State of the Roster, 1/30/2011

This offseason has contained a lot of turnover in the D.C. United roster; gone are the older players who where trying to help United stave off the inevitable rebuilding process.

I don’t think that the current D.C. United roster is going to be the one that we see on opening day, but if the season did start today, who would be playing? To get all of United’s best talent on the field, I think that the best formation would 4-1-4-1. While United doesn’t have the traditional target forward that this formation often requires, I think that Najar, Pontius, and Quaranta bombing forward could provide some interesting results.

Hamid
Brasesco James Jakovic Zayner
Simms
Najar McCarty Boskovic Quaranta
Pontius

But Olsen preferred the 4-4-2 over the course of his tenure as manager last season. So why not try the Bob Bradley patented empty bucket?

Hamid
Brasesco James Jakovic Zayner
Najar McCarty Simms Boskovic
Quaranta Pontius

It really comes down to movement around the midfield. This formation puts Branko Boskovic back into the position he plays with the Montenegrin National Team; I could also see Quaranta playing more in the hole, like how Tim Cahill plays for Everton. I want to see Pontius be given at least a half season at forward to see if he can develop into a viable option up there. Now, this might all change if United signs another forward, as Ben Olsen hinted they would. And to be fair to all United’s current players, the team does need a player who can turn and shoot, not try and walk the ball into the net. I’ll do another roster preview in a couple of weeks to see if anything has changed.