Ladies and Gentlemen, The offseason is officially over. http://unitedmania.mlsfansites.com/...31&PHPSESSID=fe6e6e56e2c120cb222274a17efa56ee Again, major thanks to Diceson.
Superb. Carroll is special. Compared to the initial practices of Justin Mapp, Carroll has that extra “something” that you hope to see with younger players. You saw it in Convey and Quaranta with their first practices. He went after the older players, challenged for the ball, and wasn’t intimidated by the fact that he was playing with former World Cup stars in Etcheverry and Stoichkov. I really like the sound of this. Edited to add, on further reading I like the sound of everything.
i think we're going to suck this year again. i think NY will roll over us. jaime is going to go into NY and score 20 goals. he didn't want to play here in dc. thanks for the article john. glad to see that eskandarian is going to push tino for a start. convey at left back? against mathis or somebody like that? we could be in trouble!
Sockpuppet troll!?!?!? Although I'm not a big fan of the move, Bobby played with heart as the left back against Canada last month. If The Bruce puts him back there against Argentina, and he's able to hold his own then, well... I think he'll do just fine. TS.
Excellent report! Welcome back Diceson! Dang it's good to hear all of this stuff again. Of course, the new guys--especially the rookies--are trying the hardest to impress. Ray is following his usual plan, build up the guys with massive confidence through endless exemplary praise, then take them to task once the season begins. His point about competition at every spot is a good one, as this will definitely prevent any slacking like we saw from Moreno last season. -Tron
Jaime will go down in the first 5 min. with a cracking hit from Ivanov, then within 10 min. of that another one from Reyes, I can feel it. You know after that JM is done. Thanks for the report, I have a great feeling about this year.
I think the world of Convey, but I'd have to agree with it. Having Convey in anything less than a Roberto Carlos "fullback" role would be a major disservice to both him and DC United. RC, as we all know, is a wing midfielder masquarading as a fullback for the opening lineup card only. I know that Arena isn't seriously considering Convey for left back. And frankly, if Hudson is, then he'd be a moron. I don't think either Hudson or Trask is that naiive. I think it was simply a question that Diceson asked because people wanted to know the answer after Convey's only game ever as a fullback. And Hudson, as he does to most of Diceson's questions out of a profound respect for Diceson's abilities, simply responded that it was a possibility and then gave an answer that essentially said no. Hudson isn't outside of saying things to motivate players, so who knows, maybe he wants to use that as a motivational tool to bring the best out of Convey in the future. But Hudson isn't going to have Convey at left back or Reyes at forward, he realizes their respective gifts. -Tron
I wasn't really cool with all of the off season moves and the draft, but reading this gives me hope for a turnaround season. Thanks for a great report Diecson!
Re: Re: Practice Notes 2-1-03 Apples and oranges. You might expect a 16-year-old to look like a deer in the headlights on his first day. However, Carroll is a 21-year-old and a long-time member of youth national teams. He's already faced a lot of established pros, and he just finished playing against Portugal's B national team. By comparison, are a couple of former standouts supposed to be intimidating?
So is this the former Rapid Joey Digimarino? The same one that went to Bayer Leverkusen, got hurt, and fell off the face of the earth, and is supposedly coaching in the college ranks somewhere? Is he just there for training, or is he trying to make a comeback, or is it someone else all together? As far as the article, great stuff, just supports the notion that you gusy should be contending for the title. I really like the competition/motivation that Marco & Hristo will have with eachother. James
Yeah, it's that Digi. As reported elsewhere he's finally healthy again and is no longer under contract in Germany. He's looking for a job again in MLS and what he's doing now is going around to various teams to practice with them and then there will be a weighted lottery of those interested teams. He'd be a great addition.
I think we are too quick to discount both Arena's and Hudson's ideas about Convey. Leaving the Nats discussion for another day, let's look at Convey in a 442 or the 4321. If you look at all of Hudson's comments on Convey, it's pretty clear that he was singling out Convey as one who will not be tied to a specific position. Actually my reaction on reading that was that Convey could act like Reyes on the right side, who also has a big leeway to go wherever. Last year Reyes was mainly thought of as a "rogue defender" but possibly that was because the offense was so inept at keeping possession. I've suspected for awhile that Hudson would greatly prefer Reyes to attack the goal more, which is precisely what would happen if Convey played left back. Ultimately if Convey to the left back thing really happens then it would put a huge responsibility on Petke and Ivanov, supported by Nelsen to hold the fort and shut down counterattacks. But even more ultimately, worrying about Convey being at left back or left wing is quibbling too much on the formation type. We all know that regardless of where Convey is lined up, he will be playing pretty far forward most of the time (and hopefully more to the middle of the field too.) So Ray may call it a 4321 but the reality is that it will be a 3421 or 352 or 2521 or some such and at that point it's not that important what it's called, or as Ray called it "a skewed 442". Right now we have no one who can play left back in any sort of a four man defensive line except for Convey. Prideaux? He doesn't go forward and both Hudson and Arena demand that of their left backs. If we were to get Digi than he could fill the left back hole, but we have a long way to go before he 1) shows that he's that far back and 2) we get him. So I wouldn't write off the Convey to left back thing just yet with either team he's playing for. (I find it weird that so many Nats fans think that the Argentina game might be some sort of final test for Convey at left back.)
hudson told steve goff a couple of weeks ago the reyes would be on the right, olsen on the left, and convey in the middle. now he is telling diceson that convey is a left back. of course, it will not matter for the first couple of games because convey will be in kuwait! come on, it is the first day of practice. i doubt that hudson even knows who his starting eleven are at this point in time. with two months to go, there is bound to be an injury of some sort, which will throw everything into chaos. my guess is that arena is looking for some depth with his wingbacks. victorine was in at right back for one game, now convey. in the end, having convey get some defensive experience with the national team will not hurt dc united, and i think that is what hudson is saying. hudson is just preparing for any eventuality. if hudson puts him back there, then kovolenko will be starting instead of prideaux: rimando reyes,ivanov,petke,convey kovolenko,etcheverry,nelsen,olsen quaranta,stewert hudson said "skewed" so it looks like convey and reyes will be running alot from defense into the offense along the flanks. by the way, like everyone else, great job diceson. now it really feels like the season is underway.
The DiceMan comes thru again!! I liked the part where Ray said he might throw "The Christmas Tree" at the league.
I hate to bring back the old "total football" addage of a former coach, but the way I see it is, we have 11 quality starters. Rimando Petke Nelsen Reyes Ivanov Convey Olsen Dema Etch Stewart Tino/Eski We just throw those 11 out there, who cares what the formation is. If Ray gets them all playing together with overlapping, beautiful football, its not going to matter whether we call Convey the "left back" or the "left attacking midfielder". I see Petke, Ivanov and Nelsen staying at the back with a LOT of overlapping and covering back by the other mids and wings. Lets not pigeonhole people into positions. We saw last year how Reyes wasn't a true "right back". Sometimes Olsen will look like a right back, sometimes Bobby will look like a left back, but that will just be because of the free flow of runs and covering up that the midfielders and wingbacks will do.
I agree with you, Tron. It really disturbed me to hear Ray even refer to Arena trying Convey at left back. What has that got to do with DC United winning? Nada! Ray needs to toughen up in this regard. Ray should play Bobito where Ray thinks he should play, regardless of what he does with the nats. Ray, you've got no responsibility to the US for the development of the national team pool. Your responsibility is to the fans of DC United, peiod. I'm pretty sure this is your attitude -- at least I hope so. Club before country, or you're out of a job. I feel good now about Bobito having his priorities set correctly -- he wants to be the "go-to guy". Some of you may recall how critical I was of his performance against El Salvador in the U-20 qualification match at Blackbaud. [He didn't demand the ball effectively enough and he couldn't effect the necessary control of the ball to win corners and dangerous FKs.] Since then he has improved his leadership, seemed much more developed as a player and even said he wanted to be the "go-to guy"! 'Atta boy! No way is Convey going to be a left fullback unless he is beaten out of his midfield position. On another matter, I remember Dice used to announce his reports. The fans are taking care of that now, showing our respect and craving for his reports. Now, Pathfinder, what is your general prediction for the 2003 vintage of DC United? You were right on the mark, consistently, last year. GM
Convey at back. Some people who seem to know soccer very well seem to think Convey can do very well at left back. One of these persons (Hudson) has a great eye for defense players (Reyes and Ivanov-yet to confirm). If they think that Convey has a shot at being a great back, then maybe we should let them check it out. I personally like the idea of having right and left backs who are capable and willing to attack. Especially if we're playing a Christmas tree formation. I can just imagine having a nice defense arc at mid field with players who can make the plays up front. I keep thinking of the second half of the US/Germany WC match. It will be like we are on the equivalent of a power play in hockey.
I fail to see how this team can possibly contend for a title without the God-given ability, creativity, flair, magic, artistry, elegance, cleverness and most importantly, guile, of one Sir David Hayes. There, now that that's out of the way ... Ed
Re: Convey at back. i think a lot of people who post on the DCU boards have a vision of convey as a #10 type of player in the center of the midfield. i don't really share that, though i'd be happy to be wrong. i have always felt he plays well on the wing and is somewhat more likely to find time playing somewhere on the flanks. hudson (and arena for that matter) like to put player combinations on the field, regardless of "natural" positions. i think for both coaches, they want to put certain players (whether based on personalities, skill sets, the opponent) want to play certain guys a lot of places. despite our increased depth (again paralleling the USMNT) at DCU due to the usual suspects--suspension, call ups, et.al --we are likely going to need to play folks in different spots and as ray has shown a willingness to try some unorthodox player combos. i think it is unlikely convey's primary spot with DCU to be left back, but left mid most of this year. with the usmnt, as landon said in the last game "bobby just wants to get on the field".