First of all, here's a link to what the Fullback wants for Christmas. That's required reading for all DCU fans this offseason.

Secondly, with all the recent roster moves, and with the rule changes for 2008, I think it's time that we reset and take a look at where we currently stand.

The rule changes seem to be pretty minor in relation to DCU, and probably most other teams in the league. The biggest changes are that there is no longer any distinction between "Senior Internationals" and "Youth Internationals", and that teams can now trade international slots in player deals.

I don't see this change having any effect on DC United. At season's end, we've only got 3 international players (Emilio, Fred, Gomez), and they all fall under the "Senior" classification anyway. The only way it could affect us is that DC now has the opportunity to trade away a couple of their extra international slots if they want, and if there is a market for them (doubtful).

What has not changed is the basic breakdown of 18 senior roster players and 10 developmental roster players. Straight from the MLS Roster Composition page: "Developmental players can be either domestic or international and must be 24 years of age (goalkeepers may be 25) or younger during the calendar year of competition." But a team can also elect to promote a player 24 or younger to the Senior roster, as DC United did for Devon McTavish and Marc Burch this year.

Of course all of this could change at any moment, but acting under the assumption that Moreno will return, that Gomez and Vanney will work out a deal, and that Gros will retire, we currently have:

• (3) players with "Developmental" status (Arguez, J. Carroll, Monteiro)
  
• (19) players with "Senior" status

Uh oh.

And that's before United makes any other acquisitions.

So what does that mean for United? It means that we're already one player over the limit on the Senior roster, and it means that we will have to cut one player for every new player over age 24 that is signed in the offseason. This is because we've got 4 players (DeRoux, Dyachenko, Kpene, Moose) turning 25 in 2008, and Nolly is turning 26.

As promising as some of them may be, this could mean a world of trouble for guys like Moose, Addlery, Kpene, Walker, and DeRoux.

Now if only the MLS would change the rules again so we could maybe trade 2 international spots for another senior roster spot or something crazy like that.