News & Analysis :: Official DC United vs San Jose Earthquakes PRE Match Thread

[Knave]

DC United vs San Jose Earthquakes

• Date & Time :: Saturday, April 3 @ 4:00pm EST
• Television :: ABC (live)
• Audio Webcast :: English (http://www.1160wmet.com/), Spanish (http://www.radioamerica.net/), Other Webcasts (http://www.socceraudio.com/)
• PBP AIM Chatroom :: BigSoccerDCU :: Directions Here (http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=2238175#post2238175)

Items in gray will be updated as information becomes available.

And so it begins ...
(A bit early in anticipation of opening day.)

News and Analysis Only
Serious Discussion Only
No Flames - No Trolls

[sckrmom]

So, who gets the start in goal - Nick or Doug? As big a fan as I am of Doug, I think it goes to Nick for sheer experience reasons; We are playing San Jose and I think Peter will want as much experience in goal as possible.

[dsheon]

I read somewhere that Nicky says he's 90 percent. That's not good enough. It will be really interesting to see if Freddy starts. Also let's hope Convey doesn't get dinged up in Poland.

San Jose is a tough team that came back at RFK to bite us in a hard fought second half last year. Hopefully that conditioning will pay off for us and we can match them this year. I think the loss of Roner is big. Dayak and Goose are old and we should be able to beat them now and again. Would love to see Goose on Freddy. Lots to look forward to! Bring it on!

[ursula]

More than the GK situation, I'm wondering about who'll start at forward. With the GK's I figure that whoever starts will be ready, and that includes Nicky if Nowak gives him the go ahead. I figure that it will be Warren though.

The forwards though...Cerritos, Stewart, Moreno, Eskandarian, Adu? I'm tempted to say Jaime and Freddy, but I can see Earnie starting with Fred off the bench. (It's hard to see Stewart not starting even if I'm not thrilled by the prospect.) Eski I also see playing off the bench. Cerritos...I just have little faith in anymore.

[Sandon Mibut]

On the backline, it appears that A) Peter prefers the 3-5-2 and B) that when healthy, Namoff has edged ahead of Prideaux for the starting left marking back.

If you have a proven veteran like Brandon Prideaux on your bench, your defense has some good depth! (Even if it only has five backs.)

Now, maybe I'm mis-reading things and making an inaccurate assumption based on the game lineups, but it certainly appeared that whenever everyone in the back was healthy that Piotr was going with Namoff, Nellie and Petke.

[Cuchulain]

More than the GK situation, I'm wondering about who'll start at forward... Cerritos, Stewart, Moreno, Eskandarian, Adu?

I agree -- it seems like a crapshoot. but with bobby missing the match, I'm assuming earnie will be at a-mid, so I'd guess that leaves cerritos and moreno starting, with esky off the bench. if freddy subs in up front, that leaves a hole on the wing, so I guess gros might get a start there if nowak intends to bring freddy in as a forward.

also, jaime came out after 21 minutes against columbus, but there's no mention of an injury -- does anyone know why he was subbed out so early?

[morrissey]

Bobby, barring injury, will not miss Saturday's match. He will start.

james

[ursula]

I agree -- it seems like a crapshoot. but with bobby missing the match, I'm assuming earnie will be at a-mid, so I'd guess that leaves cerritos and moreno starting, with esky off the bench. if freddy subs in up front, that leaves a hole on the wing, so I guess gros might get a start there if nowak intends to bring freddy in as a forward.

also, jaime came out after 21 minutes against columbus, but there's no mention of an injury -- does anyone know why he was subbed out so early?

Actually, there was metion of Moreno's groin- he was taken out early to prevent injury. Smart move given his fragile state. Hopefully we'll know late this week if Jamime is still too fragile.

I agree with morrissey that Convey is a starter, no question. Either Cerritos, Stewart, or Moreno ride the pine. Maybe a couple of them if Nowak starts Adu or, less likely, Eski.

[mellon002]

I'd just like to say that it's nice to see the Pre-game match threads back finally.

[nick]

Here's my lineup assuming a 3-5-2


............Rimando

..Petke....Nelsen.....Prideaux

........Gros.....Kovalenko

Olsen......Convey........Adu

.......Cerritos....Stewart


Top Subs
Namoff
Eskindarian
Moreno


I have to say this line up has a LOT of question marks, not the least is where are the goals going to come from. United is a very solid team in the back from midfield to the goal. However, up top it could be a disaster until or unless someone among these vets puts it together.

Nick
Split between a pollyanna feeling for the defense and a chicken litttle view of the offense. :o
I guess thats like seeing a whole bunch of chickens falling down from the sky but being confident that they are not going to hit you!!

[Liverpool_SC]

After watching the team on Saturday (see my lengthy, self-indulgent review of individual and team performances in the News and Analysis thread), this is the lineup that I would throw out:

.............................Rimando

..........Petke............Nelsen............Namoff

....................Olsen..................Carroll

........Stewart..........Convey...................Adu

.................Kovalenko............Cerritos


This is assuming that Moreno is indeed injured. I wouldn't mind seeing Namoff in Carroll's slot and Prideaux in his left back spot. Both are great playerers. Prideaux really impressed me against Columbus. Namoff's extra pace in back may be valuable against San Jose.

Gros was really chippy, but he does not add a ton to the attack at this point. He doesn't anticipate the switches of the point of attack, his first touch/trapping are a bit suspect and he is too burdened by having to cut the ball back to his right foot to be effective in the offensive end on the left side of the field. I would reserve him for the time when we need more defense (preserving a lead).

Carroll played okay, but he was matched up against Duncan Oughtan and Simon Elliott - not exactly an elite pair of attacking midfielders.

Cerritos can hold the ball well and play laybacks to Freddy and Bobby as they cut into the area.

Bennie is not quick enough to keep up with Convey and Adu on the counterattack at this point. And Earnie is still better on the wing than he is as a forward. The Earnie-Bennie-Kovalenko triangle could do a lot of switching and the Cerritos-Convey-Adu triangle could switch around as well.

Dema is one of the few players we have who is direct and cut-throat about scoring, but he is too encumbered by defensive responsibilities in his def mid role. He would really be good at harrying San Jose's older, slower defenders from a forward position. Esky is just too slow. Moreno would be great to throw on if Cerritos is ineffective or if Kovelenko has to be withdrawn to a more defensive role (assuming he is not hurt).

Our lack of speed amongst our group of forwards makes me think that we could benefit from a Cerritos/Moreno pairing at times. Both are good at linking play and holding the ball for laybacks to our fleet-footed attacking midfielders. Convey, Adu and Stewart (and Bennie) are going to have to get more comfortable finishing one-time shots from the top of the box. Kovalenko should score a good haul following up on rebounds and "ping-pong" balls in the box.

Convey and Adu should be able to eat Hart/Waibel and Dayak alive on their side of the field. We should definitely work on that side (unless Dunivent is hurt and they have chopped liver on the left side). Agoos is still pretty savvy even though he is slow. I think that Eddie Robinson is injured, correct? Perhaps San Jose will play Corrales in the backline.

I would love to see Stokes groomed to fill more of a Shalrie Joseph role than as an outright defender. He has wheels, is surprisingly comfortable on the ball (though his range of passing is a bit limited) and he can be very strong in the tackle (and especially) and winning balls in the air. I wouldn't do it unless I had utmost confidence in Nelsen, Petke and co. behind Stokes, as he is a bit of a gambler. But he was very convincing when he played in a more advanced role (sometimes he stepped up in front of the defensive line and Carroll sort of dropped back in line with Nelsen and Prideaux) at the end of the game against Columbus.

[nick]

That's an interesting variation to put Kovalenko up front. However, I would pair him with Stewart. To follow through on your line of think I would amend my lineup as,

............Rimando

..Petke....Nelsen.....Prideaux

........Gros.....Namoff

Olsen......Convey........Adu

.....Kovalenko....Stewart

I think that does increase the firepower upfront, but the big question becomes the defensive midfield tandem of Gros and Namoff.

[Liverpool_SC]

That's an interesting variation to put Kovalenko up front. However, I would pair him with Stewart. To follow through on your line of think I would amend my lineup as,

............Rimando

..Petke....Nelsen.....Prideaux

........Gros.....Namoff

Olsen......Convey........Adu

.....Kovalenko....Stewart

I think that does increase the firepower upfront, but the big question becomes the defensive midfield tandem of Gros and Namoff.

Carroll before Gros. Olsen brings a great work-rate, a lot of composure, and good linking play to the middle of the field. I agree that he is best out wide, but I think he is the next best candidate for a holding role behind Kovalenko. But Dema is more valuable to the team up top (I think). Its pretty tough to sort out some of these finer points.

I don't think Stewart finishes well enough to play up front. At least not lately. And he was too slow in making his runs. He does better moving with the ball from a deeper position.

Neither Kovalenko nor Stewart are good enough with their backs to the goal/holding the ball to make an effective partnership. I think you have to play either Moreno or Cerritos, as they are great guys for Convey, Adu and the other forward to play off of.

Some of this is pretty much academic, considering that Nowak seems committed to allowing the attacking players to switch roles on the fly (within reason) anyway.

[sckrmom]

After watching the team on Saturday (see my lengthy, self-indulgent review of individual and team performances in the News and Analysis thread), this is the lineup that I would throw out:

.............................Rimando

..........Petke............Nelsen............Namoff

....................Olsen..................Carroll

........Stewart..........Convey...................Adu

.................Kovalenko............Cerritos




I see Dema where you have Adu, or maybe flipped with Olsen. If Moreno is healthy, which I haven't heard of anything serious, I say he starts up top with Cerritos, if not, than Alecko. As much as we all want to see Freddy play, I just don't think he'll start. I see Peter bringing him in at the start of the 2nd half, at least for the first few games. Besides, if he starts, it will add a certain chaos to the game.
Just my 2 cents.

[ursula]

Hmmmm.... interesting lineups, especially the dema to forward parts. But can we agree that there's no way that we'll see Dema anywhere close to being a forward, at least for half a season when all the other forwards would first have to flame out? Otherwise I think we'd be in cloud cukoo land here.

Not that that's a bad thing. He he.

So a full lineup with the Demanator at his central mid spot:

-------------------Warmando
------Petke---------Nelsen------Namoff
------------Kovalenko----Carroll
---Gros---------Olsen-------Convey
----------Stewart------Cerritos

-Moreno starts if healthy

-Adu as a second half sub guaranteed. I am also this close to penciling him into the starting lineup too. We'll see what Nowak says later this week.

-I think Carroll is pretty much a sure thing. Gros I'm less sure on, especially if Moreno is healthy, which might then move Stewart to right wing.
-Olsen and Convey will be pretty much interchangable, as would Stewart be if he was on the right midfield. Dema and Carroll will push forward a lot.

-Nice sentiment about Prideaux but in a way I'm suprised he's still on the team. I think we'll all be stisfied with Namoff in the back three and Brandon's claim to the team thus rests in that he's the only experienced defender sub we have. If Stokes starts taking minutes away from him, then he's gone, possibly in a trade that gets us a forward if needed.

[MikeLastort2]

Since we're speculating here about lineups and what-not, what's the difference between this thread and the other thread?

:confused:

[sckrmom]

Since we're speculating here about lineups and what-not, what's the difference between this thread and the other thread?

:confused:

From what I've read on other threads, and in chatrooms, this thread is only for serious pre-match analysis and discussion. The other one is so you can throw out any observations/wild, hair brained ideas you might have and be free(almost) from the moderators censoring your posts :D

[Cweedchop]

2-1 San Jose...


I think United will play some energized soccer and will look more dangerous than last season but will fall short of winning.. The severe lack of a go-to guy up front will hurt this team all year long and with a very difficult opening schedule of games, we could be behind the 8-ball once again this season..

Of course, I hope I'm completely wrong but I think United is the team with all the pressure on them in this game.. San Jose merely has to show up and play, right now there are too many distractions going on in the United camp and San Jose I believe will come in under the radar and steal Freddy's thunder..

Again, I hope I'm way off base..

My starting X1:


--------------- Warren -----------------

Petke --------- Nelsen -------- Namoff


---------- Carroll ---- Dema -------------


Olsen ---------- Convey ----------- Gros


-------------- Stewart ---- Cerritos -----

[greensboro_pride_fan]

First, it sounds like SJ is having some injury problems at the back, so you may get a bit of a break there.

Starting lineup is going to be very interesting based on Nowack's comments at Carolina Cup. Basically, "Caroll was MOM" against Crew and is in at Dmid. He was also very glowing in his evaluation of Benny playing centrally. If he goes with those two then he meant it, if not then maybe he was trying to give them a boost/support. I have only seen him in three games in person, I am totally unimpressed with Kovalenko, his distribution Saturday was horrendous. With his strenght and toughness, could be a good dmid. Gros was MOM for the Crew. Crew fans were having a good time with him. I just don't see him adding anything. Ok, so keeper is a tossup and probably doesn't matter. If Rimando is healthy then both are good.
Petke-Nelsen-Namoff
Olsen-Caroll
Stewart-Kovalenko-Convey
Moreno-Cerritos

One note. I was sitting where I had a great view of Moreno when he came off the field. He was not doing very well at all. So if he can't go I think you've got to go with Esky first half. Either way, Nowack watches first half and figures where to put Adu in 2nd half.

[mls0soccer0nmu]

Do we know for sure that Moreno has made the team? I know he's been playing a lot. Most people have put him in the line-up so I was wondering if I missed something.