By FRANCO PANIZO
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Wednesday completed D.C. United's first week in South Florida, and it also marked Charlie Davies' seventh day with the club as he looks to land a season-long loan deal.
Davies, along with most of the team's top players, did not play in Wednesday afternoon's 4-0 victory over Florida International University in a 60-minute friendly, but head coach Ben Olsen did touch on Davies' near-week trial with the club following the game.
"It's getting better every day. Physically, he looks good," said Olsen. "He's obviously been out of the game, and when you're out of the game as long as he has, there's rust, and it's a matter of us getting some of that rust off on the soccer side. But he's done just fine. He's a great kid, fits in with the team and again all those intangibles. I don't have to worry about him."
While Olsen had mostly kind things to say about Davies, the first year head coach was noncommital when asked whether or not Davies had done enough to secure the loan he's been trialing nearly a week for.
"We're certaintly going to continue looking at him, and continue our evaluation, and then there's a lot that goes into that stuff, so we're not sure what the story is right now," said Olsen. "I'm sure we'll finalize some type of situation, whether it's him going back or staying here in the next couple days."
Expected to go to D.C. for a full medical evaluation sometime this week, Davies was at Wednesday's game, but was in street clothes. He left with a member of DC United in a van at halftime of the 4-0 victory. Davies was not available to speak to the media.
SIDENOTES: Towards the end of Wednesday's 4-0 win, D.C. United midfielder Junior Carreiro suffered an injury to his left ankle. Carreiro was in severe pain as the medical team tended to him, and he was unable to walk off the field under his own power.
Goal summary of D.C. United's 4-0 win over FIU:
12' Stephen King
15' Yang Men (Kurt Morsink)
31' Brandon Barklage
53' Branko Boskovic (Chris Pontius)
What do you think of Davies' first week at D.C. United? Believe Olsen and D.C. United will keep Davies? Concerned by Carreiro's injury?
Share your thoughts below.
It’s very clear that a I think wishing someone well is fine. My view is the USMNT has already moved on from Charlie and Davies will either come back to make that difficult for the USMNT or he won’t. My view is thank God DC looks like they are going to sign Davies so now actual performance on the field, instead of Twitter postings, can be part of the equation.
Martha apparently is a glass half empty type.
You apparently are a glass half full type.
It’s a waste of time for either of your to try to convince the other of their point of view. Howecver both of you are entitled to express it, unless Ives decides to dump you.
figures youre just another piece of Jersey trash. not to be confused with non-Jersey trash.
you didnt answer the question posed to Martha. the answer is , there is nothing wrong with wishing him well. period. just as in its ok to wish everyone well.
i understand your point, but youre just postulating, i dont need to know what you think Charlie may be thinking, i asked Martha why she is always on here bagging on Davies any chance she/he gets.
my use in this matter is moot. i have no use to this matter in any form besides asking a question of an extremely negative individual who would better served not acting like an asshat whenever given an opportunity.
Wishing Charlie well is one thing.
Having wildly unrealistic expectations might make you feel better but they only do Charlie a disservice.
His injuries are unprecendented. When you couple that with the fact that the high standard he wished to regain is hard for even the finest of athletes in the best of condition to achieve then it’s hard to see Charlie’s wish to be back to where he was this soon as unrealistic. And possibly not in his best long term interests.
He seems to be the sort of athlete who has to set almost unreachable goals in order to motivate himself to higher achievment. That’s a fine strategy but outsiders don’t have to buy into the logic.
In fact, you’d probably be more useful by doubting him since he seems to thrive when he has to prove himself.
It always comes down to money.
1. You really think people will pay to watch Charlie if he winds up laboring up and down the field? Did you ever watch your favorite ballplayer get older and then get owned by some scrubeenie that they would have dominated in the old days? Will you enjoy it if Charlie gets shut down by some first round draft choice rookie?
2. You have fallen for the Davies’ twitter logic of “I won’t be in shape for the camp but I will be for the World Cup! Count on it!
DC is in no position to pay that kind of money for a part time player who MAY pan out. He is not a proven player. He was on his way to becoming one but hadn’t gotten there yet. Clint missed a month or so for Fulham last season but every one was pretty sure he would come back strong. Davies doesn’t have that kind of track record especialy with these kind of injuries. No one does. So it’s a very big risk for DC.
Because maybe they know they want him but only at a certain price. Maybe the current price is too high. Yes it’s a loan but maybe they are trying to get Sochaux to chip in with the salary or maybe they want mor favorable terms. Who knows. whatever. So maybe they are negotiating it down.
There is no reason for DC to rush this. They don’t have to take on a guy who has a big upside but could also have a huge downside; basically is a very risky proposition. They’ve got time on their side.
If they were unsure about Davies health or ability, they would have played him. He simply has to be the most important decision Olsen has right now.
The fact that he didn’t play tells me they already know that they want him, or they already know that they don’t want him.
If they already know they don’t want him, why didn’t they send him home already?
What exactly does that mean?
Tootle pip!
Rather!
Outstanding, outstanding, absolutely outstanding news!
Ex-cel-lent!
Good show mate, good show.
Actually, Steve Goff is reporting that DCU has decided to go with Davies but the stumbling blocks are financial. It’s not clear exactly what that means–if his agent Yorks is holding out for additional money, if Sochaux is insisting that a bigger chunk of change go their way or what. But Davies canceled his flight back to France and is booked to travel with the team to California for the next stage of preseason training.
I honestly think if DC are still looking at Davies and have not already decided to agree on the loan deal then they play him in that game. As Panizo said, “Davies, along with most of the team’s top players” didn’t play. They are treating him like a player on the team.
hope to read here that DC has picked him up, really hope CD9 earns that opportunity
excellent 🙂
jag off doosh
I *hope* he’s practicing his “force choke!”
DC and Ben Olsen need to determine if Davies is ready to contribute or very near ready to contribute. If he is not close they will not bring him in on the loan. It is not worth the money, the roster spot or the risk, they will let him return to France. If they feel he can contribute they will bring him on board. This is why he got a trial. Let’s hope Charlie is healthly and confident. He is still recovering from some major injuries.
make it rainnnnnn
There’s always the possibility that Davies really didn’t look good and that they don’t have realistic hope he’ll improve. Olsen sure didn’t give him much of a compliment.
*pays
Hell, LA plays Beckham millions, and look at that guy. He doesn’t play at all!
DC should splash a little cash for Charlie, why the hell not. The precedent has been set by LA
I’m not in agreement with Martha, but I understand how some posters used Bradley’s decision not to include Davies on the WC squad as a way to attack a coach they didn’t like. People who hadn’t seen Davies train but read his quotes thought Bradley was wrong.
It has gotten a bit out of hand with the guy. His lack of playing time in France should have put some perspective on this.
Y’all, it’s pretty obvious that Olsen is just posturing for the press 🙂
He’s a head coach; they’re supposed to be boring. He can’t be like “OMGZZZ yessss we’re taking Davies on loan for sure!! I’m so excited!! He’s gonna teach me how to stanky leg!!”
He has to be boring and be like “We need to weigh all our options and then we will make a decision.”
I’m just doing my job to keep it real.. Jersey style.
Hot cakes and pancakes got nothing on me.
The waiting game is breaking me; just sign him!
He’s getting on everyone’s tits.
No, he hasn’t.
+1
Yawn…go troll elsewhere.
wrong reply (i think)
A+
this martha character is really getting on my tits
jeez Martha, every time theres a Charlie Davies story on here, you come bum rushing the negative Nancy. whats wrong with the US fan base wishing one of its stars well? is it naive to think he will ever be the same? probably. is that wrong? definitely not.
STFU…your routine is getting stale…
So what excuses will you guys use when Davies doesn’t make the team? Will anyone then admit he’s done? I doubt it more like some more far fetched wishful thinking excuses.
Thought the same exact thing…
I *hope* that he’s just playing down expectations so that the official announcement of the decision to keep Charlie with make a bigger splash. Even if Davies isn’t up to snuff yet, I would expect DC to keep him for two reasons:
1) He will still bring in fans and support, even if not playing that well, and
2) it’s a long season, and Davies might continue to improve over the next few months. Just because he’s not ready now doesn’t mean he can’t contribute this season.
He’s been watching bob Bradley on youtube a lot.
Unless the medical team finds a problem, I can’t imagine him not making the team. I mean they willing to take a risk on Wolff, Cronin, Nygwena, etc but not Davies? And it’s great publicity for a team that has no where to go but up.
He looks like he’s practicing his “Force choke”
LOL! Looks like Ben has been learning. MLS watch out! Coach Olsen has been studying.
Olsen is saying as much as he can say. They want Charlie on the team. But reading between the lines (or making stuff up betwen the lines), it sounds like maybe the results of his physical matter and maybe there is something to work out with Sochaux despite reports that the terms of the loan deal are already done. If DC still has to work out some details with Sochaux (like maybe the loan terms are aleady set but not the price of the buyout), then no one from DC is going to say “We love Charlie and we just have to have him on our squad.” That would hurt their negotiations.
+1 🙂
“We might do that, or we might do the other thing. Or neither. Maybe both. Or maybe we won’t do anything. We’ll see. There is lots to think about. Lots of variables. Anything can happen until it doesn’t, unless we decide that it can’t, which we may or may not do. When we decide something is final, we will let you know at some point after the decision has been made and we decide not to change the decision. I can’t say when that will be or tell you why I can’t say, but at least we know that, probably.”
I think dc will keep him. Knowing he only had a week, I was surprised he didn’t play yesterday but I guess coach has to be fair and evaluate everyone on the fringe. I also think that dc will keep him for the buzz and media attention. Uniteds season was hard to watch last year and picking up cd9 will bring more fans.
Olsen looks kinda creepy in the pic.
I hope they pick Davies up. He can’t be any worse than what they trotted out on the field last year and it would pose a bit of a mental setback if the loan doesn’t go through.
I admire CD’s determination through all of this. A lesser man would have difficulty saying positive and motivated. I just hope he has learned his lessons well and really matured (not just lip-service) as a person and as a professional.
stupid
Why is Davies rusty? Hasn’t he been playing in Sochaux’s reserve games for months now?
call me stupid
but he look like fabregas in 20 years in that pic
ben sounds more and more like a seasoned head coach with those elusive answers.
Not sure what to make of Olsen’s comments. It’s not as positive as I would hope — not sure if he’s just trying to tamp down expectations abut what Charlie will accomplish. Is he rusty for Charlie, or is he looking like he’s not up to even MLS levels? If he’s going to take up $300k under the cap, they’ll want a pretty good player — on the other hand, they didn’t get much out of Boskovic, and he was a DP. I guess we’ll just have to see what the team decides.