The Swamp

https://twitter.com/ThirdRailSC/status/ ... 1807172609

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I always think of Shelton as our first real player so it kinda sucks he's gone, but it was never going to happen under Vieira.

Abdul-Salaam bat signal!

MLS to Nashville.

So DC United won't start the season in the new stadium. Navy is a good choice. However, all the other options don't work well. FedEx field is huge, the baseball stadiums have scheduling issues, none of the colleges have good options (turf and/or too small stadiums). So they may reall play this at the local soccer park in MD (It holds 4000...used for Open Cup and NWSL games). I get the MLS had territory items (why DC can't play at U of DE)...but with these options it would make sense to find an exotic location where you make the game a special event).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/soc ... 9b259d0e6b

wlu_lax6 wrote:So DC United won't start the season in the new stadium. Navy is a good choice. However, all the other options don't work well. FedEx field is huge, the baseball stadiums have scheduling issues, none of the colleges have good options (turf and/or too small stadiums). So they may reall play this at the local soccer park in MD (It holds 4000...used for Open Cup and NWSL games). I get the MLS had territory items (why DC can't play at U of DE)...but with these options it would make sense to find an exotic location where you make the game a special event).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/soc ... 9b259d0e6b

Why can't they play at Byrd?

Yeah I don't really understand that. Bobby Dodd has brick and concrete walls just a few yards away from the football sidelines in every direction. If MLS works in those dimensions, then what football stadium can't it work in? It doesn't have to be perfect, just less awkward than Yankee Stadium would be a start.

Nonlinear FC wrote:

wlu_lax6 wrote:So DC United won't start the season in the new stadium. Navy is a good choice. However, all the other options don't work well. FedEx field is huge, the baseball stadiums have scheduling issues, none of the colleges have good options (turf and/or too small stadiums). So they may reall play this at the local soccer park in MD (It holds 4000...used for Open Cup and NWSL games). I get the MLS had territory items (why DC can't play at U of DE)...but with these options it would make sense to find an exotic location where you make the game a special event).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/soc ... 9b259d0e6b

Why can't they play at Byrd?

Turf and field width issues

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/soc ... df5efd93c9

Total non-sequitor: It's funny, but this reinforces the point that MD should be killing it with recruiting for football. There's literally one other D1 school within striking distance and they have virtually zero competition for the same players.

Nonlinear FC wrote:Total non-sequitor: It's funny, but this reinforces the point that MD should be killing it with recruiting for football. There's literally one other D1 school within striking distance and they have virtually zero competition for the same players.

True but Maryland high school football is not particularly good and Penn State has done a great job making Baltimore and the DMV their turf. An article years ago blamed lacrosse and basketball for part of the MD Football problem. Lots of kids who would normally lifts and run indoor/outdoor track in the winter spring play lacrosse or off season hoops.

That being said they had 15 kids from the DMV sign and are supposed to have a good class. Maryland ranked 19 (247 sports), 18 (rivals), 21 (ESPN)

Rex wrote:Yeah I don't really understand that. Bobby Dodd has brick and concrete walls just a few yards away from the football sidelines in every direction. If MLS works in those dimensions, then what football stadium can't it work in? It doesn't have to be perfect, just less awkward than Yankee Stadium would be a start.

Speaking off, dodged a bullet with the Islanders getting the Belmont site. That would have sucked.

wlu_lax6 wrote:

Nonlinear FC wrote:Total non-sequitor: It's funny, but this reinforces the point that MD should be killing it with recruiting for football. There's literally one other D1 school within striking distance and they have virtually zero competition for the same players.

True but Maryland high school football is not particularly good and Penn State has done a great job making Baltimore and the DMV their turf. An article years ago blamed lacrosse and basketball for part of the MD Football problem. Lots of kids who would normally lifts and run indoor/outdoor track in the winter spring play lacrosse or off season hoops.

That being said they had 15 kids from the DMV sign and are supposed to have a good class. Maryland ranked 19 (247 sports), 18 (rivals), 21 (ESPN)

I don't know how much I buy lacrosse siphoning off football talent. Maybe a few kids at the 3 star level, but I'm talking about 4 and 5 stars. The state of MD has somewhere around 5-7 kids in the top 200 every year. You add in Northern VA and it gets into the 10-15 range. I know this year they actually landed a few of those. DeMatha, Good Counsel, Gonzaga... The public schools might not set the world on fire, but there's enough talent to form the backbone of a solid football program.

You are absolutely correct that PSU is all over this region, my point is that this situation was allowed by MD being a weak team in a shitty football conference. That has changed and I think Durkin (an excellent recruiter) will chip away at this over time. Frankly, they should also be able to start stealing more of the state of VA and even dip down into NC.

But if they can lock in the state, which when you look at other B1G schools is pretty much a given (MI, for example, is back to dominating the state, but what they don't take primarily goes to MSU... with OSU and Notre Dame able to poach a few here and there), they can start competing in that division.

Brontoburglar wrote:

Brontoburglar wrote:

wlu_lax6 wrote:

Brontoburglar wrote:SKC trading a guy who hasn't scored for two months for an MLS-record allocation fee is a good deal

Though I'll definitely miss Dwyer

So Dom was in a slump but coming off a strong USMNT performance. What is strange is KC is 2nd in the west. Not usually a time to sell unless there is some international/DP or there is this

https://www.thebluetestament.com/2017/7 ... verton-mls

I guess Orlando likes the chance to sign him or pick up some mls $ if he goes overseas. Guess his wife will go to the pride?

They sold because they got $1.6M in allocation money. And they didn't want to risk losing him for free. And they have a kid named Daniel Salloi who has been really, really good lately. And they're apparently looking to re-sign Kristian Nemeth, who had 11 goals two years ago playing either on the wing or in the Dwyer role when he wasn't there.

They're gonna be fine, I think.

dare I say it, the offense looked fantastic last night with Salloi and Diego Rubio starting as two of the three. And they were without their best forward this year, who was suspended

first place!

I am mad online

they didn't get Nemeth, have spent a fraction of the Dwyer money and now have traded Feilhaber for $400K to LAFC ... who took one of SKC's best forwards in the expansion draft

I'm having a hard time trusting this process of a team who needs offense and proceeds to trade its two best offensive players for money to hoard and loses a promising young attacker who they had just signed the previous season in the expansion draft for nothing

and my season tickets went up $4 each next season

welcome to big business!

I think Shelton could be real good if given a season.

Also, I'll never think of Benny without thinking of this ...