Game: Portland Timbers vs FC Dallas Date: Saturday, September 29th Time: 9:30 PM [CST] Location: Providence Park, Portland, Oregon, United States of America Weather Forecast: Partly Cloudy; H 73, L 54 Competition: Major League Soccer Last 5 For Opponent: L-W-L-W-D Live TV: KTXA-21 [DFW] | KAMR-4.2 [Amarillo] | KMYL-22.2 [Lubbock] | KFXK-51.2 [Tyler] | KFDX-28.2 (KJBO) [Wichita Falls] | KPDX-30 [Portland] | ESPN+ [Out of Market] Radio: FCDallas.com/radio [English] | KFLC 1270 AM La Voz del Pueblo [Spanish] Another big one in the playoff race. I feel better after last weekend's big win as far as us performing on turf but I'd definitely take a draw.
The Vancouver game was encouraging, but I've learned to never expect anything good from us in Portland. A tie would be positive in my book.
Don't we always seem to surprise when not expected then our hopes are up and we crash? To crawl out of an end of season malaise we always seem to find ourselves in I hope this is the year we actually start gelling as the playoffs near and we become the hot team that wins it all. I can dream. BTW, anyone else think putting Aranguiz in place of Ulloa and keeping the rest of the lineup the same except for possibly replacing Colman with Badji is an intriguing thought? That tradeoff of way more creativity for a bit left defense would be a huge risk but one that could be the final push for a title. Anyway Maxi at attacking mid is like two defenders so Ulloa wouldn't be missed as much. It would actually be more of a 4-3-3 than the 4-3-2-1.
The only fear I have is that our record with Ulloa and Gruezo is really good and I don't want to break it up. Reading the practice report from Buzz makes me think Colman will start again. Somehow his confidence has sky-rocketed with the recent start and getting noticed by his national team. Small victories and all that. Maybe, by the grace of the Gods, he can find a goal. How scary would we be with a Chicharito in this team?
Colman never scores but he is an amazing aerial asset. I guess it's forward by committee. Wonder why the braintrust has something against a bonafide big center forward. They're like Jerry Jones and coaches. So I guess we are what we are which is a stout defensive team that at times can play some nice attacking soccer. Will that be enough when the effort increases and the weather cools down?
Missed the game but the highlights looked pretty weak. Of course Colman missed another great chance. Playoffs clinched, so there's that. LAFC lost in Chicago. SKC play today. Definitely need to finish 1st because we're just a different monster at home (usually).
By a "bonafide big center forward" you mean someone like Zlatan? What they have against that is $$$$$$$. 4 points from two games in the northwest on turf. I'll take it. Colman is working hard and winning balls in the air, but geez, at least make the GK move to save your shot.
I only have one tip for fellow Hoops supporters... never watch a Dortmund match immediately before watching Dallas. I watched a recorded Dortmund vs Nurnberg then switched over, good grief it was depressing. Two totally different games.
Its clear to me Pareja has decided his only path to success is to forgo aesthetics of soccer and just grind out results. It's working, but it's not much fun to watch. The reality is OP doesn't have a good solve at the #9. Badji has a bag of nothing to begin with and when you add in he's just, understandably, unfamiliar with the team and Urruti is needed to birddog around the field and do what Maxi does. So that leaves Tesho or Colman. ToeMAYtoe - ToeMAHtoe. The one moment of Colman, where he reads the scene correctly and makes a run to intercept a back pass, that just happens to put the ball exactly where he'd want it - only to hit it right at the keeper - is so very much Colman. He's a drinking game. Lastly, go back and watch Pareja's video interview after the game with the FCD guy. I've known OP for a long time and that is not a face I equate with happiness. The ever so meek smile that pops on his face when he's told they've qualifies for the playoffs is weird. That is not a look Oscar has when he's in a good mood. Hey Oscar. You’re in the playoffs. pic.twitter.com/7Sut7bY5m7— peter (@peet2) September 30, 2018
Maybe because "making the playoffs" doesn't really mean shit in this league? Or shouldn't be any kind of milestone in Pareja's eyes?
Honestly, this team has made the playoffs four out of the five years under OP, and if it weren't for a last-second goal by San Jose on the last day of last season, it would've been five-for-five, so yeah, I can understand why he isn't popping the champagne right now. I'm sure he'll be a bit happier if/when they clinch a first-round bye, but it's pretty clear that there's only one thing that he wants right now, and they give out that trophy in December. The good news is this team is better at playing results-oriented soccer than any of OP's squads over the past five years, which is a good thing for the playoffs. No, it's often not fun to watch, but two years ago, when FCD won the double, Seattle won MLS Cup while not even putting a shot on goal. But I concur with Peet. This team needs a credible #9 like no one's business. Badji is an upgrade over Colmán and Tesho, insofar as he actually scores slightly more often, but he ain't exactly "write his name on the team sheet in permanent ink" material. I was not thrilled by this result, but it was a fair result and after getting the win in Vancouver, it was a perfectly acceptable result, especially in a stadium where FCD hasn't exactly excelled over the years. But at the same time, they absolutely need to drop the hammer on OCSC at home next Saturday.
As good as our set pieces were vs. Vancouver, they were really bad this week, as if Maxi lost his touch on turf. The corner kick that couldn't even get the ball into the box was particularly bad. Mosquera was MOTM? I'd pick Hedges.
I'm not sure I'd go as far as saying Oscar has sacrificed aesthetics for results when we just posted a couple of 3+ goal games barely a month ago. But he definitely has altered the general approach and who can blame him when you saw how we were defending in some games recently. Plus, I don't think it's mentioned enough but I feel like the midfield has been broken since the 2016 season when Diaz went down injured and never recovered his form before being sold. He was the perfect #10 for this team and system. He knew when to move, where to move, had very good vision and passing ability to pick players out, everything was just precise and he was the player who made this team tick. You're not going to get that out of Urruti or whoever else you shoehorn into that spot right now, not even Aranguiz who has shown flashes but nothing mesmerizing that makes him a certain starter right now. He's clearly one for 2019. Without that #10 who links everything together, the team struggles to maintain a consistent balance in its game and often relies on luck, individual brilliance, or just sheer forcing our way through to make plays happen. It's difficult to sustain that over a 90 minute stretch, let alone for an entire season. His injury bit us more than we like to admit and our FO's insistence on continuing to build around him until there was no choice but to sell him or risk getting nothing in return for his departure didn't help anyone. I'm sure that our play will get better next year once our new #10 acclimatizes here and the midfield is built around him while they find a solution to the forward problem once Colman is surely offloaded (I actually thought he had a pretty decent game here for a change). Until then, we've just got to find ways to keep winning and get the job done from here on out and hope that's enough to lead us to the MLS Cup. That's what 'Busca La Forma' is supposed to be all about.
I would agree, but amend it: "He was the perfect #10 for this team WHEN IT HAD CASTILLO and system. I'm not suggesting Fabian was some sort of world class player, but despite his inability to consistently make the right decision in the box - his speed and skill getting from here to there was exactly what Diaz was good at utilizing. While Barrios has some of this, when he's the only one it really dinged Diaz's ability to capitalize on it. It was the pair of them that really was a good trio. Pre Castillo-Elope, Pareja simply had a MLS top quality mixture of danger going forward. We tend for get how mostly poor it was at actually converting those chances but did so at a rate high enough it was cruising just fine until Turkey called.