To wrap things up with the "What I Want For Christmas" series, we'll begin with a bit of a tactical aside before prioritizing the shopping list...

(In case you missed the beginning of this discussion: Part I and Part II are available.)

Our likely man in the middle?

In all of this discussion, we've curiously ignored tactics for the most part.

It's that time of year again. Time to consult the D.C. United roster list, see who's been naughty and nice (and who is, frankly, useless), and compile my own off-season shopping list. Ready to begin?

Russell: Finally a replacement for Namoff?

The process of re-shaping the roster has already begun.

The Premier League had no shortage of talking points this weekend but the only place to start is at Old Trafford. In spite of a formidable recent record against City, United came unstuck in an unprecedented manner. City were so clinical in attack with Silva and Balotelli particularly awesome.

You want me to recant? To say that Wednesday's Reaction Post was a mistake?

Keep waiting.

I suppose if I were going to be really cynical, I'd point out that our first team could absolutely dominate the MLS Reserve League[1]. I'm not going to go there. I'm going to give United credit for finishing chances, for learning their lessons from last time around, and for generally answering the challenge Olsen laid down.

Fue un risa para los allí presente en el terreno de juego. Hubo risas y buen humor al final del último entrenamiento. A los dos jugadores del conjunto noruego Sandefjord no les quedó más remedio que quedarse en paños menores después de perder una apuesta que habían realizado en el inicio de la sesión.

Astonishing. I'm not really sure what to think, what sort of coherent narrative I can assemble to summarize the absolute incompetence that defined this match. It was like Christmas in August: both teams (or all three if I include the officials) dishing the gifts left and right. Should I be pleased with a point having played a man down for over 90 minutes (stoppage time included) or disappointed at not beating a side we need to be beating?

D.C. United v Toronto FC
8/6/2011, Saturday, 7:30 PM
RFK Stadium

Last Four Head-to-Head:

4/16/11 3-0 D.C. United (a) (Pontius x2, Davies)
3/12/11 2-2 Draw (n) (Davies, Ngwenya; De Rosario, Santos) (Carolina Challenge Cup)
10/23/10 2-3 Toronto (h) (Quaranta, Moreno; De Rosario x2, Santos)
9/11/10 1-0 D.

28.07.2011 - Las siempre recurrentes estadísticas que terminan por delinear el futuro de muchos profesionales del fútbol también nos permite armar un grupo (o bolsa) en el que coinciden, por ejemplo, Alfredo Di Stéfano, Lionel Messi, Albano Bizarri y Maxi López: son los 18 argentinos que se consagraron campeones de la Champions League.

Someday, when he finds himself in the right tactical situation with the right pieces arrayed around him, when he regains his confidence and stops pushing so hard to prove himself, I have few doubts that Dax McCarty will show himself to be a quality player.

But for those of us who have suffered through his tepid, possession-wasting performances for United this year, it was a comfort to see him lining up to take set pieces or leading the break in transition for the Red Bulls.

D.C. United revealed this picture of the hot-off-the-press #7 jersey (enter to win it on Facebook) of the newest member of Olsen's Army. Dwayne De Rosario is set to make his debut for the Black...
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Llega uno de los veranos más "moviditos" en cuanto al fútbol internacional se refiere. No solo nos encontramos con la Copa Oro Concacaf o la Copa de América, sino que si recientemente finalizó un tristísimo en cuanto a nivel Torneo de Toulon, ahora se está disputando el Europeo sub-21 y en dos días comienza el Mundial sub-17.

By Sindre Trygsland, writing from Lancaster, England

The Norwegian national team, currently ranked 11th in the world, will be placed in the top seeded pot when the qualification groups for the 2014 World Cup are drawn, meaning that the Nordic country will avoid strong nations such as England, Germany and Netherlands.

Children playing soccer between the walls of the castle in Rhodes, GreecePhoto: Spencer Olsen
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Five games unbeaten? Shutout with three rooks on the back line? Road point against the league leaders and looking the more likely to win if anybody did?
Impressive. Even if the Galaxy were missing a couple of key offensive cogs. Some quick thoughts...
* Josh Wolff has had four fantastic looks at net over the last couple of games.

Nicklas Bendtner has been named in the starting eleven for Denmark in the European Championship 12 qualifier against Iceland, confirmed by Denmark Head Coach, Morten Olsen. The match kick's off @ 7:45 PM

The Team;

Sorensen- S.Poulsen- Lars Jacobsen- Bo Svensson- Simon Kjaer; Kvist -Poulsen ;-Rommedahl- -Krohn_Dehli- Eriksen- Nicklas Bendtner * ;

Article By Matthew Collins

Nicklas Bendtner, sadly, looks like he is on his way out of The Emirates. His father/agent has confirmed today that he is open to the idea of switching clubs because of being tired of spending time on the bench. Personally, for me as a Arsenal fan it is not good news, I believe NB52 was never given a fair role here and having watched him on numerous occasions for The reserve sides back in 2005-6 and for Denmark and on his loan spell at Birmingham you can see the quality he has blessed with good feet, decent pace and good in the air he has it all.

You can win points through running yourself ragged. They don't often come in batches of three, though.
After the implosions of the not-so-distant past, Olsen choose to focus on consistency of effort as the major flaw in his side. Hard to fault the team for that tonight. Still, I would have thought maybe he might have addressed the inability to either defend or create from set pieces, the frustrating lack of fluidity between lines that are far too often static, and the woeful lack of defensive organization in transition and counter situations.

FC Copenhagen is ready to offer Danish midfielder Christian Poulsen a way out of his Anfield nightmare, with international manager Morten Olsen claiming the 31-year-old must quit the club if he wants to retain a place for his country.
After being signed by Roy Hodgson for almost £5 million, Poulsen has struggled to impress the Liverpool fans, despite initially being signed as a potential replacement for Argentine Javier Mascherano.

I'm going to keep this mercifully brief, or at least I'll try. Why brief? Well, I could pretty much point you to a couple dozen match reaction posts from last year that would sound almost word for word what I'm going to say here. Defenders who didn't appear to speak the same language? Check. Lots of possession but no idea what to do with it?

I'm going to keep this mercifully brief, or at least I'll try. Why brief? Well, I could pretty much point you to a couple dozen match reaction posts from last year that would sound almost word for word what I'm going to say here. Defenders who didn't appear to speak the same language? Check. Lots of possession but no idea what to do with it?

After building BMO Field into a fortress in its first couple years in MLS, the Canadians' home field doesn't quite carry the mystique it once did, at least not for the Black & Red. It was only last year when Toronto faced D.C. at BMO Field and the Canadians were in a must-win situation. D.C. had only pride to play for while Toronto was in the thick of the race for the playoffs.

Contributing Editor Graham Fox

For some reason, this year with the added amount of teams in the leagues and new faces shifting all over the place, I've had a spot of trouble keeping track of all the league DPs. Who are they all? What was the last team they played for? What should I expect from this bunch?

(In pre-season....sigh)
Just a roundup of some thoughts in the aftermath of DC United's retention of the Carolina Challenge Cup, in no particular order.
• • •
The McCarty-Boskovic combination isn't one that works in isolation. I think they can do well in central midfield together, but only if they have a holder/destroyer behind them.

(In pre-season....sigh)
Just a roundup of some thoughts in the aftermath of DC United's retention of the Carolina Challenge Cup, in no particular order.
• • •
The McCarty-Boskovic combination isn't one that works in isolation. I think they can do well in central midfield together, but only if they have a holder/destroyer behind them.

Includes when it was called the CONCACAF Champions Cup. Qualifying games like the ones Colorado and LA played in the 90s are not included. However, the preliminary round games that are a part of the new Champions League are included (as they're considered part of the final tournament).
Alltime Records
GP W L D Pts GF GA GD DC United 40 16 14 10 58 64 58 6 Houston 22 7 8 7 28 28 31 -3 Columbus 18 8 7 3 27 25 26 -1 Chicago 11 6 3 2 20 18 14 4 Los Angeles 14 5 5 4 19 20 24 -4 San Jose 8 5 3 0 15 10 12 -2 Real Salt Lake 6 4 1 1 13 17 11 6 Toronto 10 3 3 4 13 8 10 -2 Kansas City 8 3 3 2 11 9 11 -2 Seattle 8 2 5 1 7 8 12 -4 New England 6 1 4 1 4 4 12 -8 New York 2 0 1 1 1 3 4 -1 Chivas USA 2 0 1 1 1 1 3 -2
This season, Colorado and Dallas will make their debuts in the competition.

Arsenal field a strong starting eleven for tonight's Carling Cup semi-final second leg against Ipswich Town.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has taken no chances with his team this evening where Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie both start.

Nicklas Bendtner is also handed a start on the right wing, despite Denmark manager Martin Olsen complaining that Wenger 'isn't getting the best' out of the Dane there.

Ngwenya, who turned out for Railstars before leaving for the US, was on Tuesday seen training with newly-promoted Chicken Inn.
"They (DC United) will be starting preparations soon, but I am still here, I have some stuff that I have to sort out," Ngwenya said.
A source at Railstars, where Ngwenya was training last week told NewsDay Sport on Thursday that the player indicated he would be going back to the US in two weeks.

Better. Possibly.
We all remember the YouTube greatness of one Cristian Castillo, don't we? Assuming Brasesco pans out (though that's a mighty big assumption considering our recent forays south of the border), we've at least got some reasonable depth at the back if we include the recent addition of Daniel Woolard and the signing of Ethan White to a homegrown contract.