Meet the New Boss, Tom Soehn, And Let's Get The Jokes Out Quickly

The Times and The Post both have updates on the Piotr Nowak / Tom Soehn transition at the head coaching spot. John Haydon's Times article describes nicely some of the history between Nowak and Bradley that could have led to the USMNT opening. The Post notes that Bradley is, no matter what, getting the 2008 Olympic Team and taking Nowak with him. As for Nowak's choice to leave (and we'll talk maybe more about Nowak later), I agree with BDR's comment yesterday: "Nowak's decision is both good business for him and honorable to DCU. "

So, let's talk about Mr. Soehn before his press conference at 11am. What is he like? Well, if you caught a reserve game in the last few years, we have a few hints. He's not afraid of the four man backline, so that could be an option (once we staff up). He'll talk to players during the game, and even chew them out on occasion. Mr. Soehn, as a defender in MLS with Chicago and Dallas, saw limited action. Typically he was good for about 1,000 minutes a season. The interesting thing to look at are the disciplinary stats: It tells the story of a defender who knew when to foul but not get a card. In his five years, he only had 14 shots, of which 6 were on goal, and two of those found the back of the net. Can we infer anything from that? Probably not, but it does suggest someone who is aware of their defensive responsibilities, and would use the defenders in an attacking mode in a fairly conservative way -- more to put pressure on the offense than to take their own shot. Of course, Mr. Soehn may not have had the accuracy of Facundo Erpen, so keep that in mind.

As a special service, the DCenters offers the following headlines for the 2007 season, and we hope that if these are the headlines, that they appear in this order:

May 2007
TOMMY, CAN YOU HEAR ME?
United plagued by poor communication in season start.

June 2007
DOUBTING THOMAS
DC United has not rebounded from losing Nowak.

July 2007
TOM-TOM, HOW DO WE GET TO THE PLAYOFFS?
United showing signs of life, but is it too late?

August 2007
THE O-SOEHN LAYER
New attack plans ignite DC's strikers

September 2007
TOMMY'S GUNS!
Five players score in 6-1 win over Galaxy

October 2007
TOM'S SWIFTIES
Unbeaten streak extended to nine game

November 2007
SOEHN ALONE
One season as coach, one MLS Cup... But what now?