Debriefing for Match 13.03: At Real Salt LAke

Real Salt Lake 4 : 0 D.C. United

Six Word Novel Recap

It's as bad as it looked.

Media, Traditional and Otherwise

The Washington Post, Steve Goff: "...instead of showing depth and versatility, United offered another dreary performance at Rice-Eccles Stadium and was embarrassed by Real Salt Lake, 4-0, in front of 13,193 observers.
The Desert News, James Edwards: "RSL prevailed by scoring twice in the opening 20 minutes and then twice more in the closing 15 minutes. "
The Salt Lake Tribune, Michael Lewis: "Beckerman scored twice, while strikers Fabian Espindola and Robbie Findley each added a goal as RSL handed United its worst loss in nearly four years, and its first 4-0 defeat in nearly seven. "
MLSNet, John Coon: "...in the 19th minute Kovalenko found Fabian Espindola with a long booming lob which he plunked down inside the box. Espindola controlled the ball and fired at the net from a sideways angle and his shot barreled past both Gonzalo Peralta and Carvallo and created a 2-0 lead for RSL. Kovalenko's performance seems all the more remarkable considering he was almost scratched from the starting lineup because of back spasms."
MLSNet, Scott McAlliste: "'We still have a long way to go,' said Soehn. 'It's unacceptable to go down like we did tonight. I constantly question the character of teams, and that character gets challenged not only from the first 11, but it's challenged through the whole roster.'"
UnitedMania, Chris Webb: "There was plenty of blame to go around from the bad field surface to the misjudging of bounces all night long and Real Salt Lake was simply waiting in the weeds for United to make the mistakes they made all night long. "
DCSportsBox, Abram Fox: "United coach Tom Soehn inserted forward Santino Quaranta in place of Marc Burch for the second half in hopes of generating more offense to no avail. Rather, it was a Real Salt Lake second half sub who guaranteed the game’s outcome."
Behind the Badge, Doug Hicks: "Not our best effort tonight, to be sure. Kyle Beckerman scored twice and United suffered its worst defeat in regular season League play since a 1-5 loss in Dallas on July 24, 2004." [Note: You know it's bad when they sub Doug Hicks in for The Management]
The Edgell Supporters: "The Ben Cup may have already been put out of reach for another year. This is disgusting to me. My namesake cup, against one of the worst teams in the MLS, how could I go wrong?" [Note: The Ben Cup is now a more worthwhile trophy than the Atlantic Cup.]
Booked for Dissent, Dave Lifton: "I’m not going to lose too much sleep tonight over this result. Just like last year, it’s pretty clear that Tom Soehn wasn’t taking this game too seriously, or else he wouldn’t have put out the lineup he did..."
Fighting Talker, Aaron Stollar: "...the United brass made the decision that it was acceptable for the team to lose this match...It does no one any good to have MLS teams 'take nights off' like DC did on Saturday. One hoped that would stay in the NBA..."
AYL Soccer, Aaron Bentley: "DC’s locker room was somber. When asked if playing so many games in the last few days had anything to do with his team’s loss, Jaime Moreno, stated, 'We don’t want to look for excuses.' He went on to say that today RSL proved it was hungrier for the win and that his team needed to prepare better."
RSLFM, FM: "And as has been adequately detailed elsewhere, this opponent can in no way be confused with DC United playing at full strength. They were noticeably lacking in terms of both fitness & roster selection."
The Fullback Files, Fullback: "Okay, I get that the 3-back system has been working pretty well as of late, but I've got a couple of questions. One--why was Mediate one of the back three? I get that we're making him a utility wide-man, and I can see him playing fullback, but why wouldn't you play Mediate on the wing with McTavish in the back? Not that Mediate made that many mistakes--I'm just curious. On to question two. Why go with the three backs when the surface encourages pump-and-dump over the top stuff? I understand the need to rest folks due to fixture congestion, but wouldn't Martinez' speed have been pretty helpful back there?"
DCUMD, Shatz: "This game was ugly, but I wouldn't necessarily call it a predictor of anything else that will happen this year. This is the second game this year where the offense has been anemic, but I'm not counting on that happening very often. Just like a lot of other people, I was expecting DC to come up soft in this game, but I'm also expecting them to shoot out of the gates against Columbus on Thursday. In fact, I'll go so far as to predict that Thursday's match will be the start of yet another early season DC United sprint into first place and a considerable lead ahead of the rest of the Eastern Conference."
Poplar Point Perspective, JCM: "Oh, holy shit! This was the worst performance by a DC United team since the 4-0 shellacking in the playoffs by Chicago in 2005. There was nothing redeeming about it. Nothing" [Note: Sometimes I avoid expletives. After Saturday? Not so much.]
BLCKDGRD, BDR: "My bigger fear? The team has no personality, no defining spirit: can the loss of Ben Olsen be over-estimated?"
RSL Malcontent, Donk: "...This game could have been much worse for DC..."
The Offside - D.C. United, jon: "BOOOOOOO."
The Far Post, Thaddeus Byron Aloysius Dopenhopper: "D.C. United announced today that Real Salt Lake will sponsor their jersey for all games played in the state of Utah. 'They totally own us in Utah,' explained United’s management 'so we thought we might as well get something for it.'" [Note: It's funny because it hurts.]

The Good

1. Dema Kovalenko: C'mon, you know when we let him go that there would come a day. It just happened to be Saturday.
   
2. Getting Rest: I don't argue the decision to give Gallardo, Martinez, Wells, and even to some degree Quaranta a breather. I wonder if he had to do it all at once, but hey, this is something we'll have to get used to. Rotation will be important especially later in the season, so let's get used to the bitter taste of that medicine right now.
   
3. The end of RES?: Everytime I see that stadium, I think of My Cousin Vinnie... "The two Utes..."
   

The Bad

1. Tactical Disaster: As I wrote in the First Impressions, I have no problem with key starters resting. I do have a problem thinking that Dyachenko is a one for one swap with Gallardo, or that Mediate is a one for one swap with Martinez. There is a time to blame players, but this one really feels like it falls at the feet of the coaching staff's decisions. Players are supposed to be the ones that decide the game, but there's no excuse handicapping them. I want to write a seperate post about something this game also illustrated, but I'll summarize it this way: You system is not your formation. Formations are tactical, systems strategic. Confusing the two results in games like we saw Saturday.
   
2. Backline Organization: You can choose to excuse Carvallo the individual goals. That's fine. But the backline also looked woefully disorganized, which is not. Whether the key force on the backline is Martinez or Wells (or the byplay of the two combined), it is clear that someone was not in command. And that is inexcusable.
3. Gonzalo P | Gonzalo M: From commenter RKE in the First Impressions post: "Martinez is the quieter Gonzalo, but he's essential. Those two work so well together, making up for each other's weakness. Paralta was only half there without him." Agreed 100%.
   
4. "Burn the Tapes": I'm hearing this, even from people who I respect (or whose podcasts I respect, as the case may be.) This is a game worth getting mad over, if only so we don't pretend it didn't happen and do this again. Which we might. Not even next year, or at the end of the season, but in a few months when the schedule congestion accelerates. This is a warning shot fired directly across the bow.
   

Officiating Watch

It wasn't a poorly officiated match, but it wasn't a particularly good one either. I have two problems: Center official Richard Heron was inconsistent in his foul calling, and I got the sense that he was harsher on RSL than on United. I'm not about to let an official off the hook for calling things our way. His decision to award no extra time at the end of the game, simply to save United some embarrassment, is not in keeping with the laws of the game. I'm not saying it's likely, but if RSL is in a tiebreaker situation to make the playoffs with someone, and it comes to goal differential, might they have wanted another three minutes or so.

The more defensible call was the yellow to Rod Dyachenko, which I thought could have been a red. As I looked at it in real time, I think Rod was trying to play the ball, but it looked like both a "serious foul play" and potentially "violent conduct," both a player could be sent off for. The caution was given for a "tackle from behind" rather than what it really was -- a kick in the head. Looking at the Advice to Referees, my guess is that Richard Heron judged the foul to be "reckless" (12.3) but I would seriously have considered sending Dyachenko off under 12.33 for a serious foul play. His boot was very, very high.

Likert Scale Grade: 3 - Fair

Man of the Match

N/A. Merit awards to Fred and Clyde. Your goat is Tom Soehn.

Adjusted Results

No adjustment, though one could see a way clear to adding a fifth RSL goal if one wanted to. Still, I think the four they got is fair enough, and the duck egg for United stands. To date, United has an adjusted record of 1-2-0 with 5GF and 8GA for a -3 GD

Final Thoughts

This is not a game to pretend did not happen. This is a game to get angry about. Not because there wasn't a reason to throw the game, as Lifton or Stollar might argue. I can get that. But rather we should be angry because of our failure to learn. As much as we disparage formations like the 4-5-1, they have their use, and perhaps Saturday night made have made sense. Let our substitutes try and grind out a game. Fine. But what we did instead was put them in a situation where they were destined to be embarrassed. And that's a lesson we should not forget. It was a betrayal of our players. For the rest of this note, I turn it over to Howard Beale: "Well, I'm not gonna leave you alone. I want you to get mad! I don't want you to protest. I don't want you to riot - I don't want you to write to your congressman because I wouldn't know what to tell you to write. All I know is that first you've got to get mad."

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.

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.

Debriefing for Match 12.25: Real Salt Lake

D.C. United 2 : 1 Real Salt Lake

Six Word Novel Recap

Thank you alumni, playoff spot clinched.

Media, Traditional and Otherwise

The Washington Times, John Haydon: "Luciano Emilio continues to close in on Raul Diaz Arce's single-season franchise record of 23 goals set in 1996'"
The Washington Post, Paul Tenorio: "But besides the early goal, United struggled in the first half. Real Salt Lake dominated the midfield, dictating possession in the first 45 minutes while outshooting United 8-5 and winning six corners to United's one."
The Examiner, Craig Stouffer: "Thanks to Luciano Emilio’s third consecutive game with a goal and a penalty-kick save from Troy Perkins, D.C. is nine games without a loss and became the first team to clinch a playoff berth after a 2-1 win Wednesday in front of 14,655 at RFK Stadium."
DCist: "Soehn expressed his frustrations during halftime, lamenting a "predictable" attack. Guy-Roland Kpene got the start in place of Jaime Moreno (on call with the Bolivian national team), but performed ineffectively."
Soccer America, Ridget Mahoney: "Gomez's failure illustrates that penalty kicks, which are usually taken by Moreno and make up a substantial chunk of his league-record 110 goals, aren't necessarily gimmees."
Salt Lake Tribune, Jimmy LaRue: "We give good teams good games, and for some reason, we give them away, and that's why we're on the bottom, and they're on top."
Daily Utah Chronicle, Jon Gilbert: "The Man of the Match was Christian Gomez. D.C. United's midfielder used his head to notch the game-winning goal in the 73rd minute to put away a stubborn RSL team still looking for its first playoff berth in franchise history."
Desert Morning News, David Driver: "Alecko Eskandarian, a striker for Real Salt Lake, used the words "crazy" and "bizarre" to describe his first game as a visiting player at RFK Stadium. Two other words that can be used are "road" and "loss."
Booked for Dissent: SE Podcast posted
An American's View, Brian Garrison: "DC United picked up all three points last night by being able to adapt to its situation, an ability that good teams have and call upon when they aren't able to bring out the skill. United did that last night."
The Edgell Supporters: On to the match itself. 3 games in 7 days is tough. 7 points in 7 days is phenomenal.
Quarter Volley: "The best word I can come up with to describe last night’s events at RFK Stadium is “strange.” Jorge Gonzalez, the center referee, made some strange calls."
The Fullback Files: "This is the type of game that I would have expected to drop points in early on this the season. But confident teams find a way to win and it's encouraging that despite the royal ref-job, despite RSL's strong play, despite the tired legs, the boys did just enough to get the three points."
Fifty-Fifty Ball: "DC gratefully takes the three points and continues to distance themselves from the pack for the Supporter's Shield."
US Soccer Players, Ian Plenderleith: "We all know that referees are as prone to error as the players they arbitrate. But Major League Soccer has to take action against the kind of blatantly poor officiating on display on East Capitol Street last night."

The Good

Let me preface my "analysis" with full disclosure: I was not able to make it to yesterday's game, and missed the opening of the second half while I was grilling up dinner.

1. Taking Control of the Game: Now, I don't mean controlling possession, instead the team didn't let poor officiating dictate the result. Much of it goes to Perkins for saving the penalty kick but I didn't see any indication that the players were letting the referee's poor job (both ways) really get to them.
2. 49 Points: Is it time to start really believing in this team and stop couching our support so that we have some plausible excuses to point to that we knew this team just didn't quite measure up after all? During the 1997 and 2004 runs you could feel the confidence as you walked into RFK for a game, you could see it in the players and how they played. I felt it on Sunday, and again watching yesterday, this team is peaking just right.
3. Tom Soehn's Substitutions: His subbing pattern was really hard to figure out early in the season. I remember watching the Houston game with D and Kinney and around the 60th minute predicting Simms was going to come in. "What for?" aksed D, to which I could only reply "I have no idea." The coach is using his subs much better than before, and has found a way to keep everyone fresh and performing well. The emergence of Burch and McTavish in the back, coupled with the strong play of Simms have arguable made this easier - since he has more talent to work with.
   
4. Honoring the Alumns: Just goes to show what a classy organization United is. Now, how did Mr. BobbyBoswell.com fail to organize a homecoming dance for this match up?
   

The Bad

1. The Goal: How Beckerman was given so much space and time that close to goal is inexcusable.
   
2. The PK Call: I've never seen a defender get called for being pushed down in the box by an opponent. Initially I thought there must have been some retaliation, or kick towards Talley on Mctavish's part but saw no evidence on the replays. We burned one karma with Troy's save.
3. The Non-Offside Call: Emilio and Gomez were both even with the defender but the goal in the 55th minute was taken back.
4. Yellow Card Peril: We'll be missing 3 starters - Gomez, Fred, and Olsen, leaving the midfield cupboard looking thin going into the Chicago match. Who gets the nod? Can we start Vanney as a wide defender and push Burch forward for one game?
   

Man of the Match

Perkins, because its easy to give when your keeper saves a PK, plus he stopped Alecko numerous times before the penalty kick. Honorable mentions go to Emilio and Gomez for the headers.

Karma Bank

+2 for the season entering the game. The saved penalties cancel each other out. -1 for Mctavish not getting a second yellow with his "foul" that led to the penalty call. That's -1 for the game, meaning we have one karma to burn (at +2) for the season.

Final Thoughts

Cross "clinching a playoff spot" off the todo list, which leaves the team free to concentrate on securing the Supporters Shield and home field advantage. Seven points clear of second place gives us some breathing room, but hopefully not enough to let complacency creep in. Frankly, seven out of a possible nine points in one week is friggin awesome. Yes, we're demanding fans and hate settling for less than the full nine but the coaching staff have managed the roster well and can take a well earned break.

First Impressions - DC United 2 : 1 Real Salt Lake

I think I warned about DC United dropping points in this match, and certainly United seemed to play around with the idea. RSL was easily the better team through 40 minutes, and United was on their heels. Even in the second half, despite much of the commentary about United being fired up, RSL was still threatening around the box at times. This game, even as late as the 70th minute, could have gone in any direction.

That being said, I'm not upset about that fact. United was finishing off a tough stretch of games, and the results have been as good as could be hoped for. They now don't play a match until September 23, and they need the rest. Even that match will be something of an oddity, given the number of players that will miss the game due to accumulated yellow cards, so Fred, Christian, and Ben all get a little more rest. Fine. With Copa Sudamericana approaching, let players get something more of a breather. Us too. Inhale. The final five games of the season will be on us soon enough, and there's one last stretch before the playoffs. The Supporter's Shield is still the goal. Breathe, then focus.

Re- Mediate

DOMENIC MEDIATE RETURNS: Goff reports that United has signed Domenic Mediate, primarily as a signing to provide depth. I'm relieved that Domenic gets another shot at United. He was decent in his performances last year, and had his leg broken in the service of this team. His dismissal felt wrong to me when it happened, so I'm glad he gets another shot. Welcome back sir. Better luck for this go around, and I'm glad that thUgo is suspended for this match.

PERKINS - WE WEREN'T READY FOR RSL: In The Examiner, Brian Straus finds an interesting quote from our starting Keeper:

"Just watching people warm up, you knew it was going to be a long night," he [Troy Perkins] said. "We weren't focused on what we were going to do. You see so many different things when you're watching the game. It's frustrating. You're sitting there kicking the bench. You want to get up and go, and you can't."

When you think about it, and I have, that's a pretty damning quote. If you can tell that the team isn't focused in warmups, then one has to ask why the hell not? Especially given all the lip service to "not overlooking Salt Lake." It didn't sink in. Must we have one lesson per year on this topic? Or perhaps can we remember our history lessons and carry them over.

DEFENSIVE DEPTH, AGAIN: In The Post's preview for tonight, Goff is noting that Namoff may not play because of a hamstring issue. Boswell is, of course, a Copa America callup.

EXPERT NO MORE: No Expert Opinion for tonight's match, since this is the second go round between DC and Colorado. However, I invite you to relive the opinion of Dr. Hunter Thompson when he came in to preview the season opener. And since we're not transcribing our interview tapes, maybe we'll put together a decent preview for this match.

Debriefing for Match 12.11: At Real Salt Lake

Real Salt Lake 2 : 1 D.C. United

Six Word Novel Recap

The lows can't be too low.

Media, Traditional and Otherwise

The Washington Post, Steve Goff: "...defenseless against newly acquired rookie Robbie Findley, United did little right until the final desperate moments and fell to previously winless Real, 2-1, Saturday night before 16,319 at Rice-Eccles Stadium."
The Salt Lake Tribune, Tony Pizza: "Real Salt Lake took advantage of two goals from its newest player and won its first game of the 2007 season, defeating D.C. United 2-1 at Rice-Eccles Stadium. "
DesertNews, James Edward: "Five minutes into the second half, Findley scored on another breakaway, the product of an outstanding give-and-go with Alecko Eskandarian. After Findley received Eskandarian's return pass in the midfield, there wasn't a D.C. defender within 15 yards, which made for an easy finish."
QuarterVolley, I-66: "Real looked the more determined team, and United looked like they were a team that was going to lose by a goal."
AYL Soccer, Scott Stucki: " As the match unfolded, you would have thought that Real Salt Lake rather than DC United were one of the hotter teams in the league. RSL controlled play and made United look ordinary. "
The Edgell Supporters: "We went in against the worst team in the MLS and got beaten soundly. We were not interested in playing. Nolly didn't get help from the defense and the defense didn't get help from him. Gomez was invisible. The offense was not clicking in the final third and the defense was not clicking in their own third."
BlackDogRed: "This is not about losing to a clown team, this is about United's personality. If United is pissed off about losing alone they're oblivious to a bigger and fatal problem. Even if United had tied (or even won, a possibility against that clown team), it's the lack of effort, the lack of intensity and urgency, the assumption of superiority that, if continued, dooms United to mediocrity...Boswell's regressing, terribly. How about chasing breaker down and taking him out for pro-yellow rather than waiving arms over head for a bad offside call, eh? Better yet, don't let clown behind you in first place. Talk about a premature cult. Erpen's not the backline's biggest problem."
RSL Malcontent, Donk: "Atiba Harris should have been playing d-mid instead of forward for his whole career. He looked great and he played very much in control and saved us quite a few times by disrupting DC's offense. " (Note: Actually, didn't Bobby Boswell suggest this a few months ago in his website? I think he did...)
Soccer Insider, Steve Goff: "United lacked intensity until it was too late. It failed to maintain possession, never found a rhythm and yielded far too many opportunities to a club that was dead last in the league in scoring.

The Good

1. Emilio gets a goal: Hooray.
2. Jay Nolly gets a start: Look, I know he didn't have the command of Troy Perkins in the box. But remember he is the second string keeper: If he were the first string keeper he'd be starting. This seemed as good a game as any to give him some starting minutes. When there were rumors about Perkins going to Copa America, DCU must have realized that they needed to refresh their reserve keeper a bit. I like this call, and I can't fault him on either goal.
   

The Bad

1. Radio: Listening on the radio is not the same as watching the game. I had thought I could get FSC matches via MLSLive, and I was wrong. And nothing against Tony Limarzi, but you really can't evaluate the game the same way as you can watching it, either live or on TV. So my bad on this one, and next time I'll truck out to Kitty O'Shea's.
   
2. Dyachenko: The forward thing just isn't working with him, probably because it limits one of his better skills (the ability to move with the ball.) I don't think I heard his name more than once or twice before he went out.
3. Defensive Positioning: Looking at the highlights, our defense is nowhere to be seen on key positions. Part of this comes from what sounds like DCU playing a very high line, on turf where the ball is inclined to get past players. Maybe it isn't taking RSL for granted, but it does seem perhaps a bit arrogant, no?
4. We lost to !@#!@#ing RSL: Look, all the dispassionate analysis in the world doesn't change this fact. We got beat by a bad team. Again. And it really, really sucks.
   

Man of the Match

N/A. We lost. Hell, I should probably strip someone of a MotM honor they won.

Karma Bank

Tough to evaluate anything. No Change, +1 for the season.

Final Thoughts

Bill Urban has a nice poke at me for taking DCU out of the Freezer, playing on the natural insecurities of a fan nicely. The fact is, I had thought I had prepared myself for this possible outcome. I noted that it could happen. I knew that it was in the cards. And then when it happened, it still hurt. Gah. Not sure what I can add to that. I hate this result. I just wish I had a good enough night's sleep for me to have put it behind me. I haven't yet. I keep having nightmares of getting a ball with my back to goal and hearing Atiba Harris behind me. Even the win in the Gold Cup hasn't removed the feeling of spiteful depression that has settled in. Club over country has its risks.

First Impressions - Real Salt Lake 2 : 1 DC United

Here's the thing. Sometimes you know what you should believe. You know that Real Salt Lake is capable of beating you, since they did it in the past. You know you are capable of losing to some bad teams, which you've done this year. So the mantras and phrases of "not taking it lightly" and "play our game, not down to theirs" get repeated and insisted. You know they must be true, and yet... and yet after all that mental conditioning, you're betrayed by the fact that somehow it just refused to sink in.

United was outplayed by Real Salt Lake, who brought strong intensity if not clinical execution to this match. This was clear in the opening twenty minutes, where RSL had manufactured multiple chances against surprise starter Jay Nolly. And while I have not yet seen the game, the fact that Tony Limarzi's calls were often along the lines of "Namoff looks for Olsen but can't find him... and here comes Real Salt Lake the other-way" lets you know that our passing was not sharp, a problem that plagued us early in the year.

Did I believe RSL was due for a turnaround? Yeah, I did. I just was hoping it wasn't against us. This sucks. Now, at the same time, I'm not going to panic from this one result. But this is a disappointment. A huge one. And while you might wonder about starting Nolly (and his control wasn't nearly as good as Perkins) you have to feel like much of the problems were elsewhere. Like say, the defense. And the ability to manage frustration. And the ability to link together out of your own third.

So, hats off (bags off) to RSL for their first win of the season, and we'll need to have a nice talking to before Colorado on Thursday.

The Experts' Opinion on Real Salt Lake

This season The DCenters are providing a series of Expert Opinions each occasion DC United faces a team for the first time. Last Year, there was considerable kerfluffle between DC and Real Salt Lake when Piotr Nowak yelled at Atiba Harris "Send him to hospital!" No one was quite sure what he meant, but thanks to a tape recently handed to us by WTTG-FOX 5 in DC, we now know exactly what Piotr was doing. Let's roll the tape...



Okay people, patient is a 3 year old professional soccer team, admitted by a strange polish man. Symptoms include zero win count, a -9 goal differential through 11 games, and an outrageous number of fines by the league. Differential diagnosis... wait, didn't all of you quit or get fired?





Nah, there's some contrived reason we're all back together again. Cuddy explains it in the season premier.







Well, while we're waiting for that retcon to come through, do you want to offer an opinion or do want to continue writing Firefly slash fiction? This team is in bad shape. I mean, if it were up to me, I'd just let them die, but apparently some people have a notion that you come to the hospital to get better.





Why are you so mean to this team? I admire them and their fans for perservering despite the pain. Why can't you understand that?







You just like them because they're hopeless. I suppose that's why you're wearing that ridiculously impractical outfit. Now, does anyone actually want to try, I dunno, here's a crazy thought, coming up with a diagnosis?






It could be cancer. No team should be underperforming like that unless their system has been compromised. Those Freddy Adu quotes could be strongly indicative of a locker room cancer. Explains the on-field communication issues as well.





Sure, it could be cancer, if this team hadn't blazed a new path on Trail of Suck for the last three years. Symptoms predate the exposure to Adu. It's not cancer.






We should do a full cardio workup. Perhaps this teams lacks heart. Explains the communication, explains the lack of goal scoring, and the inability to close games out.






Team just got a fresh infusion of heart from Eskandarian and Kreis, and I don't see evidence of full rejection. A heart problem doesn't explain the lack of composure. It's not cardio.







What about Lupus?








It's NOT Lupus. It's never Lupus. When will you get tired of that running joke? What do we know about the environment?







Foreman and I broke into the Rice-Eccles stadium. The surface is disgusting, but the support system is there and the atmosphere is still tolerable, although with all these problems the fans may turn on them.





So it's not environmental, not cardio, not cancer, not Lupus. Anyone want to guess something it might be?







Maybe it's neurological. It would explain all of the symptoms, the entire team is getting faulty instruction from the front office and the ownership. Add to that the crossed signals, high tension from the stadium situation, and the long period of illness in the patient history. It's all there.




Oooohhhh, a brain disorder. Sexy. Not as sexy as what Cameron's trying to be, but still sexy. But we can't just remove the brain.







Anyways, they've already done a coach transplant, which prompted many of the salary dumps we're seeing and the excessive fines.







New systems take time to implement. The team is still flushing the detritus of Ellinger's Disease out of its system.







Sounds good. Stop all treatment, give them time to get it through their system, and see if it turns around.







But if we do that, they may not have a chance this weekend.








No, you may not have a chance with them this weekend is what you're saying. Let 'em get worse, then they'll get better. Once we see improvement, we can start treatment with several cc's of additional salary or a designated player. Or they'll die, and we can autopsy the team and figure out which of you screwed up. It's a win-win.

We Admire Our Peers

The Edgell Supporters have taken the notion of Supporters' Groups establishing cup competitions (Atlantic Cup, Rocky Mtn. Cup) to its logical conclusion: Cups established by individuals fans. They give you the Ben Cup. Needless to say, I approve of this. Yes, even though I'm currently facing the prospect of showing up on Lot 8 in a Red Bull jersey.

Since joining The Offside, Max J. is blogging up a storm. He writes on the impact of Troy Perkins possibly going to Copa America. He is correct on all marks.

I want to write a post on the concept of writing about soccer, and what it all means, but it seems pretty self-involved and lame at the moment, so I'll pass until I get my thoughts in order. Just so you know, sometimes I do take time to think about things before I write them.

Morning Coffee

Noticed a pattern around this blog the last few months? Yeah, it's true, the first post of the day is typically the "links to stories I find interesting, and maybe a quick reaction" post, and the later posts are more analysis when I have time to really think them out and hopefully correct most of the embarrassing errors from the first draft. It works for me. Hopefully for you to.

STADIUM FINANCING AN ISSUE: David Nakamura in the Post has a must-read article for those trying to track Poplar Point's Progress towards a Soccer Specific Stadium (PPP2SSS?).

City leaders would, however, face tough choices if they sought additional large projects. Examples include a proposed soccer stadium for D.C. United in Southeast and a much-debated central library proposed for downtown at the site of the old convention center.

The problem here is that while I doubt that Council leaders would stop voting for capital improvements, the opening for people to demagogue this into "Library vs. Stadium: Which is better for the good of the people?" is there. That's a tough battle, and one that United could lose even before a plan is presented. Hell, even I'm not sure I could come out for a stadium over a library, even though I imagine the stadium would have more positive economic effects for the city than the library. I like books. I like people having access to books. That's a tough one. Of course, this could also be a negotiating tactic to get more of the infrastructure improvement costs for the stadium picked up by the Ownership/Development group. Thing is, I find it a damned effective one.

UNITED GET SARACHAN FIRED: Look, there are times when I will celebrate a coach getting fired, and times I'll just note it and pass on. This is the latter. Dave never struck me as a coach I could hate. To be honest, he never struck me as much of anything. He was simply the guy on the opposite bench. Robert Wagman says that Dave might have needed to go, but John Guppy should have gone. Over at Climbing the Ladder, ScaryIce disagrees:

I also noticed how he was defended by Stephen Goff on his blog, who immediately posted quotes from a call between the two. It really does remind me of how certain pundits, journalists, and politicians in Washington defend each other regardless of their beliefs. Chris Armas jumped to his defense as well.

I have to say, if I were a Fire fan, I think Dave and John should both be gone, but I don't think this is simply a case of the media protecting someone who was available. I think Dave was actually, from what I can tell, a guy whose players liked him. And the problem certainly in the last game was that he had nothing to work with. Sure, great coaches can still be competitive even missing half their starters, but it's problematic even for them. The fact is I think Dave Sarachan was an average coach, facing above average problems, and was found wanting. The fact that he had so little to work with is an indictment of AEG more than Dave. Which, by the way, is why it's a good thing we have new ownership. At least we know who's really running the ship here, so we can properly direct our outrage. If we had to.

SALT LAKE MEDIA LOWERS EXPECTATIONS FOR RSL: Man, this is just setting us up for disappointment, isn't it? I mean, if I believed in karma and all that. Which I don't. But man...

Thursday Night Soccer Thoughts

For a 1-0 game, Thursday Night Soccer was entertaining enough. ESPN's coverage was decent. The digressions for the most part did not interrupt the run of play, except for the obligatory 30 at 30 update during a corner kick and the interview with Don Garber, which was consequential enough that it warranted being shown either at half time or pregame, not during the run of play. The Eddie Pope tributes were decent, though perhaps a little thin given what he gave to this league. Stone, Wynalda, and Smyth were solid and perhaps overly subdued in the booth, but work well together. I say this knowing that Stone gets over excited anytime a player uses his back heel, he still calls a decent game. Wynalda's halftime segment could benefit from perhaps an additional minute, as it never goes beyond "Messi, handball, I don't like it. Don't do that. Yellow card." But hey, at least he didn't red card NASA for the computers failing on the international space station.

As for the game, I will say this. Mehdi Ballouchy should pay half of Freddy Adu's salary. Quite simply, Mehdi was invisible for most of this game, had a number of poor decisions and touches, but since everyone was quick to get their opinions out on Freddy, no one noticed how awful Ballouchy was for most of the game. RSL's back line isn't much better. I admire Kreis for putting out the line-up he did, and the team played well against Dallas. I mean, that defense is going to allow Rimando to get peppered even with six in the back, so why not try and get some goals since Rimando's reactions might be good enough in any given game to keep you in it. Kreis is probably the first coach who has learned how to implement tactical changes with RSL, as they came out much better in the second half than the first. They truly are snakebitten somehow, and things seem worse than they probably are. Kreis may have been ejected, but official Ricardo Salazar seemed to mentally check out of Rice-Eccles Stadium about ten minutes earlier, so perhaps that was the only way Kreis could find a way to talk to him.

Dallas did not look particularly good missing Cooper and Ruiz. Abe Thompson is a nice enough guy and a Maryland product, but simply brought nothing to the table as the loan striker. Toja is a great defensive midfielder, but as a playmaker seemed average at best. That they got three points at the death seems fortunate for that team. Especially considering that if Esky doesn't find Dario Sala's shin, I think RSL could easily have claimed their first win of the season.

On Eddie...

While ESPN has indicated that Eddie Pope may retire at the end of the season, I'd like to see confirmation. So far the story doesn't seem to be getting wide play, the way, say, Cobi Jones retirement announcement did. If true, I'm sad to see him go, and certainly encourage a United send-off of some sort. Still, I'm not quite sure this story is meant to come out yet. I'll wait for a formal announcement.

Not that your memory needs refreshing, but if it did, here's a link to Dave Lifton's excellent article on all Eddie Pope gave to us.

International Incidents

CHINA: There is a debrief coming, but I wanted to touch on two things before I turn my attention to that project. First, the serious one regarding the situation with China playing the United States. Both RSLFM (who was way ahead on this topic) and Dan Loney have weighed in on this, and I think they're correct in the larger picture. Whether or not it is wise or unwise to engage China diplomatically or economically, the idea that people are being ejected for unfurling flags of Taiwan is repugnant. Does the stadium and the ownership have the right to do such a thing? Well, if it is private property, then they probably do. Yet it's a pretty cowardly thing to do. Loney writes:

Someday, China will be free. And when that day comes, they will remember who was on their side, and who wasn’t. Right now, MLS is making sure they have a very prominent role in a very dark page. Hopefully, when that page in history is written, it will be MLS fans who are remembered, and not MLS suits.

I have no problems with US Soccer and MLS scheduling games against teams with autocrats as rulers. Hell, we're playing Copa America in Venezuela, and if the fates should smile on the USA and we get a lead in a game, I wouldn't be surprised if the media feed to the game was shut down. Just saying. But in the United States, to have US suits order people out of the stadium for daring to bring in another flag... it's sickening. The other writers have this covered much better than I do, but I am in full agreement with them. Politics over, now to fun.

MEXICO: Bob Bradley and the US Team were taking flack for not winning convincingly enough. Sure, they haven't conceded a goal, but 1-0 and 2-0 wins over CONCACAF minnows on US Soil wasn't good enough. Bradley himself even voiced his discontent with the results, and I was wondering if there was something wrong with me for not being upset with the US performance to date. Then Mexico has to rally against Cuba before actually dropping a game to Honduras. Kids, I'd much rather have two clean sheets (in situations where the US kept the other team's attack in check for most of the game) then be where Mexico is right now. Sure, Mexico's going to get out of the group stage, and a 4-1 thrashing of Panama wouldn't surprise me, but man, it was fun to watch them lose. Especially to Honduras, the country of the epically long national anthem. Good on them. And good on Bradley for being willing to say something other than "Results are all that matter." I wouldn't agree with him, but it's not what I expect to hear. And wouldn't it be sweet if somehow Mexico got knocked out? Not going to happen, but still...

TNS In Review

Real Salt Lake - Colorado was actually more entertaining, I thought, than New England-DC United. It wasn't nearly as well played of a game, but there was enough happening that it kept the interest. The booth had their best game to date, and ESPN got lucky with their inane 30 in :30 update missing an off-side goal...

But, I think it is clear to everyone that the offside technology is a fraud. That's okay, I can get beyond that, but if there was one "innovation" I was looking forward to this season, it was that. This game, which turned so frequently on off-side calls of one type or another, would have been a great one to have showcased this technology. But they didn't have it. Fine. I feel cheated, and annoyed, but I can get beyond that.

Also, I think I can kinda like RSL now that Ellinger is off the sideline. Jason Kreis' comments about "playing on a nice grass field" (a cute little shot at Rice-Eccles, I suppose) and his demeanor make me want to see this team do well now. I want Freddy Adu to succeed, and I think hearing the message of "you need to play out wide" from someone other than Piotr Nowak may be easier for Freddy to take since now he's no longer convinced it is from someone biased against him. So I hope they get three points soon.

I'm hoping to have one other post up today, but we'll see. It may wait until the weekend.

The MLS Roster Pages: Why Won't They Update? We have answers.

The Kin of Fish, in a post last month, bemoaned the lack of updates to MLSNet roster pages. Indeed, many of the rosters seem grossly out of date, and Fish slammed MLSNet for it. Well, hold on a moment. This situation is more complex than you might think.

First, some of you may be surprised to learn that MLSNet is not the same as MLS. True fact. MLSNet is, essentially, a venture that MLS has contracted to in order to provide online services. Now, for roster data, the process for updates runs like this:

1. Team updates their roster
2. Team notifies MLS Headquarters of their revised roster
3. MLS notifies the Elias Sports Bureau to update the rosters
4. MLSNet receives a feed from Elias which is supposed to contain the updated information

Seem overly complicated? Well, yeah, but the that's the system that the league has in place. Now, in most cases, teams have yet to provide their final rosters to MLS Headquarters, which means no updates. In at least one case (Real Salt Lake) an updated roster has gotten to league headquarters, but for whatever reason Elias has not updated the roster feed. Which means the problem is either with MLS Headquarters not notifying Elias, or Elias not implementing the update.

The real problem, from what I can tell, is that most teams aren't very good about providing updates to MLS Headquarters. However, there are exceptions. In addition to Real Salt Lake, I'm assured that both the New England Revolution and DC United do pretty well in keeping things up to date. As for the rest of the teams... well, hurry up you slackers!

On Pyhrric Victories

Hardcore DC United fans have been keeping an eye on the stadium situation Salt Lake. The results are... upsetting, at best. The State Legislature is about to pass legislation mandating a stadium in Salt Lake County (HT: Are You Loyal?). While feathers that are ruffled now will soon be soothed over, and this will all seem like an odd dream in about three years, it certainly doesn't strike me as a major PR coup for MLS, RSL, and could potentially serve as a straw-man argument for stadium opponents in DC.

Stadium dynamics now seem to boil down into one of two scenarios in modern America. Either the owner pays for the almost the entire thing himself (Jack Kent Cooke and Abe Polin in the DC Metro, Steinbrenner in New York, Jones in Dallas) or the teams use political pressure to leverage a huge subsidy leaving the city to foot most of the bill (Major League Baseball in DC, Benett in Seattle, and now Checketts in Salt Lake).

Amid these proposals are a set of "third-way" ideas being circulated, which combine stadiums, housing, and commercial development ideas. Poplar Point is one such proposal. Another similar (though with a few key differences) idea is being floated for the San Diego Chargers. These deals are not the all-or-nothing subsidies being demanded by other teams, but an attempt to find a reasonable, middle-ground where the stadium is a partial catalyst for a plan to offer the locality a real return on investment and bring about some positive benefits to the citizens already living in the area. The problem is that this idea, because it has a subsidy component, can all too easily be demagogued as "tax giveaways to the rich." I think we've all started to see that already. The idea that there could even be a situation where both the city and the stadium owners profit is completely foreign to most opponents of the stadium deals.

What's interesting is that you can expect to see a strange coalition of anti-Poplar Point people: Anti-tax-free trading libertarians, neighborhood NIMBYs, small government conservatives, and socialist/progressives concerned about income distribution. Expect that if the union of the city and DC owner Victor McFarlane continues you'll hear an argument along the lines of "When the State and Big Business agree, you know the taxpayer is getting the shaft." To be honest, being somewhat skeptical of the power of both the Free Market and the Government, I can sympathize with that argument. But I honestly believe that the plan, when advanced, will present a decent argument for a middle ground. The problem is that deals like the one going down in Sandy, Utah will make it easier for anti-stadium forces to construct horror stories. And while I am trying to be as intellectually honest as I can in monitoring the stadium debate, I don't know that the opposition will do the same.

I want a stadium. But I don't want it the way it happened in Utah. To be honest, while it would upset me if we got the stadium in that fashion, I would probably still go to games. But I would feel somewhat saddened by an opportunity lost.

What is the Masterplan?

Two quick links before I digress into a discussion for which I have no answers.

ACCORDING TO SIMON & GARFUNKLE, THEY NEED TO BUILD A BRIDGE: The Post follows up on their analysis of the Anacostia's rivers (I think Oscar posted a link about two weeks ago) with an editorial calling for the new Nationals and United owners to pony up for clean-up costs. Sure, fair, fine. The only thing is that you now have to consider that part of the cost of the buy-in to the area, which means that the idea of the city "giving away the land" is shown to be more and more of a false premise. It ain't a give away once you consider the environmental costs. So let's stop that argument right now, shall we? I'm sure the Post will get right on that.

WE LIKE VICTOR, CAN WE GET HIM FOR OTHER SPORTS? BlackAthlete.Com laments the failure of [Crazy Uncle Moneybags] Brian Davis to purchase the Memphis Grizzlies. In the process, you can almost hear "Why didn't he get into an ownership group like the one he's part of with United?" We don't know, but we're happy he did.

WHAT ARE THE WINDOWS? Okay, now to what I want to talk about. I had a wonderful time watching the Denmark/US game from Oscar's place. As you can imagine, there was much talk not just about the US National Team, but also about United. CVS, an occasional commenter in these parts, asked a telling question: "Do you guys feel like this is a rebuilding year?" I don't think so, but I understand where that sentiment comes from. We cleared out a lot of players for allocation cash, cap room, and draft picks. We didn't necessarily draft for need. We have a rookie head coach. Add to that the unspoken fear that this might be Moreno's last year (although no one other than Jamie would really know) and you have the feeling that DC isn't really in a "Win Now!" mindset.

I think "rebuilding" is too strong a phrase, but I agree that, as of today, this is a team with more questions than any team since 2003. If I had to offer a complete guess as to what might be in play, I would think that the 2008 and 2009 seasons are more important to the Front Office than this season. Yes, I know we have SuperLiga and the CONCACAF Champions Cup. But that'll be old news as we enter the stadium push endgame. When that time comes there will be real political considerations to having a team that looks strong. Remember that RSL supporters even theorized that the Freddy Adu deal was made to give Dave Checketts some momentum in his stadium maneuvers. I've made fun of Checketts for many things, but that made sense to me.

The fact is, the idea of "windows" popularized in NFL analysis doesn't really translate as well to soccer. Sure, there's a salary cap that comes into play, but it's implementation essentially means that all the teams have to deal with its restrictions all the time, as opposed to the boom and bust cycles of American Football. However, there are times when you can put out a stronger team than others. I think that DC United will be competitive next year, but I don't think you'd look at them as the odds-on favorite for anything. That could change by '09 when planning from this year and next comes together.

So, if I had to guess (and this is only a guess), I would think that United is going to try and be competitive, but not overwhelmingly intimidating, for the next year or two. After that will come the next real set of "Great United Teams." That's the hunch.

Lesson: [Good] Ownership is Important

I was thinking that perhaps Ives Galarcep has been too harsh on Real Salt Lake's Front Office. Well, I was thinking that until I read this piece in the New York Times. Key graf:

“When I hired my coach, John Ellinger, two and a half years ago, one of the reasons I hired him was because I knew Freddy wanted to play for him...We were thinking about this years ago.”

Now, this might be retroactive justification for a coaching move that has shown little return on investment to date, but let's take it at face-value. One of the reasons you hired your coach in 2004 was to attract an unproven player who was signed to another team and may well have headed abroad before coming to your stadium? Are you serious? What a ridiculous reason! I could understand if Checketts had said something about wanting a coach to "bring up unproven young talent" or something like that. Well, I could understand it if not for the fact that RSL has been staffed by MLS journeyman over the past two years. Frankly, if that's a major reason for signing the coach, then you've pretty much admitted that you wasted your first two years in the league, and you've wasted the time of the people supporting RSL. What a maroon.

Now, I think personally that Checketts is overstating the case. Maybe he tangentially thought about this two years ago when signing Coach E, but I doubt it really factored into his reasoning at all. Tough choice on Checketts: Is he an idiot, or a liar? I hope for RSL fans that it is the latter.

Wary

The Washington Post covers the Freddy Adu trade fall-out with a big piece on the front of your sports section this morning. The headline "It's a win-win for Adu and United" is shockingly optimistic. In my opinion, Adu does come out of this deal as the clear winner, but I'm not sure that either United or RSL (carefully left out of that headline) did the right thing. Again, while I have no problem with trading either Adu and/or Rimando, both of whom had value, I feel like we don't know that we'll ultimately got as good as deal as we could have gotten for either, let alone both as a package. Of particular note in the Post story is a sidebar graphic on United's previous use of allocations, a good idea (seen here yesterday) made better by expanding it back from 2004 to 2002. And when you do that, United's track record looks even worse. As much as it pains me to acknowledge that the RSL Front Office got anything right, this seems accurate:

Real Salt Lake chief executive Dean Howes was not concerned about whom United would acquire with the allocation, saying: "Allocations don't score goals and don't keep the ball out of the net. . . . We'd rather get a proven player and let the other teams spend the money to take chances on players who may or may not be successful in this league."

I think there's a lot of truth in that. United has had success with some allocation moves, but also a lot of failure. We've bought cap room and the tools to do something with the cap room, but success in using it is not a foregone conclusion. If we had traded Rimando and Adu for known commodities within MLS the deal might not seem as valuable, and we would not have the same flexibility, but the deal would probably carry considerably less risk. Kevin Payne and DC United have gone for a big move that they think they can execute, but we've been hopeful about such things in the past.

And now, for old-times sake, your last "Freddy to Europe" transfer update: Manchester United is reportedly concerned about his temperament and will not offer him a deal anytime soon. Plus ça change...