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.

Round 1 to Gomez

In the first match between the two players who will be linked in the minds of DC fans for the rest of their MLS careers, Christian Gomez dominated United and Gallardo with two assists. Even Facundo Erpen scored a revenge goal, in a match where he had shockingly zero bicycle kicks.


1. Bryan Namoff - Had a couple goal saving tackles, and looked totally badass with the bandage over his head in the second half.


1. Francis Doe - His first touch of the game, he got the ball around midfield, carried it all the way up the left sideline with three Colorado players on him, and won a corner kick. He then immediately went into the locker room and was never seen again. At least as far as I could tell.

1. Let's just make this simple and list the entire midfield. Marcelo Gallardo, Clyde Simms, Rod Dyachenko, Santino Quaranta, and Marc Burch - Gallardo was ineffective, not even challenging the keeper on corner kick or free kick attempts. Simms seems out of place in the 3-5-2. I like him better in the bruiser role in the 4-4-2. Not sure he knows what to do with himself with Dyachenko next to him. Speaking of the Russian, I don't think he had as poor a game as a lot of the overreacters on the Insider are claiming, because he did win two free kicks in good spots, but he also gave the ball away a lot. Quaranta kept up the hustle, but did nothing on offense. Burch played alright, but his crosses were always off the mark.

So despite playing with one more midfielder than the opposition, we were still dominated in the middle third. That right there is a really bad sign. But a worse sign is that Soehn continues to roll out the 3-5-2 regardless of the situation. Coaches always talk about how its important to be able to play successfully in more than one formation. I believe we have the team to be able to do that. So why not take advantage of our personnel and tailor the formation to the situation. Playing at home against a team that is weak offensively: that's a good time for the 3-5-2. But playing on the road against a team with a proven (and vengeful) MVP leading the attack, in a game where we would probably have been happy with a nil-nil draw: not a good time for the 3-5-2.

Also, with Chivas's 0-0 draw against Houston yesterday, DC United is now officially THE ONLY team in the league without a clean sheet. And with Blanco, Rolfe, and Chicago coming to town in just four days, it's hard to be confident. But now I've also done a bit more research and stumbled across another jaw-dropping stat. DC United is also THE ONLY team in MLS with no away goals.

It's not really hard to see where the team should go from here. The injuries to Olsen, McTavish, Fred, and Mediate are certainly cutting down on our options. But still, I feel like we're all just sitting here, waiting for the chemistry to develop on its own. Well we've been waiting for almost two months now. How much longer is it going to be? For me, I'd like to go back to the proven strategy that worked so well last year. It's simple, really. It's Burch and Namoff as the wing backs, with two regular starting center backs, but with an occassional rotation of McTavish into that position. It's Clyde Simms as the lone defensive midfielder, behind our #10, with Fred on one wing and Olsen on the other when he's healthy, and any number of other talented options when he's not (Quaranta, McTavish, Mediate, Kirk). And of course, it's the Godfather of Goals and the Golden Boot winner up top. We're out of the crowded portion of our schedule, so I think that with a single solitary starting lineup, with only minor changes when necessary, we will see the chemistry develop much quicker than we have with the frequent changes that we've seen over the past two months.

It will be hard to overcome the negative though in a short week of practice before a game against a quality Chicago opponent. So for now, I pose the following question to the public... Which stat is more troubling... That DC United has ZERO clean sheets, or that DC Untied has ZERO away goals?

What we missed

So I spent a week away on business, and cruising the college bars at IU (Has anyone else played "Sink the Biz"? Great fun. And probably the easiest way to get random girls to come over and drink with you.) In anticipation of tonight's home leg of the Ben Cup against RSL, I figured I'd take a quick chance to review what I missed while I was away.

• DC United signs Francis Doe to their last remaining spot on the Senior roster. Doe should give us the speed that we've all been yelling about since Emilio started apparently playing with twenty pound weights in each of his pockets. Goff is saying though that Doe has yet to receive his work visa, so will not be eligible to play tonight.
  
  
• As United prepares for tonight's revenge match against Sideshow Kyle and Real Salt Lake, it looks like Santino Quaranta will be starting at right midfield in place of the injured Devon McTavish. Also emerging from this week's practices was this fantastic quote from Zach Wells after a collision with Franco Niell: "When I lift my shirt later, there's definitely going to be an imprint of a gnome on my chest."
  
  
• The Men's Olympic Team gets I think a pretty tough draw, in a group with Holland, Nigeria, and Japan. I guess it's far from being a Group of Death or anything, because I think all four groups are actually pretty even, but it will certainly be tough. The Netherlands won all of Europe, knocking out England in the semifinals and then won the meaningless final against Serbia. And we've consistently had a hard time with African nations. But the Americans are lucky to avoid Brazil, Argentina, and Italy in the group stages.
  
  
• The defending Supporters' Shield winners DC United and defending MLS Cup Champion Houston Dynamo each find themselves in last place in their respective divisions. This isn't really new for either team, because both of them started fairly slowly last year too, and I don't think it's really too surprising for Houston this year either given the loss of some key players. But DC seemed to upgrade at every position other than goalkeeper. They should be due for a big win tonight.
  
  
• Toronto and San Jose each earned victories last weekend, making it two in a row for TFC. The Rapids continue to be wildly inconsistent. One week after a big victory over New England on the road, the Rapids lose at home to give San Jose their first win. In an effort to rebound, Colorado will announce this guy as their new defensive midfielder at halftime.
  

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.

Is Gallardo an upgrade over Gomez?

That's the question that is likely to define the success of DC United over the next two or more years.

With the Gomez to Colorado trade all but official, it looks like we'll now have a pretty good measuring stick that we wouldn't have had if Gomez went to the Middle East or back to Argentina. We'll be able compare Gomez and Gallardo's numbers side by side with them playing in the same league. And I have a feeling that Gallardo will not win that comparison.

But the more I think about it, keeping in mind our most frequent slogan ("I trust the front office. I trust the front office"), there's a different way to look at this. My new thought is… Gallardo wasn't brought here to get better numbers than Gomez. Gomez averaged almost exactly 10 goals and 10 assists in each of the past three years, and without guys like Moreno and Emilio around, I'd be willing to bet that his goal production might actually INCREASE in 2008. It would be nice if I'm wrong, but I doubt Gallardo will average 10 goals and 10 assists in league play over the next two years.

So if not for more productive numbers, why did the almighty all-knowing front office bring Sr. Gallardo to DC? Over the past three years, United had some pretty nice accomplishments with Gomez as our #10 - namely, a couple of Supporter's Shields. But they failed to reach the MLS Cup finals all three years. They couldn't advance past the semi-finals in the Concacaf Champions' Cup, or in the Superliga. And they fizzled out in the round of 16 in the Copa Sudamericana. DC United has been largely a failure internationally over the past three years. So with those three international competitions in mind, plus the new Champions' League starting in 2008, and with the exciting possibility that US Clubs could eventually be allowed to participate in Libertadores at some point in the future… The front office, and in them we trust, decided that the best way to proceed would be to bring in a man with the highest level of international experience. And that man would be Marcelo Gallardo.

So Gallardo might not be the prolific playmaker and scorer that Gomez has been for us. I'll refine some predictions as we get closer to the season, but I might even be as bold as to say that United will probably not win the Shield this year. But Marcelo Gallardo gives us a distinct advantage over every other team in MLS when it comes down to international competitions.

And that's why he's here.

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)