Watching DC United get hammered at RFK tonight is thoroughly depressing. (As I write this it is 4-0 Houston going into injury time. I'm praying for the final whistle.)
The team will soon be 1-8-1 for the season and it doesn't seem likely to get any better.
Indeed, there seems to be a singular lack of effort being put forward by the organization. I'm not saying the players are not trying, they very obviously are. You could see it tonight as United came out in the second half and dominated play for 20+ minutes, racking up shots and corner kicks but not goals. As always happens when teams are going bad, Houston got their first chance of the half and buried it.
No, the problem comes from an organization that seems a little disinterested in the quality of the on-field product. It seems most of their effort is going into getting a new stadium for the team, which is all well and good as far as that goes. However, the team has been left to wither on the vine. It has also become abundantly clear that Ben Olsen has no idea what to do in this situation.
And, really, why should he? During his playing days DC took great pains to keep the team competitive. This team is only going to compete for the worst record in MLS history. The rest of the league, even Toronto for Christ's sake, has been moving forward while United has become a stagnant pit. (Sort of like RFK.)
The fans of DC United deserve better. Now, there is no way this group of players can be made into a winner, but that doesn't mean the organization cannot signal to fans that they are committed to becoming a winning side. To that end some sort of big change needs to happen and happen soon. I'm not saying what that change should be, but you can guess the type of thing I'm talking about.
Honestly, any sort of change would be more exciting than watching this team play.
Indeed, there seems to be a singular lack of effort being put forward by the organization. I'm not saying the players are not trying, they very obviously are. You could see it tonight as United came out in the second half and dominated play for 20+ minutes, racking up shots and corner kicks but not goals. As always happens when teams are going bad, Houston got their first chance of the half and buried it.
No, the problem comes from an organization that seems a little disinterested in the quality of the on-field product. It seems most of their effort is going into getting a new stadium for the team, which is all well and good as far as that goes. However, the team has been left to wither on the vine. It has also become abundantly clear that Ben Olsen has no idea what to do in this situation.
And, really, why should he? During his playing days DC took great pains to keep the team competitive. This team is only going to compete for the worst record in MLS history. The rest of the league, even Toronto for Christ's sake, has been moving forward while United has become a stagnant pit. (Sort of like RFK.)
The fans of DC United deserve better. Now, there is no way this group of players can be made into a winner, but that doesn't mean the organization cannot signal to fans that they are committed to becoming a winning side. To that end some sort of big change needs to happen and happen soon. I'm not saying what that change should be, but you can guess the type of thing I'm talking about.
Honestly, any sort of change would be more exciting than watching this team play.
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