In the constantly choppy sea of defensive changes for D.C. United, Bryan Namoff is the buoy that never seems to float away.
Namoff, 29, has started 24 or more games at right back in each of the past three seasons after breaking through as a starter in 2003. In a United back line that can't seem to keep the same group together from year to year, that makes Namoff the elder statesman.
"There have been a lot of changes," Namoff said. "Year after year, there is a continuous influx of new faces. The one positive is that we'll be a lot deeper this year."
This offseason differed little from the defensive tumult of previous years. Out went the Gonzalos (Peralta and Martinez) in a postseason purge, depriving United of two cogs from a sometimes porous back line.
"We have some big shoes to fill, but we have some talented new faces," Namoff said.
United opted to replace those veteran South Americans with younger players after watching the signing of Brazilian center back Roger fall through at the last minute. In came Canadian international Dejan Jakovic from Red Star Belgrade, Rodney Wallace from Maryland and Anthony Peters from West Virginia Wesleyan to complement Namoff, Greg Janicki and Marc Burch.
Preseason results ebbed and flowed as United coach Tom Soehn experimented with a three- and four-man back line. For now, a three-man back line with Namoff on the right, Jakovic in the middle and either Burch or Janicki on the left appears to have won out because defensive midfielders Clyde Simms and Devon McTavish can lend the nascent trio defensive cover.
Namoff said United will work on their shape and their communication ahead of Sunday's opener against Los Angeles.
"Because of the new faces, we've had a lot more repetition," Namoff said. "There's a lot of chalk talk. We're starting from scratch. We need to be in the right positions when things go wrong."
Building from scratch doesn't necessarily mean that United has a lot of time to bed in defensively. Expectations are high after last season's disappointing campaign and United will have to toe the line between taking the necessary time to construct a solid back line and doing whatever it takes to win matches.
Without substantive progress sooner rather than later, the sea might just come crashing down on United.
Seeking Nelsen's heir: United signed Jakovic to serve as one of the pillars of its reconstructed defense. Jakovic, 23, is the latest heir to the poisoned central defensive chalice at RFK Stadium. Many have tried and nearly all have failed to fill the sizable boots of Ryan Nelsen, the ex-United defender who left after the 2004 season and is now the captain of English Premier League side Blackburn Rovers.
Namoff said Jakovic has some qualities that could help him succeed where others have failed.
"His work ethic is in the right place," Namoff said. "He's a quiet guy. A gentle giant, but not quite as gentle in between the lines. He's a hard tackler."
Suspensions bite Revolution, Red Bulls: Late-season red cards don't fade away and will hamper New England and New York heading into their season openers.
In the midst of Chicago's 3-0 win against New England in the second leg of the Eastern Conference semifinals, Revolution defender Chris Albright careened through the legs of a showboating Cuauhtemoc Blanco and earned his walking papers. Two weeks earlier, former Revolution midfielder Khano Smith earned a three-match ban for a tackle on Herculez Gomez in the final game of the regular season.
Those dismissals will keep Albright and Smith out of the opening weekend to varying degrees of harm for their clubs.
Smith misses the trip to Seattle, the club which drafted him in the expansion draft and ushered him to New York once Sigi Schmid took the reins. Red Bulls head coach Juan Carlos Osorio can dip into his tactical bag of tricks and accommodate for Smith by throwing Dominic Oduro or Mac Kandji into the fray.
Revolution boss Steve Nicol won't have the luxury of options without Albright in San Jose. With Gabriel Badilla already out, an African defender still in the pipeline and a switch to a four-man back line imminent, the Revs lack defensive cover and will likely hand rookies Kevin Alston and Darrius Barnes starts in their first professional games.
Thumb wars: Chicago has one of the deepest teams in MLS in every position except for goalkeeper. Supplied with the fact that backup Nick Noble has zero MLS minutes under his belt, imagine the thoughts that went through Fire coach Denis Hamlett's mind when Jon Busch jammed his thumb while the team trained in Mexico.
The injury forced Busch to the sidelines for a spell before the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year played sixty minutes in a friendly against Los Angeles last Saturday, according to the Chicago Tribune.
"It feels good," Busch told the Tribune. "[But] according to the doctors, it's still healing."
The good news for Hamlett: the injury shouldn't keep Busch out of Saturday's opener in Frisco against FC Dallas.
Attacking isn't lost in translation: New Toronto FC striker Pablo Vitti told the Toronto Star that he doesn't speak much English. That hasn't stopped Vitti from fostering some chemistry with Chad Barrett and Dwayne De Rosario as TFC seeks to boost its offensive production in 2009.
"We don't speak the same language but are understanding each other on the field," Vitti told the Star through a translator. "It's easier to handle (the language barrier) with these guys because they're good players."
Kyle McCarthy covers the New England Revolution for the Boston Herald and MLSnet.com and serves as a contributing editor for Goal.com USA. Kyle can be reached at kyle.mccarthy@goal.com.
