I'm pretty sure Marco and Clint will be recreating the Cheers episode when Norm went toe to toe with that other fatso for Vera.
Chico, I didnt set out to bash Marco. Rather, my original intent was just to say the roster wasnt as important as the win. I feel the more up tempo the attack, the better we have done. The studied, calculated set-up that is so much a part of Marco's game just hasnt produced as well, IMHO. I will certainly applaud thru long balls that have produced results in the last few weeks, and his passing seems to be a bit crisper over-all. I REALLY wish I could be in the Barra for today's game, but I just cant swing it. I will be in front of the tube, my best Padron Anniversario fired up, Barra jersey on, there with yall in spirit. Bring it hard, yall!!!!!! Metroscumwads MUST fall!!! Mark
simple because he is washed up and Hudson finally realizes it. you can't start a player that can't go the full 90 minutes.
well, i think that with Thiago in the line-up, Marco's long balls may become more effective. Just as Cerritos opened up the game for Stewart, the same thing might occur for Marco. Martins is a very physical forward who demands attention. He's going to have two defenders on him all the time. If the opponent is playing with a 3 man back line, then that leaves a lot of space for our other guys... Cerritos, Earnie, Olsen... etc., to make deep runs for Marco to distribute too. As for not starting on Thursday... who cares. United won. He's a part of this team. But he's no bigger than anyone else. He's shown that by respectfully accepting his deminished role. This is what happens when you have a team that is as skilled and as competitive as we are. Good players ride the bench.
Michael, Welcome to BS! I love Marco, and it's hard to imagine DC United without him. Even the bashers (most of them anyway) will agree that he is one of MLS' all time greats. But it's 2003, time has taken its toll. I said at the beginning of the season that Marco is a fierce competitor and wants to go out a champion. And I thought he started off well, until he got injured in the Colorado game early in the season. He lost the captain's armband and took it like a man. I think he still is a great competitor who wants to go out like a champion - and if that means coming off the bench, or even not playing at all in some games, he can accept that if it means DCU wins the championship! I don't know about inside the locker room, but in public he has not been a whining little dick like so many other players would be. So he has my continued respect and admiration for the way he has handled himself this season. And after we win the MLS cup (or even if we don't), he needs to retire from playing and go on to other things. I think most of us can agree on that much at least. But don't let Marco's absence deter you from continuing to support DCU! That would make you no better than the Diaz Arce fans (ducks and covers)! On Saturday night, there is no better place to be than RFK stadium, watching DC United kick asses and take names! PS, Chico - I would love to see that Marco highlight reel you alluded to in a thread a few months back. If there is no tribute match for Diablo, maybe we can have a tribute at Summers in the off season!
Remind me to ask GDopplarXT if we see him today. It's a DCU highlight video of the first four years. Great stuff.
I didn't feel like reading through all the Marco bashing so this might have already been mentioned but oh well. Marco was benched for the same reason that Rimando is no longer with us. Would you want a 33 year old, who has already been through a knee surgery this season, to play on field-turf? No way. It's a good decision to rest him here. Remember how they were talking about how there is no give in the field? That's not a good surface for Marco to be playing on. It has nothing to do with his performance, it's just a precautionary measure to keep him healthy. That's all. End of story.
If you have tapes of the first four MLS Cups, you'll see fabulous highlights. I am absolutely positive that there will be a huge deal for Marco after he announces his retirement. In Marco's words, "DC is a big club" and will pull out the stops to honor him appropriately. It will be a double hanky day for me. GM
Something else to ponder on while a lot of people are dumping on Marco (me included to some extent).. Just when we think he's completely useless, he always seems to come up with a gem of a game.. Could today be that day? Oh, and as a previous poster put it very astutely, Marco not playing was a tactical decision based mostly on that surface in the Meadowlands.. Us having the lead for most of the game helped as well.. I gaurantee Marco would have been in there had we been tied or trailing late in the match.. How the team was playing on Thursday without Marco dictated his non-usage.. It's a win-win situation in my eyes folks... Marco got the rest he needs and we got to see one fantastic job by that midfield quartet in his absence...
I wouldn't put ol' El Diablo down that much but the idea that Hudson did it for reason other than tactics or injury, I agree with. Surely this is his last year at DC.
Cweedchop, Your last two posts I cannot take offense with. Very well stated. My problem is with people calling a player a fat..., etc. We can say negative things about anyone on DC United. "The guy is running around like a chicken without a head...", etc. I rather comments like that stay off the DC United forum. After all we are not Metrostar fans. Cheers.
At this point I don't care if Marco sucks, or if Marco is great. I don't care if Marco plays, or if Marco doesn't. I don't care if we line up in a 4-4-2, a 3-5-2, or whatever WHAT I CARE ABOUT IS WE BEAT DOWN THOSE GOD D*** METROS TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!
Now you're being silly. MAE may not be the player he once was, but he is certainly still capable of playing in MLS. He is still one of the better skilled players in the league, however, his physical ability has degraded, as it does with all of us as we get older. Did you forget he was MOTM just a couple of games ago?
It's quite possible to have a phenomenal game every once in a while and still not be capable of keeping pace with the level of play in MLS. That's the case with Etch today. Yes, he has moments. But day in and day out over a 30 match season, no, he can't keep up. By the way, both his pace and his skills have degraded considerably. Watch some old tapes. The difference between Etch today and a few years agao in terms of quickness, agility and precision is startling.
It's also possible to be steady, hard working and proud. Marco played a good game against NY today and didn't back down. Find a new scapegoat.....
He played...fair. Not very dangerous offensively. Didn't link up with the forwards well. He hustled. But really I attribute his lack of true effectiveness to Bradley's change in tactics from Thursday's game as Etch's through passes really had very little chance in succeeding and our forwards were equally stymied by Bradley's defensive plan. Myself, I would have liked to have seen Martins in the box working to get on the end of some of Etch's passes. Now if that is too harsh...
Re: why didn't etcheverry play the other night against the metros? It is a good question: why didn't Marco play worth a crap against the Metro's on Sunday? No idea... Tim