As announced in the Soccer Insider, written by Washington Post reporter Steven Goff, Volkswagen will be named as a new sponsor for DC United. Their logo will appear on the front of the very plain front of DC United’s Jersey. The deal, which will be formally announced at a press conference on Tuesday at 9:30am, is set for over $14 million. This is the second highest sponsorship just behind Herbalife’s sponsorship of the LA Galaxy which pays out $4 million annually; the Volkswagen deal will pay around $2.4 million over 5 years. My only question is does this set up United for more talks about a new home? Could Poplar Point Stadium be one step closer to being a reality? Only time will tell with this one, but is great news for DC United.

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I will start off by saying that it is tough to be a DC United fan right now. United is currently sitting in last place in the East with a 2-3-0 record and just over the likes of Chivas USA, Real Salt Lake, newly reformed San Jose, and winless defending MLS Cup Champions Houston overall. I will take a step back and say that yes it doesn’t look good for the club, but it is still way early in the season. It is only May and we don’t see any playoffs until October. There are some problems that DC needs to address and with these that could help to bring this squad back to championship contending material.

The midfield is a mess at this point. Part of which may be the different formations DC has used since it is different almost every game so far. It almost seems as though Clyde Simms has been thrown in to a position that he is not fully comfortable with. He has to pretty much control the field for the whole team, and still slightly young compared to the the options DC has, he has been doing an admirable job, but still has a little work. The outside wings seem to be different everytime DC goes out and I liked how Santino Quaranta filled the void of both the deeply missed Ben Olsen and the recently injured Devon McTavish. Also, having Fred out due to injury did not help one bit. He helps to set up many plays on goal that DC could not get. Rod Dyachenko tried to fill in for Fred, but he was overpowered in a position that he did not play often.

There needs to be better communication between Wells and the defensive line. Throughout the Colorado match, it did not seem as though Wells made much of an attempt to call out to his defense at all.

The switching on and off of Moreno and Neill needs to stop. We know that when Moreno is on the field, he is able to create some great plays on the offensive side. We need that play maker. He is filling the very missed role of El Diablo himself, Marco Etcheverry.

I would have to say that Man of the Match would have to go to Bryan Namoff with his great defensive tactics. Namoff helped prevent the number of goals to rise more than they already were.

United’s next match will be on Thursday as the Chicago Fire come to RFK. Kickoff is at 7:30PM.

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The New York Red Bulls have signed New Zealand defender Andew Boyens. Boyens was waived by Toronto FC earlier this season, had joined RBNY on trial. The Red Bulls will move Eric Brunner to a senior developmental roster spot to make room for Boyens. Boyens was a first round draft pick in the 2007 MLS Super Draft. Boyens was let go by TFC seemingly to make room for several signings that followed his departure, including Olivier Tebily. 

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