Top DC United Stories

1)The return of Troy Perkins?< Steve Goff is reporting that his reps are working hard for a return to DC United. My feeling is that I 1) love Troy Perkins and 2) don't want to give up too much.

Teams will know we are desperate to get Perkins back and will try to make us overpay which is frustrating, but is the nature of business and sports negotiating. I first thought this was nothing big, but then Perkins sends a farewell letter to the fans at Valarenga. There will be more to this soon, but I will say now, that it will be painful to watch Perkins in a different MLS uniform.

For those that missed the Valarenga Troy Perkins video, it's pretty good.

2) MLS Superdraft overdrive!!!! Coverage is everywhere!
Everything, including videos, regarding the combine can be found here. There is also a short video with Ben Olsen making an appearance. Also, plenty of recap can be found here.

ESPN Soccernet has info from many of the top writers on the internet.

I have found that there is no authority on what will happen at a draft, so I just sort of combine thoughts from all of the sites. Still, it is a pot shoot. My man Tchani has impressed at the combine! (Yeah!) This draft leaves a couple questions for United. Will they try to move up in order to grab one of the top players? Will a great player drop in to our laps at the seven pick? Will we regain our form of draft bad luck? So much drama! So much fun!

Lastly, there is a great piece by Mike Martin at Unitedmania.com totally going against my theory, and the theory of Dave Kasper according to the video on DCUnited.com, to go for the best player available. His evidence comes from when United has had the most success in the draft and whether they were drafting by position or drafting the best player available. We will see how it plays out!

Onalfo and the Draft

An analysis of Onalfo's success in the Superdraft courtesy of Goal.com

Fact about D.C. United's new coach Curt Onalfo's draft history: in his three years in charge of Kansas City, he had fourteen picks (including a #1 overall pick), only two of those fourteen turned into regular starters. That was a team that started Lance Watson frequently. MLS - "Where improving your team in the off-season is optional." This team definitely needs some help at defense, but there are no players on the board worth a pick this early in the draft. That said, Onalfo chased a fullback last year and the year before that, he is going to do it again. There is always a bad decision in the top half of the draft and this is it. To Loyd's credit, he is going to be a very useful professional especially in a league where utility is a huge benefit with small roster sizes.

We are all aware of United's past difficulties in the draft. let's hope last year was a sign that we have turned a corner in this area.