I'm not going to call for Schellas' head or write off this season when there are 7 potential starters either injured or suspended compared to the lineup that was on the field at the end of the game. Shea, Ferreira, Villar, Castillo, Ugo, John, Pertuz. Are you kidding me? This wasn't just one cog missing. When we get closer to full strength and are still losing, then I'll be upset. I don't understand all the pessimism and and comparisons to 2003. Even with all the injuries and red cards, this team isn't getting their ass kicked off the field. Yeah, the winless streak is up to 8 but they have had a chance to win most games. A little better finishing here or there, maybe a couple referee decisions go our way and this streak is 2-2-4 instead of 0-5-3. I went to plenty of games in 2003 and you knew that team was losing as soon as the ball was kicked off. That's definitely not the feeling right now.
Rodriguez is terrible. The only consolation is that he's only out there because of injuries. This whole run of futility sucks. Now personally I don't think anything dramatic needs to happen; we just need to get guys back and on the field on a regular basis and good things will start to happen. But then I start to feel this creeping fear that we'll never get the best guys out on the field at the same time, at least not in time to make a serious run. Let's say they get healthy again...so how long does that last before some hacktastic son of a bitch from another team puts one of our guys out of action again (and gets no yellow or red as a result, for that matter.)
Put PHP on the FW Northside and I bet the stadium fills up with a largely Hispanic crowd. I'd vote for this since it would mean my commute to the game would be about 10 miles instead of the 55 miles it is now.
The other bullshit aspect of our time at Southlake was the fact that there were no beer sales allowed in Dragon Stadium. High school stadium, fake turf, football lines and Dragon logo permanently etched over the soccer lines, no beer, few Hispanic fans, crappy team line up and worthless coach. Brilliant move by HSG.
That's a dark place that some of you are going to. It took me a long time to come back from there, and I don't recommend it to any of you. This is not even anywhere that we once were. Points have been scarce, yes. Fortune has been poor, yes. But, those able to stand are still trying to defy the fates. I look at the coaching staff eyes and I see a nasty desperate and combative intensity. I look at the play of most of the players, and I see real heart despite the depleted roster. If you are a fan, how can you turn on your team when they are battling against the odds every game? They are not giving up. If we as fans are throwing in the towel, then we would deserve the same effort from the team. Our biggest problem seems to be misdirected intensity. Let's look to steal points every chance we get until the reinforcements arrive. If you go to a game, do your part. Make it the most unpleasant experience possible for opposing teams and non-neutral referees. At minimum, it is great stress relief. We will be back in the race within a month. Those of you falling off the bandwagon will feel silly. Must keep the faith.
I don't think Rodriguez is terrible but he is very casual at times about defending. I do question whether he would be playing if he were a home grown player with the same skill set. We have a home grown left back who has never made the field. Is his play and especially defending worse? RSL is a great example as a team that does play their own. If Kreis were coach here a few of those guys would be contributing a lot more than at present.
So did FCD have success when Ferreira was playing because of Schellas or in spite of him ? Initially, I thought he was in over his head but you cannot argue with the results he had when Ferreira was on the field. This team has suffered without Ferreira but is that on the coach ? Maybe it is, one player should not make that big a difference over so many games. I have questioned his substitution patterns, player rotation (or lack thereof), young player "weaning", tactical adjustments, etc... but does not every fan question every coaches' decision making ? One thing I did like, his propensity to recruit highly skillful, but perhaps not "physically imposing" players. OTOH, it's looking more and more like the MLS refs are allowing the physical play to neutralize any "technical skills" advantages that Schellas likes to recruit.
I think that's exactly right. A huge part of coaching is planning for inevitable injuries and suspensions by building a team that has depth and versatility. Last year Schellas showed a stubborn refusal to alter his tactics or his squad based on the realities of injuries and fixture congestion. This year after even more injuries he still he not shown any signs of knowing how to adjust. Good teams DO adjust when they lose big players to injury, because they plan for that certainty much more effectively than we do. That's why I think this is primarily Schellas's fault.
I think the fact that we did well last season without Ferreira last season before our eventual collapse proves that this isn't all on DF10. I think it's alarming that we've ditched players that have worked well for us. We had an MLS Cup worthy team that should have damn well been champions of the league if it weren't for the worst luck on Earth and what did we do? We let 3 key players go. Regardless of what you think about Harris, he did the job for FCD. Same goes for Pearce and (of course) Dax. Now we add Chavez to that list. These were all important aspects of a team that worked and we just let them go.
Exactly. And this is what we got. Heath Pearce: Money Dax McCarty: nothing Atiba Harris: nothing Eric Avila: Maicon Santos……nothing Eric Alexander: Jeremy Hall….nothing Marvin Chavez: Money Since the MLS Cup, Frisco has been a revolving door of players coming and going. How many new faces have we seen in that time not counting draftees or HG/Academy players? At least 12 from what I can remember.
Your words are true, sad and funny. Please laminate this thought so we can use it in the future. Only the 2010 fanboys will fall away from supporting this club. It's pathetic most of the time and the owners will always be frugal and not afraid of mediocrity but this pathetic sack of club is our pathetic sack of club.
I think the Hunt boys bet themselves a long time ago to see how many championships they could win with their sports teams without having the best of anything.
And yet, look at the 2012 salary rankings and see where we land. (Hint: Not at the bottom.) The thing is that guys have been getting raises since 2010. Shea got a raise, Hartman got a raise, Ferreira was made a DP, and so on. In addition, we signed Blas Perez, to the tune of $300,000 a year.
You're probably right that Big D is going to win the D v. FW stadium question... That's why I think Ft. Worth should have their own team... NPSL, PDL, USL-PRO, something. All they've got is the Cats! (and some small private school whose name eludes me at the moment ;-))
Basically the Cowboys and Rangers are in between since they are in Arlington. Kind of surprised no one has ever tried to find a location in between but farther north since that would be the middle of population in the metroplex. Maybe LBJ and I-35 or a LBJ and 190.
There's a bit of open space there. Maybe even near Grapevine mall, which would put it right along 121, and a short trip to FCD Stadium But with the success of stadia like Houston's, I imagine they'll look a little more towards the center of the city, or closer to TCU.
Yeah, you're 100% right on that one. Last I saw our attendance was still up (albeit minimally) from last season, despite our poor performance. I'll try not to read too much into it, but it is unfortunate that we have this beautiful new stadium that so few people bother to see. Maybe hire the RoughRiders marketing folks, they always seem to do pretty well attendance-wise
Marketing is much better than it was a few years ago. The game day experience is much better. There are a number of factors that plague (and will always plague, IMO) FCD's attendance numbers that have been beaten to death in countless threads. It is what it is.
Even so if we switched ownership with Kansas City does anyone think FCD's attendance wouldn't rise and KC's fall? Ownership is still not doing everything they can.