2022 MLS Season Previews: DC United
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2020 Season Preview: DC United
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2020 is shaping up to be a make or break season for Ben Olsen. Or, at least, it’s shaping up to look like it should be a make-or-break season. There’s nothing to actually suggest that there’s real pressure from the DC United front office, but considering how recent seasons have gone for DC United, and how strong their lineup looks going into the season, there probably should be.
I wrote back in December about how 2019 was supposed to be The Year for DC United. Despite making the playoffs for the 5th time in 6 seasons, last season didn’t live up to expectations. After a thrilling end to 2018, everyone assumed the 2019 version of Rooney, Acosta, and Co. would take the next step: contend near the top of the East and make a real push towards MLS Cup. That didn’t quite happen.
Read MoreAtlanta United 2019 Season Preview
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Join me for a moment in a Lovecraftian horror in which time is an illusion and the events of life as we know it, or the meaningful events at least, (soccer matches) progress not sequentially by the steady consumption of the present as measured in minutes and seconds but by the experience of passes being attempted from open play. In this nightmare, as the fates dictate the average MLS team experiences 900 such passes attempted during a match (the total of both teams over 90+ minutes), and using passes experienced as the unit of account, the average 2018 MLS team spent 46% of its matches with a level score line (27% leading and 27% trailing).
Read MorePostseason Preview: Atlanta United FC
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We joke about it. Atlanta has become the Marcia Brady of Major League Soccer and while that’s annoying to most all of us, it’s also not undeserved. This talented team has not only assembled a rare grouping of talent but they’ve been able to build upon their first season and grow to become a giant in this league.
While the narratives are often what they are this is a good opportunity to put into context what Atlanta has truly accomplished and what they are at their bones. A really really good team that has few flaws and has managed to minimize their opponents ability to expose those flaws.
Read MoreLittle Things from Week 31: Dallas’ Quiet Dominance & Villalba’s Tact
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FC Dallas, slowing things down
I don’t know how one would go about measuring a soccer team’s pace of play. It’s possible, even easy, in basketball, where you can measure possessions per 48 minutes and generally find out how fast teams play. Soccer does not have the defined possessions of basketball; every possession is not created equal, so there’s no easy way to generalize them.
Read MoreSetting the Table Week 29: Gressel, Guttierez, and getting ready for the playoffs
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Welcome to Setting the Table. Each week we take some time to focus on the best chance creators in MLS from the last weekend. If you want to see the best chances that were wasted check out Lowered Expectations. Here we focus on chances that ended with the ball in the back of the net.
Read MoreLittle Things from Week 17: The Union Midfield, Gressel's Quiet Contribution, and Jeff Attinella's Decision Making
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Philly’s Midfield
The Philadelphia Union are making a concerted effort to keep the ball this season. They are fifth in MLS in passes per game and have built their attack around getting the ball into the half-spaces and putting the wingers (especially Ilsinho) in positions to run at defenders.
Their 4-0 home win against Vancouver was a manifestation of their newfound approach. They were on the front foot for most of the game against the bunkering Whitecaps, so even with midfield distributor Haris Medunjanin suspended, they demonstrated how good they can be with the ball.
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