1. Players love the guy and will play hard for him. Hard to explain for those who haven't seen him in action but even 6 year olds will play hard for him even though they just met him. No one wants to let Papi down. Also don't be fooled by what a nice guy he is, underneath is an extremely competitive guy. Didn't even like losing at soccer volleyball when the players would unwind. 2. Talent evaluation. Brought in very good young players through the draft last year in Colorado. Pair that with knowing which players in the Academy are ready and which players to bring in from other countries. 3. S. American connections especially in Colombia. Did he have a hand in Castillo and Ferreira? He surely did in Gabriel Torres from Panama. He won't hit on everyone but Dallas has had a lot of duds the last few years. 4. Style of play. Remember during the Dir years how hard it was to win in Dallas? Looking forward to a return of those days as teams wear out chasing the ball in the North Texas heat. Conversely, I believe they need a bit of an alternate style for the colder months especially during the playoffs as players can run around more during cooler weather. 5. He will play young players. The biggest surprise for me about SH was that he almost never played young players. I thought that would be a strength of his coming from college soccer. I don't have worries about OP in that regard and watching HG's blossom into contributors and hopefully a few stars will now start happening. Danny Garcia, Kellyn Acosta, Moises Hernandez, Jonathan Top and Bradlee Baladez have no excuses now. Before one could say that SH just doesn't play the kids. Now if they don't play it's on them.
2 more months and this long term project starts. Hope the Hunts give him as much patience as they did SH.
I would love it if someone could figure out a way to see how much seniors played at SMU compared to younger guys, and then compare to other schools. Anecdotally, does anyone know if SH was reluctant to give minutes to talented underclassmen?
I vote for no patience. He needs to perform, and get the team in contention for the title, or we keep it fresh. Getting the box to box MF DP and a wide player with a cultured foot is just as important as securing a coach. If OP cannot get the group going, show him the door and get the next guy in there. Just don't torch the all important roster. This rebuilding crock of sh!t gets very old. Just get a couple of pieces to replace the old Leonel Alvarez and ROB, and there you go. OP should have a great handle on our youth system to supplement and develop other parts of the roster. Just win baby, win. I'm sure that OP is the man to do it. he doesn't need anyone coddling him.
So you're saying take the Toronto mentality? Dump coach after coach until one can make a miracle happen? Why not get one who has a philosophy and a revolving pool of talent to set us up as contenders for a long time to come?
If the man can coach, and I have great confidence that he can, then let him win. Don't set him up with coddling excuses. This is not a rebuild from square one situation. He was brought in because he knows the system and player pool. But, if it turns out that he is AVB or David Moyes then yes. Goodbye. But, I am highly confident in OP. Who the hell hires a guy to go lose? What a pathetic plan. This is a competitive game and competitive league. Go compete, and win. He doesn't have to win a title this year, but he might. However, a minimum expectation is playoffs with a rise to the end of the year. If not, then you bring in someone who can get it done. As for the revolving pool of talent, that sh!t needs to end. We need to continue to build the value of the roster and quit this dumb@ss roster torching that takes place with every coaching hire. Change coaches like you change socks. The priority is the on the field product. And, the guy that can stoke the embers is the guy who gets to manage until he doesn't. I hope he grows old with a long string of successes.
While I agree the torching of the roster needs to end, the sad fact is that Dallas' roster has been a mess since the day after MLS Cup 2010. Changes will still need to be made, and while I think Pareja is a better coach (particularly for younger players) than Hyndman, I still don't view this season as much more than a rebuilding year.
I don't think the Hunts/Clavijo see it like theodore, other than the idea is to win. I think the Hunts brought OP to be the coach for the next 10 years or longer. They see him as being part of the FCD family and believe fiercely in him and are going to give him a long string from which to work. If there are some early bumps in the road, they're certainly not going to quickly jettison the guy.
Thank the Gods for that. Theo, we all love you but you get a bug up your ass about something sometimes (it use to be the hacking midfielder) and won't let it go despite how crazy it sounds. Yes, we have guys on the roster that he is familiar with now but I don't think you can put those expectations on him until he has a chance to bring his guys in. Every coach has a system and they usually give the current crop a chance to see if they can play before making huge changes. That's what this year is about for us. Do I expect us to win most of the time and do well (especially at home)? Of course, but you can't expect this guy to make a deep playoff run when he hasn't had a chance to bring his men into the fold yet.
I think he's just saying there is no reason to give up on next year. No need to purposely lose the next few years while improving the roster. As to the hacking midfielder I have come to agree with him although one who hacks and has skills too is better. One who can hack, play and cover the spot solo is what gets you to the upper level and gives you a chance every year. We played with two last year who were often less useful that other teams with one great or really good skilled and hacking defensive mid who could cover ground.
yep I think you guy are misconstruing Theo's sentiment. he doesn't want Oscar to get any special treatment that any other new coach wouldn't get (I agree). he also wants FCD to have a style/system such that we know consistently the players we need to draft/acquire and don't need to 'blow up' the entire roster anytime a coaching change is made (again, agree). a lot of the players on the roster still have a history with Oscar, so I don't see any reason why we shouldn't be more optimistic that writing off the year. should we be expecting to win the SS? nope, but assuming Oscar hasn't done a 180 in his approach, forgot everything he knew about the senior and academy players he knew before...we should expect something.
I couldn't disagree more. We have an extremely enviable roster lacking just a couple selections. I am projecting this group in a 4-3-3 as Clavijo intimated, or even morphing that into a 4-2-3-1: Projected starting defenders/GK Gk Raul Fernandez 28 yrs old D Zack Lloyd 26 yrs old D George John 26 yrs old D Matt Hedges 24 yrs old D Moises Hernandez 21 yrs old Which MLS side has more youth, depth, and quality than this group? Potential starting central midfielders CM Mauro Diaz 26 years old CM Kellyn Acosta 18 years old CM Adam Moffat 27 years old I'll agree that I am not all jazzed up as I look at our MF. But, simply add one more guys to this midfield and it starts to look very different. If we get the promised box to box DP in the early Toja or Leonel Alvarez role, we would have one of the youngest and most promising midfields in the league. Luccin looked very interesting in the couple of games he had out, but way too old and brittle. Michel has some game too. So we do have some depth to go with this group as well. Flank attackers (mids/wingers/ect. Fabian Castillo 21 years old Brian Span 21 years old I am not a fan of Watson, especially since he eats up an international slot. I'd look to move him. As for Hollingshead, he is worth a shot, but I don't expect much from a guy removed from the game for such a long time. We still need a smart soccer player with a cultured foot on the right side. A poor man's ROB would be ideal. Central attackers (fwd) Blas Perez 32 years old Bradlee Baladez 22 years old Blas is still getting it done. I think that as smart as he plays, he will be able to play effectively for several more years. Still, this is a position needing attention. The draft should be able to provide us with additional help. Don't forget that Bradlee Baladez scored 4 goals in 12 appearances in the NASL last year. In Conclusion: So maybe Hasli, possibly Luccin, and Watson are guys you look to move. The other guys look like solid building blocks to me.
You forgot Danny Garcia. He was on the U20's and looked good for FCD in the Stoke friendly. I think even SH would have played him had he been able to but he signed as a HG too late and had to wait until this year. Tab Ramos said it is hard to get the ball from him.
and who knows what Bobby Warshaw came back to contribute? Interested to hear more about his time in Scandinavia - i.e. wth position he was playing to score all those goals?!
I haven't posted in awhile, but for the first time in a long time, I'm excited about FCD going into the season. Nothing really of substance to add.