I don't think it was quite that bad...

2008 was a disappointing season for sure. But I don't think it was as bad as Luciano Emilio says here in this quote from after United's last match of 2008, a 4-2 loss to Marathon at RFK in October. [I just read the article today...]

"We wanted to put on a good performance and finish the season on a good note, but as always, we had a bad result."

Emphasis mine.

DC United mention on Deadspin

Over at Deadspin, there is a post about some Fire fans in attendance at Chicago's second leg, 3-0 (3-0 on aggregate) drubbing of New England. Funny pictures.

In the comments, DC United supporters got a shout-out, so I thought I'd let you know about it.

Those guys in Section 8 are crazy. Not the good kind of ferverent [sic]-cheering crazy you might find at a DC United game, but the strange kind of not-all-there crazy.

Also: Goal of the Year. I called this a long time ago, actually. There are other good goals on this list, but nothing coming close to Gallardo's. Robbie Rogers' is probably next best, but he is dribbling and facing the goal. Gallardo one-times his from an impossible angle.

Goff has a link and you can debate it in his comments.

DCU @ CLB, Sunday, Oct 26

The final DCU match of the regular season, just like FREE BEER advertised at Hunan Number One Chinese restaurant in Clarendon, is TOMORROW. DC United needs a stone cold victory tomorrow to grab the last playoff spot.

COLUMBUS CREW vs. D.C. UNITED
COLUMBUS CREW STADIUM, Columbus, Ohio
Oct. 26, 2008 | 5 p.m. ET (ONN*; CSN-DC)

(*Does "ONN" stand for for the Onion News Network? Is the DCU match being broadcast by the Onion News Network?")

For all of your match preview needs, see dcunited.com, Behind The Badge or The Black & Gold Standard.

That last one is actually a huge joke, because as of 9:34pm EDT Saturday, there is NO MENTION of tomorrow's match on the official Columbus Crew blog. I guess that's the luxury of winning the supporter's shield - being able to look past your last regular season match to the first round of the playoffs. Never fear, however, because their blog does address issues such as: "celebrity bartending [...] with Frankie Hejduk, Duncan Oughton, Jason Garey and the Crewzers at Brewsky’s Sports Bar, the Crew’s official away game viewing headquarters", "Pat Noonan on CD101" (whatever DC101 wannabe radio station that is...) and the "2008 Team Awards Ceremony" complete with "Casino Night" at someplace called the "Lifestyles Community Pavilion". hahaha: Lifestyles.

So what's the point of all of this? I'll be LIVEBLOGGING the match tomorrow starting sometime around 5pm. I hope you will follow along with me during the match from your computers (since we don't really have an official away game viewing headquarters) and join me in the comments section to let me know when I type something stupid or possibly something hilarious.


Guest bartender Frankie Hejduk's hair is just as nice as some of the Crewzers'...

Ruminations going into this week

Despite how busy we've been too write, it would really be poor form to not comment on the week that we just finished, and the final week of the regular season. Watching the team come from a goal down to score twice in the second half, reminded me of what kind of football we expect them to play, and how little of it we saw this season. That sounded a bit harsh. I think what I'm trying to say, is that we saw a glimpse of the team we expected to have the whole season - a skilled and patient attack, grit and determination, and solid, if not spectacular, defense.

I was ecstatic after they scored each goal, and more so when the camera panned to show Ben Olsen celebrating. This team certainly dug themselves a hole, and at least they're still fighting to get out of it. Honestly, who would have expected Francis Doe to pull us back from the brink with his first 2 goals of the season?

Some thoughts abou the players follows. Emilio had good chances to score, but still looks a little troubled by his injury. Quaranta, looks to me like he's feeling the need to do a lot on his own when the other "regular" starters aren't there. He's ambitious with his passes and attempts on goal, when he pulls it off its really something and credit him with the assist on the 2nd goal. More often than not, he shanks a shot or gives the ball away. Francis Doe may have earned himself more time on the roster with those two goals, enough to give him more time to develop. The injection of Moreno in the second half, and the immediate dividends it paid off, shows he's still an impact player and a vital part of the team's offense. However, we have to seriously start thinking of who's lining up to fill his shoes when he can't go a full 90 and/or decides to retire.

Looking ahead, Behind the Badge does the playoff calculus for us, because math is hard, let's go shopping. The scheduling gods have been for once, kind. The team will go into the Columbus game on Sunday knowing what result they need - or if its a meaningless game.

New York plays Chicago on Thursday, and with homefield advantage on the line, and the need to recapture some winning mojo, I don't expect Chicago to take this game lightly. Can New York count on more fluky goals to help them out? I hope not, although its a funny game.

On Saturday, Kansas City travels to New England to take on a Revolution team that is not following their usual playoff script. Like Chicago, I think NE will want to go into the playoffs with a victory in their final game, and they're jockeying with the Fire for home field advantage. If there is any justice, the Revolution should be able to beat a team who counts amongst its leading scorers Jimmy Conrad.

That leaves us United taking on Columbus to cap the weekend on Sunday. If both KC and NY win, start the drinking early, and tune in to see what should be Tom Soehns last game as head coach. If either team ties or loses, we're still in the hunt for that final wildcard spot.

To sum it up, we want both Chicago and New England to win this week. And not just win, but set new franchise records for margin of victory, in case it comes down to a tie breaker. Its gonna be a long week for United fans.

Playoff Race Watch

Now that we're in the middle of August, the playoff race will heat up. With the everchanging rules for who gets to play in the post season, its hard to keep track. I think this year the format is the 3 teams above the Tropic of Capricorn from each conference, then the next 2 teams with an English player. Luckily, there are dedicated fans like Ken Roberts here to make some of the analysis easier. He put together an online application to track the MLS Playoff Race.

I'm trying to answer questions like:
What effect does each game this week have on a team's odds of making
the playoffs? (The "Big Games" section.)
How well do they need to finish out the season to make the playoffs?
(The "What If" section on each team's page.)

If you check it out and have any suggestions I'd love to hear them.

What can we gleam so far? Head over to his site to check it out. You can also learn who we should be rooting for/against in the other games this weekend.

Match #13.17 -- Kansas City Wizards

Match #13.17 -- Kansas City Wizards

Six Word Novel Preview:
Even on points, a six-point game.

Opponent:
Kansas City Wizards

TV: 2 August 2008, Comcast Sportsnet, DireckKick, MLSLive.tv

Radio: WFED 1050AM, SRN

Previous Meeting:
March 29, 2008 - KC 2 - United 0

The Stakes:

Both teams sit on 22 points in the Eastern Conference, so this game could provide a six-point swing in the standings if either team manages to win. United needs to separate itself from other playoff-contenders, but to do so it must return to the form that saw them win 4 straight regular season games. Gallardo, Peralta, Quaranta, and Olsen are still out due to injury and Martinez received a red card in the Houston game.

New signing Ivan Guerrero could make his debut. If so, I'd imagine he'd start in Martinez's place. I'm not sure what the Coach's planned role for Guerrero is when the team is at full strength, but I expect that he'll be more useful in the midfield.

Previews from the MLSverse:

Weekend Preview: Contenders Clash | WVHooligan - Soccer Blog

One club hasn’t played well at home in recent weeks (both in league play and out) and the other hasn’t lost since mid-June. Its one of those classic, something has to give kind of games.

Down the Byline: Taking on the Evil Empire

Without
3 starters, United should be ready for the taking. The problem is, I
thought that earlier this year when the Wizards took on an undermanned
New England side, and we were played off the field.

Expectations:

I'd like to see United reverse its current losing streak at home. How's that for understatement? But against a confident and winning KC team, its going to be very difficult. Even more so missing our DP and three other regular starters.

What to look for?

• Who can run the offense? Will Moreno drop back into the midfield to generate the attack, or can we give Fred another shot at play-making from the center of the field? Clearly, Rod Dyachenko isn't the answer, but we have few answers here..
• Will Guerrero start? It's a pretty tough game to make a debut in, but if he's worth a partial allocation, we should expect him to contribute from the get go.
  
• What are the coach's adjustments? It'll be up to the coach to motivate a team on the skids and one that has to rely on a lot of young players. Soehn will need to make a lot of adjustments before and during the game to make sure it's lineup plays to its strengths and doesn't concede much to Kansas City.
  

In advance of Sunday midday...

I was on the fence about this post. It is silly, certainly. I thought I might discuss the horizontal symmetries of the two clubs' jersey sponsors.

See?

Or I might mention the fact that Greg Vanney is now a "Herbalife-sponsored player" (see: New Stars in the LA Galaxy) and has 10 appearances this season for the Galaxy after most recently playing for DC United.

Or I might find some ridiculous quote to mock from herbalife.com; perhaps this...

Our Founder Mark Hughes: As a teenager he made a decision to improve people’s lives with better nutrition. This led him to found Herbalife in 1980.

Forget the fact that the Herbalife website is virtually impossible to navigate. You have to walk a tightrope with your mouse to use the dropdowns across the top of the site. With a touchpad, that's hard.

But then I found what I was looking for and I knew that "worlds colliding" was the theme of the post that I was looking for.

I saw this (4th item) and some smoke came out of my ears....

Grammy Winner Nelly Furtado Favors Liftoff®
According to People magazine, award-winning recording artist Nelly Furtado favors Liftoff® effervescent dietary supplement for "quick-me-ups." Furtado told People that she used Liftoff® tablets to get ready for her high-energy performance during the 2007 Grammy Awards.

BECAUSE...

Remember this?




So who will she be supporting on Sunday?

We play San Jose sunday...

You know what that means? Zach Wells has a change to get his first shut out of the season! That is all.

Match Briefing vs Toronto FC

Match #: 13.MLS.13 -- at Toronto FC

Six Word Novel Preview:
Hoping for win on bouncy turf.

Opponent:
Toronto FC

TV: 21 May 2008, Comcast Sports Net, Direct Kick, MLSLive.tv, 7:30pm

Previous Meeting:
DC United 4 - Toronoto FC 1.

The Stakes:
United needs points, end of story. With, what - a quarter of the season, done, this team has to start looking like it'll make it to the playoffs.

Previews from the DCUniverse and MLSverse:
Behind the Badge: "A healthier and more determined United side has made its way north of
the border and is preparing for tonight's match with Toronto FC. " Plus links to stories in the local papers.

WVHooligan - "Some rumors flying around right now say the DC front office is giving Soehn this week to turn things around or he will get canned like Steve Morrow did yesterday in Dallas."

Expectations:

Obviously, United needs to start winning, although I have no illusions that they'll be able to play well on TFC's Astroturf pitch. At this point, a tie on the road would be a moral victory for the team and something that they could build on. How the team plays, and how Tom Soehn manages the team, I think are more important than the actual result.

What to look for?

• Will we see Gallardo on the field? I have a suspicion that he might opt not to play the full 90 game, given the atrocious field. It could spare us watching his teammates not making the right runs and anticipating his passes.
  
• Will Emilio start? Can or should he start the game on the bench again? I think we played noticeably better with Doe up top last week and it'd be worth experimenting a little more with him up there.
  
• How will Wells organize his defense? Last game he was interviewed and mentioned that he needs to organize the defense better and improve communications. Its now or never, defensive miscues and bad positioning have been killing us.
  
• Can Moreno lead the team? Jaime needs to step up as captain and keep his squad motivated and focused, both if we give up the first goal or need to keep attacking if we score first.
  

Debriefing for Match 13.04: Columbus Crew

D.C. United 1 : 2 Columbus Crew

Six Word Novel Recap

Never understood why Goldilocks preferred lukewarm.

Media, Traditional and Otherwise

The Washington Times, John Haydon: "Even with the strongest lineup coach Tom Soehn could use, D.C. United fell short last night at RFK Stadium. United lost 2-1 to the Columbus Crew before a crowd of 13,329. It wasn't as one-sided as Saturday's loss at Real Salt Lake in which three key players rested, but United's offense still struggled to find the right chemistry."
The Washington Post, Steve Goff: "Alejandro Moreno's sweeping shot from close range pushed Columbus (3-1) ahead in the 32nd minute. And later in the first half, after Bryan Namoff's deflected shot drew United even, the Crew needed just one minute to retake the lead."
UnitedMania, Chris Webb: "Soehn was baffled with the miscommunication that seemingly plagued the United back line all night long. 'It should have been better than it was. They punished us when we didn't do a good job.'"
Soccer America, Ridge Mahoney: "Is it too soon for the fans of D.C. United to panic, given their team's depressing 2-1 loss to Columbus at RFK Stadium Thursday night? Of course it's too soon. But their misgivings are well-grounded. You can talk all you want about players getting to know each other and it's still April and they've had a heavy load of games and all that, but this team has been together for more than two months and doesn't show much leadership or competitive fire."
Hunt Park Insider, Matt Bernhardt: "The Columbus Crew's first victory in RFK Stadium came courtesy of an own goal from Richie Williams. So too did the team's latest conquest, as Sigi Schmid's men gutted out a 2-1 win Thursday night. The victory puts the Crew temporarily atop the MLS standings, with nine points from four games played. DC United, meanwhile, is in the Eastern Conference basement with the opposite record."
Behind the Badge, The Management: "[Emilio] There is no frustration here, we know the potential we have...[Gallardo] We need to get a couple of wins so we can gain confidence, not get desperate."
MLSNet, Chris Snear: "...it was Schelotto who controlled the midfield in the first half, orchestrating a far more fluid attack than his Argentine counterpart. Though United created ample chances, Gallardo was given very little space to play with very few options provided by his front runners. Most of United's attack was generated from the flanks with Fred on the left side and Bryan Namoff on the right."
MLSNet, Charles Boehm: "...the home side fluffed a string of scoring chances before Alejandro Moreno's grit and graft produced two goals that put United behind the 8-ball. Neither was pretty - the first, an awkward close-range finish to a fluid passing move and the second an own goal off Gonzalo Peralta just seconds after Bryan Namoff's equalizer - but both were just rewards for the Crew. The combined effect was devastating to D.C.'s fragile mindset."
BLCKDGRD, BDR: "it is time to start asking if the team is playing up, down, or equal to its players' - and coach's - ability, and I've got the uneasy feeling that what we're seeing might be the team's true level: the players just aren't very good, and the coach isn't capable of getting a greater result than the sum of his players."
The Far Post, Thaddeus Byron Aloysius Dopenhopper: "...time to call out some dudes...Emilio: The dude is a poacher. Poachers are streaky and frustrating. This season he’s being asked to hold the ball with his back to the goal, but MLS defenders have figured out if you lean on him he gets so distracted he can’t make the appropriate pass to a teammate."
DCUMD, Shatz: "The whole team seems way too tentative on offense. Instead of taking the quick cross or the one-time shot, United is more often holding the ball waiting for a play to develop, or sending it in to Emilio posting up with his back to the goal (which never works)."
The Offside - D.C. United, Jon: "One of the Gonzalos is good, the other one needs to wake up. The good one is Martinez, who had a strong match. Peralta once again got beat for goals. I say sit him in favor of McTavish."

UPDATES:

• Photo Gallery from Information Leafblower
• DCist, Matt Borque: "Despite Soehn's offensive substitutions, United could barely sniff a goal."
• An American's View, Brian Garrison
• Center Holds It, Jeff Bull: "'The Crew held on for the win': that’s one of the most limited of soccer cliches. It falls well short of letting one appreciate just how energetically Columbus defended, how they compensated for an occasional lack of organization by closing down fast and clamping down hard."
• Who ate all the Cupcakes?, Longshoe
  
• Poplar Point Perspective, JCM
  

The Good

1. Marcello Gallardo: Commenter Jeremy asks exactly the right skeptical question last night in the Impressions: "How can you praise Gallardo's 'vision' when this vision leads to a turnover and the end of any attacking chance. For me vision includes seeing the play developing, anticipating the reactions of your teammates and the defense and moving the play forward. I have not seen that from Gallardo." And Commenter Grunthos gets the answer exactly right: "Gallardo *is* seeing the developing play better than his teammates and trying to direct the flow of the offense. With depressing frequency, his teammates ignore his suggestions or fail to understand them... the turnovers are not occurring because Marcelo made a bad choice, they are occurring because the other guys aren't reading his moves well." This is perfect, and means I don't have to do any work answering the question. Ah, the joys of laziness.
2. Key Coaching Decision Making: Tom Soehn's line-up and substitutions were all reasonable and fine. I enjoyed the double-substitution early in the second half. Now we need to start thinking about what exactly the "Best XI" for United is. More on that below.
3. Gonzalo Martinez: Really, his tackling, his presence, and his marking are excellent. If the United defense could be a little more competent, he may be putting forward a Defender of the Year type season if this continues.
   
4. The Columbus Second Half: You can complain about teams sitting on the lead, or you can credit Columbus for playing an excellent half with a one goal lead. They kept their shape the entire 45 minutes, they defended well, and they limited United to one or two dangerous balls the entire time. They deserve credit for that, and I will give it to them.
5. Checking in with the others: Saw this guy last night, who, like me, starts composing his blog posts around half-time. And to the three or four other people who dropped by to say kind things, I appreciate it.
   

The Bad

1. Lieutenant Zack Wells: I think sometimes small moments illustrate big problems better than the goals do, so let me direct your attention to the second half, sometime around the 55th minute. Columbus attempts to play a through ball behind the United back line, but the pass is errant. Gonzalo Martinez starts to track the ball down facing his own goal. Robbie Roger, I think, starts to apply some high pressure. Now, Martinez has three options: 1 - He can try and turn the ball himself and play out of the back. 2 - He can send a back pass to Wells to play out of the back. 3 - He can guard the ball back to Wells who can pick it up. Wells comes out of his box, and it looks like Option 3 will be well executed.
   
   But then Wells suddenly backpeddles four steps, just as Martinez can hear footsteps. What now? The back pass could be risky, playing it youself can lead to a costly turnover, and Wells suddenly isn't in position to pick the ball up. With some frantic movement, Wells suddenly reapproaches the ball and kicks it directly to his left for a Columbus attacking throw. And then Wells yells at Martinez, after not having taken charge earlier despite being able to see the entire field. Which is ridiculous. Wells is clearly the one who should be commanding the play as he can see what's happening. Accordingly, Mr. Wells, we demote you from O-4 to O-3, and you are now a Lieutenant in the Goalkeeping Navy.
2. Defense on the Left: Both goals had unfortunate breakdowns on the left side, and I won't even go into the Wells decision to leave the net on the second goal. I mean, he was in a perfectly fine position to guard the post for any keeper not named Tony Meola. I'd like to see Devon McTavish taken out of the midfield role (replace him with Quaranta or Kirk, please) and used more as an augment to the defense as needed. Bleh.
3. Cutting-in: Fred, I love your workrate, and your willingness to run. I'm just tired of seeing you get a ball at the corner of the box and 95% of the time cutting it back into the middle on the dribble.
   
4. Emilio: See last night's post. With his back to goal, he's looking awful.

Officiating Watch

Both ARs were excellent, and I didn't disagree with a single flag that went into the air. Center official Jair Marrufo was his typical self, which is a shame. I would really like to see a replay of the first time Emilio was taken down in the box, as from my seats (Sec 236) it looked like a penalty, but given that I couldn't see if Emilio was also shirt grabbing, I can't really make a definitive call. That being said, Mr. Lars next to me saw a lot of two footed tackles not get called (both ways) and that's really not right kids.

Likert Scale Grade: 2 - Below Average

Man of the Match

N/A. Merit Awards to Gallardo and Martinez, your goat is, I think, Zack Wells (though Peralta and Emilio both are candidates)

Adjusted Results

A-ha! If I can find a replay of that Emilio take-down, I might adjust one goal up for United. Or if there's consensus in the comments. So it's either no change, or a 2-2 match. What say you?

UPDATE: Commenter Jason caught the replay, and argues for DC +1.5 for a DOGSO red to Frankie. I'm not sure I can go that far, but at least it confirms the initial thought of a clear penalty (combined with some good other chances). So the adjusted result is +1 goal for D.C, for a final score of DC 2 : 2 CLB. For the season, D.C. United's adjusted record is 1-2-1 (4pts); 7GF, 10GA, -3GD.

Final Thoughts

There need to be changes. Personally, I'd start with the place where it seems we have the most options, and take out McTavish for Kirk or, more likely, Quaranta. I mean, yes, thank you for your goals in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, but it's just not working Devon. Sub him in on the defense, or start him for Peralta for a game.

I'm not sure that we're a bad team, as BDR might argue. I see a whole lot of talent on the field, and not just on paper. But our lack of a coherent attack as a team is concerning. We improvise nicely, but that only takes you so far. I love improvisation, but Whose Line Is It Anyway? never won a dramatic Emmy. Or a BAFTA, for those of you who remember Tony Slattery. Regardless, we're not on the same page. And we've had, as Mr. Mahoney notes, 8 games to get on the same page. That's not good.

That being said, I'm less annoyed by this result than the RSL result. The RSL game was a game where we deserved the thrashing we received. This game was a bit unfortunate, as we had some very nice moments in the opening thirty minutes. There was progress, sadly it was progress from one of the most ridiculous losses in our history. So I'm not about to scream and yell. Yet. A loss, with extra rest, at home against RSL... that would be pretty much intolerable, right? Right.

First Impressions - Real Salt Lake 4: 0 D.C. United

Remember what we said last week? The job of a manager is to put his team in the best position to win. And in that job, Tom Soehn failed this week. Against Pachuca, down two goals, he had to press to get goals. Playing three in the back made sense as a tactical change.

Against RSL, Tom Soehn makes a perfectly legitimate decision to give Gallardo and Martinez and Wells a break. However, given the work Gallardo has done on both sides on the ball, and the presence Martinez has been in the back line, and starting a keeper in his first game, the 3-4-3 formation made little sense. You simply didn't have the right personnel to execute the defensive responsibilities that formation required. Especially against a team that beat you over the top a year ago.

The first two goals, the goals that really put this game in RSL's win column, were both directly influenced by the tactical formation chosen by Tom Soehn. On the first goal, Dema Kovalenko takes advantage of the space afforded him and put a ball in to Kyle Beckerman. The line plays off Beckerman, worried about other runners getting behind them, so Beckerman does the job himself. In the second, a long ball over the top beats the defense. Forseeable? I think so. But Jason Kreis --and I know some RSL fans may not believe this, but I think it is true -- Jason Kreis outmanaged Tom Soehn in this game. Once he saw the situation on the field, he shifted his players to take advantage of it.

So yeah, this game was pretty awful. Especially when you consider that center official Richard Heron, if anything, shaded his calls towards United. I get the sense I'm just yelling at my computer screen now, so I better end this post. What a mess. What a complete mess.

Debriefing for Match 13.02: Toronto FC

D.C. United 4 : 1 Toronto FC

Six Word Novel Recap

History and Passion beat just passion.

Media, Traditional and Otherwise

The Washington Times, John Haydon: "D.C. United vented its frustration against Toronto FC, Major League Soccer's worst team last season, in a 4-1 win..."
The Washington Post, Steven Goff: "Santino Quaranta was exceptional in his first start since returning to the club, high-priced playmaker Marcelo Gallardo scored his first goal and Jaime Moreno returned from a nearly month-long absence to add another strike. And because the result was barely in doubt after Kevin Harmse's red card left Toronto shorthanded for the final 68 minutes, Soehn was able to remove three starters in the second half and rest them for Wednesday's second leg of the Champions' Cup semifinals..."
CBC Sports: "Maurice Edu salvaged a touch of pride with a late goal off a nice header to make it 4-1."
MLSNet, Charles Boehm: "United came out with attacking intent right from the opening whistle and were rewarded almost instantly as Luciano Emilio grabbed his team's first league goal of 2008 with less than two minutes gone."
Behind the Badge, The Management: "...good, solid first MLS win for the team tonight. Obviously, Toronto had to deal with an early red card, but the guys managed the game well."
UnitedMania, Chris Webb: "After that initial burst United had a few more chances to put away the visitors but didn't convert. Toronto FC then managed to get themselves into the match putting together a few minutes of bothersome possession that resulted in a number of dangerous chances that Zach Wells did well to save. First was a point blank header from six yards out from Jeff Cunningham in the 15th minute and in the 18th minute he dove to his left to stop a well struck 30 yard free kick from Jim Brennan."
DCist, Matt Borque: "United Coach Tom Soehn inserted Moreno for defender Marc Burch. The move paid off, as United's midfield combined with more fluidity; at one point they strung 29 passes together. Their success in the midfield afforded them more confidence as they pushed forward, and in the 52nd, they used their swagger (along with their man advantage) to tally their third goal."
Off-Wing Opinion, Kris Herrell: "Moreno scored …. wait for it….. from open play, to make it 4-0. Wells showed his Pachuca positioning to give up a late goal, but the results were not in danger."
DC Sports Box, Abram Fox: "More importantly than adding to D.C.’s already-lengthy lead, Moreno showed no ill effects from the strained hamstring that sidelined him earlier in the season while demonstrating the ball-handling skills that make him so valuable."
Bleacher Report, Tim Yu: "Talk about two different cities moving in two different directions."
Fighting Talker, Aaron Stollar: "Now, let’s not take away from what was a very good United performance, but Toronto was unbelievably bad at the back."
DCUMD, Shatz: "If 'steals' was a stat category in soccer like it is in basketball, Simms would probably lead the league. Had a few dangerous shots too." [Note: While I agree with the sentiment, what usually impresses me about Simms are his choices. He knows when to step up, and when to try and contain his marker. Taking the pass the other way is nice, but it sucks if you miss and suddenly red shirts are pouring into the box.]
The Edgell Supporters: "Niell lost his position on the depth chart to Quaranta. Not just because Quaranta got the start, but because Quaranta did some holding and creating, and Niell still isn't pulling the trigger. I'm still rooting for Niell to do something though. "
QuarterVolley, I-66: "Saturday’s win may not have been perfect, as I really would have liked to maintain the clean sheet, but I don’t think we need to split that hair in particular. A three goal victory, whether it’s 3-0, 4-1, or 5-2 is something to smile about, and smile I am."
The Fullback Files: "Giving up that late goal sucked, but TFC deserved at least a goal. They were fairly wasteful with some good chances, and our defense allowed far too much to get through to Wells for my comfort, particularly when we went up a man"
An American's View..., Brian Garrison: "If we play against Pachuca, they way we played against Toronto FC, we stand a much better chance of climbing out of that hole and making it to the CONCACAF Champions Cup finals, but we still have work to do."
BLCKDGRD, BDR: "Gallardo needs deliver passes faster, both in release and pace, but he sees the field and makes terrific passes into space. Assuming it's still just a matter of learning his teammates (and visa versa), Gallardo will be able to distribute into space and onto runs. Got the goal-monkey off his back, not that it was an issue yet."
Mistake by the Lake, StillKicking: "Forgive me, but I do not have the heart to go through Saturday's 4-1 loss to DC United with what passes for full analysis around here. If John Carver is a coach with a sense of decency he would not allow his players to watch a replay of this game. Best to treat it as a game already forgotten."
The Offside: Toronto FC, Nicholas: "The Lowly reds would have been further behind the 8 ball if it was not for the great play of Sutton. ( That is the only positive in the game)"
Joe Soccer Fan: "A red card to Harmse for a bap rep! The foul was undisciplined, but considering he was straight-armed on the play, I didn't think it warranted a sending off." [Note: This is probably not the same JoeSoccerFan most of you know around here. It's a different one.]

The Good

1. Win the Easy Way: I'm not saying we're going to beat Pachuca because we rested our starters after getting an early lead. I'm just saying that I'm glad we were able to do so, and then did it. United has, on occasion, played down to its competition. They did not do so in this match, and that's important.
   
2. Spreading the Honors: Everyone who should score, other than Niell, does score. And at least Niell gets an assist, though I agree with everyone who wonders why he won't shoot the damn ball. Winning is nice, but if it were two goals from McTavish, one from Simms, and one from Martinez, it wouldn't be as reassuring as when your goal scorers tally.
3. Crowd: Good noise. Very good noise.
4. Mr. Wells: Yes, he couldn't keep the clean sheet. But far more important was his save on Jeff Cunningham in the 20th minute. That was not, as I think some said, a ball headed at him. Close to him? Yes, but not at him. And Cunningham got the ball down, forcing Wells to get low and dive to his right quickly. He did it. A save he should make, but not an easy save. Call it a save of moderate difficulty. But I've seen softer goals given up.
   

The Bad

1. Unpowered Play: Everyone is absolutely correct in that the worst stretch for United was the first ten minutes after they went up a man. Part of this might be explained by Toronto suddenly realizing that they had been giving far too much space to United by not simply covering their men, and once they started gambling a little more, it payed off. Part of it was also, I think, a bit of complacency.
2. The Transitioning Sixth: There are a few areas where everyone knows an errant pass is bad. The defensive third is often cited. However, I think it's almost as bad to have an errant pass in the attacking half of the middle third. At this point, players are starting to join an attack and make runs, the transition is really in play. An errant pass here, as opposed to the attacking third, and there isn't as much space for recovery. And it is here that United is still not as smart with the ball as I would prefer. They got away with some balls simply because Toronto was playing well off the man in this area, but this is the same area where Pachuce will tighten their marking, and potentially be deadly on a counter.
   

Officiating Watch

First, let me say that I feel, contra the TFC blogs, that center ref Mark Geiger did nothing wrong with the sending off of Kevin Harmse in the first half. It was a dangerous tackle, with the studs over the ball and into the shin at an angle that could cause significant injury, and a tackle which has been a point of focus on the international level. If you read this blog (and even if you don't agree all the time, you should be reading every day), you know that there seems to be two issues that consistently cause wonder in MLS officiating circles - the tendency to ignore the international standards, and the focus on man management. The red card is consistent with international standards. Now, you might argue that a yellow and a stern lecture was more appropriate. And that would also have been a completely legitimate decision by Mr. Geiger. However, Mark Geiger does not have the reputation of the Brian Hall, and you don't earn respect without having established yourself over time. Given that he'd already issued one yellow, I think the red was the right move. The game could have been outside of all management shortly, and he did the right thing. Hell, he could have given a few more cautions to both teams, but overall I am not displeased with this effort.

Kyle McCarthy gets this exactly right in his column this week. He notes that the zero tolerance policy is a positive thing for MLS:

In the long term, it’s a gain. The new policy could mean one less impulsive challenge. It could mean a little extra space for those flair players in midfield. It could mean an extra split second of hesitation or doubt before lunging in with a careless tackle. It could mean one less severe injury.

In fact, it reminds me of something that I saw on For the Integrity of Soccer. When Landon Donovan was asked why he jaws at the officials, he responded (paraphrasing here) "Because they let me." Similarly, when you start allowing dangerous tackles of the borderline variety, you shouldn't be surprised when things get worse and more frequent. For a long time, I felt that MLS officials looked upon US Center Backs and thought "Well, they're physical, so let's call it looser." But that is a disservice to the game, especially for a center back who might harbor thoughts of an international career. They lose technique to power, a dangerous tradeoff at any position.

What worries me is that to be truly effective, this standard should be, must be, maintained for the entire season. If it is just to send a message early in the season, I can tell you that MLS players are smart enough to figure out they can get away with more in July. If called consistently, this is the right move for the league to make.

Man of the Match

Santino Quaranta. To answer a question, all is still not forgiven. But if he's playing close to this well in August, then yes, all is fine. And really, I can't ask for a better performance. One thing I really liked was how well he's seeing the field right now. I can recall thinking "Hey, Tino's got skills" in the past at moments. I don't recall thinking "Hey, Tino is really anticipating the game well." And that is a huge surprise.

Adjusted Results

I don't think either team was overly hurt by poor calls or luck tonight. Sure, there was that one crossbar that Toronto hit, but that's a low percentage shot at best, so I don't think we adjust the score for that one. Similarly, Emilio's shot off the crossbar resulted in a goal anyways, so I think the final score is the right one. 4-1 stands. Taking into account the previous game (where we adjusted by adding a goal to both Kansas City and United), and United has an adjusted record of 1-1-0 with 5GF and 4GA for a +1GD

Final Thoughts

United did all that we could ask for them to do in this game. That is pleasing. And yes, we're all on edge about Pachuca, simply because the task is enormous. But after the Kansas City and Pachuca games, I was ready to close to book on the CONCACAF Chamion's Cup. Any hope of advancement seemed a very long shot indeed. Now they're still difficult odds, but surmountable ones. Pachuca will not give United the time DC had, but United showed good passing that didn't rely on the amount of time as well. If United can find the same positions off the ball as they did against Toronto, and play as quickly or quicker with accuracy, then I think United has a shot. Not a long shot, not a sure thing... Call it a struggle. But doable in a way I wasn't feeling long ago.

Debriefing for Match 13.01: At Kansas City Wizards

Kansas City Wizards 2 : 0 D.C. United

Six Word Novel Recap

Ask me the secret to comedy.

Media, Traditional and Otherwise

The Washington Post, Steve Goff: "the 2-0 defeat before a sellout crowd of 10,385 at CommunityAmerica Ballpark did not sit well with a United team that retooled its roster in hopes of winning something other than a regular season title. Ivan Trujillo and Claudio López, the Wizards' South American imports, scored 14 minutes apart early in the second half as Kansas City handed D.C. a decisive, early-season defeat for the second consecutive year."
The Washington Times, Cole Young: "D.C. United probably wishes it could replay the 61st minute of its MLS opener against the Kansas City Wizards last night. United had a goal called off because of an offside call and then gave up a goal on the ensuing possession as it fell 2-0 at Community America Ballpark.
The Kansas City Star, Bob Luder: "Ivan Trujillo and Claudio Lopez, both of whom signed with the Wizards earlier this month, each scored second-half goals. A mostly rock-solid defense did the rest in leading the Wizards past the reigning Major League Soccer Supporters Shield holder in front of — yes, a sellout crowd — 10,385."
MLSNet, Thomas Foote: "Managing player minutes with a big international game following was one thing. United is facing the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions' Cup semifinal against Pachuca of Mexico on Tuesday."
UnitedMania, Chris Webb: "United had the best of the rare scoring chances in first half with a 17th minute blast from Luciano Emilio that was well saved over the bar from KC keeper Kevin Hartman. United did well to create their usual smooth possession game in the first half but an early second half goal set KC on their way to the win."
DCUMD, Shatz: "One lesson learned though... Kansas City is probably better than I thought. Claudio Lopez really seems to have been embraced by his team, and Ivan Trujillo seems like a bit of a jackass, but will probably score a lot of goals this year."
Down the Byline, Mike: "Death, taxes, and beating DC to open the season. Those are the three assured things for the Wizards the past two seasons...To start the second half, though, it was the Wizards that dictated the tempo, and only 2 minutes into the second half, Michael Harrington's cross was touched by Jack Jewsbury into the path of Trujillo who slotted the ball inside the near post of Zach Wells to make it 1-0 Wizards."
Six Yards North, QJA: "The thing is, there's a big drop off in talent between our starting XI and our subs. Our lack of depth is a serious problem."
Fighting Talker, Aaron Stollar: "I am quite disappointed. It’s not that we lost, it’s that we lost making so many of the same errors we explcitly sought to fix...The attack again insisted on pounding it down the middle of the field where KC had amassed all its defenders bother, hack and repel. Quaranta should’ve been inserted at the wing, not in for Niell...Don’t get me wrong, there were new problems as well...If they say that they weren’t looking ahead to Pachuca, I want to know what the hell they were looking at. "
BLCKDGRD, BDR: "BEN OLSEN! Any questions on his importance? Gallardo will be fine, Simms is fine, sure would be nice to have two other midfielders out there in the midfield, yes? Landru talks about the formation, but what five midfielders would United use? (Dyachenko out on red hurt, but really....)"
Still Pending: An American's View, DCist,

The Good

1. Free MLS Direct Kick Weekend: That was nice, not making me wait for tape delay. And hey, RSL actually looked good in their second half with new US Citizen Dema Kovalenko, and Columbus wasn't awful to watch, and... wait, really, this is the KC telecast? Wow, um... I can see why Dave Johnson preferred to be calling the Houston-New England match on FSC than travel with Comcast to KC for this one. Yikes.
   
2. Strategic Sacrifice: Look, there was a time when a D.C. United coach would simply look at a situation like Tom Soehn had on Saturday, and would play his top XI on Saturday, and then play them again on Tuesday. And then probably for the next two games he had as well, until they were about to fall over, and then he'd bring out a reserve squad against Columbus or something, and we'd end up losing that game narrowly. That time was 2005. That Tom Soehn is willing to rest some players ahead of the CONCACAF Champion's Cup match is the right decision, as right now that competition takes priority over the MLS regular season. That's the right decision. And while I somewhat agree with QJA above, I disagree in terms of actual impact. While our reserved are not as good as our first XI, I still think Domenic Mediate and Devon McTavish (and Niell, for that matter) put in good minutes. As good as Fred, Olsen, and Moreno would have? Maybe not, but that's why they are reserves and not everyday starters. Now, I do agree with some of the kvetching about Quaranta for Niell as opposed to, say, Quaranta for McTavish, but I think this was not so much about tactical decisions on pushing for the win as limiting Niell's minutes, so even there I won't object.
3. Fight On Through: I disagree with the sentiment that somehow United wasn't showing the effort on Saturday. I felt they fought the entire game. Yes, the final shots weren't there, but they at least were creative, and were moving the ball around decently.
   

The Bad

1. Emilio: Yes, he had one blistering shot, but even that shot was probably the easiest hard shot to save (you follow me, right?) Hartman only had to make a vertical move to make the save, there was no lateral movement involved. He was frequently drifting around the field, and never seemed to be able to leverage his strengths. I do not look to Emilio to break down a defender on the dribble, but apparently he felt that was his best option at times.
2. The Predictability of Fred: There were multiple moments when DC would get the ball wide to Fred, but on each occasion he would cut the ball in along the top of the box rather than push it down the side to whip in the cross. After a time, that became much too easy a move to anticipate.
3. The non-deployment of Clyde Simms: KC has a Designated Player their hopes for goals rest on, so why isn't Clyde man-marking him out of the game?
   

Officiating Watch

Ricardo Salazar had a decent match. Yes, KC got away with more hacking than I would like, but he called it decently enough. The ARs blew one off-side call, but that was to DC's benefit. The one call that went against us that I object to was the failure to award a penalty after Domenic Mediate was tackled in the box. That call should have been made, but perhaps the feeling was the ball had gotten away from him. I still think you make that call. Still, as a whole, I have little compliant.

Man of the Match

N/A

Karma Bank

We earn 2 karma for the failure to be awarded the penalty for Mediate's take-down, but we also burn 1 karma for the horrible off-side call that disallowed what would have been another KC Goal. Overall play doesn't earn or lose any karma. +1 for the match, so +1 for the season.

Final Thoughts

I don't feel much different today than I felt on Saturday. The comments in the First Impressions are right -- If we play this way against Pachuca, then the Champion's Cup run is over. But I don't expect us to play the same way, or with the same people, in that match. I expect a better effort. For what this was, I can accept it. It's a disappointing result, but not an enraging one. I did see signs of a good defense, a diverse attack, and more reason to hope than fear. It was an away loss to a team that's pretty good. And right now, the priority must be Pachuca.

First Impressions - Kansas City Wizards 2 : 0 D.C. United

...and yet, I'm not heartbroken.

Yes, the loss is disappointing, but somehow even now it feels a bit abstract. Removed. At a distance.

I think part of it was the fact that Kansas City's stadium make you think you're watching an NCAA broadcast. It's not really real -- not yet. And the team we saw play for United wasn't bad, it just wasn't all there. Everyone had a moment to shine, everyone had a moment to look rather awkward. The same was true for Kansas City, it's just that they got the ball in the net twice.

And for all the talk of team's not doing much in the off-season, Kansas City at least did something. I'm not sure how deep they are, but their starting 11, even without Eddie Johnson, seems a bit more formidable from in terms of average ability. They look better. Curt Onalfo has trained them well.

United also didn't look shabby, but they didn't look like a team that's going to treat MLS as its personal parkour environment. Still, for a line-up without Olsen, Moreno, and Fred in the starting side, I wasn't displeased. The central defense held well, with only two egregious moments (one of which was fortunately rules offside despite the fact it should not have been.) All teams will give up chances, the only thing we can ask is that they not give up easy ones. And the Gonzalos seem determined to make life difficult for opposiing teams. Brian Namoff looks like he may have learned how to send in an early cross.

The big problem right now is Emilio, who we can see getting into better shape, but he's still not there. He may still be dangerous even without his best form, but he's not as good as he could be.

Still, for a 2-nil defeat, I'm not overly troubled. This team was doing more right than wrong. I have no one I feel like calling out, and no tactics that I felt were egregious. The game simply didn't go our way. Fine. Other games just like this will.

MLS Season opener draws near.

Ahh, the end of march, when MLS bloggers awake from their pre-season slumber and start covering their team. Or something like that. This Saturday, United kicks off the 2008 season on the road against the Kansas City Wizards. We're sure to have a full on preview before then, for now, suffice to say that the game is only available on DireckKick and MLSLIVE.TV. The Screaming Eagles have you covered and have set up not one, not two, not three, but four viewing parties for the game. A sad state of affairs for the debut of a Designated Player, but thats MLS for you. By the way, have DC United ever opened the season at home?

In other United news, Josh Gros will coach the U15 Academy team. Let's hope he has someone else showing the kids how to refine their heading techniques.

Josh Gros, former United midfielder and defender, is set to lead D.C. United's U-15 Academy Developmental Training Program. Gros did not resume his playing career this season after his 2007 campaign was cut short, the result of a series of head injuries. Though his playing future has yet to be determined, the Rutgers product will remain a part of the team in his new position on the sidelines.

Finally, we learned last Thursday that DC United will face Pachuca of Mexico in the Champions' Cup semi-finals. I like our chances, given that we host the return leg, so barring a massive drubbing in Mexico, dot dot dot. The away match is next Tuesday, April 1st with the return set for Wednesday April 9th. Pachuca knocked the Houston Dynamo out of the cup last year, but only barely. This mexican press article notes that "Enrique Meza pupils barely dominated to continue the defense of their crown, despite Montagua dominating beginning"

Status Q-uo

So it is done, and Santino Quaranta returns to United. I stand by my previous comments, but let me make this clear. I will not root against, or not support Tino. I support the shirt, and if Tino is in that shirt then I shall support him. Yet there will be some detachment, a sense of judgement at all times.

There have been many thoughtful comments in our previous post, many which point out very reasonable objections to my feelings, other from people who feel similarly. And really, I think, this is one of those situations that can be up to individual fans and their own (ir)rationalities. And let me be clear on one other thing -- I want Tino to prove me wrong, to demonstrate to all of us that he clearly belongs. But part of me is also concerned that the biggest hurdle to this might not be a long struggle to regain his form, but instead if he gets success too early. We know that he has mentally responded to a challenging situation with the right attitude, but if things go well will it be tempting to slide back to the way things were? How he handles success may be just as, if not more, important than how he has handled getting cut from New York. I want Tino to succeed, but I am wary.

Small Signs for Optimism

I haven't been writing much about the pre-season simply because it doesn't matter so long as no head coach decides to give an opposing team's players advice on where they should be geographically located. But I will say this -- There has been some whispered talking about United's lack of goal scoring this season, and according to the UnitedMania podcast, the players themselves started talking about the need to "get results." So when they felt the chips were down, the people we want to score, did score, even in preseason. Indicative of a long-term trend? No. But a small moment of satisfaction? Yes.

So let me say this. For this, as well as a number of other reasons, I am quietly optimistic about this upcoming campaign. It has potential, and not just in a "even Washington Nationals fans can dream of the series in spring training" kind-of-way. A sense of, shall we say, potential energy awaiting a transfer to become suddenly kinetic. Before a real game is played, that's all I can ask for.

4 Non Factors to the 2008 Season

With Harbor View a scant few days away, it is already time for some to start previewing United's season. Perhaps we will do a post on that subject closer to kickoff. For now, I want to talk about what won't be happening next year, and so I give you 4 things that won't be important to next year:

1) Ben Olsen, Goalscorer: If you're looking for another year of Olsen at 7 and 7, you are likely to be disappointed. But that would be because you're expecting too much. Ben can have a perfectly fantastic year at 2 goals and 3 assists, especially since it is more likely that he won't be starting every game on the wing. Key things to watch will be minutes and games started, as well as where he plays. I can imagine him, early in his recovery, to come back and primarily be used to provide steady leadership (and a few important fouls at midfield) to lock a game down. That's what we will look to from Ben Olsen. Goals will be a bonus, but should not be relied upon.

2) Emilio, 20+ Goals: Luci had a ton of goals last year, but I think his tally this year is likely to be closer to 15 than 20. There are a few reasons, the most obvious being that teams are going to spend more effort denying him service and trying to mark out the league MVP. He will be a target. But there's another reason, which is that the nature of the attack will be different. I get the sense that while Gomez was willing to go for goal when the chips were down, he was more comfortable as a playmaker during the run of play. Gallardo strikes me as a bit more selfish, probably in a good way. He'll get you the ball, but he expects to get it back as well. Jamie Moreno will also go for goal a bit more frequently than he did last year, and Franco Niell (aka Frank O'Neal) will also want to get his chances in on the keeper. Emilio had only one assist in league play last year, but I expect to see many more this season as defenses collapse upon him, but he gets the ball out to others.

3) United's 2006-2007 Mid-season Surges Will Not Happen: I'm not going to say there won't be back-to-back-to-back Supporter's Shields parties. I don't think it is likely, but it's not impossible for a number of reasons (the predominant one being that I'm not sure that the average talent on the field for other teams in the East is more competitive, I think you can make a case that while some teams have improved, the better teams may regress. There's only so much blood even Steve Nicol can get from a stone.) But I think Ives, and the people at United Mania, and others are right when they say things like this: "The changes weren't just about winning a fifth MLS Cup; they also were done to bolster the club's chances of securing hardware in one of the various international tournaments D.C. will be competing in this year." And part of that will be working out how to actually keep the teams legs during some heavily congested periods. If United does somehow win the Supporter's Shield, it will be in a run at the end of the season.

4) Gallardo is not the key to everything: I know, I'm saying our designated player, the player who replaced Christian Gomez, is not the most integral factor to our success. But I truly believe that this team has enough talent even around Gallardo in other players that the attack is not what concerns me. The key will be the development of a cohesive keeper and center back chemistry. United, when undone last year, was undone by defense rather than offense. The offense in the Chicago playoff matches, the Superliga games, and the CONCACAF Champions Cup did enough to at least give a chance for United to advance. The best chance? Probably not, but it certainly did enough. It was defensive lapses that undid us. So while United could be average to awesome in its attack depending on Gallardo, the defense could be anywhere from awful to decent, and that is far more key to our success than anything else.

Our House, in the Middle of DC

Let's shift to a quick marketing discussion. The new "WELCOME TO OUR HOUSE" banner (shown below) for D.C. United. As a marketing tactic, what's your verdict?

Now, I loved, absolutely loved, the "TRADITION" campaign. So it's likely that most things after that are going to be a bit of a come-down. I mean, part of what I liked was the almost anti-marketing feel of that banner. It said "Look, we don't need corporate graphics, or focus-group tested phrases, or phones ringing at 3 A.M. (uh-huh, uh-huh, KLF is gonna rock you!), or any of that, what we have is a simply shot of our trophy cabinet, and tells the story you need to know." That was powerful.

Now, "WELCOME TO OUR HOUSE" is fine, acceptable, and decent enough. It's not bad. But I do have some quibbles, which I list here in increasing order of importance.

THE "YOUR COACH IS FAT" QUIBBLE: It does seem a bit familiar, almost like the Under Armour "We must protect this house!" line. Which is okay, given that Under Armour is at least a local company. Baltimore is still United's market, even with Philly entering the league. But it also just seems a bit, well, derivative. And Tom Soehn and Ralph Friedgen are different people. So it seems a bit played out.

THE "YOUR HOUSE IS CONDEMNED" QUIBBLE: What's interesting is if you want to overread the slogan. Apparently we're making a big deal that our house is RFK. And RFK is not where I want to live. Yes, I'd prefer a stadium in PG County over staying at RFK, even though the trip would be two or three times longer for me to make. Because that would truly be our house. Our House isn't Ours, it is DCSEC's. And I'm not happy with staying in our house.

THE "EMPHASIZE THE POSITIVE" QUIBBLE: My last issue is that United has seen some major changes over the off-season, and most are designed to make this team better. Given that United has adopted the MLS practice of including player images, I think it would be nice to emphasize what makes this team different. A series of comparative adjectives with a player photo would make the point. "STRONGER" with an image of Perralta. "FASTER" with an image of Gallardo. Heck, even steal that Daft Punk song that Kanye's sampling, the one that sounds like intelligent androids decided to invent jazz fusion based on first principles. There's two more adjectives right there. "HARDER" with an image of Jaime, or Emilio. See, this works. "Welcome to Our House" makes it seem like we've got nothing except home-field to talk about, and we actually have so much more.

So, it's not that I dislike the campaign. I think it's a pretty decent one, it's just that I don't love it. Which is fine, I don't need to love everything, but it just seems like a missed opportunity to say so much more in a way that doesn't sound to my ear like marketing speak.

Redemption Song, But I Do Not Sing Along

Yes, I am trying to fit in as many business trips as I can before the resumption of the season, which has put me out of the writing business for a bit. Now, I do not flatter myself as the greatest soccer polemicist of our time, but I do find it interesting that as soon as this site goes momentarily silent, United brings Santino Quaranta into camp.

I know that the high road for Tino's return would be let the past be the past, let bygones be bygones, and wish him well. If all he does is score goals, that should be enough, right? We should all forgive, forget, and celebrate that young Santino has decided to put his game and life back together here in DC. Certainly the voices at UnitedMania are talking up the idea of giving him another chance:

...if it does come around for Tino, and I'm talking all the way around, this could be another in a long line of fantastic under the radar type of moves that United and their front office have been pulling off for a number of years now.

BDR likewise tells the Story of How One Player Found Moral Redemption By Scoring Goals for United:

If - if if if - Quaranta understands this may be his last chance to avoid a lifetime of working the pit of a Jiffy Lube, this could be the steal of the year for United.

So allow me to be the bastardly curmudgeon who ruins everyone patting themselves on the back for being such good forgiving people. I'll say it simply: Santino Quaranta has dug himself a hole that will take the entire season for him to climb out of. Make a hole with a gun perpendicular to the name of DC on a desktop globe, and the exit wound is closer to Tino's current depth. (Ha! That's plagarism, that is.) Even these comments (from Goff's story) do not atone:

He made a strong impression for the Galaxy, scoring three goals in 12 league games. He also infuriated some United supporters when, in his return to RFK, he exchanged gestures and taunts. "I really owe them an apology," he said yesterday...Quaranta said that although he has firm offers from other MLS clubs, he wants to prove himself here..."I owe these fans," he said. "I cheated a lot of people in the process, and most of all, myself."

Correct, but the key word here is "owe" and it is a debt that Tino has not yet begun to repay. I have no problem with players going to other clubs and being proud of those clubs when they join them. I expect that, and that's fine with me. And when players are with other teams, I expect them to want to come back and beat D.C. United. Alecko? Facundo? Brandon? Christian? Yeah, I expect them all to want to come back and kick our ass. But when, and if, they do put the ball behind our keeper and into the net, that is the ultimate revenge. And they should take pride in that. It is also contingent that they be the ones to get the ball by us.

When Santino "exchanged gestures and taunts" it wasn't even Santino that had scored the goals. Santino's name is not on the scoresheet of the Free Beer Day debacle. Santino didn't even earn the spot kick that allowed Landon to put one in the goal (that would be, um, hey, Quavas Kirk. Nice to see ya pal.) And yet Tino felt compelled to run over and taunt the fans. Could I have forgiven that if he scored the goal? Probably, but as it was it was not nearly a celebration of revenge, but simply putting the boot in. It had no class. The problem wasn't the gestures, the problem was that he didn't earn it, and simply wanted to stick his fingers in the eyes for the sheer satisfaction of doing it.

Some will say that that once he starts playing, and playing well for United, that all will be forgiven. Not for me. Last year United marketed itself with the word "TRADITION" That word is even now interwoven in our jerseys. When we stole Luciano Emilio from Olimpia, and he rained goals upon them in the 2007 CONCACAF Champions Cup match, he didn't go mad with celebration. His celebration was restrained, dignified, and respectful. He understood that the past is not merely prologue, it is an inherent part of the tapestry that defines our personality. To dishonor his history with Olimpia would have also dishonored his new club United. That was classy. And Santino did not understand that when he behaved as he did.

I can forgive the injuries, the lack of work ethic, and the occasionally combative personality. But I do not forgive easily a lack of respect for not just your old club, but for yourself. Maybe Santino really has put it all back together. And saying he's going to atone is the right thing to do. But I reserve the right to see if he's still got the new attitude in the oppressive heat of August and not just the pre-season practices.

I may be alone in refusing to meet Tino halfway, and that's fine. Everyone else can move on. I certainly would hope his teammates would. But as a fan, I can not. Not yet. Talk to me in September.