Don't dump Skundrich. Just make sure you have multiple players who are actually better than him and healthy on the roster at center-mid. I'm okay with dumping the other two.
I very much disagree with you impression of Djeffal. He did dribble well and pass well. I can't comment on his shooting. Nothing stood out to me either way. Djeffal could absolutely become a solid MLS player if he's paired with a solid starter like Canouse and has skilled players other than Perez and Flores around him.
That was a pitiful display. It could have been 75 and sunny and it still would have been the worst game I have ever been to. This was a game that was as much about will as it was skill, game plan, and execution. We didn't want it and it showed for too many of these guys, especially when the 2nd goal went it. That's not something I can recall having seen from a DCU team before. The kid, Djeffal looked pretty good. He made a few mistakes as expected from a rookie and I thought he shook them off. He was good on the ball, good stepping on attacks in the midfield. I am not sure I want to see a rookie triggering our offense, but it looks like that's the plan. The wingers were active, but there were too many poor balls. The defenders were there, they mostly did their jobs. No real complaints. Najar & Hamid were excellent. The rest of the midfielders and attackers need to go sell beer and hot dogs. That's what they're worth. Flores got more of the ball and did less with it than anyone I have seen. I've never seen so many passes cut off and so many 50/50 balls lost. There were too many attacks where someone received a ball in the midfield and chose to cut it back and wait for the defense to set up. F_ck it was cold. We sit down low and the wind wasn't very bad, but I could imagine someone sitting up higher or in the upper deck getting thrashed.
Eventually the 'Plex opened a small beer garden behind and above the south goal. IIRC you couldn't take the beer with you to the stands, so you had to check it/them down right there.
It was nice when they finally did that - finally, I knew where to find my wife at any time during a game Ah the good old days of racing out after an overtime game to meet the last ferry back to Va. I have watched at least 2 PK shootouts from the fence on the edge of the parking lot next to my running car to be able to leave the second someone had "won". Still, the stealth tailgate had nicer bathrooms than inside the stadium, we had grills there for cooking, plus it was an easy walk to a playground for the kids. A decent place to hang out for a few hours before-hand.
The primary enemy of preseason mattering has been the constant dilution of talent and unnecessary expansion.
I think everyone is over reacting a little bit. There was a lot of good to take away from that game. We were just missing that killer instinct. We had a few clear cut chances that should have been put away. Those would have changed the entire game. Yes we need to replace a few players.
I thought they deserved a goal but gave up two anyway. Third poor match in a row, though this was better than the other two, imo. Home losses hurt more. But yeah, the bones are still there. I started to see the team play their style against Chicago, created some chances and left huge holes in the back. That's nice, but they still need better players. Where are they coming from and when? Canouse is being set up to be a let down. While I'm sure he'll be an upgrade he isn't saving the team. He was up and down last year, he may be that again. Maybe Tkdp can earn some minutes, but will that be good enough? It's almost impossible for me to expect game winning play from unproven hgs and a rookie. We know Skundrich is a stopgap. I think they have to make a trade in the league, at least. What can they get for 800k gam? They need to do something quick, also. And god help us all if anything were to happen to, I won't even say his name.
I don't think they can get anyone who really upgrades us right now. The transfer window is closed. We'd have to find someone a coaches doghouse. No one is trading away a good player, 3 games into the season without having a chance to replace them. We've got our pick of deck chairs and that's about it until the summer window.
The window isn't closed, that's why I think they could trade a bunch of gam to a team that needs it for a DP-type they want to sign. Hell, trade 300k for Perry Kitchen, especially if you won't spend on actual good players. You may be right, there aren't any good options out there, but I hope the FO isn't thinking like that. The status quo is a dead end, of course I hope I'm wrong about that.
The transfer window is not closed. It is open in MLS until, I believe, May 4th. The ability to transfer players to Europe closed in Jan/Feb. In theory, DCU could get a player abroad and transfer him in before May 4th. Taxi only is coming in the summer because he remains under contract to Rapid until the end of June. He could come tomorrow if Rapid would release him or DCU paid for his rights.
I genuinely don't think Taxi matters right now, at all. Is he going to score more than Kamara? maybe. But who is giving him service? That's the bigger issue. So I hear your point about when people could transfer and I hope we get a midfielder.
My point was that unless someone falls out of favor, whoever was around 6 weeks ago, we could have had and probably didn't want.
Flores and Perez have not played particularly well. We know they can play better, though. Flores had 2 goals and 5 assists in less than 1000 minutes last season. We wouldn't spit on 5 goals and 12 assists out of a normal workload for a non-CF. That's what he's capable of if we can keep him on the field. It's not DP production, but for that very reason, I'm not sure we can dump him, replace that production and come out better for the transaction. Perez is s borderline 2nd/3rd stringer. He can work in semi-tight spaces, is ball secure, but he misses windows and his shots lack conviction. I don't want him starting, but I don't mind him getting minutes now and again. He's very cheap. Skundrich is the same, for me, which is largely down to his drive. He's got a great engine and good size. He works hard defensively and he creates some opportunities for us. Mostly sees and makes the obvious pass. But he's barely MLS standard on the ball. Also very cheap. So Perez and Skundrich are "the standard" for different reasons. I don't mind dumping either of them, but it's not like we've got a bunch of players ahead of them pushing them off the bench, or that their salaries are so high that dumping them will allow us to bring in better players. I'm not looking for addition by subtraction at this point. We still haven't mastered addition and, you know, screw the new math until we do.
It's not a matter of dumping Perez or Skundrich, it's just that they shouldn't be starting on a regular basis. Skundrich was on the field because of injury (Canouse) and brain fart (Nyeman). Perez was on the field because he was considered better than Yow (who also should not be starting regularly). The use of Skundrich was a circumstances problem (exacerbated by poor roster construction), the use of Perez is completely down to poor roster construction.
I also will add that I'm happy someone sees something In Flores. To me, he's a (slightly) taller Franco Niell. At least DCU was able to dump him quickly, Flores is a cap barnacle for at least another 2 seasons.
I'd rather see Yow get minutes, frankly. The one thing Perez will do for you better than Yow is regulate the pace of play on that border between the transition and penetration phases. Yow is definitely more dangerous, and, I think, a better Losadaball Classic(tm) asset. We've been playing fairly little of that so far this year, though.
Totally agree on Yow. His play is modeled on Arirola's, although he's not likely ever to get there. Nevertheless, his play fits what Losado claims his system demands.
As cold as it was, I did not see any players from DC United complaining about the weather conditions, like the one player from New England was!