“We don’t want to play like Colorado or New England, which most of the season sat with eight or nine guys behind the ball. How many people go to watch Colorado or New England play? That’s a problem for our league. We can’t play like we’re a team desperately trying to remain in 14th place in the Premiership.”

AND

Given a choice, we would rather attack than cynically defend. You look at the way Real Salt Lake played when they came here [a 0-0 tie in May] and sat 10 guys behind the ball. You don’t have to do that. Sometimes that is the best way to get a result — if you don’t care about the product, if you don’t care about advertising your league. Long term, who wants to watch that?”

One more…

“There are a lot of games in our league that I can’t watch. The problem in our league isn’t who is or isn’t in the playoffs; it’s that not enough people want to watch our league yet, and we have to convince them that our league is worth watching. I don’t think [playing conservatively] is the way to do it. I recognize there is more than one way to skin a cat. I’m not saying that everyone has to play an attacking style, but that is our style and identity, and we have to be honest with ourselves and say there are sometimes liabilities [such as missing the playoffs] that come with it.
“We still have a lot more trophies in our case than everybody else, so I think in the long run, it’s the right thing to do. This league is changing [a smaller percentage of teams will make the playoffs as MLS expands by three over the next two seasons] and we are going to see more of that kind of [defensive] approach: results at any cost.”

Making Friends and Influencing People, by Kevin Payne. Needless to say these comments have not been taken well across the league, and the fact that DCU have missed the playoffs twice in a row, along with the fact that DCU tied RSL in goals scored makes the comments ring a little hollow.

Meanwhile, Tom Soehn waits for his future to be sorted as his contract expires this month. This could also be read as, Tom Soehn starts to clear his office as the Front Office searches for his replacement and waits for his contract to expire so they don’t have to pay a guy they fired.

Looks like Moreno and Olsen would like to come back, with Moreno making a here or elsewhere-I’m playing statement, and Olsen saying that his future will be decided by the front office in the coming weeks. For both, it’ll be a necessary pay cut that they’ll have to accept to stay with the club. The team is stronger if they’re able to keep them, but in a reserve capacity. We will soon see how that shakes out, and the new CBA agreement may have a lot to do with it.

Lastly, and kind of interestingly, Fred is a wanted man, somewhere. Looks like Melborne would like to bring back Fred in a CAM role, AKA the role in which he’s a productive player that we never played him in. DC has an option for him in 2010, but I see him moving on.

More as it develops.

Rumor numero dos will come as laughable to the people on bigsoccer who rejected this talk out of hand, but the same article has Andriy Shevchenko (Woohoooo!) to DCU after his two year stint at Dynamo Kiev is over. As much as I don’t want MLS to become a retirement home, I love Shevchenko. Consummate professional who would devastate MLS even at an advanced age. Professional goal scorer. Hope this happens.
Believability Scale :7/10
Probability Scale: 4/10

As originally reported here (in The Offside’s First official scoop), Bill Hamid, Annandale native and academy product, has signed with MLS and will be on DCU’s roster as the third goalkeeper. As a result of this and other additions like Shipalane, Habarugira, and James, someone on the current roster will have to be cut.
Based on recent comments and the type of players brought in, I would wager Greg Janicki is the one let go. It’s a shame for him, because I think he could be a very serviceable CB in MLS. He’s had a number of shockers that just looked like a temporary loss in concentration that resulted in goals.

Also, the Szetela situation has to be resolved soon, as its becoming preposterous. DCU used a very valuable allocation spot on this player, and even though DCU has done an impressive job at keeping the source of the problem in house, you’d have to imagine that the FO would like Soehn let bygones be bygones and get him on the field. Szetela has had problems at every team he’s played on, and at this point, MLS is the last chance saloon. Get it together, Danny.

The team is headed to Chicago to get a needed three points. The Fire haven’t been great at home this season, but DC has been awful away. A sissyfight, if you will. I’ll have a real preview up tomorrow.

- First and foremost, roster moves. The long rumored, and now finally finalized move for David Habaruguira, defender from Anderlecht in the Netherlands. He had throughly impressed Tom Soehn, enough that he had this to say,

“He is pretty versatile, pretty polished,” Soehn said. “His trial was one of the better ones we’ve ever seen; he got better every day.”

I would venture to say that Haba (for short hand purposes) will be put right to work, most likely as cover in Champions League, at least on away matches. I liked this move, because if Soehn is this impressed, we should be in for something decent.

-DC traded Houston a conditional 3rd round pick 2012 (THE FUUUUUTURE) for defender Julius James. A right back by trade, James was traded to Houston in the DeRosario trade. I remember at the time thinking “To be the counterweight in this move, this guy had better be good”. Reports seem to say that even at 25, he’s still pretty raw tactically, and has gotten by on physical attributes alone. Here are some Youtube clips:

Oops, nevermind. It appears the Toronto fans are in love with themselves, and like to take video from the stands showing how original their songs are. So, no luck on showing real game footage.
Having cover at RB is never a bad thing, especially with the congestion we have coming up.

-Ange N’Silu, my boy, has been put on the disabled list, which puts him out of action for at least 6 league games. This move is also known as, “We don’t know what to do with you yet. Maybe you’ll figure it out during practices”. Unlikely. As soon as I bought his practice jersey, it was over.

-As for injury news and suspensions, I give you the Goffster:
*Midfielder-forward Chris Pontius (quadriceps) will not play in Toronto or Honduras. Midfielder-forward Santino Quaranta (hamstring) says he is fine and defender Bryan Namoff (hamstring) is listed as probable. The only other player on the injured list is Boyzzz Khumalo (wrist).
*Midfielder Ben Olsen is suspended for the Toronto game (yellow cards) and midfielder Fred will miss the Marathon match (red card)

-Two additional trialists are in town, with both Tiyi Shipalane from the Harrisburg City Islanders and Adam Smarte with the team. My guess is that they’ll see if Smarte could replace N’Silu. If not, they may keep Ange, otherwise, it’ll be curtains.

- All of the CCL games will be televised, with games with on FSC or Telefutura. So, that’s good.

Any questions?

For more about Hamid, check out this Washington Post article about him.

I just heard from my source (the same one that said the Real Madrid was confirmed, and then it was later on in the week he said it would happen), that Ben communicated to a confidant that he was done playing due to the pain he was experiencing. The acquisition of Danny Szetela makes all the more sense now, which lends some credibility to the report.

If this is the case, I believe DC is still on the hook for Olsen’s remaining salary, but will have another roster spot available. Of course, this neglects the fact that all of us have probably been pushing to the back of our minds; that Olsen while still a serious talent and the heart of the team, was living on borrowed time, and crippled ankles. If the report bears out, then I hope the supporters will wish him well and send him off in a proper fashion.

We’ll see how this plays out.

The thing you’ll hear most from any reports you’re bound to read about this match is that Josh Wicks did well, and RSL bunkered. Honestly, that’s about all I could tell you about it, too. DC started out bad, and finished bad.

Fred is continuing his habit of squandering easy chances that need burying. He did well at creating, but that’s not his role, or it shouldn’t be. He was a league scoring champion in Australia, and he’s putting himself in good positions, but he’s just been snakebitten. For like, 2 years. I would say this is the last year he should be in the Black and the Red at his salary, unless he starts putting them away at a prodigious rate.

Jaime was ineffective, and I was glad that Tommy pulled him when he did. Due to the way that RSL had set up, you need an active and physical presence up top, and when Jaime is not supercharged, he is neither physical or active. I wanted N’Silu to get more than a late cameo, as he didn’t have time to settle into the game. He will have to get better at that, because I don’t see him as starting 11 player.

Tino did okay, having decided to play provider at almost all times. Whereas last year I had to yell at him to pass up the shot, that is very much not the case this year. I’d like to see him more aggressive in the final third.

The backline was phenomenal. Jakovic is not long for this league, mark my words. Namoff and Burch, to a lesser degree, were dominant. Combine that defensive presence and goalkeeping against a team with some interest in attacking and you have a recipe for a United victory.

I would be remiss if I didn’t single out Josh Wicks for kudos. I’ll admit, when I saw him in the starting 11, I said, “Well, we won’t see Crayton ever again, then.” I’ll stick by that. I’m pretty sure, as I’ve said before, his mixture of high salary, average performance, and attitude are making him be exit bound. If we can get this kind of performance out of some combination of Wicks and Kocic, we’ll be okay. I’m sure we’d all like to see a more steady hand back there, but we’ll see what the summer window brings us.

I’ve kind of fallen off the map here, and I apologize. I was looking for a co-blogger, but I haven’t really been seeing any output. So, I’ll get back to business here and give you folks something to read at work.

Non Sequitur: A cool post about Dunny’s trip to RFK.

The Deal
Avery John to DC United
Conditional Draft Pick to NE Revolution
Francis Doe to the unemployment office

Snap judgement?

I’m with everyone, I think. This is a move backwards. Guerrero busted his ass, and played hurt last year. I respected his style of play, and he was one of the few remaining DC players who played internationally. We gave up a DP slot….that, is alright. We obviously weren’t going to get another player that would positively influence ticket sales, and be worth the hit on the salary cap.
The main positive aspect is the salary cap room. Depending on how much of Gomez’s salary that Colorado is covering, and the cost of Guerrero, which as I recall is substantial for a midfielder who scores 1 goal a year ($147,000). So, if DC spends their money wisely here, brings in some help in the back since Roger is splitsville, and a real left winger, we did alright.

Otherwise, we took a trip in the way back machine, and all us STH just threw our 2008 money in a fiery pit.

This summer, I bought a Shevchenko jersey, because I love that underachieving Ukranian. The day after I got it, he was off to AC Milan.

In the great jersey sale of DCUTEAMSTORE.com, I got a Gallardo jersey for Christmas from my parents. Well, it looks like I’ll never wear it now.

Goff is reporting numerous Argentinean sources are stating that Gallardo is close to a return to River Plate.
In the same post, Goff says that Christian Gomez, out of favor in Colorado, wants a reunion with DC, conceivably with a pay cut involved.

Well, what a kick in the teeth.
While Gallardo was injured for almost the entire season last year, when he was on the field, he made an impact. Did he make a $400k impact? I don’t know. I do know that bringing back Gomez does not make this team better. The only way I can see this as a positive is if this 400k is put to work immediately, bringing in some quality defenders, another forward, and a wing player. Quaranta can fill in as the CAM starting option, but the financial flexibility provided by Gallardo’s exit enables the team to improve itself dramatically. It also opens the door for another DP. Will the FO go that way?

I don’t know.

What do you all think? Happy Gallardo may be on his way out? Sad? Indifferent? Leave it in the comments.

UPDATE: Gallardo is history. Link

Anyone know if applying heat will get the letters off of a jersey?