Having plenty of depth on the D.C. United roster has its drawbacks. It leads to tinkering, which can disrupt a team's consistency and chemistry. And for United at this moment in time, it means that the two most productive reserve players haven't seen a single minute with the first time yet in 2011.
Well that's likely to change tomorrow.
According to the projections of Travis Clark, the MLSsoccer.com beat writer who covers United, Branko Boskovic and Blake Brettschneider are each likely to start tomorrow against the Colorado Rapids. And after scoring three goals off the bench in two matches, Charlie Davies could be joining them.
All three have certainly earned the opportunity. Boskovic and Brettschneider have been tearing up the reserve division, and Davies was always going to be a starter eventually. But these moves, if true, will land Andy Najar, Josh Wolff, and Joseph Ngwenya on the bench.
That's not necessarily a bad thing though. It means that Najar, the hero of last season's U.S. Open Cup run, will be available to start on Wednesday against the Philadelphia Union. And it means that Wolff (listed as probable) will get a bit more time to recover from the hamstring strain he suffered last week against the New England Revolution.
On the back line though, Olsen's decisions will be tough due to multiple absences, not depth. Rodrigo Brasesco, Marc Burch, and Chris Korb are all likely to reprise their roles as starters from last week, which the battle to start centrally in place of the suspended Dejan Jakovic will come down to Daniel Woolard vs. homegrown rookie Ethan White.