Whether he is or not, I just can't wait for him to get into this exciting mix. Hopefully, it'll motivate him to contribute to the excitement.
I dunno. Mullins had several chances presented to him on a silver platter but he couldn't hit the goal. He was in the right place he just can't the broadside of a barn
That's the nicest I've seen DC play in quite some time. They actually looked like they had practiced together for a bit, and had some decent scoring opportunities. I think Mullins is better than what he's shown the last few games, but he needs to do something positive soon, or he won't be with the team next year. DC should probably find another striker in the off season, because DeShorn Brown doesn't appear to be 'The One.' Hopefully Bruno Miranda will be 'The One.' I think that Arriola, Canouse, and Stieber have helped raise the spirits of Acosta, who was all over the pitch tonight, and finally has some folks to play with at a higher level. I, too, would like to see more of Odoi Atsem, and Harkes.
Yep, the skill and soccer sense of Arriola, Stieber, and Canouse have perked up Acosta's play, as he now has some reason to believe that his heroics will lead to something good. Until our newbies arrived I had the feeling that Acosta believed it was all up to him. Now, he is clearly part of at least a quartet of quality players who look for one another.
While iI've given Deleon some criticism lately in the words of Full Metal Jacket he is "Born again hard."
Yes, I think De Leon is playing himself into a permanent starting fullback role. Today I think he's the best fullback on the team, although ideally I want him to take over the right side over Franklin. Maybe after Kemp recovers.
I'd reserve plaudits for the FO, the acquisitions are much better than the drek they collected earlier but they played a weak team and by comparison to the others on the pitch of course they looked like superstars. That said it IS a giant step in the right direction personnel wise, now it's up to the brain trust to work out some tactical issues,
Gee someone around here said something about not being able to win with the drek of roster that we had. Now that the roster has improved so have the results. Gee, really.
We’ve also had years of evidence where Ben with better players available kept playing Pajoy, et al. So what I believe is that our tactics and coaching is still wretched but the players have a higher football IQ and thus basically make it work (as of now) despite the coaching. We still aren’t scoring goals and a better team will likely drop multiple goals on us. Over the last three games if not for Hamid we lose and lose hard.
Brother Nick, you are appointed to start the "Church of the Own Goal", a wayside for the downtrodden (read DCU fan). Amen....
Stieber is the real deal .... Hey made everyone else on the field look like amateurs. Lots of clicking with him between Acosta, Arriola and even DeLeon. Real nice touches and smooth play, actually nice looking football to watch. Still though Arriola and Steiber kept switching wings and it was driving me nuts cause Steiber was really jelling with Acosta then suddenly 10 minutes later he'd be on the other side of the field. Mullins for me I've always noticed that his first few touches on goal are lousy, then he gets going. It's as if he has to get warmed up, and then he starts firing. However, he's been really off now for quite some time so it's either in his head or he's got some sort of nagging injury. He's in a real unfortunate slump as he had so many chances. Franklin also missed a real golden opportunity. Good signs...
Mullins may be off but he's getting closer. Last night he had a nice header from the right. He was a little off but he got up well and snapped it hard. And he always plays smart. Brown otoh is always stupid. The stupidest thing you can do on defense is to watch the ball. The stupidest thing you can do on offense is watch the ball. If you're a forward trying to make runs you need to know where the last defender is. Brown never does and he's always off-sides. These are 7th-8th grade mistakes.
Yes, Brown has never impressed. Miranda's 15 minutes this season showed me why he was brought in. I hope he gets over his hip injury during the break and comes back a starter.
Sorry but Bosco is the only misused payer from the past. Salihi was marginal at best. Who are these other players that were not played properly? That's one player. Hardly worth condemnation.
And both Arriola and Stieber will be on their National teams this weekend - Arriola with the USA and Stieber with Hungary - https://www.dcunited.com/post/2017/...al-team?utm_source=Social&utm_medium=Facebook
Very pleased with how they closed out the game. Held the ball for some stretches and didnt slam on the brakes.
Zoltan was excellent. Very impressed with how he always seems to find space for himself. Will be interesting to see what happens when teams inevitably start to focus their attention on him. Canouse also impressive going 90 3 games in 8 days. He sort of collapsed at the final whistle. New players make the coach look a little smarter...
They set the bar so low that spending any money at all would bring an improvement. So I don't give them much credit yet. If they add better pieces next transfer window including a true impact player, then I think they'll deserve some credit
This is a pretty fair point. The pieces they just purchased were glaringly obvious. The next few will be much more difficult. I think it's still pretty important to get an top quality striker if you can. The good news about Mullins is that he's so cheap, you can afford to spend more on a more proven commodity and have a competition. Mullins does not make more than the average 2nd striker in MLS. The next spots are more difficult. Do you get an experienced center back? or do you get some full backs that can really contribute offensively? How about another center mid to compliment Cannouse? How much do you try to re-sign Hamid? These aren't obvious to me, but I would be inclined to go for some top quality fullbacks and rely on a bounceback from Birnbaum. I think Opare and Robinson have proven themselves pretty reliable of late. If you can draft a talented centerback you can go into next season with 4 deep at a relatively low cost. I would also be tempted to bank some money for a mid-season signing next year. These are all much more difficult decisions and I'm eager to see where Kasper/Olsen will go.
To me the biggest need is for a genuine striker to play in front of Acosta, Stieber, Arriola, and Canouse (and Harkes?). Despite leading the team in goals, I see Acosta as a facilitator of goals more than a scorer of goals. Perhaps Miranda can be that striker. Mullins? Maybe. Brown? Don't think so.
It looks like Ben is really committed to the 4-2-3-1 right now which is pretty trendy in Europe. Most of the goals should come from striker (15+) and one of the wings who cuts inside as an inside forward (10+). Part of me thinks that's going to be Stieber based on 70ish minutes. I hope it is. It won't be Arriola. I think expecting 7-8 (non PK) from the attacking mid/Acosta is still realistic. I haven't seen a successful 4-2-3-1 that doesn't have a stud striker bagging goals so you're point is dead on.
EB, your reference to a "stud striker" is dead on. With the exception of Opare and maybe Birnbaum, we look like boys against men on the pitch. Acosta is 5'3"; Arriola is 5'6", Sam is 5'8", and Stieber is 5'9".