Projected lineups and formations for '14 season

Discussion in 'D.C. United' started by Boloni86, Dec 13, 2013.

  1. 6 ft. Leprechaun

    Dec 9, 2003
    Baltimore, MD
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    What if we went with a diamond midfield.

    FWD: EJ, Espindola, Pontius, Doyle, Seaton
    ACM: Silva, "Traded/Acquired talent", DeLeon,Pontius
    CM: Jeffrey, DeLeon

    What about a diamond midfield similar to how RSL plays it? Move Pontius up top to compete with EJ, Espindola and Doyle for time. Acquire an attacking midfielder to compete with Silva and Martins (Morales role). Use DeLeon/Jeffries (back-ups: Arnaud, Neal, Porter) as the box-to-box CM's. Kitchen would be the starting DCM (would need to acquire depth).

    If we went with this, we'd need:

    Starting ACM
    CM depth (though if we could use the #1 pick to trade with Colorado for Powers, that would be ideal).
    Starting LB
    Depth DCM
     
  2. Boloni86

    Boloni86 Member+

    Jun 7, 2000
    Baltimore
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Gibraltar
    I have no problem with the diamond midfield in theory. As you say RSL operates in very nicely. I'm just still traumatized from the last time Olsen went with that formation in early '11. After the way the team played during that stretch I'd expect Ben to still be too traumatized to try it again.
     
  3. 6 ft. Leprechaun

    Dec 9, 2003
    Baltimore, MD
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't remember him doing that. I must've blocked it out. Who played where?
     
  4. DCUSA

    DCUSA Member+

    Jan 14, 2006
    Virginia
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Kitchen and DeRo in the middle, with some iteration of Wolff/Davies/Ngwenya up top. Pontius and Najar wide. That midfield was very soft and always overrun.
     
  5. song219

    song219 BigSoccer Supporter

    Apr 5, 2004
    La Norte
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Vanuatu
    You must be some sort of expert on midfields that you can distinguish this. I'd say that just about every midfield DC United has had since at least 2010 has been overrun.
     
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  6. GumbyG

    GumbyG Member+

    DC United
    Mar 22, 2007
    Chesapeake, VA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    How about

    -------------------- Hamid
    Franklin --- Boz ------------Deki ----- Korb
    --------------------Kitchen
    ------ DeLeon------------------ Jeffrey
    ---------------------Arnaud
    ----------------------------Espindola
    --------------- EJ

    That ACM is the question mark.
     
  7. DCUSA

    DCUSA Member+

    Jan 14, 2006
    Virginia
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    There are degrees. Even last year, the team won the possession battle often. Of course, they were usually down two goals after 20 minutes and the opposing team could sit back and pick hotties out of the crowd.

    I think the midfield was more than capable in the latter half of 2012 with Kitchen, Saragosa and Boskovic. They were difficult to play against and had some modicum of a threat with Boskovic and Pontius/DeLeon in good form.

    You did say 'just about', so we agree.
     
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  8. Oveki8

    Oveki8 Member+

    May 4, 2012
    Club:
    DC United
    No disrespect to any poster here, but given the fact that DC United picked-up so many old-timers, shouldn't Olsen be included in the lineup!?!

    ps-Heck, I can probably fill in the Sir Stanley Mathews role of those over a half-century, but I'm probably in much better shape...
     
  9. DCUSA

    DCUSA Member+

    Jan 14, 2006
    Virginia
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You could put Pontius where Espindola is, Arnaud where Jeffrey is and Silva in Arnaud's spot. Of course the question mark remains.

    I'd like to see a 4-1-3-2, with Jeffrey in the middle of the three (Pontius/DeLeon). I think you stay defensively sound, but don't have a massive gap in the middle of the field. Espindola and EJ up top would be a headache for the centerbacks, and they can both come back and offer outlets for possession with Espindola out at the touchline so Pontius can get the hell out of there and EJ centrally.
     
  10. pr0ner

    pr0ner Member+

    Jan 13, 2007
    Alexandria, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Is it too much to ask to make sure we get player names right on a DC United forum?

    It's Collin Martin, not "Martins". Jared Jeffrey, not "Jeffries".

    Sheesh. Some fans some of you are.

    PS: GAM, not EJ. :p
     
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  11. 6 ft. Leprechaun

    Dec 9, 2003
    Baltimore, MD
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yes. Yes, it is.
     
  12. GumbyG

    GumbyG Member+

    DC United
    Mar 22, 2007
    Chesapeake, VA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    We're a pluralistic society.
     
  13. fatbastard

    fatbastard Member+

    Aug 1, 2003
    Lincoln (ish), Va
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    no we isn't
     
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  14. Oveki8

    Oveki8 Member+

    May 4, 2012
    Club:
    DC United
    Are you trying to give Bootsy a aneurysm?
     
  15. ThewallDCU

    ThewallDCU Member

    Oct 9, 2006
    DC - Old City

    Hmmmm...... that does "beg the question"

    so to speak :D
     
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  16. mosca

    mosca Member

    Sep 13, 1999
    Honolulu
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I would of posted that, but you got their first!
     
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  17. greatscott

    greatscott Member+

    Dec 21, 2002
    Richmond
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  18. notebook

    notebook Member

    Jun 25, 2002
    With the roster we have right now, my guess is we can either play a 4-4-2 empty bucket or a 4-5-1 with 3 central midfielders. I do not think we have strong enough central midfielders to do anything else.

    If we go with 2 central midfielders we probably get dominated in midfield - one answer to that is go with 2 deep holding midfielders and play for counterattack / bypass midfield play. If they stay healthy, I think Johnson, Espindola, Pontius, Deleon are a good stable of fast, dangerous attackers that could play in that system. The alternative is to go with 3 central midfielders to try to control midfield more and put EJ up top. We do not have strong box to box midfielders.

    I am admittedly out of my depth here but that's what stands out to me at this point.
     
  19. pr0ner

    pr0ner Member+

    Jan 13, 2007
    Alexandria, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Whoa.
     
  20. greatscott

    greatscott Member+

    Dec 21, 2002
    Richmond
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    yeah, all of our lineup predictions are sunk like battleship
     
  21. DCUSA

    DCUSA Member+

    Jan 14, 2006
    Virginia
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I expect another midfielder and left back to come also.
     
  22. Boloni86

    Boloni86 Member+

    Jun 7, 2000
    Baltimore
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Gibraltar
    I wonder what "small fee" means. $500,000 I can see the point maybe, but $100,000? At that point you have to wonder what the point is. They must have Michael Parkhurst or Onyewu lined up in the allocation
     
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  23. DCUSA

    DCUSA Member+

    Jan 14, 2006
    Virginia
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yeah, I think it's more getting him and his pay off the books than anything coming in. They're trying to figure out how they're going to pay EJ what he wants, moving money around.
     
  24. QuietSide

    QuietSide Member

    Oct 18, 2002
    Additionally, as some have already suggested in this thread:

    [​IMG]Ives Galarcep ‏@SoccerByIves5m
    For those asking re: MLS Homegrown Players, Jordan Allen to RSL & Jalen Robinson to D.C. United = 2 signings I'm told are expected to happen
     
  25. benni...

    benni... BigSoccer Supporter

    Nov 23, 2004
    Chocolate City
    So we're drafting a CB then?
     
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