DC United got back in this thing called CONCACAF Champions League. With a 7-0 walloping of Marathon by Toluca, DCU is tied on goal differential with Marathon and a win on Thursday would put them in a strong position. The way the rest of the CL schedule works out, a win Thursday, coupled with a Win against San Juan at home and an away draw with Toluca would see them through. Based on the fact that the next league game is San Jose on Sunday, DC SHOULD be able to get 3 points in that game at home without throwing out their best 11. My hope is that they take the next two CONCACAF games seriously, and then put 11 behind the ball away at Toluca on October 20th.

Other News:
Goff says that we MIGHT be opening away at FC Dallas, home opener against New England, and then we will plays Philadelphia’s home opener (most likely at the Link).

By my math, we should be seeing both Marc Burch and Dejan Jakovic back from surgery soon. This should help matters, if only because it means we won’t see anymore Avery John.

Also, in somewhat old news, DCU roster moves have put Ely Allen, Ange N’Silu, and Greg Janicki on the inactive list, which means they are only available for CONCACAF play. Out of those there, I’d only like to see N’Silu get another run out, perhaps at Toluca. Boyzzz Khumalo is also activated, though he’s not ready for game action.

Also, I probably forgot to mention this too, but the team signed Lawson Vaughn, formerly of Chivas USA. This move is a cover pickup, with our centerback situation being so bad lately that Clyde Simms has started three games in the middle.

DCUMD does the first of his Benny Awards, this time for the most underrated player on the team this year.

I should be in attendance on Thursday, despite a night class and a pending assignment that will be explained in said class. Never question my dedication (to United. To Graduate School….I guess that’s debatable).

Starting 11
I think Soehn will come out with his normal 3-5-2 like so:

———————-Crayton—————————
————Burch—–Jakovic—–Namoff—————-
——————–Olsen—Simms———————-
——Wallace——————————Pontius——
————————Gomez————————–
—————Emilio———–Moreno——————

If this line-up looks familiar, its because it is the same line-up Soehn has been using all year and will likely never change. I can see Fred, Quaranta, and Barklage coming in for Wallace, Moreno, and Gomez in the 2nd half if we have the lead.

Tommy Talks some Smack:
I came across this quote today on the examiner website: “We thought about training in our parking lot to try to emulate what our game is going to be like,” said Soehn. “But there was a little too much gravel. It’s hard because even if we go onto our [artificial turf] field it’s not even close to how it plays there… it plays too much like grass.”

Hey Tommy, talking smack about the field at Giants Stadium before the game doesn’t count as a reason for you not to prepare the team and then use the turf as an excuse for us losing tomorrow

Fred missed a sitter early in the first half, and Quaranta was not playing his best, despite what Goff’s ratings may tell you. If his goal was to enable others, then we was adequate. If his role as forward was to score goals and be dangerous, he didn’t do as well. He missed 1 easy chance, and 2 or 3 that he should have buried. As a longtime Tino supporter, I suspect he’ll do better as he gets more fit.

Brandon Barklage played the game of his life. He was tenacious in the middle, found himself in the correct spots, displayed Rod Dyachenko like foot skills, and of course, took his chances at goal and found the back of the net. I think we may have found the potential replacement for Gomez, either as he fades at the end of games, or next year.

Milos Kocic got his first start, and it began somewhat rocky. In his first two clearance attempts, the ball went away from him and he was almost caught out. On his third chance, he muffed the ball, and had to be saved by headsup defending. He made 2 or 3 saves, and was saved by the rulebook, after Kenny Cooper’s penalty came off the post and he illegally buried the rebound.

The defense of Greg Janicki and Bryan Namoff was top class. The attempts at defense by Marc Burch however, were not. Unable to string short passes together, and needing repeated bailouts by Janicki, Burch may be playing his way out of the starting LB spot once Avery John gets fit.

MATCH RATINGS: Kocic 6, Burch 4, Janicki 7, Namoff 7, Jacobson 6, Fred 6, Quaranta 5, Pontius, 5, Barklage 8, Khumalo (4 in the first, 7 in the second), McTavish 6 SUBS: Moreno 4, Peters 4, Wallace 5, Jakovic 6

Below Highlights;

This Sunday, United travels to the Home Depot Center to visit one of the sadder cases in MLS in the last 2 years, the Galaxy. LA, who have been reorganized and retooled an extent by former USA and DC United head coach Bruce Arena, are moving forward this year with a more “experienced” team than last year, with an average age around 30. This never bodes well for a long season, but its better than playing Josh Tudela every game.

LA strengthened its backline through the draft, picking Omar Gonzalez, and thru the transfer market, picking up Donovan Ricketts, the Jamaican National Team keeper.

Goldenballs is set to return in July, and until then, LA is free of the obligation of his salary. However, they’ve yet to spend that money. So, it’s just a gap in their team.

Landon Donovan, fresh off of his German adventure, brings the only constantly threatening force to a team that will be lacking in attacking bite.

Dema Kovalenko has been added, most likely for his oftsited “grit” in the defensive midfield. But enough about LA.

DC travels across the country, already with its usual complement of injuries. Not making the trip, Santino Quaranta and Fred are already sporting hamstring injuries that will keep them out at least until the home opener, in Fred’s case, and the Houston game, in Santino’s case.

Louis Crayton and Bryan Namoff, who suffered leg and rib injuries respectively, will be fit and in the starting lineup on Sunday.

All week, Tom Soehn has said that he expects that DC will come out in a 3-5-2, at least until their attacking width is healthy. Below would be my expected lineup…

Crayton
Namoff———Jankovic———–Burch
Simms—McTavish
Khumalo—Gomez—Wallace
Emilio—-Moreno
I’d like to see Moreno as a withdrawn Forward, in sort of a dual playmaker roll with Gomez, but we’ll see how it rolls forward.

Links and OPO:
Sports Illustrated says that DC will finish in last. I will eat a soccer ball if that happens. The text for those who don’t want to boost SI’s ad revenue..

• D.C. United will finish in last place. Christian Gómez is back, but he lost his form a while back. Gómez and Luciano Emilio formed a strong partnership in ‘07, but two years later, the two players are fighting to recover from poor seasons. D.C. had a terrible regular season but managed to win the U.S. Open Cup. That triumph set United up for failure this year, as it once again will compete in the CONCACAF Champions League, a tournament that sunk D.C.’s regular-season hopes in ‘08.

Soccer America thinks DC loses to LA this weekend.

The Examiner offers all you need to know about the game, including injury updates for both squads (Ricketts, Buddle questionable, Lewis probable, Todd Dunivant and Leonard Griffin (who?) are out. )

MLSNet’s Charles Boehm has a nice piece about the young defense, and the decision to go with the 3-5-2. Here’s Benny,

“The 4-4-2, sometimes with a young back line, it’s confusing,” acknowledged Olsen, moments after his tongue-in-cheek attempt “to duck what formation we’re going to play this weekend” drew laughter from the media in attendance.

“Sometimes three in the back makes it a little bit more concrete for them as far as their decisions,” he continued. “But we’re working on that stuff this week and the coaching staff will take care of that.”

Steve Goff’s paper preview.

Donovan is still sleeping over at DCenters. I’m sure he’ll having something up soon.

Ok, that’s it. It’s game time, huahh!

Official Prediction!!!

The Official DC United Offside Prediction: 3-2 DC.
Your thoughts?

DC United’s starting left back answered a few of my questions about his role with the team, his preferred positions, and what he has planned for the coming year.

Jon- You’ve played for 3 MLS teams in 3 seasons, but it looks like you’ve found a home in DC. Any insight into your current contract situation?

Marc- Yes actually. I have just re-signed a new contract. It is really nice to have found a place where I can stay and really build my career and improve and grow as a soccer player.

Jon- I think I’ve read (could be wrong) that you came into the league as a Forward, and played there in college. Would you want to be more involved in the attack (a la Ashley Cole?) or are you more comfortable in the back?

Marc- I really enjoy playing left back, and I love attacking shooting/crossing/ switching the ball. In the system we play, we do have the chance to get in the attack, I would like to do it more for sure, anybody would. But I am comfortable in the back and if I need to defend, I will and if I need to attack I will. Anything that gets us back on the winning track.

Jon- Your free kicks, aside from the big goals in the US Open Cup, always appear to be just a bit over the bar, or somehow parried away. You figure that you have to get lucky one of these days, right? You seem to strike a dead ball better than anyone else on the roster, so whats the conversation like over the ball on set pieces? Is it a democracy out there, or is dictated by where the ball is?

Marc- Well thank you. I usually look to the older guys to see what they think is the best option for where the spot of the foul is, but I really do feel confident when I step up to the ball and I am hoping that next year maybe I can a couple go off the under side of the bar. But it really is something I will be working on a lot and I would love to have a few goals next year off free kicks.

Jon- What do you want to improve on the most coming into the new season? United had their share of problems last season, so how would you assess the defense?

Marc- Personally for me, I want to keep learning the position of left back and try to establish myself as the best left back in the league. I need to improve in my team shape and more on my one on one defending. I also want to make sure I get in the attack more and really have an impact in every game. As for the defense as a team, we did have some problems last year and you can not deny that, but defending is a team thing including the goalie the mid field and the forwards. We will get better next year as a team, and we will make sure that our first shut out isn’t half way through the season. Defensively we will be better next year.

Jon- Your alma mater (UMD) just won the College Cup, did you catch any games or talk to Coach Cirovski during the season?

Marc- I am very proud of those guys for getting another college cup win, I made it up to College Park for 4 or 5 games and they looked great. I would say not as good as my senior year, but they were a good team. Sash is a great coach and he is making Maryland the best soccer program in the country.

Jon- Who would you say you’ve had the most trouble defending?

Marc- There are a lot of good players in this league and every game is tough, but I would say that Juan Pablo Angel is the hardest to defend. He is a strong and very smart with his runs. But that was when I was playing center back and that is not my strongest position, I am much more comfortable defending as a left back.

Jon- You wrapped Tino’s car in Saran Wrap. Do you fear retribution? Are you looking over your shoulder?

Marc- Haha, no Tino does not intimidate me. He has gotten me back a little bit, but it is fun. It keeps you on your toes, so you never know what to expect. But I would have to say he fears me if he were to ever really get me back. Right now I think I have the crown and he is going to have to make some big moves to top it!

Jon- What do you think of your likeness and ratings on Fifa 2009?

Marc- I hate it. I am not even a fan of FIFA 09. I play pro evolution 2009 (winning eleven). Hopefully I can have a good season and they can stop acting like this was my first season of soccer ever. They try so hard to make the faces real, they forget about good soccer game play.

Tomorrow, I’ll have a post about some of the pranks between these two.

While you’re here, read and comment on the previous interviews of Greg Janecki, Santino Quaranta, Ben Olsen, and Guy Roland Kpene

From what I can gather, DC is using this game as a chance to work back in some players coming off of injury. On turf, I’d have to imagine this is not the ideal scenario for such a rehab plan, but you gotta do what you have to do. Marc Burch, who is not eligible for the Open Cup game on Tuesday due to his Red Card in the Chicago match, will be getting a full 90 no doubt. The surprising news, which came in two days ago, that Joe Vide and Ivan Guerrero are not cup tied (due to the extreme early stage of the tournament that San Jose played, and lost, in) and will be available for selection on Tuesday. This is great news for Tommy, when drawing up a lineup that can stifle the hot Revolution. Not to mention the fact they were hard luck losers last night against Chicago, I have a feeling they’ll be out for blood on Tuesday.

But there I go again, talking about New England, instead of the task at hand. Can you tell that I’m not valuing this game very highly? That said, I wouldn’t mind three points, and I wouldn’t mind seeing Santino in his new forward position scoring. New York is coming off of an ego deflating thrashing at the hands of Barcelona. So, maybe we can pile on a little. Or we could steal Samuel Et’o.

Predictions: Despite DC’s (and mine) mind being elsewhere, I predict a 2-0 shutout on the road, with Zach Wells making another statement. Tino scores the first goal, and Fred gets off the schnide with a laser. What do you think?

Update: Lineups…Zach Wells, Bryan Namoff, Devon McTavish, Pat Carroll, Marc Burch, Fred, Clyde Simms, Joe Vide, Ivan Guerrero, Jaime Moreno and Luciano Emilio

Where’s Tino? Peralta?

Where to begin? Oh, I know. Greater than the win, or the crowd, or beating Becks. Ben Olsen, heart and soul of DC United, stepped back on the pitch for the time this season. Did he look great? No. Did it matter? Not at all. It was an amazing sound when Benny stepped back on the pitch, as the Barra and every fan who know was going on stood up and cheered Benny. It was wonderful, and the most emotional moment of the day.

As for the rest of the game, you can’t argue with 4 goals. The first half was spotty at time, and more goals should have been converted against a spotty LA defense. I felt bad for Cronin, because not too many goals were his fault today. Donovan had a gripe with Gallardo, and the fourth official is a blind man, which was good for us. Fred was again poor, with no real positive impact on the game. Peralta, who many BigSoccer people have problems with, is an all or nothing player. He always seems to either make a big play, or make a massive blunder. As a midfielder, you can get away with that sometime, but as a centerback, those mistake often translate directly to goals. Zach Wells did much better today, with three strong saves that I can remember.

Ratings: Wells 7, Martinez 8 (He locked Becks down), Peralta 5, McTavish 6, Namoff 7, Quaranta (NR), Burch 7, Gallardo (there will be a big post about him this week) 7, Fred 5, Simms 6, Moreno 8, Emilio 9, Dyachenko 6, Olsen 100 (I know, I know. More like an NR, but, it’s my blog so whatever)

What did you think?

So here we go.

- Emilio’s 1st touch. As in, he doesn’t have one. I haven’t seen him control one pass sent to him, with the ball squirting away from him every time. If you can’t control the ball, you aren’t going to score, simple as that.
- Emilio’s lack of hustle. I know its nit picky, but Emilio hardly pressures the keeper or defenders on backpasses. Kpene was guilty of this last year, and I would call him out on it too. Only difference now is salary and expectations.
- Gonzalo Martinez’s continued efforts to play the long ball over the top to Niell. Cmon. Seriously.
- Santino Quaranta is not a wing player. Stop trying to make him one. His talent is not crossing the ball. His strength is attacking the defender straight on, or playing behind the forwards.
- All night long, (and I think this is the most important thing) there was no movement off the ball. Moreno would hold the ball up in the attacking third, and people would just stand in place, watching. On free kicks, there was a generally laziness. This won’t cut it, and it demonstrates the lack of leadership in this group for the change not being made.
- Marc Burch. Again, I think he’s out of position, and his left foot is his entire game. He was at his best last year as forward moving defender who could cross the ball in the box when half the team was in the box. Now, he’s being forced to take players on and his lack of a right foot is making it difficult.
- Rod Dyachenko, despite his continual position changes, is not going to cut it. I’m not sure how much he costs, but this should be his last year in a DC uniform.
- Zach Wells was slow off his line at times last night, and it almost results in 2 goals. He wasn’t at fault for either goal, but i’d like to see more confidence back there.
- Lastly, the game was over after the first goal. You saw it in Santino’s face, and you saw it the body language of the rest of the team. Was it Santino’s fault? Possibly. I agreed with his quote saying basically, that I’m an offensive player and I’m just trying to help out back here, and I assumed someone would pick up the trailing guy. Good assumption, Tino. But, not right now on this team.

I don’t have a solution for this malaise. Fire the coach? Maybe. Bring in some new blood? Probably. But this team looks like they’re playing pickup. No one has any idea what the other person is going to do. This is understandable in a team with such a high rate of turnover, but that’s where coaching comes in. This team, if drastic changes aren’t made, will NOT make the playoffs. You can count on that.

It was the first time we’ve had to rely on our depth, just because the amount of games we’ve had. We learned a lot. Just coming from a game like Wednesday (against Pachuca) and comparing it to today, it was two different teams.

News flash, Tom. We don’t have depth. I know this an MLS issue, as I’ve gotten into numerous times, but we just don’t have it.

That’s it. I think the tape of this game should be incinerated and forgotten. After all, we’ve got the Crew to punish on national television.