He is some postgame chew from Coach Ramos: <div class='fluid-width-video-wrapper'><iframe width='350' height='auto' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen src='https://www.houstondynamo.com/ifram...d=default&brightcove_account_id=5534894067001'></iframe></div>
I have not watch much of other teams in this tourney (the 8 minutes of kneeling turned me off) but have seen good chunks of the Dynamo games and it looks like the same 'ol Dynamo we've seen in the past , which makes you wonder if it is all talent deficiency-related rather than culture or coaching. I'd say I'm a little disappointed in Ramos just because this tourney was a Cabrera-era replica in terms of moments of brilliance filled with long stretches of minimal possession and backline breakdowns. Just saw nothing different from 2018 or 2019 here in 2020. Part of that is it is mostly the same talent or same level of talent (MLS castoffs that Jordan had with Montreal, the Honduran brigade, "European" fullbacks, etc.)
The defense, to me, before they kicked a ball this season, seemed like the 2015-2016 mess that was uncompetitive and getting coaches fired. Inescapably so. I was like how do you even fix this. What blows my mind is Jordan repeatedly starts off the season with complete crash and burns like this. Like, not one mistake, or two, more like, you could barely sign a decent player on accident. Apologies to Cabrera might be ok, but at some point accumulating rosters where your response going down the list is basically trash trash trash trash USL guy HGP etc., like beyond salvation, and more than one year, should mean you get trashed too. This is literally the 3rd or 4th time he's had a go at this backline and the only time he ever got it even in the neighborhood of competitive was the "rental" checkbook backline of 2017 that had maybe one year left in it. I think it also says something that whether Ramos can coach or not, he has shifted focus to different players and is more open to working down the roster. He may not even be able to stick around to 2021 on his first team coaching merits but we'll have some fresh blood around regardless, and some of that has to reflect on Jordan. That a U20 YNT coach sees a totally different pool or something. To me the defense is so bad it presents the 2016 tactical dilemma we struggled with. We either need to commit to defense or offense, because I don't think we can win trying to be a 2-way team. You either identify those who can defend and play them, or you forget we are trying to defend and put the attackers on the field. I would tip in favor of just selling out on offense with this team because I struggle to identify backs and 6s who could effectively do their job to play a bunker and pitch shutouts. And the few people who can play are attackers. I'd do something like Ramirez Manotas Elis Memo Quintero Martinez ? Cabrera Figueroa ? ? Just don't even pretend with this backline, and play forwards at mid if you have to. This wouldn't sit well with coaches looking for cubbyhole choices, but our problem is talent -- we basically tie the worst team in the league twice -- so we have to find a way to get more talent on the field. There is no point to sitting perfectly good forwards behind other good forwards, so we can play crap or old mids. I then put Martinez out there part because he can produce a little but also because I continue to believe he's a mis-cast 6 who properly tasked could probably chase around with energy, break up things, get an occasional goal or assist, but not be depended on to create with the skill of a 10. I think he suffers from, on this team, he's paid like he's our low rent 10, so we keep forcing that, when he might make what other teams pay a 6, and if he was a supporting player, he might be youthful and serviceable. But having brought him in as a 10 many are content to just be frustrated he's not good enough there, try him nowhere else, and that's that.
If and when we get fully healthy and family concerns and back to full team ----------------------------Ramierz ---------------------------------Manotas ----------Quintero----Memo-----Elis -----------------------------Boni ----Bizama-----Cabrera----Figueroa-----Valentin ----------------------------Maric'
I put up that all offense lineup "because eff it, no chance any other way." However, in the longer term, we suffer because we have bought into the same "identity" rubbish as the Nats. There is what has worked here. There is what has generally not. 433, big picture, has not been successful. It's not a well oiled machine that elevates even bad teams. To the contrary, unless well staffed, it sucks and makes us vulnerable, exposing any talent or defense issues. It's the opposite of the 442 which used to pump out playoff teams in spite of ourselves. Either that or we decided if we may not be competitive we're going to be entertaining, and having had success I find that childish regression. I'm not gullible, I don't care to trade 50 goals a season and entertainment for ever making the playoffs. My experience Houston fans support a winner and you had little real objection to how Kinnear played outside of snob circles. Your average or pragmatic fan just liked winning and taking playoffs for granted. Winning sold tickets. Most didn't care how that got done. I think this whole "identity" thing is a show, worse, a way of trying to make a team not spending enough somehow worth watching. Anyone and everyone associated with "identity" needs to go, and we need to sit down and hire good, practical coaching and GMs, and play some more disciplined way. Like I said the other day, the whole freaking league has gone 433, we are not special, we don't have some secret sauce, the competitive advantage right now would be in being the sort of team that could absorb a 433 attack, negate their expensive players, and nick points in grinding fashion. If we want to play open attacking 433 ball we have to pay the payroll to match the other fashionable teams deployed that way. Otherwise our premise is we're gonna come at you on offense but not actually pay enough to dominate that way. Anyhow, they need to clean house and do a rethink on basic principles, and how hard we're trying to be the cool kid at school like everyone else. Cause to me normally someone pimping "identity" wouldn't just look like a low rent version of the popular kids. You'd do your own thing.
The broadcast crew displayed this graphic for a few seconds during the match. Dom excelled in a different era of MLS, and for the most part under a different ownership structure, but damn. The success disparity between the two ownership teams is so noticeable.
The reality is our little cross border rival Tigres does quite fine in a tougher league being a disciplined, fairly defensive team. I think it is a snob thing to pretend like what we used to do was passe and gauche. What really happened is Kinnear lost the plot. Last season when LFC won Europe, they also had the lowest GA in EPL at 22 goals the whole season. They slipped a little but were still leading EPL at 32 GA this year winning league. When LFC was scoring a lot but also allowing a lot, they were more like a marginal team to make Europe. Snobs like to talk and see offense. But among strong offenses good defense often wins the championship. I think we have bought into a bill of goods, the same basic crap Berhalter is selling in Chicago. Run away from a strength to try and work on a perceived weakness or aesthetic complaint. I'm for what works and this 433 seems to only work with just the right alignment of the stars. But until we start making some sales or trades this has been stocked like an imbalanced 433 team and we're kind of stuck. The 5 best prime age players are probably all forwards.
wait, I thought you were boycotting watching the MLS is Back due to their recklessly playing during COVID outbreak? How would you know how they played last night?