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Is Dallas Burning? PLUS: DC Rips Jabloteh a New One
For the love of Óscar Pareja would someone please tell me what's going on with Jeff Cunningham?
That's not a Steven Lenhart, bull-in-a-china-shop goal. That's just one damn nice piece of skill.
If they'd known that the well-traveled Jamaican born forward was going to go nuts (I'd say "catch fire" but Hunt Sports decided they preferred the inane - in the American context - "FC" moniker to being called "Burn") when they finally packed Frankencooper (and, presumably, his enormous schwanzstucker) off to Europe they would have done it last year.
In case you missed it, the final score last night was Dallas 1, New Englands' Playoff Hopes 0.
Of course, everyone has noticed that the teams occupying the bottom of the MLS table are suddenly acting like real live soccer teams, but Kansas City and New York are at least explainable because they have new guys calling the shots.
And as we've observed before, there's often a "Thank God the Old Coach is Gone" effect, a "bounce" if you will, when the players just feel so doggone good about life now that the last guy is playing golf all day that they go out and kick a bunch of end-of-season tail.
So with the Red Bulls under Richie "If My Scrawny Ass Could Do It, Yours Sure As Hell Can" Williams and the Wizards being helmed by Peter "Play Good or I'll Beat You to Death" Vermes, at least there's a rational explanation for the fact that suddenly they're among the last teams you want to see on your schedule.
And losing to, say, Houston or LA in a big "must win" game at the moment is at least explainable: they're good teams having good seasons under experienced coaches with impressive records.
Conversely, in Dallas, they're under the same coach that the fans have wanted tarred and feathered for months, a guy with absolutely no MLS experience who was apparently hired because the owner played for him back in the Eisenhower Administration.
I'll leave it to a post by loyal Dallas fan giggshasscored to put what's going on into some perspective:
First match without Kenny Cooper: 6-0 win against KC
Second match without Kenny Cooper: 1-0 win against Dynaho
First match without Drew Moor: 2-2 draw against DC United
Second match without Drew Moor: 6-3 win against Galaxy
First match after Pablo Richetti benching: 3-0 win against RSL
Second match afer Pablo Richetti benching: 1-0 win against NE Rev
All of which leads one to conclude that perhaps the guys running this show aren't as painfully imbecilic as had been previously believed. They suddenly have a lethal attack, a very solid midfield, an improving defense (Dallas winning matches 1-0 is, I believe, one of the signs of the Apocalypse) and, incredibly, after starting the season 2-8-1 have won five of nine since the All Star break, and 3 of their last 4.
As for Cunningham, currently on his fifth team since 2004, he's spent his career being pegged as the perfect third forward, a description he hates like Bruce Arena hates journalists.
Most people have forgotten that he was repeatedly invited into the Jamaican national side - he even played for them once, in a freindly - but, largely on the basis of what he felt were promises from the aforementioned Mr. Arena, repeatedly turned them down. Instead, he went through the long, tortuous process of getting US citizenship so that he could play for his adopted country whereupon, after a few appearances, including a forgettable start against Guatemala and a 90th minute insertion against Mexico in Columbus which seemed to piss him off as much as anything else, he was left off the 2006 World Cup side and has been a forgotten man ever since.
He still might have some usefulness coming off the bench for the US - streaky or not, when he's hot, as he is now, he's as dangerous as anyone we've got - but it's unlikely he'll get a call.
But you have to guess that even the current wheeler-dealer regime in Dallas isn't going to send him away anytime soon. It's probably safe to say that he's found a home in Dallas.
For his part, all Cunningham - a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve - has ever wanted is a little love and that's something Dallas fans seem more than happy to provide.
As for New England, who only added to their problems when Jay Heaps got carted off in the tenth minute, the loss puts them in the precarious 8th and last playoff spot while, incredibly, Dallas is now only four points back.
The loss was also a good break for DC United and Toronto FC, keeping both teams within easy reach of NE for the lone "wild card" spot that the East currently seems likely to get.
As for the DC/SJB game last night, well, it's hard to know what to say exactly.
Is Jabloteh really that bad? Is DC's bench really that good? Either way, the serious beat down the District laid on their opponent last night has to, at the least, give them some warm fuzzies leading up to Saturday's absolutely crucial do-or-die match with Chivas .
That's not a Steven Lenhart, bull-in-a-china-shop goal. That's just one damn nice piece of skill.
If they'd known that the well-traveled Jamaican born forward was going to go nuts (I'd say "catch fire" but Hunt Sports decided they preferred the inane - in the American context - "FC" moniker to being called "Burn") when they finally packed Frankencooper (and, presumably, his enormous schwanzstucker) off to Europe they would have done it last year.
In case you missed it, the final score last night was Dallas 1, New Englands' Playoff Hopes 0.
Of course, everyone has noticed that the teams occupying the bottom of the MLS table are suddenly acting like real live soccer teams, but Kansas City and New York are at least explainable because they have new guys calling the shots.
And as we've observed before, there's often a "Thank God the Old Coach is Gone" effect, a "bounce" if you will, when the players just feel so doggone good about life now that the last guy is playing golf all day that they go out and kick a bunch of end-of-season tail.
So with the Red Bulls under Richie "If My Scrawny Ass Could Do It, Yours Sure As Hell Can" Williams and the Wizards being helmed by Peter "Play Good or I'll Beat You to Death" Vermes, at least there's a rational explanation for the fact that suddenly they're among the last teams you want to see on your schedule.
And losing to, say, Houston or LA in a big "must win" game at the moment is at least explainable: they're good teams having good seasons under experienced coaches with impressive records.
Conversely, in Dallas, they're under the same coach that the fans have wanted tarred and feathered for months, a guy with absolutely no MLS experience who was apparently hired because the owner played for him back in the Eisenhower Administration.
I'll leave it to a post by loyal Dallas fan giggshasscored to put what's going on into some perspective:
First match without Kenny Cooper: 6-0 win against KC
Second match without Kenny Cooper: 1-0 win against Dynaho
First match without Drew Moor: 2-2 draw against DC United
Second match without Drew Moor: 6-3 win against Galaxy
First match after Pablo Richetti benching: 3-0 win against RSL
Second match afer Pablo Richetti benching: 1-0 win against NE Rev
All of which leads one to conclude that perhaps the guys running this show aren't as painfully imbecilic as had been previously believed. They suddenly have a lethal attack, a very solid midfield, an improving defense (Dallas winning matches 1-0 is, I believe, one of the signs of the Apocalypse) and, incredibly, after starting the season 2-8-1 have won five of nine since the All Star break, and 3 of their last 4.
As for Cunningham, currently on his fifth team since 2004, he's spent his career being pegged as the perfect third forward, a description he hates like Bruce Arena hates journalists.
Most people have forgotten that he was repeatedly invited into the Jamaican national side - he even played for them once, in a freindly - but, largely on the basis of what he felt were promises from the aforementioned Mr. Arena, repeatedly turned them down. Instead, he went through the long, tortuous process of getting US citizenship so that he could play for his adopted country whereupon, after a few appearances, including a forgettable start against Guatemala and a 90th minute insertion against Mexico in Columbus which seemed to piss him off as much as anything else, he was left off the 2006 World Cup side and has been a forgotten man ever since.
He still might have some usefulness coming off the bench for the US - streaky or not, when he's hot, as he is now, he's as dangerous as anyone we've got - but it's unlikely he'll get a call.
But you have to guess that even the current wheeler-dealer regime in Dallas isn't going to send him away anytime soon. It's probably safe to say that he's found a home in Dallas.
For his part, all Cunningham - a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve - has ever wanted is a little love and that's something Dallas fans seem more than happy to provide.
As for New England, who only added to their problems when Jay Heaps got carted off in the tenth minute, the loss puts them in the precarious 8th and last playoff spot while, incredibly, Dallas is now only four points back.
The loss was also a good break for DC United and Toronto FC, keeping both teams within easy reach of NE for the lone "wild card" spot that the East currently seems likely to get.
As for the DC/SJB game last night, well, it's hard to know what to say exactly.
Is Jabloteh really that bad? Is DC's bench really that good? Either way, the serious beat down the District laid on their opponent last night has to, at the least, give them some warm fuzzies leading up to Saturday's absolutely crucial do-or-die match with Chivas .
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Comments
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we win trophies?Posted 01 Oct 2009 at 10:47 AM by tigersoccer2005 
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yeah, they're that bad
Posted 01 Oct 2009 at 11:05 AM by scarshins
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Cunningham
FCD's post-Cooper improvement is just the latest evidence that the "target forward" theory only holds teams back these days.
Speed kills. In MLS. Internationally. Anywhere.Posted 01 Oct 2009 at 11:06 AM by christhestud
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It would make me a happy man to see Jeffro finally find a place to land. I've always thougth he was one of the best players (not just striker) in this league since he was with the Crew and that he always just got a bad rap.
Maybe, just maybe, he has finally found a coach who can talk to him and keep his head on straight. I wish him all the luck except against the Crew.Posted 01 Oct 2009 at 11:08 AM by TimD
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Have Fred and Gomez been dispatched to the United Reserves? At my count that's three goals and two assists between the two of them.
Also, holy goddamn that music was horrible.Posted 01 Oct 2009 at 11:22 AM by dongle
Updated 01 Oct 2009 at 11:23 AM by dongle (meh. more to say.) -
Cunningham
I actually don't think the turning point for FCD was Cooper leaving.......but the introduction/assimilation of Ferreira. It took a while for him to get going, but he's quietly become one of the best players in the league. Acting as the playmaker behind Cunningham, he's the one who's providing the spark. Cooper would slow down this lethal counterattack, but would just as likely benefit greatly from Ferreira.Quote:Originally Posted by christhestud
FCD's post-Cooper improvement is just the latest evidence that the "target forward" theory only holds teams back these days.
Speed kills. In MLS. Internationally. Anywhere.
I don't think the improvement of Dax can be overlooked either. he outplayed Kyle Beckerman against RSL last weekend. Expect him at camp cupcake.
Dallas is one of those teams people around the country don't tend to pay much attention to. They can be counted on to finish at or near the bottom, so the fans on the coasts focus on their rivals. And Houston thinks of them as a punching bag. But they've been really entertaining since the All-Star break.
The poor FCD fans who wanted Hyndman run out of town........aren't going to get their wish this off-season. (Which I think many of them new already).Posted 01 Oct 2009 at 11:23 AM by Clint Eastwood 
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I hear there was > 4,000 people at RFK for that champions league game. Maybe they should have played it at Starfire
Posted 01 Oct 2009 at 11:26 AM by FijiUnited
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Cunningham
Some credit to van den Bergh as well. He's had six assists and three goals in his last 11 games, and his 10 assists - a career high - put him second in the league.Quote:Originally Posted by Clint Eastwood
I actually don't think the turning point for FCD was Cooper leaving.......but the introduction/assimilation of Ferreira. It took a while for him to get going, but he's quietly become one of the best players in the league. Acting as the playmaker behind Cunningham, he's the one who's providing the spark. Cooper would slow down this lethal counterattack, but would just as likely benefit greatly from Ferreira.
He's another one who seemed to take a while to assimilate into the team. AT first you almost hadto wonder if he just wasn't a good fit. Obviously that's not the case.Posted 01 Oct 2009 at 11:35 AM by Bill Archer
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Cunningham
The question now is what to do with Brek Shea? The answer is probably the bench, with Wallace, Lambo, Peri, Avila................Quote:Originally Posted by Bill Archer
Some credit to van den Bergh as well. He's had six assists and three goals in his last 11 games, and his 10 assists - a career high - put him second in the league.
He's another one who seemed to take a while to assimilate into the team. AT first you almost hadto wonder if he just wasn't a good fit. Obviously that's not the case.Posted 01 Oct 2009 at 11:51 AM by Clint Eastwood
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Alas, Jabloteh IS that bad. Any team that makes DC United look young and fast is no better than a mid-table D-III college team.
Posted 01 Oct 2009 at 11:53 AM by rtiemens
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