Looking at the current roster, http://dcunited.mlsnet.com/players/roster.jsp?club=t103, we defenitely need addition of at least one another solid striker. Moreno is getting old, too. -------------------Moreno ----------- new guy-------------------- Gros ----------------------- Gomez ------------------------- Ruy ------------------- Olson ----------------- Donnet ------------ ------- Erpen ------------------ Prideaux ---------------- Boswell
Prideaux isn't even on this team anymore. And to my recollection, Donnet doesn't currently have a contract with the team either.
He has been for the last few years. Kind of hard to pick a lineup when the team needs to add a bunch of players to the roster.
In an attempt to start thinking about the line=ups for next season, i will throw my hat into this ring. -------------------Moreno ----------- new guy-------------------- Donnett ----------------------- Gomez ------------------------- Ruy ------------------- Olson ----------------- B. Carroll ------------ ------- Namoff ------------------ Boswell ---------------- Erpen ----------------------------------Perkins----------------------------- I would use Josh Gros as a second half sub, sort of like how Nowak tried to use Walker last season. His speed and ability to get back on defense can be a great asset in the second half of matches. Assuming that B. Carroll gets resigned, he and Benny start in the D mid as they did last season. If not, then Clyde Simms gets the spot next to Benny. I want United to bring in another Forward. Bring in the new guy from Brasil or Argentina, but bring in a second forward as well. This is to ensure that we can rotate Moreno and the other new guy on a regular basis during the season. I also want to see Moreno have less matches that he is running for all 90 minutes. Having the second new forard helps with this desire. Other than that, most of this is piss in the wind as Soehn/Payne/New Owners will decide on who comes in, and that will decide the newest line-ups. As Soehn is not Nowak, I would not be shocked to see United run out a 4-4-2.
Good stuff. It would also make me happy if Moose could find something and challenge for a role on the wing. That's a dream, but if he remains healthy, perhaps it isn't a complete pipe dream.
-------------------Moreno ----------- Gomez-------------------- Donnett ----------------------- Beckham ------------------------- Ruy ------------------- Olson ----------------- B. Carroll ------------ ------- Namoff ------------------ Boswell ---------------- Erpen ----------------------------------Perkins----------------------------- haha j/k
Beckham's not a good fit for DC. Let hime go to LA or NY. https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=459931 I would rather see: -------------------Moreno ---------- Ljunberg or Ronaldo------ Donnett --------------------- Gomez------------------------- Ruy ------------------- Olson ----------------- B. Carroll ------------ ------- Namoff ------------------ Boswell ---------------- Erpen ----------------------------------Perkins-----------------------------
I thought Ruy was a defender, not a midfielder. If we are going to get a strong player, it makes more sense to play him to his strengths. I'd go for: -------------------Moreno ----------- new guy-------------------- ---------------------------- Gomez -------------------------------- ------------ Olsen ----------------------------- Donnet ----------- --------------------------- B. Carroll ------------------------------ --- Erpen--------- Namoff ------------- Boswell -------------Ruy--- ---------------------------- Perkins ------------------------------- I figure with Erpen being a wing defender he can exercise his flair without leaving too many gaping holes in the defense. Ruy can cover the other side and do his wingback stuff he does so well. I'd have Bennie and Gros/Donnet (depending on if we resign Donnet) as wings (Bennie can do it well, I think) with B.C. as defensive mid. --Me
I heard that Ruy can play both winger and wingback. If we do 4 back, Ruy in the wingback is the way to go I agree.
Ok, I'll play - DC United does not have the personnel to play a traditional back three. So we're going to keep throwing out our hybrid back three (two centers and one right) and get beat like a drum by anyone pushing the ball down Erpen's wing. Move to a back four already! ----Perkins---- Namoff---Boswell--Erpfu---Sarge Mediate---Grizzly Adams---Gomito---McTavish ---Walker---Moreno--- Obviously, we'll need upgrades out wide and up top if the team wants to be class of MLS. Pushing Gros back into defense give the team a bit more defensive posture but also plays to Erpfu's strengths - also prevents exposure of his weakness for stabbing in and getting beat for speed. Gros has the endurance and mentality to run all day but hasn't shown much offensively over the last half of the season. In the back, he'll have less responsibility to put in good crosses. However, no matter who you trot out, until this team develops some creativity and vision (i.e. thinking more than one pass ahead), we'll continue to see pedestrian and slow football...
But we'll have Mediate running up and down the wing whipping in crosses for Walker... Oh, I see what you mean...
I know. If the BS braintrust can't even map out a plan for the coming season, what on earth are KP, the coaches, and the players going to do?!
Perhaps I should comment on the spelling and grammatical errors in this thread, which would keep me from commenting on the contractual and tactical errors in this thread for ... well, actually, it might keep me from commenting on them ever. We are going 3-5-2, because even if we pick up Ruy, we have no left back. Period. We don't even have a guy who can play on the left in the ECHL, though if you stuck a pair of skates on Wilson, he might get close. Assuming he ever plays again, that is ... We have a stable backline in Erpen-Boswell-Namoff, going from LEFT to RIGHT, for those who are hard of direction, let alone reading comprehension. Ideally, if one were to add to such a backline to create a four-man line, one would choose to add a left back--since that is the most glaring absence. Adding Ruy tells me that we're standing pat on the backline, and using Gros on the left. Assuming we actually add the reportedly erratic Brasilian, that is. Jesu Christe! I'm using "assuming" and "that is" WAY too often in this post. Which should tell you something about the state of DCU's roster, if nothing else. So let's go back to the beginning and go with: Let's wait until we have 11 starters to talk about, and THEN we can project what a starting lineup might look like, eh?
No ---Perkins--- Namoff-Boswell-Erpen Ruy-Carroll-Olsen-Donnet -----Gomez------ Moreno-Mystery Signing. Pretty straightforward. I'm no coach, but I can tell you this is the overwhelming favorite for projected starting lineup. It would be fun to see variations though and what people think....