What Next?

by monk81 on Jan 25, 2025 9:54 AM EST

We have our forward now to pair with Pontius. We have our midfirelder to try to bring the ball up creatively the "DC United" way on the wing. We have our goalkeeper in place. And we have our coaching staff in place. Now what?

I think there are still two things from here to get us out of the cellar. We need a central midfielder that can create space and creatively get the ball through to Allsopp and Pontius. I'm not sure if you saw the videos of Allsopp, but most of his gioal were created by putting the ball through and letting him run onto it. He has a great feel for holding a defender off and striking cleanly on the ball. But at this point, there really isn't anyone with the experience to get it to him. We have some options and we'll take a look at them in a minute.

The other aspect of this team that has to be shown is the coaching. I think we have a good defensive unit, a solid midfield and good forward tandem. There is nothing great about this team. There are better defenses out there but this should be a strength for us with us our talent. The midfield is strong (assuming we solve the center mid situation) but they won't be confused with the best midfield in the league. And our forwards should show well, but i doubt they'll be confused with the best forward tandem in the league either. What will make these good-but-not-great areas of the field great is coaching. Our defense should be pitching shutouts this year. Jakovic is a stud at D! Mark these words: He will be defender of the year. He is that good and he has an ability to lead the defense with Perkins's help. James is solid. He will either play in central defense or have to go out wide for Namoff. I almost would rather see him out wide. We need aerial prowess in center defense. We lost a ton of 50/50 challenges last year because all of our guys are like Smurfs (3 apples tall). This will only get better with good coaching. The defense needs to be tight and they need to be supporting each other.

This brings me to the midfield. The backside midfielders have to defend. I love what Tino did last year but he needs to get back on defense to play right side midfield. I'll be curious to see how Castillo does this year. I'm highly encouraged by him though and I think he will be a great addition. I have no idea about his defending. Anyone what to chime in on that? Simms will be very steady again. He's a workhorse and I hope the miles don't catch up for a few years. He's young so we should have a lot more time with him.

So who do we put in Central Midfield?

Tino - He is very creative. He passes very well. And he certainly gets the DC United system. He is the top option right now with the personnel we have. He needs to defend better but all-in-all, he is a good option here for what we have on the roster.

Barklage - He is young and creative but I think he lacks the experience yet to lead the attack. Allsopp seems to be someone that needs service to get him going so we need someone who can step right in and get him the ball. Barklage showed flashes when he was healthy, but he has to first prove he can stay healthy and then prove what he can do on the field.

Player to be named -I have a feeling that this will be the way they go here. I have a feeling, they are down in South America right now drinking mojitos...I mean looking for a quality center mid that is flying under the radar. They need someone who understands what the forwards need. They need someone who will fight for the ball on our end, bring it up the field, draw defenders, and put the forwards through. they need someone who, when dispossessed, will run his ass off to get that ball back like you see from European teams. I saw Gomez just stop too many times when he lost the ball and that is not acceptable at his position. That led to him getting subbed at the 43rd minutes in a game last season.

Jamie Moreno -He has been mentioned as a possible guy at this place. At his age, I just don't see it. He has the foot skills, but he doesn't have the pace anymore nor does he possess the ability to do that kind of running and get back on defense.

Szetela - I just haven't seen enough effort from him to give him the nod here. He needs to show that he can stay in the game from the first minute to the last. He disappears, gets lost on the midfield and we can't have that from our playmaking position. He does defend well but we need more than that to get into that center mid position.

What do you think of our situation? Who is backing me on Defender of Year nod to Jakovic? Who should our central mid be? Did miss a viable option?

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I think the idea that DC United is full of small players is no longer true. Look through the team: Jakovic, Burch, Quaranta, and Allsopp are over 6’ (as is Jordan Graye, if he makes the team). James, Pontius, and Moreno are all right at 6’. Wallace and Namoff both play much taller than their 5’11" and 5’10", respectively. We’ve also got some broad-shouldered types, like Szetela. I’m not saying we’re the biggest team in the league, but the days of teams pushing us around physically should be over. If MLS sides are gaining a physical advantage over us, it’s probably a question of desire rather than size and strength.

You’re right about the fact that we have no standout element to our team. Onalfo is going to have to really shine; if we don’t make a couple more big signings, it’ll be an even more difficult task. This is why I wasn’t too enthusiastic about him. His Wizards squads featured a lot of players that, by themselves, were not too bad. However, he lacked players of the quality required to be anything more than one of MLS’s middle class (the teams that, basically, will miss or make the playoffs based on one lucky goal or one poor call). At some point, we need to either make signings that push us up among MLS’s elite or Onalfo is going to have to stand out amongst the coaches of teams that are simply OK.

In central midfield, I think our best option on the roster is Szetela. His issues with effort seem, to me, to be based on reputation more than anything else. People heard that he was unfit when signed (big surprise, since he hadn’t played at Brescia for months due to a coaching change) and that Soehn didn’t like him, and opinions formed without him actually getting a chance to prove himself. His performance at Marathon was very good in a central role, but this only lasted 20 or so minutes before he had to be shifted wide (McTavish was totally anonymous, and we were paying for it). That said, it’s still an area we need to improve.

I don’t know if Jakovic will be defender of the year, but I do think very well of him. The problem with becoming defender of the year is that you don’t get it on your own. For Jakovic to be defender of the year, James will have to improve by a lot right away, Namoff will have to be 100% and in the form he was in last year, and Wallace will have to hit the ground running at left back. Our midfield will also have to keep possession of the ball pretty well, to help lower the pressure on our back four.

by ChestRockwell on Jan 25, 2025 3:02 PM EST reply actions

Not sold on Szetela

I need to see a lot more than just 20 minutes from Szetela before I’m going to pencil him in as our regular starting central attacking midfielder. He earned his first MLS start of the season in the final match against KC, and he made no significant impact before getting yanked at halftime.

I actually put more faith than most in Tom Soehn. I don’t think Soehn benching Szetela was just a personal vendetta. I’m more inclined to believe that he still has issues with his work ethic, and that he didn’t show enough on the practice field to justify a starting spot.

Barklage is an interesting thought. I’m curious to see how he’s improved since his injury last year. But more likely - Onalfo and Kasper’s trip to South America is about much more than just drinking mojitos.

BlackAndRedUnited.com

by Martin Shatzer on Jan 25, 2025 9:13 PM EST up reply actions

I'll trust your take on Szetela.

by monk81 on Jan 25, 2025 3:40 PM EST reply actions

I'll trust your take on Szetela

If that is the case, I’ll be pleasantly surprised. I still think the best option is yet to come. I have a feeling the two things they are looking for are center mid and big defender (apologies to Gonzalo Peralta).
The thing about the guys you name is that they aren’t all guys who will see the field on a consistent basis. Burch will be D/M sub with wallace playing D now, McTavish is about equal to Burch but not starting. And Quaranta hasn’t been seen in his own defensive end since he was 16. And Allsopp should be up top.
Agreed on Onalfo. I’m hopeful though. I guess, I’m resigned to his leadership at this point and willing to stand behind him hoping that the Front Office did a good job getting their guy. Basically, I’m hoping their hiring process wasn’t what it looked like from the outside. Because it looked like he was their 5th choice.

by monk81 on Jan 25, 2025 3:46 PM EST reply actions

I’ve got to disagree about Quaranta’s defensive work. I’m not saying he’s the world’s greatest defender from the wing, but he does enough to make it, at most, a very minor issue. Now that we’re going to 442 full time, it’s even less of a concern. With Quaranta, I’m more focused on him being more consistent at creating an end product. He is good enough to get 5 or 6 goals from the wing, and I think he can realistically target at least 8 assists. It’s just a matter of consistency and understanding his teammates; a lot of times this past season, Quaranta was not on the same page as the targets for his passes.

by ChestRockwell on Jan 25, 2025 10:08 PM EST up reply actions