yes. Hammy apparently. I think Goff tweeted that his Bolivian national team duty has been canceled as a result. But only expected to be sidelined for about 2 weeks. I hope Harkes starts. He seemed to be warming up pretty hard the other night. He's better than the other options even if he's not at 100% fitness. As far as I'm concerned I'd be happy to never see Jeffrey in uniform ever again.
The report was that Miranda had a thigh injury. If so, that's better news IMO because you generally know when your thigh has healed but even a hammy that seems to be OK often bites you. Yes, I want to see Harkes also. It will permit Canouse to roam around like a full DM. Arriola wa seriously gassed after Wednesday's match, but I'm hoping he's good for another 90. Acosta went a full 90, which is rare for him, so I don't know if we can expect him to repeat it. If he is subbed out and Harkes is already on the pitch, I don't know that we have a like sub, unless someone like Mullins drops back as a withdrawn forward. I would like to see some of Sieber, but he prefers to play out wide. Benny could surprise us, of course. After all, we've see NDL all over the pitch and Franklin came in as a RW Wednesday.
Wow. I've got to say, this is one of my favorite posts in a long time. In a year of pure shite, you sir are the king of silver linings.
May be on a record setting pace to go from promising youth to crippled has been. DC United training should be right up there with running with scissors and throwing rocks as a source of preventable injuries
More like crippled-never-was for Miranda but I hope this isn't the case and he returns at 100% and maybe even more determined than ever. It really sucks that it happen now; everyone in Bolivia was looking forward to seeing him play in these 2 upcoming crucial must win WCQ games. I really hope this young fellow lives up to his potential and becomes a huge asset for our national team and D.C. United. It's been a long time since I've seen this historic club in the CCL. As for wishful thinking, let's hope this is the beginning of United's revival and thee club to dethrone Mexico in the CCL and turn some heads in the World Club Cup.
DCU seemed to stop leaking goals when we went back to playing two defensive-minded central midfielders in front of the back four. Rotating combinations of Canouse with Marcelo and even Jeffrey have recently been effective. We may be creating fewer scoring opportunities, but the D is less porous. I will be interesting to see how the team adjusts, when Harkes comes back. I do not see him as a defense first sort of midfielder. Defensive positioning, anticipation, blocking passing lanes, nor tackling seem to be his forte. Canouse has looked really strong as a #6. Maybe with him, we can go back to a lone DM and more easily accommodate a central midfielder like Harkes.
His Alter Ego Owno Golatino punished Juventus today for having the temerity to change their logo to that double J, he's all powerful and omnipresent and easy to piss off
Hamid, Opare, Robinson, De Leon, Franklin, Canouse, Sarvas, Stieber, Arriola, Acosta, Mullins Bench : Clark, Korb, Odoi Atsem, Jeffrey, Harkes, Sam, Brown. Excited to see that Canouse and Arriola have the stamina to pull off 3 starts in 1 week. We'll see if there's any tired legs on the 2nd half. Would love to see Harkes getting minutes at some point.
10 minutes and we've yet to connect more than 3 passes. Very poor. I'm starting to worry about heavy legs from Wednesday. We just need to hang in there and hope the Revs can't sustain their high tempo.
That's the Stieber I expect. Should be the most sophisticated player on the team in possession. Good decision maker and clean technique on dribbling, passing and shooting
Stieber by far the best on the field. One shot on goal, one shot just wide, created 4 shots for team mates, drew 2 corners and some back heal passes to boot. I still feel like Arriola and Acosta are having energy issues. Canouse seems to be handling the fatigue much better. The backline is solid defending, but very poor playing out of the back. Starting Franklin in particular makes no sense to me. I'd prefer Korb or Odoi Atsem. The most disappointing to me is Mullins. Just bring Brown into the game. It can't get any worse. I'd also bring Harkes in for Sarvas who is just too slow in everything he does. And my final criticism is to the RFK pitch. Just horrible. I think they already stopped trying to maintain it
Good result, and a really nice build up to the goal. Mullins shouldn't be as low energy as he was considering he hasn't been playing much. And don't mess with the Zoltan. I have to give the FO credit - I don't want to, but I must. Our new additions are actually having a very positive impact on the team.
Yes. Also - the Acosta haters are now relieved of duty. He is the most impactful player we've had in a decade at least.
Stieber might turn out excellent. I remember Olsen saying the game is easy for him, and that looks accurate. Maybe he will rub off on the rest and raise the whole level.
You have to feel sorry for some of the other guys on the team. Stiebert makes them look like they are the owner's knucklehead nephews. 3 games 9 unexpected points and Own Goal didn't need to intervene. Happy Happy
To paraphrase the Eagles -- "we haven't seen movement and passing like this 2007." Stieber was a revelation -- just plays like a very competent professional. He and Acosta already have a rapport. If this team could find a forward who could score on a regular basis, it would be dangerous. Robinson can play in MLS. The problem is that got so few games during his developmental years that he's behind the curve. His defending is fine, his distribution is poor. Opare is a bit better, but both can play shut down defense. The game was not as close as the score.
Playoffs here we come! Steiber was great. I don't really understand why he was removed. I also will never understand why Ben keeps putting Sarvas and Franklin out there. What's the point??? Put next year's line up out there and let them get used to each other now when it doesn't really matter. Hopefully we'll find a goal scorer under a rock somewhere. Or maybe Miranda can do it?
Good looking game. The midfield seems to really be coming together, and I think that's making a big difference for our back line. Fewer turnovers in awkward places on the field and a lot more ground being covered. If Olsen replaces Marcelo with Harkes, it would be the most technically-proficient midfield we've had in many, many years. The problem with our strikers isn't just limited to not scoring, though. Right now, Mullins isn't combining at all with the MF, meaning that our midfield is playing a lot of side-to-side and not as much forward. We need that forward, along with being a good finisher, to be able to link up -- I'm hopeful for Miranda, but I'm more hopeful for some offseason moves. Still -- and with the caveat that the opposition wasn't much to write home about -- three shutouts and three wins in one week is great. And though the own goal stuff is a little fluky, the team has played well in each of the matches, deserving at least a point. Big, big improvement.