Game: FC Dallas vs Portland Timbers Date: Wednesday, October 31st Time: 8:30 PM [CST] Location: Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas, United States of America Weather Forecast: Thunderstorms; H 63, L 46 Competition: Major League Soccer Last 5 For Opponent: W-D-D-L-W Live TV: KSTR-49 UniMas | Root Sports Northwest [Oregon/Washington/Idaho/Montana/Alaska] | TSN [Canada] | TVA Sports [Canada] | ESPN+ [Out of Market] Radio: FCDallas.com/radio [English] | KFLC 1270 AM La Voz del Pueblo [Spanish] How about... -----------Maxi----------------- Barrios--------------Mosquera ----------Arranguiz------------- -------Vic-----Gruezo---------- Pedroso-----------------Cannon -------Reto-----Matt------------ -----------Gonzalez------------ I mean it couldn't be worse than what we've witnessed the last 3 games.
I really can't see Pareja switching things up at this point. Probably something very similar to the starting lineup in Colorado. Portland must be pleased with the draw. Their first-round opponent has lost three straight, hasn't shown an ability to score, and is facing a quick turnaround from Sunday's match. Meanwhile, Giovanni Savarese rested his starters this weekend. But the home field should be a real advantage, even if FC Dallas has trouble filling the stadium on short notice. I say we advance.
This is going to be a game that sets soccer back 30 years. Two teams that love to sit back and counter, with one showing a complete inability to finish their chances. I'm giving odds north of 90% that it's going to finish the 90 minutes with a score of 1-0 or 0-0.
The only hope for goals in this one is an odd bounce on the wet field. If a poll of my group of STHs is any indication, the place will be pretty empty on Wednesday. 2 of 8 of our seats will be occupied. If the weather is unexpectedly good, attendance will be weak due to short notice, the usual midweek non-attendance and Halloween. If the weather is rainy as forecast, that's extra motivation for poor attendance.
Figure Oscar starts the same line-up he did yesterday but possibly he pulls Lamah and puts Mosquera back in. He is a creature of habit and doubt he decides to let Arrainguez loose now. With the rain and Halloween this could be the smallest attendance of the year. (predict 8,500 in the seats.) Even with the negative, I see FCD winning on a Barrios brace as he has been a bright spot this year and with some slips and falls on a wet field he could run passed someone.
And if we somehow manage to win isn't playing KC on short rest our next fun to look forward to? This brain trust has to change things up next year. If we bow out early I'm ready for a couple of season changing years where FCD transitions into an even better RBNY. Actually creates a path for their best prospects and trades away players slightly better so that by the end of the year they are a force. Learn to fill in around the HG's with great DP's in spots where no prospect is near. I'm hoping the second division team will vastly help in that regard but cannot be sure. OP should have done what Portland did and played a bunch of kids with something to prove (actually should have several times this year and last year) to have starters be fresh for Wednesday. Oh and is anyone else wondering if Ferreira could possibly be worse than our other forwards and yet never got one chance to show something?
Even though our hoops play with the creativity of a dim witted mouse, I wouldn’t be surprised if they bust out a 5-0 victory in front of 2,700 loyal fans. However, if I was putting money on the game, I wouldn’t put any amount on a result that favors FCD. I’ll record it and hopefully not feel the need to fast forward through swaths of kickball.
Abandon all hope. If you had any to start off with. Happy Hallowe'en, everyone. Except it you are a witch, so happy Samhain. We are going as Antony and Cleopatra.
Urruti as a 10 again with Badji up top. This is our formula for the rest of the season now, no matter what happens tonight. Pareja is one stubborn...
First half appeared to be 11 v 12. Somehow Urruti gets the first yellow after drawing something like 27 fouls, and Chara gets away with assaulting a guy at midfield. I suspect that Portland will ride their single shot on goal to a 1-0 victory.
Dear FO, Either improve the offensive line or sell the club and don't bother ever coming back. Thank you.
Something is very wrong with this team. With Pareja we have been regular season legends but complete and utter failures in the playoffs. The pattern is pretty clear at this point. I don't see anything changing with this team, and it seems like the season we just had is going to be repeated.
Pretty much. What dire garbage that was to watch. Everyone has figured this team out now (not that it matters now). Play like a bunch of little pricks, roll around, take 2 hours on every goal kick (ref never carded the keeper), kick everyone with an ounce of skill. It works. Then you have to just wait for us to shit on ourselves, which we did (twice). The players really put an effort in but there's just no x-factor in this squad. I feel like we say this every year but this club really has an identity crisis. Who do they want to be? The Southampton of MLS that brings up brilliant youth, plays them to mixed results and sells off their best assets? Or can they be the right hybrid that has a homegrown base mixed with a few great youths from the draft and some real quality from outside of DFW in the holes? I don't have the answers. All I know is that this team we've witnessed the last 3-4 months doesn't work in this league and won't win shit.
Match was absolutely dreadful to watch. To be honest, both of these teams are boring to watch, but at least Portland has Valeri who can come up with a few moments of magic. As for FCD, they created absolutely nothing, even being up a man. Got more chances the last 10 minutes when the strategy was to get the ball into the box, but outside of that, it was terrible. Urriti aside (he goes missing for large chunks) FCD has no ability to create in the middle of the field. Gruezo and Ulloa are essentially lateral and backwards players to keep possession, and nothing more. Would not be surprised to see Oscar go after this.
Pareja is worthy of our criticism, but he's not going anywhere. Selling Diaz was always going to unsettle this team, and FC Dallas should have known that. They also knew that it was coming. Instead, we ended up with emergency position changes and trades that left our team unbalanced. And we end up with a player who wasn't ready to contribute.
Hello folks, Lurker here who felt the need to post after another sad, anticlimactic let down. It seems like FC Dallas management is half-committed to the franchise and its fans. I'm just glad I didn't fully commit to spending my time and money to drive across the metroplex to watch whatever that was in the rain on Halloween night. The game was sickening enough without coming home with some sort of rain-induced malady. I want to spend money on the team, I really do. I just can't when they won't spend money on the team either. If they won't, then why should I? Groundhogs day.
Those of us who remember the pre-Pareja years are thankful to have him. I criticized the hire, but at this point I'm happy to admit I was wrong. The team is better with him at the helm. The Front Office, on the other hand, has always been like this. Since OP got here, he's made the most of his rosters. But those rosters have been mostly filled with blue-collar try-hard players. The FO has consistently attempted to find the diamond in the rough on the cheap, and occasionally has found it (Diaz, Ferreira, etc.). But mostly, they have not found it. And when they find a gem, they sell it and buy more rough. HSG has made it very clear over the years that we're a develop-and-sell team, not a win-the-league team. The team makes its living selling talent, not tickets. I have, to some extent, come to accept that this team will never have enough talent to win MLS Cup while HSG owns it.
I agree with what you are saying, but am not completely convinced. If this was a "develop-and-sell" team, wouldn't it make sense to put your young players in the shop window? If the goal is simply to make the playoffs, they pretty much knew they were in quite some time ago. Perfect opportunity to put your shiny new toys in the window and see if they can convince someone to pay for them. Half a dozen good performances by Ferreira, Pomykal, Servania, etc could boost their value.
Oscar shouldn't be immune to criticism either. 5 seasons and just 1 playoff win which came thanks to a 90th minute miracle and penalty shootout victory. Hyndman had more wins and MLS Cup appearances with a worse team and resources in comparison. Not saying Hyndman is better now, but you can't ignore Pareja's part in failing to find solutions when the team started to struggle and get found out in the last 2 years now. We called 2014 a transitional year, we said the team was too young in 2015, we blamed 2016 on the Diaz injury and Castillo sale. What about 2017 and 2018 now? Do we find another excuse for the failures or do we finally put some of the responsibility on the coach for the team failing to recapture their regular season form in the post-season and crumbling back to back years in the business end of the campaign? Pareja's regular season record can't be argued against with the exception of the second half of 2017, but his playoff record is woeful and leaves a lot to be desired. He just might not be the guy who can lead this team to the MLS Cup. Blame the FO too as they deserve a large share of it for all this, but his tactics getting exposed time and time again at this stage is alarming as well and shouldn't go ignored once again just because there are more pressing issues at the club. Maybe it's time for a change.
certainly Oscar has a level of culpability, but I don't think it's with his tactics in a specific game. If you speak to anyone in the league, it is a rule of thumb that "Pareja is a f*cking wizard" with what he gets out of this roster. I'd ask you consider, with the personnel at his disposal, what would he do differently? They created more than enough opportunities - not just Sunday but ALL SEASON LONG - but the finishing was total crap. The stats bare this out. They're at the bottom of the league in finishing vs shots, and were the only team in the playoffs without a 10 goal scorer. Compare to PDX - who had a player capable of that kind of FK, and that 2nd goal? You just know a FCD player in that same spot pushes it wide 9 times out of 10. before you ask about Pablo let me share this. Buzz, who attends practice, talks to OP and players will tell you he's not ready. The data from the games he did play in prove this out. That said, Oscar did make a mistake in not including him in the 18. He may have been a good option Sunday night, but I'm not convinced he was the difference between win/loss. the crap finishing was.