Re: D.C. United vs. LA Galaxy-3/22/09-3:00 PM I honestly think that our defense is only one very good player away from being a very good defense. We have a lot of very good role players. The only problem is, that one very good player is kind of critical. I think that it will be an up and down year until we get that player that we need. I guess that it will be good for those individual players to gain experience, but until we get that one experienced organizer in the back, we are going to go through a bunch of peaks and valleys.
Re: D.C. United vs. LA Galaxy-3/22/09-3:00 PM That is one hairy dude! That picture alone is reason enough for DC United's XI to rip the Galaxatives a new one!
Re: D.C. United vs. LA Galaxy-3/22/09-3:00 PM Personally, i wish we could get Juan Manuel Pena ex bolivian international, has some years on him, but IMO has more years left at his role, a central defender, than does Jaime at Forward/central Midfielder/play maker. He plays tough, and was our best defender by far vs. Mexico and is in spains second division, at celta de vigo. Edit: he's 36.... i still wouldnt mind trying him out for a year though, as he before that played for villareal and started all through their champions league run before losing to Arsenal i think in 06'.
Re: D.C. United vs. LA Galaxy-3/22/09-3:00 PM Boyzzz and N'Silu are the only two guys currently on the team that understand the concept of running forward, GETTING IN THE BOX, and crossing the ball. Boyzzz's had a few assists and I think that's where he strength lies. He can quite literally dribble rings around the other team. As much as I love Bennie, he doesn't have the speed at this point. Emillo was starting to run up when Boyzzz subbed in at the Wednesday CB game and even went off-sides at one point, which was a nice change. Otherwise, with the starting line-up, including Gomez, everyone hangs in the midfield and we get nowhere. Jaime was starting to get really ticked about that at one point. So I don't think our backline is that disorganized but I think that our midfield has GOT to start play more aggressively otherwise the backline will get overworked and fall apart. They play crazy hard and you can only keep that up for so long. Oh and Rodney Wallace needs to learn to stay back if he's playing defense as well. He can make some good runs but it's a waste of energy if he's on defense. I'm hoping a lot of this is just players being conservative in the pre-season but it makes me wary coming into the season opener.
Re: D.C. United vs. LA Galaxy-3/22/09-3:00 PM Goff's write-up According to this, it could be Boyzzz and Wallace on the wings.
Re: D.C. United vs. LA Galaxy-3/22/09-3:00 PM Hurm, I like Wallace and think he has potential. He can definitely get the sprint up the side going but then he's a little flakey on positioning and what to do with the ball once he gets it. But I'll take it over puttering around in the midfield and passing the ball back and forth.
Re: D.C. United vs. LA Galaxy-3/22/09-3:00 PM If they play a 3-5-2 with two D-Mids, I think that frees him up to follow his attacking instincts (yes, I'm adding absolutely nothing to the analysis in the story I just linked). It makes sense on paper.
Re: D.C. United vs. LA Galaxy-3/22/09-3:00 PM I will just echo what a few have said here. I look for a solid performance, with the team playing for EACH OTHER! A more Cohesive unit then last year. Defense, I haven't seen any of the newbies play, but Jakovic seeing red in his first match gives me a little to be worried about. I think that more than that I would like to see how well Gomez, Emillio, and Moreno play together again. That is really important. sorry that is all I have.
Re: D.C. United vs. LA Galaxy-3/22/09-3:00 PM It seemed like part of the reason Soehn switched from a 3-5-2 to 4-4-2 last year was because our talent fit best in a 4-4-2. However, it also seemed that other teams had figured out how to beat our 3-5-2. They often counterattacked by putting balls into our defensive flanks and their attacking players would run onto those balls. They'd either have space to get their heads up and put in pin-point passes/crosses or take on a wide defender 1v1. Do others recall this? I hope Soehn has tweaked his 3-5-2. Otherwise, if I were LA, I'd play Donovan a bit wider and get midfielders to dump balls into our flanks after each DC loss of possession. Second: I have nothing against a more defensive posture on the road. In general, I like 2 dmids for away games. However, for some teams, defense is a chronic weakness that never seems to get better. For those teams, you know... the best D is a good O (hold possession). I hope DCU gets solid D from the young players ( wing players as well as true defenders) this year. They will get hammered again in Champions League if the D does not improve. We can not beat Mexican treams in a shootout.
Re: D.C. United vs. LA Galaxy-3/22/09-3:00 PM One of the purposes in having a 3-5-2 is that, when defending, you use the numerical advantage in the midfield to pressure the ball more quickly. The effect is that you can limit time on the ball, thus decreasing the chance your opponent has to play dump & chase. However, if your midfield is slow to pressure the ball, then you can get opposing wide players in 1v1 situations w/ your defenders. Also, if the wide midfielders fail to track back effectively, again, you can run into problems. You are correct when you say that dominating possession can help mitigate this problem. Again, through numerical advantage in the midfield, if you possess the ball more than 60%, then with your opponent chasing, there is much less energy for them to make a run on you. This effect is greatly enhanced with an early lead, but the danger is falling into the complacency of "possession without a purpose." If you possess to pressure or threaten the opponent's goal, then the energy they spend defending is more debilitating. Plus they have a lot further to go when they do get the ball to counter attack.
Re: D.C. United vs. LA Galaxy-3/22/09-3:00 PM la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la LA SUX ASS
Re: D.C. United vs. LA Galaxy-3/22/09-3:00 PM Tommy would neither confirm nor deny whether Crayton was starting Sunday ... or even making the trip at all ... but did say even though he has recovered from his injury, he still needs a little time to work on his sharpness.
Re: D.C. United vs. LA Galaxy-3/22/09-3:00 PM No big watch parties anywhere? Barra is shooting their wad (prematurely) the night before, nothing from LN or SE? Nothing at some place in PG County where leaders/community folks might notice us? Hmmmph. Oh well, so far one positive thing has happened for the league - New Jersey lost its first game - now it is up to United to make sure that LA loses its first game as well so we know that all is right with the world
Re: D.C. United vs. LA Galaxy-3/22/09-3:00 PM I like that idea a lot, PG County or even Annapolis. I think it would be great to have all the supporters pick a weekend away game to attend in PG county (maybe somewhere close to a metro) and fill up a hand full of bars at one time.
Re: D.C. United vs. LA Galaxy-3/22/09-3:00 PM Is there a place at the National Harbor that will show it? I haven't been there a while but there were a bunch of new restaurants going up and the hotels will have bars with TVs.
Re: D.C. United vs. LA Galaxy-3/22/09-3:00 PM Great idea, grey. Why don't you organize that for us? (Walks quickly out of the room.)
Re: D.C. United vs. LA Galaxy-3/22/09-3:00 PM I don't know what our starting line up is going to be, whether the formation will be a 4-4-2, a 3-5-2, or maybe a 2-5-1-1-1. I have no idea who even plays for the other side, nor do I give a shit. I know which side I love and which side I hate. I know what kind of beer I'll be drinking, what sausages I'll be eating, and what other refreshments I might partake of. That's really all I need to know. I am neither optimistic nor pessimistic, just numb. Comfortably numb. Vamos United. Bring on the hate!
Re: D.C. United vs. LA Galaxy-3/22/09-3:00 PM With 8 goals by Donovan alone. One is called back because of offside, and the other two because he's a douchebag, $%*&#&&# mother *#(@*@&(@ damn #@^@*$**% jerkhole, ppppppp**********. EDIT: ps. Landy, don't forget to score a few in qualifying next weekend. Thanks buddy.
Re: D.C. United vs. LA Galaxy-3/22/09-3:00 PM Is this going to be available on the MLS web live service? Or no because of Telefutura?
Re: D.C. United vs. LA Galaxy-3/22/09-3:00 PM The game will be shown on Fox Soccer Channel and Telefura.