(Yes, I know there's still technically one game left, but as the season should have been over yesterday...) I think most people would agree that the Dash generally play very attractive, exciting soccer - very much on display early in the year and during that nice win streak, maybe not as much recently due to fatigue. So the big question is how much tinkering does Randy need to do this offseason? Is the roster just bad to the point he needs to pull a full Laura Harvey, or is the sub-1PPG season more a function of general inexperience from the young team and we should expect their good game style to mature next season to a winning record? I honestly don't know what to think for most of the players looking forward. I think Ohia, Souza, and Romero are keepers, Kyle not so much, and while I like Burger I would not be surprised if she's dropped in favor of trying to find a slightly more productive international player. For the rest of the team, I just don't know. Thoughts, everyone?
Well I think after wednesday they should know if they will get Brian or not. If the do, I think they should rebuild around her and Ohai. My one impression with the Dash is that they had a lot of similar players, namely forwards, that did not contribute a lot. Get rid of most of them and bring in some veteran leadership
I know Brian is really good but I'm always wary about building a team 'around' a player (or two), especially when it seems like Randy had a pretty good system built already. I'd hate to see that fall apart. But yeah, I agree about the forward. Ohai, Souza, Jackson, McCarty, Ochs, Henderson - all young, all never really finding their footing (though some definitely more consistent than others). Masar and Burger were the experience, and I doubt they'll cut Masar but I do expect Burger to be gone...
I have very similar thoughts. I think they need to find good experienced forward (in place of Burger) to work with Ohai. Ohai improved so much over this season, so I expect her to be even better player next year. I'd leave McCarty and Masar too. I think the bigger problem they had was midfield and although building a team 'around' rookie is risky, maybe it's a risk worth taking? Waldrum knows Brian well not only because he coached against her in college many times but he also coached her for U-23s. So I trust him to know if this is a risk worth taking. They already have a machine Edwards there so if they could add one more stellar midfielder (in place of Kyle), they should have a really good team. I wouldn't be surprised to see Dash in playoffs next year and I'd like that very much
I would put players in 4 groups: 1) Keep: Bock, Edwards, Engen, Henderson, Henninger, Jackson, Klingenberg, Mc Leod, Ohai, Romero 2) Probably keep: Kyle, Masar, Noyola, Ochs, Ohale, Sesselmann 3) Probably cut: Diggs, Mc Carty, McFarlane, Souza 4) Cut: Burger, Toulouse,
Don't forget, you have the salary cap to deal with. So, you can't just cut a player and replace her with any player. You only can replace her with a player who will work at that pay level.
True, but Seattle proved you can make many improvements - and major improvements - while still apparently being under the cap. Besides, without knowing how close Houston was to the cap already, it's impossible to say how much room they have to work with.
The only problem with a complete tear down is WC will likely make it tough to get impact INT players. All with allocated players gone for much or all the first half of the season, ur gonna mostly be filling empty gaps as opposed to trying and create more gaps to fill. I think the key thing for the Dash at this point is build an offense. Ur much more likely to keep ur fan base losing 4-3 than losing 1-0. This is probably a two year turnaround at best. On the other hand, Houston is probably the key to further MLS expansion. No one thinks they r coming in and have a Portland situation. But if u can get Houston on a firm footing, other MLS team will believe they can accomplish the same thing. Maybe NWSL realizes this and helps them out.
I don't think they need to rebuild. With the expected Brian pick, and if Sesselmann comes back healthy, they just need a better DM to replace Kyle (or they could go for an offensive focused 4-3-3 with Brian and Jackson as AMs and just Edwards at DM) and maybe one proven goal scorer to be real quality. Players I'd drop/trade: Burger, Klingenberg, Kyle, McCarty, McFarlane, Ohale, Toulouse
Houston needs a striker more than they need another midfielder. I'd draft Brian and use her for tradebait. Might it be possible to lure Nadim to Houston? Houston seems like a more attractive and thriving organization than Sky Blue. Or maybe Taylor from Washington. Or maybe trade Brian to Portland for Jess McDonald and another player or draft choice. For all the abuse that McDonald takes on these boards, she was a more productive scorer than anyone else on the Portland team -- and one of the most productive scorers in the league. Kerr from WNY would be good also -- and has a big upside as she looks like to me that she might get better each year.
I dont think it's possible to get an "A" list striker unless she demands to be traded (Morgan seems to love the Portland fans more than the bf) They caught a bad break when the league chose not to allocate Hagen. Id never take that big a chance on McDonald. Brian would be a fixture in Houston for the foreseeable future...ud need to get a sure thing in return.
@daskins_21 @EqualizerSoccer hopefully coming back to Portland. We shall see. :)— Jessica McDonald (@J_Mac1422) August 27, 2014
I think it is crucial for the other teams, and the league as a whole, that Houston Dash does well , and putting a good product on the field should go a long ways in making that happen. Hopefully, it will be enough to encourage more MLS teams to get involved. While most may believe that the league is making the decision to not expand in 2015, I am more inclined to believe that they really don't have any serious qualified offers. Meaning there are no MLS team owners at this stage willing to commit. They may need one or two more years to see what Houston is able to do. The problem is the next two years will be a true test as to whether some of the owners, or the league, for that matter, can survive.
Or <crazy conspiracy theory>they aren't expanding so that the Dash retain the #1 overall pick and get Morgan Brian who will make them a better and more exiciting team to watch, thus ensuring their survival! </crazy conspiracy theory>
As they seem to feel they have to change the draft or and anything else when it suits them this is neither a viable conspiracy theory nor can any thory about the NWSL actually be crazy.
LOL A conspiracy theory, if that's what you want to call it, had nothing to do with the draft. It had to do with expansion. I am sure that Houston would gladly give up their number one to get other MLS owners involved. What good is the number one draft if the league folds in a couple of years.
That's kinda the point. It was a "crazy conspiracy theory" because it isn't founded in any basis of reality. Hence why it was a joke.
Im not sure how much rebuilding is possible. WC - makes it hard to add international players. I also makes second tier player in demand because everyone in the league will be looking for replacements. Trades - small trades to fine tune are possible and likely. Waldrum still probably wants to add some playrs he has coached before and knows his system. Big trades r less likely because Houston just doesnt have much to trade. I guess they might trade the top pick if the deal were right. Draft - Houston has three picks, currently #1, #10 and #28. Pick #10 probably gets them a starter. Pick #1 is a mixed bag. Yes it likely gives them the keys to Morgan Brian but she also wont be around in any significant way until July. His hobby - maybe his stint as T&T NT coach leads to some CONCACAF player who can help the Dash.
Hmm... that's a good point. They'll also likely lose her for a significant part of 2016 as well. So would it be better to go with a slightly less talented player that is guaranteed to be around full time for 2 years or the best available player who will miss around 16 games in the next two years? One thing I didn't think of as well, is that even if Sesselmann comes back healthy, she'll probably end up away for the WWC, as will Engen, and possibly Ohale (is she even coming back to Houston next season or was it a 1 year deal?). That'll leave them with Diggs as their only CB. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea for them to draft Dahlkemper #1 overall...
I could see it as a "conspiracy theory" about expansion, but the idea of no expansion so that Houston could get the number one draft, is a remarkable interpretation of what I wrote. How about this for a "conspiracy theory." "MLS teams that had expressed an interest in pursuing an expansion team in 2015 have decided to wait at least another year. Reason's cited are the uncertainty surrounding the 2015 WC and to see if the Houston situation is no fluke. At the end of next season, they could very well have two options open to them. Expansion for some teams if Houston, as a model, is proven to be successful in their 2nd season. The 2nd option would be by way of buying an existing team that may have decided they have had enough. Either way, MLS teams could gain a major foothold in the NWSL in the next couple of years and make Paulsen a very happy man. Hey, maybe Paulsen is behind the conspiracy." Remember this is not based on reality, or then again.....LOL
It's not supposed to be an interpretation of what you wrote. It is clearly labeled as a crazy conspiracy theory to jokingly counter what you wrote before some crazy person came in here seriously espousing that idea.