Mid-Season Review part 3: Trades

In the third installment of our MSR series, we discuss the trades that United has made since the end of last season. Besides the Gomez move, there were two other fairly significant trades for the team, and I think I actually come out opposed to the popular opinion on both of them. Maybe this can generate an argument or two in the comments?

1. When Christian Gomez first departed from DC, I suggested that his stats might actually improve with him in Colorado, just because he wouldn't have a predator like Emilio and an expert free kick taker like Moreno. But with 3 goals and 6 assists right now, it doesn't look like Gomez will get to his standard 10 and 10 that he averaged in DC, but then again, neither will Gallardo. We received Colorado's Designated Player slot in the trade for Gomez, and it's difficult to gauge how much that DP slot really has helped us. Because that slot just served to increase Emilio's salary. Maybe it was the increased salary that caused Emilio to step up his game from earlier in the year, or maybe he was just moving out of his slump anyway.

2. My sense is that most DC United fans would take back the trade of Bobby Boswell for Zach Wells if they could. I disagree. But you have to consider several things first. One is that Boswell wanted out of DC after he was benched by Soehn for the majority of the regular season. Secondly, Troy Perkins was already on his way out. Third, an attempted trade for Joe Cannon had already fallen through. And most importantly, if DC had not made this trade, our starting goalkeeper this year might have been *gasp* Jose Carvallo! As I said when it happened, this trade is not necessarily a loss for DC, but it sure was a win for Houston! They gave up a backup keeper and they got a former defender of the year, who this year has stepped up his level of play to be much more consistent. As for Wells, he's certainly improved since his first game in a United uniform. I think he can now be considered a legitimate starting keeper in MLS, but not exactly above average. My complaint is that the team didn't try harder to procure a veteran once Perkins was gone. With 2 new players starting in defense, it would have been nice to have a consistent keeper with the experience to lead a backline. Pat Onstad and Kevin Hartman were both left exposed by their teams in the expansion draft, and would have both been much more solid than Wells has been.

3. My sense is that most DC United fans are still in favor of the trade of Greg Vanney for Quavas Kirk. I disagree. Just like the Wells/Boswell trade, for me this all comes back to consistency, experience, and leadership in the defense. Vanney's play has certainly deteriorated, as we've seen in LA this year, but I for one would still enjoy having him as a backup to los Gonzalos and McTavish. He would have seen more playing time this year than Kirk has. If Perkins was still around, then I wouldn't mind this trade as much, but Vanney departing means just too much change to the defense for one season. Quavas Kirk is on the total opposite side of his career. Still young and "unrefined", but with a lot of potential that hasn't yet been realized in the DC United uniform. Here's my main question: How long does the Generation Adidas tag apply to Kirk? It's fine having him on the bench this year because as a GA player, he doesn't count against the salary cap, and only takes up a developmental roster spot. But if that tag expires next year, do you really think he'll stay on the team? I don't see him taking a $17,700 developmental roster spot, so the only options will be to put him on the senior roster, or cut him. He just doesn't play enough to deserve a senior spot. So now if you look at this trade as having Vanney for only the 2008 season or Kirk for only the 2008 season, which would you prefer?

4. Two more less significant trades saw United acquire Craig Thompson and Mike Zaher from Houston and Toronto respectively. Both players give us some depth in positions that we really need it right now. In a normal season without as many injuries as we've had lately, neither of these guys would be getting much time with the first team. But with Quaranta and Mediate injured, and McTavish permanently stuck in defense, Thompson has proven to be a useful utility man on the right flank. Already with one assist in Superliga action, the Miner has been fairly productive, but like some of our other midfielders, he needs to learn how to not lose the ball. Zaher plays mostly as a left back, and I guess there's a possibility he could start tonight in place of the suspended Martinez. Zaher's fast and hard-working with a lot of potential from what I've seen, and he could in the future be a regular option for DC, but unless he can earn some more playing time, it might be tough for him to keep his job next year.

I'm going to a party tonight, so I probably won't get to write a review of the KC match until tomorrow, and I'll also add part 4 of the MSR sometime in the next few days to summarize where the team now stands in position to make a playoff run.

Is Burchie the bomb?

Definitively yes! Or at least the potential is there for Marc Burch to really emerge as a weapon this year. For a few reasons…

I had a moment of realization during the Harbour View game last week. It was in the second half, and Burch had just gone on a long overlapping run behind Fred. Well somehow DC lost possession, and HVFC went on a counter attack, sending the ball up the right wing into the space that Burch had left unoccupied. But a streaking Gonzalo Peralta beat the HVFC player to the ball and shut down the attack.

But what would have happened last year? Probably the HVFC player would have beat Boswell or Vanney to the ball. Perkins would have had to come charging out and probably would have stopped the attacker, but it would have been pretty dangerous. Or more likely, Burch wouldn't have gone on his overlapping run at all.

I don't know if this very play is what the front office had in mind when acquiring los Gonzalos and dumping Boswell and Vanney, but it is certainly a bit of added equity. Because we've now got two capable center backs with a lot of speed, the flank backs now should have much more freedom to drift up into the attack. Burch and Namoff shouldn't have to worry as much about leaving their territory exposed, because Peralta and Martinez each have the speed to cover.

When Burch goes on these runs up the flank, United shifts temporarily into a 3-5-2. Burch can use his left foot to send in a cross, or one of his famous Burchie-bombs. But this also gives United another option, because with Burch on the left, guess where Fred goes… The middle of course! His favorite! And our formation will look something like this:
---Emilio----Moreno---
----Fred----Gallardo--
-Burch-Simms-Olsen-
Peralta-Martinez-Namoff

So not only will Burch develop more scoring opportunities as a result of the added speed in the back, but I think Fred could also see some residuals too. And that leads to our second reason why Burchie is the bomb. I alluded to it in my DCU/HVFC game review, but the communication between Fred and Burch is key. They seem to have developed some chemistry which will allow each of them to elevate their games.

And finally, the last reason that Burchie will be the bomb this year is just the fact that the team is playing a bit more variety of competition. When Burch first started getting starts at left back last year, no one knew who he was and he was able to create opportunities. But later in the year, the rest of the league got bit wiser, and began to mark his left foot more closely. But the rest of the world still has no idea who Marc Burch is. So his left foot will still be a major weapon in all of these international competitions.

Burch is one to watch this year. 1 goal and 3 assists last year is certainly a pretty good showing for a defender, but we could see his stats go even higher in 2008.

Peace out, Bobby Lightning

If there was ever a guy that you knew would keep in touch with the club and its fans after his departure, it's good old Bobby Boswell. I'm sad to see him go, because he was certainly a character and made the team a little bit more fun to follow, but at the same time, I don't begrudge him at all for wanting to leave, and I don't begrudge the club for moving him.

I worry a bit though that this trade happened a bit too fast, that we may not have gotten everything that we could have gotten. At least it certainly feels like after the Cannon trade fell through for whatever reason, United just went ahead and traded for the next best goalkeeper available. But I have a theory that there was a reason that United acted so quickly. They know that San Jose has yet to pick up a keeper, so we should keep in mind that United might not have been the only team in the running for Zach Wells. They were just the only team in the running that had much of anything to offer.

All things considered, it's probably not a bad trade for us. It sucks that we're losing Bobby, and Wells has some upside and he's cheap, but it's doubtful that he will be as stout as Troy Perkins. But when you consider the fact that Perkins is going, and that Boswell wants to go, this probably is a decent move for us. But damn, it's an f-ing GREAT move for Houston! They already lost Ryan Cochrane in the expansion draft, but I'd consider Boswell to be an upgrade over Cochrane. Wouldn't you? So they upgrade at center back and all they have to give up is a backup goalkeeper with only 4 appearances this year? Oh and a second round draft pick? I'm not going to say DC lost in this trade, but Houston definitely won.

Anyway, I join the rest of the DCU community in wishing Bobby loads of luck in the future. I for one have no intentions of removing his website from my favorites.

Using Protection

The San Jose expansion draft is going down on next Wednesday 11/21. Does this seem too soon to anyone else? Someone from the Revs or Dynamo won't even be done celebrating their championship yet when he's forced to move out to the west coast.

Anyway, I'm not going to go through the entire DC United team and who's going to be protected, because you can already get that here or here. As point out on the Insider, it seems like there are 8 players who are guarenteed to be protected: Emilio, Fred, Olsen, Simms, Namoff, Burch, McTavish, and Perkins. So that leaves 3 more slots and a lot of great players.

There's more than one way to look at this. Because not only do you have to consider which players you want back at DCU, but I think you also need to consider which players the Quakes are likely to find the most attractive.

So with that in mind, I think we need to protect Christian Gomez. There's a decent chance that he will be leaving the MLS next year, but if I was the Quakes, I would be willing to take that risk and select Gomez if he is available.

It's the exact opposite for Moreno though. Moreno is less worth the risk, because I think he would sooner retire than move his entire family to San Jose. Moreno knows that we want him back in DC, but I don't want to risk pissing off Gomez by not protecting him.

The next guy we protect is Rod Dyachenko. After his two assist performance in the second leg of the Chicago series, Rod has got to be in high demand. If we don't protect Dyachenko, then he is gone. No doubt about it.

And lastly, we need to protect one of our center backs, but I'm so torn as to which one. Greg Vanney is older, with a higher salary, but San Jose would be smart to take him if he's available because he'd be an instant starter and a leader, and you could maybe even give him the captain's armband. Bobby Boswell is younger with a lower salary, and still a lot of experience, but with the desire to go overseas. So its going to force Kevin Payne and Tom Soehn to make a big decision right now which player they want around next year. And I guess it really depends (just like everything else this offseason) on the future of Moreno and Gomez. If they are sticking around, then you keep Vanney to try to win now. If they are gone, then we sort of need to start rebuilding, and then we need to keep the younger Boswell.

Either way, I'm also leaving Brian Carroll exposed, so he could be taken. But I'm going to cross my fingers and hope that San Jose takes a gamble and selects Guy Kpene.

Osorio's notes

The following notes were obtained exclusively by DCUMD from Juan Carlos Osorio following the match last night.

Round 2... FIGHT!

So after several days of dealing with flooding in my basement, I'm finally ready to write about United again. (Why in Maryland do we have something like 59 days straight with no rain, and then it rains nonstop for three days? My sump pump and I are not happy about that.) Actually it was a pretty rough weekend altogether between United, the Redskins, and the basement.

But moving onto happier things, let's discuss how badly we are going to beat the Fire tonight. The entire A-squad should be healthy enough to start tonight, and with the atmosphere at RFK, I fully expect United to grab the series tying goal within the first 15 minutes. And the Fire will be forced to attack.

Trust me, Chicago does NOT want this match to go down to penalty kicks, because we have better shooters, and Troy Perkins is a beast and will dominate.

But they MIGHT want this match to be decided in the final 15 minutes of regular time, or in overtime. I think Chicago's counterattacking style lends itself to that sort of situation, because if United makes one mistake late in the game then the whole season could be over.

But I don't think this game will even get that far. I'm predicting the first goal to come early in the match when the teams are still feeling each other out. Probably coming from the wing: either Fred or Olsen. Then United will add two more goals in the second half, one to Luciano Emilio (who will be subbed out shortly afterward). And then… here's a shot in the dark… the third goal goes to either Marc Burch or Bobby Boswell at the back post to put away a Christian Gomez free kick. Chicago might strike on a late goal, but it won't matter, as United wins the match 3-1.