We're spending the first month or so of the D.C. United offseason grading each player on the roster with an approval rating. A vote for APPROVE means you were satisfied with the player's performance and want to see him back in D.C. next season. A vote for DISAPPROVE means you want United to move on without him. There is no middle ground, so please leave salary implications out of your decision.
So let's just do this alphabetically.
Brandon Barklage got far fewer minutes in the 2011 MLS season than most of us would have expected. After missing much of the past two years with major injuries, the 24-year old played just 38 minutes in four reserve appearances for United this season.
After playing for United exclusively either in a wide midfield or central attacking midfield role in year's past, Barklage was given the opportunity to line up as an outside back this season. I thought he did well there in one reserve match I witnessed, but he never impressed Ben Olsen enough to crack the lineup, falling behind Marc Burch and rookie Chris Korb on the depth chart at that position. In the midfield, he seems pretty far behind Austin da Luz and Stephen King.
Barklage is a high-energy type player with some vision and passing ability. He's always displayed plenty of potential, but may not have grown as much as we'd like. So does he have a future with this team?