Before Extra Time – Page 12 – Soccer ramblings from RVA

Before Extra Time: soccer ramblings from RVA

It is time for DC United to rebuild

For years, DC United has relied on creative players such as Jaime Moreno, Marco Etcheverry, and Christian Gomez, to provide the catalyst to the offense. In this regard, they seem to have bucked the trend of most MLS teams, who have never had the one creative player through which their offense runs. And this system worked for many years, bringing DC 4 MLS Cups, 4 Supporter’s Shields, 2 US Open Cups, and 1 CONCACAF Champions League Cup. DC has also had the fortune of being able to plug new players into their system, never really having to rebuild, just replace.

But that era is now over. There isn’t a player who can run the offense through the middle anymore, and I don’t know if there is a player who could fill that role that DC would be able to get. And so, like in baseball, its time to start a youth movement. DC needs to stop filling its roster with older players, trying to extend this run just a little longer. They need to blow it all up and start over.

I’ve been listening to the early episodes of the Winning Ugly Radio Show, and in one of the first two Erik Young said that the real way that MLS will grow is through its academies, not through players from overseas or really even through players from colleges. This is definitely true, and DC needs to follow this course. Don’t try and bring some big name player over during the summer transfer window who only has one or two years left and ruins any cap space United has left. Invest that money in young players, whether signed directly to the senior team or put into the academy. Andy Najar and Bill Hamid, two of United best players this season, are both graduates of the academy.

Players like Luciano Emilio, Jaime Moreno, Carey Talley, and Kurt Morsink shouldn’t be playing. If United is to be successful, they will not be a part of the long term future. I would like to see people like Andy Najar, Barry Rice, Brandon Barklage, and Stephen King getting those minutes, supplementing the young players who are already getting minutes, such as Chris Pontius, Jordan Graye, Rodney Wallace, and Bill Hamid. If Christian Castillo has the possibility to be here longer than his current season-long loan, then keep him out there as well. Its time to find out which of these young players can grow and contribute in the long term to United.

In addition to the academy system, it is also time to rebuild through the draft. This means they have to stop trading away draft picks for players and perhaps seeing if they can get anything for any of their current older players (Troy Perkins). United has to realize that its time to stop being the team that mortgages its future to try and win now. That philosophy, as both the New York Yankees have realized, is not sustainable.

I feel bad for players like Allsopp and Pena, who are still contributors and who came to DC United thinking that they we’re going to be given a chance to win. I think that they, along with Simms, still have a place on this team as the veteran leadership. But United needs to surround them with young players. Not all of them will work out, but we won’t know until we see what they can do.

The front office and the coaching also need a change. The front office believed that United could win this season with this team; that was, obviously, a stunning miscalculation. In order to affect this change in philosophy, the team must part ways with the architect of that philosophy. They also need to bring in a coach who can develop young talent; Curt Onalfo, while by all accounts a great human being, has not proven to be that person.

What I’ve suggested is a fairly massive change. Will it actually happen? Probably not. But if United must lose, I would rather watch players who still have the potential to develop, perhaps winning games by the end of the season, than continuing to watch players who have either maxed out their potential or are in decline.

May 23, 2010
When the top scorer in MLS history can’t score against a 4th level side: United v. Dynamo

The Cristman/Allsopp partnership isn’t scoring any goals right now, but its doing a better job than anyone else we could put up there. Jaime Moreno and Luciano Emilio started in the reserves match against the Northern Virginia Royals, a team in the USL Premier Development League. The USL PDL is also known as the fourth level on the US soccer pyramid. Jaime and Emilio couldn’t manage a goal against a 4th level team; the DC United twitter feed said it was because of rain and a very good goalie, but if the goalie is that good he should be up in at least the USL, if not MLS. Jaime and Emilio have combined for 163 total goals in league play, not to mention goals in other competitions. If they can’t score against a 4th level side, then they don’t deserve to be starting.

Boyzzz Khumalo needs to be coming off the bench when Santino Quaranta/Chris Pontius are fully fit. His speed is a nice change of pace of the bench, but he doesn’t have the crossing ability or decision making to really be a 90 minute player. But, that’s the problem: Quaranta and Pontius aren’t fit right now, although Pontius may get a second half run out. I hope that Andy Najar will get the start in his place.

With Bill Hamid picking up a knock in training, it looks like Troy Perkins might be making his triumphant return to the starting lineup. Hopefully, he plays well; I wouldn’t mind him working up his trade value so United can trade him for something good either in the midseason transfer window or at the end of the year.

Here’s my starting lineup:

Perkins
Graye Talley Pena Wallace
Najar Simms Morsink Castillo
Cristman Allsopp

I won’t be able to watch this match in real time since I don’t get Galavision, but I’ll watch it on MatchDay Live at some point either tonight or tomorrow. Houston has been up and down all season, but they’ve been good at home. I can’t imagine United getting a win, but maybe they can nick a point and get a 1-1 tie.

May 22, 2010
End Radio Silence

Sorry about the radio silence for the last week or so…I had my sister’s graduation from college, my own graduation from graduate school, and a week where my fiance was able to come down and hang out. So I didn’t get too much soccer-watching or writing done. Luckily (not really) for me, United’s performances were the same as they’ve been all season, save the win against the Kansas City Wizards: some decent possession, but not offense whatsoever and timely mistakes that allow the other team to score. This team has some good pieces, but it doesn’t have a finisher or someone who can shoot in crosses with any regularity. Not to sound like John Madden, but you can’t win if you can’t score.

The DC United reserves team, which started the likes of Jaime Moreno, Luciano Emilio, Andy Najar, Boyzzz Khumalo, and Troy Perkins, could only manage a 1-0 victory today over the Northern Virginia Royals. For those of you who don’t know, that team is one the forth level of the US Soccer Pyramid. Only one goal?! Shows you that Moreno and Emilio are not the answer either, so let the young guys get some time and try to start and develop.

I’m also going to start posting more about my local team, the Carolina Railhawks. I love DC United and MLS, but I also need some live soccer in my life, and there’s a NASL team a mere 20 minutes from where I live. So expect some posts on them in the future, as I start to get into them and watch their games both online and in person. Well, unless I don’t get a job around here… then that probably won’t happen…

May 17, 2010
First league victory! But moving right along…

United’s first victory! It gets the giant monkey off the team’s back, and they looked good doing it. The long passes up to the forwards are not a particularly pretty form of soccer, but it gets the job done. United has relied on central playmakers in the midfield for years; however, its taken them(read Onalfo) until the last few games to realize that they don’t have the personnel to pull that off anymore. Instead, its time to join the tactics that the rest of the league has been using for years. And it can be effective for this team.

It is a quick turnaround to the next game against FC Dallas. I would personally put the same team on the field as what we saw against KC; don’t want to mess with what got United their first win. But I wouldn’t mind tweaks in the midfield, such as Najar on for Morsink. Here’s the lineup I think we’ll see:

Hamid
Graye Pena Talley Wallace
Boyzzz Morsink Simms Castillo
Allsopp Cristman

I hadn’t posted my thoughts from the KC Wizards game yet, since I had to drive down to South Carolina. But here they are, in ratings form:
Hamid – 9: Amazing first start; both the kick save and the save that was 99% in the goal would have been let in by Perkins, and that would have been the ballgame. He also bossed his box; every time the cut to a closeup of him, he was barking out orders and directing the defenders, which is something that I never say Perkins doing. He’s going to have good games and bad games, but he needs to start in place of Perkins. Give Perkins the Open Cup matches, and maybe he can get his confidence back and perhaps be traded for something decent or provide a backup.
Graye – 6: Played solidly, if unspectacularly.
Pena – 7: Played very well, flying all over the defense. Got a little tired at the end, but he is 37.
Talley – 7: Also played very well. Defense looked very organized in front of the new keeper.
Wallace – 8: Some fancy defending and a nice assist. He headed away plenty of crosses, shut down people in the corner, and had an all and all great game.
Boyzzz – 6: Was pretty anonymous, but didn’t make any mistakes.
Morsink – 5.5: He’s played better in previous games. I thought he got possession taken away from him too many times, missed some tackles; but we have seen him play better.
Simms – 8: Played well, good defense, very good passing.
Castillo – 6: Other than that great free kick, didn’t really do much. I think he will be a contributor, but he needs to get used to the physicality of MLS. And that tackle could have been a red card.
Cristman – 8: A solid target forward who gives 100% throughout the entire game. And his assist to Allsopp was beautiful.
Allsopp – 9: Two great goals. Showed why United signed him, and why Emilio and Jaime should be sitting on the bench.

Moreno – 7: Came in and did what he does. Kept possession, made some good passes, and made one great run that should have resulted in a goal.
Quaranta – NA: Not on for very long, although I do seem to remember him getting the ball taken away a couple times.
McTavish – NA: Came on very late, right before Kei Kamara’s goal.
Onalfo – 6: If you throw everything against the wall, something is bound to stick eventually.

May 7, 2010
United vs. Wizards 2: Electric Boogaloo

If the rumors on Soccer Insider are to be believed, Bill Hamid might get his first start and Santino Quaranta might be left out. Perkins hasn’t organized and bossed his box, and so I wouldn’t mind seeing Hamid in there. Someone out of the group of Talley, Pena, and Perkins/Hamid needs to step up and organize that defense, make sure that everyone is in the right place at the right time. I like the suggestion that Martin Shatzer brought up on Black and Red United, that of moving Rodney Wallace to the midfield. But I think that his speed would be better suited to play out on the wing. Therefore I would start him in place of Quaranta, and put Barklage in place of Morsink.

I think Cristman deserves another start, but I could also see Allsopp getting placed up top to give him a try. With this new 4-5-1 formation though, I don’t really see much of a place for Jaime or Emilio. Jaime can play in the center attacking midfield role, but he didn’t do anything with it on Saturday. Emilio plays better with another forward to play off of; he’s not going to knock down long balls and play them to Castillo or Najar or another winger.

With that in mind, here is the lineup that I would like to see tonight.

Hamid
Graye James Pena Talley
Barklage Simms
Castillo Najar Wallace
Cristman

One of these days I’m going to be right: 2-1 to United, with goals by Cristman, Najar, and Kei Kamara.

May 5, 2010
Tale of Two Halves

“Tale of Two Halves” could be the title of the Dickensian tragedy that is the current DC United season. I’m rewatching the Telefutura broadcast right now, and one of the announcers just called United’s play “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”

It seems the great debate over the formation United should be playing is over. United doesn’t have the playmakers to play the 4-4-2; they do have two target forwards, in Cristman and Allsopp, and so have (rightfully) started playing a 4-5-1. Cristman did a good job of knocking down long balls and playing them to other members of the team.

Perkins – 4: Had a good first half. However, between the two goals, Perkins started to look tentative. He needs to take control of his box and order his defenders around.
Graye – 6: Didn’t see him do anything poorly, which is more than I can say for any of the other defenders.
Pena- 4: See below, but switch “Talley” and “Pena.” Also, does he have the fitness to be a 90 minute player?
Talley – 4: If Perkins or Pena won’t organize the defense, then Talley needs to. I can’t count how many times the camera flipped back to a Red Bull attack and there were three RBNY players and two or three members of the DCU back line. RBNY was able to get behind half of the DCU back line, and someone needs to take charge and make sure things like that don’t happen.
Wallace – 4: Rodney Wallace just got abused on that first goal, and both Pena and Perkins just missed the ball. His speed allows for him to make up for positioning mistakes (sometimes).
Morsink – 5: Seems to be the only one out there who cares. You see him out there shouting at his teammates, arguing with the ref, and actually being invested in whether this team wins or loses. Right after RBNY’s first goal, he got into with a member of the other team. Its an argument whether or not he should be a starter in this league; but I think he has to stay into someone else on this team shows proof that they actually care during the game.
Simms – 6: MotM. So close on that header. Passed well in the midfield, created some chances.
Castillo – 5: After playing poorly in his first few games, Christian Catillo was actually one of the high points of the game. He whipped some crosses in and was able to get a couple shots off. He played well and should continue to play.
Najar – 5: Obviously not a good as in the Open Cup match, but still played well. Not really sure why he was taken off for Jaime.
Quaranta – 3: Heavy first touches that allowed the RBNY players to steal the ball off his foot. Not very good on crosses. In the second half he tried to walk the ball from the 6 yard box into the goal, instead of just taking a shot.
Cristman – 6: It was nice to see a United forward actually getting shots off, even if none of his went in. With Pontius out, it should be between Cristman and Allsopp to see who is the starting forward.

Moreno – 3: Anonymous.
Emilio – 2: Came on to replace one of the two effective offensive players DCU had in the game. He’s not match fit yet and shouldn’t have been brought one. Also anonymous.
King – NA: Brought on for Clyde Simms; just acquired and hasn’t really had any chance to practice with the team. Could he be the “heir” to Morsink?

I’ll be back either later today or early tomorrow with a preview of tomorrow’s match against Kansas City.

May 4, 2010
DCU Acquires Stephen King

Today, DC United acquired 62 year old Maine resident Stephen King. They hope that he can strike fear into the hearts of their opponents and provide some useful service to United.

Oh wait. DCU actually acquired 24-year old Stephen King, formerly of the Seattle Sounders, Chicago Fire, and the Maryland Terrapins. They gave up a 2nd draft pick in 2011 to acquire the midfielder.

He’s a fairly young player with some potential, and will hopefully provide some offense. He was part of a Maryland team that went to two Sweet Sixteens, the 2004 College Cup, and the 2005 National Championship. He ended his four year career with 30 goals and 33 assists; his 33 assists are second all time at Maryland and his 30 goals are 11th. He was first team All-American and first team All-ACC his senior year. He was called into camp for the US U-23 team, but never made an appearance for the full team.

He was drafted in the third round, 40th overall, by the Chicago Fire in 2008. He was selected in the fourth round of the expansion draft by Seattle at the end of the 2008 season. He scored two goals with the Fire, and scored 3 goals in six games in the US Open Cup for the Sounders.

It looks like he’s a central midfielder, which would make sense, because Onalfo wants someone besides Andy Najar in the attacking center mid role, in either the traditional DC United diamond or in the newer 4-2-3-1 we saw in the Open Cup. I think King will probably get more of the playing time to let Najar develop slowly, but we shall see. All in all, not a bad trade. You’re not going to get much better with a 2nd round draft pick.

Here’s an interview with King from December, along with some highlights from some of his goals. Its really the only Youtube video out there that I could find of him.

http://www.youtube.com/v/Ha49dWrSrXE&hl=en_US&fs=1&

April 30, 2010
DCU Chugs a Red Bull

Andy Najar is quickly becoming entrenched as a starter, even at 17. He’s got lots of energy, is always running around, harassing the other team in seemingly safe situations. He’s gonna poach a goal off of this at some point.

We don’t know yet if Luciano Emilio is going to be available for the game tomorrow, and even if he is, he won’t start. But I could see him coming on to spell Jaime near the end of the game.

With his performance on Wednesday against FC Dallas, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Adam Cristman get some time, especially if DCU isn’t scoring early. He made some good runs to capitalize on some goal scoring chances that were not gimmes. If he, Najar, and Castillo can develop some report, as they seem to have started in the US Open Cup match, that might actually get some goal scoring chances on a regular basis.

Clyde Simms won’t start, but he’ll probably come in as a second half substitute. I would think that Onalfo would bench Barklage in front of his favorite Morsink, but the next few matches will be a contest between the two to see which one can become fully entrenched as the starter.

Here’s the lineup that, given all the injuries, I think that we’ll see. Or at least, its the team I would like to see. I liked the way that the 4-2-3-1 worked in the Open Cup, and I think it gets DCU’s best players on the field, especially with all the injuries right now. Although I do think its telling that its so hard to predict the lineup week to week; thats a good sign that the team is in turmoil.

Perkins
Graye Talley McTavish Wallace
Barklage Morsink
Castillo Najar Quaranta
Moreno

If Pena is fit, he’ll take Talley’s place in the center defense and Talley will move into Graye’s spot. DC United shocks RBNY and wins their first MLS match of the season, 2-1. Quaranta and Moreno score for United.

April 30, 2010
Break Up United!

Break up United, DCU finally got a win!

Even though it was only a win against FC Dallas in a US Open Cup match, a win is a win. Especially since DCU scored 4 goals, which is 2 more than they’ve scored the entire rest of the season.

Andy Najar should be starting every. His cross to Cristman set up the first goal, he had a goal of his own, and he was always pestering FC Dallas when they thought they had safe plays in the back. One of these days, one of those runs of his is going to turn into a goal.

I like Kurt Morsink more than a lot of people seem to. I think he plays hard, his passing is fairly decent, and he’s just a little bit of a bulldog back there, always harrying people and not letting anything happen easily. He’s not a great player, but he’s solid.

Castillo’s goal was kind of fluky, but a goal is a goal. His set pieces were also pretty nice, getting some dangerous balls in there. One of those should have gone for a goal, as Barklage got a head in there but just couldn’t put it in the back of the net.

I like the Luciano Emilio signing as a short term deal. He has played well for DCU in the past, and can hopefully give them some scoring. However, I do not think he is the long term solution, and unless he is tearing it up, I don’t think we should be considering resigning him after the deal is up. If we are, either he’s done really well or DCU has basically folded on the season.

Cristman’s brace! He looked good off service from other players, and got a standing ovation from the crowd when he was taken off. Emillio will probably get the looks, but hell, maybe Cristman should too. Either way, though, that probably says something bad about Onalfo.

Speaking of Onalfo, I didn’t see what he did to get himself sent off. But unless the team starts playing well this season, I can’t see him making it through. Although, if they sack him, the front office should probably go as well.

I’m still not fully confident in Troy Perkins. I wanted to see Bill Hamid play in the Open Cup match tonight, to see what he could do. In the first half I still wasn’t too impressed with Perkins’ performance. He seemed to be out of position and have some lucky misses by FC Dallas. However, he did seem to calm down in the second half and he did make some good saves. Hopefully he’s beginning to turn the corner and return to where he has been in the past.

If the 4-4-2 isn’t working, I don’t mind the 4-5-1/4-2-3-1. It gets DCU’s best players on the field. I wouldn’t mind a lineup of:

Perkins
Talley Pena Jakovic Wallace
Barklage Morsink
Pontius Najar Quaranta
Striker

April 29, 2010
Open Cup Lineup Update

After my post this morning about the DC United-FC Dallas clash tomorrow in the US Open Cup, some more news has come to light, mostly from the wonderful Mr. Goff at Soccer Insider. Here’s a quote from his piece, found here:

So expect a mix of regulars and reserves: Andy Najar, Brandon Barklage, Christian Castillo, Boyzzz Khumalo , Devon McTavish, Rodney Wallace and Adam Cristman, among others.

This is in addition to Danny Allsopp and Julius James now being ruled out. With James out, and Pena and Clyde Simms being held out until the weekend match against Red Bulls, we are going to need a developmental player to step up and play centerback. That would be one of Jordan Graye, Lyle Adams, or Barry Rice. I think that one of them will get their first professional start, unless Onalfo moves someone like Morsink or Najar back into defense. If I had to guess, I would say it will be either Rice or Adams, since they are both centerbacks and Graye is a fullback, and I’m going to pick Rice. The return of Pena and Simms on Saturday is going to be good.

Goff also tipped that Bill Hamid will likely get the start in the place of Troy Perkins. Hopefully his development will push Troy Perkins to get back to where he has been in the past (or possibly replace Perkins down the line if he doesn’t improve).

So here is my updated lineup for Wednesday night’s clash:

Hamid
McTavish Talley Rice Wallace
Quaranta Najar Barklage Castillo
Boyzzz Cristman

I’m going to stay optimistic and hope that some of the reservists impress: 2-1 to United, with Boyzzz and Najar scoring the goals and Hamid and Rice putting on displays that challenge the starters at their positions.

April 27, 2010