2012/13 Rumors, Speculation and Roster Punditry

Discussion in 'D.C. United' started by Boloni86, Nov 19, 2012.

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  1. traversunitedfan

    Apr 29, 2007
    Hollywood MD
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I am a fan of Salihi. I didn't mean it negatively. I just mean keeping him is more than likely the only option. I for one like his age and his style of play. Olsen needs to play him more often.
     
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  2. jason1551

    jason1551 Member+

    Apr 9, 2003
    Columbus, GA
    Club:
    DC United
    Why wouldn't the team be able to transfer Salihi out for a small fee and be done with his contract? When has an MLS team ever been on the hook for a player that they transferred?

    And while I doubt that Salihi riding the bench did little to boost his trade (or transfer) value, he still has a good scoring rate no matter where he goes. I could see a couple of MLS teams being intrigued by his type of play partnered next to a pacier forward.
     
  3. jason1551

    jason1551 Member+

    Apr 9, 2003
    Columbus, GA
    Club:
    DC United
    I'm not saying Kitchen would solely be a DM. I am saying he would continue to take on the main defensive responsibilities in the 5 man midfield. I think it's obvious that DeRo takes over Boskovic's role, so a new midfielder would act as a a complement between Kitchen and DeRo. That player would ideally be a quality two-way player. Feilhaber could be that player if the FO is looking within the league, but they could easily look elsewhere.

    And, no, I want no part of the Ginger Midget. He's a good player, but not what I want for how much he gets paid.
     
  4. Shammypantaloons

    Apr 20, 2012
    Club:
    DC United
    I said it before this season but the only time I feel really happy to see Saragosa on the field is against NY. Go and watch those games again and tell me his only job is to knock down and harass Dax McCarty lol Hilarious
     
  5. DCUSA

    DCUSA Member+

    Jan 14, 2006
    Virginia
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The BBC is reporting Neil Lennon has been very impressed with Juan Agudelo during his training stint and Celtic want to sign him.
    In other news, I have turned my attention to other players Andy Najar could be traded for :)
     
  6. Winoman

    Winoman Drinkin' Wine Spo-De-O-De!

    Jul 26, 2000
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Please investigate other players Lionard Pajoy could be traded for, instead.
     
  7. Boloni86

    Boloni86 Member+

    Jun 7, 2000
    Baltimore
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Gibraltar
    Players?

    I'd settle for a bowl of frosted flakes and the Sunday comics ...
     
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  8. DCUSA

    DCUSA Member+

    Jan 14, 2006
    Virginia
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Danny Cruz?
     
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  9. Hedbal

    Hedbal Member+

    Jul 31, 2000
    DC
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I would make that trade.
     
  10. Heist

    Heist Member+

    Jun 15, 2001
    Virginia
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    With the injuries to Pontius and the move back for Najar, wouldn't it have been nice to have Pontius up top and Cruz out wide instead of Pajoy up top and Pontius out wide (or Neal out there when we needed Pontius elsewhere)? I know Cruz wasn't great, but he was serviceable.
     
  11. Boloni86

    Boloni86 Member+

    Jun 7, 2000
    Baltimore
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Gibraltar
    Yeah, at the time it seemed like an OK trade because Cruz was sort of sucking and Santos was hurt so it seemed smart to add another striker.

    But then right after the trade we go to a 4-5-1. Why the hell did we pick up 2 strikers (Pajoy and Tan) if we're planning to change to a formation that requires fewer strikers. We finished the season with 6 strikers on the books (Salihi, Pajoy, Santos, Tan, Wolff and De Ro) and only 1 was seeing consistent game time.

    At the same time we went to the 4-5-1, we moved Najar to RB. Why the hell would you get rid of Cruz if you were already planning to deplete the wing depth by moving Najar?

    It just seems like they're making it up as they go ... no real foresight.
     
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  12. Heist

    Heist Member+

    Jun 15, 2001
    Virginia
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I didn't mind taking the risk at the time actually, but a couple weeks in I was ready to ask for a tradeback...
    Also, was Wolff still technically on the books? I thought he had moved to a full time coaching role midway through the year to clear cap space. Maybe I misunderstood a Goff blog post.

    Anyone know what Wollard's prognosis is for next year. Presumably he'll be ready to go given that he was ready enough to be in the 18 a couple of times.
    Ethan White and Shanoksy? Ready to contribute at all?
     
  13. Winoman

    Winoman Drinkin' Wine Spo-De-O-De!

    Jul 26, 2000
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Wolff was still on the books as a player/coach. He was more coach than player because he was injured near the end. The last game I could find where he played (as a sub) was in Kansas, on 8/11.

    Agree about Woolard. He should be ready to go next year, since he was in the 18 foe the last couple of games this year.

    Ethan White I don't know anything about. Are there any folks who saw reserve games that can give an evaluation?

    Hopefully, Shanosky can challenge for a spot on the team next year. He was with the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers of the NASL, for all of their season in 2012.
     
  14. Don't Tread on Me

    Aug 11, 2010
    Charleston, South Carolina
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    there's no question dc got the better of the pajoy/cruz trade, absolutely no question. lest you all forget, pajoy scored a game winning goal against philly, a game-tying goal vs chicago, and had an assist on bosko's game-winning goal vs chivas. his hold up play was one of the reasons dc made the late-season run that they did, and he had the hockey assist to russell who assisted de leon on the winner against ny.

    kitchen needed help in the midfield from saragosa. to achieve this dc needed to go with a lone striker who could do something with the hopeful balls: pajoy. pontius could never do that. he's great but he needs to run AT the goal. forwards who can play with their back to goal are useful in the modern game and i hope pajoy is a dc player next season, at least as a backup.

    credit where credit is due, pajoy was the right guy for the job so good on olsen.
     
  15. Boloni86

    Boloni86 Member+

    Jun 7, 2000
    Baltimore
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Gibraltar
    If this is all true then it really means that DC totally screwed the pooch in the last offseason. It's not a good sign when a team has to totally make a 180 and reinvent itself in the middle of a season.

    When a team dumps plan A and scrambles for a plan B with a desperate signing of an aging journeyman in order to bench several players who are already on the squad... well that doesn't reflect well on whoever created plan A.

    At least we have a good solid core of young homegrown players and draftees, so we don't have to start from scratch. But they need to figure out what they need at the striker position and get it right. We've had an Allsopp fail, Davies fail and Salihi fail. Especially if we're playing with one striker, we need someone who is a reliable 10-15 goal scorer. I'm not sure Pajoy has ever scored 10-15 goals consistently even in his prime.
     
  16. The Artist

    The Artist Member+

    Mar 22, 1999
    Illinois
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Losing Bosko isn't too much of a loss since the team never really relied on him for any particular thing other than the free kicks (and even those diminished in quality toward the end of the season). I'm not suggesting he didn't play well, just that our offense was clearly never built around his particular set of skills.
    It's questionable whether we will be able to find a replacement at that price that can do what he did, but I don't think we have to. We need to find a replacement that fits into the team the way Ben wants it to play. Presumably that means either a forward who can play like Pajoy but actually put the ball on target or a midfielder to sit next to Kitchen and be a distributor.
    I'm not sure what sort of tactics we will employ next year. On the one hand, Ben clearly was enamored with the 4-4-2 with an attacking mid through most of the season, but it's also hard to deny our success the last 2 months with the 4-5-1. Assuming DeRo is still around I have to expect we return to the 442 (which would have eliminated Bosko's spot anyway).
    I don't know what the draft looks like this year, but even at our spot there is usually a chance to get a decent American defender. Since we now know Woolard can play in the center if needed, I would say Dudar is a luxury. Replace him with a low cost draft pick for depth and I would feel fairly comfortable with our defense.
     
  17. griffin1108

    griffin1108 BigSoccer Supporter

    Dec 5, 2003
    Virginia
    Um.... No. You never, ever rely on someone who has missed significant time with a concussion -- ever. If Woolard plays again period, that's a plus and leave it at that. Don't figure him for depth in other spots, because you must assume he's one head knock from being done. If Dudar goes, that leaves either White or Shanosky as the backup for McD and Jakovic. From what little I've read, Shanosky played well in Ft. Lauderdale and logged substantial minutes. Now, whether his success in the NASL will translate to a league with much better forwards is a question that will be asked and answered next spring. White, IIRC, played some games for Richmond at an even lower level league and some "Reserve" games (glorified intrasquad practices given DCU's use of Academy and guest players). I thought he was very raw two seasons ago when he played some (tended to make the same mistakes over and over, largely through ball watching) and I have no idea if he's gotten better. Counting on either Shanosky, White or "low cost draft pick" for the primary backup to you two center defenders is a huge risk.
     
  18. Don't Tread on Me

    Aug 11, 2010
    Charleston, South Carolina
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    no doubt. but it's better than clinging to plan A even if it's not working. I was just happy that Olsen made the adjustment, because for a while there he was married to that diamond midfield with 2 strikers. and I have to give him credit for his adjustment because while DC was not playing the prettiest ball, they were basically a non-call away from being in MLS cup without the reigning league MVP. it's quite an accomplishment, and if they can get a decent plan A figured out for next season it could be even better.
     
  19. JayRockers!

    JayRockers! Member+

    Aug 4, 2001
    Which price? At his DP salary there are hundreds. At his post-DP salary there are still plenty of fish. Christian Gomez only made $150K or so when first signed. Trick is to convince them to transfer mid-season if they come from Europe. Which, as we have seen, usually negates those players in top-tier leagues. And DC hasn't had the greatest eye for talent in recent history when scouting the lesser leagues.

    Thx,

    Jay!
     
  20. Q*bert Jones III

    Q*bert Jones III The People's Poet

    Feb 12, 2005
    Woodstock, NY
    Club:
    DC United
    Losing the league's MVP to injury can also play some role in making that decision.
     
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  21. ImNumberTen

    ImNumberTen Member+

    Oct 4, 2007
    Washington, DC
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    To quibble with one part of your post: I think, in hindsight, CD9 doesn't qualify as a "fail." I mean, if you told me we would get 11 goals from a no-name player for what he cost DCU in 2011 (when we sucked and were coming off a season that was even worse) I would have taken it 10 times out of 10.

    We were disappointed that he faded that year after hoping he would continue to improve. Still doesn't mean his tenure was an overall "fail."
     
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  22. Boloni86

    Boloni86 Member+

    Jun 7, 2000
    Baltimore
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Gibraltar


    Having Davies deliver 11 goals last season was better than what we had the year before for sure ... but he was gone as quick as he came.

    But really DC hasn't had a consistent center forward threat since Emilio left. Since then it's been a revolving door of average center forwards who generally don't stick around for more than a year.

    If you look at most other good teams in MLS, they do have that go to center forward on their team that can get 10+ goals consistently every year ... Some teams that play the 4-3-3 like KC and Houston can get away with spreading out the goals a little more among their 3 forwards. But especially in the 4-5-1 the point man has to be able to finish, you can't just rely on the midfield for goals.
     
  23. Petworth Posse

    Feb 24, 2009
    Club:
    DC United
    This discussion underscores one very important point. United, under Ben's leadership, was a good team this year - not because of the front office, but despite it. In the past we've had a front office that makes bonehead moves and a coach who has no idea of what to do with the cards he's been dealt. Now we have a coach who can take scrapple and paste back together into a Cuban sandwich. Not gourmet mind you, but still tasty.
     
  24. Shammypantaloons

    Apr 20, 2012
    Club:
    DC United
    I get the feeling that the team didn't really 'like each other' in the last few losing seasons as much as they did this year and perhaps last. Chemistry makes a huge difference toward winning I imagine but we never get an inside look at things unless players release Youtube videos.
     
  25. Q*bert Jones III

    Q*bert Jones III The People's Poet

    Feb 12, 2005
    Woodstock, NY
    Club:
    DC United
    I got the impression that the team, except for two people, fought for each other to a remarkable degree. Those two people were so talented that they could almost get away with it. But not quite.
     

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