Official DC United vs. Revs Post Game Thread [R]

you guys deserved the points tonight in a game decided by the ref...for the sake of the league, I hope Fred gets healthy because he, Gomez and Moreno can form a dangerous attacking combo who would make for some attractive soccer.

Good luck the rest of the way....

 

The tie was a gift. Jamie didn't even look good in the second half, good thing he put in the PK.

Much better looking first half. Possession, support on defense, clogged up the middle.

Good lord we still can't buy a goal. Looked very dangerous when crossing. Too bad we went up the middle where it was REALLY REALLY CLOGGED. Expecially after the gift of a red card.

In other news: ref tries to give us the game, we still tie.

Oh well, I'll take the point and VINDICATION OF 4 IN THE BACK, SUCKAHS.

 

well without the ref we go 0-4...instead with all his gifts we can still only pull out a tie at home with a gift PK and being up a man the whole second half. Honestly still not very encouraging. Simms did look much better out there than Carroll has lately, then he gets injured I said it after the last game and I'll say it again now....stop the little flicks and give and gos at the top of the box..they aren't working!

 

Thanks for the point, Terry!

<sigh>

 

fred + emilio = awesome.

gomez + moreno = not so much.

 

Yeah and no brains. We had what, 2 decent crosses? I hated Wynalda even more tonight, but he did have a point that coming down the middle was just not working and very predictable. We had good possession, but we gave it away too easy in the middle. Fred was brilliant at times, but he too gave away the ball easily. He's not strong enough yet to go at MLS defenders. Sucked to see him go down.

Anyways, I've come out of the lurking showers. It's my first post!!

 

From my perspective here are the positives and negatives from this match:

1. We played a 442 and were credible in it. Even if we go back to a 352, it forces teams to think through how they play us and we also have a response to the tactics that have stimied us in the past.

2. We were solid defensively. Yeah, the letdown on the Dorman score and we looked bad to start the 2nd half. But clearly we didn't allow the space we have previously.

3. Fred and Addlerly both showed they can contribute.

4. We were sharper, more aggressive and not quite as sloppy with the ball.

5. We got a point--that has to help some with the confidence (yet not let people get overconfident).

The negatives:
1. Despite improving in this area, we were still sloppy with the ball.

2. We've got trouble breaking down defenses.

3. Gomez is doing a disappearing act. I think that has more to do with lack of numbers in midfield, opponents man marking him and with a diamond midfield, he doesn't get the service he previously got. Combine that with Moreno not being as impressive and you take away two of our critical players.

4. While the game is a couple of steps up from where we were, this also gives you an idea of how far we need to come. Absent a weak penalty call, we lose this match 1-0. And despite a weak red (thought it was a yellow) and being up a man 30 minutes, we don't generate much in the way of serious threats.

It's going to be interesting to see what Soehn says about the reason to sit Moreno. I bet he says it's b/c of the game this weekend (and the desire to rest him).

 

You know, i always wondered why after getting rid of Freddy Adu, Nowak bailed so suddenly soon after. I've started to believe that just maybe, he read the handwriting on the wall after the end to last year, and knew that the team as a unit had nowhere to go but down. It just seems strange that he would jump ship for a job that was temporary with no more than a chance at permanence. Hmmmm. I'm probably reading too much into it.

 

i think that moreno would be more helpful to us in the final 40 minutes. i want to see more of addlery.

kpene came in as a ball of fire and that's what we need. players who are energized and ready to move.

 

Certainly this once and for all demonstrates that other MLS teams don't exist to get sliced apart by the sublime skill and precision passing of DC United. Every point is going to be earned by a knife-fight. And I'm not saying the Revs were playing negatively (though they really weren't doing much real attacking)-- it's just that the skills of DC United as a whole aren't really enough to make any kind of real difference.

Just a normal, mortal team. Still think the playoffs are a lock though.

 

Moreno's my all time fav player but aside from the PK he didn't add too much to the attack. I just really like how Addlery kept making runs which opened up space for Fred and Gomez, I'd like to see Soehn try starting him again on Sunday and bringing in Moreno as a sub again.

Simms is solid, way better then Carroll his inclusion alone helped us out A LOT. Gomez still not playing up to expectations and Emilio isn't getting any good service.

The 442 worked out well, we still made mistakes but it was easier to overcome with 4 in the back.

Finally we need to play the god damn wings more!!!

 

Who the hell is Guy Kpene?

 

The gent with the bling and the Drogba-do.

 

If DC would have stopped trying to pass the ball from the corner to 10 yards outside the box you probably would have had another goal. New England was so packed in by the end that dropping the ball even that much out of the attack gave them time to set up.

As much as I hate to agree with Wynalda, (kinda) hit a long cross to the far side of the box, one touch drop it to the 18 and hammer it home from there. Or at least just get a decent cross out of Reis's hands.

And whoever #20 is looked really good on the ball.

 

What has happened to the much anticipated combination of the big 3? Fred took it to New England, and I give Benny lots of credit too on attack. But there's no way we're relying on Olsen to take shots.

 

Press Release

 

Moreno looked no better, despite "winning" the PK.

I like Fred, but Gomez only seemed anything like his old self when he moved away from Fred (and when Fred was out)-- are they too similar in positional instinct? Those are the guys to build around.

Poor Emilio might have seen even less of the ball than Twellman, who spent the game in no man's land.

 

I dont ever recall seeig someone get there first game the same day he got signed to the team ( if what the commentators said were true)
but Kpene(?) looked pretty good out there.. whoever he is

 

We're getting better, but passes need to be crisper and we need to fight for loose balls the entire game, not just part of the game.

 

I think you're reading too much into it. Nowak indicated earlier in the season that there would be turnover on the roster. Additionally, he is a proud man and was pissed that b/c of the new ownership (and the delay in that happening), it meant he had to wait on his contract offer.

When Bradley came a calling, while that sounds wild to us, Nowak has always enjoyed that partnership. And I think Nowak's ultimate desire is to be the NT coach of Poland. He doesn't get there via DC United. But if he ends up as assistant of a successful NT that qualifies for a WC, that helps both his visibility and credibility to the Polish FA.

Look, if you think Nowak would jump ship b/c of a lack of talent, than you forget what he came to. The roster he inherited had no #1 pick and it was a weak draft. Our youngsters (Warren, Carroll, Stokes, etc.) hadn't played or had been subs and not impressed. We were cutting guys (Milton Reyes, Ivanov, Cerritos) purely for cap reasons. Our most dynamic player (Convey) wanted to leave for the Premiership and was in a funk b/c of the failed transfer. We had no immediate hope of bringing in major talent. Oh, and you're under pressure to play a 14-15 year old kid. You take that job only if you're very confident in your abilities or you're desperate to be a head coach.

 

I think Fred was signed to replace Gomez after this year. Gomez is in the last year of his contract, I believe. Fred is obviously a center mid being forced to play wide. For one year, we will have to deal with that in order to get our best players on the field. Next year, we will probably lose Gomez and hopefully we will apply his international spot and salary cap room to the wide right position and move Fred to center.

We can also hope that Casal is an excellent left mid with a year under his belt. In fact, he might be one before playoff time this year.

 

This is 100% correct. I'm not sure Soehn fully realized that until these last few games.

 

All hail the 4-4-2.

I feel like a traitor for saying it, but I want to see Jaime nowhere near the lineup on Sunday. The first half was easily, by several miles, the best sustained effort they've put up this season and I have a good feeling about the lineup we played if it stays in place and gets a chance to gel. I'd be happy to see more of Casal as a sub as well, but eh.

Is Emilio missing the next match? They didn't mention if he will on the broadcast but that's his second booking in two games, right?

Re attendance: funny how 12K in our stands sounds like a good 20,000 DC fans, but 13K at Columbus sounds remarkably like 100 travelling DC fans.