I hope he follows through on the discipline for red cards. It must eat him up to see that with all he's been through in martial arts. I say don't just take them away from the team but take them to an octagon and "learn 'em" not to do that again.
Thinking of SH's martial arts: anyone else ever wonder if some call or player will finally crack him and he goes off on the field on a thug or ref? Would have loved to see it after Dema broke his second Dallas leg had he been coach at the time.
So another opportunity to capture 3 points goes by and nobody could care less. Amazing that SH isn't feeling the pressure as of yet. I think the plan is to play mediocre. DF looked good and his touch was the best on our side for sure. Not that the bar is real high or anything. This team is painful to watch. It never appears they are going to win. I have to post to keeP this thread higher on the list. TFC is certainly better with Mariner in charge but we didn't have to travel somewhere. If your not playing for 3 points at home and 1 on the road just do us a favor and stop. We have fired coaches for less. As a coach you have to figure out how pick up points regardless of problems. I was very hopeful that we would win. Lots in our favor. TFC not the best, DF returning, new sponsor, large crowd, warm evening, etc.... It's frustrating to watch these guys get a goal and then sit back. It's not good enough. How many years does SH have left on his contract? I think it's 10 or something crazy like that. I suppose we are stuck with this joker for another decade.
In what is pretty much a must-win game, there isn't a single forward on the pitch (nor on the bench for that matter, Sealy's "Fake #9" doesn't count), and only 2 subs are used, the second of which came in the 91st minute. Despite Toronto having a lot more of the possession in the second half, the only change made was Ferreira, which unfortunately didn't help a whole lot, as while there were moments of greatness, there were also a lot of moments of rust. Is it bad that a part of me wants Ruben Luna to be traded somewhere to see if his inability to get into a game is down to his ability level or bad/stubborn coaching?
That has got to be stubborness. Why else would SH continue to let DH take FK/CK, even after having Jackson do it last game? I wouldn't at all be surprised to hear of a divide in the locker room soon.
Why all the clamoring for a striker to be in the lineup? Didn't you just see Spain roll through Euro 2012 without one?!
Well if we could control the ball and keep it then we might be able to play without a striker but if you can't do that you need some one that can put the ball in the back of the net. It works for Spain because they have the ball for 70% of the game. I'm not entirely certain this squad could score with extra men on the pitch. The off season will be interesting for sure. It's fairly obvious that we need to add better players but not certain how much money we can free up dropping some of the current roster and don't believe that many players would have any value when it comes to trading. I fear that we could lose DF or Shea at some point in the near future. I think Shea will stay no longer than he needs to. As playing for FC Dallas does not help his stock with UMNT. I'm still hopeful that we can turn the ship around but it gets a little harder with every lousy performance.
I believe, though am not certain, that this post is the first post on BigSoccer to use the phrase "the offseason", during the 2012 campaign. I believe if there were any doubts about the season being over, they have finally been squashed. R.I.P. 2012 season... You were murdered by Shellas Hyndman and injuries.
Will Oscar swoop for some of the homegrowns? I'm not sure FCD doesn't have the players as other good players have moved on recently and are doing fine elsewhere. Who's to say some of these kids wouldn't also? What they don't have is a coach who believes in them and wants to develop them.
I have a really hard time understanding how a guy like Luna, who absolutely dominated the DA leagues since the age of 15, was top scorer in the reserve league last year, and scored two goals in the otherwise dismal team outing in Panama, has had such little opportunity to play with the first team, outside of games where it was near impossible for him to shine due to teammates picking up red cards before he was subbed in. Granted, I don't see what goes on at training every day, but I do see how ineffective all the other of Hyndman's attempts to fill Perez's spot have been.
I hate beating this dead horse but it just pisses me off the more I think about it. SH, for whatever reason/excuse, let some of our most talented players go. Some more talented than others on their own but combined, they were a force: -Dax -Cunningham -Avila -Pearce -Harris -Chavez This, combined with who we got to replace them, should be reason enough to fire him.
The one thing that we really have to give him credit for is some excellent draft picks. With his apparent distrust of young players, it's surprising to recall that Shea, Loyd, John, and Hedges were all Hyndman draft picks (if indeed it was Hyndman who made the decisions). That and the MLS Cup appearance will be his legacy, and it's a fine legacy to have. But even successful coaches eventually wear out their welcome, and he has undoubtedly done so on the basis of other bad roster moves and seemingly-inexplicable but consistent game mismanagement.
Five starters and the first offensive sub off the bench. Are the replacements better? Dax or Jacobson? Jacobsen offers height (especially in the box and maybe better defense while Dax better possession, offense and free kicks Blas or Cunningham? Totally different players would play well together? Avila or ??? Don't even know who super sub right now is but if all are healthy maybe Castillo Pearce or Loyd? I really miss Pearce who made marauding runs and had a lot of assists Harris or Jackson? again different power versus crafty Chavez or Jackson? raw speed vs crafty
Shea was a Morrow pick. In fact he's the only player on the roster that wasn't brought in under Hyndman's tenure.
Funny, I was thinking about comparing the pieces of the 2010 roster that were let go/traded compared to the ones we kept earlier. If I get time later, I might do some analysis on it, but my initial thought is that if any had to go, we got rid of the wrong ones.
But Pearce plays on the left side. If you compare him to Benitez then clearly Hyndman made a terrible choice there.
He did play on the right when he was here, but LB is his better position. In terms of the position he played in Dallas, I do think Loyd is an upgrade, but I'm not sure you can argue the same for Benitez over Pearce. Pearce doesn't tend to get stupid red cards for a start.
My bad. Oh well, GJ and Loyd and Hedges have still been good. But wow, taking Shea out of the equation kind of emphasizes just how defensive-minded Hyndman has been with the roster.
I don't have the quote or date but I believe there was a press conference where Hyndman was asked about Portland's young players getting quality minutes. He responded with something along the lines of "I would/could never reward lazy practice players." Considering that the question was presented as one about youth players, I took the response as a shot directly at all of the homegrowns. That Castillo and, as some have mentioned, draft picks like John and Loyd get all the time they can handle, he could very well be taken at his word, if I understood it correctly.
Which is kind of funny, given one of the big criticisms levied at Morrow was his abundance of defensive midfielders.
At some point during a 12 game winless streak you have to get off your high horse and do what's best for the team rather than being a stubborn, cantankerous, old fool. Perhaps if the players in question were ever given a sniff of playing quality minutes, they may be more motivated in practice too.
You might want to check out his assists the year they went to the finals. He had a bit of knuckleheadiness ( also step to the front of the line senor Benitez) but that was a balanced attack with Pearce and Benitez.