unfortunate both to United and to Josh Gros when we learned that he would not be able to play this year. Even if he was never the most technically talented individual, his work rate was known and appreciated across the league. Josh could play both left wing and left midfield, and even though I'm not exactly sure where or if he would fit into our regular starting XI this year in competition with Burch, Quaranta, and McTavish, his consistent play would certainly have come in handy during this stretch of injuries. United would instantly be better were Gros to return to action, if only as an example of hard work. Some of our players would be well served to learn from Gros's dedication.

3. I struggled with whether to put this guy ahead of Gros or not, but lost in the expansion draft to Columbus through way of San Jose was Brian Carroll. I wrote way back when that Carroll was a "true United player", in the Joe Gibbs sense of the term "true Redskin". Like Gros, he had a good work ethic, and although he lost his starting job to Simms last year, BC certainly would have been getting plenty of playing time over the past month if was still with DC.

4. I would guess that Jay Nolly and his parents were probably the only people who were disappointed to hear that he got cut from the team when it happened. Nolly was not a very popular guy among United supporters. But he has been performing quite well for Vancouver this season, and would probably have provided more competition with Wells for the starting keeper job than Carvallo and Thorpe have. Nolly was only taking up a Developmental roster spot, so it wouldn't have taken much to keep him around. I never imagined 6 months ago that I would be talking about Jay Nolly as a significant loss.

5. Some occasional contributors to the first team who are no longer with DCU: Justin Moose, Stephen DeRoux, Nick Addlery, and Guy-Roland Kpene. Despite my constant inclinations to poke fun at Moose, I won't try to pretend that he or DeRoux have really been missed this year. They were useful utility men, but have been replaced fairly well by rookies like Thompson and Cordeiro. There was a brief time early in the year when Emilio was struggling that I kind of wished we'd had the aggressive Addlery around as a back up striker, but that role has now been filled admirably by a much younger Francis Doe. And as for Kpene's role as a semi-creative forward who doesn't know how to score? That was filled by Niell.

6. I've never spoken too highly of Bryan Arguez, but after being a first round pick last year, you would hope that he would have seen a bit of action with the first team this year. United's decision to sell him abroad for some good hard cash probably allowed them the allocation money to bring in los Gonzalos and the other new hires. I'd seen Arguez play in Reserve matches, and although tall, he always seemed clumsy and uninvested. Maybe he stepped it up when trying out for Hertha Berlin, otherwise I don't know what they saw in him. Regardless, central defensive midfield is not necessarily a position of need for us, so Arguez's departure still isn't very high on my list.

7. And finally a group of players who were on the roster last year but saw no time with the first team (and rightfully so): Jamil Walker, Mira Mupier, Jerson Monteiro, Brad North, and Shawn Crowe. You've got to feel bad for Walker, whose main attribute was speed, but never recovered enough from a leg injury to regain that speed. His years spent in a United uniform are not unappreciated, and we wish him luck with his career in the USL. Mupier and Monteiro were both forwards who had spent time previously with other MLS clubs, but both are now out of the league. North and Crowe just couldn't cut it.

Peace Out Moose

Today we bid farewell to another one of the most featured players here on DCUMD, our pal Justin Moose. He will be joining several other former United players in the greater northwest with the Vancouver White Caps. I have to think that that's probably a pretty good team now in the USL. Moose and Nick Addlery are both pretty solid players who each earned a few starts with the MLS team that won the Supporters' Shield last season. That's a nice line on your resume. I think either one of them would be able to make regular appearances for San Jose, but chose to pursue more playing time (and maybe even more money) in the USL.

What I liked about Moose: He seemed to really work hard when on the field. He sprinted all over the place on the right wing, and I thought he would get some playing time this year as relief for Olsen late in some matches. But it was a bad sign that he didn't make the 18 man gameday roster for any match yet this year.

What I didn't like about Moose: He's not as talented defensively as some of our other wing options like Mediate, McTavish, and now probably Cordeiro too. Also, I'm not sure his fitness level was high enough to play a full match.

Regardless, I'm sad to see Moose move along, and wish him luck. Maybe in the US Open Cup we can have a rivalry match between the 2008 Reserves and 2007 Reserves (Vancouver).

Salaries

The MLS Players Union just released the annual salary figures for the league. For easy reference, below are the guaranteed salaries for each DC United player currently under contract as of 3/31/08:

DC Barlow Jeremy D $ 12,900.00
DC Burch Marc D $ 33,000.00
DC Carreiro da Silva Fred M-F $ 242,000.00
DC Carroll Jeff D $ 12,900.00
DC Carroll Pat D $ 12,900.00
DC Carvallo Jose GK $ 49,250.00
DC Cordeiro Ryan M $ 12,900.00
DC Dyachenko Rod M $ 33,000.00
DC Emilio Luciano F $ 313,125.00
DC Gallardo Marcelo M $ 1,874,006.00
DC Kirk Quavas F $ 136,500.00
DC Martinez Gonzalo D $ 244,750.00
DC McTavish Devon M $ 33,000.00
DC Mediate Domenic M-F $ 33,000.00
DC Moose Justin M $ 17,700.00
DC Moreno Jaime F $ 275,000.00
DC Namoff Bryan D $ 98,750.00
DC Niell Franco F $ 152,500.00
DC Olsen Ben M $ 215,000.00
DC Peralta Gonzalo D $ 199,000.00
DC Quaranta Santino M $ 35,000.00
DC Simms Clyde M $ 59,000.00
DC Stratford Dan M $ 17,700.00
DC Thorpe James GK $ 12,900.00
DC Wells Zachary GK $ 52,920.00

Some comments... I think it's far too easy to look at this list and say that McTavish is underpaid at $33K and Niell is overpaid at $152K. Realistically, there's a lot more to it. Franco Niell was probably earning around the same amount or less while playing in Argentina last year. So it costs more to bring him to the team than it does McTavish, who joined the league straight out of college.

Plus, (they'll probably hate me for saying this but...) you also have to consider the age/experience of Devon McTavish and Marc Burch, and the fact that DC United *could* have left them on the Developmental roster last year if they wanted to. But no, out of good faith, respect, and appreciation, United rightly gave promotions to these players who were making significant contributions. So what I'm getting it is... it *could* be worse...

It's also way too easy to say that Marcelo Gallardo ($1.874M) isn't worth four times as much as Christian Gomez ($430K). We've been through this and if you've ever read my blog before, then you know what my answer is going to be. Gomez couldn't get us anywhere in international tournaments, or in MLS Cup Playoffs the past two years. Gallardo was brought here to make the team more competitive internationally. So if DC United were to somehow manage to win the Champions Cup (seems unlikely at this point), then yes, Gallardo would be worth all that money and maybe more.

The Developmental salaries are kind of hard to follow too. All the rookies seem to be earning the minimum $12.9K, except for Dan Stratford at $17.7. I'm fine with that because it seems clear that he will be earning more playing time than the other rookies this year. But what jumped out at me was Justin Moose earning $17.7 while Jeff Carroll is still at $12.9. The answer here is easy too. Like Stratford, Moose started out earning $17.7 as a rookie last year, so United just decided not to give him a pay cut to come back.

Lastly, why did Gallardo insist on an extra $6 in his contract? $1,874,000 wasn't enough? I'm not sure if $6 will even buy you a beer at RFK anymore.

Dev versus Dom versus Tino

On this the first actual week of DC United's 2008 campaign for international domination, we take a look at the probable starting lineup for the opening Champions' Cup match Wednesday against Harbour View.

Of the 11 starting roster slots, I think 10 are pretty much locked up, and the last 1 is only available due to the injury of our hero. Although Wells and Carvallo may rotate at times during the year, and Jaime Moreno probably shouldn't be counted on to start more than around 70% of our matches, there is really only one position where we have a truly open competition for the starting job, and that's at right midfield. Here are our top options:

Devon McTavish
Strengths:
1. Defensive ability - Although McTavish entered the league as a wide midfielder, and played there in college, his greatest asset for United has proven to be his quick reads on defense. Great tackler too.
2. Looks - With Bobby Boswell departed, Devon had within his grasp the title of most popular player among the ladies. That is until Santino came to town. Might this be the motivation that Devon needs to beat out Tino for this position?
Weaknesses:
1. Defensive ability - Like I said, McTavish's greatest asset is his defense. And as the club's only legitimate defender substitute, he might be more valuable on the sideline in a warmup suit, ready to enter at any time if there is an injury.
2. Offensive ability - McTavish remains unproven thus far in the wing position. In the few outings he had there last year, he wasn't overly impressive.

Dominic Mediate
Strengths:
1. He's a Terp - Obviously a huge strength when it comes to this blog.
2. Better at offense than McTavish
3. Better at defense than Quaranta
Weaknesses:
1. Worse at offense than Quaranta
2. Worse at defense than McTavish

Santino Quaranta - See this previous post

Those are the three possibilities that I think could get the job for the Harbour View match, but there are also some underdogs who could emerge as key Olsen substitutes as the year goes on. Justin Moose was our opening game starter at right wing last year, but he just barely made the team this year, so he's probably got a ways to go before cracking the top XI again. Although a few more performances like this and he'll be there quick. Quavas Kirk is another option, although I think Soehn is grooming him to be Namoff's backup instead (Who was it that predicted that?) I almost included Kirk in this post JUST so I could use one of his totally entertaining pictures from myspace.

So if I'm Tommy Soehn, I'm gonna play it safe and give the start to Dom this week. Quaranta could turn out to be the better player, but he's still only been with the club for a couple of scrimmages and I don't quite think he's earned it yet. But the outcome of the away leg could definitely affect who we start in the home leg. If we're behind, Tino gets the nod. If we're up, you might just see McT.

A rule change that actually benefits DC

Gasp! And here we were thinking that MLS only made rule changes in order to benefit the Galaxy!

Maybe this was announced earlier and I missed it, but a change to the MLS roster rules has come up today only because of Goff's latest post announcing the signing of Justin Moose to a Developmental contract, and the news that Kpene and Dyachenko are still eligible for Developmental contracts. Wait a minute... Didn't we previously count all three of them as being in competition for Senior roster slots?

Let's go back two months to a Roster Analysis post I wrote back on December 27th. Here's an excerpt:

What has not changed is the basic breakdown of 18 senior roster players and 10 developmental roster players. Straight from the MLS Roster Composition page: "Developmental players can be either domestic or international and must be 24 years of age (goalkeepers may be 25) or younger during the calendar year of competition."

That was a direct quote from the 2007 Player Rules, but when you click on the link now, the 2008 Player Rules says: "Developmental players can be either domestic or international and must be 25 years of age or younger during the calendar year of competition."

This is huge news for DC United, and it completely alters all of our previous forecasts of who is in competition for what spots. What a difference a year makes! So who is definitively eligible for the Developmental roster? The easiest thing to do is just look at the team's website and everyone born in 1983 or later is technically eligible, which means Burch and McTavish could technically be relegated if they were ever to fall out of favor with the coaching staff. Jose Carvallo and Franco Niell are also technically eligible, but I doubt they would have left their home countries for Developmental contracts. So here's how we see it playing out...

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. With the competition for the final 2 slots now coming down to Santino Quaranta, Jamil Walker, David Blumer, and Josh Gardner (born in 1982 - I checked). I've got to think Quaranta is probably back, and Walker and Blumer will go at it for the last spot. Sounds like another potential Versus.

10 Developmental roster players:
1 J. Carroll, 2 P. Carroll, 3 Kirk, 4 Moose, 5 Owens, 6 Stratford, 7 Thorpe, 8 Cordeiro, 9 Kpene. With the competition for the final slot now coming down to Tony Schmitz, Dane Murphy and Cezar. Cezar is an unknown so we'll see what the coaches think of him, but right now I think the edge has to go to Murphy since Schmitz has apparently not been traveling with the team (still in school - what a poor excuse!)

So why do I list Dyachenko on the full roster and Kpene on the Dev roster? Others might argue with me, but I feel like Rod has done more to earn the full roster slot and the salary that comes with it. Also, he was on the full roster last year and Kpene was not, so I don't see why they would change it. And lastly, with Niell on the roster and a healthy Jamil Walker (or Blumer), we're a lot deeper at forward now than we were last year, so Kpene will likely be seeing much less playing time, and actually could be potential trade bait if they sign Cezar too.

8 International players:
Competition has definitely increased on the international front. Let's see, we've got 1 Emilio, 2 Niell, 3 Gallardo, 4 Fred, 5 Martinez, 6 Peralta, 7 Carvallo, 8 Stratford, 9... Uh oh... This is a bad sign for Cezar. All indications out of camp seem to be that Stratford has earned his way onto the roster, and may even compete with Dyachenko for playing time. The Brazilian will really have to impress to make the team. David Blumer? According to Goff he's got a US Passport so he won't count against the international quota.

Whew. The MLS Rules committee really knows how to keep us bloggers on our toes. It must be a cool job to be able to just change the rules as you go along without ever really telling anybody. But I'm sure we've all had bosses like that.

'Tino versus 'Mil versus Moose

That's how it looks like this is developing. And after only one day of officially training with the team, I think it may be the newcomer with the inside track. It should be noted that Quaranta at age 23 is technically eligible for a Developmental roster slot for one more year. But judging from the fact that he already has offers from other clubs, I find it unlikely that he will accept a Developmental contract here with the salary that that would carry. That's why I think he's in competition for the final roster spot on the full team.

For my professional in-depth analysis of Moose and Walker, take a look at this previous thread, but for now let's focus on the kid.

Santino Quaranta
Strengths:
1. Talent - There's no doubt that 'Tino would be among the most talented players on the team from the day he signs. If he signs.
2. Value - If Quaranta earns a contract, I'm guessing it would be in the range of $40K to $60K. Purely a guess. But that's down from the over $100K that he has earned for the rest of his career. If he's as good as we thought he would be six years ago, then we'll be getting him now at a huge bargain.
3. Popularity - And I don't mean with the fans, although that will come too if he makes the team. I mean with his teammates. I'm sure Walker and Moose are likeable guys too, but if Coach Olsen wants to lobby Coach Soehn to add Q to the roster…
4. Dedication/Hunger - More than anybody else on the team, Quaranta has a heluva lot to prove. And he knows it. He's out there fighting for his career. But of course so are Walker and Moose.

Weaknesses:
1. Dedication/Laziness - He was traded and cut by his previous two teams for a reason. I'd like to take 'Tino at his word when he says that he'll work harder this time around, but his history cannot be ignored.
2. Injuries - We used this as a knock against Walker too, but Quaranta has been injured several times now, so it's definitely a concern. Although he does say he's in the "best condition of my life."

The theme for this offseason, as we've discussed before and will discuss again, is replacing the known with the unknown. That's why I think Quaranta will earn his way onto the team. That and these other two hints:

1. These quotes from Walker and Soehn that he's not at full speed or full strength.

2. Moose being in North Carolina the past couple of days instead of training with the team in DC. If he's smart, he's down there doing some job interviews.

I've been rooting for Moose all along, because he's got so much energy, but mostly because he's an easy target to poke fun at. But I've got to say that as a blogger, Quaranta looks like he could provide us with some great material.

Quavas Kirk

Is Alexi Lalas even a fan of the Galaxy? A trade like this makes me wonder if he really has much interest in winning.

Ok let me back it up. I guess if you're looking at the Greg Vanney / Quavas Kirk trade purely in terms of on-the-field talent, it's actually pretty even. Vanney started most of the year for DC, and should start and provide a bit of veteran leadership in defense for the Galaxy, a group that gave up the second most goals in the league last year. Kirk is young, fast, and talented, but he's currently "unrefined". Sure, he started five games for LA last year, but let's be real... Jeff Carroll could have started five games for LA last year too.

But unfortunately for LA, there's a lot more to this trade than just on-the-field talent. And that's where DC wins, and has won this whole offseason. Two things that LA apparently didn't take into consideration:

1. Greg Vanney obviously wasn't going to play for United this year. In any other sport, that would drive his price down. It's a whole supply and demand type thing. Like last year when Randy Moss obviously wasn't going to play for the Raiders, his price went down and the Patriots only had to give up a fourth round draft pick to get him. I was only expecting to receive a second or third round draft pick at best for Vanney. This is a major bonus.

2. Quavas Kirk remains a Generation Adidas player, meaning that his $111,000 salary will not count against the salary cap, and more importantly, he is eligible for a spot on the Developmental roster. I'll never understand how the Galaxy can manage to fit Vanney's salary under their cap, along with all the Beckhams, Donovans, Xaviers, Ruizes, and Martinos of the world.

But enough about the ineptitude of the LA front office. What does this do for DCU?

Well obviously it's a bit more depth on the flank. Kirk could maybe compete with Dominic Mediate for playing time. And this could also potentially affect our ongoing 'Mil versus Moose debate, making Justin Moose just a bit more expendable.

But I'm going to make a prediction here. With Kirk's size and speed, he seems to be exactly the type of player that Soehn and Company like to try to convert into a wide defender. It worked for McTavish and Burch, it didn't quite work for Gros or North, but I think they will give Kirk a try in the back at some point.

This also means that we've got some real competition now for the final of 10 Developmental roster spots. Judging only from the scrimmage match reports that I've read, I would guess that Tony Schmitz, Grady Renfrow, and Ardalan Attar might be the ones in trouble.

I wonder if Quavas Kirk could turn into a leader for the team. Maybe someday he will even be able to wear the Captain's armband. Then we would have to call him.......... (That was just too easy)

'Mil versus Moose

No, it's not some new stupid reality game show. It's the first installment in a new occasional series of posts highlighting some of the position battles that will undoubtedly take place throughout this season of change for DC United.

If you were with us this morning, you saw my analysis of the senior roster as it currently stands, with the final slot likely to be a competition between Justin Moose and Jamil Walker. The conventional wisdom has been for many months that Moose is unlikely to make the team, but I think he's got a shot. So let's break it down...

Justin Moose
Strengths:
1. Energy - With Gros gone, we need someone who can run up and down the wing all day.
2. Position - Wide midfield was identified by many as an area of need for United this offseason. If Olsen's injuries persist, then Moose could be second on the depth chart behind Mediate at right midfield. He's also spent some time in a CAM role in scrimmages, and could provide another option behind Dyachenko if Gallardo gets injured or needs a break.
3. Music - Moose is the sickness
Weaknesses:
1. Defense - He just doesn't play it. At least not well. In this aspect he is very un-Grosian
2. Height - We've already filled our quota of dwarves this year. Moose would have a lot of walks if he played baseball. He's got no strike zone. I mean how do you pitch to a guy whose shoulders and knees are in basically the same location?

Jamil Walker
Strengths:
1. Speed - He reminds me of Kpene. That is if Kpene knew what a net looked like.
2. Experience - This is huge. He had 41 appearances with the first team from 2005-2006, with 3 goals and 8 assists.
Weaknesses:
1. Injuries - Sat out the entire 2007 campaign.
2. Position - Unless he can surpass Kpene or Niell on the depth chart, Walker is likely in competition with a younger Jerson Monteiro for the fourth forward position. Not a good place to be.

So with all of that said, it looks like we're giving the slight edge to Moose based solely on his musical ability. Maybe if we found out that 'Mil could dance then this would be a draw.

Time for another roster analysis

I came up with most of this while standing in line outside in 20 degree weather for two hours to see Barack Obama speak in College Park yesterday (well worth it).

Major League Soccer is probably unlike any other league in the world that I can think of in its limitation of foreign players and players over the age of 25. The ACLU could have a field day with the MLS rules committee if they wanted to. Because of these rules, it's pretty much required that we review the current roster every other month or so.

18 players on the Senior roster:
First, the senior players from last year who are more or less guaranteed a spot on the senior roster again: 1 Emilio, 2 Moreno, 3 Kpene, 4 Olsen, 5 Fred, 6 Simms, 7 Dyachenko, 8 Mediate, 9 Burch, 10 Namoff, 11 McTavish. (Although McTavish and Burch are both still young enough to be eligible for the Developmental roster - born in 1984 - they were promoted to the Senior roster last year and will likely remain there.)

Next, we have our offseason acquisitions: 12 Wells, 13 Gallardo, 14 Martinez, 15 Peralta, 16 Niell.

That leaves 2 spots left. 17 will likely go to Jose Carvallo. He's only 21 years old so he's eligible for a Developmental contract, but would he leave his Peru club team to make less than $30,000 a year? Unlikely. So he's probably occupying another Senior roster slot. That leaves only spot 18 left, and the competition probably comes down to Justin Moose and Jamil Walker. We'll see how this plays out.

10 players on the Developmental roster:
Assuming Carvallo is on the Senior roster, we've got exactly 10 players remaining who are eligible (born in 1984 or later): 1 Jerson Monteiro, 2 Jeff Carroll, 3 Ryan Cordeiro, 4 Tony Schmitz, 5 Dan Owens, 6 Dan Stratford, 7 James Thorpe, 8 Pat Carroll, 9 Ardalan Attar, 10 Grady Renfrow.

8 International players:
Again we have some controversy, and it involves the same player. We've got: 1 Emilio, 2 Fred, 3 Gallardo, 4 Martinez, 5 Peralta, 6 Niell. If rookie Dan Stratford makes the team, he becomes 7. And finally, there have been unconfirmed rumors that Jose Carvallo has a green card, and therefore would not take up an international slot. But if not, he would be 8. That would put Stratford on very shaky ground, because if the team struggles early in the season, and maybe even if they don't, then they are likely to pursue additional foreign talent before the international transfer window closes in July, and in order to sign anyone else, United will need to cut somebody first. Stratford appears to be the low man on the totem poll, so he'll have to impress.

All of that leaves us in pretty decent shape. We've addressed a lot of needs for depth, but have very little room to add new players if the need arrises. The only area where we're potentially light is, as usual, defense. What happens if say Namoff gets injured, and then one of los Gonzalos (© CL) sits out with a red card? Who do you start? Obviously McTavish should be able to fill in anywhere on the back line, but after that we're down to either Owens or one of the Carrolls. Someone's going to have to step up.

Ryan Cordeiro

How come this year we had two draft picks from the Big East (Cordeiro-UConn, Stratford-WVU) and two from the Pac-10 (Jacobson-Cal, Owens-UCLA), but not a single player from the ACC? So Maryland and Virginia aren't good enough for DCU anymore? I see how it is.

I know I probably just sound bitter, given my blog's namesake, but how do you pick Ryan Cordeiro when Stephen King of Maryland is available? King was a first-team All American, finished his career at Maryland ranked second all time in assists, and has had several call-ups to the U23 national team. Burchie and Dom certainly would have welcomed another Terp to the team.

Instead, United selected forward/midfielder Ryan Cordeiro, a guy who some experts referred to as "a disaster pick." Cordeiro finished his career at Connecticut with 18 goals and 19 assists, and was second team All-Big East in 2007.

This is usually the type of player that United tries to convert to a defender, but so far in the two scrimmages, it looks like Cordeiro has been a second half winger in each game. With so many guys like Kpene, Dyachenko, and Moose turning 25 this year and losing their "Developmental" status, Cordeiro has a good chance of making the roster. Actually, Moose looks to be the best comparison as far as I can tell, because he's an attacking guy who doesn't play too much defense. But hopefully I'm wrong and Cordeiro will turn out to be more well-rounded, like a Mediate.

Roster analysis

First of all, here's a link to what the Fullback wants for Christmas. That's required reading for all DCU fans this offseason.

Secondly, with all the recent roster moves, and with the rule changes for 2008, I think it's time that we reset and take a look at where we currently stand.

The rule changes seem to be pretty minor in relation to DCU, and probably most other teams in the league. The biggest changes are that there is no longer any distinction between "Senior Internationals" and "Youth Internationals", and that teams can now trade international slots in player deals.

I don't see this change having any effect on DC United. At season's end, we've only got 3 international players (Emilio, Fred, Gomez), and they all fall under the "Senior" classification anyway. The only way it could affect us is that DC now has the opportunity to trade away a couple of their extra international slots if they want, and if there is a market for them (doubtful).

What has not changed is the basic breakdown of 18 senior roster players and 10 developmental roster players. Straight from the MLS Roster Composition page: "Developmental players can be either domestic or international and must be 24 years of age (goalkeepers may be 25) or younger during the calendar year of competition." But a team can also elect to promote a player 24 or younger to the Senior roster, as DC United did for Devon McTavish and Marc Burch this year.

Of course all of this could change at any moment, but acting under the assumption that Moreno will return, that Gomez and Vanney will work out a deal, and that Gros will retire, we currently have:

• (3) players with "Developmental" status (Arguez, J. Carroll, Monteiro)
  
• (19) players with "Senior" status

Uh oh.

And that's before United makes any other acquisitions.

So what does that mean for United? It means that we're already one player over the limit on the Senior roster, and it means that we will have to cut one player for every new player over age 24 that is signed in the offseason. This is because we've got 4 players (DeRoux, Dyachenko, Kpene, Moose) turning 25 in 2008, and Nolly is turning 26.

As promising as some of them may be, this could mean a world of trouble for guys like Moose, Addlery, Kpene, Walker, and DeRoux.

Now if only the MLS would change the rules again so we could maybe trade 2 international spots for another senior roster spot or something crazy like that.

Height restrictions

From the Insider:

Q: Justin Moose's MLS profile lists his height at 5'-8". What size heels was he wearing the day that measurements were taken? (Shatz/DCUMD)

A: LOL. Height is the least of Moose's problems. He's gotta make quite an impression at training camp to stay on the roster - and stay in the league.

Gee thanks Goff. And here I was hoping for a serious answer to my question. I've got to think that the answer is at least 4".