Blame Hudson

Yep, blame Hudson. He inherited a world-class team and didn't bring in Rivaldo, Owen, Beckham or Raul, despite knowing that we needed to stregthen and having unlimited resources.

 

Amen to that!! If we have trouble scoring, why do we play w/one forward?? Has it worked before-NO. And don't start telling me Olsen is a forward. Olsen is great at tracking back on d and getting by guys on the wing, being unpredictable w/his moves, stuff like that-winger stuff. Play the guy where he's got the experience and the proven ability. He adds to the defense with his hustle.

DC United playing w/one forward is like trying to get a cripple to walk better by cutting off one of his legs. It just makes no sense whatsoever. Never did. Tampa Bay last year played w/one forward-Diallo-and that was because he could score by himself-but you know what they STILL sucked big-time with that one forward lineup

Maybe it works in Serie A or some league overseas!! Who knows. Even if it marginally works, in a league where the object is to entertain, you're doing the league a disservice by going with it

3-6-1?? Reminds me of the Sampson era at the 1998 World Cup, and we all know how that went!!

Towards the end of the game we had Reyes going forward, we had Pope going forward, we had Prideaux going forward and thus our defense finally got exposed for their score.

True. We've got our defenders trying to score because we don't have what we need on offense. Credit to the d they make me proud

Rongen would have done better.

On offense, no doubt. Ray needs to become a better tactician on offense. In a way though that doesn't make sense that he's horrible on offense because the Fusion last year were a great goal-scoring team (if my memory is correct)! But this year, with that one forward lineup, drives me crazy. It was like we were playing for the tie. WHY PLAY FOR THE TIE?? We needed to WIN the match!!

Remember the game against San Jose. We pressed forward to score and played much better as a result.

Most of the players on offense need to go-I don't think it's all the coach's fault but no doubt he deserves some of the blame for our terrible offense.

Obviously, the team has to improve on offense next year or coach will be out of a job.

 

I too was pissed when I saw we were playing with a lone striker. However, at the 91st minute I realized that taking a point on the road with this line-up would not be a terrible thing. We needed 7 points from 3 games and at that point, 2 later games looked like more promising possibilites than having Lassiter as your spearhead. You know, maybe a healthy Moreno and Quintanilla can pair up, etc.

As nice as it was to see our defense push up for a goal late in the game, that's exactly why we lost. Convey could not hold possession and we were left exposed in the back for their counter in the 92nd minute. I guess you could blame Ray for being too cute with that formation, but I would blame the players for not holding on to that one point when we were in a clear position to do that.

 

2 more with the scum, and Ray has only beaten them once (this year 4-2). Last year with the fusion he could not do it, why do we think he could now??

 

I'm the smart ass? But, surely you're the one that makes it sound so easy? You tell us that it is not the players, but the coach. You point out who we need to acquire, but seem to have no opinions about who or HOW we might acquire them. I simply pointed out for you consideration that Hudson took over these players, who could hardly be called world-beaters. He has to work within a straightjacket cap and compete for a very small pool of quality of players. And, that is even before we discuss the key injuries to a small squad.

Perhaps such judgement needs to be reserved until he's had a while to build his own team?

(Unless this is your attempt to garner support for an attempt to take over his job)

 

Build his own team - lets talk of the numerous wonderful acquisitions of senor Hudson:

Lazo Alavanja - yep he certainly saved us this year - wonderful choice in the Supp draft there

Villegas and Perez - one traded, one on the bench

Zambrano - we don't have any great fwds - so lets just acquire a bunch of mediocre forwards, that sounds like a good plan.

His draft picks - we won't even go there.

Reyes is the only player he has brough in worth a damn and DC was trying to get him well before Hudson even took the reins.

Sorry - Hudson had a great opportunity to rebuild this team via the dispersal draft and MLS draft and hasn't/

 

I agree that the move for Lazy was a bomb. But in all fairness to Ray, United has been limited in roster moves by the salary.

During the dispersal draft(s) the team had not recieved any cap relief for Ammann. That's about $100k that they did not have to take somebody worth while.

Having Olsen out for the first half of the season helped lead to the Villegas and Perez deal. Villegas was to be a fill in until Olsen got back. Once again, the team was financially handcuffed and could only get a midfielder in the low salary range in exchange for Lisi and Zadie.

Zambrano and Roy were cheap desperation deals. They were not brought in as 'the future of DC United' if they turn things around great, we'll talk about next year, but otherwise, there's the door fellas.

Quintanilla was a good acquisition.

Overall, I'd say that all of the midseason trades are a wash.

Of the preseason trades, I like the Priedeaux for Armstrong trade, I dislike the Kamler for Williams trade, and I hated the Talley for some extra shoelaces trade.

Hudson can (hopefully) build a team in the offseason, when he can sever some heads and shake up the roster.

 

You're also forgetting about Rimando, JH6.

Dave

 

Regardless of what you think about Hudson's tactics on Sunday, it's pretty interesting that the fans were calling for Rongen's head in 1999, a championship year, yet have given Hudson a free pass in this season that's easily as bad as the last two.

 

You make some good points, but I don't know that playing two forwards would have made a difference yesterday if that second forward happens to be Roy Lassiter or Ali Curtis. I'd frankly rather have Lazo on the field than either of those two.

Moreno's finishing may be off-form, but he still causes the defense to focus on him and he is able to create opportunities. Neither Lassiter or Curtis can do that. That is why Q2 did so well against San Jose... they defense was focused on Moreno. When Moreno got hurt this week, our chances of winning yesterday became low regardless of who we put on the field.

With our current roster, there is no point in playing two forwards as long as Moreno and Q1 are unhealthy. And keep in mind, we were one great save by Tim Howard away from winning yesterday. And as far as putting Lassiter in from the beginning, were you not watching when Pope layed the ball down for him right in front of the net and flat-footed Roy was, as always, one step too slow. I don't see what playing Lassiter from the very beginning would have done except get the Mutts some more off-sides calls in the first half.

 

I take exception to this. I can agree that the results are similar (bottom dwellers). However, I don't see the half-assed efforts from 2000 and 2001. I still see players putting forward 100% every week despite the playoff picture looking bleak at best. At this point in 2000 and 2001, the team would have already rolled over and died. I won't call for Hudson's head unless the team phones it in against SJ this Saturday.

 

huh?

No one seriously starting calling for Rongen's head until mid-2000 when it was clear that last year's championship team was now this year's pile of crap.

Although, even in 1999 the deterioration was beginning.

If Hudson's getting a free pass this year it's because he was handed a pile of crap and asked to turn it into a championship team.

While apparently boneheaded moves like subbing Lassiter for Q2 make me want to hit him in the head and beg him to get off the crack, I don't entirely fault him for the hiring decisions made in the last year. I think that the blame needs to be spread around the front office and, to a certain extent, the league (for having rules preventing us from getting cap relief for high-ticket injured players.)

Now, if I find out that bringing Roy Lassiter was entirely Hudson's doing, I'll hire a plane myself because that was probably the stupidest thing we've done all year.


This team broke my heart yesterday. Despite the bitter experience of the last two and a half years, I actually dared to hope that we could pull it off and wind up in the playoffs. I'm an idiot.

 

Hudson brought in Rimando, Reyes, and a bunch of people we would have been better without.

Quintanilla must be the slowest guy in the league. Everytime somebody plays a ball into space, a defender starts three steps behind him and passes him by two steps to get to the ball first. He looks like the second coming of the second coming of Diaz Arce to me.

Reyes was a deal that was in the works before he got here.

Focus on who he's lost. That's what sometimes huts. Kante (What the hell is up with that?). Armstrong. Perez (after trading for him). Conteh.

That's the single most pathetic thing. I feel like I am missing Conteh. How sad is that?

 

Huh?

I really don't get this post. Calling for Rongen's head in 1999? Who? Someone in a bar somewhere in Oxon Hill or Occoquan?

I recall people calling for Rongen's head in 2000 and in 2001, because he was incapable of putting together even a medicore team with most of the components of a group that had just won the championship.

And even in 2001 there were plenty of people who were bitterly and angrily defending him because "he's not had enough time" or "it's the players' fault, not the coach."

Contrast that with a coach who has come in with no salary room, sirgnificant roster restrictions, a league that is more evenly matched than ever before, and who, out of one of the worst defenses in the league has built the best. Last year we let in 50 goals--FIFTY! This year we've let in 30, the lowest in the league other than the league champions.

I'm all for calling for accounts, but let's give the coach and management some credit for what has been accomplished this year and see what they can come up with next, now that this season is pretty much done. If we don't have some decent firepower going into 2003, then its time to start burning witches. And I'll bring the scales and the duck.

 

When we let Armstrong go Etcheverry didn't have his green card. Just think if we still had Armstrong, we would have never been able to acquire Zambrano.

 

If we had Armstrong, we wouldn't have Prideaux. That was a good trade that worked out well for both teams.

Sachin

 

Hudson's a shyster of a coach who spews out more half-truth, innuendo and lies than Jeff Skilling does. He's the Kevin Keegan of MLS except he wasn't anywhere as near a good a player. He doesn't get all the blame though. I blame Kasper almost as much as the silver-tongued devil for his role in player evaluation and the trades. I think Ray's quotes and enthusiasm have officially worn out. He needs to start coaching this team and looking for points in every game. IMO he's coaching not to lose, although he keeps saying how important these games are and that the team needs to take the full 3 points. Lastly his road tactics, if you want to call them that, show that he has given up on the idea of making the playoffs and that this team is good enough. I'll give him the off-season to try and fix things but I would be ready to give him the boot if we could get Sarachan.

 

And we wouldn't have Nelsen, because we'd have needed to dump an SI and I expect Hudson wasn't empowered to (or just wouldn't want to) dump Etcheverry or Moreno in his first days on the job. And although Nellie has played very well this year, I doubt he had much trade value back in the winter, so it's not like we'd have gotten much in return.

So, our pretty darned good defense would be without two of its starters. Yes, we should all blame Ray for losing Armstrong.

 

I wouldn't give him that much credit.

 

I do think Ray is tactically dim and better suited to the PR role of management than skills and tactical development. What I was struck by at the game yesterday is something I've seen, but never registered, before. Before the game, Ray likes to go out with his spikes on and have a go at kicking the ball around with the lads. Now, I've never seen Da Bruce, or Houllier, or Martin O'Neill, or (on the dark side of the Force) Sir Alex or Wenger out having a kick around before the match. It indicates a lack of concentration on the task you have at hand --- managing the side and noting the tactical advantages. Under Ray, we never seem to come back from the half with a new idea or some obvious tactical turn. Sometimes we appear to be fired up but mostly to mindlessly follow whatever we'd been doing before -- only faster.