Editorials

New Look for DC United in 2008?

Now like all fans, I love to put myself into Tommy Soehn’s shoes, and see if I can predict what he is going to do for next year. United has some clear flaws and needs that should be addressed, as well as a designated player likely on the way and possibly a key player on the way out. With all that in mind, let’s take some stabs at how this will play out.

Obviously, the big news/rumor is that United will fill its Designated Player slot with Argentine Superstar Juan Sebastion Veron, but aside from that, DC might well be on the verge of losing it’s playmaker if negotiations with Christian Gomez don’t perk up. Also, with allocation money and some salary cap room, United is likely to be looking for a big time defensive anchor and some speed in the attack.

But, first things first. Veron looks to be a done deal now that reports even have his wife shopping for houses in the area. Now, while Veron brings a lot of class and determination to United’s midfield, he also brings a bit different of a playing style than DC United is used to in its playmakers.

For one thing he’s way more of a two way player than Marco or Gomez, or Valderamma or virtually any other foreign playmaker ever was. If anything he’s more like a Claudio Reyna in central midfield than he is like an out an out playmaker. He certainly has the silky skills and deadly vision, but he plays much deeper in midfield than a true playmaker and is known for his tackling and transition passing more than for his attacking prowess. Yet at the same time he’s not the kind of athlete than will either track people down relentlessly or burst into the attack at will.

So, his best fit in MLS is likely to be playing alongside another two way midfielder in a flat four man midfield, but United doesn’t play that kind of system. United plays a true diamond midfield with Gomez forward and Simms back. So, it’s not so simple as to say that Veron will simply replace Gomez if he leaves, or replace Simms if Gomez stays. Any way you look at it, when Veron gets here he will change the way United’s midfield plays in 2008. Whether that’s a good thing or not depends on what else the team has in mind.

Which brings us to Christian Gomez. United is desperately negotiating with Gomez to try and keep him here, but it does not appear that they can keep him under the current circumstances. Gomez isn’t really good enough to pay DP money for and DC clearly wants to use that money on Veron anyway. However, he also is underpaid if he’s given the league max of 325K. If the rumors are true, that he’s being offered at least 3 times that amount to play overseas, and considering Gomez is nearing the end of his earning years, it’s safe to say he’s all but gone.

So, a United midfield with Veron, and without Gomez, likely needs a quite a bit more tweaking to make it work. Simms is not enough of a presence in the attack to play beside the conservative Veron, and our forwards have shown they need a lot of midfield support to be effective. Conversely, Veron isn’t enough of a tackler to play by himself behind Gomez or whoever United signs to be the playmaker, so Simms has to stay on the field in some capacity. Moreno could drop back to midfield to help out, but Emilio is way less effective on his lonesome. United could also adopt a box midfield, but that forces the wide defenders into the attack too much and might lead to some serious defensive breakdowns unless the central defense is noticeably upgraded. The best move might be to have Olsen play alongside Veron in the center as he has the skills and experience to pull it off, but that leaves a gaping hole on the wing.

On another note, Olsen and Fred might not be the best choice to play on the outsides next year in any system. Both were very successful on the year, but neither was remarkably effective at crunch time, which is where United needs to improve if they want to collect more trophies. Olsen and Fred would probably do well in a box midfield, but given the other problems that formation creates, it doesn’t seem likely another formation change will be the answer. Plus neither player has the speed that United so desperately needs to truly put the fear of god in opposing defenses.

Which brings up another point that DC United has to address for next year. Jaime Moreno is a huge question mark as the set up forward. He was viciously good at times this past year and is the best forward in league history without question, but he too was suspiciously absent at crunch time and isn’t getting any younger. Starting Fred in his slot and making Moreno a 30 minute player might be the answer, but how much can DC afford to play a part time forward? Or does United simply hope Moreno has one more top flight year in him?

Finally, in the defense, DC has to make at least one change. Namoff is a decent enough outside back and Burch is well on his way to becoming an even better one next year if he avoids the old two steps forward, one step backward that swallowed up Boswell this year. Also, McTavish had a breakout season and is on his way too, but he too made crucial mistakes in the playoffs that were unsettling and likely needs another year to refine his skills and decision making.

But DC has to decide on who will play next to McTavish in the central defense. They could pin their hopes on Boswell returning to form, or they could expect Vanney to play for less money and be the guru of this relatively young defensive line, but being strictly objective, that was the strategy this year and it failed in pressure situations.

Not only that, but when Veron shows up, DC will need someone in the center of defense with excellent ball skills in order to get the ball to him efficiently. For Veron to be at his most valuable with lots of touches on the ball, simply lumping the ball out of the back has to be abandoned. Smooth transitions to Veron showing for the ball will be far more effective.

So if you boil this all down, if DC expects to upgrade with Veron as the key player, they also need to tweak some other positions as well as fill some needs they’ve always needed. However, due to some good strategic planning, DC United has a decent amount of salary room, allocation money, etc. to use to continue improving the roster.

By my calculations, DC has about 1.4 million under salary as of today (1.7 if you count Gomez coming back). That’s current salaries plus some modest scheduled increases to young players and veterans who likely have such raises built into their contracts, and not counting developmental slots which either don’t count towards the cap, or are meaningless amounts anyway.

So, if the salary cap remains around 2.2 million, that leaves at least 500K to play with, plus some signing money from an allocation pool reported to be around 500K. Obviously, Veron would immediately take up 400K of that room, so that leaves around 100K to play with if Gomez stays, and 400K if he doesn’t, which is more likely. Signing Vanney at 100K sounds reasonable, but so does abandoning him outright if someone younger and just as good appears on the radar. Either of which leaves around 300K to play with.

With that in mind, if I were on the inside of DC United’s braintrust, I would not be resting on any Supporter’s Shield false sense of security. I’d certainly be looking to make some significant changes to address some likely problems like exploring the idea of Fred playing Moreno’s position or Olsen returning to playing a central role. And I’d already be beating the bushes to trade for for or sign two speedy wing players and a solid central defender. The money is there for sure, and considering the success of DC’s acquisitions last year, I like the idea of some more fresh blood this coming year too.

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