Preseason 2022 - What's next for United?

Discussion in 'D.C. United' started by Winoman, Nov 7, 2021.

  1. fatbastard

    fatbastard Member+

    Aug 1, 2003
    Lincoln (ish), Va
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
     
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  2. morrissey

    morrissey Moderator
    Staff Member

    Feb 18, 2000
    West Los Angeles, Calif
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Never mind - stupid homegrown.
    Delete....delete...delete.....
     
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  3. morrissey

    morrissey Moderator
    Staff Member

    Feb 18, 2000
    West Los Angeles, Calif
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I have nothing against homegrowns but when the player is likely going to be on Loudon for the season it is not worth teasing like this.
     
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  4. Doogh

    Doogh Member+

    Oct 5, 2019
    Nat'l Team:
    United States


    I bet it's EagleBank or Coinbase
     
  5. Winoman

    Winoman Drinkin' Wine Spo-De-O-De!

    Jul 26, 2000
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Better Eagle Bank, or Audi than crypto.
     
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  6. PSURoss

    PSURoss Member+

    Sep 30, 2002
    DC Burbs
    That combined with what Pablo Mauer described as a black practice jersey with red accents on the sleeve will equal me not buying one. The littles will get theirs, but that's a no for me. After all the outcry on white Hanes T's, did they think a black one would fare much better? It will sell because its the home shirt, but if it's as disappointing as described. I have to think a lot of people will go with their old shirts. I guess I'll save that money and put it toward a 96 home or 97 away
     
  7. shawn12011

    shawn12011 Member+

    Jun 15, 2001
    Reisterstown, MD
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    I only wear old school..................but I am old so.................:D
     
  8. Hedbal

    Hedbal Member+

    Jul 31, 2000
    DC
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Apparently Paul Arriola is saying that Club America's interest in him (and he in them) "is real," so I am disturbed by DCU's silence. If we lose Kamara and Arriola we have a lot of fixin' to do before the season begins.
     
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  9. pr0ner

    pr0ner Member+

    Jan 13, 2007
    Alexandria, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
     
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  10. QuietSide

    QuietSide Member

    Oct 18, 2002
    This team is a joke.
    Almost a quarter century as a season ticket holder (excuse me "member") and I keep coming back for more. I must be a masochist...

    So, let's see, a year ago, we hired a new coach with a completely new style. We also brought in a new GM (sort of, we really just promoted the old GM and added more staff).

    After a couple of months, it was clear some of our personnel didn't fit the new coach's approach.

    When the summer window hit, we did.... nothing. First chance to start changing the team to fit the new coach completely wasted.

    When the season ended, we got rid of a lot of deadwood.
    Yamil Asad - gone
    Joseph Mora - gone
    Yordy Reyna - gone
    Ramon Abila - gone
    Jovanny Bolivar - gone
    Michael DeShields - gone
    Goalkeeping coach - gone (replaced by an assistant we brought in midseason)
    Head Athletic Trainer - gone

    Junior Moreno - maybe gone
    Felipe - maybe gone

    None of these departures break my heart, but...

    What have we done to replace them?

    Pretty much nothing.
    Made a couple of late-round draft picks who will likely end up at Loudoun and signed a homegrown who may or may not stay on the DCU roster.

    The two big rumors floating around our club are Paul Arriola may be interested in leaving (he probably wants to play at a team interested in winning) and yes, we're open to offers on our top goal scorer from a year ago.

    And the elephant in the room, Edison Flores, still remains on the roster. Note that MLS rules allow you to buy out one player's contract per offseason. Just sayin... We couldn't find him a loan somewhere else? We couldn't find someone willing to buy him for a couple of bucks?

    We pissed away last summer's window to start changing the roster. Now we've pissed away an entire winter. And if even if we bring some new players in during the next couple of weeks, we're already behind the curve since they weren't here for the beginning of training camp.

    If i was Losada I would walk away right now.

    F*UCK YOU JASON LEVIEN.
    You are one of the worst owners in sports.

    Anyways, end of rant.
    Happy Friday everyone.
    Enjoy the weekend!
     
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  11. BlackandRedForever

    DC united
    Scotland
    Jul 4, 2021
    I think Flores isn't going anywhere. Yet.

    No way we buy him out. We aren't TFC who can throw money at their mistakes. If he doesn't play well early in the season I could see Losada as the type to bench his big money man. Most likely he would head back to LigaMX on loan during the summer window
     
  12. shammypants

    shammypants Member+

    Oct 9, 2013
    Club:
    DC United
    #337 shammypants, Jan 14, 2022
    Last edited: Jan 14, 2022
    There is a huge reason to worry. Let's assume Arriola leaves, we have a likely lineup right now of something like

    Hamid (with zero backups)
    Gressel (dude should not be a defender) - Odoi-Atsem - Birnbaum - Pines - Najar (with our backups being Alfaro, Samake)
    Canouse - Flores - Skundrich (yikes) (with our backups being Paredes and Moreno)
    Kamara - Robertha (with our backups being Perez)

    That is ass. That is an ass roster with negative depth. Where is a single player worth getting excited about? With no real backup, Hamid and hope becomes hope Hamid stays healthy. What happens if Birnbaum or Canouse takes another knock? We relying on a Louden guy to get through the day or Paredes to start? Even with Arriola in this lineup I can't even fake getting excited about this team playing.

    It should be worth noting that our roster has a bunch of people who will not contribute and shouldnt even be counted: Nyeman, Greene, Garay, Ku-DiPietro, Yow, Djeffal, Simonsen, Nagy.

    We have basically no depth at RB or LB, we have no depth at all at GK, we have no backups to control the midfield, and we have one backup at forward who is barely competent.


    Edit- mistakes, I forgot we even released some milquetoasts
     
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  13. JayRockers!

    JayRockers! Member+

    Aug 4, 2001
    There’s no reason for Losada to stay if he gets a hint of an offer from a better team in Europe, or Argentina. I wonder if Brugge was too big a leap? Beerschot is rooted to the bottom of the table, maybe he goes back.

    Thx,

    Jay!
     
  14. shawn12011

    shawn12011 Member+

    Jun 15, 2001
    Reisterstown, MD
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Hmm now others are seeing what I said when Losada was brought in. This $hit show of a FO would drive him to a better job. :rolleyes:
     
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  15. griffin1108

    griffin1108 BigSoccer Supporter

    Dec 5, 2003
    Virginia
    You have the lineup and roles all mixed up. The roster looks like this -- potential starters in bold reserves in ().

    GK: Hamid (Kempin?)
    RCB: Najar (BHI, O-A)
    CB: Birnbaum (BHI, Pines)
    LCB: BHI (Pines, Alfaro)
    RWB: Gressel (Yow, Perez, Greene)
    LWB: Paredes (Yow, Perez, Greene)
    CM (2): Moreno?, Canouse (Nyeman, Skundrich, Martins?,Garay, KDP)
    F (3): Arriola, Kamara, Flores (Robertha, Perez, Yow, KDP)

    I put questions after Kempin, Moreno and Martins because while they are free agents, DCU remains interested in re-signing them. This roster is middling at best. If everyone stays/signs and remains healthy, probably at best a #6 or 7 seed in the playoffs. The huge hole is the lack of any real backup for Hamid. Kempin isn't even a USL level GK. If Moreno doesn't sign, then Nyeman will have to step up big time. The drop off on the two wingbacks after the starters is very steep. Yow probably isn't MLS quality and Greene is still only 18 and not the most robust physically. Perez has foot skills, but he is slooow. (Indeed the problem with many of the Academy guys is that they are tiny and MLS still is a bit of a leg breaker's league.) In so many ways, the key here, as it has been for the past two seasons, is Flores. If he actually produces (and pigs fly out of my ass), that will give Gressel and Paredes far more room to operate. Last season, the key was blanket Gressel and hack the shit out of Paredes because no one else could consistently create danger save Najar, (but having your RCB drive the offense is both weird and scary if there is a turnover.)
     
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  16. shammypants

    shammypants Member+

    Oct 9, 2013
    Club:
    DC United
    I assumed Arriola is gone in my post. That aside, your post doesn't give inspire anymore confidence in the squad or it's capabilities. In a decent scenario that the owners should be moving toward, we have OK midfield control and we push Najar&Gressel up on the wings to be threats as well. This assumes we actually invest in some good midfield players (and a proper RB/LB). In your (and my) scenario we forfeit our midfield control (because come on, look at that midfield) and hope Paredes or Flores can occasionally move the ball toward the sidelines and lob it into Kamara. Gressel and Najar will be stuck back defending most of the time in reality unless we're playing bottom feeder squads and run them up. Listing Najar and Gressel as either back or mid is probably fine either way since they'll spend time running either role. Second, it doesn't inspire anymore confidence to suggest Yow, Nyeman, Greene or KDP are depth. They aren't. They're practice squad players or players in training. Listing Perez as a backup for 4-5 different roles isn't inspiring either.

    Fact is last year we played people in different spots by need. We had and will have a number of injuries and other issues. Take one injury or even two among our 'starters' at any time and it's Frankenstein's monster time. Skundrich was midfield for some games (TOR) and forward for others (CLB). Najar played up for some matches (ORL) and completely back for others (PHI). I look at this list and see Birnbaum, Hamid, Canouse, Flores and Arriola (if he stays) as at higher risk of injury. They are also the most competent people on the pitch.

    Your view is by getting worse, we're going to be in a similar position as last year, challenging for a last place playoff spot. I don't see it.
     
  17. Yowza

    Yowza Member+

    DC United
    United States
    Oct 23, 2019
    Arlington
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I can't assess the roster yet b/c there's no way they are done, even more true if/when Arriola is sold.
    As it stands, with no Arriola, Moreno, Felipe, it's not a playoff roster.

    If the season started today, besides Arriola, I actually think they'd miss Reyna the most. Those two guys stretched the field and when United was at its most dangerous, Reyna was often a catalyst.

    Also, if the season started today, I'd definitely expect to see Najar at the LWB, Paredes at left wing and Hines-Ike in the RCB/Najar role. That's pretty good on paper but the depth is crushed and that element that makes United unique when Najar plays RCB is muted.
     
  18. GumbyG

    GumbyG Member+

    DC United
    Mar 22, 2007
    Chesapeake, VA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Wow, I feel like I should post a suicide hotline number. Or maybe an FBI tipline. ;)
     
  19. GumbyG

    GumbyG Member+

    DC United
    Mar 22, 2007
    Chesapeake, VA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Here's my take on the roster we have. If I'm missing someone, let me know. TLDR is, in terms of competitive environment, we need one starting-quality challenger at CF, WF, WB and Keeper. Given those additions I think with some better preparedness and decent injury fortune, we're a playoff team, as long as we keep or replace Arriola and Moreno. Losadaball doesn't require excellence, just quality and fitness at every position, and we mostly have that. But if two of those four were DPs... ya, this team could be special. We also could use one depth piece at CB. Even if we stand pat, it'll be an interesting season, as we'll have to play our kids quite a bit, and we've got some exciting prospects.

    CFs:
    Kamara - versatile and effective playing Losadaball. If you give him space he will score. Penalty kick specialist. Worth 15 goals/5 assists per season, which is pretty decent for a starting CF.

    Robertha - figuring things out. Worked on his two-way play and when/how to drop into midfield to help out. Needs to work on his runs for others, but has the physical tools to be a menace, and is still very young. I'd expect to see 5-7 goals out of him in limited minutes.

    Smith - Not optimistic about his sticking around. I think he goes to Loudoun this season.

    We need a third true CF - preferably someone in their prime who is at least a reliable 2nd stringer - that is to say, the same quality of guys who passed for our starting forwards for most of the last decade.

    WFs:

    Flores - better than he played - most of his minutes came early in the season when we had half our starters on the bench and were still trying to figure out Losada's system. Still managed 2 goals and 5 assists in fewer than 1000 minutes. If he can stay healthy enough to double that, he'll be an effective starter. I expect 6/12 from him this year.

    Arriola - similar to peak-Flores in impact and production. We all know what he brings.

    Perez - not a lot of enthusiasm for Perez here, but I think he's got something special. He's better in tight spaces than most of our guys, just needs to figure out how to turn that into goals and assists. I don't think he pushes Flores and Arriola, but he's a good second string option for the Flores role. Certainly capable of 2/5 in limited minutes.

    Yow - is to Arriola as Perez is to Flores. I'm not sure he's as ready, but he never gives up, and I'm here for playing the kids.

    Ku-Dipietro - Has some tricks up his sleeve, but is a bit of a wildcard for me. He'll take time to get integrated. In terms of effectiveness in his relative role, I think he'll be a lot like Robertha was last year - navel gazing a bit too much.

    We could really use one more strong winger to push the two de-facto starters.

    Wingbacks:

    Gressel - probably the best wingback in the league. Difference maker of the highest caliber at this position.

    Paredes - needs to work on his consistency and targeting when crossing, but has all the other tools to rule this position, in spades. He attracts a lot of attention for a teenager, and he is my starter at this position. Frailty is an issue at this level - every year at this age is an opportunity to strengthen your joint-supporting muscles, and I'm hoping he and the training staff can take a meaningful step in that direction this coming season.

    Odoi-Atsem - I don't think he's a Najar-mold centerback as much as a wingback, but Gressel was so neccessary and so durable last season, he really didn't have much chance to deputize there. He's no Gressel, but I like his speed on the outside. He's a decent second stringer.

    Samake - I'm not familiar with Samake's play, but if DC's willing to sign him after a season for Loudoun, that's a good sign.

    Greene - This kid is going to be a good wingback. He's canny, receives well into space, and can put in a good early cross. Good in the build out. Like Ted, will need a season to adjust to the speed of play and get out of his own head, but he'll make it.

    As with the WFs, this group has two quality starters, one decent second-stringer who isn't going to challenge directly for minutes on quality, and two young guys who could potentially grow into effective second-stringers over the course of the season. It's calling out for one more high-quality wingback who can make Gressel and/or Paredes work for their minutes.

    CMs:

    Canouse - love me some Canouse. Defensively effective and ball-secure 6/8. I think he's our best player at this position - does a lot of work that doesn't show up in the numbers. I hope he can start the season healthy.

    Nyeman - Need to hand the keys to this kid this season. Mistakes will be made, but we have to let him make them. He's a lot more solid than he was two years ago, and he's much stronger on the ball. Needs to work on his defensive awareness and his shooting from distance. Otherwise has all the tools I'd want in a young 8. So young, so much promise, but he needs every minute we can throw his way and still keep him healthy.

    Moreno - We'd be pound-foolish not to do everything reasonable to get him back. He's the guy capable of taking Canouse and Nyeman down a peg that we don't have at WB or WF. He's a steady hand, good at everything not great at anything, but that good is MLS starting quality good.

    Skundrich - Second stringer, but physical, never lacks for effort and has decent awareness on both sides of the ball. Lacks touch at speed, but a guy you can trust to see out a game smartly.

    Garay - I'm not certain he'll translate to MLS, but really does have the defensive awareness of a 6, better than either Nyeman or Skundrich, at least. Good enough with his feet to be ball secure and play out of tight spaces. Really has to be paired with an offensive-minded CM. I'm really looking forward to tracking his progress this year.

    I think Martins is probably gone, and that might be reflected in our draft selections. But in any case, this is a pretty solid group. Canouse and Nyeman are potentially difference makers, and as long as we re-sign Moreno, we've got a healthy mix of potential and competitiveness.

    CBs:

    Andy Najar - The league was caught by surprise last year. Honeymoon's over. But that doesn't mean he still won't cause problems from time to time, he's just going to have to pick is spots more carefully. Key to Losadaball.

    BHI - similar to Najar in potential production, I think. In games where we can play Najar on the right and BHI on the left, we will cause havoc.

    Birnbaum - solid, predictable, good in the air. Would start on pretty much any team in MLS.

    Pines - a deserving 2nd stringer. Play varies from true difference maker to total brainfarter. If he can figure out how to use his strengths better, he'll challenge the first three guys.

    Alfaro - I'm not sure he'll directly challenge the top three, but I certainly won't worry when he's in the lineup.

    We really could use one or two more CBs, but the ones we have are pretty solid. I suspect if he shows any promise at all, we will try to convert the 6'3" Simonsen into a CB. Has the ball skills to do some of what BHI and Najar can do, and the height to play like Birnbaum. But that will take time.

    GK:

    Hamid - The cheese stands alone.

    Kempin - Acceptable 3rd stringer - send him to Loudoun regularly? Break glass in case of Covid.

    Glaring area of need here is an effective 2nd string keeper, preferably one who can challenge Hamid.
     
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  20. Yowza

    Yowza Member+

    DC United
    United States
    Oct 23, 2019
    Arlington
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The team is the same as last season but weakened with the absence of Moreno and Arriola, if that happens. They have the benefit of having played a season together and understanding the system with the fitness required, so that counts for something, I can't estimate what.

    I'm actually okay with the defense as it stands for the most part, but I think they're thin on the wing and that will hurt them. Perez has scored one goal in his MLS career in 38 appearances. He's 26, this is probably just who he is. Who would even start on the right without Arriola? Skundrich? Have to do better than that.

    Praying for Flores to stay healthy and deliver the goods got us squadoosh last season. Is it 50/50 he makes good? 60/40? I dunno, but whatever he adds we have to subtract the missing Arriola production from it.

    CM's as of today: Canouse, Skundrich, Nyeman, Garay, TKD, three draft picks.
    The numbers are there, sure, but quality isn't there or is still unknown. Personally, if they lean into a kids backing up kids midfield, I'm here for it. But I believe the odds of that midfield improving on last season's version are less than favorable.

    Right now, they look like a team that might punch above their weight but won't sniff a trophy. The league is too deep with talent. If you have to scratch and claw for everything, the teams with room for error in effort or execution, because they have great players, will outlast you in the end.
     
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  21. Hedbal

    Hedbal Member+

    Jul 31, 2000
    DC
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I was surprised to learn that we lost GK coach Zach Thornton to the Dynamo and that Head Trainer Goldstein is gone as well. Another issue: Andy Najar's salary. I seem to remember it was absurdly low, and needs to be corrected. Lots to do in this offseason, and the offseason is just about over.
     
  22. pr0ner

    pr0ner Member+

    Jan 13, 2007
    Alexandria, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
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  23. QuietSide

    QuietSide Member

    Oct 18, 2002
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  24. pr0ner

    pr0ner Member+

    Jan 13, 2007
    Alexandria, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  25. QuietSide

    QuietSide Member

    Oct 18, 2002
    We better be getting a crap ton of money and we better have a deal in place where we will spend that money in the next 10 days.
     
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