“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.

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.

This season is past half over, and DC United is tied for second in the Eastern Conference. With a record of 5-3-9, this United team has not blown the doors off, and has shown the ever maddening “flashes of brilliance” followed by the defensive meltdowns reminiscent of 2008. In all competitions, 37 goals for and 26 for sounds like a commanding offense, but throwing out the goal fest US Open Cup game against NY, they have drawn 4 times when they’ve scored 2 or more.

This team needs quite a few things for the total package to go into the Playoffs and win, and to show well in its international commitments. Below, I’ll review them, and I hope to elicit your opinions as well.

Need #1: Left back
Marc Burch and Avery John have both been atrocious. Slow, bad passing, and in Burch’s case, generally ineffective on free kicks and service. Burch’s power is not to be doubted, but he has to actually score occasionally to earn his keep if he’s going to stink in defense. Avery John needs to go. He’s past his expiration date, and his experience don’t make up for his complete lack of speed.

Need #2: CAM or Winger
Santino Quaranta has had a strong year, and is currently being rewarded for it with USMNT caps. Christian Gomez has scored 5 goals in all competitions, and has looked dangerous at times, but has generally showed that he’s lost a step, and can’t be counted on for 90 minutes. Fred. Sigh, Oh Fred. The goal scoring touch has eluded Fred, and for his salary, the team has to be looking for more results. He’s good on the ball often, and can make a creative pass occasionally, but, just not good enough right now. Barklage showed some promise, but he’s out for the rest of the season. This roster is screaming out for an experienced left winger (a la a hungry and eager DeMarcus Beasley) or a young creative midfielder with a scoring touch. We’ve got three roster spots to play with, and one of them needs to be used here.

Need #3: Forward Depth
Luciano Emilio should be the picture next to the word “streaky” in the soccer dictionary. As he has in every year since his arrival, Emilio has gone stone cold, but this time it’s in the middle of the season vs. the end of the season. He has 5 goals, along with Jamie Moreno, but he hasn’t scored since May 16th. He and Jaime have had injury problems, but both look to be fit for Saturday’s game against Colorado. Both he and Moreno have demonstrated that DC need to prepare for life after both of them in the near future, and the players currently on the roster aren’t going to cut it. I liked Ange N’Silu, but recently, he has shown tactical and mental lapses that aren’t acceptable at this level. Boyzzz Khumalo always shows creative flashes, but at least once a game, he’ll make a decision that will make you question his sanity. I’d really like DC to go out and get a GOAL SCORER from MLS, someone where you know exactly what you’re in for. Fred wouldn’t be bad trade bait in this scenario, but we’ll see.

DC has done well for itself considering the amount of ties, but we all want excellence and this team needs to reinforce itself before it enters my favorite new tournament, the CONCACAF Champions League.

What do you think the team needs to do?

UPDATE: Well the team has addressed none of these areas, as today, they added Danny Szetela on a free transfer from Racing Santander. Follow the coverage here and here.

First, coming in. DCU has signed Dejan Jakovic from Red Star Belgrade, in a real, honest to god transfer. It’s like MLS is a real league and everything!
Some info about Mr. Jakovic:

All of this according to Wiki and Goff, Jakovic, who was born in Croatia, and has been capped by the Canadian National Team (as a side note, we’ve replaced our quota of one real National Team player since Guerrero was shown the exit). He made three appearances for Red Star, but following a coaching change, he had struggled to find any playing time. It appears that Kasper envisions him as the starting CB, with the commanding presence that the team missed last year. At 23, that’s a curious statement. But what it most certainly does is relegate either McTavish or Janecki to the bench. That’s something to watch for as the season draws closer.

A player that I enjoyed watching, Mike Zaher, was released. Largely a victim of the numbers game and the depth at left back, Zaher looks to find a USL team on the west coast to latch on to. I liked Zaher’s crossing ability, and general stability in the LB spot. He had some shaky moments last year, especially in CONCACAF, but it would have been nice to have had the luxury of having a player like him in the reserves. One can only hope that a new collective bargaining agreement will both increase the salary cap, as well as restore the roster sizes and reinstate the reserve division.

Apparently, Milos Kocic has received European offers and he is considering them. The team has decided that Nic Platter, from USL1 Minnesota, will be the backup, with Kocic and Thorpe battling it out for a poverty contract. Personally, if I were Kocic, I’d be outtie 5000. If he does, DC should keep an eye on him. What this also appears to state is that Crayton will be extended, because I have a hard time believing that Nic Platter will start for DC United in late season games.

Ryan Miller signed a developmental contract. He played in two CONCACAF games, and I don’t remember being impressed. He looks to be depth at RB and MF filler. Good luck to him.

This reminds me. After watching the Houston and Montreal CONCACAF games, it made me think about CONCACAF Champions League.

I really want to win it. Badly. I know its a new tournament with no history, but I gotta tell you, compared to the US Open Cup or Superliga, CONCACAF is a lot more exciting. Also, Montreal needs a team yesterday. That was phenomenal. I hope next year we aren’t playing our scrubs in these important games.

And that’s what its all about. Two more trophies to get this year, let’s get after it.

Again, Matt Reis will not be playing, but NE looks to have more of its attacking options with them, including Taylor Twellman (who appears to have been barred from USMNT matches), Pat Noonan, Kheli Dube and Nyassi. Certainly more firepower than United faced last week at RFK.

Go to Behind the Badge for all your prematch reading. Lots of good stuff in there about tonight’s keeper for DC, Louis Crayton. Let’s hope he fairs better on his first astroturf experience than did our old friend, Jose Carvallo.

Predictions: Last away match at Chicago was the very definition of a squeaker, and I haven’t been totally blown away by our defense this year. I have a feeling we fail to get our points tonight, and lose to the eventual Eastern Conference Champion 3-1 (goal by Moreno). I hope I’m wrong. What do you think?

Sidenote: As some of you might now, I’m a huge Chelsea fan. One of my boys was Andriy Shevchenko, who appears to be on his way out of town to AC Milan. I had just bought an away kit with his name on the back. I haven’t even gotten it yet. Today is a sad day.

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?

Anyway, Superliga. The money tournament having no real basis on anything. Woo. Tickets? More expensive than league matches. Will I be there? Most likely, for the sole reason I can’t stand to watch games on Telemundo. I took three years of Spanish, but they fail me. Aye carumba.

The big questions abound. Will Jaime be ready for the game after his abdominal strain? What about Gallardo? How will the players bounce back after 120 minutes against the Fire on Tuesday? Will Peralta actually start a game? Will they play the same kind of attacking football they played in the beginning of the year in international play? (I hope so) These questions, and more, will all be answered Saturday night.
Now for some linkage.
THE USA today has a preview.
ESPN with their overall Superliga preview.
Bryan Namoff is on my favorite radio show ever, World Soccer Daily.
Ben Olsen details the moves that he has.
Fighting Talker has a two part preview on Superliga, here and here.
Here’s Access United for the Fire Open Cup game…

As for a music recommendation, go see the Brazilian Girls at 930 club after the game on Saturday, as I am doing. Buy tickets here. And below is a sample of the greatness they bring…

My take on his argument? DC knew what it was getting. A holding midfielder is not going to make Sportscenter on most days, and they knew that. With DP status comes increased scrutiny, and when a player’s game is nuanced and sophisticated and the player is not a self-promoting media whore (ahem, goldenballs), a fan can be excused for thinking Gallardo isn’t pulling his weight. I tend to fall on the side of Pro-Gallardo, solely because I believe what needs to happen, has already started, and that is a familiarity and likemindedness necessary for Gallardo’s talents to be utilized and the players around him to feed of his intelligent. Whenever I watch him operate in the midfield, the words that come to my mind are always “Soccer IQ”. He keenly anticipates defenders movements, and often times makes the smart pass. But his artistry comes in when he goes for the thru ball or back heel that is unexpected.

-DCUMD previews the game tonight, and again, we’re on the same page. His lineup looks very similar to mine.

And that’s really all the new stuff. Listen to the game tonight, I might liveblog it since my girlfriend will be getting her hair did.

- Confirmation on the earlier injury news, with Goff confirming that Santino Quaranta is out 2-3 weeks. But that’s not all. Jaime Moreno tweaked his groin muscle, and will not be available for selection. Big deal, you say. We’re playing a USL team, how could we not win, you say.
Well, it’s been a little bit since we’ve won the cup. Try…1996. Yeah. You were a lot thinner then.

- DC has signed Craig Thompson. Who’s Craig Thompson, you ask? A good question, if ever there was one. Craig has played for DC in two reserve matches, and has yet to score. He played in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (Praise be to Google) and scored 18 goals in 22 games last season. He plays right midfield, which is an area we’ll need some depth in the upcoming weeks. He’s taking the spot of the retired Jeff Curtin.

As I said above, DC have performed very poorly in Open Cup play in the last few years. Last year, Harrisburg (Yes, the Mighty Fighting Harrisbergians) swept DC out in their first match. This year, DC comes up against a team who is last place in their division, and missing Steve Guppy (DCU alum) due to a red card in a prior match. DC is coming off a physically taxing victory on Sunday, with injured starters. The team I’d like to see start the match would be…

Doe—-Emilio (1st half, sub with Stratford in M)
Burch—-Simms—–Gallardo (Cordiero subs)—–Kirk (Olsen?)
Zaher——–Martinez——McTavish——Namoff
Wells
Radio: WFED (1050 AM) and WACA (1540 AM, Spanish)
I think that lineup would score a few goals, and likely not give up too many. Maybe give Fred minutes if he’s feeling up to it. Doing this lineup, it becomes clear how few reserves we have in defense. Hopefully, this is remedied before Superliga, or our backline will be run down for the second half of the MLS season and playoffs.

Prediction: DC 3, Rochester 0.

Thoughts?

Update: Here are some links for you to peruse this morning..
Goffster’s preview.
The Examiner’s focus.
The Express.
And this editorial about Sunday’s game.