Hyperbole to be sure, but still...ouch!
You'd be forgiven for being miserable if you were a USA and DC United fan poking about in assorted RSS streams and illegal internet feeds yesterday. To recap...
Snatched Away!
In simultaneous games, United had both their Champions' League advancement hopes dashed by Marathon and had to watch in horror as Eduardo Lillingston decided to live out his long-frustrated dream of representing the full Mexican national team by powering home a Blanco corner (against his own team!) to take United's playoff destiny out of its own hands...
Prep the Depth Chart!
The timetable for Gooch's recovery is out. Six months! That gives him what, a month of reserve games and a couple of internationals to be ready for the big dance next summer? Hmmm. Hey Jay DeMerit. Get well soon, buddy. And Chad Marshall? Your audition begins now. Clarence Goodson, you want a shot as well? Has anybody seen Cory Gibbs? I could swear we dropped him in the mountains somewhere.
Other MLS options? Houston conversion project Geoff Cameron might get the call from Bob again for a look-see going forward. And what about Omar Gonzalez? Young, yes, but also fills the "monster back" size requirements. I wonder if he'll get a look in the Annual Scandanavian Scrub Challenge Camp in January.
I suppose you could also throw in Timmy picking five out of his net to add to the misery, but that's just piling on.
(Now watch me "Ives" this thing)
What do you think? Frustrated that DC crashed out of the Champions' League group stage for the second year running and looks likely to miss out on the playoffs yet again? Worried that none of the options in central defense for the US seem to be terribly appetizing? Wondering if T-Ho thinks he's still tending nets in the Meadowlands?
Ugh.
Please don't "Ives" anything ever again. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThe nasty thing with Gooch, at least in my opinion, is that defender is the hardest position (other than keeper, I suppose) for a player to come out of nowhere and take over -- an in-form young attacker can jump in pretty easily (like Beasley and Donovan did eight years ago), but as much as I like Omar and Geoff, it's hard to see a young centerback stepping in less than a year before the Cup. I wouldn't rule Onyewu out, yet, though...
I know he is aging and did not have the best year, but Conrad is another one I would take a serious look at. An extra veteran with World Cup experience wouldn't hurt. Gonzalez needs to be capped because he has other options but I'm not sure he is WC ready yet (neither is Cameron). What happened to Califf that he is flown off everone's radar screen?
ReplyDeleteHard for a defender to come out of nowhere and take over? That's pretty much exactly what Jay Demerit did at the Confederation's Cup. Marshall and Goodson seem to be the most likely replacements. That or we'll see something much less original and have Demerit and Bocanegra start in the middle, with the Honduran Hero on the left.
ReplyDeleteI think he means young, inexperienced defenders, Shatz. DeMerit hasn't had the international chances, but he's been playing at a pretty high level in England for a while now...
ReplyDeleteConrad, Anonymous? That ship has sailed. He'd no doubt bring a lot to the locker room, but I can't see him contributing much on the field if recent evidence is to be believed.
Cameron is useful because he can slot in pretty much all over the field. That said, I'm not arguing that either he or Gonzalez should be on the WC roster. Rather, they're both interesting prospects at a position where we're short, and as such should both get extended looks in January with an eye to further looks in later friendlies if they impress...