Yeah, trading Kovalenko would have been smart. Anyone else notice that as soon as he regained fitness from his injury (read, a few games after he got back and got fit) that United is on a tear? It's not a coincidence.
Missing several startes and we still walked all over them. Man, do they suck. Good to see Jamil finally get a goal.
Where were all those Chivas fans that were supposed to have come out? Oh, yeah ... they are crying in their Chivas Regal.
It looks like I was touting Walker at just the right time. One goal and three assists in his last game and a half on the field is a pretty wicked pace. I think it's funny how big a deal the various media outlets make about Eskandarian being out. The guy had one assist in almost 700 minutes of play. Not having him on the field isn't nearly as big of an impact as the TV people would like you to believe.
Yeah, I am one of those who believed that keeping him at the expense of getting a defender would be suicide. How was I to know that an undrafted rookie would step in and be our best defender???? The emergence of Boswell is what I think allowed us to keep Kovalenko, rather than send him off for a decent defender. Whatever the case may be, Kovalenko is playing great right now. Glad he is here, and glad to see Walker contributing in a positive way. DCU may not win the East, but we're simply the best team in the league as far as i'm concerned. The extra games of Sudamericana and US Open Cup just may weaken us enough to not take over the points lead.
Okay, two games in a row that were so much fun to watch! Dema is the MAN! I just love this team - too bad I have to watch from afar for a while. It's okay....with wins like this, I'll survive.
Well, as for me his cap position had a lot to do with why I thought h should have been tradebait at the time. Had I had any inkling our personnel shortages would make him as neccessary as he's been I wouldn't have suggested it. The fact that he's all in all a quite good player is precisely why I thought he'd have some value.
Having said that, if he could return to action a month from now, when Sudamericana starts to kick in, it would be a HUGE asset for us, just from the standpoint of having extra depth with all of the 2 game weeks that we'll end up having.
The guys played great. Walker should have had a hat trick in the first half, I think once Adu and Moreno are back it will be great to have him running behind tired defenders late in a match. Dema and Gros also showed they are the true engine room of this team, making those runs on the wings regardless of the heat all match. Btw what was the chain for the captain's band once Benny went off? I think it went to Gomez and then...?
Fixed yer post. Actually now that you started me thinking of it, there's been several big and little things that has our beloved team on a tear: - Dema unplugged - Tino unleashed - Boswell hitting the rookie wall- and busting it down. - Namoff's return to health Those are three big things. Others are Olsen and Simms reintegrating into the team after Nats duty. Signing Wilson which created (along with Namoff's return) real competition for playing time in the back. Then you have Carroll's improved play from earlier in the year. I also think Gros has played better lately. Geez- even bad things turn out good: Moreno's red last game gives him some good time off against an inferior opponent while allowing Walker a chance for more confidence building.
Despite DC being shorthanded it was a throughly commanding performance over Chivas. Its clear that Chivas did not fully understand the strength of MLS in putting together their team. This very one sided game is the result. For that reason I don't think you can take much out from this game. DC's defense really wasn't under much pressure almost the entire game. In the attack even United's reserves were running around, up and through Chivas. During the game there were times I thought DC could have played keep away from Chivas for the entire game. Another notch on the belt for DC, but hardly a significant one. I have seen DC have to play tougher games agains USL competition.
You'd have to think if Esky comes back any time that he's at least 3rd on the forward pecking list after Jaime and Freddy now. Tino can shift outside when Fred gets back and Alecko can now fend off Jamil for playing time. BTW- is Nickell ahead of Kuffour for the all important 6th forward spot? (Including Esky in that mental list.)
I can't believe the game's been over for 20 minutes and the highlights aren't up yet. Seriously though, I'm looking forward to them. I guess Jamil sits next week with Moreno back, but hopefully he'll pick up where he left off the second he comes back in. With Gros suspended when he gets his next yellow (not yet!) could we see Quaranta on the wing and Jamil and Moreno up top before Freddy returns? It seems that there is plenty of quality up front. And while there is little reason to change things there are plenty of changes possible that would not reduce the effectiveness of this team. The depth on this team is coming together at just the right time.
Okay a couple of things, one good one bad: Good- Pope-Nelsen-Boswell. That first goal and Boswell's run were high quality. The kid is just getting better every game now. In TV-land, Wynalda was whispering national team soon stuff. If it were three years before the WC instead of one, I'd buy it. Still at this rate I can see Arena bringing him into winter camp, just for a get acquainted look for after germany. Bad- Well not bad, but Rimando is just dicking around with the ball back there. He got blocked once, almost a couple of times. I'm worried that he's gonna cost us down the line with that behavior.
I'm not sure I agree that the starting forward slot alongside Jaime goes to Freddie. Frankly, when Eski comes back it will be a three way competition between Tino, Freddie and Eski. The other important change coming up is where is United going to play Facu? If he has any speed at all I've got to believe he will take the left back slot, making a backline of Namoff, Boswell and the Argentine.
This is a far different Dema than we have seen before. He had the eye of every red card happy ref in the league previously. Now he seems to be playing much more calmly and he does have some game. The injury and being advertised as trade bait did wonders for his mentality.
Is anyone else REALLY enjoying watching Chivas get throttled?!? Still not sure what was going through their mind with their initial player selection. I think they'll be decent next year, but it sure is good to watch these guys get hammered after hearing their owner run his mouth.
Well it was not exactly thrilling entertainment if that's what you mean. Just a nice kick around. In a way I liked it better then the metro throttling because we'll play New Jersey and I wouldn't be surprised if they get nasty. This was more of an easy three points. Probably next year will be harder.
On the quiet side early in the game when Salvatore came around with the bomba de DC, he did the "DC" beat and it sounded like there were a lot of Chivas fans chanting "Chivas" when he did that (actually, probably not Chivas fans, but the notorious anti-DC United crowd). Salvatore quickly changed beats to "DC United" and the crowed out shouted the Chivas types. Chivas is a dire looking team on a hot day. I hope they stay that pathetic forever!
Chivas completely and utterly gave up for almot the entire second half. That was pathetic. They couldn't even rally for any cheapshot fouls late in the game. That said, it was nice to get a chance to welcome back and applaud Ezra Hendrickson and Tom Rongen. Oh, and Orlando Perez.