tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381896623706040399Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:50:57 +0000DCUMD - A DC United and UMD Soccer blogSince 2007, DCUMD has been a soccer blog following DC United and its matches in MLS, Superliga, the US Open Cup, the Concacaf Champions League, and more. This blog also focuses on the special connection between DC United (DCU) and the University of Maryland (UMD) soccer program, including such players as Marc Burch, Rodney Wallace, and Dominic Mediate.http://dcumd.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Shatz...)Blogger288125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381896623706040399.post-3889270813150150416Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:41:00 +00002009-11-12T23:50:57.373-05:00Rodney WallaceClyde SimmsBen OlsenDevon McTavishJohn DiRaimondoAndrew JacobsonRiver or LifeRIVER OR LIFE: Defensive MidfieldersThe voting for <a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/11/river-or-life-attacking-midfielders.html">attacking midfielders </a>has gone pretty much as anticipated so far, with heavy support for three fan favorites in Quaranta, Pontius, and Barklage, and an obvious dissatisfaction with Fred and Allen. The only moderate surprise to me has been that Gomez and Szetela are not both closer to the 50/50 mark. Moving on now to the other half of the midfield...<br /><br />As expected, <a href="http://www.dcunited.com/player/clyde-simms">Clyde Simms </a>led the team in minutes played for the second year in a row, and was a critical part of our midfield. Obviously Simms' main role was in breaking up the attack of our opponents, but he wasn't asked to do as much offensively this year, which was a step down from his 2 goals and 2 assists in 2008.<br /><br /><div class="TWIIGSPOLL"> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.twiigs.com/poll.js?pid=43719&color=red"></script> <div class="TWIIGSPOLLpolllink" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: block; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal;"> <a class="TWIIGSPOLLmorelink" href="http://www.twiigs.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: inline; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 0; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal; font-weight: bold;">poll by twiigs.com</a> </div> </div> <br /><br />After playing just 15 minutes last season, <a href="http://www.dcunited.com/player/ben-olsen">Ben Olsen </a>came back stronger than most of us would have imagined in 2009. Although he seems to have lost some pace, Olsen's calmness and high soccer IQ served the team well as he often acted as the leader of the midfield. He has expressed interest in playing again next season. Now if we could just work on that temper...<br /><br /><div class="TWIIGSPOLL"> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.twiigs.com/poll.js?pid=43720&color=red"></script> <div class="TWIIGSPOLLpolllink" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: block; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal;"> <a class="TWIIGSPOLLmorelink" href="http://www.twiigs.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: inline; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 0; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal; font-weight: bold;">poll by twiigs.com</a> </div> </div> <br /><br />At just 20 years of age, <a href="http://www.dcunited.com/player/rodney-wallace">Rodney Wallace </a>showed immense talent and potential in his 25 starts (tied for third on the team). Wallace split time between left wing and defensive midfielder, playing both roles with speed, aggression, and skill, if not always tactical awareness. He might even get more of a chance at left back in the future.<br /><br /><div class="TWIIGSPOLL"> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.twiigs.com/poll.js?pid=43721&color=red"></script> <div class="TWIIGSPOLLpolllink" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: block; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal;"> <a class="TWIIGSPOLLmorelink" href="http://www.twiigs.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: inline; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 0; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal; font-weight: bold;">poll by twiigs.com</a> </div> </div> <br /><br />Returning from an uneventful stint in France, DC United's 2008 second round draft choice <a href="http://www.dcunited.com/player/andrew-jacobson">Andrew Jacobson </a>played well when given the opportunity to fill in for Olsen or Simms in central midfield. Jacobson also demonstrated that he has the ability to shoot a heluva long ball, but needs to work on his accuracy (8 shots, 1 shot on goal).<br /><br /><div class="TWIIGSPOLL"> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.twiigs.com/poll.js?pid=43722&color=red"></script> <div class="TWIIGSPOLLpolllink" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: block; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal;"> <a class="TWIIGSPOLLmorelink" href="http://www.twiigs.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: inline; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 0; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal; font-weight: bold;">poll by twiigs.com</a> </div> </div> <br /><br /><a href="http://www.dcunited.com/player/devon-mctavish">Devon McTavish </a>saw time as a right wing, central midfielder, and central defender this year, but didn't really catch on as a regular player in any of these roles. While he's never been mistaken for the most physically skilled player on the field, McTavish is an asset for his versatility, and has always had a knack for getting himself into good positions, while making very few mistakes defensively.<br /><br /><div class="TWIIGSPOLL"> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.twiigs.com/poll.js?pid=43723&color=red"></script> <div class="TWIIGSPOLLpolllink" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: block; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal;"> <a class="TWIIGSPOLLmorelink" href="http://www.twiigs.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: inline; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 0; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal; font-weight: bold;">poll by twiigs.com</a> </div> </div> <br /><br />The former fourth overall draft pick <a href="http://www.dcunited.com/player/john-diraimondo">John DiRaimondo </a>did little to impress for United while playing in early Open Cup matches and earning just 45 minutes of MLS action. On the plus side, he did score the game winning goal for the Richmond Kickers in the USL-2 championship match. Is it possible that he'll be spending even more time with them next year?<br /><br /><div class="TWIIGSPOLL"> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.twiigs.com/poll.js?pid=43724&color=red"></script> <div class="TWIIGSPOLLpolllink" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: block; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal;"> <a class="TWIIGSPOLLmorelink" href="http://www.twiigs.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: inline; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 0; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal; font-weight: bold;">poll by twiigs.com</a> </div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2381896623706040399-3889270813150150416?l=dcumd.blogspot.com'/></div>http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/11/river-or-life-defensive-midfielders.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shatz...)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381896623706040399.post-6884853575966769262Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:11:00 +00002009-11-11T13:11:18.319-05:00Past, present, and future<!-- Converted from text/rtf format --> <P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">I've always intended for DCUMD to be more of a community for United fans than just a guy writing a blog.&nbsp; We've seen this space morph from a blog that was supposed to cover the connection between DCU and UMD into a blog that is pretty much exclusively related to DC United.&nbsp; Recently I've found myself writing fewer opinion pieces and spending more time on tracking the way the team evolves over the year.&nbsp; We've also introduced some new features designed to bring more fans into the picture.&nbsp; Going into my fourth season of blogging, I'm anticipating further evolution.</FONT></P> <P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Next week, we'll be moving one step closer to being a fan community by bringing in some guest bloggers to give a different take on the team/league.&nbsp; Two fans and frequent commenters have already stepped up to volunteer, and there may be the opportunity for more fans to get involved in the future.&nbsp; If you've got something to say about the team that is too long to fit in the comments section, just shoot me an email.</FONT></P> <P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">On a separate yet also sort of related note, I will be away next week for a family function and then a short cruise around the Bahamas.&nbsp; But tune in tomorrow for the next episode of River or Life.</FONT></P> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2381896623706040399-6884853575966769262?l=dcumd.blogspot.com'/></div>http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/11/past-present-and-future.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shatz...)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381896623706040399.post-3691615314774085813Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:02:00 +00002009-11-08T19:54:38.324-05:00Santino QuarantaChris PontiusChristian GomezRiver or LifeBrandon BarklageDanny SzetelaFredEly AllenRIVER OR LIFE: Attacking midfieldersWe've covered<a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/11/river-or-life-forwards.html"> the forwards</a>, and we've covered <a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/river-or-life-front-office.html">the front office</a>. Heck, our front office results actually have been 100% correct so far, with Tom Soehn leaving the team and Kasper and Payne set to return. We'll have to wait a while to find out if our forward results are correct, but in the meantime, let's see what everyone has to say about our attacking midfielders.<br /><br />Just remember, a vote for River means that you want the player banished from DC, and a vote for Life means you hope to see the player back next year.<br /><br />The biggest question before the season was whether <a href="http://www.dcunited.com/player/christian-gomez">Christian Gomez </a>would be more like his usual self in United uniform, when he used to earn around 10 goals and 10 assists every year, or more like himself the year before in a Rapids unifom, when he earned only 3 goals and 6 assists. The answer was somewhere in between.<br /><br /><div class="TWIIGSPOLL"> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.twiigs.com/poll.js?pid=43392&color=red"></script> <div class="TWIIGSPOLLpolllink" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: block; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal;"> <a class="TWIIGSPOLLmorelink" href="http://www.twiigs.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: inline; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 0; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal; font-weight: bold;">poll by twiigs.com</a> </div> </div> <br /><br /><a href="http://www.dcunited.com/player/santino-quaranta">Santino Quaranta </a>started the season fast with 5 assists in the first third of the season, and earned a return to the US National Team picture with an appearance in the Gold Cup. But he faded later in the year, and injury forced his season to an early end.<br /><br /><div class="TWIIGSPOLL"> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.twiigs.com/poll.js?pid=43393&color=red"></script> <div class="TWIIGSPOLLpolllink" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: block; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal;"> <a class="TWIIGSPOLLmorelink" href="http://www.twiigs.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: inline; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 0; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal; font-weight: bold;">poll by twiigs.com</a> </div> </div> <br /><br />The MLS Rookie of the Year candidate <a href="http://www.dcunited.com/player/chris-pontius">Chris Pontius </a>was tied for the team lead in games played, but more importantly, he also won the prestigious Benny Award for the highest average player rating on this blog.<br /><br /><div class="TWIIGSPOLL"> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.twiigs.com/poll.js?pid=43394&color=red"></script> <div class="TWIIGSPOLLpolllink" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: block; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal;"> <a class="TWIIGSPOLLmorelink" href="http://www.twiigs.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: inline; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 0; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal; font-weight: bold;">poll by twiigs.com</a> </div> </div> <br /><br />Scoring just 2 goals and 4 assists in each of the past two seasons, <a href="http://www.dcunited.com/player/fred">Fred </a>has found the MLS to be a bit more difficult than Australia's A-League. Fred is a talented player who has never really fit into DC United's system. Hard to say whether or not that's really his fault though.<br /><br /><div class="TWIIGSPOLL"> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.twiigs.com/poll.js?pid=43395&color=red"></script> <div class="TWIIGSPOLLpolllink" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: block; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal;"> <a class="TWIIGSPOLLmorelink" href="http://www.twiigs.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: inline; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 0; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal; font-weight: bold;">poll by twiigs.com</a> </div> </div> <br /><br />One of the few benefits of finishing so poorly in 2008 was that we received an allocation slot high enough to acquire <a href="http://www.dcunited.com/player/danny-szetela">Danny Szetela </a>when he returned to the league mid-season. Szetela had an apparent falling out with the coaching staff and only had limited playing time, mostly outside of league play.<br /><br /><div class="TWIIGSPOLL"> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.twiigs.com/poll.js?pid=43396&color=red"></script> <div class="TWIIGSPOLLpolllink" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: block; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal;"> <a class="TWIIGSPOLLmorelink" href="http://www.twiigs.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: inline; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 0; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal; font-weight: bold;">poll by twiigs.com</a> </div> </div> <br /><br />DC's third round draft pick <a href="http://www.dcunited.com/player/brandon-barklage">Brandon Barklage </a>had a very promising start to his MLS career, scoring goals in two consecutive Open Cup matches, and looking good in relief of Gomez as a central attacking midfielder in his 4 brief MLS appearances, before falling to injury.<br /><br /><div class="TWIIGSPOLL"> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.twiigs.com/poll.js?pid=43397&color=red"></script> <div class="TWIIGSPOLLpolllink" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: block; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal;"> <a class="TWIIGSPOLLmorelink" href="http://www.twiigs.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: inline; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 0; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal; font-weight: bold;">poll by twiigs.com</a> </div> </div> <br /><br /><a href="http://www.dcunited.com/player/ely-allen">Ely Allen</a> was selected in the second round by the Galaxy and started 11 matches for them last season. This former U-18 National Team player didn't see any time in MLS this season, but did have a few appearances in the Champions League.<br /><br /><div class="TWIIGSPOLL"> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.twiigs.com/poll.js?pid=43398&color=red"></script> <div class="TWIIGSPOLLpolllink" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: block; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal;"> <a class="TWIIGSPOLLmorelink" href="http://www.twiigs.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: inline; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 0; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal; font-weight: bold;">poll by twiigs.com</a> </div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2381896623706040399-3691615314774085813?l=dcumd.blogspot.com'/></div>http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/11/river-or-life-attacking-midfielders.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shatz...)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381896623706040399.post-3548411253470204385Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:59:00 +00002009-11-05T08:59:18.259-05:00Remembering Tom Soehn<!-- Converted from text/rtf format --> <P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">I've been a little bit surprised by some of the fan reactions we've seen over the past few days since the announced departure of Tom Soehn as head coach of DC United.&nbsp; The most common sentiment has been &quot;Thanks for your service&quot;, which is nice, but maybe not entirely genuine coming from the same people who were writing (and probably chanting at games) &quot;FIRE SOEHN&quot; so frequently in the past.</FONT></P> <P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">The truth is that most of us probably feel somewhat bittersweet and conflicted by the Soehn move.&nbsp; While Soehn had very few ardent supporters among United fans this year, it still sort of feels like we're losing a member of our family.&nbsp; And that's what Tom Soehn was for the past six years.&nbsp; So even though I was in favor of the team finding a different coach rather than continuing on with Soehn, I also think we'd all agree that the team could have done a lot worse than Tom Soehn over the last three years.</FONT></P> <P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Because if you get down to it, Soehn actually did some things pretty damn well.&nbsp; There are a good number of players who are better today than on the first day they put on a United uniform.&nbsp; I'm not sure how much of that is due specifically to Soehn, but I think that the talents of Chris Pontius and Rodney Wallace would have been wasted on some other teams.&nbsp; Or how about Clyde Simms, who went from an occasional starter to a vital part of our midfield under Soehn's watch?&nbsp; Or how about Marc Burch, who went from a reserve forward to a decent starting left back by MLS standards? (flame away)&nbsp; You may even be able to make an argument that Soehn did the best he could with the players he was given.&nbsp; The GM gives you too many forwards/CAMs and not enough wingers?&nbsp; Convert Fred/Quaranta/Pontius to wingers then!</FONT></P> <P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">But along with Tom Soehn's player development success also came tactical failures.&nbsp; The writing may have been on the wall even before the season that 2009 wasn't going to be a good year when players were saying that the reason the team was going to play a three-man back-line was because they weren't communicating well enough to play with four defenders.&nbsp; Soehn persisted in using a 3-5-2 lineup far too often, even when playing on the road against quicker teams who were specifically built to exploit that kind of formation.</FONT></P> <P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Soehn's inability to establish a regular starting 11 also held the team back.&nbsp; Certainly that would have been difficult this year anyway with the multiple competitions and some unfortunate injuries, but even down to the very end, I don't think Soehn ever really had a sense of who his best 11 were.&nbsp; Soehn waits until the very last match of the season in a must-win situation to give Danny Szetela his first league start?&nbsp; Over a well rested Ben Olsen?&nbsp; I often criticized him for giving Jaime Moreno so few starts, despite him finishing the season with only 1 goal less than our leading scorer, but there are many other examples of poor lineup choices over the course of the year.&nbsp; Which isn't even to mention his recurring and now infamous pre-halftime substitutions, which must been instituted to intentionally demoralize his players.</FONT></P> <P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Was Tom Soehn more bad than good as head coach?&nbsp; That's hard to say.&nbsp; But I think the mixed emotions that so many of us have been feeling points to the fact that he was some of each.&nbsp; Soehn is sure to get another opportunity to be a head coach in the future, and he'll probably do better in a situation with less pressure from fans and fewer conflicting competitions.&nbsp; For DC United though, it's time to move on and find a head coach that will continue to fill our trophy case.</FONT></P> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2381896623706040399-3548411253470204385?l=dcumd.blogspot.com'/></div>http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/11/remembering-tom-soehn.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shatz...)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381896623706040399.post-3882897941657543819Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:03:00 +00002009-11-02T23:25:14.038-05:00Ange N'SiluTiyi ShipalaneRiver or LifeJaime MorenoBoyzzz KhumaloLuciano EmilioRIVER OR LIFE: The forwardsThe first round of <a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/river-or-life-front-office.html">River or Life with the DC United front office </a>has gone pretty much as expected so far, with Tom Soehn just 0% Life, Dave Kasper over 50% but not convincingly, and Kevin Payne somewhere between 50 and 100. Now let's see where the forwards on the roster stand.<br /><br />The thing about playing River or Life is that its somewhat up to the voter's discretion how you want to interpret the two choices, and I think that's going to come into play for a lot of us with some of these forwards. For example, if you think that the team should retain Luciano Emilio but only at a substantially decreased salary from his 2009 earnings, is that a vote for River or a vote for Life? That's totally up to you. Just remember in general, voting Life means that you want the player back with the team next year, and voting River means that you don't want to see him in a United jersey any more.<br /><br />Since winning the MVP award in his first season in MLS, <a href="http://www.dcunited.com/player/luciano-emilio"><strong>Luciano Emilio</strong> </a>has failed to approach the 20 goal mark that he set in 2007. His 11 goals last year and 10 this year still make him the highest scoring player on the team, but it's questionable whether or not United has been earning a high enough return from Emilio to justify his $750,000 yearly salary.<br /><br /><div class="TWIIGSPOLL"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.twiigs.com/poll.js?pid=42980&amp;color=red"></script><br /><div style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; Z-INDEX: auto; POSITION: static; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none; TEXT-ALIGN: right; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; MARGIN: 10px 0px 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: auto; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; WHITE-SPACE: normal; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; FLOAT: none; LETTER-SPACING: normal; HEIGHT: auto; VISIBILITY: visible; CLEAR: none; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; OVERFLOW: hidden; WORD-SPACING: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0px; text-shadow: none" class="TWIIGSPOLLpolllink"><a style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; Z-INDEX: auto; POSITION: static; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none; TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: auto; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; WHITE-SPACE: normal; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; FLOAT: none; LETTER-SPACING: normal; HEIGHT: auto; VISIBILITY: visible; CLEAR: none; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; OVERFLOW: hidden; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; WORD-SPACING: normal; PADDING-TOP: 0px; text-shadow: none" class="TWIIGSPOLLmorelink" href="http://www.twiigs.com/">poll by twiigs.com</a> </div></div><br /><br />The team captain <a href="http://www.dcunited.com/player/jaime-moreno"><strong>Jaime Moreno</strong> </a>constinues to be one of the most visionary players in the league, and even though his playing time has decreased substantially, Moreno's 9 goals and 3 assists seem to indicate that he's not done yet. This 14 year veteran is eager to return to the team for at least one more season.<br /><br /><div class="TWIIGSPOLL"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.twiigs.com/poll.js?pid=42981&amp;color=red"></script><br /><div style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; Z-INDEX: auto; POSITION: static; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none; TEXT-ALIGN: right; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; MARGIN: 10px 0px 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: auto; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; WHITE-SPACE: normal; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; FLOAT: none; LETTER-SPACING: normal; HEIGHT: auto; VISIBILITY: visible; CLEAR: none; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; OVERFLOW: hidden; WORD-SPACING: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0px; text-shadow: none" class="TWIIGSPOLLpolllink"><a style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; Z-INDEX: auto; POSITION: static; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none; TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: auto; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; WHITE-SPACE: normal; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; FLOAT: none; LETTER-SPACING: normal; HEIGHT: auto; VISIBILITY: visible; CLEAR: none; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; OVERFLOW: hidden; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; WORD-SPACING: normal; PADDING-TOP: 0px; text-shadow: none" class="TWIIGSPOLLmorelink" href="http://www.twiigs.com/">poll by twiigs.com</a> </div></div><br /><br />After a promising start to his MLS career in 2008, <strong><a href="http://www.dcunited.com/player/thabiso-khumalo">Boyzzz Khumalo</a></strong>'s 2009 season was unfortunately shortened due to a nasty wrist injury. He hasn't quite been able to nail down a regular starting role with the team yet, but has looked good at times playing mostly as a substitute either at forward or on the right wing.<br /><br /><div class="TWIIGSPOLL"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.twiigs.com/poll.js?pid=42982&amp;color=red"></script><br /><div style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; Z-INDEX: auto; POSITION: static; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none; TEXT-ALIGN: right; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; MARGIN: 10px 0px 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: auto; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; WHITE-SPACE: normal; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; FLOAT: none; LETTER-SPACING: normal; HEIGHT: auto; VISIBILITY: visible; CLEAR: none; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; OVERFLOW: hidden; WORD-SPACING: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0px; text-shadow: none" class="TWIIGSPOLLpolllink"><a style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; Z-INDEX: auto; POSITION: static; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none; TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: auto; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; WHITE-SPACE: normal; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; FLOAT: none; LETTER-SPACING: normal; HEIGHT: auto; VISIBILITY: visible; CLEAR: none; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; OVERFLOW: hidden; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; WORD-SPACING: normal; PADDING-TOP: 0px; text-shadow: none" class="TWIIGSPOLLmorelink" href="http://www.twiigs.com/">poll by twiigs.com</a> </div></div><br /><br /><a href="http://www.dcunited.com/player/ange-nsilu"><strong>Ange N'Silu</strong> </a>started the 2009 season strong with United, earning a goal and an assist in some early appearances filling in for Moreno or Emilio, but he faded pretty quickly from the team's plans, due most likely to his apparent lack of teamwork with other players. Many of us continue to question the team's decision to let Francis Doe depart in favor of N'Silu for roughly the same salary.<br /><br /><div class="TWIIGSPOLL"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.twiigs.com/poll.js?pid=42983&amp;color=red"></script><br /><div style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; Z-INDEX: auto; POSITION: static; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none; TEXT-ALIGN: right; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; MARGIN: 10px 0px 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: auto; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; WHITE-SPACE: normal; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; FLOAT: none; LETTER-SPACING: normal; HEIGHT: auto; VISIBILITY: visible; CLEAR: none; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; OVERFLOW: hidden; WORD-SPACING: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0px; text-shadow: none" class="TWIIGSPOLLpolllink"><a style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; Z-INDEX: auto; POSITION: static; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none; TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: auto; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; WHITE-SPACE: normal; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; FLOAT: none; LETTER-SPACING: normal; HEIGHT: auto; VISIBILITY: visible; CLEAR: none; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; OVERFLOW: hidden; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; WORD-SPACING: normal; PADDING-TOP: 0px; text-shadow: none" class="TWIIGSPOLLmorelink" href="http://www.twiigs.com/">poll by twiigs.com</a> </div></div><br /><br /><a href="http://www.dcunited.com/player/tiyiselani-shipalane"><strong>Tiyi Shipalane</strong> </a>won a spot on the United roster late in the season after impressing the coaching staff when playing against us with the Harrisburg City Islanders in the Open Cup. He didn't get much of a chance to establish himself since joining the team on loan, but his speed and creativity could give the team a different attacking style from what we are used to seeing.<br /><br /><div class="TWIIGSPOLL"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.twiigs.com/poll.js?pid=42984&amp;color=red"></script><br /><div style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; Z-INDEX: auto; POSITION: static; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none; TEXT-ALIGN: right; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; MARGIN: 10px 0px 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: auto; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; WHITE-SPACE: normal; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; FLOAT: none; LETTER-SPACING: normal; HEIGHT: auto; VISIBILITY: visible; CLEAR: none; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; OVERFLOW: hidden; WORD-SPACING: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0px; text-shadow: none" class="TWIIGSPOLLpolllink"><a style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; Z-INDEX: auto; POSITION: static; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none; TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: auto; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; WHITE-SPACE: normal; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; FLOAT: none; LETTER-SPACING: normal; HEIGHT: auto; VISIBILITY: visible; CLEAR: none; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; OVERFLOW: hidden; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; WORD-SPACING: normal; PADDING-TOP: 0px; text-shadow: none" class="TWIIGSPOLLmorelink" href="http://www.twiigs.com/">poll by twiigs.com</a> </div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2381896623706040399-3882897941657543819?l=dcumd.blogspot.com'/></div>http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/11/river-or-life-forwards.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shatz...)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381896623706040399.post-554559230454777883Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:59:00 +00002009-10-30T19:10:20.109-04:00ADRsBen OlsenChris PontiusSteve CroninDejan JakovicJaime MorenoBrandon BarklageRevisiting the ADRsWhen posting the <a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/2009-adrs.html">2009 ADRs </a>earlier this week, I asked what jumped out at you. Well here's some questions that jumped out at me:<br /><br />1. <strong>Is Dejan Jakovic really all that good?</strong> The biggest surprise for me on the whole was Jakovic's even 3.00 rating. After winning three Benny Awards, you would have thought his rating would be among the best on the team. But in reality, a mediocre rating is probably appropriate for the leader of the United defense that gave up more goals than 10 other MLS teams.<br /><br />2. <strong>Why can't we manage to secure a decent goalkeeper?</strong> Outside of Steve Cronin's quality performance at the very end of the season, the three goalkeepers that saw action for United in 2009 didn't fair too well on average. And this seems to be a continuing problem, as this is the<a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2008/11/2008-adrs.html"> second year in a row </a>where we didn't have one regular starting goalkeeper earn higher than a 3.00 ADR.<br /><br />3. <strong>How long will Chris Pontius stay in MLS?</strong> Pontius's 4.19 ADR led the team among regulars, and is the highest score we've seen from any player in the two years I've been doing this. Surely European clubs, as well as the USMNT, will start to take notice of his talents soon.<br /><br />4. <strong>I guess Brandon Barklage should be our starting CAM next season?</strong> Well no. Reader DM pointed out in the comments section that we shouldn't read too much into any ADR with less than 5 ratings, and I agree. But Barklage's perfect 5.00 ADR from 2 ratings tells us that at the very least, he should be invited back to training camp next year to compete for a developmental roster contract (not just cut in the offseason like the team did to every one of its rookies last year).<br /><br />5. <strong>Weren't Jaime Moreno and Ben Olsen supposed to deteriorate this season?</strong> Because they didn't. Moreno's 3.62 and Olsen's 3.73 are still well above average. Both have said that they want to return to the team next season, and I see no reason why not.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2381896623706040399-554559230454777883?l=dcumd.blogspot.com'/></div>http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/revisiting-adrs.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shatz...)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381896623706040399.post-2687583694800521934Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:14:00 +00002009-10-30T18:00:35.050-04:00ADRsDC United2009 ADRsContrary to popular belief, I don't give <a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/DC%20United">player ratings</a> each game just for fun. I also use these ratings to formulate the yearly <em>Annual DCUMD Ratings</em>, or ADRs. Each <em>Top Shelf</em> is worth 5 points, each <em>Call</em> is worth 3, and each <em>Rail</em> is worth 1.<br /><br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/Tom%20Soehn">Soehn</a> C R C C R T T R T R C R R R T R R (2.41)<br /><br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/Louis%20Crayton">Crayton</a> T R R T (3.00)<br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/Steve%20Cronin">Cronin</a> T T C (4.33)<br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/Milos%20Kocic">Kocic</a> T C C T C R C R T R (3.00)<br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/Josh%20Wicks">Wicks</a> R C C T C T T C R C R C R T R C R T (2.89)<br /><br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/Marc%20Burch">Burch</a> R C T C T R T R C C R T R R C (2.73)<br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/David%20Habarugira">Habarugira</a> C R (2.00)<br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/Dejan%20Jakovic">Jakovic</a> C R C C C C T T R C R R T T (3.00)<br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/Julius%20James">James</a> C C T R R C T R T C T (3.18)<br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/Greg%20Janicki">Janicki</a> T C R R C R R C R (2.11)<br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/Avery%20John">John</a> C R R C T (2.60)<br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/Devon%20McTavish">McTavish</a> C R C T C T T (3.57)<br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/Bryan%20Namoff">Namoff </a>T T T C C C C T T T R (3.91)<br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/Lawson%20Vaughn">Vaughn </a>T R R (2.33)<br /><br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/Ely%20Allen">Allen</a> C R R (1.67)<br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/Brandon%20Barklage">Barklage</a> T T (5.00)<br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/John%20DiRaimondo">DiRaimondo </a>C R C R (2.00)<br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/Fred">Fred </a>R T T R T T R R T C T C R T C C (3.25)<br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/Christian%20Gomez">Gomez</a> R R C T R T C T T T T T T T R C R R T T R (3.38)<br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/Andrew%20Jacobson">Jacobson</a> C R T R C R R R C C T T (2.67)<br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/Ben%20Olsen">Olsen</a> T C T T R C C T T R T (3.73)<br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/Chris%20Pontius">Pontius</a> T T C T C T C T R T R T T T C T T C T T T C T (4.13)<br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/Santino%20Quaranta">Quaranta</a> T C T T C T R C T C T R T C (3.71)<br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/Clyde%20Simms">Simms</a> T R R R T T T C T T C T T T (3.86)<br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/Danny%20Szetela">Szetela</a> T C R C R (2.60)<br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/Rodney%20Wallace">Wallace</a> C C C R C R T C R C T T C R C T T R (3.00)<br /><br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/Luciano%20Emilio">Emilio</a> R T T T R T R T R T C T R T C C T C T R C (3.38)<br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/Boyzzz%20Khumalo">Khumalo</a> T T R C R T T R (3.25)<br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/Jaime%20Moreno">Moreno</a> R T T T R T T C C R T C T (3.62)<br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/Ange%20N">N'Silu</a> T R R T (3.00)<br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/search/label/Tiyi%20Shipalane">Shipalane</a> R C (2.00)<br /><br />Anything interesting jump out at you?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2381896623706040399-2687583694800521934?l=dcumd.blogspot.com'/></div>http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/2009-adrs.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shatz...)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381896623706040399.post-3906329178885181356Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:59:00 +00002009-10-27T22:31:57.141-04:00Bryan NamoffRodney WallaceBen OlsenChris PontiusDejan JakovicBenniesDanny SzetelaThe 2009 Benny AwardsThe <a href="http://www.behindthebadge.com/2009/10/award-reception-this-evening-t.php">6th Annual United Awards Reception </a>isn't the only United Awards Reception going on tonight. Because it's also time to announce the winners of the 2009 Benny Awards!<br /><br /><ol><br /><li>The <a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/09/benny-award-1-richie.html">Richie Award </a>for the most underrated player goes to <a href="http://www.dcunited.com/player/bryan-namoff">Bryan Namoff</a></li><br /><li>The <a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/09/benny-award-2-nelly.html">Nelly Award</a> for the best newcomer goes to <a href="http://www.dcunited.com/player/dejan-jakovic">Dejan Jakovic</a></li><br /><li>The <a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/09/benny-award-3-convey.html">Convey Award </a>for the best rookies goes to <a href="http://www.dcunited.com/player/chris-pontius">Chris Pontius</a></li><br /><li>The <a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/benny-award-4-donnety.html">Donnety Award </a>for the biggest disappointment goes to <a href="http://www.dcunited.com/player/danny-szetela">Danny Szetela</a></li><br /><li>The <a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/benny-award-5-grosy.html">Grosy Award </a>for the ballsiest player goes to <a href="http://www.dcunited.com/player/ben-olsen">Ben Olsen</a></li><br /><li>The <a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/benny-award-6-freddy.html">Freddy Award </a>for the biggest story goes to <a href="http://www.dcunited.com/player/chris-pontius">Chris Pontius </a>and <a href="http://www.dcunited.com/player/rodney-wallace">Rodney Wallace</a></li><br /><li>The <a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/benny-award-7-harkesy.html">Harkesy Award </a>for the greatest leader goes to <a href="http://www.dcunited.com/player/ben-olsen">Ben Olsen</a></li><br /><li>The <a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/award-8-popie.html">Popie Award </a>for the best defender goes to <a href="http://www.dcunited.com/player/dejan-jakovic">Dejan Jakovic</a></li><br /><li>The <a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/award-9-etchy.html">Etchy Award </a>for the team's MVP goes to <a href="http://www.dcunited.com/player/dejan-jakovic">Dejan Jakovic</a></li><br /><li>The <a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/2009-adrs.html">Benny Award </a>for the highest ADR rating goes to <a href="http://www.dcunited.com/player/chris-pontius">Chris Pontius</a></li></ol><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2381896623706040399-3906329178885181356?l=dcumd.blogspot.com'/></div>http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/2009-benny-awards.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shatz...)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381896623706040399.post-3160460397720236777Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:05:00 +00002009-10-27T21:47:36.194-04:00Tom SoehnRiver or LifeDave KasperKevin PayneRIVER OR LIFE: The front officeStealing on old bit from the late <a href="http://www.bigoanddukes.com/">Big O and Dukes Show</a>, we will spend the next month or so playing "River or Life" with members of the DC United organization, starting with the front office, and then moving on to the players, by position. In an offseason that is bound to include multitudes of changes throughout the club, this will be a great way to show the team who we the fans want to see return next year.<br /><br />Oscar and Chad used this bit to gauge listener reactions to guests and other show personalities. A vote for RIVER means that you never want to hear from that person again - to send him down the river. A vote for LIFE means that you want to keep the guy around - a stay of execution.<br /><br />I strongly considered adding a middle ground voting choice, but I'd hate to diminish the effects of a clever bit. Besides, "River or life or something in between" just doesn't have the same ring to it. And with such a black and white voting structure, this will give us a sort of approval rating for each player/coach (even though that gimmick has already been used by another <a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/approval_ratings/">popular local blog</a>). But if you're struggling to decide, feel free to use the comment section as your debate forum.<br /><br />Starting at the top, <strong>Kevin Payne</strong> has been the team's President and CEO since 1994, before the official start of MLS. Under his leadership, the club has won 13 trophies and remains the most decorated club in the league, despite the disappointment of the past two years.<br /><br /><div class="TWIIGSPOLL"> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.twiigs.com/poll.js?pid=42547&color="></script> <div class="TWIIGSPOLLpolllink" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: block; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal;"> <a class="TWIIGSPOLLmorelink" href="http://www.twiigs.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: inline; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 0; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal; font-weight: bold;">poll by twiigs.com</a> </div> </div> <br /><br />As General Manager, <strong>Dave Kasper</strong> is responsible for assessing and acquiring talent. His early years with the club saw the acquisitions of Christian Gomez, Freddy Adu, and Alecko Eskandarian. Kasper received a lot of criticism last year for going 0 for 5 in foreign acquisitions, but came back strong with the team's best draft class ever in 2009.<br /><br /><div class="TWIIGSPOLL"> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.twiigs.com/poll.js?pid=42548&color=red"></script> <div class="TWIIGSPOLLpolllink" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: block; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal;"> <a class="TWIIGSPOLLmorelink" href="http://www.twiigs.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: inline; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 0; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal; font-weight: bold;">poll by twiigs.com</a> </div> </div> <br /><br /><strong>Tom Soehn</strong> finished his three seasons as the team's Head Coach with a 54-48-32 record in all competitions, which isn't exactly on par with the tradition of excellence that came before him. The team faced a tough time the past three years with injuries and fixture congestion, and although Soehn still managed to win a Supporters' Shield in 2007 and the Open Cup in 2008, he has taken a lot of criticism from the fanbase.<br /><br /><div class="TWIIGSPOLL"> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.twiigs.com/poll.js?pid=42549&color=red"></script> <div class="TWIIGSPOLLpolllink" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: block; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal;"> <a class="TWIIGSPOLLmorelink" href="http://www.twiigs.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border-style: none; clear: none; display: inline; float: none; position: static; visibility: visible; height: auto; line-height: normal; width: auto; margin-top: 0; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; outline-style: none; padding-top: 0; padding-right: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; clip: auto; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: auto; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: normal; font-weight: bold;">poll by twiigs.com</a> </div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2381896623706040399-3160460397720236777?l=dcumd.blogspot.com'/></div>http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/river-or-life-front-office.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shatz...)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381896623706040399.post-3621956798328264870Sun, 25 Oct 2009 13:49:00 +00002009-10-25T10:42:04.260-04:00Rodney WallaceBen OlsenTom SoehnSteve CroninJaime MorenoJulius JamesFredKC WizardsDC UnitedDC United tie at KC Wizards, 2-2Plenty of fans were saying last night that this match was like a microcosm of our season. I disagree. A microcosm of our season would have included DC United grabbing an early lead and taking it into <a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/06/this-is-third-in-recurring-series-where.html">halftime</a>. It also would have included many chances to go even further ahead, but we would have had multiple goals disallowed and/or our opponent would have scored after some <a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/08/officials-strike-again.html">poor officiating</a>. And then we would have failed to put away chances to avoid everything coming down to the wire, and we would have been held back by injuries (ok, maybe that last part is true).<br /><br />What we saw instead was a team that clearly wanted a victory. They fought hard, which is something that we weren't saying much during our three straight home losses just a short time ago. The team unfortunately left too many points on the table over the course of the season, and those opportunities will be second guessed from our couches, rather than from the bounching seats of RFK Stadium. Because our season has come to a premature end.<br /><br /><img src="http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/mshatzer/blog/TOP.jpg" /><br />1. <strong>Julius James</strong> played well defensively as the center of our three-man backline. But after limping around on one foot and being moved to forward, it was his go-ahead header that will be a lasting image. I'm tempted to throw out all voting for <a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/benny-award-5-grosy.html">the Grosy Award </a>and hand it to James for that performance.<br /><br />2. There's no doubt that the game changed at half time with <strong>Ben Olsen </strong>and <strong>Jaime Moreno</strong> joining the lineup. Olsen was able to hold more possession in his first 5 minutes than Szetela had in his 45. Moreno scored on yet another PK, and both players seemed to motivate the team to give their all. Which makes you wonder why they both weren't <a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/proposed-starting-lineup-for-finale.html">starting in the first place</a>...<br /><br /><img src="http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/mshatzer/blog/CALL.jpg" /><br />1. <strong>Steve Cronin</strong> made some very good saves in this match, despite looking a bit shaky at times in the first half. I'm not sure what the team will need to do to get him back next year, but they need to find out.<br /><br />2. I was once again impressed with the effort of <strong>Fred</strong>. He earned the foul that led to the tying PK goal, and also made some positive contributions defensively despite some obvious cramping late in the match. His red card for a handball to keep the ball out of the net was the correct call, and I think every one of us would have done the same thing.<br /><br /><img src="http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/mshatzer/blog/RAIL.jpg" /><br />1. <strong>Rodney Wallace</strong> was getting beat nonstop by Kei Kamara in the first half, including getting beat on the Wizards' first goal. Wallace came within 2" of total redemption when his potential game-winning shot struck the post, but unfortunately it wasn't in the cards.<br /><br />2. There were some questionable roster decisions by <strong>Tom Soehn</strong>, as has been typical over the course of this season. Even the players have complained about the coach's inability to establish a consistent starting lineup. And I just don't understand the decision to leave Olsen and Moreno home from Mexico mid-week, and then start both of them on the bench. It's doubtful though that we will have the chance to question Soehn's lineups ever again.<br /><br />When the final whistle blew, it didn't feel real. And you could see that on the players' faces as well. It was as if they were each asking themselves: "How did we get here?" How did we take a team with this much talent, and drop so far so fast? You'd be hard pressed to find somebody who would argue that the 2009 DC United team was not better than the 2008 DC United team, yet they were in the same exact position at the conclusion of the season. One point out of the playoffs. Was that because of mismanagement? Poor coaching? Lack of production? Lack of effort? Officiating? Injuries?<br /><br />You could chalk up our underperformance this year to any of those things. I'm not sure which one was the most crucial, but it doesn't really matter what I think. I'm much more curious about what Will Chang and Kevin Payne think.<br /><br />Tom Soehn's career in DC will likely end any day now. This makes you wonder if anyone else's career in DC is about to end also. Dave Kasper? Moreno and Gomez? Emilio and Fred? Bryan Namoff?<br /><br />Surely I'm going to have a lot of write about over the next few weeks. I would much rather be writing more match reactions, but this organization is sure to still keep us bloggers busy.<br /><br />Last note: I've said it before but I'll repeat it here: If we are changing head coaches we need to do it NOW. The expansion draft is exactly one month away. And I want our new head coach to be the one making the important decisions about who to protect.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2381896623706040399-3621956798328264870?l=dcumd.blogspot.com'/></div>http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/dc-united-tie-at-kc-wizards-2-2.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shatz...)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381896623706040399.post-1013366134076972256Sat, 24 Oct 2009 22:25:00 +00002009-10-24T18:44:10.302-04:00Bryan NamoffClyde SimmsSantino QuarantaBen OlsenChris PontiusChristian GomezDejan JakovicBenniesJaime MorenoAward 9: The Etchy<a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3277/2801189223_38c8474336.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 180px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 238px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3277/2801189223_38c8474336.jpg" /></a>By defintion, the Etchy Award goes to DC United's most valuable player. The winner of the award should be the player who United can least afford to live without, and who gives the team the best chance of winning. I'm going to present this award a bit differently because I want to give you more choices and less bias.<br /><br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2008/10/award-9-etchy.html">Last year's rightful winner </a>was Jaime Moreno, whose 10 goals and 10 assists set him apart from the rest of the field. It's much harder to make an argument this season for any player to have set himself apart as much as Moreno did in 2008.<br /><br />1. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=moreno_j&amp;playerId=mor177981&amp;statType=current">Jaime Moreno </a>(8 goals, 3 assists, 23 games)<br />2. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=gomez_c&amp;playerId=gom165981&amp;statType=current">Christian Gomez </a>(6, 4, 26)<br />3. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=pontius_c&amp;playerId=pon648437&amp;statType=current">Chris Pontius </a>(4, 3, 22)<br />4. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=quaranta_s&amp;playerId=qua563610&amp;statType=current">Santino Quaranta </a>(2, 6, 22)<br />5. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=olsen_b&amp;playerId=ols177981&amp;statType=current">Ben Olsen</a> (1, 1, 19)<br />6. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=simms_c&amp;playerId=sim428791&amp;statType=current">Clyde Simms</a> (0, 0, 27)<br />7. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=jakovic_d&amp;playerId=jak501618&amp;statType=current">Dejan Jakovic </a>(0, 0, 22)<br />8. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=namoff_b&amp;playerId=nam474618&amp;statType=current">Bryan Namoff</a> (2, 4, 26)<br /><br /><div class="TWIIGSPOLL"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.twiigs.com/poll.js?pid=42318&amp;color=red"></script><br /><div style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; Z-INDEX: auto; POSITION: static; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none; TEXT-ALIGN: right; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; MARGIN: 10px 0px 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: auto; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; WHITE-SPACE: normal; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; FLOAT: none; LETTER-SPACING: normal; HEIGHT: auto; VISIBILITY: visible; CLEAR: none; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; OVERFLOW: hidden; WORD-SPACING: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0px; text-shadow: none" class="TWIIGSPOLLpolllink"><a style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; Z-INDEX: auto; POSITION: static; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none; TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: auto; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; WHITE-SPACE: normal; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; FLOAT: none; LETTER-SPACING: normal; HEIGHT: auto; VISIBILITY: visible; CLEAR: none; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; OVERFLOW: hidden; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; WORD-SPACING: normal; PADDING-TOP: 0px; text-shadow: none" class="TWIIGSPOLLmorelink" href="http://www.twiigs.com/">poll by twiigs.com</a> </div></div><br /><br />Please enter your votes now through <strong>Monday</strong>, and remember to post in the comments section to be eligible for the <a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/benny-award-5-grosy.html">exciting prizes that I announced last week</a>.<br /><br /><em>Next up: The Benny - Who has been the best player on average this season, as tracked via this blog? Your chance for voting is done. This one is all on me!</em><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2381896623706040399-1013366134076972256?l=dcumd.blogspot.com'/></div>http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/award-9-etchy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shatz...)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381896623706040399.post-3799232529010705124Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:56:00 +00002009-10-23T10:56:51.130-04:00Proposed starting lineup for the finale<!-- Converted from text/rtf format --> <P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Given the unfortunate results of the Chicago/Chivas and Marathon/San Juan matches last night, a<B> WIN</B> for DC United on Saturday has now become all the more crucial.&nbsp; The number of playoff spots at stake just dropped from 3 to 2 with the Fire's victory.&nbsp; What's worse though is that the loss by Chivas USA means that Columbus has now clinched the Supporter's Shield, and therefore will have nothing to play for in their final match against the Revolution on Sunday.</FONT></P> <P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">So if Saturday's match against the Wizards is a must-win, we are obviously going to have to put our best possible lineup on the field.&nbsp; Given the many different combinations that we've seen from DC this season, that's not easy to determine.&nbsp; But here are a few things that I think are fairly simple:</FONT></P> <P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">1.</FONT><B> <FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Steve Cronin should and will start</FONT></B><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">.&nbsp; After dropping 3 league matches at home in a row with Wicks and Kocic each playing 1.5 matches, Cronin has been a breath of fresh air and gives us our best chance of winning.</FONT></P> <P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">2.</FONT><B> <FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">We're down to 2 1/2 competent defenders</FONT></B><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial"> on our active roster.&nbsp; Devon McTavish's strong showing on Tuesday night gave me hope that he could fill in for Namoff at right back for this match and for all of our playoff matches (ha!).&nbsp; But without McTavish, the only good defenders we have left are Jakovic, James, and Burch (you can guess who the 1/2 is).&nbsp; This is leading me towards a return to the 3-5-2 formation that had us in first place for a good chunk of the early parts of the season.</FONT></P> <P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">3.</FONT><B> <FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Ben Olsen, Christian Gomez, and Jaime Moreno</FONT></B> <FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">will not let this team fail!&nbsp; Despite his injuries over the years, Olsen has remained our hardest worker and sets an example for the other players on the field.&nbsp; Gomez has had a tendency to show up big for us in big games in the past.&nbsp; I'll never forget his performance in the second leg of our playoff series against Chicago in 2007 when Gomez scored one goal, and then came within a handball call away from equalizing the series in stoppage time.&nbsp; With 8 goals, Moreno is #2 on the team in scoring this season.&nbsp; More importantly though, his 0.0067 goals per minute is by far the best on the team.&nbsp; Emilio has 0.0049 and Gomez has 0.0038.&nbsp; For comparison's sake, Conor Casey has 0.0080 and Donovan has 0.0053.&nbsp; The question then is why Moreno has only earned 1,190 minutes and 11 starts?&nbsp; That needs to change if we're going to have a chance of making the playoffs.</FONT></P> <P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">4.</FONT><B> <FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Boyzzz Khumalo is not a starting winger</FONT></B><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">.&nbsp; Especially not in a 3-5-2 where the wingers have more defensive responsibility.&nbsp; I love Khumalo as a substitute to bring speed and energy against a tired opponent late in the match, but that doesn't make him a 90 minute player.</FONT></P> <P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">With all that said, our starting lineup for me is looking really freakin' obvious.&nbsp; I post my proposed starting lineup on Twitter before just about every match, but I've never been 100% right before.&nbsp; This is the first time that I'll be surprised if I don't get it right.&nbsp; Here's what we're looking at:<BR> <BR> </FONT><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Courier">------Cronin------</FONT> <BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Courier">Jakovic-James-Burch</FONT> <BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Courier">----Olsen-Simms----</FONT> <BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Courier">Pontius-----Wallace</FONT> <BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Courier">--Moreno---Emilio--</FONT> </P> <P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">There's really no reason why we shouldn't win this game.&nbsp; Kansas City looked disinterested in defending in their match against the Sounders last week, and I'd hate to think that the combination of Gomez/Moreno/Emilio is less creative and less dynamic than that squad.&nbsp; Of course we'll need some help from some other teams too, but if we lose or tie to the Wizards, then we do not deserve to be in the playoffs, and it will be a really rough offseason.</FONT></P> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2381896623706040399-3799232529010705124?l=dcumd.blogspot.com'/></div>http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/proposed-starting-lineup-for-finale.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shatz...)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381896623706040399.post-4716584862631417947Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:25:00 +00002009-10-21T23:09:47.341-04:00Bryan NamoffClyde SimmsJosh WicksDejan JakovicBenniesAward 8: The Popie<a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3024/2801189139_768b10abfb.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 162px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 227px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3024/2801189139_768b10abfb.jpg" /></a> By definition, the Popie award goes to United's best defensive player in 2009. The award's namesake is former national team defender <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Pope">Eddie Pope</a>. Not only is Pope widely recognized as the best defender in United's history, but he is also responsible for the most important goal in United's history.<br /><br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2008/10/award-8-popie.html">Last year's winner was Bryan Namoff </a>with over 50% of the vote. It's also telling of DC's defensive struggles in 2008 that the runner-up for this award last year was Devon McTavish, and he had not started a single game in central defense all year until last night.<br /><br />1. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=namoff_b&amp;playerId=nam474618&amp;statType=current">Bryan Namoff</a> is a strong contender to defend his title in 2009 with another great year. He's also contributed to the team with his most productive offensive year to date, with 2 goals and 4 assists.<br /><br />2. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=jakovic_d&amp;playerId=jak501618&amp;statType=current">Dejan Jakovic</a> has been the first central defender in years to solidify his position in DC United's lineup, starting every game while healthy. He has exhibited great vision, anticipation, movement, and strength, placing him among the best central defenders in MLS.<br /><br />3. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=simms_c&amp;playerId=sim428791&amp;statType=current">Clyde Simms</a> may not be a true defender by trade, but he is the team's best ball-winner, and he won the "Defender of the Year" award at last year's team reception.<br /><br />4. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=wicks_j&amp;playerId=wic343214&amp;statType=current">Josh Wicks </a>started 19 regular season games for DC United this year and earned 5 shutouts. His 1.40 goals against average is not among the best in the league, but he appeared to have locked down the starting goalkeeper position for the team before getting injured.<br /><br /><div class="TWIIGSPOLL"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.twiigs.com/poll.js?pid=42110&amp;color=red"></script><br /><div style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; Z-INDEX: auto; POSITION: static; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none; TEXT-ALIGN: right; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; MARGIN: 10px 0px 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: auto; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; WHITE-SPACE: normal; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; FLOAT: none; LETTER-SPACING: normal; HEIGHT: auto; VISIBILITY: visible; CLEAR: none; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; OVERFLOW: hidden; WORD-SPACING: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0px; text-shadow: none" class="TWIIGSPOLLpolllink"><a style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; Z-INDEX: auto; POSITION: static; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none; TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: auto; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; WHITE-SPACE: normal; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; FLOAT: none; LETTER-SPACING: normal; HEIGHT: auto; VISIBILITY: visible; CLEAR: none; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; OVERFLOW: hidden; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; WORD-SPACING: normal; PADDING-TOP: 0px; text-shadow: none" class="TWIIGSPOLLmorelink" href="http://www.twiigs.com/">poll by twiigs.com</a> </div></div><br /><br />Please enter your votes now through the end of the season, and remember to post in the comments section to be eligible for the <a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/benny-award-5-grosy.html">exciting prizes that I announced last week</a>.<br /><br /><em>Next up: The Esky - Who is United's most valuable player?</em><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2381896623706040399-4716584862631417947?l=dcumd.blogspot.com'/></div>http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/award-8-popie.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shatz...)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381896623706040399.post-512233903892858513Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:59:00 +00002009-10-20T22:26:58.004-04:00Lawson VaughnChris PontiusDevon McTavishJohn DiRaimondoSteve CroninBoyzzz KhumaloDanny SzetelaJulius JamesChampions LeagueFredDC UnitedDC United tie at Toluca, 1-1Finishing 1-1 against the leader of the Mexican Primera Division on the road is a better result than most of us expected, and probably a better result than we deserved. Still, thanks to some inspired play by a few individuals, and some poor shooting by Toluca, we emerged with a single point.<br /><br />A win would have secured our spot in the Champions' League quarterfinals, but let's not count ourselves out yet. That spot will now come down to the result of the Marathon at San Juan Jabloteh match on Thursday night. SJJ won't want to finish the CCL with zero points so they are going to try their hardest to earn a positive result, and they played both DCU and Toluca to 1-0 losses. Hopefully Marathon's plane gets delayed again.<br /><br /><img src="http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/mshatzer/blog/TOP.jpg" /><br />1. <strong>Chris Pontius</strong> opened the scoring in the sixth minute with a brilliant strike. And despite taking what I thought was an injury off a hard Toluca challenge (that went un-whistled of course), he fought hard for 90 minutes.<br /><br />2. The best defender for United tonight was <strong>Devon McTavish</strong>. I actually thought removing him around the 60th minute was the wrong move because he'd played so well, and because he's done so well in Champions' Cup/League matches in the past.<br /><br />3. <strong>Steve Cronin</strong> continues to raise his transfer price with another excellent performance in net.<br /><br /><img src="http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/mshatzer/blog/CALL.jpg" /><br />1. I mentioned that Pontius fought hard for 90 minutes. Unfortunately that wasn't true for every member of the team, but it was true for <strong>Julius James </strong>and <strong>Fred.</strong> Wasn't the best performance for either of them, but each contributed when necessary, and were running until the end despite being clearly gassed.<br /><br /><img src="http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/mshatzer/blog/RAIL.jpg" /><br />1. The penalty kick call against <strong>Lawson Vaughn </strong>was a bit unlucky because the foul was definitely not intentional. But if the player hadn't run around him so easily to begin with, he never would have been in that position. Vaughn was right up there next to McTavish after the first half, but he dropped off considerably in the second.<br /><br />2. Other than Fred, our first half midfield combination of <strong>John DiRaimondo, Danny Szetela</strong>, and <strong>Boyzzz Khumalo </strong>was the worst we've seen all year from DC United. Toluca had no problems dribbling through our midfield, and we weren't able to build any considerable amount of possession. The presence of Simms/Olsen/Jacobson was sorely missed.<br /><br />With a tie and two days wait until the conclusion of the group stage, the CCL is now out of our hands. Maybe we'll advance, maybe we won't.<br /><br />What's not out of our hands though is our MLS playoff potential! It's do or die at Kansas City on Saturday. I'm not going to waste my time attempting to write up any playoff scenarios again (you can<a href="http://www.behindthebadge.com/"> get that here</a>), but let's just say that a loss or tie leaves us with very little chance of survival.<br /><br />Two important matches Thursday night - Chivas at Chicago and Marathon at Jabloteh. Each could have a huge impact on our team's future. All we can do on Thursday night though is hope for the best. Saturday is when it's time to take care of business.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2381896623706040399-512233903892858513?l=dcumd.blogspot.com'/></div>http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/dc-united-tie-at-toluca-1-1.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shatz...)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381896623706040399.post-6987437071785523962Sun, 18 Oct 2009 02:15:00 +00002009-10-17T23:03:12.095-04:00Clyde SimmsChristian GomezAndrew JacobsonSteve CroninDejan JakovicColumbus CrewLuciano EmilioJulius JamesMarc BurchDC UnitedDC United win vs Columbus Crew, 1-0After dropping three straight matches at home to MLS opponents, and with our most consistent defender and our two most dynamic attackers out, most fans didn't really expect DC United to win this match. Especially not against the soon-to-be back-to-back Supporters' Shield winners. And it may not have been an attractive victory, but it was a victory none the less. And it was just what we needed to somehow manage to stay in the playoff race. I'll make the match ratings quick because I want to get to the breakdown of the playoff standings.<br /><br /><img src="http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/mshatzer/blog/TOP.jpg" /><br />1. <strong>Steve Cronin</strong> in his first match with the team looked completely confident and competent. I wonder what our place in the standings would look like had we acquired Cronin instead of Wicks from the Galaxy in the offseason.<br /><br />2. Give credit to <strong>Julius James</strong> and <strong>Dejan Jakovic</strong> for earning a shut out against the best team in MLS. Luci's goal was nice, but the defense was the real story tonight.<br /><br />3. <strong>Clyde Simms </strong>and <strong>Andrew Jacobson</strong> each played well in central midfield. Simms was all over the field in the first half, and Jacobson was also a strong presense.<br /><br /><img src="http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/mshatzer/blog/CALL.jpg" /><br />1. The early goal from <strong>Luciano Emilio</strong> may not have looked like much, but it came off of a perfectly timed run to stay onside. Emilio had too many giveaways in the second half though, failing to hold onto the ball when we really needed to maintain possession.<br /><br />2. <strong>Marc Burch </strong>had a quiet game tonight, which is better than most of his games recently.<br /><br /><img src="http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/mshatzer/blog/RAIL.jpg" /><br />1. Even though the team was playing in a 3-5-2 to specifically take advantage of his talents, <strong>Christian Gomez</strong> was a complete non-factor in this match.<br /><br />What's great about the MLS this season is that every single goddamn match in the final week has playoff implications! Even Chicago's playoff position isn't safe. With 42 points, a loss next week combined with a DCU win would put United ahead of them based on our 2-0-1 record against the Fire. The LA-SJ match is the only one that won't necessarily affect a team's playoff status, but will still impact the Galaxy's seeding.<br /><br />So there are exactly 3 playoff spots still in play, and there is one team at 42 points (Chicago), one team at 40 points (Colorado), and four teams at 39 points. Of the teams in competition, DC owns head-to-head advantages over <strong>Chicago</strong> and <strong>Dallas</strong>. We are even with <strong>Colorado</strong>. And we are at a disadvantage against <strong>Real Salt Lake</strong>,<strong> New England</strong>, and <strong>Toronto</strong>.<br /><br />What we know for sure is that DC United <strong>MUST WIN</strong> at Kansas City to have a shot. Also, if any three of Chi/Col/NE/Tor wins, we are definitely out. There's still plenty of scenarios, but here's what I'll be rooting for:<br /><br />1. Chicago to lose to Chivas on Thursday night<br />2. Toronto to lose or tie at the Red Bulls on Saturday<br />3. Colorado to lose or tie at RSL on Saturday<br />4. Dallas to lose or tie at Seattle on Saturday<br />5. New England to lose or tie at Columbus on Sunday<br /><br />So if three of those five things happen, and United wins, we are in the playoffs. Against all odds. It sure felt like our team in 2009 was better than our team in 2008, yet we are somehow right back in the same spot as last year - needing a win in the last week to continue playing.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2381896623706040399-6987437071785523962?l=dcumd.blogspot.com'/></div>http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/dc-united-win-vs-columbus-crew-1-0.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shatz...)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381896623706040399.post-1940210220187458793Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:56:00 +00002009-10-16T21:41:50.947-04:00Santino QuarantaBen OlsenTom SoehnBenniesJaime MorenoBenny Award 7: The Harkesy<a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3250/2802035964_5ea80b5a14.jpg?v=0"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 157px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 282px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3250/2802035964_5ea80b5a14.jpg?v=0" /></a>By definition, the Harkesy Award should go to the DC United player who has been the strongest leader for our team this season. On-field leadership is important, but for this award, it isn't everything. And that would be evidenced by the fact that Ben Olsen <a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2008/10/award-7-harkesy.html">won the award last year </a>after playing only 15 minutes. The award's namesake is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4yzIff7Jns">captain for life John Harkes </a>who was United's captain for the first three years of the team's existence.<br /><br /><div>1. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=moreno_j&amp;playerId=mor177981&amp;statType=current">Jaime Moreno</a> is the team's captain this season, and has always had an uncanny ability to hold the ball, distribute, and take over a match. However, Moreno has apparently only been worthy of 11 starts this season, despite his 8 goals and 3 assists.</div><div></div><br /><div></div><div>2. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=olsen_b&amp;playerId=ols177981&amp;statType=current">Ben Olsen </a>leads by example on the field, exuding courage, heart, brains, and whatever Dorothy was looking for too. Olsen has been one of the few players on the team who looks like he has given all he's got every match of the year.</div><div></div><div></div><br /><div>3. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=quaranta_s&amp;playerId=qua563610&amp;statType=current">Santino Quaranta </a>appears to be poised to take over as the leader of the next generation of players on the team. He has been the most vocal in the media, and has set a fine example for the rookies and other younger players. </div><div><P></P></div><div>4. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=soehn_tom">Tom Soehn</a> is by title the technical leader of the team. Parts of this season have certainly been a challenge for Soehn in assembling a strong lineup every week with injuries to key personnel and international appearances to fend off, but he was able to guide the team to first place for much of the first half of the season before being faced with these issues. Late in the year though, with United falling from playoff competition and dropping multiple home matches, Soehn may have lost his team.</div><div></div><div><br /><div class="TWIIGSPOLL"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.twiigs.com/poll.js?pid=41841&amp;color=red"></script><br /><div style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; Z-INDEX: auto; POSITION: static; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none; TEXT-ALIGN: right; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; MARGIN: 10px 0px 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: auto; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; WHITE-SPACE: normal; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; FLOAT: none; LETTER-SPACING: normal; HEIGHT: auto; VISIBILITY: visible; CLEAR: none; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; OVERFLOW: hidden; WORD-SPACING: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0px; text-shadow: none" class="TWIIGSPOLLpolllink"><a style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; Z-INDEX: auto; POSITION: static; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none; TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: auto; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; WHITE-SPACE: normal; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; FLOAT: none; LETTER-SPACING: normal; HEIGHT: auto; VISIBILITY: visible; CLEAR: none; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; OVERFLOW: hidden; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; WORD-SPACING: normal; PADDING-TOP: 0px; text-shadow: none" class="TWIIGSPOLLmorelink" href="http://www.twiigs.com/">poll by twiigs.com</a> </div></div><br /></div><div></div><div>Please enter your votes now through the end of the season, and remember to post in the comments section to be eligible for the <a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/benny-award-5-grosy.html">exciting prizes that I announced last week</a>.</div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><P></P><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><em>Next up: The Popie - Who is United's best defender this season?</em></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2381896623706040399-1940210220187458793?l=dcumd.blogspot.com'/></div>http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/benny-award-7-harkesy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shatz...)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381896623706040399.post-8023097789384922607Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:04:00 +00002009-10-13T21:50:12.048-04:00Rodney WallaceJosh WicksChris PontiusChristian GomezBenniesKevin PayneBenny Award 6: The Freddy<a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3229/2802035914_404909f16d.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 170px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 285px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3229/2802035914_404909f16d.jpg" /></a>By definition, the Freddy Award goes to the biggest story for DC United this year. This award should go to the individual who has created the biggest stir around DC this season. The award's namesake <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddy_Adu">Freddy Adu </a>wasn't only the biggest story in DC when he was on the team, he was also the biggest story in MLS. Still to this day, the most frequent question we United fans get from non-soccer-fans is "Does Freddy Adu still play for them?"<br /><br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2008/10/award-6-freddy.html">Last year's award </a>went to Santino Quaranta after <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/13/AR2008061303416.html">Goff's article </a>on his struggles with painkillers gained national attention.<br /><br />1. <a href="http://dcunited.mlsnet.com/about/staff.jsp?team=t103&amp;name=payne_k">Kevin Payne </a>and his very public argument with Adrian Hanauer of the Sounders sent waves through the DC sports community, starting with the <a href="http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/sounders/untitled.bmp">full page ads</a> the team ran in every newspaper they could find. This propaganda was a huge success by marketing standards, resulting in attendance of over 17,000 at the US Open Cup Final, but unfortunately did not result in a win.<br /><br />2. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=wicks_j&amp;playerId=wic343214&amp;statType=current">Josh Wicks </a>and his short temper earned him some bad publicity nationwide after stomping on Freddy Montero in the Open Cup Final. And that was just a week after he had a shoving match with Marc Burch in the middle of a game.<br /><br />3. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=gomez_c&amp;playerId=gom165981&amp;statType=current">Christian Gomez </a>returned to DC this season after being an incredible disappointment in Colorado, and he returned with something to prove. Gomez was cast aside last year in favor of fellow Argentinian Marcelo Gallardo, but returned to the team in 2009 earning 6 goals and 4 assists to easily surpass Gallardo's production.<br /><br />4. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=pontius_c&amp;playerId=pon648437&amp;statType=current">Chris Pontius </a>and <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=wallace_r&amp;playerId=wal373814&amp;statType=current">Rodney Wallace </a>may be stars in the making for DC United. These two rookies have <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/sights/rookielife/">taken the league by storm</a>, and are respectively #1 and (tied for) #2 on the team in appearances this year.<br /><br /><div class="TWIIGSPOLL"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.twiigs.com/poll.js?pid=41600&amp;color=reddark"></script><br /><div style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; Z-INDEX: auto; POSITION: static; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none; TEXT-ALIGN: right; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; MARGIN: 10px 0px 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: auto; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; WHITE-SPACE: normal; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; FLOAT: none; LETTER-SPACING: normal; HEIGHT: auto; VISIBILITY: visible; CLEAR: none; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; OVERFLOW: hidden; WORD-SPACING: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0px; text-shadow: none" class="TWIIGSPOLLpolllink"><a style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; Z-INDEX: auto; POSITION: static; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none; TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: auto; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; WHITE-SPACE: normal; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; FLOAT: none; LETTER-SPACING: normal; HEIGHT: auto; VISIBILITY: visible; CLEAR: none; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; OVERFLOW: hidden; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; WORD-SPACING: normal; PADDING-TOP: 0px; text-shadow: none" class="TWIIGSPOLLmorelink" href="http://www.twiigs.com/">poll by twiigs.com</a> </div></div><br /><br />Please enter your votes now through the end of the season, and remember to post in the comments section to be eligible for the <a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/benny-award-5-grosy.html">exciting prizes that I announced last week</a>.<br /><br /><em>Up next: The Harkesy - Who is the team leader?</em><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2381896623706040399-8023097789384922607?l=dcumd.blogspot.com'/></div>http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/benny-award-6-freddy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shatz...)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381896623706040399.post-3979415929228289816Thu, 08 Oct 2009 23:04:00 +00002009-10-08T20:08:19.667-04:00Clyde SimmsBen OlsenGreg JanickiDejan JakovicBenniesLuciano EmilioBenny Award 5: The Grosy<a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3179/2801188917_3df1b56a0a.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 183px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 279px" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3179/2801188917_3df1b56a0a.jpg" border="0" /></a>Before we get to the award, an announcement...<br /><br />Over the next two and a half weeks, we'll be <strong>running a contest here with some pretty cool prizes to give away</strong>. And to win them, all you have to do is vote for the Benny Awards! The team's hooked me up with the following prizes: a DC United/Volkswagen team scarf, the 2009 DC United media guide, and a Gatorade/MLS towel. To enter, you just need to post in the Comments section, and somehow identify yourself. You can identify yourself either by posting with a public Google account so I can see your email address when you comment, or sign your comment with your email address, or just send me an email at dcu.umd[at]gmail.com to let me know which comment is yours. Yeah its that easy. There are 6 awards left including this one, and you can vote once per award, so that's 6 chances to win!<br /><br />I will be giving out the prizes after the last regular season match as follows:<br /><br />The Gatorade/MLS towel will go to the funniest/most creative comment.<br />The 2009 media guide will go to the most convincing/intelligent comment.<br />The DCU/VW scarf will go to a comment chosen completely at random.<br /><br /><br />Now let's get down to business.<br /><br />By definition, the Grosy Award goes to the DCU player who you think of as a warrior. To the guy who isn't afraid to lay his body on the line, play through injuries, and do whatever it takes to win. The award's namesake is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Gros">Josh Gros</a>, whose soccer career actually ended way too early because he was exactly the type of warrior that I just described.<br /><br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2008/09/award-5-grosy.html">Last year's winner </a>was Santino Quaranta, who was frequently seen playing with a cast on his arm, and played through multiple injuries throughout the year.<br /><br />1. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=emilio_l&amp;playerId=emi385627&amp;statType=current">Luciano Emilio</a> is nominated mainly for his performance at Marathon in the opening CCL match, in which he literally split his head open while scoring. He returned to the field moments later and played the remainder of the match with a bandage.<br /><br />2. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=simms_c&amp;playerId=sim428791&amp;statType=current">Clyde Simms </a>and <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=jakovic_d&amp;playerId=jak501618&amp;statType=current">Dejan Jakovic </a>each took just about 3 weeks to recover from hernia surgery, an operation that cost Marcelo Gallardo half his season in 2008.<br /><br />3. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=olsen_b&amp;playerId=ols177981&amp;statType=current">Ben Olsen </a>has issues with both of his ankles, his knees, his chest hair, and probably more. Yet after sitting out all but 15 minutes last season, he is back with a vengeance and fighting for the team with every minute that he spends on the field.<br /><br />4. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=janicki_g&amp;playerId=jan307136&amp;statType=current">Greg Janicki </a>got back spasms from sitting on the bench too long and was placed on injured reserve.<br /><br /><br /><div class="TWIIGSPOLL"><script src="http://www.twiigs.com/poll.js?pid=41238&amp;color=reddark" type="text/javascript"></script><br /><div class="TWIIGSPOLLpolllink" style="CLEAR: none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; FLOAT: none; BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; VISIBILITY: visible; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 10px 0px 0px; WORD-SPACING: normal; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; OVERFLOW: hidden; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; WIDTH: auto; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; WHITE-SPACE: normal; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; LETTER-SPACING: normal; POSITION: static; HEIGHT: auto; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; TEXT-ALIGN: right; TEXT-DECORATION: none; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none; outline-style: none; text-shadow: none"><a class="TWIIGSPOLLmorelink" style="CLEAR: none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FLOAT: none; BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; VISIBILITY: visible; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; WORD-SPACING: normal; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; OVERFLOW: hidden; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; WIDTH: auto; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; WHITE-SPACE: normal; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; LETTER-SPACING: normal; POSITION: static; HEIGHT: auto; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; TEXT-ALIGN: left; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none; outline-style: none; text-shadow: none" href="http://www.twiigs.com/">poll by twiigs.com</a> </div></div><br /><br />Please enter your votes now through the end of the season, and remember to post in the comments section to be eligible for prizes.<br /><br /><em>Up next: The Freddy. What has been DC United's biggest story this year?</em><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2381896623706040399-3979415929228289816?l=dcumd.blogspot.com'/></div>http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/benny-award-5-grosy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shatz...)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381896623706040399.post-6970390185137465475Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:03:00 +00002009-10-04T11:45:36.863-04:00Santino QuarantaMilos KocicBen OlsenChris PontiusTom SoehnBoyzzz KhumaloMarc BurchDC UnitedChivas USADC United lose to Chivas USA, 2-0This was clearly a match between two teams going in different directions. Chivas was starting guys like Maicon Santos, Jesus Padilla, and Yamith Cuesta - all who joined the team in August and have already claimed starting jobs. They haven't been afraid to bench their veterans like Razov, Galindo, and Marsch and have instead sought out better players. Pretty interesting contrast against what United has been doing this year.<br /><br />It's hard to admit but I think we are actually the worst team in MLS right now. I'm greatful that we don't play NYRB in either of our last two matches, because I think they would embarass us too. Just 3 points in 4 home matches, and those came against a Wizards team that couldn't put the ball on frame. We were looking forward to this 5-match home stretch all year, and we've just pissed it away.<br /><br /><img src="http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/mshatzer/blog/TOP.jpg" /><br />No one even close.<br /><br /><img src="http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/mshatzer/blog/CALL.jpg" /><br />1. <strong>Chris Pontius </strong>and <strong>Santino Quaranta </strong>were the hardest working players on the field. Pontius was maybe the only player who was involved in the match for all 90 minutes. Quaranta had a really poor first half, being dispossessed multiple times and failing to get to a couple balls. If he had given the same level of effort in the first 75 minutes as he gave in the last 15, we may have scored.<br /><br /><img src="http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/mshatzer/blog/RAIL.jpg" /><br />1. Where to start? <strong>Milos Kocic</strong> for getting beat to the near post on the first goal (sure it was unlucky that it bounced off his back, but he should have stopped it in the first place). <strong>Marc Burch</strong> for getting beat on the second goal (also unlucky the way the ball fell right to Padilla, but Burch should have cleared it in the first place). <strong>Ben Olsen </strong>for letting the team down. <strong>Tom Soehn</strong> for breathing. I'm going to move on and steal a good idea and hit some <a href="http://fullbackfiles.blogspot.com/">talking points</a> instead:<br /><br />I don't know for sure that a penalty kick would have been the right call when Jaime Moreno was taken down, but I definitely don't understand the call that was made. From my view, it looked like there was obviously SOME contact between Cuesta and Moreno, and even if it wasn't enough to justify a PK, I don't think it made sense to give Moreno a card for falling when he got hit while running at full speed. But if the ruling was that Cuesta got all-ball and Moreno dove, or that Cuesta got the ball first and the contact with Moreno was incidental, then shouldn't it have been a corner kick and not a goal kick?<br /><br />I was not happy with the "Fire Soehn" chants that could be heard throughout the match, even when we were just down 1-0. I'm fine with chanting for Moreno to come in, and I'm fine with booing at half time and chanting "Fire Soehn" after the game. But if BB/SE are going to brag about being the only fans in MLS that sing for 90 minutes, let's please sing in support of United, not against it.<br /><br />Speaking of Soehn though, I don't understand the roster decisions either. <a href="http://fullbackfiles.blogspot.com/2009/10/thanks-tommy-dc-united-match-reaction.html">Fullback makes a good </a>point in criticizing the decision to start the same players who produced mid-week. I thought the whole point in starting Gomez and Khumalo ahead of Emilio and Moreno on Wednesday was for our two leading scorers to be at full strength on Saturday. Apparently not. That was a combined 17 goals sitting on the bench for the first half last night in a must-win match. The adjustments during the match didn't make much sense either. Quaranta and Pontius frequently switching places doesn't do much good when they have pretty similar playing styles. What I wanted to see was the team move Khumalo into his natural forward position, where he scored one of his goals against SJJ. Khumalo is fast and can shoot, but doesn't have the defensive ability or creativity to be a regular starter in the midfield. Even New York figured out eventually what to do with a similar player in Mac Kandji. Our coaches aren't that smart though.<br /><br />The worst feeling was the sense that United didn't have a chance to win. Just 10 minutes in, it was easy to see that Chivas's defense was better than our midfielders/forwards, and it was far more likely that our piecemeal back line would leak a goal than that we would earn one against the best goalkeeper in the league this season. It was a lost cause from the start. And I don't see it getting any better with our last <a href="https://secure.dcunited.com/champions-1999?r=WS">home match against Columbus</a>.<br /><br />Olsen and Moreno's comments in the <a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/soccerinsider/2009/10/united_rewind_37.html">Insider's Rewind</a> post could be signs of what's to come. Olsen saying that the team was better without him could certainly be a hint at a pending retirement. But Moreno saying that the team doesn't have rhythm because they change their lineup every week is even more telling. Soehn has lost the team.<br /><br />So the only thing left is to ponder who our next head coach will be. <a href="http://kickthis.typepad.com/kick_this/2009/10/united-0-chivas-2-oct-3-2009.html">Curmudgeon</a> is calling for an immediate switch to Olsen. And I've seen other pleas for Moreno and/or Etcheverry. But as savory as it might be to see a United star from years past guide our team back to the promised land, I don't think that's what makes sense for our club. I could see any one of those guys implementing the same "possession oriented" style that we've been using with mediocrity for the last several years. It's time for a change. I was salivating listening to Sasho Cirovski doing the commentary, and would love to see him promoted to the pro ranks, but it's sad that I don't see him taking a job here. Rejecting both those options, who do we turn to? I wish I knew.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2381896623706040399-6970390185137465475?l=dcumd.blogspot.com'/></div>http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/dc-united-lose-to-chivas-usa-2-0.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shatz...)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381896623706040399.post-6526193623933373694Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:59:00 +00002009-10-02T21:41:33.873-04:00Greg JanickiBenniesLuciano EmilioDanny SzetelaFredBenny Award 4: The Donnety<a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3204/2802035796_e7c74aa203.jpg?v=0"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 179px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 292px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3204/2802035796_e7c74aa203.jpg?v=0" /></a>By definition, the Donnety Award goes to the player who has been the biggest disappointment for DC United in 2009. The award's namesake <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matias_Donnet">Matias Donnet </a>came to United in 2006 and was seen as a potential all star due to his pedigree after playing for Boca Juniors, as well as spending some time in Serie A. But Donnet turned into a huge disappointment, playing in only 8 matches for United.<br /><br /><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2008/09/award-4-donnety.html">Last year's "winner"</a> by just a hair was the star-studded combination of Zach Wells and Jose Carvallo. These two were brought to DC with high hopes of establishing a goalkeeper competition. Wells won the competition, but then took 17 matches to earn his first clean sheet. Meanwhile, Carvallo looked awful in his few appearances.<br /><br />1. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=emilio_l&amp;playerId=emi385627&amp;statType=current">Luciano Emilio</a> has been a scapegoat for a lot of fans this season. His 9 goals this season leads the team, but that's down from 11 in 2008 and 20 in 2007. Emilio may be a big disappointment when you consider his $750,000 salary, but is he really the biggest disappointment this year?<br /><br />2. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=carreiro_h&amp;playerId=car557968&amp;statType=current">Fred</a> has demonstrated a noted drop-off since joining MLS from Australia's A League. His 2 goals and 4 assists this year is identical to his stats from 2008, but he has not had the impact on games that he was having in 2007, and he now sits solidly behind two rookies on our depth chart.<br /><br />3. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=szetela_d&amp;playerId=sze622937&amp;statType=current">Danny Szetela</a> joined United via the allocation system in mid-July, but has only played in two league matches. Initially we heard that he was benched because of the "coach's decision", which seemed to indicate that he had done something to piss Tommy off. But lately all we've heard is that he isn't playing because he just isn't as good as the other players in front of him. Regardless, Szetela has yet to make an impression on the team, which some might call disappointing.<br /><br />4. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=janicki_g&amp;playerId=jan307136&amp;statType=current">Greg Janicki </a>earned himself a starting job in central defense last year and was in position to be Jakovic's chief backup this year. Uninspiring play and one terrible performance against Marathon instead earned himself a regular spot on the "Not in 18" list, and then eventually on the DL.<br /><br /><div class="TWIIGSPOLL"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.twiigs.com/poll.js?pid=40815&amp;color=reddark"></script><br /><div style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; Z-INDEX: auto; POSITION: static; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none; TEXT-ALIGN: right; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; MARGIN: 10px 0px 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: auto; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; WHITE-SPACE: normal; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; FLOAT: none; LETTER-SPACING: normal; HEIGHT: auto; VISIBILITY: visible; CLEAR: none; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; OVERFLOW: hidden; WORD-SPACING: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0px; text-shadow: none" class="TWIIGSPOLLpolllink"><a style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; Z-INDEX: auto; POSITION: static; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none; TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: auto; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; WHITE-SPACE: normal; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; FLOAT: none; LETTER-SPACING: normal; HEIGHT: auto; VISIBILITY: visible; CLEAR: none; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; OVERFLOW: hidden; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; WORD-SPACING: normal; PADDING-TOP: 0px; text-shadow: none" class="TWIIGSPOLLmorelink" href="http://www.twiigs.com/">poll by twiigs.com</a> </div></div><br /><br />Please enter your votes now through the end of the season, and feel free to argue for your choice in the comments section.<br /><br /><em>Up next: The Grosy - Who is DC United's gutsiest player? </em><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2381896623706040399-6526193623933373694?l=dcumd.blogspot.com'/></div>http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/benny-award-4-donnety.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shatz...)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381896623706040399.post-4279956073630303840Thu, 01 Oct 2009 10:47:00 +00002009-10-01T07:09:02.836-04:00Rodney WallaceMilos KocicChris PontiusChristian GomezBoyzzz KhumaloDanny SzetelaChampions LeagueFredDC UnitedDC United win vs San Juan Jabloteh, 5-1Last week I made a big mistake in reading too much into the results of<a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/09/dc-united-win-vs-marathon-3-0.html"> a win against a weak opponent</a>. Learning my lesson, let's just say that this match was a pleasure to watch. This is the second time this season United has scored five goals, and it looked like the boys were having fun out there.<br /><br />Does that mean though that they will carry this momentum into the match Saturday against Chivas? Given recent history, probably not. But for now, let's just enjoy the moment.<br /><br /><img src="http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/mshatzer/blog/TOP.jpg" /><br />1. <strong>Christian Gomez</strong> looked like an MVP last night. He scored two goals, but it was his run leading to the assist on the third goal that impressed me the most.<br /><br />2. The energy of <strong>Chris Pontius</strong> and <strong>Rodney Wallace</strong> was a big part of our victory. I'm moving away from the idea that CP should be our starter on left wing and am solidly back on advocating him as a starting forward. Wallace also added two assists and looked great making overlapping runs throughout the match.<br /><br />3. Sure it was a weak opponent, but <strong>Fred </strong>and <strong>Boyzzz Khumalo</strong> took advantage of opportunities when they were there. Each had a couple flubs also, but our two wingers combining for 3 goals is nice to see.<br /><br />4. He didn't have to do much, but when called upon, <strong>Milos Kocic</strong> answered.<br /><br /><img src="http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/mshatzer/blog/CALL.jpg" /><br />1. <strong>Danny Szetela</strong> played well as a second half sub in a holding midfield position. He actually broke up a couple Jabloteh attacks. I don't think he's really close to playing himself into a spot as a regular starter, but this was definitely an improvement.<br /><br /><img src="http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/mshatzer/blog/RAIL.jpg" /><br />None<br /><br />We're heading back to reality now though with a huge MUST-WIN match on <a href="https://secure.dcunited.com/fall-college-night?r=WS">Saturday against Chivas USA</a>. I don't see any possible way for us to make the playoffs with a loss this weekend, so hopefully Tommy will have the boys ready to play. The Revolution loss to Dallas last night continues the theme of potential playoff teams losing to teams out of competition. It's nice to get that help, but we need to do this on our own. If things go right this weekend, we could find ourselves in fifth place. If things go wrong, well, season over.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2381896623706040399-4279956073630303840?l=dcumd.blogspot.com'/></div>http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/10/dc-united-win-vs-san-juan-jabloteh-5-1.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shatz...)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381896623706040399.post-6008261119331456611Sun, 27 Sep 2009 21:01:00 +00002009-10-01T06:47:35.322-04:00Lawson VaughnMilos KocicBen OlsenChris PontiusJaime MorenoLuciano EmilioJulius JamesSan Jose EarthquakesMarc BurchDC UnitedDC United lose to San Jose Earthquakes, 2-1This weekend had set itself up really nicely for DC United. After losses by Seattle and RSL, and ties by Colorado, Chivas, and Toronto, DC United only needed a home victory against the worst road team in the leauge in order to move into 5th place. But the underdogs continued to impress. Not only did United lose, but they really deserved to lose. They were a close offsides call away from being tied at the half.<br /><br />The turning point seemed to come when Josh Wicks dislocated a shoulder, the latest in a string of injuries that has made our playoff run much more difficult. With our two best defenders out, and now our best goalkeeper walking to the locker room wearing an arm brace, United apparently lost all confidence, and gave up two unnecessary goals. And now we'll finish the season with a grand total of 1 point in 2 matches against the Earthquakes and their Western Conference worst record.<br /><br /><img src="http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/mshatzer/blog/TOP.jpg" /><br />1. <strong>Chris Pontius</strong> was our most dangerous player today. His overlapping run and cross to Moreno set up the first goal. But it was his bicycle kick late in the match that really set Pontius apart, as it should have tied the match if not for a goalline save by a San Jose player. When all of the other older United players faded away, Pontius was the only player still running hard and getting himself into good positions. It was just <a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/09/dc-united-win-vs-marathon-3-0.html">earlier this week </a>that I suggested that Pontius should be our regular starter at left wing for the rest of the season, but his best position is still forward, so it's kind of hard to say.<br /><br />2. For two matches in a row now, our hardest working player has been <strong>Ben Olsen</strong>. His creativity and high soccer IQ started the play that led to Pontius's bike, and he also started the sequence that led to Moreno's goal.<br /><br /><img src="http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/mshatzer/blog/CALL.jpg" /><br />1. <strong>Jaime Moreno</strong> scored our lone goal in this one, but then he was entirely absent in the second half, which isn't what I like to see from our captain.<br /><br /><img src="http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/mshatzer/blog/RAIL.jpg" /><br />1. Really poor effort from <strong>Lawson Vaughn</strong>. Twice Ryan Johnson should have been marked by Vaughn when he put the ball into the net. One of those times the goal was disallowed for offsides, but Vaughn was just standing around on the winning goal instead of marking Johnson on the rebound. Before the Marathon match, I thought that McTavish would be our regular replacement for Namoff at right back. I'm not sure why our coaching staff thought that a guy who hasn't played a league match in 2009 was a better option.<br /><br /><div>2. Apparently <strong>Luciano Emilio </strong>isn't one to believe in momentum. Nor I guess is the entire United team. After an epic two-goal performance earlier in the week, Emilio couldn't get a ball on target despite multiple chances.</div><div> </div><div></div>3. It's hard to truly fault him for either goal, but I don't think it's just a coincidence that Josh Wicks was pitching a shutout, but San Jose scored two goals as soon as <strong>Milos Kocic</strong> came on.<br /><br />4. <strong>Julius James</strong> really didn't need to give up a foul at the top of the box in the 58th minute. It was that foul that led to the Quakes' first goal. And <strong>Marc Burch</strong>'s defensive gaff leading to the Quakes' winning goal could be a huge detriment to our playoff chances.<br /><br />And with that loss, DC United's playoff chances just got a whole lot tougher. With a win, we would have been in fifth place, the first wildcard slot, and would have been in complete control of our destiny for the remainder of the season. But with a loss, we remain one point behind the Revolution (who have still played two fewer matches), and two points behind Seattle and Chivas.<br /><br />The good news though is that we play <a href="http://www.dcunited.com/shop/papa-johns-family-4-pack-dc-united-vs-chivas-usa">against Chivas USA at home next week</a>, while Seattle are on the road against the red hot Columbus Crew. So with the right results, we still have a good shot, but we can't keep letting good chances slip away. Regardless, it looks like everything is going to come down to the last weekend again. And I guess we shouldn't really be surprised by that.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2381896623706040399-6008261119331456611?l=dcumd.blogspot.com'/></div>http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/09/dc-united-lose-to-san-jose-earthquakes.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shatz...)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381896623706040399.post-2404858850706960680Sun, 27 Sep 2009 19:41:00 +00002009-09-27T16:27:00.203-04:00Rodney WallaceMilos KocicChris PontiusBenniesBrandon BarklageBenny Award 3: The Convey<a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3059/2801188841_a9dd9781f5.jpg?v=0"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 170px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 341px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3059/2801188841_a9dd9781f5.jpg?v=0" /></a>By definition, the Convey Award goes to DC United's rookie of the year. The award's namesake is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Convey">Bobby Convey</a>, who coincidentally is on the other side today. Convey was very promising in his short time here in DC, and started 18 matches his rookie season, which sounded like a lot until this year.<br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2008/09/award-3-convey.html">Last year's Convey Award </a>went to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Cordeiro">Ryan Cordeiro </a>with a huge 76% margin. Cordeiro now plays for USL-2 Real Maryland, and the only nominee still in the league is Mike Zaher. Pretty good chance that will not be the case with the strength of our 2009 draft class.<br /><br />1. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=pontius_c&amp;playerId=pon648437&amp;statType=current">Chris Pontius </a>was the leading contender for MLS Rookie of the Year early in the season, and with 4 goals, he is tied with Zakuani for most goals by a rookie. Pontius has played in most matches at forward, but has also seen time at right wing, central midfield, and now looks to have secured a job starting on the left wing.</div><br /><div></div><div>2. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=wallace_r&amp;playerId=wal373814&amp;statType=current">Rodney Wallace</a> has emerged as the most versatile player on the team. He has started at left wing, left back, but mostly in central defensive/holding midfield. With appearances in 25 of 26 games this season, Wallace has been very productive with 3 goals and 3 assists.</div><br /><div>3. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=barklage_b&amp;playerId=bar365413&amp;statType=current">Brandon Barklage </a>looked well on his way to becoming a fan favorite with his exciting play-making style. He had two goals in two Open Cup matches before injury unfortunately forced his season to end early.</div><br /><div>4. <a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=kocic_m&amp;playerId=koc310136&amp;statType=current">Milos Kocic </a>lost the goalkeeper competition to Wicks, but his potential has been clear in his 2 MLS starts, and in shutouts in the CCL and Open Cup.</div><div></div><div></div><br /><div class="TWIIGSPOLL"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.twiigs.com/poll.js?pid=40394&amp;color=reddark"></script><br /><div style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; Z-INDEX: auto; POSITION: static; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none; TEXT-ALIGN: right; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; MARGIN: 10px 0px 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: auto; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; WHITE-SPACE: normal; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; FLOAT: none; LETTER-SPACING: normal; HEIGHT: auto; VISIBILITY: visible; CLEAR: none; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; OVERFLOW: hidden; WORD-SPACING: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0px; text-shadow: none" class="TWIIGSPOLLpolllink"><a style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; Z-INDEX: auto; POSITION: static; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none; TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: auto; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; WHITE-SPACE: normal; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; FLOAT: none; LETTER-SPACING: normal; HEIGHT: auto; VISIBILITY: visible; CLEAR: none; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; OVERFLOW: hidden; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; WORD-SPACING: normal; PADDING-TOP: 0px; text-shadow: none" class="TWIIGSPOLLmorelink" href="http://www.twiigs.com/">poll by twiigs.com</a> </div></div><br /><div>Please enter your votes now through the end of the season, and feel free to argue for your choice in the comments section.</div><div> </div><div><em>Up next: The Donnety - Which DC United player has been the biggest disappointment in 2009?</em> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2381896623706040399-2404858850706960680?l=dcumd.blogspot.com'/></div>http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/09/benny-award-3-convey.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shatz...)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381896623706040399.post-6717822467989740633Fri, 25 Sep 2009 01:52:00 +00002009-09-24T23:38:12.954-04:00Lawson VaughnClyde SimmsSantino QuarantaJosh WicksChris PontiusAvery JohnTiyi ShipalaneJaime MorenoLuciano EmilioJulius JamesChampions LeagueDC UnitedDC United win vs Marathon, 3-0This win was exactly what we needed. Nothing will inspire confidence in a team fighting for playoff position like a multiple goal victory in which we were clearly the better team.<br /><br />The offense is clicking, and oh yeah, that's 3 shutouts in our last 4 matches. With a makeshift backline at that. Is it possible that DC United is peaking at exactly the right time? In 2006 and 2007 we peaked too early and faded late in the regular season, only to bust out of the playoffs before advancing out of the Eastern Conference. With the talent that this team has up front, and with Jakovic and Burch both hopefully to return to the starting lineup on Sunday, I see no reason why we can't be one of the leading contenders to reach MLS Cup.<br /><br /><img src="http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/mshatzer/blog/TOP.jpg" /><br />1. When <strong>Luciano Emilio </strong>is hot, he's hot. How's that for analysis? Within the first 10 minutes of the match, Luci was getting chances, but missing them. In the second half, he just didn't know how to miss. His first goal came from a well directed header off a John cross, and the final goal was all Emilio, beating the Marathon keeper 1v1.<br /><br />2. I'm not sure if DC was poised to pull away in the second half already, but the insertion of <strong>Jaime Moreno </strong>couldn't have hurt. He got off to a slow start, but his goal was just classic Moreno. He is still one of the best in MLS in that position in front of the goal because he is just so cool and collected.<br /><br />3. So a 4-4-2 formation with two attacking wingers and two holding midfielders? I think this is what a lot of us had envisioned when United moved away from the diamond 4 midfield, but it's never looked as good as it looked tonight. The combination of <strong>Chris Pontius</strong> on the left and <strong>Santino Quaranta</strong> on the right is perfect for this formation. Pontius started the sequence that led to the first goal with a run up the left side, and Quaranta's smart touch to Moreno earned him an assist on the second. These two should be starting in these positions for the remainder of the MLS season. It's telling that Fred wasn't even on the 18-man roster.<br /><br />4. <strong>Avery John</strong> and <strong>Lawson Vaughn</strong> both played well as our two fullbacks. John conjured up his inner Burch on his assist to Emilio for the first goal, and also shut down every attack on that side of the field. In his United debut, Vaughn certainly didn't look like a guy playing his first match in 2009, and he did well in replacing the unreplaceable Namoff.<br /><br />5. Give credit to <strong>Josh Wicks, Julius James, </strong>and <strong>Clyde Simms</strong> for earning 3 clean sheets in our last 4 matches.<br /><br /><img src="http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/mshatzer/blog/CALL.jpg" /><br />1. I didn't quite understand the removal of <strong>Tiyi Shipalane</strong> before halftime, but it seemed to work in Soehn's favor. Shipalane performed well getting forward, as I think we all expected against an inferior opponent. It probably won't be until next season that we get to see what he can do against another MLS team.<br /><br /><img src="http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/mshatzer/blog/RAIL.jpg" /><br />None.<br /><br />In the <a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/soccerinsider/2009/09/poll_dc_uniteds_pursuits.html">Insider's poll </a>earlier this week, only 23% of voters predicted that United would advance in the Champions League. Now all it will take next week is a United victory <a href="http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/1500430CE50E69DE?artistid=806390&amp;majorcatid=10004&amp;minorcatid=11">at home over SJJ </a>and a Toluca victory on the road over Marathon. Both are very likely at this point, and then all that will be left will be a meaningless faceoff between the B teams of DC and Toluca, with both having already clinched a spot in the next round. The quarterfinals won't be held until the week before the start of the 2010 MLS season, so no need to worry about fixture congestion at this point. It will be tough to advance further than that, but I think most United fans would be satisfied with the progress of at least moving past the group stage.<br /><br />But let's not get ahead of ourselves. The more important match is <a href="https://secure.dcunited.com/family-day-san-jose?r=WS">this weekend against San Jose</a>, who have already done us a lot of good by tying the Rapids twice in the last week. Look for United to put out the strongest starting lineup we've seen in months on Sunday. A win is all we need, but I think I'll be surprised if we win by anything less than 2 goals.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2381896623706040399-6717822467989740633?l=dcumd.blogspot.com'/></div>http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/09/dc-united-win-vs-marathon-3-0.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shatz...)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381896623706040399.post-200282945780160710Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:57:00 +00002009-09-22T19:10:17.166-04:00Rodney WallaceJosh WicksChris PontiusDejan JakovicBenniesBenny Award 2: The Nelly<p><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3056/2801188661_914646b7c4.jpg?v=0"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 227px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 368px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3056/2801188661_914646b7c4.jpg?v=0" /></a> By definition, the Nelly Award goes to the United player who has made the most significant positive impact in his first year with the club. The award’s namesake <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Nelsen">Ryan Nelsen </a>became a starter shortly into his first season with United, and would go on to guide the team to an MLS Cup in 2004.<br /><br />It’s a testament to the total failure of our 2008 acquisitions that not one of last year’s nominees is still on the team. The winner, <a href="http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2008/09/award-2-nelly.html">Louis Crayton</a>, was the only player to make it onto the roster at the start of 2009, only to lose his job to one of this year’s contenders. </p><ol><li><a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=wicks_j&amp;playerId=wic343214&amp;statType=current">Josh Wicks </a>has earned 5 shutouts in 18 starts for DC this season, and has at times looked like one of the top goalkeepers in MLS. Wicks is a good shot stopper and controls his box well. It’s only because of some mental errors and a bad temper that leads some fans to question whether or not he is a long-term solution. I’d put my money on Josh Wicks to win a fight against any other goalkeeper in the league.</li><li><a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=jakovic_d&amp;playerId=jak501618&amp;statType=current">Dejan Jakovic </a>joined the team this off-season from the famed Serbian club Red Star Belgrade, and also looks to have earned a starting role for the Canadian National Team. This young defender has taken a leadership role in our backline, and has the patience to distribute out of the back without turning the ball over (a rare quality on this team). It’s hard to imagine how poor DC would be without Jakovic, but it might also be hard to give this award to any defender when United is still the fourth worst team in the league in goals against.</li><br /><li><a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=pontius_c&amp;playerId=pon648437&amp;statType=current">Chris Pontius </a>the rookie from UCSB has appeared in all but one league match this season, and gives the team a versatile option at either forward or midfielder. With 4 goals and 2 assists on the season, Pontius has looked best when playing up front with good service from Quaranta on the wing.</li><br /><li><a href="http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t103&amp;player=wallace_r&amp;playerId=wal373814&amp;statType=current">Rodney Wallace </a>the rookie from Maryland has appeared in all but one league match this season, and gives the team a versatile option anywhere in the midfield. Wallace’s aggression, speed, and fitness level has benefited him even when occasionally filling in at CDM, but he has done the most damage (3 goals, 3 assists) from the left wing. </li></ol><br /><div class="TWIIGSPOLL"><br /><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.twiigs.com/poll.js?pid=40080&amp;color=reddark"></script><br /><div style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; Z-INDEX: auto; POSITION: static; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none; TEXT-ALIGN: right; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; MARGIN: 10px 0px 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: auto; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; WHITE-SPACE: normal; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; FLOAT: none; LETTER-SPACING: normal; HEIGHT: auto; VISIBILITY: visible; CLEAR: none; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; OVERFLOW: hidden; WORD-SPACING: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0px; text-shadow: none" class="TWIIGSPOLLpolllink"><a style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; Z-INDEX: auto; POSITION: static; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none; TEXT-ALIGN: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; OUTLINE-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: auto; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; WHITE-SPACE: normal; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; FLOAT: none; LETTER-SPACING: normal; HEIGHT: auto; VISIBILITY: visible; CLEAR: none; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; OVERFLOW: hidden; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; WORD-SPACING: normal; PADDING-TOP: 0px; text-shadow: none" class="TWIIGSPOLLmorelink" href="http://www.twiigs.com/">poll by twiigs.com</a> </div></div><br /><br /><p>Please enter your votes now through the end of the season, and feel free to argue for your choice in the comments section.<br /><br /><em>Up next: The Convey – Who is DC United’s rookie of the year?</em> </p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2381896623706040399-200282945780160710?l=dcumd.blogspot.com'/></div>http://dcumd.blogspot.com/2009/09/benny-award-2-nelly.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Shatz...)3