I'd said earlier that I think the Confed Cup callups (with subsequent Gold Cup callups) are going to create havoc for a number of teams and that the East (indeed, the league) standings may become topsy-turvy. Case in point: we get 3 points from Columbus. Colorado takes 3 points from NE. Metro goes down. I know that one argument was we needed to root against Chicago (b/c they were 4th and we were 5th). I think in the next couple of weeks, it would not be impossible to see some of those teams really hurt by confed cup callups (I'd originally said Metro and NE) to have some major slumps. And, the west will start playing better. I'm a bit shocked by the Colorado result. Bottom line: DCU needs to do it's part by playing better soccer. But there are points for the taking and the pecking order in the East will (I predict) change dramatically in the next month b/c of these 2 tournaments (Confed and Gold Cups).
Because of the "(R for Weekend Games)" I can say this. The way I see it is that we are 6 points out of first. We are also 4 points of of the playoffs, but with a game in hand over Columbus (but Chicago and New England have a game in hand over us). So with a couple of breaks, we're right there again. To me, we need to do two things, 1) win at home, no losses, no more ties, the full 3 points, and 2) win a few away. We almost never win away from RFK, and for this season to be successful, we need a few of them. Ties aren't really good enough. Force the issue, no sitting back. If we play 4 games and split the result we have 6 points, but if we play 4 and tie them all we'll only have 4 points. Play to win, do not play "not to lose." Columbus has the weakest defense in the East, and it was without Hejduk on the back line, Oughton at Dmid, Mais for a half and he clearly looked affected by his injury when he was there, and they were without their best ball holder and creator--Martino. We were at home. We should have scored on them. We get another shot at them in Columbus in a couple of weeks, we need to prove we can win an away game there. New England comes to town next week, and they just let in 4 to Colorado. Unfortunately, after poor performances they tend to rebound well. But minus Twellman we should shut them down. If the Rapids can put 4 past them, we should be able to score at least one. Then we travel to Dallas, and we need to better our performance over our last visit. Again, push the opportunities and force a win. Then everyone comes back from the Confed Cup (most likely) and we play the Metros minus Pope (still injured). If we want to compete, we need to win this one. Circumstances are on our side, if we do not succeed, we have only ourselves to blame. -Digital
D-tron, the opportunities are certainly there. As you point out, we need to play to win on the road--especially against the teams (Colorado, Dallas) that have struggled at home and on the road. The deliberate strategy the first half against Colorado (to hold back and wait for them to make a mistake) was just stupid in my opinion. Maybe against San Jose at Spartan Stadium but not against Colorado, especially when we have a deep bench. Anyway, that's past. Your point about Twellman is well taken. My take on NE is this: they are just a killer team when you allow them to get the first goal. Their team mentality (and ability) is one that still prefers to be compact and counter. If you force them to go forward, they expose themselves. That is why I've maintained for so long that NE is one of the 2 teams in the East really hurt by the Confed Cup callups--b/c Twellman allows them to play that kind of compact, countering ball and be successful. And I also agree that DCU controls its' own fate. The team has a deep roster, lots of talent. We can lament players not signed for key roles (ie: Dante Washington) or players not drafted (ie: Logan Pause) or players traded (ie: Justin Mapp) but the talent here is good enough to get it done. Now they just need to do exactly that. BTW, my thinking is that if the USA doesn't do well at the Confed Cup, then Arena will start camp for the Gold Cup early (no inside info here, just my take on his personality). He's publicly said that the Gold Cup matters more to him. At anyrate, an earlier camp (given the July games) could mean some of these other teams (potentially NE, definitely Metro and Chicago and Columbus) would be hurt just as much.
One key thing to note: JoeW mentioned rooting against Chicago, but due to the DC and Chicago wins coupled with losses by the Metros, NE, and Columbus, DC now sits 4 points behind Chicago, NE, and Columbus, who are all tied for 2nd in the East on 15 points. This makes the upcoming NE game even more important.
Here's the table ... Code: [size=3] [u]Team GP Pts[/u] NY 10 17 CH 9 15 NE 10 15 CB 11 15 DC 10 11[/size] Someone mentioned above that NE has a game in hand over us. That's not true. Only Chicago does. The team that's probably in the worst position right now in the East isn't us. It's Columbus for two reasons. First, they're in fourth place but the've played one more game than anyone else on the table. Second, not to take away from our victory here (although I'll probably try to tamper some of the enthusiasm elsewhere once I collect my thoughts) but, my lord did they suck last night! I said it before that DC United really could benefit from the utter collapse of one of their Eastern division rivals and Columbus might actually be obliging. Speaking of teams on the verge of collapse, we're playing NE next weeked and I agree this match is critical. Much of my thinking about the table and our playoff hopes is driven by the belief that a team just can't hold itself together for long if it's at the bottom of the table. Eventually it becomes a habit. There's a chance next weekend that we could pull ourselves up to 14 points and that could be pretty damned solid - particularly if a couple other results go our way. But the game against NE is hard to predict. They're gonna come out looking for redemption after their humiliation in Colorado and we still have not proven that we're a consistent team. It may be a while till we prove that. And then it's Columbus away. They're also going to be looking for revenge. It could actually be a pretty tough road for these next couple games. After that, however, the Confederation Cup guys will certainly be back ... well, at least for a few days until the Gold Cup camp begins.
Well the question is how many of the same or different MLS players will be called up for Gold Cup? If Twellman doesn't do squat in France he won't go, same with Cunningham. I would expect that Martino won't get brought back in, mainly since Reyna is shooting to be back playing by then and O'brien may be called in. Also will Howard go? (or will he be back at all, hello ManU) Keller said that he was looking to get called in for Gold Cup since he will be recovered from his surgery and looking for some action before heading back to England. Stewart and Convey maybe called up maybe not. Same with Beasley. I think Mathis will be called for Gold Cup, but you have to think with more Euoprean based players available he might opt for them since he alsready raided MLS for the Confed Cup.
Good points. And trying to read Bruce Arena's mind is tough. Predicting the roster is tougher still given that it will be affected somewhat by Confed Cup play (like you said: Twellman has a breakout CC and I think he gets invited to Gold Cup.). That said, I think there are two points to consider. 1. Arena has said publicly that he is taking the Gold Cup more seriously than the Confed Cup--that while he wants to represent the USA well, winning the Gold Cup matters more to him. 2. WCQ starts soon. So he needs to have a roster of vetted players he can count on to go to Guatemala City and all the other first round venues. Claudio Reyna, Kasey Keller, John O'Brien, even Gibbs and Kirovski won't get called in for those matches. He'll want primarily MLS talent (in mid-season form) that don't jeopardize club jobs by being available for a week or so. Given that, here is my take on the definite callups for the Gold Cup: --Mathis (my theory is that Arena treats him like Etcheverry--he gets him in shape and in-form by playing him). --Bocanegra (with Pope out, he's the MLS defender most likely to be considered the center piece of the defense--no pun intended, so the more minutes he gets, the better for the USA). --A GK other than Howard, Friedel, or Keller (Unless Howard is a reserve for ManU, calling him back here for 20 qualifying matching will be unacceptable and certainly no long camps. So someone, especially an MLS-er, is likely to get the call so they're ready to go for WCQ. I think it will be Brown and Rimando. I recall the Keller comment about the callup but also read Arena saying somewhere that there was no guarantee of Friedel and Keller being available for the next WC and so he needed to groom new talent). --Armas and Mastroeni (no-one else is even close at D-mid and I think Arena is moving to a 3-5-2 scheme). --Convey (he hasn't missed a camp since last season. This is Arena's way of getting him as many minutes as possible so he's an experienced veteran come Sept.). --Reyna (the reasons owendylan mentioned). --DMB (getting him as experienced as possible with teams in our region and turning him into a foundation for the qualifying team). Other callups will depend I think upon how people play at the CC. I actually think there is a good chance McBride will NOT get called up (Arena knows what he can do, wants him for qualifying and probably doesn't want him to play too many matches this summer). There will be the usual contingent of experienced international veterans that he'll sprinkle in to provide savvy. Bottomline: I think we'll be without Convey for a while. I think Chicago is going to be hurt very badly by callups this Summer. I think Metro will also be hurt (b/c they really have no-one that comes close to replacing Mathis).
We must take the 3 points from the Revolution. They have the worst defense in the league, we have the best, we're playing at home, and the offense is starting to click. 3 points! 3 points! 3 points! 3 points! 3 points! 3 points! 3 points! 3 points! 3 points! 3 points! 3 points! 3 points! 3 points! 3 points! 3 points! 3 points! 3 points! 3 points! 3 points! 3 points! 3 points! 3 points! 3 points! 3 points! 3 points! 3 points! 3 points! 3 points! 3 points! 3 points!