Before Extra Time – Page 9 – Soccer ramblings from RVA

Before Extra Time: soccer ramblings from RVA

Is Ben Olsen going to start the season with Najar on the bench?

There is a non-trivial possibility that Ben Olsen is going to start the season with Andy Najar on the bench. I was listening to the Bring Back the Stripes podcast and Jason Longshore brought up this possibility. This may be an anathema to many D.C. United fans, but I think it could be beneficial, both for Najar and for the team.

I think that, for one season, this could be a good move. First of all, it protects Najar from the near impossible expectations people have been setting for him. Putting the weight of a franchise on a 17 year old is the way to create Freddy Adu’s, not long term success. Olsen has tried to temper those expectations, saying that Najar is going to have a more difficult year this season. But I think he wants to put Najar in positions where he can succeed and continue to grow as a player. Look at players like Freddy Adu, Danny Szetela, Bobby Convey, and Santino Quaranta, all players who had breakout seasons as young players and who we all thought would be stars. Szetela is out of the league, Adu is a soccer nomad, and ‘Tino almost destroyed his career; Convey has had a good career, but not up to the levels of hype that he was getting. We all want Najar to be a star, not only for D.C. United, but for whichever national team he ends up choosing. Letting him have a season, or even half a season, to develop from the bench could help him develop the right way.

Also, being able to bring Najar off the bench would allow United to bring in an attacking force unlike any they had last year. Last year, if United wanted to make an offensive change, their choice was to bring in whichever was on the bench of Kurt Morsink or Stephen King. This year, they have a force: the image I have in my head is the US Open Cup match against Real Salt Lake, when Najar came on in the 105th minute and immediately injected life into United, scoring within 2 minutes. With Najar coming in from the bench, they could, for example, take Clyde Simms off, slide Boskovic over to central midfield, put Najar on the wing, and go full out attack. Or they could take a tired striker off and put Najar in the hole. I see Najar playing the role that Juan Agudelo is going to play this year for New York; United just didn’t have the luxury of doing that last year. But without a Najar on the bench, there really is no game-changing attacking player there. Simms isn’t going to change the game if United is down a goal, and Quaranta showed us last year that he is better when he is on the field all the time and has the captain’s armband. Plus, I don’t know if Olsen would put the captain the he chose back on the bench.

Now, with all this said, would I be surprised to see Najar starting against the Columbus Crew? Of course not. Would I support that decision? Of course, it makes a lot of sense. If this happens, and one of the wingers struggles, they will always be able to put Najar back into the starting lineup. But it could also make sense to start the year with Najar on the bench as the game-changing super-sub, the role Jaime Moreno wasn’t able to fill last year.

February 25, 2011
Charlie Davies and Julius James: D.C. United making moves

The worst kept secret in all of D.C. area sports was confirmed yesterday: Charlie Davies is now a member of D.C. United. I am happy for him to be in D.C. as a fan, but also happy that he is finally able to get back to first team soccer after his horrific accident. Even though he is not quite there yet, I think that we will see Charlie in the starting lineup on opening day against the Crew.

In a more interesting (or at least weird) story, D.C. United waived defender Julius James today. He was only making $61k and United is already below 30 players, I believe. Is this an attempt to get the extra allocation money that leaving those two final roster spots open provides? Remember: “Clubs may elect to leave up to two of these roster spots (25-30) vacant and use $35,000 for each empty spot as allocation money.” Or, might they be trying to play with the cap? Because: “Roster spots 19 and 20 are not required to be filled, and teams may spread their salary budget across only 18 Salary Budget Players. A minimum salary budget charge will be imputed against a team’s salary budget for each unfilled senior roster slot below 18.” Or maybe James doesn’t work in Ben Olsen’s system as well as other players and he wanted out. We may never know. UPDATE: Soccer By Ives is reporting that D.C. United traded the international roster spot formerly occupied by Julius James to the LA Galaxy for allocation money. More money to pay down Charlie or is there another move lurking in the works?

Regardless, I thought that he did a good job last year, better than the performance that Dejan Jakovic put in. If United were just trying to be cheap, which is the fear of many D.C. United fans, they probably would have waived Jakovic and his $167k salary. That likely would have been met with less surprise than waiving James. The memory of Jakovic that I cannot get out of my head was the red card he got in the home opener last year against the Union, which gave a bad penalty that lost the game for United and confirmed the tone of sloppy play, set in the opener against the Wizards, that would dominate the year. James wasn’t a shoe-in as a starter, but he was definitely one of the leading candidates for one of the two centerback spots. He was taking up an international player spot, but United only had 4 on the team at the time and now has 3, so I don’t think getting an open international player spot was the reason. I also think this leaves United a little thin in central defense, especially when Perry Kitchen is on U-20 national team duty. We all have seen Devon McTavish as a centerback and it is not something I want to see again. Also, Clyde Simms starting in defense last year (and getting immediately injured) also started United’s injury bug last season, another memory I do not wish repeated.

What does this all mean for the starting lineup? This is how I see it right now:

Hamid
Zayner Brasesco Jakovic Burch
Najar Simms McCarty Boskovic
Davies Pontius

With this formation, I would give Dax McCarty the armband; Clyde Simms has been with the team the longest out of anyone I project to be on the field, but I don’t see him as the vocal leader that a captain needs to be. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Simms with the armband. I am also a little worried about projecting brittle Marc Burch as the starter at left back. Hopefully Ethan White (or Chris Korb) can develop at a quicker pace and perhaps be pushing for a starting role by the middle of the season.

February 17, 2011
A Valentine’s Day Present for D.C. United Fans?

As Martin Shatzer just tweeted, D.C. United is currently off for two days back in the District before heading off to California for the second part of training camp. On one of these two days, there has to be a resolution of the Charlie Davies situation. He has played very well against the competition he has faced and, combined with the other moves made this offseason, there are glimmers of hope for United fans this season. Not signing him at this point, unless there is a huge undisclosed medical issue or ridiculous contract demands from Sochaux, would deflate all of the energy that has been building since this trial was announced.

Honestly, if they do not sign Davies, I would have rather they not brought him in at all. Playing the long game by building with United’s young core and supplementing it through the academy, draft, and smart signings was good enough for me. It showed me that the era of impulsive signings to try and stave off rebuilding one more year were over and that United was committed to entering MLS 2.0. I know that this was not enough for some fans, but I would rather take the FC Dallas approach than the LA Galaxy one. But now the possibility of Charlie Davies signing with D.C., combined with United’s commitment to the long game, has ratcheted up expectations. Now, its feasible that they could compete for a spot in the playoffs this year and not just playing for 2 years down the line. That is what I am hoping for today or tomorrow: a Valentine’s day present from Kevin Payne and Dave Kasper.

February 14, 2011
Cronin loss isn’t that bad

Steve Goff, the Soccer Insider, is reporting that Steve Cronin has broken his wrist and is out for an undetermined amount of time. Bill Hamid is also out due to a shoulder injury that he suffered last year, although he hopefully should be back by the Carolina Challenge Cup in March. With both these keepers out, D.C. United is down to Chase Harrison and unsigned 3rd round draft pick Joe Willis.

I don’t think that this is as big of a loss as people seem to think. Yes, it would be nice to have some veteran presence around Bill Hamid, especially if his recovery from his shoulder surgery gets thrown off track. But while Cronin did well against the Canadian U-20 team, his performance during the intersquad match left something to be desired. I think we all know that he’s not the longterm solution at keeper, but I don’t know if he’s even the short-term solution either. Obviously, if neither Hamid nor Cronin are ready to start the season, United will be in trouble; however, Hamid is still on track and, depending on the severity of the injury, Cronin can hopefully be back before the season starts.

With both Cronin and Hamid out right now, the battle for the third keeper spot will be easier for us to handicap. Both Joe Willis and Chase Harrison played a full 60 minutes in goal in the scrimmage against FIU (for more on that match, see my previous post). Willis started for FIU and Harrison started for DCU; at halftime, they switched goals. Both of them gave up two goals, with Willis giving up two in the span of three minutes and Harrison giving up one immediately after the second half kickoff. I think that Joe Willis is going to win this battle, because they wouldn’t have drafted him if they were happy with Chase Harrison as the third keeper. However, I hope that we never need to see either of them outside of the reserve league.

February 10, 2011
FIU Scrimmage Roundup
Two days ago, I talked about the quality performance that Branko Boskovic has been putting in on the wing, but knew that we would eventually see him in central midfield as well. In yesterday’s match against FIU, that came true. At halftime, Boskovic moved centrally and, at least according to the D.C United twitter feed, was putting in some good through balls that just didn’t get converted. But the highlight of his play had to be the goal that he scored. Chris Pontius put Boskovic through on goal, and the Montenegrin chipped the keeper (actually D.C United’s Chase Harrison) for his second goal of the preseason. We will continue to see Boskovic both central and out on the wing; it won’t be until the Carolina Challenge Cup until we get some real, concrete evidence on where Boskovic will be playing during the regular season.

Some other interesting notes:
- Apparently Blake Brettschneider and Pontius had some good buildup play that led to Boskovic’s goal; maybe Brettschneider has more of a chance to make the squad than people think?
- Junior Carreiro also got injured today, injuring his thigh during the scrimmage. Hope he gets well soon, although with the depth United has on the wings, he figures to primarily be a reserve squad player.
- Speaking of wingers, it was nice to see Brandon Barklage back out on the field. He has been ravaged by injury the past two years, but I think he is a serviceable player when healthy and one who would deserve a spot on the roster.
February 10, 2011
Boskovic on the wing

D.C. United has been playing with our expectations; and no, I’m not talking about Charlie Davies. When Branko Boskovic was signed as United’s designated player last summer, it was with the understanding that he would be the #10, the playmaker in central midfield. In the two preseason scrimmages that have been played so far, Ben Olsen has been playing Boskovic in his natural position, on the left wing. Even though the preseason is still in its infancy, Boskovic seems to be playing more like the designated player that we expected him to be; it just happens to be out on the wing. He served in two crosses that led to goals, one from a corner kick and the other from the run of play. He also put in a goal in the intersquad scrimmage played on Friday.

Now, it remains to be seen if this play is the result of Boskovic being put on the wing or from him now having a full preseason to integrate himself into the club. The problem with midyear signings is that even good players need time to learn their teammates and be able to help them; this is even more pronounced in players that are supposed to be playmakers. A new striker can still make a mark by getting into the right positions and putting shots on frame; a new defender can concentrate on marking his man, while working into his other responsibilities. A midfielder’s play is totally dependent on service and until he has enough time to learn his teammates, he will not reach his potential.

As D.C. United roster continues to take shape, Boskovic’s possible move out to the wing is another part of the roster dance that United is playing. If he can keep this level of play while playing from the central midfield, he could be that number 10 that United has been missing. Boskovic running the show from the middle, with Najar and Quaranta bombing down the wings and Davies and Pontius (or Ngwenya or Wolff) is an enticing proposition. But even if Boskovic fails in the middle, if he can keep this play up on the wing he has locked down a starting spot. Boskovic out on the wing brings Simms back into the starting lineup and puts Davies, ‘Tino, Pontius, Ngwenya, and Wolff in competition for two spots. What is important is to continue to watch how Olsen constructs his lineups throughout the preseason; I am sure we will see Boskovic in the middle at some point, as well as Pontius and ‘Tino as both midfielders and forwards. I know I speculate a lot about the construction of this season’s roster, but what else is the offseason for?

February 8, 2011
State of the Roster (Charlies Davies Edition)

Ben Olsen’s coy comments about American strikers have come true, as D.C. United has used their position on top of the allocation order to, pending an extended physical, sign Charlie Davies to a year long loan. On the surface, this is a great move for D.C. United, as it takes a player that has almost universal support in the US soccer community and puts him on a team that sorely needs that kind of goodwill. And if Charlie can get anywhere near his previous form, it should provide United with the goal scoring punch it so badly missed last season.

MLS rules require an option to purchase in any loan deal, but I would guess that Sochaux would make that so high as to make it just a token offer. I have heard that some people are surprised that its a year long loan; it makes sense for Sochaux too, allowing them to sign their own loan player for the first half of next season and get Charlie back as he (hopefully) is back to the level he was before the accident.

But what does this mean for D.C. United’s roster? Assuming Davies is healthy, I would imagine he would be a lock for a starting striker spot (if he’s not, then we’re in the same place we were last week). I think his strike partner, as of right now, could very well be Josh Wolff. Wolff’s game has evolved into more of a second striker, who puts himself in good positions to link up with the other striker and to bang home loose balls in the box, without having the pressure of being the primary goalscorer. This is the role that Chris Pontius needs to grow into if he wants a place on this team and I think Wolff can be the mentor to get him there. They are similar players and Wolff was brought in to be a stopgap and a teacher, not a long term solution. Pontius may pass Wolff for this position during training camp, during the middle of the season, or for the beginning of next season, but this his position; now he just needs to prove he can fill it.

With that said, what would the roster look like?

Hamid
Brasesco James Jakovic Zayner
Najar McCarty Boskovic Quaranta
Wolff/Pontius Davies

Amid all of this, the odd man out is still Clyde Simms. D.C. United is going to play a more attacking brand of soccer this coming season and, even though I theorized about it in my previous post, I don’t see United playing with two holding midfielders. Also, by drafting Perry Kitchen, Simms’ days on the team are already numbered. Simms has been a warrior for the club and, if he is not a part of the plan going forward, I would like to see United trade him to a place where he can play, as a thank you for his years of hard work.

February 2, 2011
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.

January 30, 2011
Supplemental draftology: Blake Brettschneider

So, that was a supplemental draft. In a similar format to the Re-Entry Draft, the Supplemental Draft was done over conference call, with teams tweeting out their picks as much as a round before the official @MLS_Insider account announced them. D.C. United finally drafted their forward: they drafted Blake Brettschneider out of the University of South Carolina. He led South Carolina with 7 goals and 10 assists this past season (20 games played), and was named Conference USA‘s co-MVP and co-Offensive Player of the Year. He was also a member of the U-20 Player Pool in 2008 and was a member of the Atlanta Silverbacks/Blackhawks PDL team from 2008 to 2010. I’m hoping he can develop into something down the road, but he is an unknown at this point and is obviously not the answer at forward for D.C. United.

Also somewhat interesting is the fact that D.C. United passed on its second pick, the 3rd pick of the 3rd round. Why not bring another kid into camp to see if he can do anything? At worst, he gets cut or you can loan him out; but where is the risk in taking someone there?

January 18, 2011
A Developer in the District Courting D.C. United?

Well, here we go again. There is more D.C United stadium news coming out, but this time it has specifics (in the District) for the first time since the Poplar Point collapse. The Washington Post is reporting that there are two specific sites at which D.C. United is looking.

The first is at Buzzards Point in Southwest:

The site is owned by developer called Akridge, and it runs from V St. to R. St. and from Second to First. This site is near the Nationals ballpark, and could hopefully take advantage of some of their parking. Its about 8-10 blocks away from the Navy Yard metro station. This is a little farther than the Stadium/Armory metro station is to RFK, but not by much. This development group is apparently in a similar situation as D.C. United: they bought the land for $75 million in 2005 and have been trying to attract people to build on it since then. A marriage of convenience could benefit both Akridge and United. The one problem is that the site looks a little thin; would they actually be able to fit a stadium in there?

The other site is at Capital City Market in Northeast, near the intersection of Florida and New York.

The most interesting part about this site is that the developer, Bruce Baschuk, apparently approached D.C. United to ask them to consider this site for their stadium. He is quoted as saying “We certainly have approached the leadership of D.C. United about considering it.” While it would take more redevelopment than the Buzzards Point site, I am definitely encouraged by developers approaching United with sites in the District. Its also very close to the New York/Florida/Gallaudet University metro stop.

While obviously there is nothing solid here, it is encouraging to hear specific sites mentioned and developers courting United. It is also nice to hear this right after the Baltimore feasibility study has some saying that D.C. United is about to become Baltimore United. Could this possibly have leaked in order to calm skittish fans? It is not outside the realm of possibility. All I am taking from this report is that Kevin Payne really is doing hard work on trying to find the team a stadium inside the District and that all hope is not yet lost.

January 17, 2011