Dynamo 2018 Preseason

Some old and new faces








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Open Training 2018










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There’s absolutely nothing you can break down from the first couple of practices from a player standpoint. When I had a press pass, I would snicker at the journos that would try to make grand pronouncements of a player from the first practice. It’s not even the equivalent of the 1st NFL preseason game where the starters get one series and eat hotdogs on the bench the rest of the game.

The only thing you can tell is who ran in the off-season, who didn’t, and who’s just a freak of nature athlete.

 

Rey,

I agree we shouldn't jump ahead of ourselves but I have been going to these things for many years and you do end up spotting guys that stand out. This gives me added interest in focusing on the few candidates that actually have a chance of making the team as well as looking at the progress of the younger players like Palamino.

I certainly did not catch everything but here at some of the questions I am interested in -

1) RGV guys which were brought up like Ward Byrd Malki etc. Are they really good enough / have the potential to be a starter in MLS? Ward and Byrd looked good at times at RGV but I am not sure they have the pace to compete in MLS. The open cup performance against KC for Ward and Bird wasn't all that great so I'm skeptical about the decision to sign them. However, I was genuinely surprised with Kevin Garcia holding his own in limited MLS appearances last year (granted he wasn't asked to do much going forward) so I need to see them in more minutes against MLS competition to really judge their potential.

2) Many of us spotted Holden, Cameron, Memo, Sarkodie, Mark Sherrod early on before their first season started. We know what many of the vets can do so we can now focus on these new players that are trying to make the team. We know some contributed more than others but we all saw the potential for at least helping the team in some way. Let's hope Mac Steeves has the promise that Sherrod had without the injuries.

3) Players in new roles - this year it's goalkeeping and Tomas as the number 10 spot. I watched the keepers in training and couldn't really tell much except that they are all about the same height and build - seems like the coaches are looking for a specific type that is taller than Tyler. I didn't catch any highlight reel saves in the game drills. I am skeptical of Martinez as the #10. I still don't think he is as good as Alex was. I am watching for improvement in helping with possession, getting more assists and scoring goals.

4) Surprise trialists - every now and then a surprise shows up like Taylor or Sanchez last year. This Bilyue kid and Mekiel Williams may be better than the trio brought up from RG. I will be watching and comparing these players.

We don't have the season yet so this is what we have at the moment.

 

no live streaming web page for the scrimmage?

 

I assume Mekeil Williams would consume an international slot?

 

Most of the 2017 defensive reserves except Remick sucked, and even Remick was hit and miss. I don't understand talking up Garcia, I thought he stunk and in particular was an immobile player whose most likely use was on the flank, a recipe for disaster.

I was therefore pleased to see some new bodies in, and if anything wished they churned the position more and got younger. I think the fix is in in terms of who will start and that it may involve Machado wide.

I therefore think Fuenmayor is ticketed for the bench regardless of how he plays. But I would like to see what we got anyway.

I am also interested how Bilyeu and Williams play, what do they offer, however, again, there, my concern would be that signing Malki and Garcia to the first team roster ahead of time (particularly when they are Cabrera people) is a tip off it is not to be a fair fight. There is also the question of whether Williams consumes an international slot.

I think any of the three plus Remick could earn their way on the field objectively over the course of the season -- like Martinez and Cabezas last season -- but I think we as usual will take our sweet time confronting reality. Other than who out of Alvarez, Ceren, and Alexander completes the Martinez/Cabezas midfield, or an injury that forces a change, and whether Willis comes back and if he starts, the fix is basically in (whether I like it or not):

Seitz
Machado Leonardo Senderos Beasley
Ceren Martinez Cabezas
Elis Manotas Quioto

 

Give me 2-3 games in a preseason and I'll tell you what you have. They are not usually fit, yes, but their minutes are usually handled accordingly. So it might be 30 good minutes and not 60-90 but if you are totally gassed and not playing like yourself you have a serious problem. A good player shows me flashes of the speed, touch, thought process that will show up in greater quantity with game fitness. The other team is usually equally working into shape, and you are often enough playing your cohort (A v A, B v B), so I think you get an idea whether a player is decent or not.

I grant that it's better at weeding out than proving the future, but I could tell you last preseason it was going to be a fun, fast offense, but that the defensive subs couldn't even look competent against a similar B team opponent, much less the A team they would really play.

I also agree that a player who looks good against B teamers may not flourish against actual As, but conversely if you suck against Bs why even bother. I'd rather have players who are at least fooling me with positive play than the opposite, I know they can't even stop NYRB B and they give up two goals and god help us they see the field in a league game.

My thing is with the exception of Torres, who should have been blowing our doors off anyway at his cost, we tend to resist what preseason shows. So I think the "but it's just preseason" already gets full voiced expression and what we need more of, is "wow that kid looks good" coming off the bench, as opposed to the rote assumption that next man up Garcia or Boniek is obviously the next option, regardless of how indifferent they look in preseason. My experience is the opposite: I am rarely fooled by some bench player who looked bad in preseason magically taking off in the regular, or when some ageing veteran makes no preseason impact but we're supposed to wait for the switch to flip. To me, if the switch is there at all, you see the flashes in preseason, they score at least once, they have chances and then unlucky or tired shots, they hold the fort on defense. If they don't do anything now at least some, I don't expect anything later. To me it is actually a check against the executive or managerial abstracted hubris that we are saturated in before a ball is kicked.....if you pay attention.

Now, in terms of results, if we win because we go deeper with our As against their Bs, fair enough, but if our As are churning out 0-0s against their As, hmmm, maybe our offense has some issues. Conversely, if we put up 2-0 against their As but then the B team defense folds and it ends 2-2, I like the look of that but just pray the Bs never have to see the field.

 

2-0 against a mediocre college team? Last year it was 5-0. Granted, it appears UTRGV is a defensive minded team that allowed roughly a goal a game last season, but they were also .500 and hardly playing an ACC schedule to get there. Slightly concerned, but on to the next one.

I don't think you can read much into the lineups in terms of first team players because they seem deliberately shuffled. I don't think that matters first versus second quarter. Exceptions: it would appear that Williams was with the first team, as were Ward and Steeves. That they played in the early quarters may say something.

I think Steeves in particular, unless he plays horribly, serves a tactical need for a "hammer" and has basically no competition.

I see that as a positive development because for too long -- other than perhaps a player like Sanchez who serves a specific purpose -- we have operated on "next man up principles" instead of having a mix of attributes on the bench. A big guy, a fast guy, a technical guy, a rough closer.

I think you can see a pecking order of sorts among sub or RGV types in who went in the first two quarters, or the third, or worse the fourth. But that is subject to change of course.