This is our second of four posts in review of the moves DC United has made since the end of last
season. Last week we looked at their acquisitions, today we'll look at the players who departed,
and then later we'll look at their trades.
1. It's hard to imagine how different DC United's season would be had they retained Marcelo
Gallardo in 2009.
As frustrating as it was to watch this team on a roller coaster ride that had its share of ups and
downs the past few months, I would trade the past three weeks for that roller coaster. I'm not
going to argue that we deserved to win this match, because clearly we didn't, but it sure made it
hard for us to have a chance when we suffered from the worst display of officiating that we've seen
all year.
A tie at home against a lesser Western Conference opponent certainly should feel like a loss.
Somehow for me though, this one doesn't. Maybe it's because we outplayed Dallas, to the point where
I think we really deserved the win. This felt like it should have ended at 2-1. Oh well. I guess
we'll just have to steal back those extra two points when we play them again on the road in two
weeks.
In a match where we were missing Emilio, Moreno, Namoff, Fred, Vide, and Peralta, a loss wasn't
necessarily surprising. I guess the bright side is that we escaped without any more injuries! Also,
I saw tonight that we've got some young players with a lot of heart, and that's got to count for
something, even if it didn't earn us any points.
So the main question posed throughout our series in review of the player acquisitions, departures,
and trades made by DC United since the end of last season is whether or not the club is actually
better off now than they were last year. Let's review, position by position.
Yes, I know this is from last year, but it's still great.
Anyways, the Wizards travel to DC this weekend to take on United. The two teams come in going in
entirely different directions. The Wizards are undefeated in their last 6 games (2-0-4). DC on the
other hand has lost their last 4 games, all at home.
D.C. United newest player, Ivan Guerrero joined United today for his first training session.
With several injuries still holding players out and Gonzalo Martinez unavailable due to last game's
red card, the left-sided player may very well be in the starting lineup tomorrow evening against
the Wizards.
When DC United decided to awake from it's collective slumber, I decided I should probably do that
same. DC United trades a partial allocation (money) to San Jose in exchange for Ivan Guerrero.
This, is a good move. Here's why. Our defense sucks. Horribly. Gonzalo Martinez is playing out of
position in an [.
This was the first non-Open-Cup game of the season that I didn't see either in person or on tv, and
that's probably a good one. Because aside from maybe the match at RSL early in the year, this was
easily DC's worst performance yet. I should have taken the Fullback approach and prepped for this
game with some red wine, or better yet, I should have been taking in the game with my arch nemesis
Jose.
Over last weekend I brought to you a list of players that just didn't cut it or have it this year.
Guys that were brought in expecting to start in some cases and contribute to their club's run at a
MLS Cup this season. Those guys didn't work out but some signings from the offseason [...]
Our season has come down to this: cheering for Chicago and New England. Makes you wonder what
you're doing with your life, doesn't it? Now, as I've stated before in posts and in comments, I'm
of two minds on what I'd prefer to occur this week. Do we, A) eek into the playoffs, lose [...]
Coming to you live from Dallas, er, Frisco... actually, I'm in D.C. and my esteemed colleague,
Boris Flores, is at Pizza Hut Park today. Regardless, here's the starting lineup the coaches have
decided on today.
After 60 minutes of this match, I was all ready to come on here and say I was wrong about wanting
to punt the CCL. A goalless draw would have been a wonderful result. But as is typical with this
club, we let up 2 soft goals off of shotty defending. And now we're staring up from the bottom of a
fully stacked group.
The bad news is that Santino Quaranta will not be dressing tonight. The 23-year old suffered
some pretty deep bruises on his ankle and shin Saturday night in LA and will be held out this
evening. Bummer.
The good news is that the guys are all feeling pretty positive and will be coming out in a
slightly more defensive-oriented posture tonight, running at type of 4-4-1-1.
We're about an hour from kick-off and Tom Soehn has named his starters for this evening's match.
Most notable are Boyzzz Khumalo getting the start up top with Jaime Moreno and Quavas Kirk getting
his first League start at right mid. Here's the full squad:
Louis Crayton; Bryan Namoff, Devon McTavish, Marc Burch, Gonzalo Martinez; Quavas Kirk, Clyde
Simms, Santino Quaranta, Ivan Guerrero; Boyzzz Khumalo, Jaime Moreno.
Tom Soehn has named his starting lineup for tonight's championship battle against the Battery.
The same players who started Saturday's game against New York will take the field, with the only
change being Santino Quaranta moving to the middle of thte park and Joe Vide pushing out wide
(where they played the second half).
The Red Bulls will finally be injury free when New York takes the field vs. DC United on Saturday
night at RFK (7:30p, FSC). The Red Bulls have lifted themselves into the playoff mix by picking up
nine points at home over the last three Sundays, but if New York is to solidify its hold on a
playoff spot, RBNY must figure out how to get the maximum points on the road.
With his one-time shoe-string shot to give the team a 1-0 lead, I could have sworn I was watching
Benny Olsen. Or maybe Benny Feilhaber. But definitely somebody named Benny. Nope, it was Joe Vide.
That goal really made me wish I was listening to Dave Johnson and Thomas Rongen do the broadcast. I
could just hear Rongen saying his usual "Shoelaces.
The big news out of the locker room this evening is that Ben Olsen has been named to the 18-man
roster for tonight's game. Benny has been training for the last week and a half and is attempting
to salvage the season after numerous ankle surgeries over the last nine months. His lone appearance
of the season came on June 29, when United beat LA 4-1 and Ben came on as a 75th minute
substitute.
Head Coach Tom Soehn continues to have to deal with player injuries and absences heading into
tonight's match with the Revolution. Ivan Guerrero is with the Honduran National Team for their
World Cup qualifier in Mexico this evening, while Gonzalo Martinez is serving a one-game suspension
for yellow card accumulation.
We're about an hour from kickoff now, and Head Coach Tom Soehn has named his lineup. The big
change is that newcomer Louis Crayton - who was officially signed yesterday - will get the start in
goal ahead of Zach Wells.
Here's the full squad: Louis Crayton; Bryan Namoff, Devon McTavish, Marc Burch, Gonzalo
Martinez; Fred, Clyde Simms, Santino Quaranta, Ivan Guerrero; Jaime Moreno, Luciano Emilio.
Well, it might very well rain on us this evening, but this is attempt number three at trying to
play this soccer game so I'm told we're going to do everything we can to get it in before the
daylight of Thursdady arrives. Let's hope the rain holds off and we get it in when we're supposed
to.
With injuries aplenty, Tom Soehn has made a few changes to tonight's lineup:
Kickoff is just around the corner and Tom Soehn has named his starting lineup. With a few tired
players after a bunch of games during the last month, the coaching staff has decided to rest a few
key players. Here's the eleven that will take the field to start against Houston:
Zach Wells; Bryan Namoff, Pat Carroll, Devon McTavish, Marc Burch; Craig Thompson, Clyde Simms,
Fred, Ryan Cordeiro; Luciano Emilio, Francis Doe.
As the All-Star rosters are now official, its time to put together the group of eleven that didn't
make but had a damn good reason for making it. I've stated my opinion on some that got snubbed but
figured that it would be best to put out a full starting lineup of guys that didn't [...]
The big addition to today's 18-man roster is the inclusion of Santino Quaranta to the
substitute's bench. Tino hasn't played since the team's 4-1 win over the Galaxy on June 29, when he
left the game after just 27 minutes with a hamstring strain.
With a host of injuries, Coach Tom Soehn has had to make a few adjustments to his usual starting
lineup. The team will be sticking to the 4-4-2 it has recently been running out - here's how
they'll start this evening:
We're about an hour from kickoff and both teams are getting ready for tonight's match. With
Santino Quaranta, Marcelo Gallardo, Dan Stratford and Domenic Mediate all nursing injuries or
getting rest, Tom Soehn has made a few changes to tonight's lineup. The guys will run out in a
4-5-1 in the following set-up:
Zach Wells; Bryan Namoff, Devon McTavish, Marc Burch, Gonzalo Martinez; Pat Carroll, Clyde
Simms, Rod Dyachenko, Fred, Ryan Cordeiro; Luciano Emilio.
An hour from kick-off and United coach Tommy Soehn has announced his line-up. Playing for the
second time in three days, the Black-and-Red will field some reserves tonight, but there are some
big names in the line-up as well. United is clearly taking this competition seriously. Here are the
guys charged with advancing the Black-and-Red to the quarterfinals of the U.
No Namoff. No Peralta. No Olsen. No Fred. No Moreno. No Emilio. No matter.
Tom Soehn has named his starting lineup for tonight's match in San Jose. These are the men
charged with bringing a result back to the Nation's Capital:
Louis Crayton; Gonzalo Martinez, Devon McTavish, Marc Burch, Mike Zaher; Santino Quaranta, Clyde
Simms, Rod Dyachenko, Marcelo Gallardo, Ivan Guerrero; and Francis Doe.
Kickoff is about an hour away. Tommy's main changes come in the back line tonight, as he
shuffles a few guys around, while Santino Quaranta moves from the attacking midfield spot to the
right flank. Here's what they'll look like at the first whistle:
Louis Crayton; Gonzalo Martinez, Bryan Namoff, Devon McTavish, Marc Burch; Santino Quaranta,
Clyde Simms, Joe Vide, Ivan Guerrero; Jaime Moreno, Luciano Emilio
And here's what the 4-4-2 formation will look like:
General Manager Dave Kasper and Head Coach Curt Onalfo present goalkeeper Troy Perkins with his
new #23 jersey. Troy trained with the team for the first time today, after being re-acquired from
Norway a couple weeks ago.
Troy joins the likes of Eddie Pope (1996-02), Eliseo Quintanilla (2004), Jamil Walker (2005-07)
and Gonzalo Martinez (2008) of United players who have worn the #23 kit.
American Anton Peterlin has signed with Everton. Who you ask? Peterlin, is a former midfielder
for Cal Poly, and UC Santa Cruz as well as having played in the PDL as many collegiate footballers
do with the Ventura County Fusion.
Peterlin grew up in San Francisco around the game with Danish parents and developed a love for
the beautiful game.
As if losing didn't hurt enough, we had to wait almost three hours to do it. We'll have just a
few post-game quotes before departing RFK, hopefully before 1:30 a.m. Ugh.
The team has the weekend off, before their August 2 home match against the Kansas City Wizards.
In addition to all of the team's current injuries, Tom Soehn will now be without Gonzalo Martinez
who got his second red card late in the game.
