More Weekend Thoughts

A disappointing performance for DC United yesterday was made much worse yesterday by the outstanding performance of Christian Gomez and the goal scored by Facundo Erpen. Neither player would be in MLS if not for DC United’s superior scouting network, yet both players burned DC United on Sunday.
Scouting is something that DC United has shown it superiority to the rest of MLS through the years but player development is rapidly (no pun intended) becoming the province of Colorado. With consistently the best reserve side and a real youth academy setup, the Rapids under owner Stan Kroenke are using the European/Latin American model to cement the clubs fortunes longterm.
FC Dallas has issues once again with Kenny Cooper playing too wide and the team itself trying to make one pass too many. San Jose may be an expansion team but that is not going to work against a team built from the back like the Quakes.
Dave Van Den Bergh showed his quality and usefulness again on Thursday Night. Leave it to a top manager like Juan Carlos Osorio to find a role for him that Bruce Arena couldn’t.
I’ve seen some reports about the behavior of the Toronto FC fans on Thursday night. Some praise them as the best fans in MLS. Others as potential hooligans. While I’m cautious about both views, I’ve interviewed previously and maintain an ongoing conversation with Dougie Brimson who is quoted in the second story. Brimson is the author of many books about the subject most notably March of the Hooligans. In the very near future we will have him on the American Soccer Show to discuss these issues.