Holly, Jolly Cristman! and Oh Danny boy, the doctor's office calls you...

As we look to understand the type of system United will play under coach Onalfo, it is best to look at the acquisitions being made. At this point, it would appear that we are looking to have attacking wings and a strong defensive middle of the field in order to cover for any ground the wide players will leave exposed.

Exhibit A: Castillo - an attacking left wing
Exhibit B: Allsopp - a big target striker
Exhibit C: Flo - a defensive mid
and now Exibit D: Adam Cristman - another big target type of forward

I like the Cristman pick up. I think you can't ask for much more to round out your group of forwards. His production versus salary (while not injured) has been great. He is also local, another thing I like. He is American, making him less of a sexy choice, but allows us the freedom to look for quality in other areas from overseas.

Also, Danny Szetela is to go under the knife. I think if the front office was truly content with the players they have, then this should be the wake up call. With one injury, the middle looks even weeker. It is looking like Danny will be out for a month. Good thing it is just pre-season.

Lastly, is it just me or are we missing a lot of players right now? What is the body count or MIA?
-Castillo - Wisdom teeth (if they really made you wiser, then why do you take them out?)
-Allsopp - Visa issues
-Szetela - reference above
-Namoff - Alecko/Gros syndrom
-Quaranta - recovering from surgery
-Wicks - recovering from surgery
-James - recovery from injury
-Jackovic - international duty
-Perkins - international duty
-Pontius - international duty

That is a long list!

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Is Allsopp Hopeless?

There have been three things which have puzzled me and have forced me to do a little research in order to either substantiate or debunk what seems to have reached common knowledge status at this point. Today I present you with the first story. Here we go!

Danny Allsopp’s performance versus Indonesia for the Socceroos.

Upon the signing of Danny Allsopp, many DC United fans became discouraged due to his most recent performance for the Australian national team. Guided by the most notable source of Wikipedia, fans began to question Allsopp’s ability based on the quote written in his Wiki regarding his last national team performance. Coach Pim Verbeek described his performance as “absolutely hopeless.” Ugh. I can’t deny the fact that I was turned off by the statement as well, but further research has shown that there was much more involved in the situation. I do not have all the facts, but I believe I have unearthed a few which should make any supporter feel a little better about the situation.
First, we must look at the entire quote from Pim Verbeek, someone decribed as “frank” and seems to be out to bash the level of the A-League according to the rest of the article. "I am just being honest. They were absolutely hopeless” he said reagrding the forward pairing of Allsopp and Thompson. But, obviously, that was not all he said. "But in the last games (for Melbourne) I have seen they were very good, so maybe it was because of Indonesia or the trip." So he is already bringing to question a factor which could have affected play. Jakarta, where the game was played, is 3,235 miles away from Melbourne, the place of Allsopp’s previous match. This led to an approximate six and a half hour flight. Comparatively speaking, Los Angeles is approximately 1,000 miles closer with a flight that would be two hours shorter. I believe this is something United fans can appreciate given our teams struggles on the west coast in recent seasons and the amount of travelling done for international tournaments.
Some may point to the fixture congestion United has had in addition to these trips. It seems Danny was in the middle of a bit of fixture congestion himself, as well as eleven of the other players named to the Australian squad. Verbeek named twelve players to the squad who had played the season finale in Melbourne five days earlier. That may lead to some tired legs. If the previous matches were not enough, Melbourne’s strike pair of Thompson and Allsopp were gearing up for the A-League playoffs, which began for them ten days later.
I imagine that many United fans follow the US men’s national team. This would give us a distinct understanding of another factor, home field advantage. The match was played in Jakarta, a city of close to ten million people. Imagine that kind of hostile environment! San Salvador, Tegucigalpa, Guatemala City and Mexico City would most likely provide a similar environment. How would you feel if a group of MLS players played to a draw in Guatemala? I believe that most would come to an understanding that it was a fair result.
Lastly, looking at Allsopp’s highlight films, he tends to thrive from service. I can imagine he received very little given the Indonesian’s 63-37 advantage in time of possession. Perhaps Verbeek should have been criticizing the midfields inability to hold posession in order to provide better service for the forwards. Despite this, Allsopp got at least one good shot on goal. When looking at the highlights, you see Allsopp win a header and then rip a shot from outside the box which gives the keeper a little trouble at the forty five second mark.

None of this guarantees that Allsopp will be the second coming of Diaz-Arce, but it does seem to point to Verbeek’s description of his performance as a poor barometer of his ability. What are your thoughts?

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For those that are interested, you can also follow the blog through twitter. Account name MRoadarmel.

Steve Goff Interview

Hey Steven, myself, as a DC United fan and blogger, and DC United fans are grateful you taking the time to answer some questions. We all appreciate the work you do.

B&R: There are a few reporters who follow United, but you provide the most encompassing coverage, year round. Do you prefer being the big dog on a particular beat, or having a competitive situation with numerous colleagues from other papers?

Steve Goff: It doesn't matter to me. I go about my job the same way, whether I'm the only reporter (as is the case with DCU away matches) or among several. My job is broader than DCU, so besides covering the team on a regular basis, I also try to break stories involving other MLS teams, contribute to the Freedom coverage and follow the national team, particularly in a World Cup year.

B&R: What has been the most memorable moment you have had in your time covering United?

SG: I don't know if I could pinpoint one particular moment, but the first MLS Cup was special because of the comeback, the extra-time drama, the weather, the setting. The most emotional game was probably the 1998 final, Bruce Arena's last in league competition.

B&R: United has had some colorful characters come through their roster, who would you say you have had the most "interesting" professional relationship with?

SG: Ben Olsen has been the most enjoyable to cover because conversation often went beyond soccer and turned to politics, movies, family, etc. Hristo Stoitchkov had the fiercest presence (on and off the field). Freddy Adu was intriguing because of his age and the massive expectations surrounding him. Ray Hudson was a hoot -- greatest quote ever: In describing Dema Kovalenko's disposition, "He would stab his grandmother in the eye for another bowl of porridge."

B&R: What do you see, from your objective standpoint, as the biggest weakness for the team going in to next season?

SG: United addressed the goalkeeping situation, so that's one issue resolved. The club needs another center back, a true central midfielder (assuming Gomez does not return) and perhaps another forward. Bryan Namoff is a concern because of post-concussion issues.

B&R: As someone who follows MLS closely and has spoken with many officials for the league, what is seen as the next "big" step for MLS?

SG: The next step should be greater investment in players. You get what you pay for, and with the salary cap as tight as it is, the quality of play is limited. Until MLS is able to retain American players (instead of losing them to second-tier European leagues) with better compensation and attract more well-known internationals, it will remain what it is today: a good league, not a great league.

Thanks again for participating Steven. We all look forward to your continued coverage of United and soccer throughout the world (but particularly United)!!!

It's been a while...

Hey all, it has been a while since I have posted, but I have a few subjects I want to tackle in the upcoming days regarding the blog. First is to address what we have learned about DC United. One has to think that we are not the completed article yet. We have seen some departures and some additions. But there have been several areas of concern. Let’s look at those and see what has been done about them.

1) Striker: With the departure of Emilio, we have acquired Allsopp. Is this the answer? Who knows? I was hoping there may be another addition to the forward ranks or further midfield coverage to ensure that Pontius will not need to fill in unless absolutely necessary.

2) Midfield: We have lost Jacobson, Fred, Olsen and it has recently come to light that Gomez is not in the current plan for United. We have added...........uh,.....oh yeah, Floribert N'Galula and Castillo. He comes from a good pedigree and was on the Manchester United Reserve side, he is still young, so there is upside to this signing. There has been some debate as to whether he was on trial at Crewe (English 4th division) and was not offered a contract which would lead to many questions about his ability, but that is for another blog post. Just by sheer numbers, we need to add to this group. I think we have lost a large amount of attacking flair which has been partially replaced by Castillo, but needs further reinforcement.

3) Defense: Are we comfortable with Jackovic and James as our starting centerbacks? Who will be our right back when Namoff does not come back due to lingering concussion symptoms? Is it Lawson Vaughn? Who will be at left back? Wallace? Burch? Are we comfortable using Burch as a backup centerback? So many questions.

4) Goalkeeper: Perkins. Done.

So I still feel that we are not done acquiring players. We have yet to see too much come from the South and Central American scouting trips. There was the rumor regarding the Honduran u-23 Quiarol Arzu had been invited for a trial during pre-season. Is this an attempt to get a Honduran before they go play for the national team since we seem to have such a high rate of failure at completing transfers with Senior Squad Hondurans...Pery Martinez, Carlos Will Mejia, Osman Chavez...anyone I am forgetting? There was also the rumor that we were looking at the Uruguayan Matías Corujo, a right sided midfielder, but Goff poured water on that fire. So bring it on front office, earn the paycheck and make us happy.