2018 Preseason Thread

Well most of their players could be considered young. I'm guessing you mean the 16-20 year olds and I agree that Cannon and Pomykal should see substantial minutes while Ferreira and Reynolds start to get token minutes at least. I'm not expecting the two new CB's to get many minutes.

 

For me I'd like to see one of the younger midfielders grab playing time so Dallas can sell one of Gruezo, Ulloa, or Acosta. Hayes, Pomykal, Servenia, Lema, someone.

What I'd really love to see is Pomykal break out at #10 so Diaz either plays better or moves on.

 

I think Acosta and Gruezo hope so too but apparently no one is very interested in purchasing them at the moment. I hope that Oscar and the team learned a lot about how to handle so many different things going on at the same time and use it to their advantage this year. Make runs in CCL, US Open Cup and MLS. Use all the players. Don't play them because they're better if they're tired etc.

 

Oh, we took an educated stab at what we think the new 2018 home kits will look like. Not saying we like/dislike - just trying to predict.

https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/soccer/soccer/2018/01/23/kit-talk-looking-2018-possibilities?f=r

 

The blue socks have potential! (although I like the white shorts even if it was an accident, I do not like all red) I hope they do more than just the plain red shirt with colored sleeves. It looks like a practice jersey (very similar to one they have had in the past).

 

Yeah, my initial thought was "that looks like a practice jersey" too but I'll hold judgement until we see the real thing. I love Liverpool but I'm happy we (seemingly) ditched the all red look.

Funny, I had never heard that the white shorts were an accident but it sounds comically fitting for this club.

 

It appears, despite speculation last season, that Maxi will be around in 2018 and beyond. His lady came back to Texas (did she ever leave or was that also speculation?) and had their child. He's happy and ready to kick ass...

https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/so...er-rocky-offseasonmaxi-urruti-might-long-haul

 

Ha, I was just about to post that too. That's where I see him or as a dual 8/10 in a 4-3-3. Now wouldn't that be intriguing at times to have Diaz and Pax together in that formation at times? Here's the link to a fairly long interview. Seems like a good kid.

https://www.fcdallas.com/post/2018/...t-preseason-session-yet-wednesday-comes-close

 

Buzz and or our own BigSoccer Hitman (3rd Degree/DMN) with a couple of nice articles on the scrimmage Saturday against the University of Tulsa. Quick read and to pique your interest is that only very young and hopeful players involved and they liked Pomykol, Servania and Amer Sasivarevic who's a left back triallist from Grand Canyon U and taught by one Schellas Hyndman there. Glad someone was able to go and right it up as I was on beer drinking duty and missed it.

https://www.fcdallas.com/post/2018/...t-preseason-session-yet-wednesday-comes-close

 

Amer Sasivaveric is a Superdraft pick.

 

Ah, I didn't pay attention to those picked on the second day. I guess I thought they had zero chance.

 

No one is talking about it on here but we tied 1-1 with a 4th division team yesterday and it doesn't give me warm fuzzies about how this season will go.

 

Way too early to be worried about a score. I missed the match and since it was on youtube figured I could watch later. Somehow Chattanooga has tons of other games on their website but not this one. I guess FCD also didn't archive it. So ... how did FCD look, how did certain players look, did we control but not finish a few chances (It seems Colman picked up where he left off and missed two fairly easy ones and Tesho one). We have two more games this week that should go a long way in telling us how we may look this year.

 

I'm never going to be terribly concerned about a preseason game score. We moved a lot of bodies in and out, Colman still can't find the goal, and Chattanooga played it like it was a cup final.

Kudos to Chattanooga. They knew what they were about. They had 5,000 people out for a preseason game, and the team responded. They played their starters, made only 3 subs, and played hard.

Dallas played like it was a preseason game. It was clear that we were better on size, athleticism, and skill at nearly every position on the field. But the player rotation didn't help the chemistry any, and Chattanooga was crowding the box. FCD didn't look particularly sharp, but I thought overall that the movement and energy of the team were good.

 

They really showed that, as long as they continue kicking it around the backline with "patience" and are slow in transition, any bunkering team is enough to stop Mauro from doing much with the ball.

 

You're forgetting we didn't have our Swiss CB. Good things happen when Dallas has Swiss player as long as they stay away from a certain food.

 

Funny although a photo of Squidward would be even funnier.

 

So besides for the team website, and 3rd Degree, which media outlets actually cover the team? How many of the big papers or TV channels? I stayed a night in Dallas last week and barely saw anything for preseason, upcoming season, ticket ads?

 

...and you've spotted one of FCD's biggest pain points....

3rd works with Dallas Morning News to provide soccer coverage
The Ticket has a Saturday radio show
ESPN radio has a Sunday radio show

TV: for all intents and purposes none of the local affiliates put much time towards FCD simply because of the incredibly limited amount of time they have for a sports segment these days. That time tends to go towards Cowboys, Stars, Mavs and Rangers. Only on the most obvious of stories will a station dedicate some time towards the team.

and since I know where this conversation will go next, I will be proactive with the following:

This is 1000% the byproduct of the club's miserable marketing, which leads to half full stadiums and a place in the back of the DFW sports/entertainment room. I can tell you as a 30 year media decision maker and content creator (and host of one of the above mentioned radio shows) - the demand for FCD coverage pales in comparison to any of the other teams. It is NOT the media's job to create that demand. It is the product. The media is simply a reflection of the marketplace it serves. TV focuses on weather because people love the weather.

I promise you, when a sports/news director is convinced that ratings (aka: $$) could increase by covering FCD - they'll be there. Prom-Prom.