Najar will learn when to stay home if he ends up playing there more. I liked his crosses from a slightly deeper position. Definitely will force other teams to stay honest in a way Russell can't. You might not want to play him there if we're playing a 3-forward solid attacking team like SKC, but against Toronto and against most average teams as well, he's a good option there. He has the speed to make up for some of his positioning mistakes and worked hard to get a clearing header today.
He is their third highest paid at 1.1 million De Guzman makes 1.9 million (!), Koevermans makes 1.4 million
On the win, no complaints at all. I was nervous before and we put in a solid performance in many respects to avoid any slip up. Both goals were well taken and had a clean sheet, I am growing bolder about our chances for playoffs.
Maybe I'm missing a bs boycott or something, but I'm surprised there's not more comment on/love for today's effort. The team is banged up and travel weary. Salihi scored a beautiful goal, and we got a pretty convincing win playing Neal, Korb, and both Najar and Woolard out of position. True enough, Toronto thinks they are going to lose, and to some extent that's like playing a man up for part of the game. Still, DC's passing IMHO is meaningfully better than in recent years -- much more creative, much less obvious -- and TFC only rolled over once DC put some in the net. The one big Q remains Bosko, who still seems out of sync with the team and still seems to be moving and thinking much, much more slowly than the rest of the team. Now that Salihi seems to have his MLS sea legs, could someone please talk to Branko and figure out what the hell's up with him?
Bosko did OK I thought. Definitely a huge improvement over Neal who looked nervous. As far as his tempo, I don't think he was out of place in a game that was played at a really low tempo in general. De Ro and Santos especially played at a walking pace, but some others too. I think especially after we got the lead we sort of slowed things down even more. Slowing things down can be a virtue when managing a lead on the road.
DCU=TCB Olsen has created a team first mentality and everyone's bought in. The confidence and joy of playing between this year and the last two is obvious. TFC is beaten pre-whistle, DCU in 2010 with better attackers. So, what should have been a trap game for DCU became the inevitable end for Aron Winter. It's been said here already, you can't project anything result-wise for the season based on this game, except the expectancy of the commitment of United. United is a healthy Dudar or another quality CB away from being a top threat. Regardless, whatever they are now or whatever they become this season is a team I can be proud to support.
well dcu has now done the bare minimum on this road trip - take 3 from toronto. let's hope they can get at least a point against houston and it will be a success let's be clear, anything but 3 today was a disaster
I'm sure its possible that Boskovic could become useful, but I'd much much rather dump him in the summer and pick up a very good centerback as a DP or just a more expensive one. That's where the depth has been killing us obviously. Other than currently in that spot, this team has a lot of depth and versatility.
A great win on the road, with some quality goals. However, this is a team we should have beaten. A tie would've felt like a loss IMHO. My comments I hope do not detract from what is clearly a very positive change in this team's fortunes. This is a team I feel confident in, no matter who they are playing. That is a huge difference -- and if that confidence is present in the locker room, this team is on the way to getting it's mojo back.
This is also a team I enjoy watching no matter who they play. Montreal match and maybe one other are the exceptions, otherwise this has been a very fun squad t watch and I always feel they have a chance. My 2010, 2009, 2008 schedule magnets seem to represent an era that hopefully has finally died away.
I think Nejar has found his position for this DC United team. He and Cruz make a good combo. Will he make mistakes? Sure. But I think his long term is better than Russell's.
Harkes had a great snark during the game when Johnson mentioned TFC has three DPs. "Yeah, you wouldn't know that, Dave."
I think it might be better to switch Cruz and Najar in your scenario. I think that's a good idea, but Najar would provide better offense as RW (with some defense) and Cruz would provide more grit as RB (along with some offense).
The word that comes to mind is "solid." That was a workmanlike performance from the boys. Nicely taken goals. We didn't expend alot of energy but still easily won the game.
There were many smile-inducing things to take away from this game. Clean sheet with *that* back four, Pontius' strike, Salihi's acrobatics, etc etc. But nothing makes me smile as much as knowing that we're not paying Julian de Guzman $1.9 million to play like a medicated Dax McCarty.
OPTA shows Woolard with 54 passes, 53 of them connecting to a teammate. I know that a lot of passes out of the back are uncontested, but still....
Is there a post-match thread? TFC is bad. I never for one moment doubted that DC would win this game. I feel bad for the TFC fans, having to endure yet another bad coach. I can't help but hope that it's a bit of cosmic justice for being self-congratulatory twats during their first years. Toronto is so fragile; they seem to be waiting to lose. Of course, we've been there too. Their Front Office should be scouring the world for a good coach and preparing for next season's draft at this point. Winter's guarantee that TFC would make the playoffs will go down as a bad move in a season full of awful moves. It looks like Frings has taught TFC one thing: how to swat the ball off the goal line with one's hand utterly without consequence. I viewed Pontius' golazo as karmic retribution. I continue to believe that Najar has to be on the field. If it has to as a defender, fine. His speed makes up for some poor decisions on defense and he had numerous tremendous passes and his runs coming out of the back were terrorizing TFC defenders all day. Good game by Woolard and McDonald. Woolard's composure and McDonald's workrate make a decent combination in a pinch. But I won't read too much into it since TFC's forwards (except Plata who is inexplicably coming off the bench) strike little fear in me. I kept wondering why the TFC fans had stolen all our songs until I realized it was the DC fans singing. This DCU team is a swashbuckling, adventurous group and they are a lot of fun to watch.
Najar started for us when he was 16 right? Or 15 turning 16? He is turning 19 this year? Has he physically changed all that much? I've only noticed that he seemed to fill out and look a little different, but I haven't noticed any substantial difference in his height or heft... and I'm wondering how that plays into his field position. For us, he'd be fine as a MF, possibly even a forward. But if he truly wants to move on to a bigger stage, and if he has the skills for it, where is he really going to fit into a team in Europe? Might his best chance at making that move actually lay at RB? Maybe aside from the injury crisis and form of certain players, the club is looking at this and thinking they can make him more marketable and help his game and future?
I like how in the highlight clip of Pontius' goal on dcunited.com, they make sure to leave the TFC handball in.
The big takeaway here (for me) is that we beat a team we should have beaten, on the road and with a makeshift lineup. In the very recent past, we would have played down to TFC's level and either lost or tied. This is a big mental shift, and I think Olsen is finally making his imprint on team spirit.