I agree. As unlikely as seems that DC United could win the game 2-0, If DC United by some miracle can score an early goal... But like everyone else on this forum I will be wholeheartedly supporting the only soccer team in the world that matters.
well chicago is likely to put their foot in our ass at this point but what the *#*#*#*#, i already bought a ticket, i am gonna get drunk, yell at all suck ass fire players, the ref, the ARs, chris albright, us soccer, jack warner, pendergast and the metroscum then go out and drink some more. i am sure at some point, regardless of what really happens, i'll be able to convince myself we won, or i'll pass out or both...
maybe ivanov would be willing to lift his leg a little higher than namoff. in that case at least there isn't gonna be a OT goal as stupid as razov's.
I beg to differ. Warren has looked lost much of the time. His distribution from the back is confusing and scary. He short-kicks it to Petke or Prideaux 90% of the time, and they aren't expecting it half of that. At the end of the last game, he was wasting time when someone came back for the ball and all the sudden he's got to prove to everyone he's got leg. His communication with the defense (or lack thereof) has cost goals. And he just looks ill-prepared to be in the nets now that we need him. Missing that one game at a crucial time didn't help either. We need a 3 game winning streak from him and the defense (and the woodwork), but I don't see it happening. I said when Rimando went down that to rely on a backup to get you through any stretch of games was foolish. While Warren may be a quality keeper, he had nearly zero net time from March until September. They needed to go out and get someone with experience at the MLS level. The front office didn't, and the team has paid for it. Thx, Jay!
Who are they going to get? Anyone with MLS experience will not be happy sitting behind anyone else. See: Cannon, Joe and Garlick, Scott. The league is too small to have deep keeper ranks. Hell, there aren't enough good strikers to go around, let alone keepers.
Joining a bulletin board earlier than somebody else doesn't equal being a loyal fan. It just means some folks have been cheering or crabbing longer about the team online. Some are always screeching the same thing over and over about getting rid of this guy or that guy, whatever. That's not going to change anything right now. I'm just saying you've got to pull for your team, especially when times are tough & the outlook is hard. Save most all that other "head on a silver platter" stuff for the postseason.
... mod's note ... lkeniston - Being one of the "head on a platter" crowd I'm just gonna say that I call'em as I see'em when I see'em. But being one of the moderator crowd as well, I'm gonna note that this line of discussion is actually off-topic. Let's get back to the match. Please note, however, that this issue has come up so often - whether supporters should only cheer or be free to criticize - that I do plan to have a discussion about it elsewhere ... during the off-season. So back to pre-match discussion ...
Hey, I'm all for astute criticism, especially as it seems relevant to the season & the upcoming match! This down-in-the-mouth, "the team sucks" stuff is what gets me rolling... I think the cut lies somewhere between tough love & conditional loyalty Upcoming: gotta agree with the criticism of speed mismatches of our offense with their defense. Playing long through balls down the wing isn't going to cut it right now if our aged warriors are forming up & pacing the attack. Posession & creative slanting runs into will help alot. It's worth noting the Williams goal wouldn't have gone in without the screen & that's because there were players in the box to screen with.
I can only say that I hope Ray has seen the error of his ways and does not put two of our slowest players (marco and hristo in case you weren't aware) in the starting lineup *again* against arguably the fastest team in MLS. Before the last game, I actually wanted Marco to start for several reasons. I thought he would be inspired by his last game at RFK, by the awesome crowd that showed up, the fact that it was the playoffs and its win or go home, playing against the best team in the league. Not only that, but he deserved to go start for the history and all he has done for DC. What a better ending than to wave your hand at the fans at RFK as you walk off the field victorious. Instead, he came out flat busted. He can't start this game, and probably shouldn't play at all. We need speed everywhere we can get it, and he doesn't have it. I wonder if anyone can enlighten me as to what he is thinking when he puts Marco and Hristo out there at the same time. What results is he expecting? Whatever it is, we never seem to get it.
how about this ------warren----- ivanov - petke - prideaux -------nellie------- namoff - dema - convey - q2 -----earnie-ronald----- i put ivanov there for height and the fact that he can actually make passes out of the back. nellie and namoff are nearby for cover. i think nellie has to play DM because he is our best DM, and he helped to shut them down in the second half last week. dema and convey in the middle gives us some wheels and aggresivity going forward. earnie and ronald has been our most effective forward combo this season. they seem to really understand each other and neither has been as effective since the duo has been broken up. if Benny plays (please, oh please...) then take out q2, and switch namoff to the left. -------Alternatively -------warren------- ivanov - Petke - Prideaux ---------nellie------------ earnie - dema - convey - q2 ----martins - ronald---- Earnie did a good job of shutting down RunDMB in the second half where namoff struggled. Martins gives us some strength in the air for the inevitable high floaters that will go foward. I know people on these boards don't want to see the floaters, but we have been doing it all year and it will be darn near impossible to stop now so we might as well have someone up there to handle them...
alright, let's get to it already..... Start the youngsters? I beg to differ- speed we need, yes, but youth will be best served sending the likes of Stokes, Carroll, Alegria, Perea,Geddes(what's he got- better things to do?) and Barclay on a super-secret mission to infiltrate the Fire's secret laboratory and steal the super speed serum that Beasley and Ralph quaff regularly. Success will of course be guranteed with the supervision of El Capitain Milton Reyes. To further put off the Fire, suggest the Barra Brava round up all their hot chicks and form a sister squad to compromise Thornton into submission, in time for the BB to put him through the works and blackmail his ass from playing Sunday.Plus, having them onhand afterwards in time for the game Sunday will be an obvious bonus, if for only dismaying the Chicago "faithful." who earn my endless spite for their incredibly creative chant, "Fire - Fire - Fire-Fire-Fire.. da da da da.. da da da da... da da da da da Fire." Morons. Seriously folks, am hoping we get to see our bonafide (yes, ma'am, that's right, bonafide) good luck charm pull us through, and if Benny gets on early enough, it's all over. As for a gameplan: we come out in 3-5-2, with what looks like wrong personnel. Thinking us vulnerable, Chicago looks to beat us on the wing. We counter, and shut them out from advancing to their offensive third, thus gassing Beaslely, Ralph and any other contenders. Then, and only then, probably 35 mins in, we put the switch on and come at them 3-4-3, scoring the game's first goal. They get so shocked, we score again just before going in at the half. Etch and Stoich have a change of heart, agreeing to keep their mouths shut and feet hot, come out as second half subs with the intention of controlling the distribution for the rest of the game, both from Midfield as well as beyond. Oh, and our wings and forwards remember that winning corners is sometimes a good idea, whatever our previous chances results. Never thought I'd hear myself say I miss Chris Albright, but hey.. there it is. We get a goal from Dema, his reward from relentless pursuit and presence in the offense all game long, and finally a goal of the year candidate from the Hristo-Diablo pool off a set-piece,any set piece-You pick- I'm not greedy - corner, free kick, it's all good. And the lineup- (drumroll please.....) Warren Prideaux Nelson Petke Stewart Q2 Namoff Convey Dema Martins Cerritos they look at this and try to run thru Q2, but Dema slides back allowing Nelson and Petke to clog the middle tag-team style, picking 'em clean like a Church's chicken wing. which later becomes : Warren Prideaux Nelson Petke Namoff Q2 Convey Dema Martins Stewart Cerritos gives us speed on the ends, everywhere in fact except Q2 and Nelson, doubt any one argues with Nelly holding down the back. I'm counting Brandon's last game as an aberrition, especially given he's looked great at times this year, and am confident we'll see a concerted effort to make up for it. second half- Warren Prideaux Nelson Petke Namoff Dema Stewart Etch Convey Martins Hristo or, leave on Cerritos and pull Convey, Hristo goes into the wing. in a perfect world, anyways.. 4-1 to United. VAMOS UNITED!!! You know, there's never any such thing as TOO MUCH HARDWARE!!! HELLO!!Our name is DC United!!! You took our Cup in 98- Prepare to Die!!"
I think the best strategy for this match would have been to send Q2 on a kamikaze shoving mission to Zach last week. They both get reds.....both get suspended for this match, leaving Chicago with the human sieve as their keeper this week. Seriously, if United attacks early and often they'll have a decent chance. Chicago will not come out with all guns blazing, they'll be a little conservative with a two goal lead at home(the toughest lead to hold onto in hockey). If United can carry the play, and get one in, they'll be causing doubts in the Fire heads. Hopefully it'll unravel from there.
http://www.dcunited.com/index.cfm?section=main&cont_id=212838 A preview is up on the official site. Projected lineups are listed as TBA.
Thanks for the link. The DC United projected lineup is: Warren; Prideaux, Nelsen, Petke, Namoff; Stewart, Etcheverry, Kovalenko, Convey; Cerritos, Stoitchkov Chicago's lineup is TBA. The projected DC United lineup is the same one that started the first playoff game.
That projected lineup is identical to last week's starting lineup. Yeah, that worked really well. Let's do it again.