What gives?

“This isn’t about having a negative conversation about Acosta; he’s 21, he just came to this country, he just brought his family, and it’s going to take him some time to adjust,” Olsen told the Insider on Tuesday. “He does well at times and there have been other times where we are asking him to do some things that are out of his comfort zone. That is going to take a little bit of time.

AD

“I am extremely happy with the kid and what he has brought, and he is going to help us every week. Is he a starter in two months? Maybe. I am continuing to evaluate our crew.”

AD

Acosta is a fun, highly technically and skilled player who elicits gasps with his footwork and turns in tight quarters. At the moment, however, Olsen prefers veterans Chris Rolfe and Fabian Espindola on the frontline and Nick DeLeon in central midfield.

“Right now, he’s a guy who is pushing the starters every day in training to prove that he needs to be on the field,” Olsen said. “And when he gets on the field, he needs to continue doing what he has done and also help us create and score goals.”

AD

So what happened between the first month and the last few weeks? Olsen cited Espindola’s return from a hamstring injury.

“Fabi got healthy. And we needed goals,” Olsen said. “Fabi is a guy that can produce goals by himself and has proven to be one of our best providers over the last three seasons. So this isn’t something that Acosta hasn’t done, necessarily. It’s more that I know right now what the group looks like, and I am happy with the performance they put on last weekend” in a 1-1 draw at San Jose.

AD

Still, United has scored just three times in five MLS matches and four in seven winless competitive games overall. Before the league campaign began, Acosta started the CONCACAF Champions League’s first leg at Mexico’s Queretaro and, after given time off to gather his family and belongings for the permanent move to Washington, he came off the bench in the return leg.

AD

Asked whether Acosta could bolster the attack by replacing DeLeon, Olsen said that role comes with expanded responsibilities.

“The way we play, with a 4-4-2, you have to have both midfielders in the center of the park doing both sides of the ball,” he said. “And being a guy not only who can connect passes, but a guy who can win physical duels and cover a lot of ground. I think Acosta’s best role would be in a three-man midfield; he’s done that in Argentina. We use him as a second forward. If you played more of a 4-1-4-1, I could see that argument of him being in the center of the park. But in our formation, he is a guy I view as a second forward or a true number 10.”

AD

Olsen has been pleased with DeLeon’s performance, saying, “Passes completed, ground covered, duels won, what else do you want from a number eight? Yeah, you would like a couple goals; he’s missed a few goals.”

AD

Olsen likens DeLeon’s role to Davy Arnaud’s the previous two years — a two-way player with blue-collar responsibilities who leaves the creative tasks to Espindola and Rolfe, as well as wingers Patrick Nyarko and Lamar Neagle. (DeLeon was a wing for four years. Arnaud retired this offseason because of concussion issues.)

Would United consider altering the formation to better utilize Acosta’s skill set?

“We could. And I am not ruling that out,” Olsen said. “But again, we are still figuring out who we are, as most teams are at this point in the season.”

******************

Reflecting on the draw at San Jose, which left United with a 0-2-3 league record and 0-3-4 mark overall, Olsen was satisfied with another point on the road. United drew at New England last month.

AD

AD

“We weathered their storm early. Once we caught up to the speed and physicality of the game, I saw a bunch of men fighting for each other for the first time this year. Over the course of the game, it might’ve been our best of the year. We want to get three points, of course, but we’re excited about this crew and what it can do.”

United will play five of the next six at home, starting Saturday at 5:30 p.m. against the Vancouver Whitecaps (TV: ABC7).

“Guys understand the urgency of getting wins at home,” Olsen said, “but it’s a long season.”

********************

With Tally Hall now in the mix, Travis Worra might have a difficult time retaining the goalkeeping job. The second-year pro has started the past four matches, and on Saturday, made a superb reflex save on Chris Wondolowski in second-half stoppage time.

AD

AD

“They will be competing all week to see who starts on the weekend,” Olsen said.

Hall, 30, was among MLS’s best as a four-year starter in Houston before moving to Orlando last season. Surgery on the same knee shortened each of the previous two campaigns.

********************

Nyarko, who scored against San Jose in the first half and departed in the 81st minute after a hard fall on his lower back and hip, was back in training Tuesday morning at RFK. … Midfielder Markus Halsti, who has missed the five league matches recovering from a knee injury, participated in full workouts for the first time since preseason. “Now it’s a matter of sharpness and fitness,” Olsen said. … Reserve goalkeeper Charlie Horton remains out with a concussion suffered in training last week. … Midfielder Collin Martin remains sidelined with a foot injury. … Defender Chris Korb continues to rehabilitate an ACL injury suffered late last summer.

AD

AD

********************

Aside from the stadium project at Buzzard Point, United will need a new training facility in the near future. (The club currently uses fields on the RFK campus, a short walk from the stadium. The area will undergo major changes in the coming years.)

With that in mind, United is exploring options inside the city and beyond. Brad Edwards, George Mason University’s athletic director, visited team headquarters at RFK on Tuesday. Mason has several fields and facilities on the Fairfax campus that might fit United’s needs.

No decisions are expected anytime soon. “D.C. United is laser focused on its new stadium and will address the training facility down the road,” club executive Mike Schoenbrun said.