Can we laugh about it yet?

Last night I was pissed. Today, I'm over it. We weren't going anywhere in the CCL anyway, so unless Martinez's injury is significant, we really didn't lose anything important yesterday. I'm ready to just look back at that match and laugh. Because really, what a freakin embarassment for CONCACAF that was. That match was hardly a representation of what any competition called the "Champions League" should look like.

The best part of all though is that if you go to google and type in "referee roberto moreno" (with or without the quotes), the first link you get is my blog post from last night. Guess what... He deserves it! It will take Moreno a long time to live that one down.

And that was even before the second goal! And before the second United keeper was ejected! Has anyone ever seen a match before where two goalkeepers on the same team were given red cards? Hilarious is how I'll remember this match. Hopefully the players feel the same way and won't let this demotivate them at all. When Martinez was on the ground, I would have loved to see all the other United players, including Crayton, just take a seat on the ground also. I wonder if that would have gotten Cruz Azul to stop play. Probably not. I'm sure they still would have celebrated, the fans still would have sang, and that stupid train horn still would have blared.


1. Our center backs Gonzalo Martinez, Bryan Namoff, and Marc Burch all played admirably. I'm not 100% sure that Martinez wasn't to blame on the first goal, although Miles and Dunseth felt certain that it was Zaher's responsibility to mark two men. But obviously no one was to blame on the second goal besides a bit of poor sportsmanship.

2. It's such a shame that James Thorpe wasn't given an opportunity to play the whole match, because he was playing well, and I'm sure his confidence was building. I think it's safe to say that Thorpe played his way back onto the roster for next year, so United won't have to use any draft picks on keepers for once. And if for some reason Wells didn't return, I might even be satisfied with the Division II keeper of the year as our #2.


1. This was my first time seeing Ryan Miller, and he was alright. Seemed to be very cool and composed. He needs to do a better job of marking though. It was Miller's man who got a free header on goal that hit the crossbar somewhere around the 15th minute or so. If Miller's defensive abilities don't improve, I don't see him supplanting Cordeiro on the depth chart at left wing.

2. How about Quavas Kirk earning his first clean sheet in 4 minutes of action between the pipes! I honestly thought the ref would give Q-Nasty a straight red for taking too long to put on the keeper gloves.


1. Troubling that this isn't the first time I've had to say that Craig Thompson was the weak link in this match, but again, it's not really his fault. Hopefully the coaching staff will learn soon enough that he isn't tall enough, quick enough, or aware enough to be a defender. Why not play McTavish at right back?

Ah well. At least now we're officially eliminated from this thing so we don't have to worry about it interfering with league play again until next year. Oh wait, we still have another meaningless match against Marathon? Dammit!

Anyway, I'm just ready to suck up my pride and pour my support into the Chicago Fire tomorrow night. Let's hope old No-Neck can deliver a victory over NY and help us into the playoffs!

Even when we deserve a point, we don't get one

Win, loss, or tie, the result of this match didn't matter much to me as far as the CCL goes. We're just not a better team than Saprissa or Marathon, so even if we'd managed to beat Cruz Azul at home, we still had relatively no chance of advancing out of the group stages. But this match had a larger meaning than that. A win in this match would have been a great start towards building some momentum for the final 4 games of the MLS season. It would have reminded the players that we are actually still a good team. But for a totally unlucky and undeserved goal. It's kind of nice for the reserves to be able to say that they should have beaten a Mexican team. But it would have been nicer if they actually had.


1. Our center back pairing of Marc Burch and Greg Janicki had a really good first 80 minutes. The final 10 were a bit hectic, but I think you can probably attribute that to the whole midfield staying farther up to try to grab a goal back.

2. I loved this lineup from Tom Soehn. Finally, he is punting the CCL. And the starting lineup was smart anyway because (and I mean no offense to our veterans with this) guys like Thompson and Vide are always going to put forth more effort than guys like Peralta and Simms in this kind of match. Most of the players we saw tonight are unlikely to play on Saturday, so they had no qualms about giving their all. And Soehn is giving guys like Dyachenko, Wells, and Kirk the chance to fight for their rights to stay on the team next season.


1. If Jaime Moreno had given that kind of effort this past weekend, then we might not be in the same situation, and he probably wouldn't be suspended for two games.


1. I think it's unfair to fault him with the goal just because of a bad cross, because afterall, there were a lot of bad crosses in this match, but Craig Thompson got beat too many times. Just about every good opportunity our opponents had came on Craig's right side.

2. I wasn't as impressed with Quavas Kirk as Bretos was. A speedy winger that can't cross might be better suited for a track team. I much preferred the Zaher/Cordeiro combination to Thompson/Kirk.

3. I might as well copy and paste this into the post for just about every match he plays: Just too many giveaways from Rod Dyachenko.

There's no reason to get depressed about this result, because we weren't going anywhere in this tournament anyway. It's the MUST WIN match on Saturday that I really care about. Since we totally didn't deserve to lose this match, let's cross our fingers and hope that the Soccer Gods will repay us with a win on Saturday, and maybe losses by RSL and Colorado too!

Benny Vide delivers the victory

With his one-time shoe-string shot to give the team a 1-0 lead, I could have sworn I was watching Benny Olsen. Or maybe Benny Feilhaber. But definitely somebody named Benny. Nope, it was Joe Vide. That goal really made me wish I was listening to Dave Johnson and Thomas Rongen do the broadcast. I could just hear Rongen saying his usual "Shoelaces... Thanks for coming..." line.

Anyway, up until around the 80th minute, this felt like it was going to be a very underwhelming victory. We looked noticeably mediocre, playing against a middling Western Conference team whose coach had just resigned. DC dominated possession for the most part, but could only generate one goal, and that one was off of a rather spectacular atypical shot. We rightfully pulled away at the end, but it wasn't quite the victory I was hoping for. Once again, it was Gallardo's presence that was missing.


1. Obviously it was the goal by Joe Vide that allowed us to knock the ball around more in the second half. The other two goals would have been much harder to come by if it wasn't for Vide's.

2. Our two stalwarts Brian Namoff and Clyde Simms had their usual awesome performances. I'm thinking that the final 5 minutes after Simms was subbed out was actually the first time all season that either of these guys have come off the field.

3. Playing once again in a CAM role, Santino Quaranta's goal was a beaut. Not often in the MLS do you see someone score from the top corner of the box like that.

4. I'm not likely to take back everything bad I've said about him quite yet, but it was cool to see Quavas Kirk score his first MLS goal in his first minute on the field.


1. How about our new assist machine Luciano Emilio? I don't think we're going to be comparing Looch to John Stockton anytime soon, but I liked seeing him share the wealth with his teammates.


1. It's hard for me to put a defender down here after a clean sheet match, but I was once again a bit disappointed with Gonzalo Martinez. His passes are sometimes too lazy and his dribbling is sometimes too wild. If we ever have Peralta, Burch, and McTavish available all at once, I don't think Martinez should be an automatic starter anymore.

So it wasn't quite a domination as the score suggests, but it was a victory nonetheless. Now let's see if, for the first time in a while, DC can string together multiple wins. They've got the potential to do it, with matches coming up against New York at home and San Jose on the road, with the Open Cup final against Charleston mixed in. Hopefully the team can build on this game and gain some confidence, because I'm not sure the kind of lackluster first half that we had will be enough against an energized USL opponent.

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.

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.

Still not discouraged

To finish in last place in the tournament that we all had charted as our lowest priority this year isn't exactly a tragedy. It's a little bit disheartening, but not discouraging. Because I think the team played quite well, considering our current injury status and packed schedule. And I also think we showed more and maybe deserved better than the 3-1 loss last night and zero overall points in Superliga.


1. Alright so I'm starting to warm on Francis Doe. Two goals in two matches will do that. I think it took him a bit of time since arriving, but he's now settling in quite well with his new team. And he is quickly earning his spot in the regular starting rotation.


1. This was the game where you all finally got to see a bit of the attacking flare that I've loved about Ryan Cordeiro since I first saw him in the first Reserve match this year. Sadly though, that was overshadowed by his poor marking of Rico Clark on the first Houston goal.

2. He's still got a lot of room for improvement, and needs to be more aggressive, but this was probably the best I've seen out of Quavas Kirk. He missed a goal by about six inches.

3. And another rookie Pat Carroll looked pretty damn good and confident.

4. I like some of the things that Tom Soehn did in this match. It was good to see Cordeiro, Carroll, and Zaher. I was also hoping to see Thorpe and Murphy, but maybe next time. But is it possible that the team has been relying too heavily on some of the non-big-name starters lately like Burch, McTavish, Simms, and Namoff? These are guys who play the full 90 of virtually every outing, and between the Open Cup and Superliga, they've been stringing together a lot of minutes lately.


1. For letting up 8 goals in 3 matches, a bit of general criticism goes out to Zach Wells, Marc Burch, and Devon McTavish. Wells is admittedly improving, and it was mostly the marking to blame for the two set piece goals, but shouldn't a good keeper make one of those saves? It was McTavish's loose defending that allowed ol' Bobby Lightning to score. And where was Burch on either of the two set piece goals? Shouldn't our biggest defender have been marking Boswell?

2. This match also saw Luciano Emilio's hot streak come to a close. He is typically the guy on corner kicks who heads out balls that are struck too low, but failed to clear the first goal, and evidentally left that role absent on the second.

So I'm not taking this match and this tournament as the end of the world, like others would have you believe. The team fought hard, but they know they have to do better. It also gave them a couple of things to work on at practice. We'll see how different Tuesday's match turns out to be.

What I really liked though was the attacking effort of the last 20 minutes or so. Did you notice that all 6 of United's front players at that point are not our normal starters? If this was a Reserve match, you would likely have seen those 6 guys starting. And they dominated possession. That gives me just a little bit of hope for the future. I think that this current crop of reserves is our best in years. But that's a small consolation. Now if only our current starters could be our best in years too...

USOC Player ratings

Since I didn't witness the match myself, the following player ratings are based on excerpts taken from comments written about the game on the Soccer Insider:


1. "For me, Marc Burch was by far the player of the match, and not just because of the 2 goals. Through much of the game, he was among the most active player on the field. In the second half, filling in for Martinez at left back, he kept frustrating the Rhinos' attack, making some impressive tackles and reversing the flow of the game." (ho). "Of course, Burch has to get man-of-the-match for his brilliant grass-cutters. I think he might have even quick-kicked the goalie on the second one." (Fisch Fry)

2. "Pat Carroll was quite good at right back (and offered strong throw-in ability) and then did well in the middle in the second half." (Goff). "Pat Carroll and the new guy Thompson were very good. In Pat, it is nice to see a fullback who can use both feet." (bubbles)


1. "Rod Dyachenko had some nice moments, but disappeared at times in the middle of the park." (Goff) "Rod D did have one scintillating play, where he kicked the ball off the head of a Rhino turned and blasted a shot on net from at lesat 35 yard. Every once in a while he flashes something that makes you sit up and say 'Oh ho! That must be what they see in practices that they like so much.' " (Fisch Fry)

2. "My favorite player of the match was Ryan Cordeiro. He had a few poor touches, but he was the most consistently menacing player for United. With a different offensive philosophy that always looks to go over a defense, Cordeiro would have gotten some breakaways to go with his strong runs on the flank. He also delivered some nice passes." (Fisch Fry) "Cordeiro I thought had a great game - if someone in midfield was a better passer, he could have been very dangerous. He made dozens of great runs, but was only passed the ball twice. " (Lonnie)

3. "I was also impressed with Craig Thompson. I was worried Thompson's size might be a problem, but he handled everything that came his way, and made some good distribution passes from the back." (Dsmac) "Thompson: first touch was nervous. Seemed to calm down after that. Nothing spectacular, nothing horrid." (Old Colt)


1. "I thought Quavas Kirk was awful. Besides the lack of technical ideas, he was severely lacking in fitness. After minute 70 he was done. Cordeiro had to cover alot of space behind him." (Lonnie) "I agree that Kirk's technical ability was lacking. He was put through on a well-timed run and a beautiful ball from [Stratford], but couldn't control it for what should have been a goal." (I-270 Exit 1)

Open for business

With United's Open Cup debut scheduled for tomorrow evening at the Maryland SoccerPlex, the coaching staff has some really interesting roster decisions to make. Last year, United took a Harrisburg Islanders squad way too lightly, and supposedly have learned their lesson. Even though the Rochester Rhinos are currently struggling in USL, DC should take this opportunity to earn a Champions League birth seriously. Although I can't say I'm too fearful of the Rhinos' lineup. Their "star" player/coach Steve Guppy is suspended due to a red card, and I double checked to make sure that the Ze Roberto listed on the team isn't the same Brazilian national we've all heard of and didn't just transfer to the team from Bayern Munich.

So with Rochester's lack of form in mind, along with the idea of taking the Cup serious for once, I thought we'd take a look at United's roster options. This is not a tournament that United should roll out a full Reserve squad, but then again THEY CAN'T. In Reserve division matches, the team has the luxury of utilizing "guest players" not currently on the roster, but for official matches like this one, the team can only use players currently under contract. With only 9 players from the Developmental roster available, DC will clearly need to mix in at least 9 of the Senior roster regulars. Goff has confirmed that Moreno and Quaranta will not be available, but Olsen and Mediate probably will, and so will newly signed Craig Thompson. (No, I can't believe I just linked BS.)

Here are the up-to-date options then for tomorrow night: Barlow, Burch, Fred, P. Carroll, Carvallo, Cordeiro, Doe, Dyachenko, Emilio, Gallardo, Kirk, Martinez, McTavish, Mediate, Murphy, Namoff, Olsen, Peralta, Simms, Stratford, Thompson, Thorpe, Wells, Zaher. Soehn's choices could say a lot about where he feels some of these players are at. Does he choose to start the highly paid Quavas Kirk in this match, or keep using him only in the safety of the Reserve division? Do we dare give another start to the recently demoted Jose Carvallo? Is it worth risking further injury to Ben Olsen just to get him some field time? Are rookies Jeremy Barlow, Pat Carroll, Dane Murphy, or Mike Zaher worthy of their first appearances with the first team?

Here's my proposed starting lineup with a mixture of the regular starting XI with a healthy portion of developing talent:

---------------Wells--------------
Namoff-McTavish-Mediate-Burch
Kirk-Dyachenko-Stratford-Cordeiro
--------Emilio------Doe------------

Subs: Pat Carroll for Namoff. Zaher for Burch (or Murphy for McTavish). Barlow for Emilio.
Bench players not used: Carvallo, Murphy, Simms, Thompson

The worst thing about this match though is that for some inexplicable reason, it will apparently not be shown on USLlive.com like the Wizards/RailHawks, Dynamo/Battery, and Chivas/Sounders matches. Really unfortunate. Which is making me ponder the long drive up to Germantown. Anyone else going?

The replacements

Just when it appeared that United had found its best starting XI, we have to go and get two players ejected. I guess we all know that players are going to have to sit out a game here and there for disciplinary reasons, but two at once can be brutal. Especially when those two are your highest paid player and most consistent player. So who should step into the starting lineup in place of Marcelo Gallardo and Bryan Namoff? Pick two of the following:

Franco Niell
Rod Dyachenko
Dan Stratford
Ryan Cordeiro
Marc Burch
Quavas Kirk
Domenic Mediate

What I do NOT want to see is Tom Soehn simply inserting the guys who play CAM and right back for the reserve squad. That would be Rod Dyachenko and Quavas Kirk respectively, but neither have enough of my confidence to start a first team match. I'd rather see the team try something just a bit "out of the box".

As for my choices, I'll go with the two guys pictured on the left border. Yeah, the Terps. I've got Mediate in central defense next to Peralta, with McTavish in Namoff's slot on the right. But more importantly, I've got Burch on the left side of midfield to help Martinez with the most dangerous player on the Red Bulls right now in Dane Richards.

But my idea of trying something new involves a couple of things. First of all, it's Jaime Moreno as the chief playmaker, a role for him that I think we can all agree was pretty fruitful in the final 35 minutes at Chicago. And secondly, I'd like to see Santino Quaranta in the middle. But not as a forward or a CAM per se, but as more of a holding midfielder in front of Simms but behind Moreno. Quaranta has good vision to take advantage of space when its shown to him, but where he's failed this year is in sending quality crosses from the outside, and in tracking opposing wide midfielders into the box. I think giving Tino a chance in the middle could take advantage of his strengths while minimizing his weaknesses. And if we find that he is actually a good fit in that role, then Soehn should take note and use him there in those RARE circumstances where United needs to use a 3-5-2 formation.

So my starting lineup for Saturday looks something like this:
----------------Wells----------------
McTavish-Mediate-Peralta-Martinez
----------------Simms----------------
Fred---------Quaranta---------Burch
---------------Moreno---------------
----------------Emilio---------------

What's yours?

Legs, thighs, and breasts, but no wings

So Goff reported from practice yesterday that with the potential absence of Peralta, United will be switching back to a 4-4-2 for the match tomorrow night in LA. I guess the thought of Domenic Mediate as his lone center back in a 3-5-2 was enough to force Tom Soehn to face reality. But with Marc Burch moving to the back line, and with Fred still gimpy, Goff is also reporting that rookie Ryan Cordeiro may get his first start at left midfield.

Loyal readers should already know my thoughts on Cordeiro. Along with Stratford and Zaher, Cordeiro has been among the most impressive players I've seen on the Reserve squad. He's left-footed, he's got decent crossing ability, and he can even shoot from the outside. Others have pointed out that he's likely to lose the ball a couple times each match, but similar to Quaranta, Cordeiro has got the energy and the heart to chase down opponents to try to win the ball back.

But the idea of starting a rookie has got me thinking… How many wingers does DC really have on their roster? Or maybe a better way to ask this would be… If you were to put every player on United's roster in their BEST position, how many of them would be playing on the wing?

I'd say that given his production last year, Ben Olsen's best position is on the wing, but you can't really include him in this discussion due to his injuries. Fred's preferred position is clearly CAM. Santino Quaranta is best as a withdrawn forward. Devon McTavish might be best on the wing, but he's also a pretty damn good central defender, so that might be a toss-up. I think Marc Burch is better at left back than left wing. Mediate's a utility guy who can play in many different spots, so his best position *might* be on the wing, but it's hard to say. Gallardo, Dyachenko, and Simms all definitely are better off in the middle.

Did I miss anybody? That's the entire senior roster midfield, and not one besides Olsen is definitively a true winger. Maybe McTavish, and maybe Mediate, but keep in mind that both of these guys are earning only the senior roster minimum salary. When is United going to start spending money on the wings? In the offseason they spent a lot of money in central defense, central midfield, and up top, but not a dime out wide. Obviously the team didn't know the severity of Olsen's injury at the time, but surely it was obvious to all of us that Olsen couldn't have more than a couple years left, and his history of injuries has always been troubling. Even if they didn't know that Olsen would be out the whole year or most of the year, the front office should be smart enough to realize that he was never going to be able to play 30 games. So despite Olsen's injury history, and despite the loss of Josh Gros, the front office's solution to our deficiency of wingers was to draft Ryan Cordeiro and acquire a 20 year old developmental project in Quavas Kirk?

I'm starting to lose faith.

But still. If only because of Chivas's ineptitude in defense, I'm predicting our first road goal, but not our first clean sheet. I'm gonna go with a 1-1 draw tomorrow, with United's goal coming from the run of play from a poaching Jaime Moreno.

3 goals by 3 rookies

The United Reserves fought back from a 2-0 deficit early in the second half to earn a 3-2 victory this morning at the RFK training grounds. Sitting out there for two hours, my arms are definitely sunburnt. Check out behindthebadge.com for the full match report, but I'll just point out some observations.

Starting lineup was:

--------------Carvallo----------------
Zaher-Curtin-Mediate-P.Caroll
Cordeiro-Murphy-Stratford-Kirk
---------Niell-Dyachenko-----------

Jeremy Barlow came in for Curtin at the half and played CDM, sliding Murphy back to central defense. If you're keeping track at home, Jeff Curtin was wearing #3 and Mike Zaher was wearing #20.

In a match that featured experienced forwards in Franco Niell and Rod Dyachenko, it was three rookie midfielders that were really the stars, along with some strong support by the two guys who signed just this week. I'm not going to write Top/Call/Rail ratings for the reserves, but this should give you a pretty good idea.

Players who impressed me the most:
1. Dan Stratford - Played the central attacking midfield role well, and had a first-team quality (hell, a Premier League quality) shot that scored early in the second half.

2. Jeff Curtin - Won every header that came his way in the first half. Until the very end of the half, when he went up for a ball and a Crew player cut underneath him, causing a pretty hard landing. That's probably the only reason he was subbed out. Looks like he has the quality to get some first team minutes. Although winning headers against Columbus reserves is probably a lot different from winning headers against guys like Dichio and Angel.

3. Jeremy Barlow - He's got the potential to be our new Moose. He's taller than Niell, but still very short (maybe 5'-7"?) and works hard. I was most impressed by his positioning. He always managed to find his way into open space to give his teammates an outlet pass when pressured. More of a holding midfielder than a true CDM. And his goal wasn't bad either.

4. Rod Dyachenko - Throughout the entire game, the attack constantly flowed through Rod. Without is absolute perfect cross-field pass on Cordeiro's game winner to hit him right in stride, this game would have ended a tie.

Players who I'm not quite sure about:
1. Ryan Cordeiro - Had a fantastic strike in extra time to win the game. Really clutch to bring the ball down and put it away with his left. But I'd like to see him communicate better with Zaher.

2. Mike Zaher - Clearly the FNG was trying to make a good first impression on the coaching staff. He's got some good speed and good work ethic, but he might be a little bit raw. Could have a future as a starting left back if he continues to work hard and refine his skills. I also have a feeling that he is going to be, um, pretty popular with the ladies?

3. Jose Carvallo - Looked shaky early in the match, and was beaten twice early on: once on a shot that went wide, and then on a shot that hit the crossbar. The first goal wasn't his fault, and I didn't have a good view of the second. But Carvallo really settled down in the second half and had a big part in the victory. He had back-to-back saves around the 65th minute on two point-blank shots.

Players I wasn't too impressed with:
1. Quavas Kirk - The dude's pretty big, and maybe needs to grow into his body a bit. There was one point when he lost the ball on the right wing, and then sprinted back to catch the Crew player before he could send in a cross. That's something you like to see. Although I'd rather see him not lose the ball in the first place. The own goal was more his fault than Peralta's was last night. Right off his leg while trying to bring down a corner kick.

2. Franco Niell - Even in reserve matches, he has trouble staying up. He really likes to dive, and obviously there's a language barrier, but he doesn't communicate with his teammates well. He does have a lot of talent though, and he was credited with an assist on Barlow's goal.

3. My camera - I took a bunch of pictures, but they mostly suck. I'll try to upload them to our new Flickr page later tonight or tomorrow so you can see for yourself.

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.

Fitty

Can we just think for a second about the fact that Quavas Kirk has a picture on his Myspace page of him with 50 Cent? Not to mention the following quote from one of his friends: "p.s. what went on between you and that goat? hmm heard weird stories man"

Can't wait to hear more from this guy. He is definitely a welcome addition to the team!

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)