I don’t know if we’re going to crash/burn OR make it a 1-4 playoff spot, BUT I do know there’s been a stylistic improvement from the Ramos years, the Nagamura months, and Ben’s first 5 games.
people should be happy! I’m happy! we will play meaningful soccer after Labor Day for only the 2nd time in 10 years! But that doesn’t ignore the absurd argument that HH was the best midfielder in MLS last year or some similar claim. I was at the Minnesota United home game about 8 weeks ago. That Dynamo team looked like one that was on the verge of a sliding all the way down the table. Then we had a great 2 week stretch, similar to a 3 game stretch earlier where we won 3 games in a week. This is all very good but at 1.44 pts per game let’s be a little more objective.
Which is how the best all around player in the Western Conference can be on a middle of the pack team. There's no pretzel logic in that and it's not that hard to understand. It's why the best players in their sport don't always win championships every single year. I also said in the same post that they players around him got better AND he has a coach that better utilizes them. It's a sport of 11. Like I said, there's 2,3 guys on the planet that can push teams like last year's to a playoff team, and they make a lot more than HH does.
No, because only serious soccer fans hate their team and are critical of everything even in good times. If you are ever happy or see any of our players as good you're wrong, even if we are 27-0-0 with a goal differential of +483. It's fine if you're critical, but it's also OK to celebrate your team and winning.
It is fine to be critical. I criticize things. Brian does. Celt does. Quiz does. And I’ve been called out on bad criticism. When you criticize you welcome and invite analysis and evaluation of your criticism and people are free to disagree. The idea that this forum does not accept criticism is absurd. But bad criticism gets disagreed with. And if your just a critic who can’t accept anything good your going to really get your criticism evaluated.
People criticize me as a human based on how I evaluate the Dynamo. It's all good. Also not all of us can't take criticism of our ideas. We're big boys. I still respect everyone here. Even @CeltTexan who keeps me in check sometimes
We don't talk about it much because we are just used to it, but we are having this success with one DP on the field. That is incredible. It's also incredibly frustrating, because I can't help but wonder how much better we would be if we had a DP striker or winger. I'm going to focus on the positives as I see them. There are several players that we are either going to keep or sell for profit. Coco obviously, Miceal, Bartlow, Bassi maybe Baby Face, Dorsey. So we are in a good spot for the future no matter what we decide. We have an owner that will spend. Now the negative. Our best player is 33, and we have rode him hard. Soccer is a sport where players just nosedive when their bodies are done. Clark is old, and we don't seem to have a young keeper that is ready. We still don't have a striker. We still are minus 1 international slot, (thanks Jordan you dumbass.) We have a weird situation with Sebas. But every team has a version of these problems.
It's the constant expression in extremis that gets annoying & completely dismantles any point you want to make. If, during your feedback, you use lazy terms like "no one, every one, over the top, only a true fan, etc etc" then you aren't interested in an exchange of ideas, you are only interested in trolling. If you find yourself name calling, or not addressing the subject, then you've lost the plot. I know it's in fashion these days to destroy whomever disagrees with you, even if they are correct because your tribe must win at all costs....but that doesn't make it any less annoying or juvenile. PS This is a general PSA. If you think this was written with YOU in mind, you are part of the problem
The best example of stats not backing up the quality of a goalkeeper is Dan Kennedy. My man was fantastic between the bars but sabotaged by the idiot team owner.
Given the growth, and age (24), Can anyone say anything negative on Dorsey? Honest question, we all seem to see the game differently at times. Part 2, have we seen any growth in Thor, or enough I should say?
I don't know if you are just dropping an esoteric name out of the hat for clout or you really mean it, but well done regardless. I also thought Pete Incavilia wasn't backed up by stats. Lol, just messing with you!
Nothing negative, no. Only comment I'd have is one of caution: over the past two years he's had stretches of being very good and then reverted to mediocrity. If he can keep up this standard of play, then fantastic, but in the past he has not.
While I love blaming Jordan for stuff, trading away that international slot happened in 2009 while he was still a player for Montreal Impact.
Oh no I mean it. I wrote the same things back when he was still playing for the Baby Goats. Heck of a player who had the worst defense around him. Back to our roster, I've been pleasantly surprised by Bassi and Baird. Neither is going to win any big awards or what not, but they've certainly played better than I thought. It really does make you think what a serious DP striker could do up there.
Dorsey has indeed excelled in his role within Ol Bens system. I'm unsure of whether he "grew" & became better or is just now playing in a system that highlights his positives. Either way, he has become some one that the opposing team has to account for. His negatives might be his still vulnerability to allow opposing team to find joy behind him. He relies on his above average speed to recover but he gets caught too far up field at times and opens a door to the other team that would be closed with less drift & more discipline. Also-far too many times we've seen our boys tiki taka the ball inside the opposing box & then lose possession, instead of some one having the skill to one time it towards goal. Dempsey is part of this cohort. Thor appears to be the same player skill wise but seems to be more confident, mature & demonstrative attitude wise. My fear is the Ol Ben doesn't like him & views him as just another Sebas (tall striker, below average heading ability, slow to track back etc) & thus won't give him meaningful minutes. Ol Ben believes speed is the most important skill & Thor just doesn't have it. He will do well to play in another system.
Dorsey has been a big contributor recently. Nothing negative. Would like to see him continue to improve defensively and in ball management. I was hoping to have seen more growth in Thor by now. He may need a different situation to flourish. Maybe a USL team that relies upon him day-in and day-out. I would love to be wrong on that. He needs to watch hours and hours of Brian Ching and do that.
Thor has gotten a healthy dose of opportunity at D2 and hasn't produced. He's a USL level starter, an MLS level backup.
I have to drag this up from preseason but it's not often you can go, "I was right". I maintain last season was a short-term fluke driven by a team that overperformed for a portion of the season on the back of showing resilience and reaction to a turbulent season before coming back to earth over the final part of the season. The org believed they were the team that overperformed and not the one that struggled to score in the final month and stumbled across the finish line. Surprise, surprise, by far and away the worst attack in the league this year, headed for last place and head coach fired today.
It would have been easier to just assume the Dash suck as an organization and since they've only made the playoffs 1 out of 8 years before, they probably weren't going to make it in 2023. i could have predicted that. I did see a comment about how they had an "exhaustive" search before they hired this guy yet 9.5 months later he's clearly the wrong person for the job - huh? You mean the club president and standalone GM botched it this badly? I can't imagine they are going to get any good candidates with other viable employment options now that they've run off 3 coaches in 18 months
How many times are you absolutely right in your life. Like maybe once or twice? If you can't celebrate that, what can you celebrate?
From MLS.com re:Herrera. "The 33-year-old has three goals and 13 assists on the season and plays a critical role in everything Houston does. In fact, he plays the biggest role of any player for any team in the league. Per American Soccer Analysis, he leads the league in “touch percentage,” the share of a player’s touches compared to their teammates. Everything runs through Herrera, and the Dynamo are having their best season in years with him leading the way." They have him 5th in the MVP race. Not bad at all.