Everything seemed to be falling into place for D.C. United this offseason. After adding two talented Brazilians to an already-stacked attack and rewarding the reigning MLS goalkeeper of the year award-winner with a new contract, the 2006 Supporters' Shield winners seemed poised for a breakout campaign.
But a traumatic crash out of the CONCACAF Champions' Cup, followed by losses in their first two regular-season matches - in which D.C. gave up a startling six goals - has obliterated that sunny optimism and forced United to start back at square one.
Following his side's 4-2 shellacking at the hands of Kansas City on Saturday, head coach Tom Soehn was asked how United would begin to pick up the pieces.
"You're going to sit and you're going to watch," he said. "You're going to watch a lot of tape. Watch the mistakes - and look for some more mistakes. And we're going to work hard. Right now we've forgotten what it takes to win games. There's a lot of little battles you have to win on the field, and right now we're not winning enough of them."
Their current position stands in stark contrast to 2006, when United went flying out of the gates to build an early lead atop the Eastern Conference standings.
"We're definitely used to getting a good, strong start, and especially last season, we were way ahead," said Josh Gros. "I think maybe this year we expected the same thing to happen and it's never that easy."
United's upcoming bye weekend has given the coaching staff plenty of time to address the situation. Soehn missed Tuesday's training session to be with his wife Jean, who gave birth to the couple's fourth child that day. But even in his absence, the Black-and-Red have undoubtedly ratcheted up the intensity on the training ground.
"The coaches are definitely trying to make a point, so we know where we stand, obviously," said Gros. "We came into the season probably a little too confident, a little too cocky, and we got a rude awakening with those two losses."
When executed properly, United's high-pressure style dictates the tempo of matches and makes life difficult for opposing players by closing down space and forcing errors. But the situation has often been reversed thus far this season.
"We've just got to re-evaluate what we've got to do," said goalkeeper Troy Perkins. "We've got to have that edge that we used to have, that little bit of pride in ourselves saying, 'you're not going to get anything on us, and if you are, we're going to give you some knocks.' We got a little complacent, a little too laid off and relaxed as far as our pressure."
Perkins and his back line have taken much of the heat for D.C.'s sputtering start, and certainly all four players have made costly mistakes in recent weeks. But the entire group recognizes the need for a more comprehensive approach all over the field.
"I think it's more just a mentality of team defending," said assistant coach Mark Simpson. "It's not just the backs. When you lose balls in bad spots, when you don't have good reactions, when you're not in good spots to win the ball back, you're putting a lot of pressure on our backs."
The speed and aggression of the Wizards' strike force took full advantage of such moments on Saturday.
"When the ball turns over and our backs aren't pressed up and covering their forwards, giving them a lot of space, guys like Eddie Johnson and Scott Sealy are going to hurt you, because you're giving them the time and space to turn with the ball," said Simpson. "Not putting any pressure on them, now those guys have the ability to run at you. We need to focus on getting 11 guys back behind the ball and being compact, really making it difficult for teams to play against us."
On top of their own high expectations for 2007, several players expressed disappointment about such a poor season-opening performance in front of the club's dedicated fans, 22,358 of whom vividly displayed their loyalty on Saturday despite cold temperatures and steady rain at RFK Stadium. With the Eastern Conference shaping up to be quite competitive this season, the squad recognizes the importance of getting back on track over the next two weeks.
"Just because someone says that you may be good doesn't mean that you are good, unless you go out and prove it on the field," said Brian Carroll after the Kansas City loss. "We just need to get back to basics and work harder, and do what we need to do to get it right on the field in order to get good results. It's everybody - everybody's got to play better in order for that to happen."
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
