D.C. United Approval Ratings: Charlie Davies

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 and contract implications out of your decision.

When DC United utilized the MLS Allocation Order process to acquire Charlie Davies, we were all thrilled. Thrilled at the prospects of seeing the guy who was injured so tragically in our very region get the chance to resurrect his career in front of our eyes. Thrilled at the idea of having a National Team player on our side once again. Thrilled that the forward position had been solved.

Davies eclipsed all realistic expectations by scoring 11 goals for United in 2011.

And yet Davies has somehow still become the most polarizing individual who's played for this team in memory.

That happened because Davies disappeared for long stretches of the season. Defenses quickly caught on to Davies' abilities and inclinations, and he was rendered to a reserve role more often than not. From July 2 through the end of the season (incoincidentally the same period of time that Dwayne De Rosario was a member of the team), Davies scored in only one match. He happened to score three times in that match. Typical of his career in D.C.

Is that career in D.C. over? We'll know soon enough. Keeping Davies is expensive. Losing him though will leave a huge gap at the top of the formation, and one that United hasn't found much success at filling in the recent past.