Official DC United vs. the Goats Pre-Match Thread:: May 6 2007

No rain last night and no rain for Sunday. Woohoo!

Not sure what I want to see in the way of a lineup for this. We know Fred and McTavish are out. Not sure about Simms? I see this as another game to improve the team cohesiveness.

----- Troy -----
Namoff Boz Erpen Gros
--- Simms/Carroll
- Ben ---- Moose/Casal
--- Gomez ---
-Emilio -- Jaime

While I think Kpene showed very well and could start, I don't see TS keeping Jaime on the bench to start again. If he wasn't captain then it is an easier decision but he is, so he will start. Main question is how will our midfield hold up without Fred? We did a great job of maintaining possession in the first half with even sides last night. If we need more defense out of the role Ben played last night then I would start Moose. If we don't need much defense then start Casal. Overall, I think Moose would help us maintain possession in the midfield better. Guess I just gave him the nod.
Gomez will need support as Jesse Marsch knows how to play DC.

Here's to better team play and some timely last passes.

VAMOS UNITED!

 

What is the word on fred?

 

Anything less than a win in this game is completely unacceptable.

 

Probably out two to three weeks with a groin injury as per Goff. That's a killer. I thought he was the best player on the field last night.

 

Well damn it.

 

I would not start Jaime for these reasons:

He hasn't been a 90-minute player for two years. When he plays a full match he "coasts" from time to time just to make it to the end. He stretches about 45 minutes of full speed playing into a 90 minute match. So, if he starts, you have to tell him to go as hard as he can for a half and then he will come out. Result: one sub burned. Better to keep him on the bench and use him in the second half if needed. If he enters at the 60 minute mark, he knows he can go what passes for full speed at his age and make it to the end.

 

no guevara or klejstan (both suspensions) for them either

 

Someone mentioned this is two straight games where Emilio sees yellow. But I don't think that gets a suspension for the third match - I think only tournaments do that. But we have gotten a lot of yellows. Are we sure no one is out for accumulation? Sorry but I'm not good at sifting through MLS rules to figure this out and know that someone else here probably knows....

 

See below from mlsNet


http://http://web.mlsnet.com/stats/discipline.jsp

Regular Season Caution Accumulation
A player who accumulates five (5) yellow cards over the course of the MLS Regular Season shall be suspended from the next Regular Season game in which he is eligible to appear and fined $250. After imposition of the first fine and one-game suspension for accumulating five (5) yellow cards over the course of an MLS Regular Season, a player who accumulates an additional three (3) yellow cards shall be suspended from the next regular season game in which he is eligible to appear and fined $500. After the imposition of the second fine and one-game suspension by virtue of accumulating eight (8) yellow cards over the course of a regular season, that player shall be suspended for one MLS Regular Season game and fined $750 for each accumulation of three (3) yellow cards awarded to him in any remaining MLS Regular Season games.

Good Behavior Incentive
If a player receives a caution during the Regular Season that brings him within one caution of any of the suspension thresholds (e.g., 4 cautions, 7 cautions), he shall be placed on "Warning." If a player is placed on "Warning" and appears in THREE (3) consecutive games without receiving a caution, being sent off or sanctioned by the MLS Disciplinary Committee for an infraction that occurs during one of the THREE (3) consecutive games, that player's personal caution total shall be reduced by ONE (1) caution. A player may only benefit from the Good Behavior Incentive one time per season.

 

I didn't know about the Good Behavior Incentive. That's pretty cool.

 

Well, I hope he learned his lesson, and will not continue to be yelled at. He's lucky he didn't get a red for sitting there listening. How dare he do such a thing.

 

I would expect Moreno to start. I would also expect him to come out early. Why? Even if he was in good form, to play major minutes on Thursday and then again on Sunday is no do-able for him. And Soehn also wants to massage some egos. So he probably starts Moreno but than brings in Addlery or Walker or Kpene as a sub (b/c I'd like to have speed late in the game against Chivas and Claudio Suarez.

Assume that both Simms and Fred are out for this match. You figure that probably puts Justin Moose as a likely starter for Fred and Carroll in as a starter for Simms. Here is the qualifier though--we need to make sure we have a good organized outside mid on Bornstein's side so I don't know if that is Moose (or one of our younger guys). Plus, Moose is a good midfield reserve b/c we could use him at any midfield spot in a pinch.

I think we stay with the 442 b/c Razov is on a roll. But facing a hot Twellman is good preparation for this and a combo of Boswell and Erpen in the middle should get the job done.

If there is any match where our attack needs to get untracked, this is it. Kljestan is out and that should help Gomez by giving him a little more space. Plus, the way to beat Chivas is to take the game to them. They have fine offensive talent and while Razov isn't an efficient finisher, he has a nose for goal and given enough chances will put something away. So the way to handle this team is to push the ball in their end, get chances and this reduces the opportunities for Razov and Co. And of course, our defense needs to continue to play as they did against NE (other than minutes 45:00-50:00).

 

DC should stick with the 442. Galindo's speed would eat our backs alive in a 352. We should be able to control midfield with 2 of their 4 starters out.

I'd actually prefer we start DeRoux at left back and Gros at right midfield. DeRoux's speed would be a good matchup against Galindo and Gros would be a good matchup against Bornstein.

Up top, I think we'd be best off playing Kpene or Addlery alongside Emilio. Suarez is incredibly experienced, but also incredibly slow. The way to beat him is just to get him in a footrace. If DC start Moreno, they completely sacrifice that advantage.

 

All good points. My take on them..

1. Very true that we need a good matchup against Galindo. While DeRoux gives us speed and heart, I don't think he gives us anything else. To put it another way, I'd expect Galindo to beat DeRoux with regularity, just not with pure speed. DeRoux or Casal as an outside mid on the left would be a better matchup b/c they can run with Galindo in midfield and drop back to help out Gros. That's my take anyway.

2. I think the key with Bornstein is to attack down that side. That forces him to track back and help defend/ball-win rather than push forward.

3. I hear you about Moreno and Suarez' speed. My take is that we won't sit Moreno the entire match, he should have relatively fresh legs now. And if you think Kpene or Addlery have a speed advantage over Suarez in the 10th minute, what do you think it would look like in minute 70? I think starting Moreno (after coming in as a sub) means he is especially focused at the start of the match and is a good test--if he can't be a factor in the first 30 minutes of this game (after having sat the last match) than that tells us how much we can count on him. Also, if Moreno starts, with Klejestan out, I think it means less attention on Gomez. And if Gomez gets space and lots of touches than that is what will get a breakout by our offense I believe. Than bring in Addlery or Kpene in the second half to run against tired legs when our attackers are feeling good and confident.

 

I think I might be going...and anything but 3 points v. this shit team is completely unacceptable

 

Guvera clearned out his locker, left team.

http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20070504&content_id=91884&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp

 

Don't look now, but "this shit team" is playing some pretty attractive soccer.

Galindo scares the hell out of me, particularly with our well-known issues with defending wide.

Should be a fun match.

 

Indeed. Anyone who thinks this is the Chivas USA of old is gonna be in for a shock. Right now Chivas is one of the best teams in the league.

That said, Kljestan's suspension is killing them. Tell you the truth, I think that's one of the big reasons they fell so hard against LA. It's lucky for us that he can't play.

 

...and speed. That guy has some serious burners. If Galindo ends up 1 on 1 with Boswell or Namoff he'll just be going right by them.

 

Yeah, I would NOT discount them, just because they lost to the Gals.

They were missing a key player, and The Galaxy's key player decided to show up for that match

If we play like we did last night, we can beat them. If we play like we did in the first three games, we are going to get killed.

<fingers crossed on which DC United shows up for the game>

 

I disagree on a number of points and I'll try my best to explain why.

Regarding the left back/right mid problem: With Fred injured, I think Gros is the only player we have who's capable of pinning Bornstein back there. I suppose the staff can give Moose or Olsen a shot, but I think those matchups favor Chivas. As for Galindo, he's going to beat whoever's out there with his pace. It's just a matter of who and how badly. The danger of his pace also means that our outside backs can't push up too much because if they do and Galindo counters in that space, we're f'd. I think DeRoux is a decent 1v1 defender out wide and has good recovery speed if beaten. So I suggest Gros and Namoff on one side, DeRoux and Olsen on the other.

As you can see, my opinion is fear based. I fear the speedy combination of Bornstein AND Galindo storming down DC's right without Gros's tenacity and speed there to stop them. Yes, starting DeRoux on the left is a slightly risky move, but at least he wouldn't have Bornstein attacking him. It'll be Galindo and/or whoever Chivas digs up off the bench.

With regard to Moreno, I just think he's no longer an effective player outside of the last 30 minutes of a game.

p.s. If Galindo is running around in midfield, DC are playing well. The further in front of our back 4 he plays, the better. If he gets behind them, we're done.

p.p.s. It's a huge bonus for DC that Kljestan is out. He's a handful.

 

Sunday I'll be out there as well, after last night hopefully i'll have a little voice left. We need 3 points in this one. Vamos United

 

The game's also on Comcast...although, I prefer Telefutura