DC United fans are hoping for a return to playoffs in 2010. (Getty Images)

I wasn’t entirely sure I’d get to this offseason look at DC United today but extra time this afternoon came out of no where. So far these last couple weeks we’ve looked at a handfull of teams including Philadelphia, Chicago, Chivas, Colorado and Columbus.

Today is all about the Black-and-Red who have seen a pretty big change this winter. From Curt Onalfo taking over for Tom Soehn to seeing Ben Olsen retiring to not offering Christian Gomez or Luciano Emilio a new contract, this is a whole new United.

Let’s see exactly what they’ve done and what they need to work on before the season starts. Continue Reading…

2009 was a rough season for Ben Olsen and DC United. (Getty Images)

We knew going into 2009 that the calendar for DC United could be a fairly packed one. Possibly Champions League matches, US Open Cup title to defend, summer friendlies, and of course the regular season slate. It turned out to be just the case as DC United played a schedule so packed this year it definitely raised some eyebrows about how little depth MLS clubs really do have.

Manager Tom Soehn rarely had time to get his club fully fit for a game as it seemed he would go from Open Cup game to regular season game to a Champions League game all within a week time and time again. He did have veterans like Ben Olsen, Jamie Moreno and Christian Gomez for the better part of the season but even they didn’t have enough in the tank to keep the Black-and-Red above water.

There were some bright spots though for United fans to hang their hats on. The club didn’t finish with a losing record, though having that many draws on the year does tell you a thing or two about how rough their defense was this year. We did see some promising things out of rookies Chris Pontius and Rodney Wallace. To think when Pontius was picked last January United fans called the team crazy for picking him, looks like he made them eat their words as he is a finalist for rookie of the year.

The club looked like a playoff team for the first few months of the season but yet again just like in previous season a dip in play during August and September did this club in for good. Blame the loaded schedule, blame injuries, blame poor defense, or blame whatever the club dipped badly in those final months of the year.

Now Soehn has moved on and United fans are left wondering where to turn next.

What Went Right In 2009:
When things were clicking the offense was easily one of the best. And when their defense did them no favors early in games this club was certainly the best in the league at coming from behind to at least get a draw. Early on in the year DC came back in games with loads of late goals from Pontius, Luciano Emilio and Jamie Moreno. Building a solid mix in the midfield should help out for years to come.

What Went Wrong In 2009:
Defensively things weren’t the best with this bunch. I recall earlier in the year I said this bunch was inconsistent and got blasted for the comment. Turns out it was pretty darn true as they gave up 44 goals this season, one more than their offense scored. Depth was also an issue in the back as Soehn had to basically redo his lineup for a lot of the games. I think the real kicker was losing the US Open Cup to Seattle though at home. I think that game kind of signaled to a lot of folks, including myself, that this bunch just didn’t have the makings of a playoff team after all.

What’s Next:
First up is finding a coach (paging Richie Williams). After that it will come down to cutting some fat on the roster that just doesn’t produce. Important items to get this winter have to include a solid starting keeper (I think a trade for Kevin Hartman may be a wise move) and getting their defense back in order. I’ve always been a firm believer that defense wins in any league. This club really isn’t far away from being a big time contender again in the league but they just need to get better on defense.

Darrius Barnes is currently leading the way for the rookies. (Getty Images)

Its finally Friday, though I will admit this week has flown by for me due to it being a four-day work week and things being fairly steady on both the regular job front and this place. I had planned to do more than what had been posted today but I blame the weird rainy weather here in Dallas for me not getting around to some of it. Rainy days seem to do that to me.

Anyways I wanted to get back into some award talk for the first part of tonight’s post. Tonight I wanted to kick up my Rookie of the Year discussion and give you a sense of where I rate the current crop of rookies, which by the way have been nothing short of great this season. I know not every single rookie drafted has played this year but there are at least 10 or possibly 12 good rookies from this year’s draft. That usually doesn’t happen very often.

This is my current rankings on the rookies, whether or not this stays the same when I vote in a couple weeks for this award remains to be seen.

1. Darrius Barnes (New England): Yes a third round pick has a great shot right now at Rookie of the Year. Not like last year because the draft class was so weak but because he has truly shown to be the steal of the draft. Barnes has played in every minute of every game this season for the Revs and has truly become a guy that I think will be defending in this league for years to come.

2. Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy): A lot of people have him as the top rookie right now and I am starting to actually buy into his hype after last weeks’ game against LA. He’ll probably snatch up more votes than Barnes because of his pick number and because of where he plays but that should be the reasons why you vote for this kid. He’s good…and I mean damn good. That Sean Franklin and Gonzalez duo in the back for LA is going to be a tough one to get by for years to come.

3. Stefan Frei (Toronto FC): I nearly had him over Gonzalez but for some reason Gonzalez just came out slightly ahead of this kid. I think if TFC gets into the playoffs you will see this guy get plenty of first place votes for this award. If they fail to reach it he may not even get any third place votes.

4. Steve Zakuani (Seattle Sounders FC): Zakuani lived up to the top pick hype this year I believe unlike last year’s top pick (Chance Myers). He’s gonna need a monster last couple of weeks to the season to catch up to the guys ahead of him but he’ll surely get his share of votes for this.

5. Chris Pontius/Rodney Wallace (DC United): These two really split votes for me. One day I see Wallace as the better rookie then the next it is Pontius. Both have proven to be very valuable picks but as things get worse for DC here late in the year the less votes these two will see.

Others in consideration: Kevin Alston (New England), Sam Cronin (Toronto FC), Michael Lahoud (Chivas USA), Matt Besler (KC), and George John (Dallas).

Stefan Frei has proven to be one of the better picks in the 2009 draft. (Getty Images)

We are nearly halfway through the 2009 campaign and it is a good time to review how the rookies are doing thus far. As stated before I think this year’s rookie class has been one of the better ones that we have seen in recent years. Plenty of rookies are getting a chance on the field and some are making very good impacts with their clubs.

For me right now the rookie of the year race is really starting to heat up. A few guys have really shown they are worthy of the honor already and continue to do so each week. While I won’t go into any particular order with this list I will say the few that are mentioned are definitely above and beyond the rest of the class here.

Steve Zakuani (Seattle Sounders FC): The number one pick continues to impress me. I knew a while back that this kid had some special talent and I believe we are seeing just that here this season. Currently he has two goals and three assists on the year. His number may not jump out to some but his skill on the field definitely do to me. Right now he has to be considered a front-runner for ROY honros. Good to see a number one pick live up to the expectations of the pick.

Stefan Frei (Toronto FC): I think Frei has made a lot of clubs second guess themselves this year to why they didn’t pick him until Toronto did late in the first round. He’s already proven himself to be a quality starter in the league. Hell he’s even gotten Toronto’s old keeper out of a job because of his play. While he has let in a few more goals than other keepers out there a lot of that could be due to the defense that plays in front of him, though I think that could be changing soon. Continue Reading…

The summer is heating up and so is the soccer on the field. It seems that now we are in the hot months of the year the league has scheduled more week night games for our enjoyment. Honestly they picked a good one for us this weekend in the Emerald City. The expansion Sounders FC host DC United in an ESPN2 clash.

Tonight we should get to see a full crowd at Qwest Field. Some folks on the web are even saying tickets are going for double face value. Amazing to think that a mid-week MLS game would be doing that but those Seattle folks are crazy for soccer.

1. Can DC make the most out of this west coast trip?

This is the start of a busy week for the Black-and-Red. Two west coast games, one in a place that they haven’t done well in recent years (Colorado) and the other a bit of an unknown in tonight’s contest in Seattle. Since Chicago is currently in the middle of a funk and that means any points DC gets this week the better.

For them to get the three points in this game they have to play an even controlled game through the midfield. Pushing forward at the right times to get Seattle’s backline a bit off their guard will be key. While Seattle has been better than expected this season for an expansion club their defense has been shaky in recent weeks. A good offense like DC will be able to get the job done thanks to rookies like Chris Pontius and Rodney Wallace. Throw in the fact that Luciano Emilio will be back on the pitch and it could be a good night for the boys in Black (or white if they wear those kits).

2. Can Seattle hold their own with one of the league’s best?

Seattle needs another three points at home here to stay close to Chivas and Houston in the standings here. Right now they are still very much in the thick of things but they have been slipping up until last week’s win over San Jose. Sigi Schmid needs to rely a lot more on Fredy Montero and company in this game if he wants three points. He’ll also need to find a way to keep his defense from letting in a late goal that DC is known to score. That’s won’t be easy but it can be done with the right amount of luck.

3. Player to keep an eye out for.

Tonight keep an eye out on DC’s Rodney Wallace. The rookie has been breaking forward a lot in recent games and that kind of play out of the back can be very tough to defend.

Quick Thoughs:

This game should be a good one. Seattle has a lot of quality in their attack and should be able to hold their own with a club like DC. They do need to get over the hump and beat a quality side right now to prove to a lot of people that they deserve to be up there in the discussion of who could reach MLS Cup this year. I think end in the end this seems to be a fairly even match with both clubs giving up a goal. Seattle should go up early only to give up one late.

WVH Prediction: Seattle 1, DC 1

Luciano Emilio and DC travel to New England to face Shalrie Joseph and the Revs. (Getty Images)

I won’t lie, last night’s game between Chicago and Chivas put a sour taste in my mouth for this weekend. The game itself was entertaining but the officiating was lacking in quality as we’ve all seen by now. Hopefully this weekend won’t be filled with yellow and red cards or lots of questionable PK calls.

Sorry for the rant but that’s just how I feel going into this weekend.

As for the weekend ahead here, we have a full slate of games with everyone in action except for Chivas (who played last night). I do hope we get seven quality games like last night’s contest though. Aside from the horrible officiating in the middle it was a good game. I’m gonna start switching things up here for the weekend previews. While I like doing longer previews for each game, time just doesn’t allow me to do so anymore for the weekend games. Instead I will stick with a quick preview and a player to look out for along with the score prediction. Continue Reading…

Rodney Wallace has proved to be one of the best picks in the 2009 Draft. (Getty Images)

A lot has been said about this year’s draft class. Going into the draft a lot of people thought it was a deep pool of players, more so than it had been in a few years. After eight or nine games for most clubs you could say those people figured right. Many rookies continue to get plenty of minutes and impress folks in the stands with their abilities.

I figured instead of doing the usual look at the potential rookie of the year today to do something a little different. Instead I will be looking at each club’s selections once again. I’ll do most of the first round and a few random picks here and there from that with a few other notes.

Most of all the clubs who had first round selections used them wisely as we can all see. A few others did not though. Then you have the clubs that hardly picked at all. Those are tough to grade.

As always feel free to post your comments below on the subject.

Seattle Sounders FC: This club made a big splash with Steve Zakuani at number one who has lived up in my eyes as a number one pick. Definitely more of a Maurice Edu-type pick rather than a Nikolas Besagno-type number one pick. Which is a good thing for the expansion Sounders. Zakuani has done enough to make the Sounder draft class one of the better ones this past year. Continue Reading…