Embarassment

It seems like everyone in the stadium knew that this was a must-win game for DC United, except for anybody wearing black. What ever happened to being "hard to play against"? Wasn't that always Soehn's philosophy? This team was fairly easy to play against last night, making bad passes all over the field, including one that probably cost us all hopes of continuing our season. Over 28,000 fans showed up to give this match a playoff atmosphere, and our team let them down.


None


1. If every player on the team gave as much effort as Santino Quaranta then we may have stood a chance.


1. Possibly the worst mistake in the history of this franchise was Louis Crayton's inability to clear Peralta's passback. I guess we all knew that he would flub one of those eventually, but it had to be in THIS match?!

2. This is pretty much a rehash of what I said about him last week... But when you're at the end of the line in an absolute MUST-WIN game, Tom Soehn needs to put his best most proven lineup on the field. This was the WRONG time to experiment again with the 3-5-2. We finally had all 5 of our top defenders healthy, and he chooses to only start 3 of them? Gonzalo Peralta hasn't played a meaningful game SINCE JUNE and Soehn chooses to start him as our ONLY central defender? Yes, I'm bitter. And with the decisions he's made the past few weeks, Soehn is receiving a vote of no confidence from me.

3. We suffered from an inability to hold the ball, and frequently had way too much trouble advancing the ball out of the back. For that I blame Marcelo Gallardo, Clyde Simms, and Joe Vide. We had 5 midfielders to their 4 and STILL lost the battle in the midfield.

4. Some pretty poor and lazy defending throughout this match from Gonzalo Peralta and Bryan Namoff.

If the team is looking for a reason to keep fighting, then they need to look no further than the group of fans that stayed to the very end of this match, cheering and singing. In any other sport, you would have been hearing BOOs after the third goal, but not from United supporters! If those fans won't give up, then the team can't either. And the most ridiculous thing about it all is that we still actually have a chance! Even while blog commenters all over the land are calling for Soehn to be fired and for a complete roster overhaul (yeah, because that worked soooo well for this year), United still sits just 2 points out of fourth place in the East, and 1 point out of fourth place in the West. DC wasted this chance to get back into the playoffs with a home game against the weakest opponent left on the schedule. So with games against Houston, New England, and Columbus coming up, our chances are very slim. If we play the way we played last night, then our season is over, and so is Tom Soehn's career in DC. But if these players and this coaching staff somehow find a way to wipe the last month from their memory and embrace their underdog position after everyone else has written them off, they might just do something special.

Outplayed and outcoached

I'm slowly starting to calm down enough to admit that that was a pretty exciting and fast-paced game. But for United it was again a tale of two very different halves. Or maybe I should say a tale of the first 30 minutes and the last 60 minutes. Preki made tactical changes at halftime that clearly worked. Tom Soehn made the tactical change of deciding to sit back and try to preserve a 1-0 victory for 60 minutes against a team with some good attacking players. He decided that it would be best to play a possession game, even though his possessing midfielder wasn't 100%.


1. I considered leaving this space blank again, but Marcelo Gallardo does deserve some recognition for his goal. He's still learning to play with the 'Merricons around him. Which is hard to do when you're on the ground most of the match. Although Blanco doesn't seem to have the same problem.


1. At the end of the first half, I thought that Gonzalo Martinez was having his best game of the season. The 4-4-2 formation was really allowing him to use his speed to get forward into the midfield. He was aggressive as hell and held his own against Harris for most of the match. But he missed a crucial stop on Chivas's second goal, which could have cost the team the match, and I'm not sure that he crossed the center line once in the second half.

2. After being specifically called out by management and the coaching staff last week, I thought Santino Quaranta put out a much stronger and more energetic performance tonight.


1. Domenic Mediate looked like... well... he looked like a right midfielder who was forced to play center back. I guess we shouldn't have expected much better? I was really disappointed to see Mediate standing around with his hand up calling for offsides on the third goal instead of marking his man. I hate that! Does a player calling for offsides ever actually influence a referee?

2. I really think that we might need to put to rest the idea of bringing in Rod Dyachenko as the first substitute in midfield every match. All year he has looked to be one second too slow every time he has to make a decision. This leads to a lot of fouls and a lot of giveaways. I understand that Gallardo isn't fit enough yet to go 90 minutes, but I'm at the point where I'd rather see Stratford than Dyachenko.

3. I was all ready to come on here and give Tom Soehn props for putting together a good starting lineup that played really pretty well for 30 minutes. But that's about as far as it went. Because the tactical decision to sit back and defend a single goal lead has NEVER WORKED in this league.

So we might as well start the countdown. If this persists, and there's no reason to believe that anything will change over the next few days, it will be exactly one week from today that Tom Soehn will be out of a job. That's Sunday May 25. And that will already be too late.

One more thing... All of the fouling on Gallardo isn't going to stop anytime soon. And that's because the opposing teams know that they can get away with it. That would NEVER happen with Ben Olsen on the field! Atiba Harris's second foul on Gallardo wouldn't have happened, because Olsen would have already shoved him to the ground after the first foul. We need a player to step up and fill that enforcer role. Early in the year it looked like that would be Peralta, and sometimes I think that it might be Burch, but he draws yellow cards too easily.

Ugh. It's hard to lay your heart on the line for a team that doesn't have one.

Out West

Seems to be a stark difference between the East and West in terms of the changes that sweep through each conference each season. DC, New England, and Chicago seem to be in contention every year in the East. But in the West, there's one team at the top, and then there's everyone else beating each other up. This might be the season to change that.

1. Chivas USA
+: Chivas look to improve on their already second-best-in-league defense by adding defensive midfielder Raphael Wicky.
-: None. Chivas didn't give up one player who started more than 12 games for them last year.
(): Ante Razov will try to rob Jaime Moreno of his all time scoring title this year, but will probably lose some minutes to newcomer Alecko Eskandarian.
=: Chivas are like the New Orleans Hornets of the MLS. Very quietly occupying first place by emphasizing defense and the fundamentals. They seem to be the only team in the West that, like DC, built itself with enough depth to withstand the rigors of international tournaments in addition to league play.

2. Houston Dynamo
+: Former Defender of the Year Bobby Boswell hopes to keep Houston as the league leader in defense, but might not even make the starting XI with Patrick Ianni around.
-: Houston lost two of their top four scorers in Nate Jaqua and Joseph Ngwenya, both to Austria of all places.
(): Stuart Holden is coming off an impressive tournament with the U23 National Team, and will be looked upon to step up to fill Ngwenya's void.
=: A third straight MLS Cup certainly isn't out of the question for Houston, as their defense, along with goalkeeper Pat Onstad, will keep them in every game. But Houston hasn't done enough to fill the voids left on offense, instead turning to unproven reserve Chris Wondolowski at forward.

3. LA Galaxy
+: LA added to its group of internationally reknowned goal scorers this offseason with Carlos Ruiz.
-: Supposedly in order to get under the salary cap, LA was forced to cut a lot of part-time starters, but most notably, Kyle Martino.
(): Of course all eyes will once again be on David Beckham to rescue this struggling franchise.
=: Maybe I'm crazy, but I think LA has just enough firepower to find its way into the postseason in a conference with only two good teams. Hopefully the coaching will improve this year too.

4. Colorado Rapids
+: My feelings haven't changed on . He remains the best player in the league until proven otherwise.
-: Colorado cut their captain Brandon Prideaux for unknown reasons. Defense could be an issue for them this year, and I don't think Jose Burciaga is the answer.
(): Herculez Gomez and Nicolas Hernandez should see their statistics increase with the arrival of Gomito.
=: Unfortunately, as we all found out in the playoffs last year, Christian can't do it by himself. Colorado should be able to sneak its way into the playoffs, but won't get very far.

5. Real Salt Lake
+: RSL followed the DC model and brought in a whole slew of players from overseas, including Kenny Deuchar and Yank Abroad Nat Borchers.
-: The team lost their heart and soul Eddie Pope and their lead comedian Alecko Eskandarian. Makes you wonder if RSL will try to fill their void by acquiring other former United players Brad North and Kiki Willis.
(): Representing the Arundel Wildcats, Kyle Beckerman should benefit from having some more talent around him.
=: At least the appearance is that Garth Lagerway finally has the team on the right track. Their foreign acquisitions don't seem to be as targeted as United's, but hey, it's a start.

6. FC Dallas
+: Duilio Davino will try to help out a weak defensive group.
-: Dallas's only legitimate scoring option Carlos Ruiz is now in LA.
(): Kenny Cooper hopes to have a full year of scoring for once, but somehow I doubt it.
=: Not to say that Ruiz is very popular, or even very talented, but Dallas will surely miss him, and they will probably take a step back this year.

7. San Jose Earthquakes
+: The expansion team will look for Ronnie O'Brien to lead the attack. Hmm… Good luck with that.
-: San Jose was expecting Clarence Goodson to be a starter on defense, but he bolted for Europe. Smart move.
(): The Earthquakes were wise to bring in Ryan Cochrane from Houston to run the back line as center defenseman.
=: The Quakes actually have a decent midfield if you look at it, and Cochrane and Cannon should keep at least some teams from running up the score, but it's still hard to see them finishing anywhere outside of last place.

With all the infusion of international talent in the league this year, there are a lot of question marks. Who will be this year's surprise like Juan Toja? And who will be this year's disappointment like Denilson? Whatever the case, my predictions are sure to go up in flames by May.

Jeff Curtin

United added some depth to central defense this week with the addition of Jeff Curtin via the waiver draft. The younger of the two Curtin defenders in Chicago, Jeff had one goal in three appearances (three starts mind you) for the first team in 2007. He's 6'-3", and he graduated from Georgetown with a business degree; both pretty nice attributes. Of course the first thing I do when I see a new name on the team is check his birth year: 1983! That means he is developmentally eligible

This addition serves to address what most of us thought to be United's biggest need: depth in central defense. And I think we now have an answer to the question that I previously posed of who will play if say, Namoff is injured and one of los Gonzalos has to sit due to a red card. Pat Carroll and Suppie Brandon Owens could compete with Curtin for that role, but Curtin's experience probably gives him the edge. But this could mean a whole world of trouble for undrafted rookie defender Dane Murphy.

The other United news item today was the team's decision to essentially blow off their match tonight against Chivas in the Texas Semi-Pro Soccer Fest to play them earlier in the day on a better field. Sounds like a PR disaster for San Antonio. But at least United won the scrimmage 2-1, with goals by Emilio and Niell. Soehn said in an interview that the team chose to travel to San Antonio because the weather and conditions would be similar to what they will experience in Jamaica, but it makes you wonder if it's even worth it.

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)

WCC Preview: Kansas City at Houston

I want to pick the Wizards to win here.

I really do.

But I just don't see it happening. You see, I've had some success in the past when picking the teams that no one else is picking. And that's what the Wizards are here. No one is picking them to beat Houston. And that's because they probably won't.

Chivas exposed the Kansas City defense in the opening round, but they couldn't score. If it counted as a score every time you hit the post, Chivas would have won the series something like 4-1. But with Ching, Jaqua, De Rosario, and Ngwenya, I don't think Houston will have as much of a problem finishing. I don't feel like Kansas City really deserves a place in the conference finals, and as the 5th place team from the East, they don't even deserve to be in the playoffs. This game might not even be close.

So then let's talk about the matcup that really matters here...

It's the Dynamo Girls

vs. the Starting 11