Football Season Guide

In 2023 DC United had turbulent times and after the last match of the regular season coach Wayne Rooney was expectedly sacked. Poor tactical choices from him, injuries to some key players and very ineffective forward actions made the 2023 campaign hard to watch. DC recorded many draws but finding wins was hard. Even the team’s only reliable striker Christian Benteke was hot or cold but never consistent for long periods. After missing out in the play-offs the sacking of Rooney was inevitable. However, DC’s owner might have made a gross mistake as a replacement he appointed another Englishman with suspect coaching skills – Phill Neville. Neville failed miserable at Inter Miami in 2023 and DC’s fans already dislike this appointment. Some even organised a protest in the off-season demanding for a coach change, this without any official matches being played between the appointment and the protest. With such a tense atmosphere Neville is not likely to be given too much time. He will want a strong start to the season to change the fans’ opinion of him. It had been hard off-season so far. Many players, especially in defence, left DC. The back line will have a new look in 2024 and it is yet to be seen if the arrivals of McVey, Bartlett and Herrera could make DC better at the back. The problems in attack and midfield haven’t been addressed though. It seems once more all the hopes will be that Christian Benteke could have a monstrous season up front. It’s hard to see this happening though as his supporting cast is not very good. Not to mention Benteke has missed 8+ games in every one of his last 4 seasons due to injuries.