DCUMD - A DC United and UMD Soccer blog

DCUMD is now Black And Red United

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Shatzer) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 21:08:00 +0000

This blog has come a long way since its creation on October 15, 2007. From those modest beginnings, to the single greatest moment of my blogging career: when Freddy Adu himself retweeted a link to the Freddy Award and we received over 1,500 new hits in one day.

This will be the last post ever in the DCUMD blog. But it's not an ending. It's a step forward towards something that will be much bigger.

Back in November, I was invited by ESPN and MLSnet writer Steve Davis (also of Daily Soccer Fix) to join the new soccer community at SBNation.com and create a new DC United blog. That new blog is called Black And Red United, and can be found at blackandredunited.com.

Inspired by the team's nickname (The Black-and-Red), this name is one that will be sustainable as the club enters the new decade and embarks to return to its tradition of winning trophies. The DCUMD name will not disappear entirely. It will still be my name on Twitter, and I will surely continue to lobby with all of my minimal influence for United to add more former Terrapins to their roster. But Black And Red United will expand our ability to be a true community for all United fans.

The new SBN format offers a ton of new features - such as FanShots and FanPosts that allow any users to post their own opinions, links, pictures, and videos. You can also look back at all of your previous comments, or the comments of any other user, which makes it a lot easier to call someone out for flip flopping! Best of all though, the new blog also includes a co-author to add even more great United content: famed Soccer Insider commenter and DC United Next Coach Cup quarterfinalist Chest Rockwell! And all your favorite DCUMD features like the Benny Awards, River or Life, and the ADRs will all be moving over to the new blog.

Black And Red United is a part of a national blogging community that includes some of the best sports blogs in the country, including the excellent Hogs Haven and Japers' Rink. So please take a look at the new site, and please register and start commenting!

As for DCUMD though, it's only fitting for this blog to end on the words... peace out.

New Years Resolutions for 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Shatzer) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 02:45:00 +0000

On the day that DC United's 2010 campaign officially began with the formal introduction of Curt Onalfo as head coach, let's embark on our yearly tradition here at DCUMD and unveil our New Years Resolutions. The following five recommendations should be high on Curt Onalfo’s to-do list:

1. Identify your starting lineup and stick with it. United players young and old complained that it was hard to get in rhythm when you never knew if you were starting or not. It may be nice to have a couple versatile utility players, but when you’re asking a rookie to go from a forward one week to a holding midfielder the next, you’ve got an issue. The team’s inability to establish a consistent starting lineup last season was certainly due in part to injuries and the additional international matches. So with a solid core group of players, and with fewer matches on the calendar now, this should be an easy revision for 2010.

2. Get more playing time for the most productive players. My favorite statistic from 2009 was Jaime Moreno’s 0.0073 goals per minute average, which was far higher than any other player on the team, and among the best in the league. A piece of that stat though is that Moreno was only on the field 45.92% of the time. No one is going to argue that Moreno should be asked to play 90 minutes in every match, but if he’s fit, he should be playing.

3. No more pre-half time substitutions. I can’t think of a more demoralizing thing to say to a player than to tell him that he’s not even worthy of finishing the half. One of the defining images of the Soehn years would be Jaime Moreno standing at the scorer’s table with something like 41:00 on the clock. And it’s an image I’d like to forget.

4. Bury the 3-5-2. Sound familiar? Maybe that’s because this was one of our resolutions for 2009. And like most of my personal resolutions, it ended by the first week. The problem with a three-man back-line is that it requires three defenders with good speed and a high positional sense. While this formation is nice because it allows you to utilize a central attacking midfielder and two defensive midfielders, United just doesn’t have the right defensive personnel to support it.

5. Make some progress on the stadium. The fanbase craves a real soccer stadium to watch our team, and we’re all tired of being envious of Toyota Park, Home Depot Center, and Red Bull Arena. We need a place to call home. I don’t have any expectations that construction will start this year, or even that a deal will be in place. All I’m asking for is some enduring piece of good news before the end of 2010.

Freddy Adu and the Hull / Aris rumors

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Shatzer) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 23:14:00 +0000

After his loan from Benfica to Belenenses was cancelled last month, word has spread all across the internet that Freddy Adu is contemplating a move to either Aris Thessaloniki FC of Greece or Hull City of the EPL. Either choice would be a positive move for Adu, as long as it resulted in more playing time. But with all these news outlets picking up the story (165 stories on Google News at this time, including one from ESPN SoccerNet), you would assume that there would be numerous sources behind the story, right?

No.

Actually there is only one source behind the Adu to Aris or Hull story. And with there being only one source, you would assume that it would be a reliable source known for its hard-hitting reporting, right?

No.

Actually the only source is Freddy Adu’s own Twitter page (@freddyadu11)

The story began with Adu tweeting that he had some really difficult decisions to make, and then later tweeting “Hull or Aris?”, and then later tweeting that the only problem with Hull would be how to get a work visa.

Why Hull and Aris? Those two teams sure sound awfully familiar to US Soccer fans, because they are the current homes of fellow Americans Jozy Altidore and Eddie Johnson. Does it seem awfully convenient to anyone else that those are the only two teams that Freddy is mentioning? And why is Freddy discussing such important decisions through Twitter anyway? Didn’t anybody stop to question whether or not Freddy’s tweets are to be trusted?

Somebody did. Match Fit USA (@MFUSA) has been all over this story. He was the first to theorize that Freddy’s tweets were just a shoutout joke to his boys. A theory that was even confirmed by Freddy himself in a tweet later that night. Of course all of these tweets have now been deleted off of Adu’s profile, further igniting the fire of speculation.

I’m not here to do any sort of commentary on the state of reporting in sports, and I agree that Twitter can be a very useful tool at times, but it’s also just a little disappointing that so many sites are simply rehashing what they’ve read on Twitter and passing it off as actual reporting.

Update: Ives is now saying that Adu will be signing with Aris. So maybe it wasn't the entire thing that was a joke. Just part of it.

DC United Decade in Review

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Shatzer) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:23:00 +0000

It's the end of the decade, and with just 1 day left in the first decade of the 21st century, it's time to look back at DC United's successes and failures. Over the next few weeks, we will be reviewing DC United season-by-season, from 2000 to 2009, and we will also have a few polls to help choose the best players and greatest stories of the past decade.

I think I've got the players down pretty well, but I'm certainly open to suggestions for the best stories/moments of the decade. Please email me your suggestions at dcu.umd[at]gmail.com and I will include them in my lists.

Note: Apologies to DC Sports Bog for "borrowing" Dan's ideas.

Curt Onalfo to DC United

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Shatzer) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:25:00 +0000

DC United has announced Curt Onalfo as the team's new head coach, and I'm having a hard time getting excited about it.

Actually the emotion I'm feeling would be better described as "relief".

I don't know if the team is necessarily "settling" for Onalfo, but I'm relieved to have the coaching search done and behind us. Exciting or not, Curt Onalfo is certainly well qualified, and should be a capable coach for our immediate future.

What worries me a little is that Kevin Payne is citing Onalfo's "fluency in Spanish" and "familiarity with our community" as two of his positive traits. Sure, those things are nice, but neither was necessarily a box that needed to be checked during the decision process. Curt Onalfo's resume might be impressive (he's been a player, a national team assistant, an MLS assistant, and an MLS head coach), but I'm still waiting for someone to point out something good about Onalfo that wouldn't be found on his resume. Something intangible. Like how he's a great motivator, or how he has innovative drills focused on developing certain abilities. Anything!

Still, I've got my fingers crossed. And I'm confident that Curt Onalfo will be able to return DC United to the playoffs where they belong.

We demand more than that though. We demand cups. Time will tell soon enough if Curt Onalfo will be the man to help deliver them.

Happy Holidays

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Shatzer) — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 12:36:00 +0000

Merry Christmas and happy Chanukah to all you friends and fans. Hopefully the holidays will bring all of us lots of gifts, and the new year will bring success to us all.

Cristian Castillo

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Shatzer) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:42:00 +0000

Once every offseason, one MLS team brings aboard a young promising attacking player from CONCACAF. In 2008 it was Marco Pappa. In 2009 it was Freddy Montero. And in 2010, it will be Cristian Castillo.

DC United finalized a loan last week to bring Salvadoran left midfielder Castillo to DC. In various different highlights, including the one below, it's clear that Castillo has excellent ball skills. Even more impressive though was his header over Frankie Hejduk during World Cup Qualifying. Not only does Castillo give us a new element of speed in our attack, which is something that has been long missing for United, but he also gives us another target for Santino Quaranta's crosses.

Cristian Castillo's defensive abilities and crossing skills are not obviously evident from the highlight reels, but that could just be because those aren't exactly as sexy as his dribbling. Castillo is certainly quick, and he's good on the ball. Which actually makes me think of another midfielder who came here highly regarded and with a similar skill set: Fred. Hopefully Castillo adjusts better to our style of play, but if he requests his jersey to say "CRISTIAN", I'll really be nervous.

Castillo's speed will undoubtedly be a great asset for DC United, and his Salvadoran heritage is sure to put fans in the seats. I'm just hoping his sometimes over-the-top dribbling doesn't hold us back.

Here's a prediction though:
If Cristian Castillo plays in almost every game for DCU this season, he will be one of the top 5 fouled players in MLS.

Caleb Porter to remain at Akron

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Shatzer) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 03:00:00 +0000

The University of Akron announced today that they have agreed to a five-year contract extension with head coach Caleb Porter, elminating him from DC United's search for a new coach.

Frankly I'm surprised. While Akron offers substantially more job security than a position in MLS, it is likely less pay, less prestige, and less potential for advancement. When fans mentioned Sasho Cirovski of Maryland as a candidate for United's coaching position, it was easy to dismiss the idea because after 17 years, Cirovski seems content to remain at UMD for the duration of his career. But at age 34, you would think that Porter would want more.

Where does that leave DC United? The obvious next move would be to sign Curt Onalfo to a three-year deal. But does anyone else get the feeling that there is still more going on behind the scenes?

I sure hope so.

If Onalfo interviewed with Payne and Kasper and has some great progressive ideas about the future of the club, then sign him up. But if that was the case, then wouldn't we have already signed him by now?

I just don't think this story is over yet. Because this isn't the ending that any of us had envisioned.

Impressions from the College Cup

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Shatzer) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 03:01:00 +0000

I don't claim to be much of an expert on college soccer. In fact, I only really became interested in the College Cup to learn more about Caleb Porter to see if he would be a good fit with DC United. But after watching most of Akron's Semi-final win over North Carolina and their loss to Virginia in the Final, a few individuals left me particularly impressed.

Here's who I'm expecting to see at the next level:

A lot has been made in the media about Diego Restrepo and his 1,176 minute scoreless streak, which is obviously very impressive. But I've got to think a lot of the credit for that streak should also go to Virginia's outstanding backs Shawn Barry and Mike Volk. Thanks to these two, Restrepo wasn't tested all that much by Akron. Barry's hustle on one play stopped a sure scoring opportunity from Bunbury.

In UVA's midfield, its #10 Jonathan Villanueva that gets the most attention for his excellent service, but it was Neil Barlow who stood out the most to me. Barlow's constant energy and aggressive nature showed on both sides of the field. Hopefully Neil will make more of an impact in MLS in the future than his older brother Jeremy did.

I had a harder time singling out as many players on the runner-up Zips. Obviously the MAC player of the year Teal Bunbury would be a good candidate to play professionally. He looked like the most likely Akron player to score, if not for UVA's defensive strength. Also, aside from the unfortunate missed penalty, Blair Gavin was very impressive. The leader of Akron's midfield really came alive when Ampaipitakwong went down, and was making plays all over the field.

And as for Coach Caleb Porter, he will certainly have plenty of new opportunities presented to him, whether in the MLS, for the national team, or with a more prestigious university. If DC United does happen to be his next stop, as has been rumored, Porter won't have to change too much about the style of play that he preaches. Scoring 0 goals in Cary doesn't exactly leave United fans salivating, but an organized defense that didn't concede a goal sure sounds mighty appealing.

Curt Onalfo versus Caleb Porter

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Shatzer) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 02:59:00 +0000

The competition to be DC United's next head coach is heating up, and if Goff's hunches are correct, it may be nearing a close. With the list now narrowed down to just Curt Onalfo and Caleb Porter, with the possibility that other foreign coaches may also be considered, we will probably be hearing an official announcement early next week.

The choice between Onalfo and Porter is actually a pretty big one for the future of United. It's really sort of a philosophical choice. Hiring Onalfo could signal that the team wants to remain on the same track, because I don't think he will be much of a departure from our recent history. He's more of a safe bet, and a proven commodity. Hiring Porter though would be a signal that the club is willing to take on some risk. The 34-year old sensation could turn out to be the best thing to happen to DC United and US Soccer since Bruce Arena. Or he could turn out to be drastically unprepared for such a huge step to the next level.

Let's break it down. Curt Onalfo finished his stint in Kansas City with an overall record of 27-29-22, with two playoff appearances in three seasons. Not too shabby for a team that had not been to the playoffs the two years prior. Onalfo's first coaching experience was as an assistant in DC under Thomas Rongen, and then Ray Hudson, so he knows the club and what they stand for. You could say that he did moderately well with inferior talent in Kansas City, so he may do much better with the higher talent level that we currently have in DC.

But he really just seems like more of the same. And I don't think that's what the United fanbase is looking for after missing the playoffs the past two seasons. Sure, Onalfo could potentially get us into the playoffs. But even when he did manage to get KC into the playoffs, it was only as a 4 or 5 seed in the East. And his team only advanced to the Semi-finals once.

Curt Onalfo and Tom Soehn each coached from 2007-2009, and Kansas City did not have more wins than DC United in any of those seasons. This might not be much for proof that Onalfo will be any better or worse than Porter or any other coaching candidate. But I just don't see where Onalfo is really an improvement over Soehn. Which is kind of scary. I don't want to be battling for the last playoff spot the last weekend of the season for the third straight year. I want to be battling for home field advantage.

Does Caleb Porter give us that potential? Maybe. I really have no idea actually. What I do know is that whether as an assistant at Indiana or in the head spot at Akron since 2006, Porter has been a winner everywhere he's coached.

I watched a few Youtube videos of Akron soccer, and they seem to be a smart attack-oriented team. Quite a few of their goals may have been the result of poor goalkeeping or a few talented individual strikers, but many more were the result of quick passing, good positioning, and quality crosses.

One question that remains though for Porter is whether or not he can win the big one. Akron hasn't lost a game to a MAC opponent in over 3 years. Tomorrow night, Caleb Porter will be facing the biggest match of his young coaching career against UNC in Cary, NC in the College Cup Final Four. A win would prove that Porter has the ability to motivate his team to beat a historically superior opponent. His future might be riding on it.

Announcement coming

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Shatzer) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:40:00 +0000

Sorry I haven't been posting much on here lately, but that's only because I have big things in the works for the blog. I dropped a subtle hint on here last month to anticipate some changes in the near future, and I've been dropping much less subtle hints on my Twitter for a couple weeks now.

I can't make the announcement quite yet because there's still a few details to finalize, but there will be a pretty big change to the blog very soon, and it should be seen as a positive change for all of us because it will involve a new format that is much more interactive. As soon as the techie stuff is worked out, I'll be posting about my thoughts on the USMNT draw, my thoughts on the DCU coaching search, and then writing my list of resolutions for the team in 2010. In the mean time though, hang tight.

RIVER or LIFE: Goalkeepers

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Shatzer) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:31:00 +0000

As voting on the DC United defenders draws to a close, we seem to have finally found the most polarizing player on the United roster. No one should be surprised that that player would be Marc Burch, who is currently sitting at exactly 50% River and 50% Life at the time of this posting. Moving on now to our final edition of River or Life for DC United players, we turn to the goalkeepers, where there may be a few more difficult voting decisions to make. A reminder for those who are new, a vote for River means to send him down the river, and a vote for Life means to keep him around next year.

Joining the team in 2009 to very little fanfare, Josh Wicks was acquired via trade as what most of us thought would be a stopgap while Louis Crayton recovered from injury. As it turned out, Wicks did so well to impress the coaches and fans that he was named the team's regular starter. He made some big saves for us this year, but his occasional lack of discipline and mediocre 1.40 goals against average might not be enough to keep his job safe in 2010.

DCUMD - A DC United and UMD Soccer blog

DCUMD is now Black And Red United

New Years Resolutions for 2010

Freddy Adu and the Hull / Aris rumors

DC United Decade in Review

Curt Onalfo to DC United

Happy Holidays

Cristian Castillo

Caleb Porter to remain at Akron

Impressions from the College Cup

Curt Onalfo versus Caleb Porter

Announcement coming

RIVER or LIFE: Goalkeepers

Philadelphia Union 2009 Expansion Mock Draft

Why not Emilio?

DC United 2009 expansion protection list

RIVER OR LIFE: Defenders

Guest Blog: AMT's Post About Nothing

RIVER OR LIFE: Defensive Midfielders

Past, present, and future

RIVER OR LIFE: Attacking midfielders

Remembering Tom Soehn

RIVER OR LIFE: The forwards

Revisiting the ADRs

2009 ADRs

The 2009 Benny Awards