One down, one to go

What a wild ride. How is it possible that after all the injuries, all the mistakes, all the questionable decisions, and all the unlucky breaks, I can still go to mlsnet.com right now and see United currently in the playoffs? Pretty strange turn of events. It just seemed so fitting for this season to officially end on a stupid individual mistake that cost us a goal to a team that didn't deserve one. But no! DC came fighting back! And if this game is at all analogous to our season (and there's really no reason to believe that it is), then there's still hope for us yet.


1. Francis Doe scores big goals in big games. He impressed me tonight though even before his first goal. At the end of the first half, I was ready to say that we may have found our long term replacement for Jaime Moreno.

2. The decision by Tom Soehn to start Doe ahead of Moreno, and then bring Jaime on in the second half, turned out to be perfect. If Moreno, Doe, and Emilio all remain on the team next year, and are all healthy, I think this might be the dynamic we see more often going forward.

3. Devon McTavish and Marc Burch both had great games in defense. McTavish had his best game in a while and didn't miss a beat when having to switch from right back to center. Burch was solid in the back also, and had some pretty good free kick service.

4. I've been ragging on him and Vide too much lately, but Clyde Simms had a noticeably good game while wearing the captain's armband for the second week in a row.


1. Thabiso Khumalo and Luciano Emilio were a force for about 25 minutes in the first half, but disappeared most of the rest of the time. Khumalo definitely got the best of Khano Smith, which I always like to see, but his crosses still need some work before I'll be happy with him on the wing. Emilio created some good chances, but needs to get back into finishing mode. This is going to be way too boldly optimistic, but I think I could maybe see Emilio going on a scoring spree in the playoffs.


1. A bit of lazy marking by Gonzalo Martinez came pretty close to costing us the season. Not only did he keep Twellman onside on the goal, but he also hesitated before trying to catch up, allowing TT to be free on goal.

2. I certainly appreciate the effort, but Santino Quaranta had a poor match when it came to shooting. Pretty sure he didn't get one thing on target all night.

So where does that leave us in the playoff race? One point ahead of NY and KC, but with one less game to play. Let's hope that Columbus puts such a beating on the Red Bulls and their reserve goalkeeper this Saturday that the Crew have nothing left when they face us next week. I have a little bit less faith in the Earthquakes going against the Wizards, but we really only need one of those two teams to lose as long as we do get another win in our final match.

Oh yeah one more thing. I'll be in the bleachers for the Reserve match tomorrow, rain or shine, cheering our boys on. Anyone with me?

Roller coaster continues

Despite knocking on wood as often as possible, I hate to admit that I called this. DC United was consistently crappy early in the year, and was consistently victorious just before the start of Superliga, but at all other times of the season, we've been horribly inconsistent. The team once again failed tonight to string together victories. And for the first time, I'm really starting to miss Gallardo.


1. It was just a couple weeks ago that I called Mike Zaher as a potential regular option for us at left back, and he proved it tonight. He made one great stand up tackle on Naissey, and even got involved in the attack. Quality first start for the rookie.


1. If it weren't for him being a step behind Twellman on the first goal, I would have called Marc Burch our man of the match. He made 6 good tackles that I noticed, and kept Joseph from having any good chances on New England's corners.

2. For the first 60 minutes of the match, I had Jaime Moreno slated as a Rail, but he really stepped it up after that and almost willed his team to a point. Loved the cheeky chip shot. The team seemed to follow Jaime's example as leader in this match. They were slow when he was slow, but then they also pushed when he pushed.


1. This was probably more due to some good defending by Parkhurst and Heaps, but I was disappointed in Luciano Emilio for not being more involved. Probably should also admit that the midfield did a poor job of getting him the ball.

2. In general we definitely lost the battle in the midfield, even when shifting to the 3-5-2. We could not maintain possession, and for that the blame should fall onto our holding midfielders Clyde Simms and Joe Vide. Both left the field way too open for Larentowicz to score his ugly goal. Simms continued his bad habit of giveaways, but I did like how he pushed forward more late in the match. Vide completely disappeared in the second half.

3. According to Johnson and Rongen, Quavas Kirk has been impressing the coaching staff playing as a forward lately in practice. I just don't see it. The dude needs to learn how to pass the ball to guys who are wearing United jerseys.

This was the type of match where we really could have used Marcelo Gallardo. Without him, and with Moreno largely uninvolved for most of the match, the team had no one to turn to in the midfield. No one to create. No one to generate an attack. And that ultimately led to turnovers. Maybe it was also the lack of Ivan Guerrero that contributed to our inability to maintain possession, but something's got to change. I'm really looking forward to this team one day being at full strength.

Off to watch our boys down in Guatemala. Hopefully they show better.

Scaping the goats once again

Good game. But then again, games between these two rivals usually are.

I think I lost a bit of respect for New England tonight though. It was as if Nicol told a couple chumps like Larentowicz, Cristman, and Smith at half time: "Just throw your bodies around. Hack some dudes! The ref won't call it. Who cares if you injure somebody!" Not a bad strategy considering Okulaja was at the post, but that's not really what I want our little league to be about. And I'm sure the Revs don't want to be considered the Philadelphia Flyers of the MLS.

I'll keep my player reviews brief because I want to get into some deeper issues later on...

1. I haven't mentioned him in a while, but it was the play of Clyde Simms that brought us the early lead and he really did well in the midfield as we dominated possession in the first half.


1. A bit of an up and down game for Fred. He got the well-placed goal early in the second half, but it was his failed clearance that led to Cristman's goal shortly afterward.


1. Santino Quaranta looked like the weak link to me tonight. Watch the replay of Dube's goal if you dare, or just take my word for it that Larentowicz was Quaranta's man and got by him cleanly to earn the assist.

In the end, two things stood out to me tonight. Two striking differences between these teams. They're both similar, and they're related to the two biggest scapegoats who have seen the most criticism this year: Zach Wells and Tom Soehn. The two big things that stood out to me that kept New England in this game were (1) the oustanding play of Matt Reis and (2) the changes made by Steve Nicol. While I don't think that United's failure to earn the win can be called Soehn's fault or Wells's fault, I'm also really tired of saying that things aren't their fault. Both can be deemed adequate, but nothing more. The fact is that I have never seen Zach Wells play well enough where I'd be able to say "Boy, Wells sure kept us in that one" like Revolution fans are all saying about Matt Reis tonight. And I've never seen Tom Soehn make tactical changes during the course of the game that made me say "Boy, Soehn really deserves credit for this victory" like can be said about many other coaches.

Tonight, DC had better forwards than NE, better midfielders, and better defenders. But we did not have a better goalkeeper, and we do not have a better coach. If Wells and Soehn are adequate, then I guess adequacy will occassionally earn you ties on the road against good teams when your field players are up to the task. But it won't earn wins.

Eastern promises

When DC United started making all their numerous changes this offseason, I had it in my mind that I would NOT pick them to finish in first place, because there were just too many question marks. So I toyed for a while with putting Chicago in first, but then I realized that they had a new inexperienced coach, and Chad Barrett playing forward, so that wouldn't work. Then I flirted with putting New England in first place, but they just haven't done enough to improve this offseason. It even crossed my mind to put New York in first, but then I realized that I'm not a moron. So after eliminating all the attractive distractors, we'll just settle with...

1. DC United
Key addition (+): We've talked at length about United bringing in Marcelo Gallardo not to win the Supporters' Shield again (they could do THAT with Gomez) but instead to make the team more competitive in the C-Cup, Superliga, and even MLS Cup.
Key Loss (-): Brian Arguez. HA! No it's Troy Perkins. While starting all but one game in the past two seasons, Perkins was absolutely fearless, and emerged as one of the top keepers in MLS. Zach Wells will try to fill those shoes.
Player to watch (()): Will be interesting to see if Luciano Emilio scores another 20 goals, or if he suffers from a sophomore slump.
Result (=): United showed against Harbour View that they have the tools on offense and defense to dominate a lesser team. But how will they fare against more quality competition? With los Gonzalos, the team should be in the top 3 in defense again this year, but an aging attack with Gallardo, Moreno, and Olsen could stumble with the injuries and fatigue that result from being in so many competitions.

2. Chicago Fire
+: The Fire bring in experienced Polish international Tomasz Frankowski to add to an already strong attack.
-: The retirement of Chris Armas sees the end of the career of one of MLS's greatest defensive midfielders. The absense of this underrated player could do a lot of damage on defense.
(): Cuauhtemoc Blanco will continue to frustrate opposing teams, along with the referees. Makes you wonder if the most bruised legs in the MLS will last through the year.
=: This sounds cliché, but Chicago was on fire towards the end of last season, and I think they will keep it up in 2008. Look for Calen Carr also to play an emerging role.

3. New England Revolution
+: Mauricio Castro will be asked to add some more experienced leadership to a young midfield that includes Jeff Larentowicz and Wells Thompson. Steve Ralston could see his role diminish this year.
-: Two solid MLS attackers in Pat Noonan and Andy Dorman went overseas this offseason. New England will look for some young foreigners to step up.
(): How will Taylor Twellman react when the team blocked his move to Europe, but had no problem shipping off his partner Noonan?
=: The team really didn't do much to try to improve this offseason, choosing to rely more on their proven 3-5-2 formula with mostly the same players as last year. We expect mostly the same result as last year.

4. Columbus Crew
+: The Crew added left back Gino Padula, who should help to improve a defense that already includes Ezra Hendrickson and Frankie Hejduk.
-: Ned Grabavoy was found to be expendable and wound up in San Jose.
(): The Crew would be wise to expand on the role of Robbie Rogers this year. He's a young player with national team experience who should absolutely be in the team's starting XI.
=: We'll get to see what Schelotto can do with a full year. My prediction of the Crew finishing ahead of the Red Bulls is hinged on some other predictions that Jozy Altidore will leave the league and Brian McBride will rejoin the league in the middle of the season.

5. New York Red Bulls
+: It’s a sad state of affairs in New York when I'm claiming Zach Thornton as the team's best acquisition this offseason.
-: The team chose not to retain Dema Kovalenko for some odd reason. He's a foul machine, but he's about all the team had going for them in the play-breaking role.
(): Keep your eye on the forward combination of Juan Pablo Angel and Jozy Altidore. If Altidore gets a contract in Europe, how will Angel do alone up top?
=: With a pretty stout offense, and a lack of defense, look for the Red Bulls to be involved in a lot of 4-3 games this year. The team might start off strong again like they did in 2007, but will surely fade.

6. Kansas City Wizards
+: Sorry but I just don't see Claudio Lopez making a huge impact this year. He is also joined in the attack by Columbian Ivan Trujillo.
-: Lopez is a totally different player from the departed Eddie Johnson. We'll see how the rest of the team reacts to this change.
(): KC struggled in defense last year, despite the leadership of Jimmy Conrad. They will likely find themselves towards the bottom of the pack again this year.
=: This could be a year of transition for the Wizards, and I'm just not as high on them as a lot of people are. They have relied on Johnson too heavily the past couple of years, so I don't think they'll do well without him.

7. Toronto FC
+: Toronto made very few moves this offseason, but had a very strong draft with the selection of Julius James, along with finding Xavier Balc in the late rounds.
-: Fortunately, Toronto didn't lose much either. Chris Pozniak was a decent player for them in the midfield last year, but that's about it.
(): The reliable and versatile Maurice Edu will continue to develop, and if TFC is smart, they will allow him more freedom to make his own plays.
=: Toronto is building a talented young team, and probably one of these years we will start to see the results of that. But it won't be this year.

So not a lot of wholesale changes in the seeding of teams in the East. I do have United finishing in first, but I do NOT have them winning the Supporters' Shield. More on that we get to the Western Conference later (Hint: It won't be San Jose!)

There you have it. I made it through an entire post titled Eastern Promises without a single reference to Viggo Mortensen in a naked knife fight. Oh woops...

International update

Looks like our acquisition of Gonzalo Martinez is just about official, and that Said Godinez is probably not heading to the nation's capitol. Nothing further yet on Carvallo. But this is developing quite nicely. Assuming we re-sign Vanney, we might see a rotation of three guys at center back again with Martinez, Vanney, and McTavish. It's nice to have depth again. If we can come away with both Martinez and Niell, I'll be happy. I'm mostly indifferent about Carvallo right now, just because I'm reasonably confident that we can find another decent American goalkeeper, judging from our country's world renowned reputation of producing decent goalkeepers.

Also in the news is our favorite Terp that doesn't currently wear black and red: Taylor Twellman. Twellman wants to take his 29 credits overseas to Preston North End, but the move has been blocked assumedly by the Revolution. New England is good at exactly two things: Losing MLS Cups, and screwing it's top players out of chasing their dreams in Europe. Nice to see Taylor being honest about the whole thing.

Waiting by the phone

If I get a call later tonight and am asked to be the new General Manager of the San Jose Earthquakes, here is the list of players I will select (assuming I can negotiate myself a reasonable starting salary...)

GK: Kevin Hartman
DEF: Alex Zotinca, Ryan Cochrane, Brandon Prideaux
MID: Kyle Martino, Ned Grabavoy, Brian Carroll, Andy Dorman, Ivan Guerrero
F: Abe Thompson

I'm taking Hartman because even though he's up there, he's still got a lot less gray hairs than Onstad, although I'm hesitant because of his GAA in Kansas City. My three defenders are starters with their current clubs, and with Prideaux I'm getting someone who has been his team's captain, and will be my team's captain.

The midfield was the hardest. But with Martino, Guerrero, and Dorman, you're getting three versatile guys who have all played in several different spots. Carroll is coming off a down year, but could still start for most clubs in the league, and Grabavoy has the skills to lead the attack. Of course Andy Dorman is a concern to leave MLS completely, but I think he's worth the risk. I know I've been saying all along that San Jose would be crazy not to take Rod Dyachenko, but I think with Grabavoy available, Dyachenko becomes a bit redundant, and Carroll is easily the best defensive midfielder available.

Not too many good forwards on there, but at least with Thompson I'm getting a UMD alum! Notice I didn't take anyone from the Red Bulls. Hmm...

OK, now here's a list compiled from all the comments on the Insider, adding in my own, of who are the popular choices to be selected. This list is far from scientific because I think there's a lot of commenters on there that selected more (or sometimes less) than 10 players, and most of us gave very little regard to salary concerns. So read into it what you will.

Chivas: Burpo (1), Cunliffe (4), Nunez (3), Perez (1), Zotinca (2)
Chicago: Curtin (3), Guerrero (6), Gutierrez (4), Thorrington (1)
Colorado: Cancela (1), Casey (7), Hernandez (1), Petke (3), Prideaux (2)
Columbus: Grabavoy (13), Guenebaum (1), Herron (1), Thomas (1)
Dallas: Gbandi (1), Goodson (2), Oduro (3), Pitchkolan (1), Rhine (1), Thompson (6)
DC: Carroll (8), Dyachenko (3), Kpene (2)
Houston: Ashe (2), Cochrane (5), Onstad (3), Waibel (1), Wells (3)
KC: Burciaga (7), Colombano (1), Hartman (4)
LA: Gray (3), Hamse (1), Martino (6), Mathis (1), Tudela (3), Xavier (1)
NE: Dorman (7), John (4), Riley (4)
NY: Doe (2), Goldthwaite (1), Magee (2), Vide (6), Wolyniec (1)
Salt Lake: Brown (2), Kipre (1), Watson (2), Williams (1)
Toronto: Boyens (1), Lombardo (3), Pozniak (1)

MLS Cup in review

After 195 regular season games, 517 goals, and 3 rounds of playoffs, we have the same Cup champion as last year (Houston), the same runner up as last year (New England), and the same Supporter's Shield winner as last year (DC). Why did they even bother having a season?
And none of those three teams utilized the services of a Designated Player this year. So what does that say about the talent in MLS?

The view from section 404 row 7 at RFK was a lot better than I expected. Close enough in the upper deck that you could still read the names on the backs of the jerseys, but yet still high enough that you can see the entire field. And all three goals were on my end.

Speaking of goals, I called the Twellman and Ngwenya goals correctly, but picked a goal from the wrong CAM. Here's a few more observations from the Cup:

1. Khano Smith is a bit of a jerk. This is after hearing him clearly say "Get the fuck up man" to Blanco in the ECC game, and he was getting booed by most of the stadium by the end of the Final.

2. Craig Waibel sucks. He was getting beat by Smith almost every time the ball was in that area. It's just a shame that Smith was more concerned with arguing with the ref than he was with helping his team, because they couldn't convert any of those opportunities into goals.

3. I'm still trying to figure out the Andy Dorman sub. Because the fourth official had Noonan's number 11 up, but then Ralston came over instead and they changed it to 14. Was Ralston injured? Or did he overrule his coach and decide to take himself out of the game? If so, that's a little bit too noble of him, because Noonan was pretty ineffective and the team seemed to be missing Ralston's crossing ability when they needed it the most at the end.

4. Pat Noonan is over the hill. The Revolution should try to find a speedy striker in the offseason who can come in for Noonan when they are behind.

5. Dominic Kinnear straight up outcoached Steve Nicol. Kinnear's decision to move Dwayne De Rosario farther up top wreaked havoc on New England's 3-5-2, and they failed to adjust at all. Ngwenya's goal was on a kind of scrappy/lucky play, but I definitely credit De Rosario's goal to the Revs just being outmanned in the back. You could see Parkhurst in man coverage follow Ngwenya out to the side, which basically took New England's best defender out of the play and left DeRo open in the middle.

Fantastic game though to watch in person. I'll post some pictures that my wife took in here later when we get a chance to upload them.

MLS Cup Preview

I'll be there today with my DC United scarf and University of Maryland blanket, cheering on the Revs for one final day.

Houston is a good balanced team, that doesn't rely on just one player to make a difference, but I think it will be the Brian Ching injury that makes a difference today. These are essentially the same teams that met in the championship last year, and Houston prevailed. But if you think about it, if Ching hadn't played in the Final last year, then New England would have won that game on a golden goal in overtime, and we would be talking about them possibly repeating this year instead.

With or without Ching, Houston still looks like the favorite, but I think the Boston area just has too much going for them this year.

So I'm predicting a 2-1 Revolution victory, with goals by Ralston, Twellman, and Ngwenya. We might see Ching as a sub in the second half, but he won't be 100%, and he won't be very effective. I'm also predicting that there will be some bit of controversy that has us all talking (arguing?) while walking to the parking lot. Like maybe a Houston goal off a corner kick that's disallowed because of pushing in the box or something like that.

This game will be over in regular time, giving us all a chance to make it home (or to a bar?) in time to see the Redskins dominate the Cowboys :-/

Midnight Riding a Bike

Let's see the Boston Globe try to top that headline!

So I guess 32 credits was all that Taylor Twellman needed at the University of Maryland. Wow, what a goal.

And I don't need to hear the arguments that it should have been disallowed. The rule says that a dangerous play call is at the discretion of the referee. And this is coming from a guy who just saw United knocked out of the playoffs on a "discretionary" handball call.

The Revolution sure have this whole 3-5-2 thing figured out. Heaps, Parkhurst, and John were great, and Joseph was brilliant. I'd like to see Clyde Simms develop more into the Shalrie Joseph type. He's got the body for it. But Joseph is such a leader, pointing and directing wherever he goes. I also think Parkhurst's Defender of the Year title is well deserved.

I will be wearing all black to MLS Cup in support of United, no doubt about it. But don't be surprised if you hear from me a couple of "Taylor Twellman! Clap, clap, clap-clap-claps"

ECC Preview: Chicago at New England

Let me preface this by saying that I hate doing this. But sometimes if you want to be right, you've got to pick against your team. I've been a Redskins fan all my life, so I'm used to it.

I've been a reluctant Revolution fan for only about 72 hours now, and I'm already having my doubts. As much as I'd like to see them just get it over with already and win an MLS Cup, I don't think it's in the cards for them. And it's not because they're not good enough.

It's because Chicago is just too good right now. The Fire are exactly that.

They are hitting their stride at the most perfect moment. DC United was the best team in the league for about 9 out of the 10 month season, but right now I think the Fire might have that title. If Chicago can beat a great team in United, how could they possibly lose to a mediocre team like the Revs?

Juan Carlos Osorio is a great coach. I've sort of joked about it before, but he really could have a future as the USMNT coach someday. His adjustments throughout the 180+ minutes of soccer in the United series proved it. The Fire's tactics may have been ugly, but they were effective. Even our boy Jaime Moreno said "that's not soccer."

So my prediction is Chicago with a 2-1 victory. Both goals in the first half, and New England gets one late trying to come back. Let's hope I'm wrong.

Conference Champhionships

The Conference Champhionship matchups are set. Although I'm still not sure that you can really call them Conference Championships when you've still got an Eastern Conference team playing in the West... But I've already complained enough about that.

So we've got Chicago at New England on Thursday night.
And Kansas City at Houston on Saturday.

Really glad that Houston was able to knock out Dallas. I was getting pretty worried that we would have to sit through a Dallas vs. Chicago final at RFK. Between Blanco and Carlos Ruiz, I might have had to BOO through the entire match.

DCUMD has decided to officially support our boy Taylor Twellman and the New England Revolution for the duration of the playoffs. But I think the Fire are at the top of their game right now, and peaking at exactly the right time (which has been DC's problem the last two years), so it won't be easy.