Kylian Mbappé to leave PSG, MLS referee lockout begins, and more: Presidents’ Day Freedom Kicks
Happy Presidents’ Day everyone. Some of you may have the day off, but for others, it’s a Monday where the banks are closed and sports are on during the day while we work. So, let’s catch up on what was a busy weekend.
Mbappé tells PSG he is leaving as Madrid move nears (ESPN)
Kylian Mbappé will leave PSG at the end of the season. He has told his teammates, and the lame duck period begins. Now, where will he end up? Real Madrid are the frontrunners, but while Mbappé is courted by Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, and the Saudi league, nothing will ever be certain until he makes a decision.
66 replacement referees lined up for MLS season start (The Athletic)
The MLS referees have been locked out without a deal, so the league is prepared to start the season with replacement referees. We’ll see how the season starts this week with them.
The W Gold Cup field is set, as the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and El Salvador all won their prelim matches to make it to the group stage, which starts tomorrow.
2024 W Gold Cup: Group A Preview (SSFC)
As we prepare for the W Gold Cup, take a look at the USWNT and Group A to see which teams could make it out of the group and which ones need a lot of help.
Washington Spirit (finally) release Trinity Rodman bobbleheads (DP)
Finally, if you were a 2023 Washington Spirit season ticket member, you will receive your Trinity Rodman bobblehead dolls! And if you wanna give yours up, please message me. 🙂
11 must-see new jerseys for the 2024 MLS season (MLS)
The 2024 MLS jerseys have been released, so MLS looks at 11 jerseys they think are among the best.
D.C. United went down to Texas for their final preseason match against FC Dallas. Here’s the results:
Get the defeats out of the system, but hopefully the team, with some battling injuries, are ready to go this weekend.
MLS said to be “holding the US Open Cup hostage” (Hudson River Blue)
Could the 2024 U.S. Open Cup be canceled? That sounds like an option on the table, all because MLS doesn’t want to send its first teams.
Friends, peers share thoughts on Troy Lesesne’s qualities (DP)
Ryan breaks down some of the new DCU coach’s qualities through the people who know him best.
Report: Messi, Argentina set for Guatemala friendly at FedEx Field (Pro Soccer Wire)
Lionel Messi and Argentina will play Guatemala at FedExField in a Copa América warmup match on June 14th. So, if you miss him at Audi Field, you will have a chance to catch him in Landover this summer.
2024 Season Preview Guide (MLS)
The MLS season preview is out, and you can learn about what they think of D.C. United and the rest of the teams in the league.
Expert predictions: 2024 MLS Eastern Conference & Western Conference standings (MLS)
Bad news: the prediction is for D.C. United to finish 14th in the Eastern Conference. Yes, 14th out of 15 teams.
Inter Miami finalizing deal to transfer Gregore to Botafogo in roster compliance bid (The Athletic)
Inter Miami is starting to shed salary, sending Gregore to Botafogo for what will probably be a nice transfer fee.
‘I could be dying here’: Luton’s Lockyer on on-pitch collapse (ESPN)
Tom Lockyer provides his harrowing thoughts on his second collapse on the soccer field in a year. While his recollection of his most recent collapse is terrifying, it’s absolutely incredible and, for lack of a better word, heartwarming that he is here to tell his story. Best wishes for his continued recovery.
USL Super League round table: The biggest questions on our writers’ minds right now (The Athletic)
With the USL Super League being granted Division 1 status alongside the NWSL, there are still some questions to ask of the league as it prepares to debut later this summer.
Leah Williamson: Arsenal defender withdraws from England squad with injury (BBC)
Leah Williamson is out of the England squad due to an injury, leaving a hole for England to fill ahead of the international window.
Enjoy the day, everyone!
Seeing as I could hardly recognize 50% of Saturday’s lineup, I’m not shocked by the lack of results. Pirani was away for all of preseason and Antley joined last week. I trust what Lesesne is building, but I have a strong feeling this team will look pretty bad for the first 5-7 games.
I’m super optimistic about DC’s midfield. There’s a lot of quality between Peltola, Klich, and Pirani. If those three can stay healthy and develop any semblance of chemistry, I think they could carry this team through the season. I think DC’s season will live or die by that midfield 3; or maybe the hodge-podged back line- kind of a toss-up.
I’m also anticipating us struggling out of the gate. Supposedly that period of time is also when Lesesne is evaluating some of the players to keep/trade. It might be hard to get a real sense of what they’re capable of with the state of our defense.
We’ll see a lot of terrible play on that backline because of unfamiliarity and lack of experience. The midfield, while better, needs to create chances, especially if we’re going to be down a goal or two. I’ve seen us struggle to break down the simplest defensive game plans too much over the last 2 years. It doesn’t matter that they have good passing range or decent technical skills if the attack dies upon hitting the first line of defense.
That 14th out of 15 teams prediction doesn’t seem far-fetched to me. Nobody picked us finishing higher than 10th, which also seems right. It’s possible that if, during the summer time, United signs two more U-22 players or buys down Peltola and signs another DP, that could change. But the East is stacked, and United is beginning its climb basically from scratch. They cleaned out half the roster over the offseason, and need to clean out the other half while building up the half they replaced. Most of the folks they’ve brought in are really young, or were not quite starters for their previous teams.
The team has some talent, and it has some potential. But it’s not a good team just yet.
Yes, but Messi is coming in March (maybe)
I keep thinking that we’ll be using the crossing ability of Herrera and Jeahze, and Klich on dead balls, to target our bevy of 6’4 players (Benteke, Murrell, McKey, Bartlett, Akinmboni, Tubbs). Sadly, it doesn’t seem like that happened very much during the preseason.
My fear with that approach is that it’s really obvious and fairly easy for teams to shut down. Rooney seemed to try that approach game-in and game-out last season and that worked to varying degrees with no consistency last season. Teams need to be able to score in multiple ways and chucking 10-15 (probably not high quality) crosses a game into your tall striker doesn’t sound like a recipe for success to me.
Works for 1 FC Koeln….
Oh, wait…..
No. Only successful teams need to be able to score in multiple ways.
Agreed about the obviousness and the lack of dynamic options. On top of that, if your only crosses come from the fullbacks, that means the opposing defense is set up already. You want to have the ability to get quick service in, which is why I wanted a right winger who could cross so bad.
I’m not super-optimistic about our midfield — and, even, if I were…injuries happen. There’s no depth to step in when that happens. I just don’t think they’ll generate a lot of chances. Remains to be seen can they keep possession or defend. Our central defense seems pretty strong…for a USL side. For MLS? Not so much. Maybe some magic happens up top — but right now I’m wondering about how bad Toronto must be that they’re being picked to finish below DCU.
Bad link, at least for me…
https://thedistrictpress.com/?p=6241
Ryan breaks down some of the new DCU coach’s qualities through the people who know him best.
Ditto
Check back at 2pm. It hasn’t been published yet, but will be around then!
Right now, as depressed as I am about the quality of the side I’ve paid a lot of money to see this year, I’m wrestling with whether to come out and effectively cross a picket line (even if there won’t be a line of locked out workers there).
At least you can go see a Spirit game and their equally thrown together roster!
How about the Defenders/Lawn wreckers…?
You make a decent ethical point.
For me, this is a bit different than going to Starbucks or using a service during a strike. Most people aren’t in the weeds like us and won’t even know, it’s not going to make enough difference to boycott, the only real way the refs win is if the replacements (who have likely never seen this level of competition) are woefully inadequate. If they are, we should be there to point it out.
Oh yeah, the refs. I thought he was talking about the supporters announcement (still waiting on the statement from one pretty sizable group).
Not sure what you’re referring to, what’s going on with the supporters?
All of them (sans the Screaming Eagles, who are supposedly making their own statement) have said they’re boycotting/not providing organized support for the first four games in protest of the dealings with Saudi Arabia.
Three thoughts:
1) Good for them for standing up
2) So NOW you’re protesting something the owners have done and
3) Just wait till a Saudi group buys the club.
But will they sell their Messi tickets?