News: 2022 - DCU Club Discussion and Analysis

so, we should not post in "FO or lack thereof?"

of will that one be reserved for calling out a certain type FO quackery?

 

are the clear roof panels installed yet?

 

They are so amazingly clear you can see right thru them! Weird that they don't seem to stop any of the rain though.

 

This really is the one benefit of being on the East side of the stadium - the roof over the non-club areas there more than adequately covers everyone.

 

Also, Goff had some info from training today:
Kamara is in training after missing the trip to California due to health protocols
Robertha is out for Saturday
The Moreno trade to Cincy is all but official
Djeffal has signed, but is awaiting MLS approval
The starters from the Galaxy exhibition game should be the starters for Saturday with Perez starting instead of Yow, and
Losada says their biggest needs are a 3rd DP (which the team is still pursuing), a goalkeeper, a defensive midfielder, and one or two additional offensive weapons.

 

Additional info - Kimarni Smith and Jacob Greene are headed to Loudoun (that at least opens up an international roster spot), while Jeremy Garay and Ted Ku-DiPietro are staying with DCU for now.

 

Interesting. Does that mean Birnbaum out left, BHI in the middle and Najar on the right? Maybe Losada views BHI as a better organizer? Seems like based on pace, you would switch BHI and Birnbaum. I really want to see what Perez can bring playing on the right side with a healthy Flores and a real target guy like Estrada. Yow has far more pace, but in his year+, it's clear Losada doesn't rate him that high. Of course none of this matters, because Flores will go down with his annual hamstring injury within the first 20 minutes and blow the whole formation to hell.

 

Perez really shouldn't be starting if Kamara or Robertha are fit and ready to go.

 

Are we certain we are going to line up with two wingers and a striker like we did most of last year (but not always)?

Because it could be Flores in the middle with two strikers up top in Estrada and Perez (or whoever).

I don't think Perez is fast enough (either in his physical speed or speed of play) to play in MLS. Happy to be proven wrong, but what I saw last year was a VERY slow player who always held the ball too long and seemed to have a terrible shot for an attacking player...

But if he's going to play I think I'd be more interested in him as part of two striker set-up than as an outside winger.

 

has there been a determination if Guest is in the lineup for saturday?

 

Own Goal is.................

 

I do hope he's "fer us" and not "agin' us."

 

Robertha is out.
Kamara hasn't played with the team at all at least in preseason games. Maybe he's practiced more than we've heard about. Not sure how much Perez has played with the team this preseason either.

 

For tomorrow, this is true.

For the season as a whole? Perez shouldn't start over Kamara or Robertha.

 

Oh for sure. And when the Taxi arrives, one more player will be dropped for him. Not clear who. I don't think I know his position well enough to know how he fits in or what formation we'll play if all top players are ever here and healthy at the same time.

 

that's inspiring - 2 days before the opener and the coach says all he needs is 5 starters....

 

Nothing in the info from Losada indicates the team needs 5 new starters.

 

If everyone is healthy, I'd imagine it'd be a front 3 of Estrada, Taxi, and Flores in some combination. With Kamara and/or Robertha getting starts as needed.

 

I don't think you read the quotes very carefully or understand what Losada is saying.

 

He didn't say starters, but I rec'd your post anyway b/c the point is the team is short, and the coach had to call them out again.
And I can't disagree with him. A goalie (absolutely), a DM (sure seems like it), a 3rd DP (that'd be nice) and two or three more attackers (if Perez is a starter, that's a problem).
They have until May when the window closes, so not all hope is lost. But I can see a scenario where Losada is frustrated and leaves at the end of the year.
At least get some of these spots filled from within MLS. Keeper and DM could have been dealt with in free agency, but they dropped the ball. They could've kept Reyna, or Junior, or Felipe.
I like the signings they did make, but there isn't enough. Again. It's the same old song and dance.

 

On the DM front, I think Moreno was probably due a good bit more money. He's performed in MLS, knows the league, been durable which is probably why CLT with the extra expansion GAM signed him. With Moreno being so much like Canouse, letting an out of contract Moreno go, to get more money elsewhere made sense. I'd love to know what Felipe got from Austin, because he wasn't on insane money last year and prolly wasn't asking for a crazy number going into this season, although I'd bet he wanted a 3 yr deal.

You're prolly not finding a keeper who could push Bill on the FA market. Maybe I am wrong there, but I don't think so. Bill is a top 10 keeper in this league who is capable of being the best keeper in the league, a deck chair is not going to push him. The guy who can push Bill is not hanging out right now, he's someone's starter in this league or someone on a free this summer.

The attack remains thin, but that's the standard MO of this ownership group to do the bare minimum. I would be concerned about Losada if we don't have the players he's asking for by the end of the summer window. Then the fuse is really lit.