Houston Deeper Than United? Think Again.

I feel goaded.

Neal Thurman over at the American Soccer Daily (a reputable read; I enjoy it) have just published an article explaining how Houston's phenomenal depth is one of the keys to its recent success.

Thurman compares today's Houston to the DCU of old, that oft-heralded squad which has established DC United as the gold standard of MLS prestige. This irks me because, while Thurman doesn't attack DCU's performance (quite the contrary; he called us 'hot'), he did imply that today's Houston squad is a better reflection of that awesome depth than today's DC United squad. I call bullsh*t. Yeah, during my last game recap, I ragged on the players a bit, but now I feel the need to defend them.

Time to run my mouth:

Goalkeepers

Perkins is indispensible. Priceless. He's proven several times this season that last year's form was not an anomaly, and that his title of MLS Goalkeeper of the Season is well deserved. Furthermore, his attitude recovering from several damning performances early on show Perkins to be a truly formidable goalkeeper in his extracurricular qualities as well as technical ability. Simply put, he's an outstanding member of the team, an inspiration as well as an asset. And young still. Onstad may have been this at one point, but not now.

Thurman claims that Houston's second-string keeper, Zach Wells, is "at least a solid MLS veteran back-up... unlikely to be the heir apparent, but is certainly competent." Jay Nolly is at the very least a competent MLS goalkeeper, and (God forbid) if Troy is injured any time soon, I don't see why Nolly isn't as good a backup as Wells, even in spite of the fact that Nolly is an MLS rookie. Especially with Vanney at center back instead of Erpen, I have a least a small bit of confidence that Nolly can keep a net clean or a game close.

Defenders

McTavish is establishing himself as a stellar young talent, Boswell is a veteran in the making, Vanney is melding surprisingly quickly, and Gros is more than adequate at left back (if by adequate we mean Houston's Waibel). Once Namoff gets healthy, DCU will boast one of the most solid defenses in the league. Utility players such as Gros, Carroll, and Simms can help ensure that the DC defense is well stocked. DCU fans will point out that defensive depth is still one of the most fundamental elements the squad is lacking, but if Boswell & Co. represent a lack in depth, then the league has higher standards than I thought.

UPDATE: Marc Burch is a revelation. I now think DCU has one of the top defenses in the league and have completely made up for our holes on D. We'll miss Gros, but I may have overestimated his impact on defense.

Midfielders

DCU's midfield is roughly comparable to that of Houston, especially considering the roles DeRo and Gomez play. Thurman is impressed by Houston's midfield options and I am impressed with DC's. Thurman admits that DeRo has been off form as yet but will make progress, and I would say the same for Gomez. Thurman admires Houston's wingers in the same fashion as I do DC's. What's the difference? Houston's midfield has cohesiveness and chemistry, whereas DC is still finding theirs -- but considering that Houston's well-oiled midfield was still struggling against United's misfiring mids, I'm content to just wait and see what DC can do when they click.

Try this: when Namoff gets healthy, Gros will proabably move up to his traditional left wing, pushing Olsen back into the holding midfielder role over Brian Carroll with Fred over on the right and Gomez up top. A player as solid as Brian Carroll being ousted from the starting XI -- what do the Dynamo have to say about that? And does Houston have an answer for Clyde Simms, upstart Justin Moose, or US U-20 Brian Arguez? I'm not sure they do.

Forwards

Addlery is a target man like DCU hasn't seen in years (sorry, Jamil) and he hustled and muscled really well for his first goal of the season versus Colorado. I would say that Addlery has proven he is worthy of a place on a solid MLS squad. But let's keep in mind -- at DC, he's third string (!). With all of his physicality and poaching qualities, we have to remember that Addlery's daunting attacking presence is still only third string. Meanwhile Emilio has found himself one of the top three bids for '07 Golden Boot.

Furthermore, Moreno (you know, the all-time leading scorer for the MLS, just coming back from excellent performances in the Copa America?) will be back next game, and diamond-in-the-rough Guy-Roland Kpene could recover in as soon as two games. That's phenomenal depth for a set of attackers, especially when you consider that Fred is still lauded as the premier candidate for Jaime's role as withdrawn forward.

Thurman mentions that one reason why Houston's squad can be considered so deep and so talented is because none of their core players (read: Rico Clark, Dwayne DeRosario) are currently being scouted for moves overseas. The same can be said for DC United (although I hope that this changes in Arguez' case, at least).

I'm only inclined to consider Houston as a deeper squad than United if you consider the two teams' form from the beginning of the season. Houston has been more consistent -- probably the most consistent team in the league today. But instead of drawing a comparison to yon Eagles of olde, I'd rather draw a comparison to Nowak's DC last season. Time will tell which comparison is more accurate.

DCU has shown improvement from the start of the season, and where DCU's improvement is concerned, I'm positive that in the near future DCU can mold itself into the league's premier club again, ahead of Angel's Red Bulls, Schelotto's Crew, or Beckham's Galaxy. Despite what people (myself included) will claim to the contrary, Tommy Soehn has assembled a tidy little army for himself. Once they find each other on the field, I'm sure we'll find them in the headlines.

And we haven't even used our DP slot yet.

Winning Streak Fizzles: Houston 1-0 DC United

Recaps from: An American's View, Goff, PPP, DCenters, Edgell Supporters, and Fullback.

My recap is a bit more critical than DCU deserves, perhaps, but these are pertinent points so I'll make em.

In brief: United needed to create more chances in the box, find each other better on the ground, and talk to each other better on defense. These things are nothing unusual, but it's disappointing that we're still dealing with these kinds of problems well into the middle of the season.

Who had a good game? Carroll did well to slow DeRosario and showed himself to be a really intelligent defensive mid. He deserves DCU's MoM tonight, if anyone does. (BDR disagrees.)

I'm really concerned about how McTavish will fit in on the wing now that Boswell is back. McTavish is a good right back, but Boswell doesn't seem to realize that when McTavish is heading forward (like all good wing backs should) he should be pinching over for cover. Vanney does this for Gros. I'm praying that either McTavish learns the right back spot pretty well or Boswell starts showing the potential to become a great center back, because otherwise I'm inclined to put McTavish back in the middle. Yikes.

Am I the only one that thinks Gomez has lost chemistry with the rest of the offense? There are times now when he passes but no one's there to receive, or he makes a pass that kills the momentum, or chips for a run when no one's running. It makes me think that he's a bit lost. Maybe when Jaime gets back Gomez'll look like the reigning MLS MVP, but right now it looks like our young guns are going in a different direction than he is. I'm looking at Gomez' current form and the fact that we're still waiting to use our DP slot and I'm really starting to wonder where Gomez will be by the start of next season.

You know what? Let me go a little bit deeper: I really think Olsen, Gros, and Gomez are still working off the Jaime/Esky system of attack even though Fred, Emilio, and Addlery are working with a completely different dynamic. Where the hell did our chemistry go? We never built momentum and I never got the feeling that we'd capitalize if we did. We seemed almost senseless out there and we're hardly connecting up front at all, as far as I'm concerned. I guess I'll chalk it up to the heat: we had similar problems in Kansas City, but with better results.

For all our problems on offense, it seemed like Houston had the same issues. The game was won on a lucky redirection from Ching, off a shot that Carroll could have closed down or Perkins could have saved. The best they got was lucky. Gomez punished the post and Emilio should have punished the net early on rather than making Onstad look like a hero. Houston really didn't have anything we didn't have; tit for tat. Don't think our performance deserved more than a point though. None seems about right.

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Other notes:

- I wonder how much DCU will improve once Jaime gets back.

- I don't miss Erpen any more, and I wouldn't trade him back for Vanney.

- Let me give credit where credit is due: Olsen and Boswell deserve a lot of applause for joining back up with DC so soon after the Copa. First-class dedication. We really appreciate it, boys.

- A few days ago I read that Osorio (the one who just got hired for Chicago) was briefly considered for DCU's head coaching position before Soehn got the job. If this season finishes the way it started, that little tidbit is going to haunt me for a very long time.