Peace Out Boyzzz
by Martin Shatzer on Jul 27, 2010 9:12 PM EDT
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D.C. United released Thabiso Khumalo today in a move that surprised many, but is really just another chapter in the continuing story of United making a concerted effort to turn over the roster and get younger.
Khumalo may only be 29, but he represents another piece of the old guard. In a period that's already seen the departures of two former MVPs and the iconic face of the franchise, I guess this makes sense as the next logical move.
Khumalo had reached his peak as an MLS player. His natural role was as a reserve winger with good speed, moderate creativity, but not enough tactical awareness, precision passing skills, or finishing ability to be a starter.
The emergence of Pablo Hernandez as our top setup man actually dropped Khumalo one step lower on the winger depth chart. Why? Because Santino Quaranta, Chris Pontius, and Andy Najar are all now competing for two outside midfield positions. Khumalo was only ever likely to make the bench going forward when one of those three is injured.
It's no secret that Khumalo's departure is a signal to the eminent signing of 18-year old attacking midfielder Junior Carreiro. Goff said in the print edition this morning that a decision of Carreiro was expected this week, and Caulfield even alluded to it on dcunited.com. And while we don't really expect Carreiro to be much of a contributor in 2010, he offers more long-term potential than Boyzzz.
This move also marks the end of the Soehn era strategy of signing players away from the USL. Greg Janicki, Tiyi Shipalane, and Thabiso Khumalo all being released means that United doesn't have any former USL players on their roster anymore. They only have Kurt Morsink, who SHOULD be in the USL.
We wish Boyzzz the best. He did have some positive performances for United, ending his MLS career with one goal and three assists. He was at his best when coming on late in a match to use his speed as a weapon against tired defenders. But as the team tries to get better by adding new talent and moving away from the losing culture of the past 2.5 seasons, this move is sounding like it was more and more necessary.
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This is a great decision. I hope he can find a home, but it’s good to see DCU looking younger.
A Capital Wasteland - art & hockey from Washington, D.C.
Boyzzz was a great USL player
And there’s nothing to be ashamed of there. Best of luck to the best goal-celebrant we’ve had at RFK since Esky left. (I still really enjoy Boyzzz’s fade away jump shot celebration from a year or two back.)
I was just thinking to myself that it looked like Boyzzz had lost a step
He had a very nice US Open Cup game against Harrisburg, so it’s nice to go out on something of a high note. I really liked the guy – more as a person than a soccer player – and it would be great if he catches on somewhere. And the Hellboyzzz look from last season will be an enduring memory.
Boyzz
My question is when will DCU pick up an unheralded African player that pans out… Kpene and Boyzzz fizzled while other teams managed to find diamonds in the rough. Is it a scouting problem?
Also, Clyde Simms was USL wasn’t he? (Or was Richmond A league back then?)
Haven’t seen Junior, is he a Fred clone?
Bad African scouting
And don’t forget our yearly tradition of signing African defenders and then releasing them just a few months later:
2008: Ibrahim Koroma
2009: David Habarugira
2010: Floribert N’Galula
Managing Editor for BlackAndRedUnited.com. Weekend Writer for SBNation DC.
by Martin Shatzer on Jul 28, 2010 10:18 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
in retrospect
Didn’t we have a press conference for Flo? And Carey Talley is presumably better than him? What the f went wrong there?
Junior Carreiro
He’s not a Fred clone. He doesn’t dribble into the middle of the field everytime he touches the ball.
I’ve seen Junior in two reserve matches. In general he doesn’t have Fred’s “presence”. He’s more anonymous, doesn’t have as much ability to take over/impact a match. Fred was at his best when making diagonal runs off the ball in behind the defense. I havent seen Junior do that yet. But he can cross. His assist to Danny Allsopp on the fourth goal of the Portsmouth match was far more impressive than Khumalo’s accidental goal against the City Islanders.
Managing Editor for BlackAndRedUnited.com. Weekend Writer for SBNation DC.
by Martin Shatzer on Jul 28, 2010 10:33 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Because Santino Quaranta, Chris Pontius, and Andy Najar are all now competing for two outside midfield positions. Khumalo was only ever likely to make the bench going forward when one of those three is injured.
It’s so sad that we’ve resigned ourselves to saying “when” not “if” they get injured at this point.
Go, fight, and win.
This move also marks the end of the Soehn era strategy of signing players away from the USL. Greg Janicki, Tiyi Shipalane, and Thabiso Khumalo all being released means that United doesn’t have any former USL players on their roster anymore.
Hey, what about me?
Signed,
C. Simms
And I thought Tom Soehn was a shitty coach.
Simms
Well, technically, Simms wasn’t part of the “Soehn era strategy”. But you’re right, I wasn’t thinking about him.
Managing Editor for BlackAndRedUnited.com. Weekend Writer for SBNation DC.
by Martin Shatzer on Jul 29, 2010 1:11 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
To be fair, it’s not like it’s not a decent pipeline, but to be overly reliant on it (as Soehn), especially when other signings weren’t panning out, became teeth-gnashing for a fan.
Additionally if he does have something, the club has a little luxury in not rushing him, which is nice.
And I thought Tom Soehn was a shitty coach.
by Bald Pollack on Jul 29, 2010 9:30 PM EDT up reply actions
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