Worried About The Lineup

I've got a team that ended the season as a big disappointment and entered a busy off-season filled with comings and goings. There were major shoes to be filled and as the off season has progressed it has become an open question as to if they can possibly be filled before opening day.

And I'm not talking about the Cardinals.

D.C. United has been a profound disappointment during soccer's hot stove season. They have done exactly nothing to improve the squad. So far we have swapped out our starting keeper for an unproven Zach Wells, kicked Bobby Boswell to the curb, waited on the sidelines while Christian Gomez tries to decide if Persian Gulf soccer (and paychecks) are right for him, watched Moreno get another year older (and not better), saw Josh Gros go on a one year hiatus because of concussion difficulties, and, to top it off, United got the bum's rush from every South American player they looked at.

Today in the 2008 MLS Draft, D.C. got three player and we have to pray that two of them stick around for a change.

From DCenters:

Andrew Jacobson
With the 24th pick in the 2008 Superdraft, DC United picked Andrew Jacobson from California. Buzz had him ranked 8th out of the midfielders. Most mock drafts had him going much earlier. This is a guy that fell into United's lap. It looks like he will slot in behind Simms, which basically ensures that Arguez really is going to Berlin. Here is his bio from California. I think it is interesting that United rated Jacobson ahead of Lowry who was still on the board, hopefully we won't regretting that this time next year.

Ryan Cordeiro
With the 33rd pick in the 2008 Superdraft, DC United picked Ryan Cordeiro from UConn. He is ranked 10th in the forward group by Buzz, but will probably play a winger role for United. UConn was ranked number 1 in Soccer America's NCAA rankings for most of the year, here is Ryan's UConn bio.

Tony Schmitz
With the 52nd pick in the 2008 Superdraft, DC United picked Tony Schmitz from Creighton. Here is is Creighton bio. Buzz has him ranked all the way down as the 50th best midfielder. I don't know what United was thinking with this, I can only hope they did some extra scouting and found a player flying under the radar, not unlike Dyachenko. That of course is the best case scenario, it will probably play out more like Brad North, but drafts are all about hope so I will have some now.

Welcome aboard boys! Be careful, it could be a bumpy ride.