Actually, two more things: - Who the hell are we supposed to be able to beat? Toronto? Great. We don't play them until September. - That 40 point playoff cutoff rule of thumb I've been using is just that: a rule of thumb. It's been true the last three seasons. But for all anyone knows, it'll take more than 40 points this year. A 45 point cutoff is totally possible. I will say this much, however: I'm 100% certain the cutoff won't be anything less than about 40 points. In other words, what I'm talking about here is the best case scenario with the lowest bar that I think is reasonably possible.
With the exception of Moreno and maybe Jackovic, there isn't one person involved with this team that I wouldn't happily ship off for draft picks. Having said that, next game is against Slump Busters FC. This is where the season turns around. Woo!
Are we playing ourselves? Or are you talking about the FC Dallas game? If you are talking about Dallas, they have WAY more talent than we do. They just finished outplaying the Red Bulls by a very large margin in Jersey but losing because Bouna Coundoul stood on his head all game long. Our keeper would have given up 4 or 5 goals against the pressure that Bouna saw last night.
I hate to be so damn pessimistic but I've gotta agree. I've been watching the rest of the League on Direct Kick and it looks like the whole League except Toronto and DC upgraded over the off season. There is a lot of good young very fast talent this year.
Who's brilliant idea was it to sign Dejan Jakovic? The fact that he's Canadian might have been a huge warning signal.
Any particular reason your specifically ridiculing Jakovic and not say Talley or James who have arguably been worse.
Stupid red card against Philly. Bad marking against New England. Cost us the game. Oh yeah, and he's Canadian I'm blaming the stadium situation on him too
I want to say Miklos Molnar had 14 goals and Chris Henderson had the same number of assists(?). For some reason that sticks in my head. I remember saying that it was the first perfect one-two punch in the league outside of Etcheverry and Moreno/RDA Of course, the reason that team won MLS Cup was because Tony "The Donut" Meola - still the greatest GK in MLS history - played out of his mind!
That KC won more because of defense, and Meola, than offense which is why it stuck out in my mind. They epitomized the old 1-Nil to the Arsenal chant.
Molnar had 12 goals in 17 regular season games and then 5 in 6 playoff games. The Wizards were undefeated in games where he scored.
Wow... Getting 1.5 points per game (basically winning every other match from here on out) would only get us to 39 points. Getting 1.75 points per game would get us to 45 points. (Over a full season, that's a 52 point pace!) We're screwed.
The next league game is against the New York/New Jersey MetroStars. For generations, whenever DC United has needed to purge itself of bad mojo, NY has been the colonic treatment. The turnaround begins on May Day. Book it.
I don't think so. I think it's just going to be another level of humiliation, depression, and hopelessness. This is the most disgusting and boring I've ever found DC United as a fan. (The Wrongen/Hudson era was disgusting, but not boring.) At this point, there's really not much to say about the team and its tactics. They're clearly terribly coached. They're clearly undertalented. And the front office, who are responsible for the coach and roster, are clearly incompetent. I think we're a lot like the Galaxy under Yallop and Gullit, but without Donovan or Beckham. Those teams sucked, by the way. That glorious era ended after Gullit's team managed a 7 game winless streak in 2008, which culminated in Gullit's resignation and Arena's hiring. Arena started out with Gullit's terrible roster (and he's still overhauling it), but he did at least get the crappy players he inherited playing more disciplined, effective soccer. I've begun to hope Payne really is aiming to hire Bob Bradley after the World Cup, because that's the type of change this team needs. Then again, I know that's not going to happen. That's just not what KP does. He doesn't make good, bold decisions. So, unless Will Chang steps in and rings some changes, this team is going to suck for the foreseeable future.
Many things need to improve out of our team. Guys like Perkins, Pontius, Castillo, Jakovic all need to improve. Perkins hasnt been having a good year, Castillos hype and videos of his dribbling have yet to be shown to be the same player we have with us now. He looks like a scared kid out there, I have yet to see him do any step overs, or any quick plays. Jakovic has been a disappointment compared to how well he was for us last season. Pontius too, hasnt been the same player that started off the year with a bang. I hope he doesnt turn out like burch, and same goes with Wallace. Also to that list is moreno. He looks tired, frustrated, and not able to tie things together anymore by himself. I said it in the post match thread for the fire game, but i will say it again. We need a central midfielder, with experience, speed, dribbling, and holding not to mention the ability to tie us all together. Our team needs a veteran, but with still some left in the tank. Moreno can't do it anymore, Allsopp has potential but needs better service. Just 1 good central midfeilder signing could light a fire under all our underachievers asses and get us moving. Thats what I think we need right now, cause the team now plays with no motivation, and look frustrated and refusing to play dynamic.
With the new CBA, are all these contracts guaranteed on opening day? If not, it should just be a complete rebuild and start shipping players. Cut or trade, don't care. Get draft picks and cap space to make moves in the FA market. Build for the future, the present is dead. Get some more cheap-ish CA/SA talent, throw it up against the wall and see what sticks. Uncover some gems by seeing what's out there. Thx, Jay!