In trying to reconstruct where the league was coming from, the revenue share if the subs hit a certain point must have been the lure. I figure they were hoping for some decent checks on the back end of that after the WC and after "MLS 3.0." Even so, though, you didn't have to go through your own season pass plan in the upfront, when there was no plausible reason to believe it would work. Even NBC didn't do that with the Premier League, they built the following on the regular platform people already had and then later once people were used to it, they added a premium sub for it.
In a rebuild, something is eventually built. This is a construction apprenticeship program where new classes build structures that are torn down to prepare for the next class.
Tom Bogert is reporting that DC United has agreed to terms with defensive midfielder Andre Dozzell on a free from Portsmouth this summer after his contract expires.
Maybe a double pivot with Peltola? That would give us more dynamic passing through the midfield and help clog up passing routes on counters.
Presumably, that's what they're already doing with Peltola and Servania/Hopkins/Markovic/whomever is starting next to Peltola that day.
A Servania/Markovic upgrade would be nice I guess, but we desperately need someone who can create chances.
My guess is that Dozzell is being signed to put Servania into a bench role and permit moving Markovic back to CB where he belongs. Besides the need for a chance creator/line breaking passer, there is the Munteanu/Hopkins/Pirani logjam at w/drawn forward. I think Pirani is done and dusted and if Munteanu can't displace Hopkins, I think we can officially call him a bust.
Ryan Keefer reported on BlueSky that Pompey wanted to keep Dozzell but couldn't afford to start negotiating with him while they were in a relegation fight. They're safe now, but it sounds like United swooped in in the interim.
It's going to be disappointing when the Defenders don't make the United Bowl. Shields up. Feed the snake.
I finally looked around at all of the gates and they're only using the walk through type at Gate A. The traditional type of walk through metal detectors are the secondary screening at A.
He seems like an okay move for what it is. I no longer rate the Champo ahead of MLS by much, but generally he can be solid there, he can probably be solid here.
I had an dream last night that Leviathan sold DCU, bought Vancouver and moved Vegas. In wanna go back to sleep.
Not a damn thing. He played for Portsmouth. Why would anyone go after a player from that team? Bargain basement shopping 101, as usual. Just look at the player he may be replacing.
Then you shouldn’t post about him. I don’t post about wines or opera or NASCAR. Because I realize nobody cares what I think about things I don’t know anything about.
This team is a joke, but signings like this really remind me of how far away this league is in competing with bigger and better leagues worldwide. Getting a free transfer from a bottom-dweller English Championship side is not exactly what this league needs to attract more eyes. I guess if we are strictly talking about making the team better, the bar is ridiculously low, so he might be an improvement. Hooray?
This bit on Rayo tickets in The Athletic's morning newsletter reminds me of things I miss about RFK and of one if the few things I truly dislike about the move to EagleBank Arena East: It all casts them as a progressive club, and they’re in with a shout of claiming the biggest trophy in their 102-year history this season, with a Conference League semi-final against Strasbourg awaiting them tonight. Rayo’s supporters have been camping out overnight for tickets. That sounds like a figure of speech because nobody camps out overnight for tickets anymore. Not really. Everything is online and everything is virtual. My Heart of Midlothian season ticket is nothing more than a QR code, which suits me fine. Except at Rayo, virtual tickets don’t exist. They don’t sell them online or distribute them digitally. Every single one is paper, and if you want to buy, you have to turn up at the stadium, in person, and pay over the counter. Some would call that archaic. Personally, I like their style. It creates an old-fashioned scramble for seats, and if they reach the Conference League final at Leipzig’s Red Bull Arena (capacity circa 48,000), the queues will stretch around the block. I have the stubs from just about every single DCU game I have attended. In my dotage I am (was?) planning to make some sort of collage of them to go alongside the other collectibles in my basement pub...
Roche has a new PitchPass where he talks with Dax McCarty about DCU for about half and hour. Worth the listen and Dax makes some good points about the good and bad of DCU's roster build so far.
Nobody was trying to get more eyes with this signing. In fact, making signings for eyes is often at odds with what the team needs to do to play better and for the league to get better.