Well, they were better than the Salt Lake game. That's about all you can say. What is going on in our nation's capital?I've said from the beginning that there would be an adjustment period with all of the new players this season. The most important one, Marcelo Gallardo, plays in a completely different style than his predecessor Christian Gomez. You can see Gallardo's talent, but you can also see the lack of understanding between him and his teammates. Emilio held up on 2 or 3 runs last night where Gallardo played him into space. I guess he was used to Gomez taking shots in that situation, I'm not sure.
Now that I've mentioned Emilio, let me vent for a second. HEY LUCIANO, THE 2008 SEASON HAS STARTED, WHERE ARE YOU???? Okay, I feel better. Emilio has been mostly invisible this season. He looked out of shape and out of sorts in the CONCACAF games, and hasn't gotten any better in MLS. If you're pouting because you wanted a raise in the offseason, how about going out and earning it now? Otherwise, you're starting to look like you'll end up in the One Hit Wonder bin with Dexy's Midnight Runners, Dexter Freebish, Skee-Lo, and Damani Ralph.
I'm trying to take some solace in the fact that DC started out like this last year, and still went on to win the Supporters' Shield. The loss in Guadalajara was followed up with a tight loss in Colorado (similar to the KC loss this year), a spanking by KC (similar to RSL, except at home), and a disappointing loss to Columbus. It wasn't until May 6 that United got its first win in '07. Of course, last year's team then went on a 6 week unbeaten stretch that made up for the losses. Will we see that starting next week against RSL at RFK?
I'm not pressing the panic button just yet, but I'm sitting at the desk.
4 comments:
The view from here in Houston is DC looked terrible at home and still doesn't seem to have melded its players all together into a cohesive whole. Let's face it, the huge buttkicking they delivered to Harbour View at RFK looks more and more like the aberration here. Other than that, let's look at their results so far: a tepid and almost unwatchable 1-1 tie to Harbour View in Jamaica; a 2-0 loss to KC; a 4-1 smackdown over two legs to Los Tuzos; a 4-1 win over TFC (the lone bright spot against a team that, with all due respect, should see that kind of scoreline against them in every game, except when they play the Gals); and a pair of uninspiring losses to RSL (RSL!!!) and Columbus. DCU will probably be fine when the season is all said and done, but if they're not, you're seeing the seeds of destruction laid bare now.
I agree, throw the Harbour View game at RFK out.
The loss in KC was a tale of 2 halves. DC owned the first, KC owned the second. KC scored goals when they had the better of the play.
The Pachuca series is actually what gives me some hope. It was 4-3 on aggregate, not quite a buttkicking. DC played well for a half away, then looked incredibly tired in the second half. I didn't think they played poorly, their fitness just did them in. They created chances at RFK, they just couldn't finish (recurring theme here, unfortunately). Pachuca's one goal got them through, the late goals DC scored weren't enough.
The RSL game was crap-tastic. Columbus is a little better than they're getting credit for, but DC just wasn't good enough.
They need a presence in the attacking third. Right now, they have none. Emilio needs to wake up.
For me, this brings up the topic of Guy Roland Kpene, who's currently on trial with the Orange and will play in the reserve match vs. the Gals Sunday. There's a lot of buzz here in Houston about this guy, thinking he might just be 2008's Ngwenya. What do you know about him and would DCU be better off having kept him this year?
He might work out for Houston. For DC, I think he's too much like the other forwards they have to be useful. He really reminds me of Moreno in a lot of ways, very skilled, very quick, but doesn't necessarily have the killer instinct in the box.
DC brought in Doe after he was released by NY, he might be a nice change of pace. A little more direct, a few less touches in the box, and a few more shots.
We'll see...
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