We’ll get to hear from D.C. United head coach Ben Olsen and trialist Charlie Davies later today. But before that, Olsen gave some good insight to his own thinking and the dilemma that United and Davies could both face yesterday on the MLS Extra Time radio show. Some of what he said:
On what led United to Davies: “Sometimes in MLS you have to look for forwards that are out of favor. Obviously, Charlie’s been through a lot, and he’s coming back from a terrible incident where physically he was not so good. It’s going to take for him to get back to where he was. He was out of favor at Sochaux, and we called and inquired about a loan, and they were up for it.”
What are Olsen and United looking for Davies to show?: “We’re at the point where it’s a tough business sometimes, and we want to see Charlie. We need to see him and where he’s at before we do any type of contract with him.”
Is United looking for Davies to be a contributor in March, or could it be a situation where he’s ready by, say, June?: “It’s a tough one to answer. I need somebody in that spot now. We unfortunately can’t afford to have a guy that’s not ready to go at a hundred percent and help this team win games. That’s just where we’re at as a club. We’re obviously rebuilding and we’ve got some holes still to fill, and the guy we’re looking to sign needs to help as soon as possible. We’re looking to see if he’s the right fit for this club. We’ll have plenty of games and plenty of training sessions to show us his stuff. It’ll be no different than anybody else having a trial with the team. We’ll put him out there, and we’ll evaluate. We’ll evaluate him physically. We evaluate him on the technical side, attitude, any aspect that we would deal with for any other trialist.”
What does Olsen know about Davies: “I love Charlie. I think he’s a great kid. He’s in the mold of a guy that I would like to have at this club. He’s a competitive guy. He makes things happen. He’s a gamer. He’s excited. I think he’s been through a lot, and he wants to play games. Now, I can’t let any of that cloud my decision making on whether or not he’s right for this club. That’s what the staff and I will be evaluating over the next ten days.”
If Davies does not make D.C.’s roster, could that hurt his chances elsewhere?: “Not necessarily. I understand where you’re getting at, and I don’t want to speculate on what that decision would mean. To me, it would mean that he still needs time. He’s been through a lot, and it’s going to take time for him to get to 100 percent. Is he there now? I’m not sure. I haven’t seen him. But that doesn’t mean he’s not going to be there six months from now.”
