Spirit win, DC United lose, and more: Memorial Day Freedom Kicks
Happy Memorial Day, y’all. We honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifice to defend our country. It’s a holiday, so a very short Kicks from me:
Spirit extend away winning streak, beating Seattle 2-1 (DP)
Yay Spirit! They get their 5th straight road win against Seattle to stay in the hunt for tops in the league.
DC United hosted archrivals New York Red Bulls. Unfortunately, they took the loss, 2-0.
DC Power lost on the road to Tampa Bay. They have their final match of the season this coming weekend.
Sunderland promoted to Premier League after comeback win in playoff final (ESPN)
Sunderland are back in the Premier League after coming from behind to beat Sheffield United in the Championship Playoff Final. Also, congrats to Charlton Athletic, who are back in the Championship after beating Leyton Orient in the League One Playoff Final.
92 things I learned by visiting all 92 football league clubs in one season (The Paper)
Being a member of The 92 Club is an incredible feat. But to do it in one season? Absolutely phenomenal accomplishment.
One final note: With Talonesque taking over Wednesday Freedom Kicks, I’ll be moving to Mondays only, while Annie will likely be taking Fridays. If there is anyone who wants to take them on Tuesdays and Thursdays to give us a full week set, please let us know at blackandredunited@gmail.com!
It’s a holiday, but I’m not taking a holiday from criticizing this operation. Nearly 4 full games since they scored in MLS play. Three goals in their last six home games.
I’m not saying it’s easy, but where is the plan?
The Nationals are also famously a team that will not spend to bring in proven talent. They bring in a bunch of older reclamation projects, hoping to fill out a credible major league roster. However, they traded their top stars for some really good prospects, and they’ve made use of really terrible seasons to draft some really great prospects. Abrams was the first piece in the puzzle. Wood and Crews arrived last year. Injuries forced them to bring up Hassell and Lile early. In AAA, Brady House hit a colossal 458 ft shot this weekend and looks like a future star. They have some very good pitching prospects. Hopefully when they have as much talent in place as they can find in-house, they will fill in the pieces with some really good free agents. They have the potential to be a dominant team soon.
MLS no longer works that way. Free agent draft produces very little. The college draft even less. To succeed in MLS, teams need a strong academy pipeline, along with good international scouting and recruitment. Teams can add some good veteran MLS role players, if the club is an attractive destination for them. Generally, that means a contending team. D.C. United has none of that and it’s hard to see any progress in any direction.
Recruitment here resembles what the Nationals do in bringing in some veterans that no other team wants. Maybe there’s an an occasional soccer equivalent of Kyle Schwarber, who makes good on the opportunity and really produces. Christian Benteke for one, but he’s the only one now. The rest of the people United bring in wouldn’t play elsewhere in MLS, and their play here hasn’t made them more marketable. The Nationals can build through their minor leagues. What’s the path for DC United?
This might sound snarky but I’m dead serious- the only real path forward is for ownership to change and care about a path to success.
We know who our current owners are at this point, but I’m far from confident they care at all about who they eventually sell to except for dolla dolla bills, y’all. They continue to trot the team to Saudi Arabia when they can, so it’s clear they’re hoping to attract someone with a ton of liquid cash. In the past, I would say owning a sports team in the nation’s capital might be a strategic foothold for an oil power, but in the current situation, why would they buy an expensive MLS club when direct influence is so friggin clear and easy to acquire?
I would personally be deeply troubled and probably out if my club was taken over by an oil rich country using the wealth that should be going to improving the lives of citizens. It’s probable, however, that that’s not even on the table at the moment. Think the owners waited too long hoping the asset would appreciate, and are hoping the now cold potato gets hot again.
I would usually volunteer to take a day for Freedom Kicks, but as a science-based federal contractor, things are a bit unstable for me at the moment. If things stabilize a bit in the future, I’ll be sure to reach out about volunteering for a day if its still needed.
going to my first game wednesday. any recommendations?
Don’t expect healthful eating options at the stadium. Latino foods with lots of cheese might be better than the hot dogs?
bring roll aides
Is anybody proud of the record-breaking number of hot dogs that were sold at Audi Field on Saturday?
nope, but the last time I was at Buzzard point for USA vs Scotland last summer it was hard to find anything but hot dogs and chicken tenders up by sections 103 and 104.
No
With a hard fought 20-17 victory over New England on Saturday, Old Glory DC clinched a playoff berth. Chicago also clinched and with New England clinching the previous week there remains 1 spot open in the East though it looks to be Miami’s spot as NOLA would need results to go their way.
With 2 weeks to go in the regular season the MLR East stands thus:
The Western Conference on the other hand is a toss up (with 7 pts between first and last) and stands thus:
Standing points follow the standard rugby union point system:
Old Glory hosts RFCLA on Saturday at the Maryland Soccerplex at 6:00 PM. They lost to RFCLA in a shootout of a match 54-44 back on March 29th. Then they close the season out with a trip to San Diego to visit the Legion on June 7th at 10:00 PM at Torero Stadium.
https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/45351454/st-louis-city-fires-mellberg-critchley-named-interim-manager