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tBG) The Luis Silva for Alvaro Saborio trade caught a lot of us by surprise. How do DC fans feel about it?
B&RU) We are currently cautious about it, but most of us have faith in the intra-league talent identification abilities of Ben Olsen and Dave Kasper. Also, it looks like both players are out of contract at the end of the season, and the rumor is that Silva wants to try and go to Mexico after this MLS season is over. Because of his injuries, I don't think he was going to be able to help United all that much this year, and if he leaves in the off-season at least United got something for him.
Saborio fills a need that United has had ever since Eddie Johnson got injured: a big target striker who can occupy defenses up top; having one that can actually score, unlike Lionard Pajoy, for example (thanks for that), is a bonus as well. United fans understand the trade, but it does hurt to lose a young, talented player.
tBG) How is Michael Farfan doing?
B&RU) Marfan has been hurt for the past two months, and United have really missed his presence. He was able to sit on the right wing, allowing Nick DeLeon to either rest or flip to the left side; he allowed Ben Olsen a lot of positional flexibility that he doesn't really have right now. He was also an intriguing option as a central player, but that experiment was cut short due to his injury. He is back to training now, so hopefully we will be seeing him in the next few weeks.
tBG) DC has been one of the strongest teams in MLS this season, leading the Supporter's Shield race against some good Western Conference teams. Is this sustainable?
B&RU) United have actually faded a bit recently, and are winless in their last three games (though those were against Toronto, Seattle, and FC Dallas). The fact that they had to play for over a month on the road because of a Foo Fighters concert at RFK Stadium certainly didn't help, so returning home will certainly help. I don't think they'll get back to their 2+ PPG streak that they were riding in April, but if they can push it back to around 1.75, I think they should be able to take the East.