The season is till going on. I suppose we could beat San Jose this weekend and Kansas City could lose to LA. We haven't played well against San Jose lately and LD is coming off a hat trick. But a late season run towards respectability would be nice. What kind of a line-up are we looking at this weekend? Much the same as against Chicago?
Probably much the same lineup. Deering's out with yellow card accumulation so probably Stone takes his spot. It will be interesting to see if the little pitch at SJ plays like the bigger but faster Dragon. Would like to see Vaca get some minutes. He would seem to be a natural for the attacking mid spot. We appear to be playing a hybrid of a 4-3-3 and a 4-2-3-1. Maybe there's no real difference if you have fast outside forwards who move back when you transition to defense. Salyer seems to have been left out also. He played left back in Germany but can't sniff it here. Behnke did play good last weekend but has looked shaky before. We need to get the first goal or it's likely over.
If in all the different "playoff making" scenarios we are allowed one loss, I guess this would be the one. But it sure would be nice to walk away with one point, although it really wouldn't be much better than losing. At this point, three points is all we can go for. I still think Donovan buries a couple and we lose 3-1.
San Jose still has one of the narrower fields in MLS, but it's quite a bit wider than it used to be. Field dimensions: San Jose: 70 x 110 yds Dallas: 71 x 116 yds
On paper yes, but if you actaully walk it off it's somehting like 65 to 67 yards... And that is after they made it bigger.
Win or lose, I'd like to see the defensive organization and offensive energy that they displayed in the Chicago game. I'd also like to see us play the entire 90 minutes. S.J. tends to play possesion and will pass around us. On occasion, like the 1st half of one of the S.J. games here (the 1st IIR), we played better possesion than they did. But then there was the second half. Please, oh please, mark Donavan. No UMM6YB (unmarked man in the six yard box).
I feel better about covering Donovan on counters because of Thomas' speed. Dunseth, however, needs to know where the forwars are at all times, and that includes in the box. The ball-watching (yes, even in the Chicago game, Burn defenders were ball-watching at times. It was a miracle that Ralph didn't collect a ball when he was wide open at the top of the six. Then again, nothing went Chicago's way that game) must stop with dallas defending in tiny Spartan. Proper man-marking for this game is critical. I do, however, believe that our newly found attack will enjoy some success - even at Spartan. The tight Quakes defense will be hard-pressed to keep track of the speedy and dangerous Burn forwards. I'm not sure if Vaca is well-suited for this kind of small field. He seems to flourish with time and room - allowing him to service well. Davis might be the better option, especially considering his numbers and recent defensive success. I have no bloody idea what the outcome of this one will be. The recent 'success' of the Burn is too new] to count on.
my thoughts exactly. One game at a time, lets see if last weekend was a fluke. If they REALLY want that playoff spot then they'll give it there all and win. But then again if they REALLY wanted in on the playoffs they would have held on to some of those leads in the 3 game road stretch.
This team is ready to bust out and show everyone the talent we have... Dallas 3 (Tony, EJ and Curtis) San Hose 2
TV At least the game is on TV tomorrow night. Its on Ch52 here in the metroplex. Bob Strum from the Ticket will be doing play by play. The game starts @ 9
When was the last time we had a decent game, much less a win, at the pinball table they call a field? I wish I could be optimistic.
I think I find it far too encouraging that E.J. doesn't hate our new coach. It seems pretty clear that a lot of his statements about Clarke are snipes at Jeffries, but I have to agree with E.J.'s assessment of himself. He's the kind of guy who needs to rely more on his talent than his brain, and if Clarke can help bring this out of him, I'm pretty confident that would be the best thing to come out of this dismal season.
That was the first thing I thought of too. If EJ likes him and the rest of the team does too, well, why mess with it? for the "snipes at Jeffries" part, you could well be right. That is what it looks like. Jeffries isn't the only coach that left either. On the other hand, Clarke may have just told the whole team that they are paralized by their fear of making mistakes, and they need to shut up and play and forget about mistakes, theirs, and those of the their teammates. When you are playing to not make mistakes cause you get sick of hearing about them (from your coach or your teammates), winning is tough.
Game on in 15 minutes. The Shootout package paying for itself tonight. I have a good feeling about this one boys. Burn 2-1 Earthclash. COME ON YOU BURRRRRRRRRNNNNNNN......