Eskandarian back in black?

Josh Gros' retirement may not mean that we won't get to see someone in head gear roaming the RFK field next season. BobbyBoswell.com reports that Alecko Eskandarian has been reacquired by DC United. In his last RSL blog, Alecko had mentioned that he was a free agent an renegotiating his contract.

Alecko was a fan favorite at RFK, and he was quite lethal in 2004. His production last year was terrible, in my opinion he was trying to do too much by himself when he did get the ball. The front office must be gambling that he can still be effective, particularly with Fred,Emilio, and/or Gomez, and/or Moreno around him. He's also a bit of insurance in case Moreno retires or leaves. If this is actually true, I would expect Addlery to be gone soon.

EDIT: ACCORDING TO REPORTS THIS IS JUST A FUNNY VIDEO POSTED AT BOBBYBOSWELL.COM. I THINK DC UNITED JUST LEARNED A VALUABLE LESSON THAT MANY WORK PLACES BLOCK YOUTUBE ACCESS. MEANWHILE WE HERE AT THE DCENTERS LEARNED NEVER TO TRUST KYLE SHELDON AGAIN.

Just joking Kyle. Here is the fabulous funniness for those of you able to view your tubes.

The Wandering Armenian

The morning cup of coffee updates:

IF ONLY THERE WAS SOME SHOW THAT COMBINED CELEBRITIES AND DANCING. YOU COULD CALL IT... CELEBRITY DANCE OFF, OR SOMETHING: Yes, Dan Steinberg does have the must read of the week. Look, Washington Post Live has been kinda, well, dull for most of its life so far. Even Troy Perkins wasn't moved much beyond the "Well, we gotta play hard and bring the effort every game in which we're playing, and that requires basics and playing hard and effort..." type of interview. And Troy's an interesting guy. But this? This I will tune in for.

ALLIANCES: I bring this story to your attention because, well, it is going to take more to decode than I have. I did not know that the DC School Board President was also a consultant for Victor McFarlane until he was removed from that job yesterday:

Bobb was fired from his full-time job as a consultant for D.C. United owner Victor MacFarlane's real estate development firm. MacFarlane spoke with Bobb Tuesday afternoon and told him that his work on the school board had become a distraction and that it was best to part ways.

Now, this is interesting in a strange political machination sort of way. Mayor Fenty is proposing a school takeover by the city, essentially removing the school board from most operating decisions. Bobb had gotten a democratic senator Landrieu from Louisiana to put a hold on that legislation, which required congressional approval. Needless to say, DC self-rule advocates were upset by this. A strange story. McFarlane, by removing Bobb, seems to be trying to align himself closer to Fenty. We know Fenty's constiuency, but what I don't know is "Who are Bobb's allies?" In short, while McFarlane may gain a closer relationship with Fenty, who may he have alienated? Sadly, my knowledge of DC politics does not run that deep.

WAIT A MINUTE HONEY I'M GOING TO ADDLERY IT UP (ADDLERY IT UP! [repeat]): John Haydon in the Times grabs the interview with Nicholas Addlery. Nicholas is certainly leading an interesting life (how many ex Vietnamese league players does MLS have?) And it's clear that attitude is something that must impress the DC scouting staff:

Addlery, who is from the Red Hills area of Kingston, Jamaica, said he gets his inspiration from flamboyant French star Djibril Cisse, who is now playing for Marseille on loan from Liverpool.

"I love his desire: two broken legs and his not giving up after being thrown out of Liverpool," Addlery said. "I like players who are hungry with desire like that."

We like players like that as well. Speaking of which...

ESKY IN SLC: I'll depart from our DC focus for just a few words on the Eskandarian-Cunningham deal that went down yesterday. Most people, including me, at first, read this as once again Mo Johnston fleecing Real Salt Lake. Yet the more I think about it, the more this deal makes sense. If Ellinger were still in charge in Salt Lake, then this deal is a disaster. But Jason Kreis just got a player with Alecko Eskandarian who will bleed, fight, and run until his legs fall off. That's not Jeff Cunningham, and I'm not sure if it is many other players on the team. RSL wasn't going anywhere as a team with Cunningham, so there's really no loss in the deal for Kreis. What he may gain is a player who will inspire that team, who will lead by example when it comes to effort. Alecko may not always be effective, but it is never for lack of trying. And if his presence, combined with Kreis' mentality, lifts that team, then this deal may do a lot of good for RSL. That's a lot of ifs. But at this point in the season, can you really say RSL could possibly be worse?

First Impressions - Toronto FC 1 : 2 DC United

Was I nervous? I was nervous before the game, and the phrase "here we go again" may have drifted across my mind when Eskandarian put one by Perkins and Toronto took the lead before half-time. Before this season got underway, I had mentally placed 12 points on DC's side of the ledger when considering Toronto. Over the course of the past week, I have revised that opinion. Getting points out of Toronto is an accomplishment. Perhaps not the same as beating Houston on the road, but significant. They are not default wins. It certainly looked like United might not get anything for a bit there.

Still, United had the edge of the play, and the result was a fair reflection of the run of play. That's not to say Toronto was without fangs. They had their chances, and had the result been 2-1 Toronto I would have felt it was unfortunate, but not a miscarriage of justice. The important thing is that United manufactured chances, and did so with increasing confidence as the day went on. Skeptics will no doubt point to the third penalty in as many games, but this penalty was earned (and I believe the correct call) by United's ability to send diagonal balls through the air, a skill that was lacking early in the season. This team doesn't seem better because of weaker competition, this team is better. Compare this game to the Columbus or Kansas City games, and all sides of the equation were better.

Now that the game is over, and United has won, I can say this: I'm glad Esky got a goal. I know, he's the enemy and all that, but as long as we get the three points, I'm happy to see him give his team some success. I hope it improves his confidence for this year, and now he goes on a tear for Toronto over their next few games.

Full debrief either tomorrow or Monday, where we will talk about: The defense, including Josh Gros failing to step up to put Toronto offside; the Fred mania that will erupt, Namoff and Erpen, and why Moreno may not have had great shots in the run of play, but still earned my respect for the other things he did. The sentimental pick for Man of the Match is Moreno for tying Kreis, but I personally have someone else in mind. Feel free to sound off as well.

Start it up again

Whew, we got game previews to write, and expert to interview, and news to catch up on. All because United has a match in the Great North tomorrow. To be frank, I'm a bit nervous. A loss would pretty much stop any momentum United had heading into the break, and this is a team that needs confidence right now. But we'll get into all of that later...

THE MOST IMPORTANT INTERVIEW IN DC UNITED HISTORY... is probably not at Ben Olsen's Beard right now, but if you want to read me prattling on in response to some questions that the BOB was kind enough not to yawn in the middle of, please go read it. The Beard is a good guy.

UNINTENTIONAL HUMOR UPDATE: "The wily Scot isn’t accepting mediocrity from his club’s expansion team status: He’s thinking about the playoffs." Um, mediocrity and playoff aren't exactly mutually exclusive.

HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT: Charles Boehm on DC preparing for the Wall of Sound in Toronto, and a visit with Alecko:

United's center back says he and the voluble Eskandarian still "talk trash about each other, because that's just how we are," trading long-distance gibes via texts, e-mails and their respective blogs.

Nice.

READ UP: New blogs added to the blogroll, including several Toronto FC blogs and the JDJ blogs.

Keeping Tabs Abroad

Two items to begin with. First, watching Chivas in preparation for Thursday. Second, thoughts on Alecko Eskandarian.

CHIVAS BRIEFING: If you're like me, which is to say, if you're obsessed with the local soccer club, then you do things like watch Univision on Sunday to check out the Chivas - Pumas UNAM match. I see that some people on BigSoccer did the same, so I find it interesting that they have a completely different viewpoint than I do. So read their thoughts, but here are my impressions.

Chivas is a much better team than Olimpia. I know that should be obvious, but it is a point which emotionally I think many of us, including perhaps me, are inclined to ignore. We shouldn't. They are fluid team that possesses speed, tactical savvy, and determination. That being said, they are beatable.

Watching them play Pumas, I was struck that they were able to attack the Pumas back line in two different ways. They could run the ball through the center circle and then kick it out to the wing for the cross. They could play the ball in early from the wing through the air and find attackers who could beat their marker one-on-one. Both methods created clear chances for Chivas, and Pumas was saved only a lack of finishing. Twice, attackers were in alone on the Pumas keeper. Twice the save was made when the low show was contained by an outstretched leg. The fact is, Troy Perkins (or Jay Nolly) will almost certainly have to deal with similar situations in the next two games, so studying the positioning of the Pumas keeper and the way he got down to stop those shots is informative. It is also interesting that the one time Chivas took a high shot one on one with the keeper it started a sequence that put the ball in the net, only for it to come back for the offisde call.

Similarly, at the end of the first half Chivas had two free headers on crosses in from the wing. The first was over the crossbar, the second bounced off of it. It will benefit DC if we can get some similar good fortunate.

Chivas pressures well, at the top, through the midfield, and down to the backs. That being said, the backs are prone to ridiculous giveaways, with each by my reckoning making an Erpen-esque giveaway to manufacture a chance for Pumas. Their clearance and distribution out of the back is somewhat suspect, and I would think DC could create a chance to two here that they will need to finish. That being saids, their backs when pushed play well in a compact form, making a defense difficult to break down. Pumas' best chances in the second half came from shots outside the box (one of which clattered off a post.) DC may have to take some long-shots as well (Long as in 16-24 meters out, not 40). I don't think we'll be able to dribble it in.

In all, Chivas was impressive in their road match, especially during the 60th to 70th minutes where they strung together a beautiful set of passes and the touches for UNAM were limited to clearances back to the Chivas midfield. They're a good team. But not so good that I walked away thinking it would take a miracle.

ALECKO IN TORONTO:Bill Urban gets a few quotes from Alecko Eskandarian. Key graf:

"It is actually a little bit surreal," he said. "I became a family with everyone at D.C. United, so it's definitely a change, but it's part of life, and I think it will probably be beneficial in the end."

I still root for him. Good luck up there, Alecko. Stay healthy.

This is but one piece.

Steve Goff offers some answers to the questions we posed yesterday.

POTENTIAL SIGNING NEWS: Honestly, I was mildly skeptical (as I said in the comments yesterday) of the Goal.Com reports that United was persuing the Brazilian Ruy [Bueno Neto]. Reports differ on whether Ruy is a right sided midfielder or wingback (or likely a combination of the two). If so, it would mean that United has a found a player for one area of concern (allowing Josh Gros to move to the left midfield or to drop to the back line, and potentially put Donnet on the left as well if he's resigned.) That being said, this seems like it would only be one of a few players that DC would need to sign. An additional midfield player (one who could play in the middle-left areas), and another player up top would seem to be needed. For those that were expecting immediate reassurance after the departures of Adu/Rimando/Eskandarian... this would not answer your questions fully.

THE BRIAN CARROLL ABROAD STORY: I'm not sure what to make of this paragraph in Goff's report:

"Brian would be happy to sign with United, but we just can't get their attention," agent Craig Sharon said. "They've said they want him back, but there's nothing on the table."

Kasper countered by saying an offer was, in fact, presented before Christmas and "we're awaiting a response."

Now, before combining this statement with Eskandarian's complaint that he wasn't notified about his trade, and then jumping all over the DC front office for poor player management, let's offer an alternative reading. It seems to me entirely possible that United made an offer, one that was pretty low (consider that Sharon's other clients include Taylor Twellman and [see comments] Clint Mathis). So Sharon looks at this offer, concludes they aren't serious, and says "come back with something better." DCU, on the other hand, says "we made you an offer." So hold you fire.

NEW ADDITIONS TO DCENTERS: In addition to adding a Toronto FC blog, MLS Underground, and A Funny Old Game to our blogroll, we've added an "undetermined status" tracker for players that may leave or may re-sign with United. Enjoy.

Goodbye Esky

Now I'm starting to worry. Eskandarian to Toronto FC for a partial allocation. Finding out definitively what we're going to do with all this cap space, other than roll around in the coinage like Scrooge McDuck, would go a long way to soothing those worries.

Esky, we loved you man. You are already missed.

Represent: DC United to Send More Players than Any Other MLS Team to USMNT Camp

National team coach Bob Bradley issued his first call-ins to US National Team camp. This list is a domestic one, with only one Yank Abroad on the list. The DCenters is somewhat pleased to see that DC United is sending more players than any other MLS Team: Six of 'em. Keeper Troy Perkins, Defenders Boswell and Namoff, Midfielders B. Carroll and Gros, and Forward Alecko Eskandarian are all getting the look over. The only other MLS teams to be sending more than three are the LA Galaxy (4) and the New England Revolution (5).

Now, just because they're in camp doesn't mean they'll get capped in the upcoming friendlies. If I were to put an order of liklihood on these players seeing game time, it would be Boswell, Carroll, Eskandarian, Gros, Perkins, and Namoff in that order. Still, congratulations are in order. Have fun in California kids.