I didn’t make it to D.C. United’s 3-1 loss to FC Dallas last night, but man, you don’t have to be there in person to know that things just ain’t gettin’ better, are they? More bad finishing, worse luck and gawd-awful results. Yikes.
For now, let’s look to the future. The immediate one won’t include Jemal Johnson, but the American-born English winger sounds like he’s in United’s winter preseason plans for next year.
As for Conor Shanosky, here’s how the last six months have gone for him, as measured by what I’ve heard about him and seen of him in and around D.C. United.
This spring, he was simply on a tear for the United under-18 academy team, scoring repeatedly after deciding to stop playing high school soccer at Potomac Falls in order to focus exclusively on his club game.
Then, the 6-foot-4 defensive midfielder – and he is a physical presence – got the call for the U.S. under-20 camp in San Jose in June, and may have been the best player there.
Then, it was off to Northern Ireland with the u-20s for the Milk Cup, where he was again steady and solid.
And most of the summer he’s been in and out of training with D.C. United, which knew it had a star on the rise.
Faced with the possibility of losing him to another professional setting – and there has been interest – United has had to jump on him, and he’s all but set on completing his signing with MLS in the next couple days, thus foregoing what had looked to be a promising fall season with George Mason. The Patriots, who are among the favorites in the CAA, have to be stunned. As for United, they may have their central midfielder of the future, which is likely to put the futures of Kurt Morsink and even Stephen King in doubt after this season.
The way I’m hearing it, the rules of the new collective bargaining agreement come into play here, as they allow teams to sign as many as four homegrown players – the thing is, only two of those spots can be on the active roster. Because D.C. United already has goalkeeper Bill Hamid and midfielder Andy Najar in those slots, Shanosky is expected to be non-active.
I did hear talk of potential promotion of Najar or Hamid to a senior contract, which would have allowed Shanosky to slide into an active role, but this was more complicated – at the very least, requiring some maneuvering of players to free up a roster spot and more outlay of salary because Najar and Hamid are both currently on minimal contracts. Instead, Shanosky will get the chance simply to work and train with D.C. through the end of the current year, knowing he’ll be eligible to play in 2011.
What will be interesting to see is how MLS deals with homegrown players in the coming months, whether MLS rosters expand to allow more of them on the roster in an active capacity or whether Najar or Hamid get a promotion.
