The Fullback Files

MLS Dogpile - The Decline and Fall of the Eastern Conference

2008-10-06T21:58:00.000-04:00

[It wasn't that long ago that we were all maligning the sorry state of the Western Conference. But after yet another solid week, the Dogpile now has just one Western side sitting in the bottom five (pretty easy to guess who that is, huh?). Will the trends continue next week? And will someone please, please, please bring the Crew crashing back down to planet Earth? At the moment, they seem to

DC United Reaction - Abbreviated Talking Points for the Winning-Impaired

2008-10-05T12:08:00.003-04:00

1. We suck. 2. Results elsewhere mean we're still in it, but . . . 3. We suck with an almighty sucking. 4. Does another rash of injuries even matter when we take a 3-0 humping at home in front of nearly 30k and get outshot in "Our House" when our backs are to the playoff wall? 5. Yeah, but technically . . . we're still alive . . . we've got a shot at the postseason, right? Right? 6. Call

Poke the Bear Reprise

2008-10-03T13:33:00.000-04:00

I know, I know. This is getting to be something of a habit. Perhaps I'll decide to turn it into a regular column for next season, or maybe kick off the year with a little MLS Pokefest 2009. Whatever the case, I just wanted to have a little bit of a dig at something that ticked me off about "the" MLS ;-). So, the Commish, Ivan the Terrible, has a sorta blog-like thing over on MLSNet.com

DC United Reaction - Undone By A Bank Shot

2008-10-01T22:15:00.000-04:00

Well, that's over. We're not officially eliminated from the Champions' League, but given away trips to Saprissa and Cruz Azul, I'll call a spade a spade. That said . . . Christ, we should've run out the reserves against Dallas. They might've played a damn sight better than the starters given what I've just witnessed. Take it as given for the opinioneering that follows that I missed the first

MLS Table Talk - Give Us The Damn Shield!

2008-09-30T13:10:00.000-04:00

Well then. I suppose nothing says "give us the damn Supporters' Shield already" like stuffing the side right behind you and opening an eight point lead with just four games to go. All the Crew need to do now is avoid getting complacent before the playoffs kick off. Behind them, Chivas USA are making a sudden push to join the three team trailing pack consisting of the Revs, Fire, and Dynamo.

MLS Dogpile - The Hard Hat Express

2008-09-29T09:02:00.000-04:00

[What are the chances that the West would do it two weeks in a row? Were they pacing themselves? Whatever the case, the West went 3-1-1 against the East this week, resulting in the conferences drawing level with four sides each residing in the playoff spots. But it's still those Hard Hats that are looking unbeatable at the moment, even without their talisman . . .] Alpha Dog 1. Columbus Crew

DC United Reaction - Soehn's Sinking Ship

2008-09-28T19:46:00.001-04:00

Weather knocked me into the land of no broadband and no cable, so I've just had a chance to witness the highlights, or lowlights as the case may be. Ugh. I'm actually glad I didn't have to sit through that sort of torture. No, we weren't thumped statistically, despite pretty much conceding the first half, but . . . Between Emilio being smote by the Bum Hammy Hammer, Moreno sashaying off into

Random Noise on the Intarweb Radio

2008-09-26T15:15:00.001-04:00

Static from the untuned dial on a sullen Friday afternoon . . . The Bearded Bombardier is done for 2008. Duh. In the land of notional great seasons, a healthy Benny reigns supreme. And his beard is luxuriant. Pardon while I prepare to visit said land of imaginary success for United in FM/WSM 2008. Pre-order trigger finger set to stun.Whilst computer-bound, why not visit the Statistical

DC United Reaction - Not So Much About the Game

2008-09-25T11:57:00.000-04:00

Alright, rather than focus on the yawning vortex of suck that is our recent run of non-results, concluding with last night's 2-0 capitulation, let's see if there's anything at all to look forward to for the remainder of the season. (1) We're in a hole in the Champions' League, but it's not huge. Marathon are on top with 6, the other two have 3, and we're rock bottom with the big zero. Of

MLS Table Talk - Cling-Ons or Borg-ism?

2008-09-23T00:26:00.000-04:00

Well, well, well, looks like the points-per-game nonsense isn't quite finished after all. The postponement of the Houston-San Jose clash leaves us with two teams sitting a game back for the next few weeks. Regardless, we'll plunge right ahead with the table analysis, tossing in PPG hand-waving if and when it becomes appropriate. Après vous, madames et monsieurs! Columbus reigns supreme with

What's That Coming Over The Hill?

2008-09-22T20:47:00.002-04:00

Jeebus! What's with all these monsters in the Champions' League? First the purple ones. Now the green ones. Next thing you know, Cruz Azul will be rebranded as El Monstruo Azul.

MLS Dogpile - Eastern Boys Get Western Grilled

2008-09-22T08:57:00.000-04:00

[Holy crap! What is it about the Western Conference? They just meander along, getting slugged repeatedly by the teams from the East, and then, every once in a while, they wake up from their drunken stupor to sock the East a good one right in the kisser. 2-0-1 this week for the boys from the West, with a couple of real smackdowns to the tune of 5-2 and 4-1. And yet, despite these occasional

DC United Reaction - Flat-Out Embarrassing

2008-09-21T10:04:00.000-04:00

Losing, and emphatically at that, to a team that hasn't won a game in months, is flat-out embarrassing. Suffice it to say, others in the United blogosphere have trod this path before, but I was willing to hold out just a little longer. Now I'm convinced. We're toast. Barring some sort of major miracle--healing waters bringing everybody back to full health, a draught of some liquid that makes

DC United Reaction - Acne-Scarred Teenagers

2008-09-17T08:36:00.000-04:00

Pathetic. Yes, yes, there were injuries, some real, some worryingly drawn out, some perhaps emphasized in order to justify the team selection and thus cover the coaching staff's asses, but . . . this is a team built for international competitions, right? I suppose you could say that Tommy faced the conundrum of roster rotation and which competition to place the highest value on and made his

MLS Table Talk - Vive La Parité!

2008-09-16T11:22:00.000-04:00

Six games to play and still no definite answers--vive la parité! Let's do a quick rundown of the table thus far. New England pulls back two points on Columbus, closing the gap to three points at the top. Chicago and Houston both fumble their chances to make up ground and will be hoping for further stumbles from the Crew to let them back into the chase. And yet, those two have to keep an eye

MLS Dogpile - Guille's Theorem

2008-09-15T09:12:00.000-04:00

[A somewhat stagnant week in MLS this time around, as the Fire's slight dip and the Wiz' decent climb mark the only significant movement on offer in the table. Things are about to get a whole lot more difficult for DC United and the Houston Dynamo as their respective six-week jaunts through the Champions' League get underway. So did we experience any significant shifts in power this week? Let

DC United Reaction - Triple Damn

2008-09-14T10:19:00.000-04:00

Let's start by saying that my perspective of this game comes via the warped lens of Limarzi's radio call and the video highlights. With that in mind, my reaction is necessarily going to be more focused on the implications of last night's 2-2 draw against Coop and the Hoops. Now that we've got that bit of business out of the way . . . Damn. Damn. Triple damn. That was a huge opportunity

New Blood - Out of Africa

2008-09-12T10:33:00.000-04:00

The African pipeline has deposited two new arrivals in the bowels of RFK, just in time for a brutal six-week stretch that will severely test United's depth. So what did we add? Thabiso "Boyzzz" Khumalo 27, forward or right midfielder, reported to be speedy Remember those roster posts where I was calling for a speedy forward who would give us a sorely missing dimension in the attack and could

USA Reaction - When Bob-ball Pays Dividends

2008-09-11T11:41:00.000-04:00

So, are we satisfied with a 3-0 thumping of T&T and a stranglehold on our qualification group? Let's not muck about--to the talking points! * Tactically, the approach didn't seem to be too much different--not a particularly surprising turn of events. Kljestan is a more creative player than Edu, but he and Bradley were still playing deeper than the wide midfielders, and he failed to make the

Response-Pong

2008-09-10T15:24:00.000-04:00

Back and forth we go, and I'm loving it! No burger joint endorsements implied there. Anywho, Mr. Anonymous came through with yet more perspective on the current state of the US National Team in the comments, and I'm obliged to respond in kind, hoping that the match tonight will dispel my despair, but expecting that it will only make me all the more maudlin. Let's address some of those points

MLS Table Talk - Watch Out For the Godzilla-Quakes!

2008-09-10T14:15:00.000-04:00

Welcome back. So here we are with less than a quarter of the season to go, and still very little has been decided. Say what you will about the dreaded Parity Pox, but you've got to admit that it sure makes for a more entertaining spectacle than a league where you know that one of 4-5 teams is going to win the league, and do so in relative comfort compared to the rest of the field. Certainly,

USA Reaction Addendum - For Every Action . . .

2008-09-08T21:58:00.000-04:00

How's it going? In the wake of my whining about Bob and Co. after Saturday's narrow 1-0 win in Cuba, an excellent set of reactions to my reaction found its way into the FBF mailbag. You can read the full text of Mr. Anonymous' commentary here, but I'm going to break out my reaction to his reaction to my reaction (dizzy yet?) in this separate post, generously aided by a lack of quality sleep and

MLS Dogpile - Dust off the Shield

2008-09-08T13:45:00.000-04:00

[No doubts about who gets to claim the top spot on the Pile today, is there? Sigi's men planted their yellow flag and seem intent on denying all challengers to their lofty peak. And while the Red Bulls' solid run hit a red speed-bump, the Quakes and Dynamo continue to build momentum and punish the net. That makes their encounter this coming weekend the pick of the litter in MLS matches. On to

USA Reaction - Embargoes for Everybody!

2008-09-07T13:19:00.000-04:00

1-0? Really? For all I know, we dominated from start to finish (though the writeups don't seem to validate that point), and could have won by much more. I'm not really going to do much of a reaction to this match. Why? I didn't bother watching. I can't stand Bob-ball. We've got the most attacking midfield talent this country has ever produced swimming around in the player pool, we're

DC United Reaction - No Nostradamus Required

2008-09-07T09:47:00.000-04:00

Predictable. Utterly predictable. Combine an emotional mid-week cup win with a cross-country flight; stir in half the regular starting lineup being out through suspension, injury, or national team duty; blend with a couple of starters shaking off the rust; add an opponent riding a good deal of momentum and looking fresh with an infusion of new blood; and dust liberally with Dyachenko going the