News: 2019 Media, FO, and in season discussion thread

If Olsen/Kasper hasn’t learned that we need 3 deep at fullback given our tactics they aren’t paying attention. It’s probably the most physically demanding position on DCU. I just wonder who plays there after these two.

 

Easy -- Arriola, he's the fix for anything that Olsen effs up.

 

I'm still hoping the answer is Beitashour.

 

Apparently we are actually talking to Lozano now that LAFC is out of the picture.

He’d be a massive DP spend for DCU. I don’t get how we’d spend here, but not last window to salvage the best team we’ve had in eons.

 

Why would Lozano come to DC? Not even a decent paycheck is worth it, everyone’s stock drops

 

Our video production budget must have been syphoned from the ruptured FLO deal. Still bittersweet seeing media interviews without Lindsay Simpson but I guess they have to move on somehow.

 

I listened to a podcast with Gressel in which he was asked about playing right back. He said he could/would, but would rather not. The interviewer then asked if he thought he was "the best crosser from the right side in MLS." Gressel's answer was modest, but the fact that it was asked convinces me that he would be wasted if we played him that far back, even though our fullbacks can and do overlap on occasion. I think he has to play further up the field on the right.

 

If DCU really is looking at paying him 700K per year, it can't be to play RB.

 

I can see Gressel and Arriola playing side by side at CM and Winger and switching a lot during the game. If those two could gel along with their RB it would be very difficult to defend. You could frustrate defenses by creating overloads on the right that would allow Gressel to switch the ball over to Asad/Kamara across field for some one on ones.

 

Yes, and don't forget Arriola has lined up on the left several times for the USMNT.

 

I thought he played better in the middle for us than he did on the outside - but that was pretty good too
That makes Eastern Bear's suggestion interesting to me.

 

Maybe they can get the "Harlem Globetrotters Weave" going.

 

Has this been discussed?

It really wasn't. The fee was agreed, D.C. United's owner blew it up by trying to squeeze another million out. It was an absolute disaster of a misstep, one only made worse by the fact Acosta wound up walking for free.

— Ives Galarcep (@SoccerByIves) January 31, 2020

I thought all the talk was about a shifting numbers and a brokered deal that had too many hands in the pot, that wasn't going to net enough money to make the deal worth while or that Kasper outright f_cked the deal up. I don't ever recall someone saying Levien walked in at the end asking for another million bucks.

 

Goff has always been the source for the "it's complicated" story so Ives' take wouldn't surprise me one bit.

 

You have to remember that Goff is a publicist not a reporter.

 

Not terribly surprised. The idea that our bad owner would ruin a good thing isn’t much of a stretch.

 

I thought I heard something at the time that DC did ask for more at the end, but considering most of the brass at PSG didn’t have Acosta on their radar until the meeting it’s likely the lowball offer was going to be the only one extended.

Thx,

Jay!

 

Pablo is cool, but if the truth is negative, he wont hammer down on it.

Which is why you never hear anything negative about Ben or the higher ups.

 

I see Pablo as flawed also in that his personal grievances/allegiances get in the way of his objective reporting. Following him on Twitter made that obvious. I assumed he would hammer DCU for mismanagement as he clearly does not like the FO from Levien to Kasper.

 

Depends on your definition of "flawed". I like him for that exact reason.
If flawed means he's an imperfect narrator, sure, but his personal grievances/allegiances are part of what make his tweets hilarious and interesting.
I agree that if he had learned something about Levien screwing up the Acosta PSG process, I assume he'd write about it unless he promised whoever he learned it from that it was off the record.

 

Did you read his piece on Audi Field and the "improvements?" Right now, Maurer is the best soccer beat writer in DC. He's bilingual and willing to put stuff out there.

 

Hands-down Maurer is the best writer DCU has ever had covering the team. I appreciated Goff for his service to the sport/our club but he adds too much subjective opinion to topics that should be pure fact-based reporting.

Maurer has covered the team in a far more balanced way. Reporting clearcut truth about the Lindsay Simpson fiasco at a critical time for DCU, as mentioned above...getting updates on all the work needed for Audi Field, the Lucho PSG saga and tons more. There are few times when he might seem uninterested in pursuing an angle we fans would hammer at but he's transparent (he genuinely thinks Ben has done well on the limited budget we operated with for years; also claims not to be a supporter of DCU iirc...just covers them and has obviously built relationships while doing so)

Now, on topic, I wouldn't put too much emphasis on the exact details Galarcep posted. By all impartial accounts he seems to be right that DCU bungled the negotiations and PSG back away from the table as a result.

In the words of Acosta (reported by Maurer):

Can't find the article (mabye it was a Q&A session) but Pablo recently aired his view that DCU FO were to blame for the failed contract talks...he didn't specify whether that meant Kasper or Levien

From what i know, if he knew more than that he would say it without fear of reprisal.

 

No doubt Pablo is the best that has ever covered DCU, but that list is fairly short. I subscribe to the Atlantic mostly for him and Joe Urquhart.

My only problem with Pablo as a reporter is that he provides plenty of public ammunition to suspect that his reporting is motivated by his disappointment/dislike of certain decision makers at DCU/MLS. Could his positive opinions of others shape his reporting too? I have my concerns. I prefer a neutral observer in my coverage, but people who cover the news are changing.