There's a post on the front page here about the future of D.C. United, but I was prompted by a tweet about the dismal history of Chicago Fire Designated Player signings to scour the D.C. United past and our similarly troubled DP history. Actually, D.C. United's history is probably best described as checkered in this respect.

D.C. United has taken great players and made them Designated Players (via 'promotion' from within), and almost invariably ruined these players and their abilities. They've also brought in DPs from abroad and mostly confined them to the bench. Branko Boskovic's best games and his most consistent playing time came after he signed an extension that stripped him of DP status.

And, of course, there was Marcelo Gallardo, the first and the most enigmatic of DCU's DPs, who scored one of the great goals in team history, but spent more time with his doctors than he did on the pitch. He couldn't get back to Argentina fast enough. Given what's happened to this team in terms of injuries, perhaps Gallardo knew what he was doing.

Actually, the above description isn't entirely fair. Perhaps the exception is Luciano Emilio. He got off to a miserable start in 2008, after a great 2007, but he came on fairly strong after signing a new DP deal in May of 2008. He looked like he was playing in concrete shoes, but he did manage to score a fair amount. Not at the pace he had in 2007, but still getting double digits in goals in both '08 and '09.

Fabian Espindola has also been really effective as a DP...when he's been in the lineup. Suspensions and injuries have really held down his impact this season. He still might be the guy to break this jinx. Or, maybe it will be Alvaro Saborio. Sabo is doing well since joining United, but it seems he's not listed as a DP. We'll see what happens in that regard when he sits down with Kasper to work out a deal for 2016 (and maybe beyond).

Following the example of the tweet about the Fire's DPs, I've tried to create a statistical table to represent what's happened with DCU's DPs. This was a little trickier than you might think. For example, Boskovic signed an extension that was announced on 6/28/12, removing his DP status. He played and had an assist two days later, on 6/30. I've made an assumption that he was still a DP for this game, with his new status taking effect on 7/1, when the new contract began.

It was even harder to work out Emilio's stats, because his DP status was announced on or about May 8, 2008. There was a game that day, which I have credited to his DP #s. However, it was hard to make an accurate accounting of earlier games in 2008, because I could find few good internet records or reports of those games. Randomly, I was able to find reports of 3 games that showed him substituting on or off, but for at least two games, I just assumed he went the full 90.

DC United has had a confusing history with DPs, as players’ status has changed in one direction or the other. The team also has signed players above max salary and then used allocation dollars to take them below DP levels to avoid paying them the overage out of team’s own finances.

I am not at all clear about Saborio's status, so I have not included him on the list. The MLS has what purports to be a current, official list, current as of this week, and only Espindola is listed as a D.C United Designated Player. Saborio is listed as a former DP for Real Salt Lake -- but that could be interpreted as just meaning he's a former RSL player. I assume this list would be fact-checked, but it's not impossible that it's wrong. Reporting in the press suggested he was a DP when he was traded. Has D.C. found a way to get him under the salary max (with RSL covering some of his salary, or maybe using TAM)?. If anyone knows whether Saborio is still a DP, please chime in.

Below, you'll see my best effort to figure out how DCU’s DPs have done in MLS (regular season only), including a comparison of their DP and non-DP numbers. Because the numbers are only for regular season matches, the table doesn't include Emilio's efforts in the playoffs, or in USOC or CONCACAF. Nor does it include a Boskovic assist as a non-DP in the playoffs, and doesn't include his memorable Brankostock USOC match. Also missing are Espindola's (non-DP) playoff stats and CONCACAF stats from last year, and EJ's CONCACAF stats from last season. If I've overlooked any other stats that aren't included from other players or competitions, they're not included either. So there.

Here's the deal (listed in order of games played as DPs):