Once Again, Time For Change Sit down Etch... he is a sunk cost. We should have dropped him last year. This is the really major change that needs to be made. Make Convey and Stewart run the team from the center of the field. Trade for someone who can actually score. Fire Hudson (and get a real coach [maybe Dir]). Its a joke that we have such great players but cannot win (or even score). When will someone figure out that the problem centers around Etch? He has been the only constant during the last three plus years of terrible soccer.
For the 1 millionth, 697 thousandth, 458th time.................. Bench Etcheverry. Put Convey in. FIre Ray. And then all will be great. Cuase this is BigSoccer. It's that simple. I predicted it before the season. Here it comes. And we may still make the playoffs........ YAWN
You're probably right. I did say MAY...I still have hope only because we need to get past just ONE TEAM! But we will have first choice in the draft True!! Look at the bright side! We may get another Eskandarian!! : WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I admit I tend to be in the pro-Etch camp and anti-youth ... but at trhe same time I am willing to admit mistakes. In this case Quaranta has begun to change my mind dramatically. The kid is a real stud. maybe not a top scoring guy, but definately a Moreno like forward with the ability to take people on and create chances. He makes his mistakes but shows real skills.. especially with the ball at his feet. Convey on the other hand... the guy is f-ing Richie Williams. He is tough for his size, and plays with heart... but he has no ************ing skill. He doesnt move past people with the ball at his feet. He is a nice little working midfielder nothing more. The guy will never be more then a decent pseudo John Harkes. If HE is the answer to our midfield/offense "slump"... I couldnt be more surprised if i woke up with my head sewn to the carpet. Sure, Its easy to trash Marco at this point. the guy is hurt and at the downside of his long (and may i remind some of you BRILLIANT) DC United career. But where in god's f-ing name do people get that Bobby has any real dazzling playmaker skill???? The guy is Columbus Crew NOT Man f-ing U.... He frankly bores me to tears... I will skip the game and enjoy an extra two f-ing hours in my tailgates if we let him run this team...
Try watching the games again on replay, when you're sober. Convey is far superior at beating people on the dribble than Etcheverry currently is (not was, I said is). Etch probably beats an average of 1 guy a game on the dribble, whereas Convey probably beats 4 on the average. If you really see all of these chances that Etch creates and do not see the ones that Convey creates, I'm shocked quite frankly. No disrespect to Etch, but there needs to be a timing element to our attack. As soon as we win the ball in midfield or defense, we need to play it quickly through midfield to attack an unsettled defense--that's where most good scoring opportunities in this leage come from. Etch is the antithises of this quick midfield play. So, we need to find Convey, Stewart, Olsen and/or Dema with the express intent of attacking immediately and getting numbers quickly into attack before the defense gets numbers back to defend. Then, after the initial attack is defended and the other team gets numbers behind the ball, give the ball to Etch and let him pull the strings. After all, that's Etch's game, not fast break soccer. We've proven again and again that we're not going to score many goals against a set defense, but Etch is one of the better players in the league at creating chances against stacked defenses. It's an incredibly low percentage to begin with, but Etch raises our chances in those instances, and I have no problem with him running the show once the defense is set. The problem is that the coaching staff is teaching the team to get the ball to Etch early rather than late. And, they're so concerned with possession (and not losing the ball to start the opponent's counter attack) that they play far too conservatively on the counter attack. We need to fly the ball through midfield and have our strikers ready to expose an unsettled defense. These are some of the best chances to score in soccer, and we're not even trying to take them most of the time, because we make the safe square pass, a negative pass to the back line, or a holding pass to Etch. Frankly, the only good long passers we have are Santino and Hristo, and rarely is either in midfield to make the long pass. So, we should play to Convey, Stewart and Dema's strengths and play quickly through midfield. Instead of 3 shots on goal, we'd have 13, and most of them would be better than what we're getting now. -Digital
He did have problems dribbling last night. I think it must have been the turf causing him problems. Kept running and the ball was staying behind him. In general though, you are right.
i'd sure like to see people hold off a bit longer on the anti-hudson bandwagon. i still think, that at this point in time, a coaching change would be tremendously destabilizing. we have many new faces, several seasons of turmoil, etc. that still has a profound effect on the team and franchise. if there are genuine, identifiable problems in the technical management other steps (for example United might want to hire an offensive consultant, etc.) might prove beneficial long before another coaching shake up. people who are calling for new players--it just isn't going to happen. we have no realistic way of acquiring a forward of the type needed of the moment. we are either going to need to find some combination of players or have someone step up to get some scoring done. i think while there might be some line up changes that may or may not work there is something tactical we could do to improve. ray favors a scheme that allow players some freedom and opportunity to flow and create--something that isn't happening now, players are standing around, making isolated runs and failing to support forward play. i think instead we need to come to a more obvious and rigid system approach. we need to install specific positional responsibilities and functions and a more precise organization on the field. while most people associate organization with defensive football it is also possible to play attacking football in a more organized manner. anyway, if i made changes it would be in my tactics not major personal or staff changes.
Actually, at this point, we would make the playoffs--in fact, we'd be the seventh seed, ahead of LA on goal difference: http://sports.yahoo.com/mls/standings I know, two teams have a game in hand on us, but it just shows that the lack of parity so far this year could work to the benefit of a couple crappy teams that are marginally less crappy than the crappiest two. I believe DCU may have the stuff to be one of those slightly-less-crappy teams! Yeah!!!
I thought they were changing the playoff format so that the last team in the east and the last team in the west were the teams that missed the playoffs... we're not going to make the playoffs
No, we wouldn't. See http://www.mlsnet.com/content/02/mls1120format.html The top four teams from each conference go into the playoffs. Unfortunately, the East is the stronger conference this year, so it doesn't matter how much better than the Western doormats we are--what matters is that among the five Eastern teams, we are clearly the bottom rung.
How long are people going to continue to defend Marco. The team is not scoring. Marco slows up the play every time he touches the ball preventing any effective counter-attack. Marco's free kicks and corner kicks are wasted oppurtunities. Marco is a defensive liability that forces Bobby, Dema, Ben, and Chino to work harder and stay at "home" more often. The team runs through Marco and we are not scoring. Bench him. We do not need new strikers or different midfield players. Make a change and lets see if the team responds. What is the worst that can happen we do not score. It is time to move Bobby into the middle of field. He does it for the youth national teams and at times for the full national team. The team succeed last year. Right now he is being wasted by Hudson. In the Richmond game he was all over the fields and played in a very free role where he blew by Marco making the runs that Marco should of made. He can do it, but he is not being allowed to do it by Hudson. If we continue start Marco this team will continue to be pathetic. I appreciate all he has done and how brillant he has been but his time is over. There have even been grumblings by other players that are tired of picking up his slack and watching him blow oppurtunity after oppurtunity. Hell if trask stood in the middle of the field and attempted through balls he would end up with some assists. If we continue to play Marco it is a sign that the organization has given up and has no desire to win. Over the past several years we have drastically changes the team without any success the on econstant Marco.
I stand corrected -- didn't know about the change in playoff format. Marvelous. Now my one ray of hope is gone.
On most MLS teams, there are a couple exceptions that I've noticed, the player who suffers the most fouls is the person that is the most obviously dangerous offensive threat. On DC United, Bobby Convey is the player who has suffered the most fouls thus far this season. There are people on this board who underestimate Convey's abilities. Our opponents, however, do not.
THE PROBLEM IS NOT MARCO! let me say that again THE PROBLEM IS NOT MARCO! Let's hear about the new superstars that have joined DCU? Any scores from Hristo? Stewart? Petke make a good defense? Gawd...all these quote "superstars" on DCU's squad and they fail to score and the matra is "let's sack Etcheverry" ---that's just stupid! Marco is the most constant and dependable player on the Team! Benching him WILL MAKE THINGS WORSE! I believe that time for change needs to focus on the coaching staff -- seems a change of Hudson may make sense -- but let's use reason, and get a good coach this time.; and not a Brit! Etcheverry is not the fault behind D.C. United's woes... IntheNet
Re: Once Again, Time For Change Stewart?????? Convey, yes when he matures.... but Stewart? there are better 17 year olds at theTahuichi academy. he is not what we need..... he cannot take people on....if we let him run the team....we wont win a game this season...its as simple as that....
good to see there is plenty of agreement on here. can we officially $hit can the "United We Stand" tagline? Or better yet... just add a question mark to it... "United We Stand?" (see that just looks better.) --oh yeah and convey still sucks
Versus Marco who right about now "DEMANDS" every ball (as Ray syas that Convey should do) and then holds it until two or three defenders come at him. Mind you regardless of any vertical runs anyone else makes. Then decides to either dribble through the three defenders or pass parallel or backwards. You are right no way that Convey or Stewart could possibly do better. No, no, no have you not been listening to the "Anti-Convey Society" he does not suck. Convey is just over rated.