I am not going to talk about the game, because frankly as a spectacle it wasn’t up to much and the problems that the Wizards have on the field are nothing new. Week in week out it seems to be the same story and I doubt you want to read about it anymore than I have the heart to talk about it.
One thing is certain. There can be no excuse for this defeat. There were no notable injuries that forced our selection or tactics. This was the preferred starting eleven. The Philadelphia Union remain as the final team separating the Wizards from the bottom of the standings, not just in the Eastern Conference but MLS as a whole. They are only one point behind the Wizards and have played one game fewer. We have nothing to crow about, even after defeating them at Community America Ballpark. We had a six-point lead on them after two games, and they are now just a solitary draw behind in terms of points.
It is as if we are chasing the bottom of the table. We started week one at the summit of the MLS standings, and a measly thirteen games later we stand just a draw above the MLS laughing stock that the Union are, and we seem destined to become.
It is certain that change is needed. But in terms of a way forward I am nonplussed. Part of me wants Peter Vermes to be run out of town and I think that is reflective of a vast number of Wizards fans however I also don’t think it will do any harm at all to let him ride out the rest of the season. It is not that I have any particular faith that Peter Vermes can turn this caravan of despair around however I am wary of a firing leading to yet another poor and rushed hiring of a first team coach.
What I would love to see was an organizational statement that actually admitted that this season is over, and some moves to get some reserve team players out there to get them some experience than can maybe help us next season. I’ll take Bunbury starting for Wolff, Graham Zusi on for Jack Jewsbury or Davy Arnaud, and Besler on for Conrad. I’d get Hirsig out of limbo and throw him out there, get Chhetri on the bench and clocking some minutes. We might as well see what they can do.
We might get massacred in a few games but would it really be any worse that what we have now? A loss is a loss, except the latter option might actually help the Wizards, and who knows? After a few weeks we might find out the kids can play. They will learn more than they doing playing PDL whipping boys, the Kansas City Brass.
The bottom line is it would be hard to be worse than Jimmy Conrad was last night, hard to be as ineffectual as Josh Wolff has been this season, hard to be as undisciplined and nonsensical as Davy Arnaud and his three red cards and endless bitching, and Jack Jewsbury? He has played well enough, but he isn’t exactly the future either.
Look at our roster and ask yourself who you expect to see still playing in three years as a starter for an MLS side. There are not many on that list. This also needs a change if the Wizards are to improve, new coach or not.
Spot on once again.
I’m a fan of Auvary, Smith, Kamara, Bunbury, and Zusi. However, I get the feeling that the only ones that might still be here in three years are Bunbury and Zusi. Someone will lure the other three away.
I really hate the blind faith placed in Conrad, Wolff, and Arnaud. They are the top earning players on the team, but definitely not the top producers. You hit it right on the head in describing their play. I still don’t get what the fear is of playing someone else in there positions as they are obviously getting results for the team. Again, they are pretty much the only unchanged variables from last year. We can’t do much worse than zero points from a game.
Just a little math:
Three red cards means three missed games. In a season of 30 games, that means Arnaud has already missed 10% of the season at the halfway point. How would your boss like it if you showed up to work only 90% of the time?
Comment by Moop — July 12, 2010 @ 12:07 am
What do you think management is afraid of?
Comment by OAB — July 12, 2010 @ 12:17 am
I get the feeling that management thinks that if they don’t play Wolff, Arnaud, and Conrad that:
A). The team will have no chance of winning at all.
B). Fans will criticize them for a stupid coaching move.
and/or
C). They’ll realize they are overpaying those three and don’t want to admit the mistake.
It seems like those three guys along with Jewsbury have been regarded as the core of the team for quite some time. It seems like the last few years, a lot of the promotional materials tend to have pictures of those three. Obviously there are counterexamples. I’m talking in general, they seem to have been the face of the team.
I start to wonder if management is afraid of offending these guys and worry they’ll want to leave the team. It seems like there is more forgiveness when they don’t produce or they mess up compared to other players.
Comment by Moop — July 12, 2010 @ 1:37 am
This article is spot on. Unfortunately, it is also retro-actively spot on. In my opinion they are doing the same thing with Arnaud, Conrad, Wolff and Jewsbury as they did Lopez. Look how long it took us to unload him!
Sadly we are desperately clinging onto the ‘franchise’ players. What compounds that, in my opinion, is that the four in question are the central positions of the club. We have no anchor to hold together the talent we have brought in.
Comment by D1zzyDr01d — July 13, 2010 @ 2:34 pm
Here is some more math: the top three paid players on the roster (Arnuad, Conrad, Wolff) make over $600k total. If we ax those three, we could afford to buy two players for around $300k each and have a little left over for another upcoming prospect or to redistribute to the club. I think we should pick up a couple big name defenders; I believe there is enough talent on reserve to fill the midfield and forward vacancies. IMO.
Comment by D1zzyDr01d — July 14, 2010 @ 12:19 pm
Anybody got a copy of “Soccernomics” that the Wizards can borrow?
Comment by Moop — July 14, 2010 @ 5:47 pm