I know there's going to be a lot of analysis on this game, but the most glaring question I have is: Why don't we shoot more? Granted, we don't make a lot of great opportunities (another piece to analyze) but we'll never score if we don't shoot. Period. Last week's goal by Davis didn't look like an opportunity (Hartman obviously didn't think it was!), yet Davis took what was an unlikely shot and turned it into a beauty. There were a couple of those last night, but no one took the shot. I swear, it's almost as if Jeffries has told them not to shoot. Anyone have any insight (Buzz) on this being addressed at practice?
Dallas has no right mid. Kreis is the only forward contributing at all, but EJ loooks better than Cerritos.
Re: Re: Burn V Metro 5/24 (R) But wasn't that about the distance of Davis' goal against LA? It just seems to me that Jeffries has them playing too cautious, not wanting them to shoot unless it's a "sure thing". And you're right, we can't pass that well, so it's never a "sure thing", which is why we aren't scoring.
Not true. Jeffries has talked to Chad, Vaca, and Chivas (and to me) about shooting more. Davis and Pareja are fine.
That's great, but when your build-up and passing are so pitiful that you get one or two looks at goal a game, you are going to be naturally hesitant to risk wasting it. You have to generate more action around the goal before players are going to feel comfortable just ripping one off when they get a brief look. I did like Gbandi's and Salyer's games last night though.
Gbandi and Salyer have flashed true potential. Both need some more refinement, but that should come with playing time. This team can still not get motivated to score unless we take a goal. Pareja was lucky as hell not to get sent off last night. As bad as it seems, we only have to finish 8th to make the playoffs...
True. But only teams with their 'S' together excel in the playoffs. It's not good enough to just make the final 8. This team has got to make something happen during the regular season.
Actually, we need to finish 4th or better in the West to make the playoffs. So as long as the Rapids continue to play worse than the Burn, Dallas still can keep its streak of making the playoffs intact.
You bring up an interesting point. Do we keep playing those two as our fullbacks? Salyer has better ball skills than Suarez/Bonseu, and Gbandi is a more athletic version of Broome. I'd like to see Mike try a Salyer-Bonseu-Suarez-Gbandi back four. Yes I know Morrow is a veteran, but from what I've seen/read so far this season, benching him couldn't hurt.
It looks pretty good, however how stable would the middle be with Swearez and Bonheadseu. By the way, I do like these two, but I'm not sure of them in the middle at the same time.
Suarez-Bonseu in the center was air-tight vs. Olympia in New Orleans last year. I'd bet that would do fine. I'd also like to see more of Gbandi and Salyer, but I'm not sure I want to sit Paul Broome.
I think they'd do fine. They bring IMO better pace than Morrow and better passing out of the back. Suarez would also take over the vocal responsibilities. Like I said earlier, I'm a fan of Morrow, but he needs to start producing on the pitch.
Quick hits Who is the on the field leader of this team? The team huddles before the game and the guy doing all the talking is none other than DJ Countess. There is never a sense of urgency with Dallas until they give up a goal. This needs to be addressed. Salyer did a good job on his first start. Nice composure on the ball. Good positional sense too. My only criticism is that he was too quick to boot the ball upfield via route 1. Gbandi after a hectic first half in which he was lucky not to get the red card settled in nicely. He gets extra points for earning the pk by knocking the corner into the defenders hand. Midfield is not building up effectively to create scoring chances. Kreis and Cerritos got zero service. Davis played hard but was out of position most of the game. I lost count of the number of times when Pareja or Deering would see a wide open right flank but no one out there to exploit the space. Galvan on the other end did everything from an offensive stand point that we want to see out of Deering and Pareja. EJ looked as bad as he has all season. Terrible first touch and did not seem to have confidence after launching a shot over the goal. Vaca put through two dangerous passes in 5 minutes. Two more than the rest of midfield all game long. The backpass was a bogus call. It was deflected back to the keeper. The penalty call was probably a more bogus call. Seemed to be a clear case of the makeup call. It was fitting to lose on a Jolley's slow roller. Metros created more chances deserved the win. I hope Andy is compiling a short list of coaching candidates. Coach J has lost the team (some may argue he never ever had it).
Are you saying that the top 4 from each conference make the playoffs? Because last year the Metros and DC stayed home... Then again, your chances of finishing below both DC and the Rapids are pretty slim, so the streak looks safe.
Yes, MLS changed its playoff format this off-season yet again. They've returned to the same conference-based playoff system they used in the first few years of the league.