A week before the season, and all was not well . . . . . . and we'll talk about all of DCUnited's problems as they head into the season. We'll include some rather revealing comments from RH after the Richmond game. Also, hopefully we'll have the update on Reyes - announcement expected tonight or tomorrow. We will be at full power for the entire show . . . so now you can listen to 20Kw on WUST 1120 AM - it should reach pretty much anyone in the local area. Send in your emails with your comments to Soccershow1120@AOL.com.
Good show. It is kind of sad, however, to hear half of the show (is seemed like 30 minutes) devoted to bashing Marco. What I don't understand is: How is one player responsible for a whole team? (Look at Michael Jordan [even in his early years in Chicago]) It seems to me that Ray is trying to find an easy way out if things go wrong. After all he could have dumped Marco during the off-season if he wanted to. Ray Hudson has practically changed the whole make-up of this team. He has gotten the players he wanted and gotten rid of some very big players. The excuses have to end. Let's face it, no one on this DC United can hold Marco's jockstrap, even if he has lost a step. No one has mentioned that in the game Saturday Marco made a 50-60 yard pass to Stewart, in which Stewart did not have to break stride, and the ball landed with precision on Stewart's foot at the edge of the opposing penalty area. To those that say dump Marco and replace him with Convey: Putting all the responsibility on Convey is self-defeating. Convey is simply not mature enough to carry the team right now. Changing the subject a little- Comparing DC United to the LA Galaxy or the Columbus Crew is downright erroneous. LA and Columbus are right now the favorites to reach MLS Cup 2003. No one (in their right mind at least) can compare a team that has been rebuilt, to teams that have been fine tuned. Let me also add that Richmond is a very solid team. And let us not forget that this is a preseason game. Some people argue that they are meaningless, but when they don't feel that the team gets a good result, they get all bent out of shape!
Jose, Well put.... I'm a little partial to Marco myself but even the staunchest of Marco supporters have to admit that he does dictate too much of the action and slows this team down to a rather predictable crawl... Ray said a few weeks ago that this is Marco's team and I think he wants to give Marco that one last shot of proving everyone wrong, but in the end, it's gonna be on Ray's head what he ultimately does with Marco in regards to sitting him for poor play or continuing to play him if he starts off poorly... The question before the court now is "Will Ray have the balls to sit Marco for poor play?" My initial reaction to that question is that he is rapidly making that decision as he seems quite disenchanted with Marco's conditioning and rather pedestrian play so far this preseason...
well put cweed. That pass marco had one one pass in 30 or more he tried. Most were decent, but then again, most of the passing was very good in that game. He did hit earnie on that 50-60 yard blast and earnie should have finished it, but that was the only good part of his game...
An orange traffic cone would make a perfect "assist" pass from midfield if given enough chances. OTC for #10
I'm sorry, but Hudson's not a tactician type coach, he's a motivator type coach. When the team looks lackluster, it's the coach's fault. This should be Hudson's forte. He built the team with his own guys. He should be taking the blame for any lackluster performances. As for Richmond, there's a reason they're in the A-League. It's not the US top flight. When we play an A-League team that has had far less preseason than we have had and we look so lackluster that we resort to saying they're a good A-League team ... we're clearly not getting things done. Heck, we played another A-League team just the other day, and their stalwart defender was Rongen's worst central defender, Mark Watson. If A-League teams are consistently giving us a competitive game, then we're just not going to succeed in MLS. I hope the show was good, but I'll have to wait for the archive as I didn't get home from work until quite late. Hudson has to motivate. He's tried praising Etch, it didn't work, if he's now trying to call him out, best of luck, but I doubt it works. Etch has wonderful ball holding skills, but many of his passing skills are eroding fast. His vision has already slipped way down, and unless he's showing a willingness to make the quick pass, he's not helping us. He plays no defense, he almost never scores in the run of play, and he's spotty on set pieces. He is, pure and simple, the engine of this team. If the offense is sputtering to generate opportunites, he's a liability. IMHO, Etch is one of the greatest--if not the greatest--MLS players of all time (albeit only 7 years so far). But his play is inching ever closer to too old. I really want Etch to have Preki's longevity, Nowak's legs, and Valdarrama's passing, but Etch hasn't aged that way. I think the world of Etch, but there is no "I" in team, and no individual player is above it. The bottom line is that this is not a slump. Marco must play better than our other options or sit like the other players. I hope Etch rises to the occassion. That's the optimal solution. But if he doesn't, then we should try someone else. I think that rationale goes for Santino just as much as Etch. There should be no guaranteed starters. -Digital
While I do agree that Marco has slowed down let's not pin everything on him. Like his detractors so eloquently state in some of the multiple Marco threads, he did not win 3 MLS Cups alone, by the same logic- he is not the sole cause of all the losing. While I can see posters starting various threads to bash Marco (I have not posted in any of them as I don't want to fan the flames of passion), I think a public radio show should be a little above that. I think people should show some class, after all we are not Metrostar fans. We also want to maintain a classy organization. An organization where many other potential players would truly want to come and play. If people think that sitting Marco is the solution to all the problems they are sadly mistaken. Last time I played soccer (this weekend), if I did not want to pass the ball to someone, I would not pass it to that someone (granted I would probably not receive any passes from them, but then again I can always go out and win the ball back). If I saw someone making an open run for the goal I would pass him the ball even if I were standing next to our goalkeeper. By the same reasoning no one on DC United has to pass the ball to Marco, specially if there is a better option. I think this Marco bashing is deflecting blame from it's true point. Ray has run Jaime and Eddie out of town, he has brought in the players he wants, and he still can deflect all the blame on Marco? There are glaring weaknesses tactically on this team, surely nobody should argue that this is Marco's fault. Playing Stewart out of position is not Marco's fault. Not having a true defensive midfielder is not Marco's fault. Trading a stud defender for a pedestrian defender is not Marco's fault. Not getting a stud player from overseas is not Marco's fault (yes, we heard endless possibilities that so-and-so would come here after Moreno was shipped out-it hasn't happened). Motivating a team is not Marco's fault. And finally having this Marco problem one game before the season opener is not Marco's fault. I still think this team has enough talent to make the playoffs. And despite all that has been said about DC United, DC United has a very good chance of winning the game against a very solid Kansas City team (putting Convey on Klein would go a long way to help). But if Ray truly believes that it is Marco's fault, he should do the honorable thing and bench him. ps-ds39heon: An orange traffic cone would make a better coach.
while i don't consider myself a marco basher, i do think both he and ray need to reconsider how and when he plays. there is no question that he can still deliver some great balls and can "turn it up" enough to play with everyone in mls. but i have also noticed that predictably, he can't "turn it up" for 90 minutes every week. he also needs to make a few changes in his play--i saw him in both the open scrimmage and the richmond game trying to beat two guys off a dribble, etc. he needs to play a bit faster when he has the ball and look to move the ball faster and shorter instead of waiting, looking for the killer long ball. if it turns out that marco cannot either make the changes to his game or simply cannot play at his usual level for 90, then we need to find a way to play to his strengths. i think a lot of what makes him seem to "play old" would go away if he came in fresh for the last 1/3 of the game. he'd be more likely to spring guys against tired defenders and he would likely have more time on the ball. in my opinion, ray has to do a better job organizing and playing to strengths of the players he has--much like he tried to use Ivan last year, he wanted the good things Ivan brought but worked to covern Ivan's weaknesses. marco may be another example. we absolutely want what he does well on the field and we have to find a way to maximize his strengths and mimimize his weaknesses--whether that is less playing time, different tactics, lineups whatever.
While I didn't hear the show, if Hudson wants to lay the fate of the team at Marco's feet, he can say it. But Ray chose to keep MAE over Pope and Moreno, and potentially over bringing in an outsider (Nunez?) or working a trade (Vaca?). Id DCU can't hang it's Ray's head on the block. As for this sentiment, Jose, it is year number 4 I've read the same thing about Convey, and while I think Ray's put himself in a position where he has to give Etch a central role for at least the first few games. But over the last 3 seasons DCU has decided it would be better to scratch and claw for the final playoff spot - coming up empty every time - rather than commit to change and give Convey the games (and experience) that he needs to run the middle. Does anybody here not doubt that a half-season running the middle wouldn't make a dramatic impact on his game? Wasted time and wasted chances.
I've said it before here, but the only thing the other nine teams are afraid of outta DC is if they let Convey run the middle. Now that's frightening for the rest of the league, not Marco.
Given the way the league works, I doubt Ray had the final say in whether to keep Marco for one more year. I also seem to recall that Ray had to throw Eddie into the deal with the Metros in order for them to take Jaime - and regardless of what he's got left in the tank, it was obvious by the end of last year that Jaime was done in DC. I think Etch can still make a positive impact on this team, if (as others have repeatedly written) he is utilized in the right way. I also think that it may take a few more weeks for the team to completely pull itself out of the funk caused by Stoichkov's Theismanization of Freddy from AU. That really seemed to take the wind out of everybody's sails, but I think the players still get along well with each other, and if they can stay close through a turbulent early season, they should develop into contenders by the end of the season. And if they don't, well, there's always the tailgates.
I think you're right. I think Bobby is ready - it will take a few games, but the guy is a fourth-year pro with mad skillz, and he's ready to make The Leap. By the end of the year, it should be the Earnie and Bobby show, and the rest of the league would be wise to fear it. Okay Sormun, let's hear from the other side...("Ed you ignorant slut...")
I think Red&Black is more accurate in his assessment of the situation. It is up to Ray to make the decisions. I would much rather see him make decisions than excuses. If people think Convey is ready then maybe he should be given the chance (IMHO he has definitely being playing much much better this year than at any other time in the last 3 years, but I still have some reservations about him carrying the team). More importantly if Ray thinks Convey is ready he should give him the chance (after all it is Ray's neck that is on the line). Given the way the team has played the last three years there should be no more excuses.
What good can you say about a midfielder who so frustrated his teammates in the game that during the last 15 minutes of the game a striker (Tino) came back to midfield and tried to keep the ball away from Marco? He went wherever Marco was and would not pass to him unless he was completely open. As a result, we actually generated some offense. But making a striker so mad he comes back to play your position, well, plain and simple, it means you suck Marco. Bad. You were great years ago, THREE years ago. You couldn't do it last year and whenever the team got some good run of play without you, you would pout, argue with the ref and slow the game down. Get off my field. As for you who think he is still 'the great one", wake up. We'd be perfectly fine in mid with Earnie, Dema, Bobby and Ben, with Hristo subbing in. Alecko, Ali or Tino will score if they get the ball. With Marco, they just don't, or they get it late. I guarantee you, we'd never miss him. I appreciate everything Marco has done for us but for how long does his 'Farewell tour' have to go on for? I don't need to see how he does at the begining of the year, I've seen enough.
Bobby doesn't need to carry the team.. He has and will have 4 other midfielders to draw from.. Marco's almost stubborn insistence that everything runs through him is bogging this team down and makes this team very predictable.... That my friend, is the glaring weakness you were reffering to above, not to mention the acres of space Marco leaves while roaming the field so other players have to cover for him... Bobby has the energy, the legs and most importantly the confidence to take the reigns from Marco.. At the very worst, it can't be any different (team results) than the past 3 seasons with Marco pulling the strings... This midfield (when all players are healthy) would work wonders for United: ---------------- Convey ---- Dema --------------- Olsen --------------- Nelsen ------------- Stewart Right there are 5 players who will bust their asses for 90 minutes game in and game out with no perceived weaknesses anywhere on the field...
Flooding the midfield with hard-working players can definitely bring an advantage, however one cannot equate quantity with quality. First off, Nelsen is not a D-mid. He may become one in the future but has not yet shown that he play that position. Not to mention that DC United, witht the loss of Reyes, Ivanov and Prideaux, cannot afford not to play Nelsen as a defender. Dema is not an offensive midfilder. He is a gritty hard working player who may win balls in the middle of the field. But he surely is not offensively gifted. Playing Olsen, Convey & Stewart in the will surely pay dividends (Although I would prefer Convey covering Klein this Saturday, as it appears to me that Convey is the only one who can neutralize him). While your proposed midfield would have a lot of energy it also brings up the problem of the less than stellar forwards available to play alongside Quaranta. Never-the-less it is interesting. Maybe Ray should go for it and see what this proposed lineup would do. Ray has certainly has been strongly hinting that Marco will be riding pine soon enough. Which begs the question: Why did he sign him? (to say that the league forced it on Ray is another excuse)
Good points Jose... First of all, those 5 players playing together in midfield would scare the living Hell out of most MLS teams... Secondly, with all due respect, Kovalenko is an attack minded midfielder.. Who do you think played beside Peter Nowak all those years in Chicago? Kovalenko..... If anything Dema is more of a defensive liability than an offensive one by miles... Kovalenko has spent his entire collegiate and professional career playing attacking soccer.... I think what Ray expects of him is a little different than what he is used to and Dema will do his best to comply, but for the most part he will spend most of his time moving forward... As for Nelsen, yes right now he isn't classified as a d-mid but that doesn't mean he doesn't have the ability to do the job.. Remember, he did play d-mid for just about half of the 2001 season and he is ten times a better player now than compared to 2001.. He is more fit and more importantly, he is familiar with the speed of play and all the players in the league, an advantage he did not have as a rookie in 2001...
Prideaux is injured. I am not quite sure when he will be back. Hopefully he is back soon. Cweedchop, I agree that Nelsen could probably play the position, he might even excel at it. But right now Nelsen needs to play defense specially with three defensive starters injured. If Prideaux is back, then putting him in D-mid would probably work. I was under the impression that Dema was a hard-nosed, gritty, win-the-ball in midfield type of player, who could contribute some on offense (I thought Nowak was their Etcheverry).
I understand that Marco is your boy, but stating that the guys on the Soccer Show shouldn't say that Etch is playing poorly and should likely be on the bench is somehow not showing class is disingenuous. Should they ignore his poor play, make excuses, say nothing because of his past excellence? I can understand your support for Etch but being firmly in the Marco bashing camp will have to respectfully disagree. I also recall that they also were critical of others including Chino and Q2. Should they keep all their criticisms to themselves? That would make for a boring show. I agree they may have stayed on Etch a little long, but he is the focus of the offense (per Hudson) and the offense is terrible.
You are absolutely right in stating that it would be a boring show if there were no criticism. That was not my intent. The show is one hour long and devoting a half-hour to Marco bashing is a little over the top.