What's Wrong With This Picture?

There has been a lot of discussion about what is wrong with this team. Part of the answer is obvious. We are paying some very high salaries to players whose form is poor. Between Fred, Luciano Emilio and Christian Gomez, we are paying just under a million dollars against the cap to players who either are on the bench, should be on the bench, or are part time players. In a league with a fixed salary cap, I don't see how that can be overcome.

But I think there's more ailing this team than a few players underachieving. This is a team that really looks lost to me. Despite having already played almost 40 matches, we sometimes look like a team that has been playing together for two weeks. The players often appear to be waiting for someone else to make a play. Runs away from the ball are rare, and the ones that do occur are not rewarded with effective passes. Speaking of which, how many truly incisive passes has this team made in the last five matches? Contrast that with how many passes of less than five yards that accomplished nothing in the last five matches. I'm sure a lot of that is due to fatigue. Forunately, the seriously brutal portion of our schedule ends with our next match. But it still points to a coaching issue.

Another factor that needs to be considered is our frequently changing lineups. I understand that minutes must be managed in a ridiculously crowded schedule*. This is especially true for the older players. But how are the players (especially the young guys) supposed to develop chemisty together when they don't get consisistent time at a given postition? Consider Chris Pontius and Rodney Wallace as examples. Is Pontius a winger? a striker? a central midfielder? Is Wallace a winger? a holding midfielder? an outside back? The balancing act between managing minutes and building team cohesion has not been handled effectively. This also points to a coaching issue. But, in fairness, it should be pointed out that if our much vaunted depth was as deep as advertised, we wouldn't be in this situation. That is a front office issue.

On the bright side, we still have a realistic chance to make the playoffs. With three very beatable teams (San Jose and Chivas USA at home plus Kansas City on the road), as well as a home match against Columbus, we can still get to 45 points. A playoff berth is 100% assured at 45 points. But our margin for error is gone.

*At the conclusion of the regular season, DCU will have played 45 matches. The Colorado Rapids will have played 33. Both teams operate with the same roster and salary restrictions in a league that prides itself on limiting competitve advantages to its member clubs. To paraphrase P.J. O'Rourke, "This is what those of us who follow such things closely refer to as bullshit."