This was my first look at Dragon Stadium. I was a little surprised to see that nothing has been done as far as expanding the stadium for the MLS opener. Even the football goalposts are still in place. The turf looks a little threadbare and shiny in some places. The soccer lines were almost faded completely out... that I could understand since I don't think they would undertake any painting of the field until the threat of the last frost is past. Not having ever been in that part of town, I was also surprised to see that the stadium is in an industrial area. It doesn't appear to be near the school itself. Is that correct? It was dark when I got there and like I said, I am not familiar with that neighborhood.
Its about a mile away from the school. If you drive west down 1709 you'll start seeing some of the subdivisions and the town square, high school, etc. -We tied 0-0 Quick thoughts: -I hope to God Kries, Rhine and EJ stay healthy this year. I know the guys we had playing were rookies, but I'm not sure we had a shot on target. O'Brien looked out of sorts playing up top, Tranchillia will need more time to get his game up to speed, and Roseband was just horrible. -The defense looked stout as hell, even though we lacked solid central midfield play for long streches during the second half. The back line started off with Bonseu and Behncke in the middle and Broome and Suarez on the left and right, respectively. The second half, Salyer came on for Suarez who moved into th middle for Bonseu, and Gbandi came in for Broome. -I can say this about Gbandi: the hype is merited, he is the real deal. He got forward well, and although you could tell he's not at 100%, but he still took a couple of Mustangs to school. Once he gets fit, I dont see how he wont start/be called up to the National Team. -Salyer also looked good, he got forward very well and sprung a couple of good chances that unfortunately we didn't capitalize on. Worked out of a couple of tight situations very well. He has an amazing touch and passes very well out of the back. -McKeon looked allright, he is HUGE, but he doesn't distribute as well as Deering. He could be useful to us in case Chad gets hurt while Stone is the the WYC (assuming it goes as scheduled). -Ledesma looked bad. Didn't seem comfortable with the ball at his feet, made some very lazy passes, it didn't seem like he was trying too hard -Chuck Kim looked good as well. As 3rdDegree reports, he's very quick, has a great touch and works hard, I just don't think we have the roster room to sign him -I know its just preseason, and this is my first look at this season's squad, but I'm damn excited about this team. If Jeffries cant get us deep (MLS Cup) into the playoffs with these guys.... -Dumbass move of the night goes to Deering who went in extremely late and hard on a tackle, which some ref's probably would've given a straight red for. There was no need for that. -As far as the stadium goes, some of the sight lines aren't that good for seeing play along the touchlines unless you're in the front row. But other than that, when that place is packed, the atmosphere is gonna be incredible. Of course the only drawback is the turf, but beggars cant be choosers.
Great report TexanSoccer06. I had a late indoor game, so the 3rd Degree report won't be up until tomorrow. But it will be up.
Pretty much agree with everything in the report. One thing that worried me: Our biggest problem last year was that we had noone who could come close to replacing Oscar when injured. Last night we had McKeon and Deering in central mid and we had the same problem. Result: SMU dominated the middle. In the meantime Vaca was playing out wide. Our first problem we MUST solve this year is grooming someone to step in for Oscar when hurt or tired & I don't think that someone is McKeon. The only guy I can see filling this role is Vaca right now.
Now I can see why Jeffries was making the public comments about Martinez's fitness. He was absolutely awful last night - bad touches, bad passes, just bad. If he doesn't get his act together soon, he'll find himself on the bench on opening day. I thought Gbandi looked pretty fit, and pretty imposing physically, but he didn't give me any indication that he will force his way into the lineup just yet. Hopefully that will change. I thought Tranchilla looked serviceable, and I liked the Wolverine-style mutton chops. The other trialists made no impression on me except for Salyer who was alright. It was fun to watch O'brien toy with some of the SMU players, who overall acquitted themselves quite well. Ronnie started to show some frustration with his teammates by the end. You can tell what a competitor he is. Finally, I see why the Burn took such a long look at Hyndman during the last coaching search. I really liked the style he had his team playing. They didn't have the ball skills to be too dangerous, but they were constantly testing the middle on long through balls that Countess had to repeatedly come out and kick away. The mustangs were very aggressive and played with a lot of spirit. They had more shots on goal than we did too.
I wouldn't be surprised it Davis filled this role quite nicely... unless, for some reason, Chivas can't get in game shape, so Brad might fill in there... but I see Davis as 'that guy' - who lets defenders run by as he poaches at the top of the box, waiting for the speedy wings to feed him the ball from deep in the corners. Davis can distribute, AND he can be 'the man' who instills fear into goalkeepers by blasting away in this case scenario. Having Davis being able to play anywhere in the midfield, AND take the role that Oscar fills - is nothing but a boon to this club. Twould also be nice to see Brad lining up over free kicks with Kreis. One deadly right footer, and one deadly lefty. Nice.
I think Vaca needs to put on more weight/muscle in order to be successful in the middle. Right now, he's pushed around by opponents too easily. Vaca's listed at 5'6", 125 lbs at mlsnet.com, and to me, that's just too small to be effective in the middle over the long term. A good goal for Joselito over the next year would be to get up to 140 lbs or so. Cienfuegos at 5'6", 143 lbs, while still a relative lightweight, is strong enough to handle playing in the middle day-in and day-out.
He would presumably go into the developmental roster which I understand has been expanded. One of the Inferno made a good point. He is of Korean descent and will put people in the stands. The Korean community in North Texas really supports each other. Right as he said that I saw Korean media at the game. He's 18 or 19, has some pro experience with Pittsburgh, played with ODP, trained with Roda in Holland...it would give Eddie something to think about.
Expanded to how big? -Agree with Jambon on Chivas. He looked bad. I saw him after the game with his knee iced and he was limping to his car...I'm assuming this had something to do with his performance; the turf isn't very forgiving to your knees. -As far as finding a player to cover for Oscar, Gbandi can play some center mid, and would probably be a good fit there: quick, agile, good passer, and can recover quickly on counter-attacks.
The developmental roster has been expanded from 5 slots to 6. According to 3rddegree, this is how the Burn are currently using theirs: 1. DJ Countess 2. Jordan Stone 3. Eddie Johnson 4. Jason Thompson (busted up his knee with the U-23 in Portugal 2 days after getting drafted) 5. Earmarked for 3rd keeper, presumably either Nagy or Comfort 6. ???????? Kim, Rosenband, Tranchilla, or the poor kid who just got hurt, Michael Mariscalco Big question is whether we can open up another developmental slot by putting Jason Thompson on IR all year. For those in the know, did Bussey not play last night? How does he compare to Salyer?
Am I the only one who thinks there was a nice size crowd for a Wednesday night scrimmage. As for the hype regarding Gbandi, I think it is warranted. Out of all the Burn players, he will probably make US squard for the next WC. His speed is incredible.
I didn't wreck. But I had a 11 pm indoor game, and I went to training this morning. Both reports will be up very soon. With all the good stuff on here, I am not sure I cna add much more.
http://www.3rddegree.net/ Two For One: Smu Scrimmage and Morning After Training Reports are now up....
Hey 3rd Degree, thanks much for the report! Great job as usual. Do you feel McKeon is better than Deering?
Very interesting. You didn't really comment on how Choi did as an Oscar replacement. Better than Vaca?
Heh, just as I've been a big EJ supporter, I'm also a big Gbandi supporter. Of all the left back candidates the USMNT has, he seems to be the best fit. He has the ability to be a better defender than Barrett and can add far more to the attack. With all of the talent on the field for Dallas, I sometimes wonder if Gbandi might eventually settle at Dmid. But he's probably best as a left back. The thought of a good 5 - 7 years of a Dallas backline of Gbandi, Shavar, Bonseu and Suarez is downright scary. I agree that Brad Davis can play either a midfield or forward role, but IMHO, he's not a central midfielder of any sort. Davis can be one of those wingers who is a legitimate goal scorer. The differing styles of he and Chivas make a very complementary duo. I see Broome having to show a lot of flexibility and improved defending or face being squeezed out of the roster. On the current team the only player I see capable of succeeding Oscar is Vaca. I know everybody is gaga over O'Brien, but I think Vaca is going to surpass him. -Tron