It doesn't look like DCU will be as good as everyone thinks this year. Yeah they won 5-0, but the score says nothing about this match. Harbour View controlled possession in the first half, and DCU got a controversial goal when the defender who would have headed a clearance seemed to get tangled up in the box, letting the ball slip through to the back post. The second half was a complete blowout, and Harbour View got lazy and just gave up. A fair score for this match would have been 1 or 2-0 DC, to really reflect the encounter. What they suck at: - Gallardo and Niell are absolute shite with the ball. Just because they're from another country doesn't mean they're good. It looks like DCU has signed two of Argentina's Olympic divers, not their footballers. What a joke. Flopping all over the place, just disgusting to watch. - Namoff is also crap. - Get the ball to Kamara and let him hold up for somebody to make a run right down the middle past the center-halfs and we should have an easy, easy goal. What they will give us trouble with: - The two center-halfs are slow, but solid otherwise, kind of like Nick Garcia. - We should be much more worried about the Brazilians than the Argentinians. Luciano Emilio is doing well in MLS and Fred created a lot of opportunities for them. The finishing is a bit lacking, but they create so many chances that it doesn't matter. Fred tried to showboat but failed miserably. - Burch. Simply put, I don't know why this man isn't a bigger deal. What a player. Cool on the ball, makes great decisions, hard to beat on defense, and an asset to DC's offense. ROB vs. Burch will be an EXCELLENT battle. - Zach Wells looks confident, although he wasn't tested much. - Gallardo is strong at delivering corner kicks, but that's it.
Don't forget that two of their top offensive threats are injured right now in Moreno and Olsen. I think Gallardo will get better as each week goes on. Haven't seen enough of Niell to assess, though. While teams like Houston and New England seem to be losing players each year, DC keeps adding talent.
Moreno, yes. Olsen, hell no. Wayyyy overrated. That was the shittiest hattrick I've ever heard of last year. He's just an asshole. Moreno was missing. EDIT: Except for the last goal. Excellent strike. Also forgot to mention that Niell is incredibly fast, even if he sucks on the ball (no pun intended). Sometimes he decides to turn his speed on and catch defenders napping at the back. Pretty easy to deal with, but our defenders might need to dump it in a hurry.
Sam, you were just trying to bait me, weren't you? Actually, they switched to running the world's most putrid offside trap after the second goal and got nuked for it. The score was absolutely flattering to DC, there's no question, fair probably would have been 3-0. But the drastic improvement in passing and combination play was evident from game to game and even half to half. "Harbour View controlled possession in the first half" is not even remotely close to accurate. And note (and I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M SAYING THIS) that Tino Quaranta came in and opened up the game dramatically with some great passes against their trap. His entrance unexpectedly coincided with the scoring outburst. He is very likely to be the guy who spells Moreno and the results looked great tonight. This is a largely new team adjusting to each other and even for all that and the awfulness of HVFC, that was a good night and one that bears drastically more promise for the future than doubt. Jury is still out on Niell, though workrate and general annoyingness (great asset with MLS back lines) are not in question. Re: Gallardo, you're just nuts. His passing was off because the team has no idea how to react to him yet. He's a drastic departure from Gomez and, again, it takes time.
You wouldn't be baited if you would just admit that you have switched allegiance to the blue-and-black. Once a Quakes fan, always a Quakes fan. You are marked for life!
Oh lord, the campaign continues! My allegiance to DC is rock solid, thank you, Don, but I will admit that I attempted to pimp Quakes pocket schedules to anyone that looked at the TV with even remote interest.
I know Fred got a lot of assists but did anyone see him use his left foot at all? Looked a lot like Kyle Martino...
Dammit, I knew your dumbass would show up just as I started bashing DC. I'm pretty sure Gallardo just doesn't feel the pressure enough to play well yet. He looked like he didn't care where his passes went. And yeah, Santino did play well for once. You're right about the offside trap. That was ridiculous. There was one point even where they pushed so far up that they were on the other half, making the trap futile! But yeah, DC sucks! And their fans are goobers!
I wouldn't want to start drawing too many conclusions about United so soon. I think they will improve a lot more. They have many new players that are still working to gel with one another. They have potential. I would love to see United with the Concacaf Champions Cup and get to the World Club Cup. I think they have a better chance of doing well in that kind of a tournament than Houston.
I met Nick Garcia at the pub crawl recently, and he seemed like a really nice guy. But all good defenders are a-holes once they step onto the pitch!
LOL. A couple of minor details. It's pre-season. It's pre-season. Oh, did I mention that it's preseason. They have plenty of time to meld as a team, make the playoffs, and kick butt all the way to the MLS Cup. Of course, except for about four or five teams, so does everyone else...
Not every good defender is an asshole. Ledley King, Jonathan Woodgate. Two starting CBs for Spurs. Neither is a jerk on the field.
If you saw the match, Quaranta made a difference when he was inserted...he got like 3 assists after coming on as a sub. Maybe he has found his form again and might live upto the promise he held when he was signed as a 16 y.o. Just an observation...barring all those that said he would be a crap pick up for the Quakes after he was released by RBNY (me included)
That game really doesn't say much about Quaranta. He happened to enter the match just as Harbour View was falling apart. Then he had a couple of okay assists, they weren't great. That one pass to the middle barely got there. He passed it straight to the defender, it just took an unlucky bounce through his legs.
Something to add about Quaranta after watching the highlights again. Quaranta had two assists, kinda. One was when he was clear through on goal, took all his precious time, and then fired it straight at the keeper. Wasn't even that hard a shot. Emilio put it in. Second one was the crappy pass that just barely made it through. No worries, Quaranta still sucks.