Official DC United vs Kansas Wiz PRE Match Thread :: MLS Cup 2004

Discussion in 'D.C. United' started by Knave, Nov 6, 2004.

  1. Lanky134

    Lanky134 New Member

    Oct 25, 1999
    134, 3, 6
    Gee, Earnie. I wonder why you won't mention them...(cough)Honduras(cough) :D
     
  2. Atouk

    Atouk BigSoccer Supporter

    DC United
    Apr 16, 2001
    Arlington, VA
    Club:
    Queens Park Rangers FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I had actually pulled that quote, too, but deleted it before posting. Gotta love Bennie's description of his game.
     
  3. Sachin

    Sachin New Member

    Jan 14, 2000
    La Norte
    Club:
    DC United
    Actually, Nellie said that.

    EDIT: referring to Lanky saying Stewart was talking about the missed PKs.

    Sachin
     
  4. Lanky134

    Lanky134 New Member

    Oct 25, 1999
    134, 3, 6
    Didn't see the change. That said, I was kind of wondering why Earnie was talking about picking up his second yellow...
     
  5. Liverpool_SC

    Liverpool_SC Member

    Jun 28, 2002
    Upstate, SC
    I for one am very glad that Ryan Nelsen will be back on Sunday. EZ had some great individual plays on Saturday, but he was poor positionally and poor at organizing the defense so that it held its shape.

    A) Taylor Twellman made a great run, but he didn't need to be that open.

    B) We were terribly positioned and almost overmatched on several re-starts and corner kicks.

    C) Noonan's goal really cannot be blamed on Nick. Granted he went flying out towards Noonan and had very little chance at making the save. But Noonan (and another Revs player) at the far post were COMPLETELY unmarked. There is no way that should happen, and it wouldn't have if Nellie had been there.

    D) EZ did a pretty good job with the ball at his feet, but he is not as good at passing the ball as Nellie. I think that our counterattacking strength is much better when he is playing the first ball than it is when any of our other backs are placed in the "sweeper" kind of role (granted we don't use that central defender as a true sweeper, but there are points in the game when we are slowing things down or building from the back and the CD sounds like one, smells like one . . . )

    I was pretty impressed with how well our team did when they were bone tired, but I hope that we can improve our distribution towards the end of the game. The "let's see how Jaime Moreno does playing as an isolated target forward when he is dog-tired" method gave me butterflies, because the Revs frequently won the ball and blasted it right back into the mixer. I know that Nick didn't want to get caught with some bad outlet passes, but we need to figure out ways (guys making runs, etc) to work the ball out from the wings and not just blast it towards the center of the field. I would rather Nick aim more towards the sideline and the Wizards get an occasional throw-in from midfield than see us misuse Jaime as a target and see the ball lashed right back to their speedy forwards off of a punt.

    I think that Brian and Benny are really the keys in this game. There were numerous times when the Revs midfield (Cancela and Dempsey) had good possession moving through the middle third of the field and were in position to make some pretty dangerous passes to Noonan (in particular) and Twellman, but the relatively mediocre speed of the Revs forwards meant that they could not create a lot of separation from our defense and so we could recover in time to stop the break (or the midfielders wouldn't even pull the trigger). Kansas City, on the other hand, has lightning forwards. We cannot give Zavignin, Gutierrez, Jewsbury or (my greatest fear) Simutenkov time and space in the middle third to thread passes to Wolff or Arnaud, because they will carry the ball right past all of our defenders (Namoff excepted) if the pass is properly weighted and directed. That means that Benny and Brian a) must do an excellent job denying possession to the Wizard midfielders and b) must disrupt the passing lanes 9 out of 10 times if we don't want to watch Petke and Nelsen forced into professional fouls/lose footraces chasing the Wizard forwards.

    We also have to guard against the early ball out of the back and quick counterattacks. There was a time after our second goal when Earnie slipped back into the middle of the field and we let Jaime try to guard Marshall Leonard on the Revs left flank. We can't have any of that, because Burciaga and whichever midfielder is playing on that side only need one touch to release a forward behind our defense. We really didn't have to worry about that as much with the Revs and they still burned us for a goal (the first) from that wing.

    I hope that Dema has the wheels ready to play hard and fast the whole game. I thought that Josh Gros did a pretty effective job neutralizing the Steve Ralston threat (he really only figured in the corner kick goal - can't fault Gros for the pk). He is so quick and tireless and I thought he was a great player to have on the field when we had so many players push forward on offense because I knew that he would always be able to get back quick enough to disrupt crosses into the box. Fortunately, KC is not nearly as dangerous down the right wing as the Revs were, so I think that we will be okay there. Of course, I didn't think the Revs were particularly dangerous down the left wing going into the game, but that is where some of their best chances came from.

    I think that we should be able to pressure KC through the center of the field more easily than we did the Revs. "Shirley" Joseph was so disruptive and Dempsey was nothing to sneeze at either, which made it a little tough for us to make as many runs with the ball from the deeper positions that Jaime and Christian (he was very quiet for most of the game - in fact, I thought he needed to be subbed out as frustrated as he was getting in the minutes leading up to his goal) prefer. Freddy was able to do a little more when he came in and the Revs were a bit spent, but Dempsey still played him very tightly. I don't believe that Zavignin, Gutierrez and company are quite as stout. It will be tougher when we get in close, as Conrad and Nick Garcia will probably nullify all but the most perfect crosses into the box. Because of the strength of Garcia and Conrad, we will be much better served by sending different players through the center of the field on diagonal runs than by playing the ball on the edges and looking to cross it in. I would let Dema or Earnie make far post runs on the weak side and also release Bryan, Bennie or Brian (not at the same time) through the center in order to clear out space for Gomito, Jaime and Eskandarian. If Gansler starts a more attacking-minded center mid (Jewsbury or Simutenkov) I would especially work through the center to try to overmatch Zavignin and draw out Garcia and Conrad so that we can pass the ball into space behind them. Oshoniyi (Tony too) is at his worst when he is forced off his line, so drawing out the defense would be a good strategy.

    I think that Eski is going to be our most important goalscorer again, as he is great at scoring from deeper positions with shots through traffic. If the Wizards play with more technical/attacking midfielders (Simutenkov, Jewsbury, etc), then we may need to throw Adu in earlier to provide another dangerous on-the-ball player in the center of the field.

    I hope that Eski gets more involved in the set-pieces in this match too. With Conrad and Garcia back there, I would seriously consider short corners to set up his left-footed cannon rather than sending a Freddy-floater (2 of his CKs were bad last week) in for Conrad and Garcia to suck up and spit out. The only DC player with a chance to score on a corner against those two guys is Nelsen.

    I hope that we can bring it hard against the Wizards. They scare me a bit, as they have made us look pretty bad on a number of occasions over the past few years (especially Nick), but thankfully danger-man Preki is not going to be Nicky's nemesis this time. Simutenkov is really the guy that scares me most (and Jewsbury second most), because he has the ability to unleash Wolff and Arnaud so well. I don't worry about Wolff and Arnaud on their own, as Nellie is so good at organizing the defense and Namoff will always be alongside one of them. But with good service, those forwards will run right by us and they are both great finishers.

    Hope we can score first, score second and then hold onto possession for the rest of the game.
     
  6. GrillMaster

    GrillMaster Member

    Aug 31, 2000
    Alexandria, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I firmly believe the game will be won by the team that maintains possession better. The accuracy of passes is absolutely critical because both teams spend a lot of energy attempting to dispossess. If one team is not consistently able to win/keep possession, that team's players will be extremely vulnerable at the end of the half and around the 75th minute. Turnovers produce the quick strikes on which both teams thrive. If DC scores first, we win this one a lot more easily. If KC scores first, our game plan will probably not change (unlike what will happen with the Italian wanna-bes).

    GM
     
  7. Jose L. Couso

    Jose L. Couso New Member

    Jul 31, 2000
    Arlington, VA
    The more reason to put a deposit on season tickets in the quiet side!

    She was at RFK for quite a few DC United Saturday ESPN games.
     
  8. Jose L. Couso

    Jose L. Couso New Member

    Jul 31, 2000
    Arlington, VA
  9. Jose L. Couso

    Jose L. Couso New Member

    Jul 31, 2000
    Arlington, VA
  10. MikeLastort2

    MikeLastort2 Member

    Mar 28, 2002
    Takoma Park, MD
    Sigged
     
  11. MikeLastort2

    MikeLastort2 Member

    Mar 28, 2002
    Takoma Park, MD
    Grrr. :)
     
  12. bigbearsmfl

    bigbearsmfl New Member

    Jun 15, 2004
     
  13. Jose L. Couso

    Jose L. Couso New Member

    Jul 31, 2000
    Arlington, VA
    Cool!

    "You must spread some rep around before giving it to a GREAT DC UNITED FAN again!"
     
  14. Funkfoot

    Funkfoot Member+

    May 18, 2002
    New Orleans, LA
    Everyone is pointing to the Chicago loss as the turning point in the season. Must have been quite a conversation in the locker room that night.

    You guys are really stepping it up with the analysis. It's like the BS of old. Me, I can't decide whether to say KC sucks or KC blows! :p
     
  15. JayRockers!

    JayRockers! Member+

    Aug 4, 2001
    Latest weather report.

    Friday: Sunny skies. High 68F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph.
    Friday night: Mostly clear skies. Low near 55F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
    Saturday: Rain showers in the morning becoming more intermittent in the afternoon. High 66F. ESE winds shifting to W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
    Saturday (24 hours): Showers. Highs in the mid 60s and lows in the mid 50s.
    Sunday(24 hours): Sunny. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the mid 50s.

    Thx,

    Jay!
     
  16. upupnaway20

    upupnaway20 New Member

    Aug 19, 2004
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Good luck on Sunday!! You guys deserve the win.
    You are damn lucky to have Peter as your coach.
     
  17. Shark

    Shark Member

    Mar 12, 2004
    Leesburg, VA

    The best decision by our front office EVER!!!

    He is the start of the new United dynasty.

    I pitty the fools (other MLS clubs).
     
  18. garbaggio

    garbaggio Member

    Jan 3, 2001
    Arlington
    In addition to all the excellent analysis here, MLS has put a pretty good Game Guide up on it's website. It's a 21-page PDF document with lots of good stuff like stats, history, likely starting lineups and formations, etc.

    http://www.mlsnet.com/pdf/cup_gameguide.pdf

    I haven't looked at the whole thing yet, but the first few pages make for a handy gameday program.

    DC has a great postseason history and the Whiz will be the 9th different MLS opponent we have played in playoffs / championships. Once we've faced KC on Sunday we will have played every MLS team in postseason except for Dallas and San Jose.
     
  19. Pints

    Pints Member

    Apr 21, 2004
    Charm City
    Some of my favorite almost classic Olsen quotes:

    ""Yeah, of course. You ride a hot a goalie as long as you can, and Nick is as hot as they come in this league right now."

    "I don't remember much of my first two, so hopefully I'll remember this one."

    :D
     
  20. bofahey

    bofahey Member

    Sep 1, 2001
    Washington, DC
    Is it me, or is having one team wear black jerseys, shorts and socks and one team wear blue jerseys, shorts and socks a bad idea?
     
  21. Knave

    Knave Member+

    May 25, 1999
    It's just you.
     
  22. eltico

    eltico Member

    Jul 16, 2000
    I'm impressed by Freddy's quotes. Pretty self-reflective for a kid who's 15.
     
  23. Lowecifer

    Lowecifer Member+

    Jan 11, 2000
    Baltimore, MD
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Belgium
    I'm with Knave, it's just you.
     
  24. bofahey

    bofahey Member

    Sep 1, 2001
    Washington, DC
    That's what I figured.
     
  25. Funkfoot

    Funkfoot Member+

    May 18, 2002
    New Orleans, LA
    I don't care what the other team wears, but I'm glad we're in black.
     

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