RSL 4, DCU 0

Perhaps this road game - in that stadium, on that field, in that city, in this schedule - is the logical toss-off in a season with 40+ fixtures and therefore no urgent cause for concern, but without sounding hysterical, anyone thinking this performance acceptable is hysterically anti-hysterical.

Why would you give your a crucial defender in a three-man backline the night off, move your starting leftback in a four-man backline to midfield, insert a slow player with virtually no defensive experience into the three-man backline, and give your back-up goalie his first start of the season on a high-school quality artificial turf field? How can Jason Kreis out-manage Tom Soehn?

Depth is an issue (where is I-Am-Kirok?): Gallardo has shown little to merit his pay, but even so the drop off in quality from him to Dyachenko is shocking. Emilio, regardless of why he's ineffective, has no back-up, and who backs up Fred when he's yellowed or hurt? Devon McTavish is irreplaceable? Who plays if Simms is hurt? And who is that guy in white with the bad toupee in the picture above?

My bigger fear? The team has no personality, no defining spirit: can the loss of Ben Olsen be over-estimated?

Here's Goff's player ratings:

Carvallo 4; Namoff 4, Peralta 3, Mediate 3; McTavish 5, Simms 4, Dyachenko 4, Burch 4; Fred 5, Emilio 4, Moreno 4. Subs: Quaranta 4, Niell 5, Stratford no rating.

• Carvallo gets a pass from me. Namoff is great, Peralta is struggling, Mediate sucks.
• McTavish is dependably ordinary, Burch is dependably ordinary, Simms is terrific, Dyachenko isn't.
• Fred busts his ass, which a guy with a pacifier in his pants better, I suppose.
• Emilio - I honestly don't know if he's pouting about his contract or pouting about the service, but he's pouting, and dogging it.
  
• Moreno is slowing in the field as he accelerates towards the end, but at least he put his ninety-year-old knees on that abominable field for the team, Mr Gallardo.

I got a feeling Columbus just might come in and sucker-punch United Thursday, and I'm not sure that's a bad thing at all.

   *

UPDATE:

DCenters debriefing.

And here we go. Last week a friend and I were talking about Soehn's urping after the Pachuca game, and I said, sounds to me like a guy who thinks and/or knows his job is in trouble.

I don't know what Soehn's relationship w/Kasper and Payne is, but I suggest six points out of upcoming home games v Columbus and RSL is, um.... mandatory, yes?

As for the link to Fighting Talker and his speculation? Introducing the Brucio is dagger.

OH!, and D says this, in praise of Dema:

C'mon, you know when we let him go that there would come a day.  It just happened to be Saturday.

Dema? Watch Dema get what he deserves!

Jill looks good, bravely acting as if her heart wasn't aching after our traumatic break-up.