http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19804-2005Apr1.html Goff says a starting lineup of... Rimando Prideaux Boswell Petke Carroll Gros Olsen Guppy Gomez Moreno Esky Namoff is out with a bad back. Esky should be back. Boswell gets the start. I'm too excited to come up with anything pithy or smart.
I dont see Guppy as a good fit for your midfield. To me it opens the defensive left up for teams to build through and attack. Not saying Novak doesnt no better than I, but personally Id be a little concerned. DC needs to strangle the life out of the opponents midfield to protect the backline and keeper, and just a little air could be bad. On the other hand, with the goats formation, its a bit moot as they wont have traditional wide mids.
Somewhere in Texas a bunch of Burn fans and one of their players just started whining It's even better that he skips his suspension tomorrow (though I would much prefer him healthy and just missing tomorrow. -dave
Guppy is actually a competent midfielder on the defense. At least, by reputation-- I've never seen him play personally.
My understanding on Guppy is he lacks pace, hes a bit of an older Euro, and he had some troubles on the left defensively in one or more of the Carolina Cup games. Age and euro background mean that in the summer, a guy like that whos not fast in the first place can turn into a statue. I just see DC as a team that really is best when its controlling the midfield, and to me I could see that Guppy, while doing positive things with the ball, could open up space that other teams could attack.
I wonder if Namoff CAN play, but just isn't going to, or whether he just isn't healthy enough to play at all. I ask only because I wonder if the team is taking precautions so that he can play in the game against Pumas on Wednesday. That is the bigger game of these 2.
Does anyone know if this backline formation was ever used during the preseason? If not, Nicky better have his game on. Goff comes up with another piece to soothe the soul of a United fan wanting the season to start. I can't believe this day has finally arrived. Crush the goats!!
Prideaux, Petke & Boswell started in the last 2 preseason games, the 2-2 tie with the Batteries and the 3-0 win over the Crew. I wonder if we'll ever know who the unidentified Chilean is. Not that it really matters, but Boswell is just as mysterious to me. Doesn't even have his mugshot up on the team website yet! I'll also be interested in seeing whether the Goats stick with 3 forwards if they aren't getting much service. Could it wind up looking more like a 1 forward lineup?
If ever there were a game that we could try this back line, this is it. Chivas is not supposed to have the most organized attack in the world. Let's hope it holds. And let's hope Namoff is better by Pumas/Wednesday!
Hopefully Namoff will be ready to go for Pumas, although I think giving Bozz some time will be good for him. Otherwise no surprises with what we all think will be the starting line-up. Would liked to have seen Adu start... Oh yeah and Dema, you don't think United did this by design. He's probably been good to go for a week or two, just wanted to make sure he would be able to play in the match on the 9th after serving his 1 game suspension. Let the countdown to kickoff continue.
I'm still a little wary. The last time United was defending champs and opened up against a team from LA that started three forwards they got the sh!t kicked out of them. Let's hope history doesn't repeat itself in that respect this afternoon. I think it's great to see that Nowak is throwing Boswell in there. If he can step up and command the defense, then DC really doesn't have to worry as much about the center back issue, it's not that pressing of a need. Hopefully he can handle it and lead the team to a shutout win.