With our backs against the wall

Flight from LA to Honduras: 11 hours
Flight from Honduras to DC: 8 hours
Flight from DC to Dallas: 6 hours

So DC United has spent over 24 hours on airplanes in the last week. And those are three separate days in the past week that we did not have an opportunity to practice. I don't mean to make excuses, but it's hard to believe that a team playing in this situation really has a fair chance. Even when our team is close to full strength, we're still playing at a disadvantage.


None


1. Some decent possession by Fred in the midfield. But I again saw 0 of those nice diagonal runs behind the defense that used to be such a big part of his game.


1. That was the softest goal that Louis Crayton has given up since coming to DC.

2. Jaime Moreno just didn't have it today. And by uncharacteristically receiving a red card, he puts his team in an even tougher circumstance going into the final push for the playoffs.

2. Boyzzz Khumalo looked very out of position on the wing. Which brings us to...

3. Tom Soehn, did not make the best out of his healthiest lineup in months. It was not a good decision to start Khumalo on the wing (his third position since joining the team) and Guerrero at the back (ahead of Martinez). At this point in the season, we should be starting a proven lineup. This isn't the time for experimenting. And the tactical move of pulling Quaranta for Martinez might have costed us a trip to the playoffs. Sure, that might be a little overdramatic. But Tino has a tendency to take over in the second half, and I would have rather him stay in longer than Moreno or Khumalo.

And now, DC United is on the brink of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2002. Let's see how they do with their backs against the wall. It feels like a lifetime, but it was only 4 months ago that we were all talking about firing Tom Soehn. Those talks concluded when United went on an 8-game undefeated streak. Well embrace for the "Fire Soehn" talk to rightfully resume in full force this week. And this time, that will most likely come true if we do actually miss the playoffs.

I wonder if everybody still feels the same way about the CCL. I said a few weeks ago that I wanted to punt the CCL, and I haven't changed my mind. That doesn't necessarily mean that we have to start 11 reserves. It just means that when back in the familiar confines of RFK, United should spend all of the next week preparing for the MUST-WIN match against Chivas USA on Saturday. We can just treat the Cruz Azul match as a warmup for the only game in the next week that really matters.