DC United Aquire Joe Vide

Joe Vide was today aquired after San Jose waived their rights to him. He was first drafted 5th in the 2006 Supplemental Draft by New York Red Bulls, he had a total of 23 appearances with the Red Bulls before he got picked by San Jose Earthquakes in the 2007 supplemental draft, he had 5 starts with them before he got waived. He will be avilable to play against Houston Dynamo on Tuesday 07/22.

Links;
DC United Announcement
Wikipedia

Craig Thompson

People has asked me who this guy Thompson is that all of a sudden showed up on midfield. Craig Thompson got picked up in the 2nd round of the MLS Supplemental Draft 2008 by Houston Dynamo, who waived him and DC United picked him up the 30th of June. Due to the many injuries against Rochester July 1st in the US Open third round he was on the bench and got to play in the second half. I wasn't at the game but read that he did really good, he then started in the Superliga 2008 against CD Guadalajara and Atlante and played OK.


Links;
Wiki
Goff's article in Washington Post

Superliga Vs DC United 2-0

After the 2 first games of the Superliga 2008 a couple of things has been become obvious.

1. Jaime Moreno is not not the heart and soul of this team, he is not the leader or inspiration to anyone on the field. In my opinion he passed his prime about 4-5 years ago and is now only a sad shadow of what he used to be. To pay someone 235 000 dollars a year to kick PK's is stupid. Yes he makes some nice assists here and there but he looses the ball more often than he keeps it within the team. As far as I am concerned he is a sub, coming in second half will fit his pace and fitness level more.
2. Tom Soehn it has been obvious for a long time that he can not coach, I think he makes poor decision's in every aspect of the game and it was very clear against Atlante where he was out coached from the first minute of the game. If DC United wants to elevate themselves they will have to get a real coach, not continue to hire retired players turning wanna be coach.
3. Gallardo, never thought we would look this bad without him, hopefully he will not need surgery and can come back soon.
4. Peralta has been taking a lot of crap this season, I like him though, he might not be the most speedy guy, but his height is welcome and he holds the middle well. He is tough and doesn't take any shit.
5. Dyachenko No More!
6. McTavish, Burch combination in the middle is not working, I like both players but we are getting bitch slapped in the middle. I want Martinez back in the middle like in the beginning of the season, we need some speed, he can still attack from there. Especially when Peralta is gone. Burch did good last year on the left flank.

On the good side, Wells has picked up his game a little, he is still shaky though and I think we need to find someone to challenge him at this position. Craig Thompson came from no where and started 2 games, he is doing pretty good, needs to pick up his pace a little. Luci of course continues to score goals, he has really picked up his game.

Highlights;
DC United Vs Cd Guadalajara
DC United Vs Atlante

Oh and I know I will get shit for the comments about Moreno, don't get me wrong he used to be a great player and he has my full respect and admiration for what he has done for DC United in the PAST.

DC United Vs LA Galaxy 4-1

For some reason I did have not a good feeling about this game when I headed in to RFK early in the morning for some tailgating. After enjoying Screaming Eagles excellent tailgate, especially the beer seemed to hit the spot, I definitely felt better and when I got the lucky socks on I was ready to take on Old Spice and company.

I don't think we played that good or if LA played that bad. Check out the highlights. Zach Wells probably had his best game of the year and even if that don't say much he actually made a couple of big saves. Of course Luci on top had another great game working hard and with 7 shots, 6 on goal and 1 assist and 2 goals, he should probably have scored more had some great chances. Gallardo worked hard on midfield and ended up with a nice goal and an assist. I still think that he would be better off without Moreno up front, since Moreno is so slow he actually pushes Gallardo out of position. Fred had an OK game with one assist. Martinez was stellar in the back and his attacks on left side seems to be causing all kind of problems for the opponents.

Now I will mention that Moreno did score a goal, of course on a Penalty Kick and of course it was created by someone else, in this case Santino Quaranta. This is the only way Moreno can score and in my opinion why not let Luci take the PK's he would have a chance to be up to 14 goals this season and lead the league.

Soehn continues to make questionable decisions, starting Moreno is one, we all know Moreno have issues when it is to hot, to cold or somewhere in between. Tino has been suffering with a ham string for a while and this time didn't last more than 27 minutes on a hot day like it was all subs is needed at the end of the game so I thought it was a bad decision. Martinez wanted to get out at the end of the game and looked like he was limping, but instead Soehn took out Moreno?! I think Moreno could have handled to do nothing for another 15 more minutes. Martinez had been working really hard.

Finally it was great to seeBenny back on the field, hopefully he he is getting better and can start work himself back to the starting line-up.

Franco Niell waived

DC United waived Franco Niell or Mighty Mouse as we called him. I didn't think that Niell really got a chance to show what he could do, a lot of people didn't like him, said that he didn't score and so on. I liked his speed and intensity and think he would have been a good sub, but considering the price tag $150K he would have been an expensive sub.

The only thing that worries me is the depth in the forward position now, the only one we have on top is Emilio and when he don't score we loose. Moreno's trips towards the 18 yard line are rare and he averages 1 shot on goal per game, so we really need someone here.

I also hope that they are looking in to a new goalie, after watching the last game I am 110% convinced Wells got to go.

Good luck to you Franco Niell!

Yeah That Bad

I know I haven't been posting a lot since....... Zach Wells made a save some time in preseason. But now I intend to get back on track just like DC United. After a dreadful beginning of the season, DC United has finally started to pick up their game, next game on Sunday against Old Spice and friends at RFK you don't want to miss, get your tickets now and lets meet up at the Screaming Eagles Tailgate before the game.

And from now on, I will make sure to keep you guys up with the latest news as they arrive.

Vamos United!

Lost against Kansas City Wizards

I have never been a big fan of Mr. Soehn, his decisions and tactics has never made any sense to me and so again this past Saturday when we traveled to to Kansas City. Now the question for this game was should we start with our best players or rest them for tuesdayd CONCACAF cup semi final.
I thought that since it was early in the season ate least start with our best guys and change our key players later in the game to keep them somewhat fresh for Tuesday.
The other side of the coin would be to rest key players and have some bench warmers playing the game.

Now at first it looked like Soehn was went for the second option, kind off, he replaced Fred with Mediate? All other starters were in? Mediate has been with us for many years and he has never impressed anybody which just makes the rest of the team have to work harder. In addition to that when we went down 0-1 he changes out Burch with Fred and puts Mediate as a defender instead of Burch and then a little later sub out Mediate with Stratford?? So in addition to have all our regular starters on the field chasing to get back to even, he puts an already mediocre midfielder to play defense only to change him out later in the game.

Tom is constantly out coached and his success relies only on the players performance, anyone can pick a starting XI and have them have a go for it.

Here are the highlights from the game and good luck tonight DC.