Glenn Davis reporting Paulo Nagamura as new Head Coach

Discussion in 'Houston Dynamo' started by DonJuego, Dec 30, 2021.

  1. Brian Gilchriest

    Eintracht Frankfurt
    United States
    Oct 3, 2020
    He played 20 games at LB in 2017, and 4 in 2018. He played 1 in 2015, 2016, and one in CCL for Sporting KC in 2017. 2018 was 4 seasons ago.
     
  2. juvechelsea

    juvechelsea Member+

    Feb 15, 2006
    #178 juvechelsea, Jan 18, 2022
    Last edited: Jan 18, 2022
    our recent sainted LB was generally a career mid. what's your point? my point was he'd played LB before and even for one year pretty much dedicated there. at which point it's not outlandish to suggest. you're then trying overhard to parse numbers when my point is he ever played there. that he played there a lot is gravy. someone else clearly saw the same traits and had the same response. you're trying to parse my gravy.

    you'd be better off seeking out some sort of qualitative argument because quantitatively a couple years ago hoffmann was known in USYNT circles as an up and coming RB, and pre-indy pasher would have been understood as either a LB or amidst a position crisis that included LB. you're then like, you're crazy to suggest this, they don't play there. well, actually, they did. that argument is QED. and hoffmann played it last season.

    you then want to get into some predominance argument that begs the question. "can they" is obvious and you lost. this is obviously on to "should they." hoffmann literally played RB last season and looked solid on defense, not getting run by, and some offense going forward. pasher is the tougher one but if you set aside the "where" and focus on the "how," he's a hustling mullan type who tracks back and hassles well but whose offense is just ok. i think we can get more offense from baird or even lundkvist, i think what we need is the flanks solidified. that may may may possibly then redeem hadebe and parker as more capable than they looked. if we go in with the same backline i expect the same breakdowns. we gave up a lot of goals off wing crossing. couldn't stop them getting across. couldn't win the headers. let balls go weakside.

    i think part of it is in select i started out as a forward, they noticed i wanted to play more like elis in open space near the chalk than an available central striker, pushed me to wing, and then when my select team went 352 that became either back 3 or the wing job. it's a natural progression for a wide player with speed who tracks back and defends on an island routinely well but isn't the best finisher. even as a forward i used to get x amount of goals just by pickpocketing defenders on the ball. in a weird way it makes sense.

    along those lines i am sure arriola would be a good wingback if that was desired.
     
  3. Brian Gilchriest

    Eintracht Frankfurt
    United States
    Oct 3, 2020
    I've seen Hoffman at RB, I've seen Hoffman at midfield. He was an up and coming RB when he was playing for the U-16's. Can he play RB? Sure, you could put him there. Is he best suited to play there? Is he the best option? No and no. He's probably the third best option there, second best Wing back type.

    Pasher isn't a LB. It's not even close, he's too valuable up top and he's not great defensively. I don't really even have to argue my point, since basically everyone he plays for agrees with me.
     
    Ethos repped this.
  4. quiznatodd_bidness

    Houston Dynamo
    United States
    Apr 14, 2020
    If Pasher was so good at LB then why did SKC release him and no other MLS team take him at that position.
     
    Ethos and Brian Gilchriest repped this.
  5. CeltTexan

    CeltTexan Member+

    Sep 21, 2000
    Houston, TX USA
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Pasher looks to run at people. Like how Mullan used to run at people out wide and get a centering ball in.
    I want this type of player higher up the field as possible in any formation possible.
    Now, with that said, starting our resident Swede over and over is tough pill to take. He is not good enough to supplant a Pasher or Memito out left but as a leftback defender he leaves a lot begging too often. This is why I say move a Ceren, who has midfield combat experience for club and country and task him at leftback.
     
    Brian Gilchriest repped this.
  6. Varus

    Varus Member

    Feb 5, 2015
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    I don’t know that I’m comfortable with Cerén being put into a position where he has to do a lot of defending on an island. He tends to do boneheaded stuff when put in that position.

    If you want to throw someone pack there I’d be more inclined to put one of plethora of middling wing options and see if they stick.

    I’m not a fan of the Swede, but he’s grown some to where he’s probably the best option back there like it or not.

    Valentin on the other hand is a complete tire fire on the right-flank and should face serious competition from Hoffman and half the rest of the roster.
     
  7. CeltTexan

    CeltTexan Member+

    Sep 21, 2000
    Houston, TX USA
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Good point on Ceren being a possible can of worms when asked to defend by himself.
    The one player that I was high on when asked to be a new player for our club as a dedicated ball winner on defense and a player who proved himself in this role and as well a player who looked to link up well right after winning said ball back was Jones at the #6 role. But Ramos kept benching him one week and then playing him the next, with never giving him a look on our back line to plug the hole at fightback or leftback.

    Nagamura could realise that Valentin is not the answer at fightback and our Swede Lundqvist is not the answer at leftback but up higher the field and thus Nagamura can go with a three man back line of this given that Jones has such range in covering ground as a middie and terrific at ball winning he can be deployed anywhere on defense and our the # 6 role.

    Teenage-----Parker------Jones

    or with four in the back

    Jones-----Teenage----Parker----Ordoñez
     
  8. Brian Gilchriest

    Eintracht Frankfurt
    United States
    Oct 3, 2020
    Can I just point out that Lundkvist led the team in Tackles+Interceptions by a fairly wide margin (127, 28th in the league), led the team in interceptions (55, which made him the only Dynamo player in the top 75 in the league), tackles (72, 22nd in the league) and is our best crosser and fairly good going forward? That's with missing almost a month with a knee and watching Junqua take a bunch of his minutes. We were obviously better with him there than Junqua (which I know isn't saying much). Is he upgradable? Of course, but he's far from the most pressing need the team has now.
     
    7seven7 and Ethos repped this.
  9. CeltTexan

    CeltTexan Member+

    Sep 21, 2000
    Houston, TX USA
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Good stat pick up.
    However, it is always known in the playing of association football that the leftback will witness more of the attack than normal as that position has the defensive assignment of right forward or right outside mid. Us humans are 90% right handed and right footed creatures so in soccer the right wing is used more in attack than out on the left attack, just how the sport lives. This is why a good coach stresses his players keep their width out on the field and look to have a balanced attack.
    BG, it will stand to reason that if a player starts at leftback for a 34 game season baring a few missed games for injuries that said player will lead the team in several defensive stat categories.
     
  10. Brian Gilchriest

    Eintracht Frankfurt
    United States
    Oct 3, 2020
    I understand that, but he outperformed a lot of LB's around the league in less games and less minutes. He's not terrible, but there are definitely better ones out there. We can get by with him for a while, he's not the most pressing need we have on the roster and was one of the more consistent performers last year.
     
    DynamoManiac repped this.
  11. DynamoManiac

    DynamoManiac Member+

    Jan 27, 2014
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    I'm with Brian on this. I was a big naysayer when Lundkvist was signed and for his first couple of seasons. But if you think he's bottom tier of MLS left backs then you're dealing with old info. Particularly after he was benched last season, he was generally pretty good. Left back has historically been a weak spot in MLS anyway. In 2021 he was minimally top half of MLS LBs, arguably top third.

    Simple reality of a salary cap league is you aren't going to be top five at every position. Just not feasible. You have to target being near the top in certain positions, a lot of midrange guys and maybe one bottom half guy in your starting lineup. If you expect to have studs at every single position, you're not dealing with the reality of MLS. Of the many issues the Dynamo have to fix, I wouldn't say LB is anywhere near the top of the list.
     
  12. CeltTexan

    CeltTexan Member+

    Sep 21, 2000
    Houston, TX USA
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Ok.
    Is Adam Lundqvist better at leftback than Wade Barret? I know he is not better than André Hainault.
    So, meh, that's a pick em.

    Again, my point being that for the amount of money we are paying this Swede he should be one of the best leftbacks in MLS specifically as you mention that leftback has traditionally been a tough position to produce in our American soccer culture. And on top of this, as a coach I would take what he is good at and get him higher up our left wing as it is nice to have a natural Southpaw out wide left to swing in solid crosses to say, our newest signing from Paraguay or Duke University.
     
    DynamoManiac repped this.
  13. DynamoManiac

    DynamoManiac Member+

    Jan 27, 2014
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    We're paying him a base salary of $325k. These days in MLS that's pretty "middle of the road".
     
  14. juvechelsea

    juvechelsea Member+

    Feb 15, 2006
    the defense allowed 54 goals. tell me who's responsible. because they sucked but if discussed individually they are all apparently cannavaro in disguise. someone has to be the problem. who?
     
  15. DynamoManiac

    DynamoManiac Member+

    Jan 27, 2014
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Valentin was terrible (go back and look where goals came from and a big chunk were his side, including all the own goals he had), the midfield was bloody awful. Best defense in the world is going to struggle if the midfield routinely coughs up possession in dangerous spots. Pre-Hadebe the CB pairing was a mess. I don't have the stats handy, but the xG against was significantly better when Hadebe and Parker partnered in the middle than it was in games where they didn't or when Ramos went three at the back, which was a hot mess.
     
  16. juvechelsea

    juvechelsea Member+

    Feb 15, 2006
    y'all go about this backwards. start with a pool of people who can defend. then tiebreak for ones who add some attack. worst case barrett. best case dolo.

    y'all basically try and take some mid and convert them back into a defender. they can't mark. eddie lewis.

    what you typically find out is lundkvist has the same assists barrett had, without the defense. the ashley coles who truly "get forward" and produce 5-10 assists a season are rare. so you're really trading off offense for defense. there is no rigor to netting out GF vs GA in terms of value added or lost.

    marking is marking. if you start with the correct priority left vs right doesn't matter, i played either side in college. if you're obsessed with offense then you're going to lecture me whether they have a left foot even if only 2 assists come off it. yes, it is rare to find a converted wing mid who can defend wingback correctly. defined that way "left backs are hard to find." it's the wrong way to define.

    my experience defense wins championships. at some point the fanboys will figure that out.

    btw we already have dedicated wings up top in the 433 -- would in my 451. they are the ones producing 10 assists and a few goals a season. why am i weakening my defense and taking risks obsessing about wingback crossing when we're talking like 2 added assists a year. like a goal every 17 games.

    we then ignore if that same back ships 5 goals and nets out negative.
     
  17. Brian Gilchriest

    Eintracht Frankfurt
    United States
    Oct 3, 2020
    Tab had him and Junqua overlapping the left side pretty often after we signed Hadebe. This let them get out wide and let Fafa cut back in, also freeing up space for Quintero behind them. Like I said, I don’t think he’s great, but he’s decent. You can make the playoffs with that guy if we fix RB and our midfield. We need a RB, and either a stud 6/8 or a really good 6 AND a stud 10. Those are the most pressing needs right now IMHO.
     
    DynamoManiac repped this.
  18. CeltTexan

    CeltTexan Member+

    Sep 21, 2000
    Houston, TX USA
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Say it again for the FO to hear ya BG!
    There was a time our midfield had De Ro at he #10, Stuart Holden as an 8 and Rico backing them up at the 6.
    Nowadays, I would take a poor man's version of these past Dynamo legends.
     
  19. juvechelsea

    juvechelsea Member+

    Feb 15, 2006
    #195 juvechelsea, Jan 20, 2022
    Last edited: Jan 20, 2022
    first off get rid of the 433. that places a ton of formational pressure on a line of people we seem to find in the clearance aisle. you put 5 mids across and suddenly they don't have to cover 50-60 yards sideline to sideline and be involved in all the passing. i don't understand how a cheap team landed on a formation that exposes each line's limits so much. you could fix the personnel and they still have to be into hustling. the formation gives them no help and the wings are wide open.

    second, sorry but about every mid we have is a 6 or 8 on paper -- even if they suck at it -- so pick a few and ship the rest out. we don't need 20 hustling mids. we need 2-3 creative 10 types, and then 4 or so water carriers and crunchers. plus reserve developmentals. there is little need for a group of mids who can pass sideways and "kind of" defend. we need to refocus on specialization and get off the "two way" mush nonsense. get back to you are out there for your 10 assists, or for your ability to effectively destroy. you are good one end or the other. not because you hustle around professionally and score 1-2 nice goals a season. that is sub or USL material. one key reason we suck is you could not tell me which end of the field most of them are out there to be super-helpful on. they are out there to be semi competent. you like some goal they scored 5 months ago but they don't do that often. they have as many assists as defenders do. they aren't legbreakers either. i am lost on the point.

    personally with a 4 back formation properly staffed all they should need is a good 6 and team defense. you should then have 2 productive AMs. but even if you wanted to go Late Kinnear and throw 2 DMs out there, don't half a$$ it, get good ones. let's at least be effective one end of the field or the other.

    last point, if the 433 scares you to the point you want to play 2 way mush and 6s to cover ground then maybe drop your stupid vulnerable formation. you lose the whole point to a 433 if you dump the attackers. it's supposed to be a fear of god attacking formation. oh, hell, they are running 5-6 guys at us all day. if all you really want to commit forward is 3-4 people then why even bother with the dutch formation.

    to be fair, this is an area of confusion from berhalter on down in US soccer, coaches who pick attacking looking arrays then water them down with defensive selections. you can even argue that's what arena did in couva is run out stalemate players who couldn't hold a stalemate. which then boded ill for coming back. if we run out a bunch of hustle players don't be surprised if we tie a lot. you wanna win games you need actual goals made or denied. specialists.

    this is also similar to the wingback silliness in the sense that a dedicated destroying 6 is usually still as offensive productive as a nominal passing 6 -- no one seems to check if they actually put up pirlo numbers -- and in my experience most productive AMs not named Lopez or Valderrama will do their team defense part in the neighborhood of as well as a hustling Nagbe type will, but actually put up goals. for an era of analytics there is so much silly rubbish out there about how to staff a soccer field. if you ever want to score goals you sign people who get those goal or assist thingies like dero used to. if you want to shut teams down you sign some snarling bastard who cannot be beat, not a hustle player who is ok at it. commit to what you actually want to happen.
     
  20. quiznatodd_bidness

    Houston Dynamo
    United States
    Apr 14, 2020
    Some interesting tweets where Dynamo Insider compares Tab to Paulo.

    1501107271035760641 is not a valid tweet id


    1501108510775468032 is not a valid tweet id


    1501109617027387393 is not a valid tweet id


    1501110490000498689 is not a valid tweet id


    1501112331132190725 is not a valid tweet id
     
  21. slycat

    slycat Member

    Jul 12, 2008
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Well thank god he doesn't drink coffee
     
  22. *rey*

    *rey* Member+

    Feb 22, 2006
    Houston
    what kind of weirdo doesn't drink coffee?

    well at least it'll save him from Teenage pouring a hot cup of Dunkin' on him.
     
    Westside Cosmo repped this.
  23. juvechelsea

    juvechelsea Member+

    Feb 15, 2006
    as a hoffmann booster #2 is crap. disappeared this spring. time will tell if zeca is any good or we'd have been better off trying the kid. but giving him credit for someone who far as i know was sent straight to HD2 after getting solid first team PT end of last year, when RB is malfunctioning and we're still trying to get zeca to fitness.....sorry, no. bull. the tweeter is also giving him credit for rios and castilla who were signed under tab and aren't dressing now more than then. i think people credited ramos as a development coach for that. they barely surfaced first team.

    there is a list of interesting kids, gitau, castilla, hoffmann, i said this team has some x factors around but if it just barreled forward with veterans wouldn't amount to much. they aren't even dressed.

    the one kid playing is actually thor. most of the starters are in their late 20s or even 30s. there are some interesting younger players but thor and coco aside most of them sat dressed unused bench or weren't dressed and played for HD2. has gitau even been signed?

    gitau to me is a touchstone because how is a second shift preseason player not even signed pro yet. like based on the "spring" he should be dressed. is not even signed and maybe playing HD2 amateur. odd.
     
  24. quiznatodd_bidness

    Houston Dynamo
    United States
    Apr 14, 2020
    Yea I couldn’t see whatever youth point DI was making there either. Still part of the thread so I included it.
     

Share This Page