While I'll agree we don't have the wings or the speed in the back to truly play a 3-5-2 and I think we are somewhat better off with the 4-4-2, I wouldn't get caught up in formations making a huge difference. The bottom line is the talent and leadership is just not there regardless of the formation.
I second that motion! shoot he could bring back the 1996 team and would do better than the current one!
One has to play the best with what one is given. So, if one doesn't have the talent AND one doesn't have the leadership then one needs to wait patiently for an error from the other team. It may not be the best entertaining spectacle, but at least one will not get embarrashed.
OK, my take. Moreno is good at holding the ball just outside of the box, and taking PKs. That's all we can count on from him anymore. Is that really worth the big salary? I'm not sure. Note that this is the first time in 13 years I've ever said anything negative whatsoever about Jaime. Also note that he was one of the better players on the field last night. I'm just looking at clearing out some money for the offseason. Yes, that's where I am right now. Speaking of which, if we cut Niell now do we still have to keep paying him? I like his speed, and I could see where if he and Gallardo developed some sort of magic chemistry that he could be at least a threat to score. Right now though, he's too short for the long balls we keep sending his way, and he falls down with a frequency I've not seen since Jason Moore. Quaranta's weakness was always on the defensive side of the ball. That's fine, when we get rid of Niell we can certainly use a $35K backup forward who actually CAN score. His offense and his heart are worth keeping. He is not, however, a wing player. Speaking of which, I heard all this talk about how DC had improved the spine of the team, and how much the experts liked the moves. What about the width? Olsen's injury has made it painfully clear how weak and thin we are on the outsides. If we have any illusions about playing a 3-5-2, they should only appear once we actually have at least two wing players. Fred is not a winger - he's never wanted or been able to be. Burch is not Josh Gros. We can't just plug him in anywhere and expect him to fill the gaps. He is a Left Back only, though a decent one with a good attitude. I think we all, management and fans alike, were spoiled by Ben Olsen. We knew he was special, that he had some intrinsic value beyond his accomplishments on the field. That he would someday be out of the lineup was inconceivable. He is now. He may not return. Now we have no width. We stand around just outside of the box and make the same runs over and over again, hoping to crack a packed defense. Not working. I'm not going to tackle the defense right now. That's a whole other ball of wax. Very true that we need to improve there, but it's not like we're hemmoraging goals. I don't want to give up two a game either, but the bigger problem is our own lack of scoring. One thing at a time people. Emilio, it's like you sold your soul to the devil last season and he's collecting this year. What happened man? Come back to us. Tell Vincent and Jules to get that briefcase over to RFK, and fast. To hell with Marsellus Wallace. We need two wingers, one for either side. We need the ability to cross the ball. Until we have these positions filled, we will continue to be painfully predictable. The summer window approaches, and I fully expect Kevin Payne to get after it. In the words of MAJOR Payne, "Boy, I am two seconds from being on you like white on rice in a glass of milk on a paper plate in a snowstorm. I'm gonna put my foot so far up your ass, the water on my knee will quench your thirst." Now I'm off to find something completely divorced from soccer to laugh at.
Maybe this has been said, I don't know... I don't feel like reading the whole thread and reliving the pain of the season thus far... but this team was "built for international competition" over the off-season. Maybe that's why we look like Celtic vs. DCU, or any of the Euro teams vs. the MLS All-Stars in the AS game right now. Maybe they should have kept an eye on MLS play/style during the rebuilding process...
That won't answer the real problem. Droppong players and adding more is not the answer. You need to develop chemistry and develop the players you already have. Guys like Stratford, Curtin, Cordeiro, Doe, Kirk, and Dyachenko can be those players if they are given the opportunity. At this point, I'd be willing to wait a year or two if it ends with a 2010 or 2011 MLS Cup. Quick fixes are not the answer so don't listen to the Red Bulls.
It occurred to me that if we could just go out and get all the players we sent packing to other teams, we'd have an awesome lineup (and I'd keep Q as the first of the bunch). Add to him, Gomez, Mapp, etc... Of course, this is BigSoccer, so it could just be stupid idea.
Example A: The Chicago Fire. The spine of their team is pretty much the same as its been over the past few years as supplemented by their Mexican DP but with the retirement of Armas. Of course, I don't know if I'd equate guys like the ones you just mentioned with guys like Rolfe & Mapp -- or even with Barrett.
I read the first several pages of this thread, but not all. I'm sure others have mentioned, but front office need to address lack of speed, and lack of a true wing player. This will require the signing of a talented wing player to "replace" Olsen ( I know a new signing will not make up for the loss of leadership). As many have said, this is MLS. Don't expect great things when you are without three key starting players. However, no excuses. Soehn needs to place players in positions where they can succeed. Soehn has to find solutions with the players he has available. Other "solutions" are just fantasy. Tino looked OK last night. I was frustrated becuase on several occasions, he was literally standing right on the side line wide open, and players repeatedly chose to cut inside rather than pass him the ball. This is a coaching problem. Coaches need to stress the importance of wide play. Niell does not do well in the congested center of the field, battling central defenders. Some people are giving him a hard time for spending half the game on the ground. At least he works his butt off; gave 100%. Unless we can unload him, I suggest Soehn find a way to use him effectively. Niell was able to create space and send in a few nice crosses in the second half. He may not have the defensive skills to play winger in a 3-5-2, but what about in a 4-4-2? Little tenacious guys that run hard can do OK out wide (as Barca fan I think of Giuly or Marc Overmars). With our current roster, play 4-4-2. I'd like to see a trial of Niell out wide. I know he is out of position, but maybe Tino at other wing in 442 with less defensive responsibilities. Four man back line with Burch in that back line. I'd like to see a trial of Fred up front (he can beat people one on one, good engine, and has speed) to receive service from Gallardo. Maybe with Emilio or Moreno. My only problem with this line up is not enough D mid support for Clyde. One other alternative is try some sort of hybrid 4-3-3 with Burch or McT along side Clyde at D-mid with Gallardo up in front of those two closer to the front line. Forwards Fred , Emilio/Niell.Tino/Moreno. Do you guys think Fred could play at forward? Am I deluded? Can Niell succeed at wing? Should we give Kirk a run? I'm trying to maintain a positive outlook.
There is no waiting. Our now is here. This is an extremely OLD team. Name one young (U-23) guy in our ranks that holds some major promise -- I can't think of any.... We still have a lot of good parts. We just don't have any spares to try out. F.O gotta do something and fast (literally) I was saying Soehn and co thought they were mega assessors of talent and could ride into second division Arg and out assess even the Argentines. Niell is a flop like no other. Slow Gonzalo I think is a gamer and reads the game pretty well, but seems to be missing something.....Emilio was a beneficiary of our wing play and mid-field fortitude last year (yes hindsight). Lucy is still a good forward in my opine. Fred was a great signing, but evidently the Aussies thought he was pretty damn good too -- he was MVP of the league. Gallardo, while he gives certain people a renob with his skill, doesn't fit to well with a team that can't run down threading passes, for some reason doesn't trust that he sees space or when they receive passes in space can't continue without getting caught. Also, let's face it, Gallardo wasn't even starting at PSG and we gave him 2 million. Something is wrong off the field. I think the most egregious error was giving up two #1s for Dyachenko. To me this is unforgivable and epitomises what Soehn and co think of the American College player. I, personally, think there are some damn good ones with excellent upside. When we lost the Veron, I think Soehn and co panicked and went out to gobble a "name". Panicking is not forgivable unless you are amidst Widespread Panic. I can understand then, but please share the PB&J with me -- so hungry. Enough complaining for me. I think everyone knew this was gonna be an interesting year. It is weird though how all the "experts" missed that we were missing Olsen and speed.
I totally agree with this about Emilio. Maybe Emilio could benefit now from Fred running at Defenses up top with him and Gallardo pushed up higher. When I heard about Veron signing rumors, I feared that he would also play too deep and not be what United really needed.
Opposing teams totally disrespect our wing play. They pack it in the middle. Until DC makes a conscious effort to stay wide, take it close to the end line and send in some dangerous crosses, forcing opposing central defenders to make defensive plays while running toward their own goal which is scary for any defender (risk of Own Goal), teams will continue to pack it in. This will make our attack appear to "lack creativity", and frustrate our team ( eventually leading to counter attack possibilities). Period. Once opposing outside backs have to respect our wing play, this will open up lanes for Emilio et al. I'm not sure it is a lack of talented wingers on our side, because even when our current wing players take up wide positions, other players don't pass them the ball. Or, if they receive the ball out wide, the wing player quickly cuts to the middle rather than trying to take it close to the end line to cross or try to win corners. This has to be , in part a coaching problem.
You guys might think of re-evaluating these statements in the light of their cap value, which is 750k.
Gee and I was blasted for questioning Wells abilities when we traded for him. I had to place an arrogant Houston fan on my ignore list.
A couple points i want to point out: 1) Wells hasn't had a cleansheet. The way he looks now that won't happen. He looked solid against Toronto and Salt Lake, but that's against Toronto and Salt Lake. Shouldn't we beat them? I say Carvallo should get another chance at home, or we pick up a better keeper 2) Namoff+Peralta+Martinez(+Burch)=Goals against. What's our problem here? Where's the answer to the equation? 3) Emilio is in a slump, but who could we replace him with? Dyachenko's not playing hot, and Niell's not producing. We need goalscorers 4) Our team needs to work together
Just to give everyone a reminder of some of our wasted cap space: Dyachenko $33,000; $33,000 Niell $150,000; $152,500 Peralta $180,000; $199,000 Wells $52,920.00; $52,920
Swell. I think Dyachenko and Wells are fine at those salary levels, but Neill and Peralta are overpaid. We could get some decent talent with that cash.
I had a lot of people blast me when I expressed concern that we might be changing too many pieces from a fairly successful team. Kind of comes with the territory on internet message boards.
Niell $150,000; $152,500 Peralta $180,000; $199,000 This is a big part of the problem. Add in Moreno's 200k+ and that's a ton of wasted cap space. Several things have to happen to convince me that anyone in the front office has a clue. 1) They have to cut Niell immediately. I've not seen a player so pathetically out of his depth since Lazo Alavanja. 2) They have to bench Peralta and try McTavish in the middle with Martinez. 3) They have to find a winger with the cap money from Niell. 4) If none of these things happen, they have to fire Soehn and bring in a coach who will get rid of Niell.
Firstly, I didn't say we dominated the game. We didn't. After the first 30 minutes we were complete and utter crap, especially after the first goal went in and we raised the white flag. I'll even agree with you that Rolfe > Emilio on current form (although not Moreno). I can't agree with you about Blanco, Gallardo has a much more impressive pedigree and skill level. Which leads me back to my point (which you ignored in your haste to criticize my post), which was that we have more skillful players than Chicago. Yes, we are not playing like it, but we do. Chicago doesn't have any defender as skilled as Martinez, d-mid as skilled as Simms, a-mid as skilled as Gallardo, not to mention Fred and Moreno. Surely on a skill-level comparison you are not arguing for Barrett over Emilo, or Pause over Simms, etc.? If you are you're not only trolling, you're one blind bastard.
Pretty much agree. Disagree. We can argue about how much Moreno is really worth, sentiment aside, but whatever his "real" salary "should" be, it's a quantitative, not qualitative, difference from this number. He's not a waste of cap space; he still brings something to the table. I'm pretty much right there. As far as effort goes I've seen nothing but hustle from the kid, no complaints there, but just not enough of anything else. And yes, he dives too much. This is worth a look; although I have to say that in the beginning Peralta looked good and I was really excited about the pairing of him and Martinez. Unlike Niell, I can at least see what the FO saw in this guy. He might still work out. This is DC United we're talking about; "they need to find a winger" could be this forum's tagline. Now you're just being a little silly, don't you think? If they REALLY want to get rid of Niell, I think they could make Tommy see the light.
He's the worst of the lot. Why? The other guys were gambles that didn't pan out. You can argue over whether we should have done as much gambling, or if the scouting was what it should have been, but with Moreno there was no gamble and there was no scouting. We've all seen his production slide. You knew when you wrote that 275k contract up he had almost no chance of playing up to it. Or to put it another way, look at one of the players also coming into criticism (mostly correctly in my view, at least so far) for this, Franco Niell. The difference between what these two guys makes is almost 125k, which is more than Bryan Namoff makes. In my view, the amount by which Moreno is overpaid would, if subtracted from Niell's contract, make him a bargain.
you seem to be the blind one, what defense are you watching, you seem to have the worst defense with Galaxy, Martinez is slow, Moreno has skills if he plays with older guys, but he can't cut it anymore, fred is alright. Emilio? you have to be kidden me,i would take Rolfe or barret over this foward anytime, he is not a complete foward. any team in the mls would take blanco over gallardo, thats a no brainer. it depends what is your definition of skill.