No one from D.C. United is saying that Charlie Davies will make his first MLS start this weekend. But if he doesn’t, there might be some ‘splaining to do.
“I hope so,” was all Davies would say after training on Friday morning at RFK.
Davies’ methodical integration into the D.C. lineup hasn’t been purely by plan – United head coach Ben Olsen has said Davies, whose three appearances have all been off the bench, was slated to start at Colorado before picking up a groin injury – but Davies has had no problem with taking it slow.
“If you look at it, it’s actually genius, what Coach Olsen’s done for me,” Davies said. “I haven’t played in a year and a half, and just to throw me in, regardless of if I’m ready or not to start, it’s an easy way to pick up injuries. It’s not smart, and he’s done a great job with giving me a little bit, a little bit, getting used to the league and getting minutes under my belt. “
Olsen respectfully disagreed.
“We certainly haven’t won all the games, and that’s what this still what you’re judged on,” he said. “This is a process. We’re figuring out who we are. With each game that goes by, you hope that this process gets further along. I think it has. We’ve seen some guys that we think can help us, and we’ve learned through some of these injuries where we need help down the line. We’ve learned some of our deficiencies already, and a good team learns from some of the mistakes and the lessons that we’ve had already.”
As I wrote in today’s print edition, four games isn’t a lot for entirely reconstructed offense to figure itself out. Keep in mind also that after four games, D.C. (1-2-1) still has 30 more remaining, which would’ve been the full regular season schedule if had this been last season.
“When you step back, we’re right we thought we’d be right about now,” Olsen said. “I was excited about the group then, and I’m excited about the group now.”
So if Davies is starting, the first question is, who will partner with him? The logical choice is Josh Wolff, who has been steadier and more productive than either Joseph Ngwenya or Blake Brettschneider and who is much more versatile. The second question is, are Wolff and Davies, whose reputations have both been built on speed, compatible enough to partner and develop some chemistry?
“I think Wolffy’s adapted,” Olsen said. “You could maybe compare them when Wolffy was four years ago. Wolff is a pretty well-rounded soccer player. In fact, out of our forwards, he’s probably the cleanest and the most savvy as far as being a well-rounded forward so he helps us in that area.”
D.C.’s bigger problem has been turning its advantage in the midfield into a threatening attack, and Olsen said he tried to simplify things for his team this week.
“Offensively, it has to be a little bit better,” he said. “I think at times, we over complicate it, and we need to just make the next pass and allow us to get into our rhythm and allow our team to get forward into their half, not just four or five guys, trying to keep the ball and dictate the play.”
After the Galaxy game last weekend and after training today, Davies focused on the need to recognize the opportunities within the game and make the necessary adjustments without having to wait for halftime to be told.
“I think we’ve done a great job,” Davies said. “Even in training today, we did a little bit of shadow training, and it was that much better. We’re going in for the first time with an actual plan, the way we want to go about things. We’ve studied [Toronto (1-1-3)] the past couple of games so we know how they’re going to play. We played them in preseason. We know how they’re going to come out against us, and we’re ready for it.”
Notes
*United rookie defender Perry Kitchen is traveling with the first team to Toronto today despite being bothered by a stomach illness that beset him upon his return from U.S. under-20 duty in Guatemala. “He’s fine. He’s a young kid,” Olsen said.
Besides the four players who are out – Steve Cronin (wrist), Junior Carreiro (ankle), Devon McTavish (concussion) and Jed Zayner (hamstring) – D.C. has no other players listed on the injury report. Santino Quaranta is suspended after his two yellow cards last weekend.
