DCU - a dangerous, wounded animal? Or just a bad team?

[ensco]

They are 2-6

They have been dismantled by weaker teams (such as RSL, Colorado and Columbus)

Their last game was a horror show - DCU carried a lead into 70th minute at Chivas last Saturday, only to blow it by allowing 3 goals late

They benched Emilio against Chivas, brought him on as a sub, he did nothing. Gallardo has shown flashes (he scored sensational goals against Chivas and RSL, but has done little else). Fred was underperforming before getting hurt. Wells has basically sucked - the commentary on him reads like the stuff we wrote about Serge when we were trying to cheer ourselves up last year..

There is a whiff of panic in Goff's reporting on the team

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/socce...hivas_usa.html

DCU must start winning now or their season is lost. They will think they can win, as they have owned TFC in the 4 games so far between the two teams.

I suspect that what we do in these next two games will make or break our season.

We must win Wednesday.

[Flipityflu]

a dangerously bad team

lol

[Jeff s]

a dangerously bad team

lol

LOL

We gatta take advantage of this, would be a blow to let a struggling dc steal points.

[werewolf]

I hope we don't underestimate them, but we are a vastly different team then 6 weeks ago.

[Rawkus_420]

I hope we don't underestimate them, but we are a vastly different team then 6 weeks ago.

Thats the thing we had robert and ten men including sutton. This time we will have 11 men as long as harmse doesnt play, which Im sure he wont.

This time add guevara, ricketts to the mix and a full team on the pitch, If we wint hese two games we'll be right in the hunt for league title the rest of the way. If we lose then it will be a long hard fight just to grab a playoff spot, these are very important games.

I wish we had DP striker now! I think we got em though. Based on how well we are playing and how bad they are playing. Then four days later on saturday . We have a deep squad , so we could switch it up a little bit, hopefully their best XI are tired, they are lacking depth too +with injuries....Things are looking good, Im praying for a breakout in TFC goals!

[jloome]

Thats the thing we had robert and ten men including sutton. This time we will have 11 men as long as harmse doesnt play, which Im sure he wont.

This time add guevara, ricketts to the mix and a full team on the pitch, If we wint hese two games we'll be right in the hunt for league title the rest of the way. If we lose then it will be a long hard fight just to grab a playoff spot, these are very important games.

I wish we had DP striker now! I think we got em though. Based on how well we are playing and how bad they are playing. Then four days later on saturday . We have a deep squad , so we could switch it up a little bit, hopefully their best XI are tired, they are lacking depth too +with injuries....Things are looking good, Im praying for a breakout in TFC goals!

We had some bad luck in the Columbus game as well. 0-6 is a pretty bad strike rate for any team; but we've only given up 1 goal in four games, so if we squeak one of those, it could be enough, assuming Robinson and Edu can mark out Gallardo and Emilio continues to be a non-factor.

I don't think DC's backline is too solid right now, and Wells is under a lot of pressure to perform; he might even sit, based on the way Soehn slagged him after the Chivas collapse.

[dantdot]

Anything less than a win against struggling DCU at home would be a disaster.

[ag futbol]

Litte bit of A ... little bit of B.

They'll get better because:
-Fred hasn't been healthy all year
- Gallardo is starting to get more into form

They still have problems because:
-Emilio looks like 1/3 of the player he was last year
-from my estimation Zach Wells isn't a great keeper
-hard to say if it's more team or individual defending, but nobody is on the same page with the backline.

I agree that if we want to keep pace we should expect to win this one.

[footyfan]

Litte bit of A ... little bit of B.

They'll get better because:
-Fred hasn't been healthy all year
- Gallardo is starting to get more into form

They still have problems because:
-Emilio looks like 1/3 of the player he was last year
-from my estimation Zach Wells isn't a great keeper
-hard to say if it's more team or individual defending, but nobody is on the same page with the backline.

I agree that if we want to keep pace we should expect to win this one.

I agree.

It depends on the mood of the team when they turn up.

If they turn up to win they can punch above their weight (see DC United vs Pachuca at RFK, and well, our last game vs you reds.)

But more common has been a team which can't seem to focus, put a game away when they have the lead and play a full 90 mins.

They also seemed afraid to get stuck in until recently.

Expect a hard game if they come to play.

If not, then its 3 easy points for you guys.

Things going for TFC:

DC United is slow and has no wing play.

The starting goalkeeper is prone to lapses in judgement and error

One starting forward is old and slow the other is badly out of form and in some kind of funk, the subsitutes, one is a midget, another is a hard worker but seldom effective (see Lombardo) another is speedy but seldom effective AND inexperienced.

Things going against TFC:


The owners of United are livid.

Soehn knows his job is on the line, he mentioned so much already and the guys got a stern talking to, if not full-on blowdryer in the locker room:

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/socce...hivas_usa.html

"the D.C. United locker room was closed for about a half-hour. (The normal time is around 15 minutes.) What was going on in there?
Soul-searching, perhaps.
Managing partner Will Chang exited with a grim look on his face. Team president Kevin Payne declined comment. Coach Tom Soehn, who usually steps out of the locker room promptly to give his postgame address, was nowhere to be seen. Players started trickling out of the locker room and headed toward the bus.
Finally, Soehn appeared.
"We came out second half and we weren't good enough with the ball. So that was disappointing. We gave away the ball too much and, in the end, we gave them a lot of confidence to now put pressure on us. The first half, we had a game plan and we stuck to it. We were hard to play against, we got our goal, and second half they came out with a bit more intensity and I don't think we handled it well enough."
"It's very emotionally draining. We put a lot of work into making sure we were doing the things we talked about all week -- being harder to play against. We threw caution to the wind after they scored and started taking chances and taking risks, and they punished us."
"We are going to go back and hopefully we'll get a couple guys back but everybody still has got to dig deeper. Games aren't won over 60 minutes, it's 90 minutes, and I thought we had about 60 minutes in us, and that's not good enough in this league, in any league."

[TFCREDNWHITE]

I agree.

It depends on the mood of the team when they turn up.

If they turn up to win they can punch above their weight (see DC United vs Pachuca at RFK, and well, our last game vs you reds.)

But more common has been a team which can't seem to focus, put a game away when they have the lead and play a full 90 mins.

They also seemed afraid to get stuck in until recently.

Expect a hard game if they come to play.

If not, then its 3 easy points for you guys.

Things going for TFC:

DC United is slow and has no wing play.

The starting goalkeeper is prone to lapses in judgement and error

One starting forward is old and slow the other is badly out of form and in some kind of funk, the subsitutes, one is a midget, another is a hard worker but seldom effective (see Lombardo) another is speedy but seldom effective AND inexperienced.

Things going against TFC:


The owners of United are livid.

Soehn knows his job is on the line, he mentioned so much already and the guys got a stern talking to, if not full-on blowdryer in the locker room:

I hope we clean the floor with you douche-mops!!!

Fuck DC!

[BBBulldog]

Litte bit of A ... little bit of B.

They'll get better because:
-Fred hasn't been healthy all year
- Gallardo is starting to get more into form

They still have problems because:
-Emilio looks like 1/3 of the player he was last year
-from my estimation Zach Wells isn't a great keeper
-hard to say if it's more team or individual defending, but nobody is on the same page with the backline.

I agree that if we want to keep pace we should expect to win this one.

I think our biggest problem is that Olsen has been out whole year, he's heart of the team.

[RPB_RED_NATION_RPB]

I think our biggest problem is that Olsen has been out whole year, he's heart of the team.

what ever the problem is bro...i hope it dos'nt get fixed until after the next 2 games!

[werewolf]

I think we could be satisfied with 4 points, 6 might be greedy and too much to ask for, but no losses is a solid thing to aim for.

[Roogsy]

Dallas and DC are on the verge of panicking...if TFC let DC come in here and steal 3 points...we will have written our own destiny this year. Not getting 3 points against Columbus was disappointing but it won't hurt as much as not getting it against DC. If we can't beat a wounded team, then maybe TFC is not as good as we hope. I think they are. I think they are due. I think Wednesday needs to be a TFC win in retribution for the whipping they gave Toronto in week 2 and we need to steal points in DC as well. THIS IS A HUGE WEEK!

[bhoybobby]

It's shaping up to be a cracker of a match. Could this be RR's coming out part??

[Roogsy]

I would LOVE.....LOVE for RR to get a goal.

I like what he brings...

[jloome]

I would LOVE.....LOVE for RR to get a goal.

I like what he brings...

So would I Roogsy, but I wish people would stop wishing for the unlikely. He's an out-and-out winger, not a goal scorer. Never has been.

In fact, he has 99 career games now, according to Wiki, with a grand total of two goals. Just be glad with him pumping the ball into the box and feeding it into Dichio, as that's his role.

As far as DC, if they sit back like Columbus and RSL, we'll win. THey don't have the defense for it.

[Cantstoptherock]

DC United = Divers Wanted

Enough time for the banner?

[tfc88]

I'm parading around the stadium on Wednesday threatening suits and tourists who aren't screaming til their lungs are sore. For fuck sake they just sit back in aww at all the noise in the south end, but they don't realize if they joined in the atmosphere at BMO would be unbelievable (first goal/win anyone?)

PPL- stop bringing casual friends to the games, only hardcore fans who'll actually sing!

If we don't beat DC on Wednesday it will be disastrous for our season. They may be wounded but they have some of the most talented players in the league on their side.. guys who will relish the chance to make big plays in a stadium where people actually care what's going on.

We need to smother DC with loud, orchestrated chanting, and the bastards will stumble out the gate. Our boys will do the rest.

[Hooligan69]

I'm actually quite concerned about this match with DC no matter how bad their start has been to this season. I hope our boys don't underestimate them due to their poor start because that won't do us any good. DC is overdue for a breakout and we need to keep them down in the basement with a win at home and away. As far as I'm concerned, our performance against Columbus was subpar and disappointing. A lack of finishing won't help us defeat United, not by any stretch of the imagination.

[VPjr]

I'm actually quite concerned about this match with DC no matter how bad their start has been to this season. I hope our boys don't underestimate them due to their poor start because that won't do us any good. DC is overdue for a breakout and we need to keep them down in the basement with a win at home and away.

I don't see how a group of professionals who have had their asses handed to them consistently by DC United will come in overconfident. It's non-sensical. that should not be anyone's worry. Remember, JC is a hard ass. He'll be reminding them over and over how embarrassing the 4-1 loss was back a few weeks ago in DC. He'll keep telling them until they want to tape his mouth shut.

The only issue is goal scoring. can we get some, especially from the run of play. That's not really happened much since the infamous Galaxy shocker. Guevara got a bit of a gift and everything else came from set pieces.

they need to get shots on Wells. his confidence is shot, or so it seems.

I wish I was going to be at the game. Instead, I'm coaching 4 year olds...

[Nuvinho]

I may sound like a bit of a downer, but DC always scares me. With all that talent, they aren't a bad team, just a team that has not gelled together yet. I hope the start gelling after the next 2 games.

[Fort York Redcoat]

These are 2 games we should win. The boys should know this team is desperate and expect a physical game (no problem if they keep up present form) and some chances to execute ( this we haven't seen as much ). But we should be dissapointed if we come away with less than 2 points from these 2 games.

[Oldtimer]

We need to win against DC at home. A tie at RFK would be acceptable, but a win at BMO is a must.

[zamperina]

DCU are in big trouble, with that said I see us winning at home and losing on the road because there home game is a must win or there season is over.

[RPB_RED_NATION_RPB]

and who said a team full of south americans was the way to go? They have to many EGOS on that team......Stacked with individual tallent no doubt knowone can argue that....but as a team.....just SHITE!

When i compare and look at both DCU and TFC...i love the way our team has been put together...we have a very mixed but good brand of football here! We have differnt styles all over the pitch...and strangely everyone is starting to gel nicely...IN MO WE TRUST!

[Roogsy]

and who said a team full of south americans was the way to go? They have to many EGOS on that team......Stacked with individual tallent no doubt knowone can argue that....but as a team.....just SHITE!

When i compare and look at both DCU and TFC...i love the way our team has been put together...we have a very mixed but good brand of football here! We have differnt styles all over the pitch...and strangely everyone is starting to gel nicely...IN MO WE TRUST!

OMG...let it go Red Nation...that team of South Americans won the supporters shield last year and are the winningest team in MLS. They changed their whole team around this year and their losing streak is inexplicable but...are you going to bet against this team at any given time?

Besides...most of the hispanics on this board were asking for ONE Latino player...preferably at attacking mid. We got one...and looky where we are.

[rocker]

But let's put it another way.... We've had some teams come into BMO on this homestand that were in much better shape than DC United.. teams that aren't falling apart at the seams. And they had trouble here. Only RSL came on strong in a half (second half of that game). DC has been beat by worse teams than TFC. Now, they did beat TFC 4-1 at home, so perhaps they just have TFC's number and will be fine this week... But TFC has changed since then and had time off to work as a team with Carver on things. I think TFC is much more of a "team" than DC. Even when DC beat TFC, if you rewatch the game, I don't think DC was playing as a team. They had some individual highlights preying on a bad defense.

[Cantstoptherock]

Like a dangerous, wounded animal, they ought to be taken behind the shed and dealt with. I think this equivalent will happen come Wednesday.

[footyfan]

Like a dangerous, wounded animal, they ought to be taken behind the shed and dealt with. I think this equivalent will happen come Wednesday.

I know you Canadians have strange, erm sexual tastes but beastiality?