This weekend begins DC United's one-week break from official matches, and with the team, DCUMD will be taking a break as well. United played 6 matches in 20 days. Well I typed 92 posts in 6 months. Who do you think had the tougher schedule?!

My disappearance though will be mostly attributable to being sent to the midwest for a week on a work assignment. My company has recently started blocking access to blogger, typepad, and just about everything else useful, so I won't be very communicative in the soccer community over the next week, save for maybe a couple comments on the Soccer Insider.

But I'd like to leave you with something to think about... Just to reemphasize what seemed like just a throwaway line in my post about the Columbus match, it was at this point last year that Tommy Soehn elected to make some changes. In 2007 we started out 0-3-1, and in 2008 we're off to a 1-3-0 start, so yeah, I think its about time. 2007's changes meant for one a switch from the 3-5-2 to the 4-4-2, but it also meant benching regular starters Facundo Erpen, Brian Carroll, and even Jaime Moreno for one match. From those moves emerged some talented players who turned out to be regular starters in their own rite: Devon McTavish, Clyde Simms, and, um, Nicholas Addlery? Ok, two out of three ain't bad. But I think it's time to do the same now. When Soehn sat Moreno for a match last year, he showed that no one on the team is above a good benching. Coach would do well to teach that lesson to some of his newcomers. Soehn should not be afraid to sit for one match his Golden Boot winner Emilio, or his defensive "leader" Gonzalo Peralta.

Who would replace them? I don't know. It would be nice to see McTavish put his crazy tackling skills to use again at the back. And I think Quaranta has done well when given the opportunity at forward. And I learned today that there is a whole slew of talented rookie midfielders who would relish the opportunity for a start on the wing in McTavish's place (namely Cordeiro or Stratford, but not Kirk).

My break will be productive because I'll be furthering my sales career. I'm hoping DC United's break will be productive as well. See you guys next weekend.