I'll preface this by saying that I'm usually the first to defend coaches and the other professionals (outside of MLS HQ) who know way more than 99% of us. I defended Rongen throughout 1999 and well into 2000. I was very vocal for Arena during the poor stretch of qualifying results. And etc... But the more I think about the current situation at D-mid, the less sense it makes. I understand that Richie's cost vs his value isn't what it used to be and that if we had cap issues he was a logical choice to go. The thing that just doesn't add up is that we haven't moved to plug the hole. Zarco and McKeown are available, presumably at a discount. Yet we continue to see a player in the role (Nelsen) who's already shown that he's not naturally suited to the position and is better at central defender. I can't think of a single team that wins without strength in central midfield (which also raises the issue of Etcheverry, but that's for another day). And I really believe that when we look back at this season we'll see this decision on the part of the DCU brass as one they'd do differently if they had it to do again. More generally, when I look at all the moves in the last two years, they just don't add up to a coherent whole and don't really leave one with the sense that there's an effective plan in place looking towards the future.
i have been whinning about the dmid position myself. i like nelsen in the back not at dmid myself. i really don't understand why we haven't gotten a decent d-mid, isn't nelsen likely to get some callups this summer? even if he shocks us and can suddenly play dmid, we might still have a large hole to fill if he is gone to play for NZ.
This may end up being one of two keys to DC United's season. (The other being Center Forward.) IMO, the D-Mid Question has not been answered - I remain unconvinced that Ryan's the man for the job and would much rather see him stay in Central Defense. But he's gonna have to do the job if the Open Practice was any indication. The midfield and defense spent a lot of time covering for Marco, which left them open to counters. Hopefully Ryan will be able to plug that hole, and that the backline will be able to get on without him.
FIFA has shortened the amount of time that clubs have to release players before the Confederations Cup from 14 to 5 days before the tournament begins. http://apps.fifa.com/scripts/runisa.dll?m2:gp::67173+mrel/Display+52347+E New Zealand begins play on June 18th against Japan. After playing Colombia on the 20th, they conclude the group round against France on the 22nd. If they don't finish in the top two in that group, they'll be done. With the rule change, we could keep him for the home game against Chicago on 6/7 and the trip to Colorado on 6/11. It will be interesting to see how early he and NZ ask for him to leave and whether we keep him through the Colorado trip. Nellie could leave as late as the 13th and be back in the US as soon as the 23rd. That would put him definitely out of the home matches against Columbus (6/14) and New England (6/21). Assuming they don't go through, he'd likely be available for the next game, at Columbus on 6/28. If they go through, they'll finish on either 6/28 or 29, making the game at Dallas on 7/2 iffy. So, he'll miss as few as two games for the Confed Cup, but could miss one or two more on the front end if he leaves early and one or two more on the back end if they advance.
What ever happened to the idea/rumor that Kovalenko was going to play D-mid? I thought I read in a few places that this was at least an option. Maybe I'm remembering incorrectly. I know that we may not think of Dema as a D-mid, but could this be another one of Hudson's ideas entering the season? (It would really help to explain why we aren't in a rush to sign players like Zarco and McKeown).
Don't rule out Brian Carroll here. The rook started at D-mid for the U20 team, starts there for the U23/Olympic team and was a damned good college D-mid. He will take some time adjusting to the higher level but he can play this position. The team also has Brian Namoff. Assuming Hudson opts to keep him, Namoff can play this position, and play it well, as he demonstrated as a rook 2 years ago.
Kovalenko at D-mid might be an option, just not a good one. I think Ryan Nelsen will be fine at D-mid, he isn't a rookie anymore and has adjusted to the speed of the game. That was his biggest problem when he was placed there his rookie season. The speed of play in MLS was much faster than anything he saw at Stanford. But entering his third year and seeing the attack develop from the back line last year, his speed of thought will be much quicker. I think Brian Carroll will be an excellent option eventually at D-mid. He has excellent speed and several players and coaches have commented how calm he is on the ball. He is a natural central midfielder. He has played there for the youth national teams, college, high school and club. It will take him a while to adjust to the league as it did Nelsen but I think eventually he will push Nelsen back to the back line
Good points. I think Nelsen can do a decent job at Dmid, but he's not a plug-n-play guy. His lack of speed means he's best suited to be one of two Dmid/Hmids in a 352 where he's not asked to cover too much space. Putting him in midfield gives us a target for crosses and set pieces. Defensively, he can do the job in midfield if he's got a fast partner to cover where he cannot reach (i.e. Carroll, Namoff or Dema). Dema did a decent job of this at the Open Practice, and after speaking with him I do think he's ready to fill that role. But he is being put there because of his offensive contributions in large part, so he's not going to be a full time stay at home partner for Ryan. Carroll or Namoff would be. Carroll is a rookie, and while showing great potential, the only rookie that can make that jump is Ricardo Clark. So we should just rule Carroll out of that position for the season, except in an emergency. Sometimes rookies adjust quickly and can help out by the end of the season, but I wouldn't expect it. Dmid requires very quickly reading the situation, anticipating the action, and putting yourself into the right place prior to the danergous situation happening. This aspect is very hard for the casual fan to ever recognize, but it is one that prevents young players from filling this position well. Namoff has shown the ability to read the game adequately, and has enough speed to cover for Nelsen, so he'd be my second choice after Nelsen. He can also fill Dema's role, but I'd prefer to see Eliseo get a crack at being Dema's backup. Unfortunately, none of these guys is being given much practice time in the Dmid/Hmid positions. I'm guessing that Alegria is the backup to Nelsen, but he still has a long way to go in reading the defense, and his lack of speed makes it very difficult for him to recover when he or someone else makes a mistake. I thought McKeon would have been a good backup to Nelsen. Ricardo Clark would have been a good choice in the draft, but our options now appear to be rather limited. Zarco Rodriguez was a good player but is now on the down side of his career. He's not going to be happy on the bench, and he has held out for more money a couple of years in a row now, so I don't think he'll be cheap. I don't see him as a good fit for our back line, and he's not quite as good in midfield. Zarco isn't really an affordable utility backup. -Digital
If McKeon had been a step up from either Nelson or Namoff, he'd be signed. I still think Namoff will join Nelson in a Dmid/Hmid tandem by midseason if no one else is acquired. Dema is too offensive minded. I agree with you Tron that Chino is too slow reading the game. Hadn't thought of Eliseo. He showed a bit more bite and activity on the defensive side of the ball at the open practice. Maybe Namoff and Eliseo in a 3-5-2, with Ryan back in central defense where he belongs. Yabo
the thing i worry the most about, besides nelsen's apparent lack of speed, is how well he can start the offensive from the dmid spot. last year with williams ray had to post mckinley next to him to generate any kind of build up from the back. i fear nelsen may, as yabo, suggests also need to be suplmented by someone. if we have to bring on a second dmid such as namoff then one of our creative, attacking players has to sit and without a target forward, we might get marked right out of the offensive third.
In putting Namoff with another Dmid/Hmid you really sit a defender that would otherwise be in a 4 man backline. What I see Namoff doing is: 1) He can slide out wide when Reyes makes his runs 2) He has decent on the ball skills and a bit of grit. His reading of the game has improved. 3) He is effective starting attack centrally, so we don't have Marco come back across the midfield stripe.
Kelly Gray got some time at the D-mid spot last year in his rookie season and he did alright. Carroll was ahead of Gray on the depth chart for the U20's and has more experience at the position. Gray was a converted forward. I think that Carroll would be a step above Alegria for the couple of games that Nelsen will miss, and will help him prepare for the future
Actually, Kelly Gray had a surprisingly good rookie campaign, but the consensus among coaches was that he wasn't very effective at Dmid. They much preferred his contributions to the back line, but with Boca, Curtin and Brown, once Armas went down the opportunities for playing time were at Dmid, and he was the best of the lot. Luckily, Jesse Marsch was there as well to cover for his rookie mistakes. I like Gray a lot, but as a left center back. While Carroll started ahead of Gray, the level of competition was lower, and it's not neccessarily a direct comparison. Eventually I think Carroll can be a good Dmid, but the speed of thought needed to read the game at this level is a huge transition from college. -Digital
I said it before but I look for Dema to be the D-mid and I think he will surprise a lot of people in his ability to play that position. All he needs is some guidance from the coaching staff as to his tactical prescence and I think he could be very good.
I think in this case you have to look at the midfield as a whole. In a 442, I don't think Nelsen would work. Unless we played without Etcheverry (meaning a flat four of Olsen-Kovalenko-Nelsen-Convey), that is. Seeing as how that's not going to happen, a 442 is just not going to work for us now. In the 352 that seems fairly set right now, the midfield would be: Olsen Kovalenko Nelsen Convey ---------- Etcheverry You have two players who would have to play fixed roles (Etch and Nelsen) and 3 guys who can switch roles all game long (Olsen, Convey, and Kovalenko). That midfield, in my opinion, would be effective. Olsen, Convey, and Kovalenko are all quite hardworking players (Olsen and Kovalenko may be the 2 hardest working "skill" players in the league), so I don't think Nelsen would be overrun. I agree with johnaldo in that Nelsen's struggle at defensive midfield 2 years ago was not a lack of aptitude for the position, but simply a rookie in a very hard to adjust to spot. As Digital says, you can't put a rookie at defensive midfield and expect consistent quality. This past season, Nelsen showed he was faster physically and much quicker mentally, and I think this would carry over. I don't think he would be the best defensive midfielder, and I agree that his best position is center back, but I do think he can do a good job. That said, we all know he won't be playing every game this season for us. Same with Kovalenko. The best replacement, at least to me, would be Namoff for either one. He's athletic, he's gritty, and he's got a couple years of play under his belt. He knows the speed of the league and as a rookie he contributed to the offense (7 assists on a bad team) and was decent defensively. We certainly did the right thing in hanging onto Namoff, because I think he's going to be a pretty important player for us. I saw Quintanilla come up...can't say I agree with that. For one, any knock on Chino's speed has to also apply to Q2, since if anything he's even slower. Chino has more experience in that role than Quintanilla and I just don't see defensive midfielder anywhere in Quintanilla's style of play. Not that I think he's bad or anything, I just don't think he's suited for a holding or defensive role. Carroll is certainly worth considering, but I think he should at least get his feet wet out wide before being thrust into what will probably be the most mentally demanding role on the team. In the future, Carroll will make a great central midfielder, but I doubt he's ready to start there right now. Chino has a lot to prove. Hudson obviously likes him, and probably sees a bit of himself in him. Chino does bring a lot as far as being able to help the offense, but I don't think he's defensive enough for the job. He's much more suited to the holding role that Kovalenko will play, helping the destroyer out rather than being the destroyer. I'd say right now he's probably even with Carroll and both are behind Namoff in filling in for Nelsen. I was surprised we didn't move for McKeon. He's no all star, sure, but for a backup defensive midfielder you could do much worse. Perhaps Hudson wants to pick up DiGiamarino and try him there? I know it's not his natural position, but at this point we need more options than we have. Namoff is the only player I have any confidence in to replace Nelsen right now.
Who was the D-MID for Hudson on the Fusion? Was it Jim Rooney. If so why don't we bring him in. He was an all star just two years ago. I know he is old but why not sign him for a year and train Carroll for next years job. Also the lottery for DiGiamarino - Is it a weighted lotttery or does DC have the same chance as everyone else? And my last question is who is the other team that wants him. The Far Side
As always, you have a great analysis JAnderson14, but this one has changed. While I would have completely agreed with you last season, Eliseo has gotten much much much faster in the offseason. Last season he was totally out of shape being in the middle of his offseason when we thrust him into the team, and Eliseo looked horribly slow. This year he has used the offseason to get into shape and regain his speed, and I wouldn't even classify him as particularly slow any more. I'm guessing that he'd beat Carlos Llamosa in a footrace now. While that's not exactly fast, it's light years ahead of Etch and Chino. In fact, I'm not sure Santino would embarass Eliseo in a footrace any more. I'd say now that Eliseo has as much speed as Ben Olsen currently has. Make what you will of that. -Digital
Hudson has strongly suggested that United will need to play 4 in the back (of course he's blowing smoke so often that its hard to know if this is a serious assessment on his part or just top of the head speculating). If that is the case, maybe Namoff might even be a candidate to start at D-mid, if Nelsen and Ivanov are starting central defenders. Of course it looks like Petke will be a (or the) starting cenbtral defender for the early part of the season while Ivanov re-habs. I think that this makes it even more likely that we will play 4 in the back, with Prideaux more likely to be at outside back. So if we are once again stuck with a 4 man midfield that includes Etcheverry, it is likely a choice between Kovalenko and Namoff (or Chino or Carroll). Doesn't look too encouraging up the middle . . .
You know, Petke played his best soccer when the Metros had the 3-back of Hernandez, Jolley, and Petke. For that period of time, Jolley and Petke were man-markers with Hernandez being more of the distributor, etc. I really think your team would be stronger if you have the backline of Petke, Nelsen, and Ivanov. --------------Rimando------------ ------Petke----Ivanov----Nelsen---- In front of that I don't know how you guys would organize the roster, as I haven't been following your preseason that much. I would some these players would see the field: Stewart, Convey, Olsen, Etch, Santino, Dema, Eski???, Stoich????. I don't know. Maybe a midfield that looks like this. -------------Dema--------------- Olsen--------Etch--------Convey------ ------------Stewart------------------ ---------Eski-----------Santino------- Obviously you can't start those two forwards. Too much of a risk. But I do believe a player like Zarco would be perfect for your d-mid needs, IMHO. Or even McKeon (sp.). Obviously this is really from the outside looking in. However, I think your midfield would be very solid if that is what lined up.
arisrules--i think you have forgotten milton reyes. i don't see us using any formation that doesn't include him somewhere.
Bishop was the holding midfielder. Rooney did all the running for him while Bishop was the midfield general. Fair enough. I haven't seen him play so I could only go on what we saw last year. Hey, if he's faster, everyone wins. Now I'm hoping to see him get some good time at Richmond. In the interview you're probably thinking of, Hudson also mentioned possibly playing a 451. And, when you think about it, at the start of the season that's the only way we could play a back four. Kovalenko has been Ray's favorite player this preseason, but won't be a defensive midfielder in a 4 man midfield. Etcheverry has a spot that's his to lose. You can't play a 4 man midfield consisting of 4 attack-first players (Convey and Olsen as the other two). With Ivanov out for a bit, I would expect to see Nelsen and Petke as the center backs, and Reyes (despite a bad preseason, from what's been in print), is a lock on the right. Prideaux is not a natural outside back, but he is a good no-risk choice there. This is what I'd see us playing: -------- Rimando Reyes Nelsen Petke Prideaux Olsen Kovalenko Namoff Convey -------- Etcheverry -------- Stewart Of course, this would have Quaranta, Eskandarian, and Quintanilla all on the bench, but it would also be a very competitive team. Olsen, Convey, and Kovalenko would be under a lot of demand to get forward and score goals, though. Until Etcheverry either changes his game or plays himself onto the bench, a four man midfield isn't going to work for us. If you play Namoff (and you'd have to play someone behind Etch), you sit Kovalenko. If you do play Kovalenko, you run the risk of a first time defensive midfielder getting overrun. If I had to play a 451, I'd use Stewart behind Quaranta, and leave Etcheverry out, to be honest. True, but our attempts at a back three have apparently not worked very well at all in preseason. Besides, as Red&Black points out, Reyes is probably the best marking back we have. I do understand your point though.
i'm just throwing this out there so don't slam me too bad but what about Reyes playing dmid? He's the fastest player on the team and also has good attacking skills as well. That would also allow a 3 man back line of Nelson Petke and Ivanov. Which are our 3 best defenders. I wouldn't mind seeing a lineup of Rimando Nelson Petke Ivanov Reyes Olsen Etcheverry Convey Stewart Quaranta Quintanilla/Esky I think of it more of a 3-4-3. I think it would be a decent lineup at the minium. and also, if we score more goals than we give up dmid doesn't become that big of an issue.