Should, god forbid, the Chivas game get off to a bad start will Tommy try to pull some players for rest?

Steve,
Are you going to Bobby Boswell's bash tonight?

Any movement on Gomez' contract? Having Fred here and looking good might have a catalytic effect.

Could you give us an update on all the developmental players that we haven't seen so far, and what you think United has planned for them this season?

How's Arguez look?

When Fred was in the wing-back position did they have another winnger (Simms?) in front of him making it a 4-4-2? Or is he running end to end like Josh?

Goff, make bring your scarf to the Bozilla party tonight.

How the heck isn't that the theme tonight? Get the Wallflowers and Matthew Broderick and we're good to go.

The MAGIC RHOMBUS will lead us to CONCACAF glory!!

Great, with Fred able to play outside, Ben and Carroll can play centrally and Simms can rest.

Isn't it interesting that there's all this hoopla about designated players and major signings by other teams, yet the player(s) that may make the most difference were a couple of under the radar signings by United?

Sounds like we're going to have quite the attacking team. Emilio, Gomez and Fred buzzing all over the place, Olsen and Carrol holding the middle, Moreno threading balls between the backs... seems like the only thing we're truly lacking is a back who can serve a ball.

It'll be interesting to see how MLS defenses manage DC's attack.

Over the last few years (Chicago Fire comes to mind) the trick was crowd the midfield and play rough. But with a few skill players who are good in tight spaces (Gomez & Fred), plus more defensive minded players (Olsen & Carroll), it'll be harder for teams to simply throw fouls at the "problem." I won't be surprised if DC's the most fouled team in the league by season's end.

Of course, with Gomez (and possibly Fred and/or Emilio) over the ball in set pieces, that tactic may be avoided for obvious reasons.

I swear to God, I got chills reading that update. Is it just me, or is everyone else getting more excited than ususal about this season? Two cultured Brazilians, The Argentine Mastermind, The Boz, Caveman!! This could be one for the history books....

fred-mania has taking root...

UVA's Adam Cristman seems to be doing pretty well up in NE. Given that he is local (born DC, college UVA) and picked after the now-cut Ricky Schramm do you know if DC gave him much of a look prior to the draft?

Going to be the greatest season ever.

Are you ready to RUMBLE with the RHOMBUS!?!

Tim wrIt'll be interesting to see how MLS defenses manage DC's attack.

Over the last few years (Chicago Fire comes to mind) the trick was crowd the midfield and play rough. But with a few skill players who are good in tight spaces (Gomez & Fred), plus more defensive minded players (Olsen & Carroll), it'll be harder for teams to simply throw fouls at the "problem." I won't be surprised if DC's the most fouled team in the league by season's end."

I think the "Mug Mo & Go" tactic of Chicago etc was so efective because we only had Mo & Go as the normal contributers. Esky was so often hurt and we haven't had a winger to widen the field since Earnie. Freddy didn't add anything new unfortunately and Olsen and Carroll and Gros aren't creative enough. Now with Emilio and Fred being as effective as Mo & Go while adding new dimensions to the attack the Mug strategy won't work as well since there are too many creative types now with DCU. As delantero says above, THE MAGIC RHOMBUS!

Whoo-hoo!

-Skip

I'm a transplanted Chicagoan and Fire fan now living in the DC area. As I'm sure you can all appreciate, team loyalty is team loyalty, but having seen DCU play many times over the years I have always appreciated the way they play and the passion of the fans. No, seeing the team they are building this year, I am very excited to be in the area and hope to have an opportunity to be a part of what I think will be a very exciting year for an MLS side that is doing things the right way. If its possible to support two teams in the same conference (as long as they aren't playing each other, of course), then DCU has earned my cheers. (Plus it doubles my opportunities to root against New England.)

Steve,

Do I understand correctly that DC is going to spend almost 2 weeks in Colorado preparing for the opener? Is this continued altitude training? Seems like a long time.

Did Adu demand that you call him a more mature sounding name, or is it by your choice that you began calling him "Fred?"

He's only 17, I don't understand why he thinks he's too old to be called "Freddy" anymore.

You can't be serious.

DC will train at Guadalajara. The opener at Colorado is only a few days after the Chivas match.

Posted by: Joe Doc | March 20, 2007 01:11 PM "... seems like the only thing we're truly lacking is a back who can serve a ball."

You mean like Erpen? Watch the Chivas video again. It's his ball out of the back to Ben that sets up the free kick.

United will be in Guadalajara for about 10 days leading up to the second leg on April 3. They will then fly from Guadalajara to Denver for the MLS season opener on April 7.

If two weeks in Colorado helps DC spoil the opening of the new stadium and the debut of the ugly strip, then let 'em stay.

Wonder what the nickname for that stadium will be... :-)

Actually, young Master Adu insists on being called "Frederick." However, that would increase printing costs, especially since his name would be printed so often in the Post this season. So the Post compromised with "Fred."

RE: Christman

Word at the draft apparently was that he was going to look for work in Europe and would be difficult to sign.

(I think that's what I remembered reading at the time)

DCU thinks Arguez will be an excellent pro down the road. That's why they grabbed him when they could.

Joe: Fred and Freddy are two different people. Here are a few key differences:

Fred: hails from Brazil.
Freddy: hails from Ghana, the Brazil of Africa (or so they say).

Fred: doesn't break the bank.
Freddy: breaks the bank and the Federal Reserve.

Fred: plays on the wing.
Freddy: doesn't want to play on the wing.

Fred: unproven in MLS.
Freddy: ditto

12th man,

Training in Guadalajara is basically altitude training for both Chivas and the Rapids. Guadalajara sits at over 5000 feet of elevation, which is about the same as Denver (5280 ft. - mile high). Plus there's the lower air quality that you'll get in Mexico.

Just for fun, Albuquerque is the metropolitan area in the US with the highest elevation.

ouch..... truth can be painful... but... I do wish Freddy the best and I think most folks would as well. The real question I have is what will he be able to do with RSL? If he does well don't we get more from the trade?

For Goff and others who may know:

Any sense of how much Arquez will play? Also, he'll be gone for the U-20 WC right?

I-270:
good comparison, but let me add another

Fred: Unproven in MLS but MVP of Aussie league

Freddy: has only played what will be referred to in the future as a 'stint' for United.

GUTuna: what about flagstaff, AZ? it's higher in elevation than Albuquerque. Albuquerque's elevation is 5314 feet. Flagstaff is 7000.

great updates!

Freddy: Able to date teen starlets.

Fred: Probably shouldn't date teen starlets.

Not sure of the rules for posting others work in your Blog, Mr Goff. But anyway, ESPN had an interesting look at DCU's new signings and the approach they are taking. It is worth a look and maybe a little discussion. They do seem to be a page ahead of some others in the league.
Read at this link

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=2799352&name=chang_jen

Just a note related to where our old Freddy plays. Against Chivas USA, Ellinger played Ballouchy in the center and Freddy on the wing. RSL scored three times to take down CD Chivas USA 3 - 1, and Ballouchy had the assist on each of the three goals.

Don't know whether this is merely an Ellinger experiment or whether it foretells...but if it is the latter, Freddy isn't gonna be happy.

Cristman is awful... he won't fail to dissapoint.

If he's looking for work in Europe, it's probably as a waiter.

tx as always for the updates. Love Soehn's response to the injury question.

i think simms is better than carroll, watch and see who ends up sitting...

With BobbyBoswell.com opening today, do any other DCU players have blogs or such that we can keep up to date with how they are doing? I love how MLS players are so approachable and are not big headed, money hungry stars like NBA, NFL, and MLB guys.

From the link that DC in Tenn. sent:

"after they were apparently rebuffed in their bid to sway former Argentine international Martin Palermo from Boca."

wow, that would have been pretty cool.

Freddy: Appeared on David Letterman

Fred: name of David Letterman's hair stylist

Two weeks at high altitude still isn't enough... but it helps.

That EPSN link posted by "DC in Tennessee" is definitely worth clicking though to. Check out the comments too, some dude said that in the Chivas game none of the DCU players looked anywhere near as good as the Mexican players. Funny how it ended up 1-1 then, eh?

I love all our DCU players, but Simms is not going to play over Carroll. There is a reason Carroll is with the national team and Simms is not. Also, in the Chivas game, I don't think Simms played quickly enough or had enough confidence on the ball. Hopefully he'll improve those aspects of his game.