What Today's Lineup Will Mean
by Martin Shatzer on Aug 7, 2025 9:04 AM EDT
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PrintWhen Kevin Payne held a team meeting with players and what coaches remained on Wednesday morning, he outlined three priorities for the remainder of the 2010 season:
1. Win the next game
2. Compete for 90 minutes in every match
3. Play for the shirt (whatever that really means)
Win the next game, huh? So that tells us that United will not be throwing caution to the wind tonight. They won't be benching all their veterans and giving starts to their younger players purely for the sake of additional experience.
They want to win.
If trying to win means that no player above the age of 26 (besides Branko Boskovic) will get the start, then so be it.
But does trying to win mean that we'll essentially be using the same lineup as we used last weekend in the 3-0 loss to Real Salt Lake? No, not necessarily. And that's why I think the lineup decisions today will be a big hint as to what this team will look like for the rest of 2010. We'll know soon who Ben Olsen values, rather than just who Curt Onalfo valued.
Will Olsen toe the party line and continue giving starts to Carey Talley and Troy Perkins despite their underwhelming performances of late?
There are lots of storylines tonight. For now though, let's focus on the questions that will be answered when the lineups are revealed one hour before kickoff.
1. Goalkeeper
Lots of you want to see Bill Hamid starting ahead of Troy Perkins for the rest of the season, and I don't blame you. Perkins had his worst match of the season in Utah last week, and really hasn't looked like his 2007 self much at all this year. Don't expect to see Hamid starting just because the team wants to give him more experience though, like many of you are suggesting. If Hamid does start, it will be because Olsen and his assistants think he gives the team the best chance to win RIGHT NOW. While Chest will probably yell at me for quoting this stat, it's hard to ignore that Hamid's 1.25 goals against average is considerably better than Perkins' 1.86, which is the worst in the league by the way (yes, worse even than Chris Seitz).
2. Center Back
Julius James has been one of the few reasons to be hopeful about United's future this season, but with Dejan Jakovic once again out with a hamstring strain, Olsen will have a big decision to make in the middle. Will he continue with Carey Talley, who was embarassed for two of RSL's goals last week? Or will we see the team turn to rookie Barry Rice? United is undefeated in Open Cup play, and for what it's worth, Rice has started in our last three Open Cup matches. I've said before that I think Rice will be a starter in this league. Maybe not this season and maybe not with this team, but he has the potential to do it. Will that begin tonight?
3. Central Defensive Midfielder
The injury to Clyde Simms last week was really a tough break for him and the team. This injury leaves Olsen a decision between two qualified individuals with different strengths. Kurt Morsink would be the default replacement. And while Morsink, for all his faults, is probably the better defensive option, he more than anyone else is a true representation of the Onalfo regime. Stephen King would signal a move towards a more attacking formation. He is a better and more decisive passer, and could be a good partner for Boskovic.
4. Forward
With Danny Allsopp putting in an unimpressive effort last week, and with Chris Pontius, Santino Quaranta, and Andy Najar all healthy, there's a good chance we'll see a different player lined up next to Pablo Hernandez tonight. Quaranta and Pontius have each had their chances at forward before, but we haven't seen Najar there yet this year. It's been said to be his best position...
5. Captain
Obviously the answer to this will depend somewhat on the answers to the first two questions. But Olsen would do well to shake things up here a bit. During his playing days, Olsen served as an occassional captain for United, and he filled that role with a lot of fire and compassion. What player on our current team has that same attitude? Maybe Quaranta? Maybe Boskovic? I don't know the answer to that, but I do think that Talley has been a generally ineffective on-field leader.
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Here's how I think these issues will turn out
1. I actually have no idea. Bad start to this comment. I can see Benny going in either direction, though. On one hand, Perkins has regressed towards the form that was grounds for being benched previously. On the other hand, benching a keeper twice in one season seems like a good way to psychologically render him useless for the rest of that season. Does Perkins have the resiliency to recover? Given Payne’s “win the next game” directive, does potentially shattering Perkins even matter if he’s not the best option today?
2. I feel like it’ll be Talley and James, in part because you don’t often see people pair center backs as similar as James and Rice are. Just like most coaches like to play forwards that offer different traits, the general idea with center backs is to pair a more mobile, athletic player with a more cerebral type (unless you can get all of these qualities in one, which is a rarity in MLS and most other non-elite leagues). You can still make a good argument for benching Talley, though, since he’s been slow to react. If he’s going to be the brains of our defense, he’s got to be ahead of things, not behind.
3. Goff’s article in today’s Post says that United players and Olsen are hinting at a more attacking lineup. That would almost have to mean King starts as our DM, since Morsink plays forward passes only when under absolutely no pressure. Coping with Joseph will be a baptism of fire for King in that role, but I know I’d rather roll the dice than go with Morsink, which we all know won’t work. Maybe there’s a surprise in the works, like moving Talley there (he’s done it in the past) or perhaps even McTavish (with Graye at right back and Burch on the left…long shot but it’s “think outside the box” time)?
4. I’m thinking it’s Pontius. Allsopp’s continued failure to connect with the players around him in meaningful games is not about to solve itself. Najar’s playing too well at right midfield to move, especially since we’re already being forced into one midfield change. If Party Boy’s foot is OK for a start (I’m still seething over Franklin getting away with that tackle; first minute or no, that’s, at the most lenient, a yellow and a stern talking to), he should get a shot to use his speed to compliment Hernandez and Boskovic.
5. I’m OK with Talley remaining captain, and I don’t expect Olsen to shake that up. I don’t think on-field leadership has been too much of an issue, because we haven’t even been good enough to get to a point where something like that would be a factor. Your captain is, most often, a fine tuning issue. We’re looking at a team that needs major work, not a couple tweaks. Plus, I don’t see any suitable captains in the likely starting lineup. Boskovic just arrived, and Quaranta’s too emotional to be a captain. I’d be interested in seeing Simms with the armband once he and Jakovic return.
by ChestRockwell on Aug 7, 2025 9:28 AM EDT reply actions
I know we constantly play around with the phrase “most important match of the season,” but this very well may be it.
A Capital Wasteland - art & hockey from Washington, D.C.
by Jake Shapiro on Aug 7, 2025 9:39 AM EDT reply actions
Nope
Sept. 1 against Columbus. But I agree that this looks like a very winnable match, and if we don’t win, it will continue to emphasize just how much of a disaster our team really is.
by Brendanukkah on Aug 7, 2025 10:02 AM EDT up reply actions
Obviously the USOC is important; it’s our only chance of winning a trophy this season, and qualifying for CCL. But regardless, we can’t turn the team around until we start winning again in league play.
A Capital Wasteland - art & hockey from Washington, D.C.
by Jake Shapiro on Aug 7, 2025 3:26 PM EDT up reply actions
If King starts in the Defensive Midfielder Role
It isn’t a Defensive Midfielder any more
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
by Dave Clark on Aug 7, 2025 11:22 AM EDT reply actions
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