The FC Dallas Thread

Thank you. Love what FC Dallas is doing but it dominates almost every conversation in this forum.

 

Not a word about Pomykal?

 

All the other clubs in MLS should take note... That should be the standard for all clubs across the league.

 

The player who I think will make a jump this season for FCD is Thomas Roberts.
He'd seem to be the backup to Pomykal in that "free 8" role. He will hopefully get all of Jacori Hayes' minutes.

Had never seen this type of defensive work from Thomas Roberts before. Probably starting #10 for the US U-20s this summer in qualifying fwiw pic.twitter.com/X2p3V4K0AT

— Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) February 9, 2020

 

I would kill to see Pomykal and Roberts playing together in the same midfield for at least a couple of games this season.

 

I think it should be the standard for clubs that don't have the market or sugar daddy to compete, and the league should abolish catchment areas to accomodate these organizations as well as league academies in general.

 

Haven't really thought of him as a great athlete, just good enough. Maybe Holden is a facsimilie.

The other simple improvement he could make is to not be left-foot dominant. At least make short passes just as easily w/ his right.

But that every touch video in the Bayern u23 friendly was very impressive, spraying the ball all over the yard, and mucking things up for the opponent.

I'd love to see cm's of Roberts, Pomykal, and Servania w/ front lines that include both Ferreira and Pepi, with Cannon at the back. Should be an even more entertaining follow this season, and clear gem from a US standpoint.

 

I think FCD should be actively seeking a loan for Roberts. He needs to get on field at a higher level than USL-1. He may very well get some time with the first team this year, but looks like he is behind Santos, Pomykal, Acosta, Ferriera, Servania and Cerrillo. Pomykal and Ferreira can both play the #10 and the other four can play 6 or 8.

I’m a bit higher on him right now than I have been in the past, but he needs match time and plenty of it.

 

I think Roberts is a talented player, but incredibly inconsistent. I hate to compare him to Pomykal because that’s the player right in front of him on the depth chart, but I think they are very similar in their skill sets. The difference being that Pomykal was always incredibly consistent at youth level. Roberts would put in some excellent performances as a #10, but has any many completely anonymous performances. He’s not as pro ready as Pomykal at the same age.

He’ll need to be eased into a role, but he does have some talent.

 

Neither are Acosta or Santos (apparently). And given their flexibility, it is conceivable that six of those seven players could be on the field at the same time (Ferreira as a 9, Pomykal on a wing, Santos at center back). The odd man out would likely be Cerrillo, assuming Acosta is ahead of him as a defensive midfielder. That scenario even still leaves room for Badji!! (If Badji actually sees a lot of minutes this year for FCD, I'll lost it.)

Roberts actually addresses a pretty big need for FCD as he is one of only a couple of potential central playmakers. Ferreira and Pomykal are really the only other options, and I really hope that Ferreira can be more of a 9 or wing option and that Luchi has the courage to play with two play makers in the three man midfield (should be more than doable given Pomykal's two-way ability and Roberts' growth in that area).

Edit: Apparently Badji is no longer with Dallas. Fantastic news.

 

It would be amazing if he sees any minutes for FCD since he plays for Nashville [emoji16][emoji16]

 

It's hard to know the depth chart right now.
Note that all of Servania, Pomykal, and Acosta are out at the moment. In an interview Luchi mentioned he hoped to have Pomykal back in full training by the end of this week. He said Servania will take a couple more weeks.

Ferreira played as the #10 in their friendly against Austin this past weekend. That, of course, is something Luchi did a lot of this past season when Pomykal was out.

The midfield was crowded last season, and Jacori Hayes got ~1000 minutes due to international callups, injuries, squad rotation, etc. If Thomas Roberts gets those 1000 minutes plus time spent away with the U20s, I'd be happy with that progress. Yes, he probably will still get NTSC minutes when the whole midfield contingent is healthy and available. But when is that exactly?

We must force ourselves to remember that he is only 18 years old after all.

 

I was surprisingly impressed with Dante Sealy at the scrimmage yesterday. He's grown a lot and id very fluid, can dribble and seemingly made all the right decisions. He looks like Kellyn Acosta if your not paying close attention. If you look closer he's actually slightly taller and a bit thicker.

 

This is a good idea. Wish there were more info on other teams and hopefully a few more will evolve into needing their own thread.

 

Wonder if Dallas overpaid some of these newer homegrowns without a clear plan on getting them 1st team playing time. Roberts six figure salary ($140k ish in total compensation) may be difficult to unload on a loan especially since he spent a lot of time playing on NTXSC. Now he has even more experienced/better competition to beat out to get first team minutes.

 

Nah. I'd argue that should be the going rate for a USYNTer in MLS.
If they want to compete on the World market anyway. With the top of the top garnering >$200k.

Dante Sealy got >$100k as a 15 year old that had no chance of playing first team soccer.

Its amazing what the salaries are for mediocre foreign players in the league. And yet we register concern about giving young domestic players those salaries. [Not a shot at you. This is a general thing.] Thomas Roberts at $140k was nothing for FCD. Edwin Gyasi was on $720k. Who? Exactly. A Ghanaian international (capped 5 times) they loaned from CSKA Sofia that was invisible.

One should ask why Paxton Pomykal was on a 4 times lower salary than Pablo Aranguiz. Aranguiz won Young Player of the Year the previous season in Chile, and Pax flat out beat him to a starting job. FCD loaned Pablo back to Chile, where he'll likely remain.

 

Roberts looks pretty good in this video.

Thomas Roberts (2001) vs Austin Bold FC#DTID pic.twitter.com/N6qjskOHJI

— FC_Dallas FR 🇫🇷 (@FCDallasFR1) February 9, 2020

Sealy looks ineffective. He needs a full season in USL League One.

Dante Sealy (2003) vs Austin Bold FC#DTID pic.twitter.com/LkUvGW4Crg

— FC_Dallas FR 🇫🇷 (@FCDallasFR1) February 10, 2020

 

I am fine with others having a different opinion of Roberts, people always see things a bit differently. However, he played over 1,110 minutes last year with NTSC and had 2 goals and 0 assists. That is just over 12 full matches worth of minutes with very little output for a creative type attacking midfielder. Those numbers will have to improve at the USL 1 level before he is considered for legitimate minutes with the first team.

Someone mentioned above that they don't see any competition for minutes with Cerrillo, but I disagree with the fluidity of central midfield players in Luchi's system. In order for Roberts to pick up minutes, he is going to have to show that he is more than just a creative 10. He needs to be able to defend put in the work on that side of the ball, all while increasing his goal and assist numbers. Many of FCD central midfield players are very versatile and can play 2 of the 3 central midfield positions. Roberts need to get to that level of versatility if he doesn't have the statistics to get into the team as strictly an attacking midfielder. By contrast, Servania got 2 goals and 3 assists in nearly the same number of minutes with the first team as Roberts did in USL, and that was playing as a 6 or an 8. Servania is probably the one FCD central midfield player that can play any of the 3 CM positions. This will greatly benefit him when match day squads are being selected.

Luchi has said many times that this season is geared more toward results now that his playing style has been implemented. To me, this means being more pragmatic on the road where a point can be valuable, but it also means putting players on the field that can achieve desired results, even if it means abandoning the style of play for chunks of a match. Roberts can push for a spot for sure, but I don't expect a huge uptick in first team minutes for him, which is why I'd like to see him go out on loan. (I admittedly have no idea if the date has passed for them to do that)

 

Sometimes statistics don't tell the story. Paxton Pomykal has a total of 2 goals and 2 assists in his entire pro soccer career. Brandon Servania has 3 goals and 2 assists. Those two are now capped USMNT internationals.

We'll see. Roberts is only 18 after all.
And I'm not particularly impressed with Cerrillo. So for me, its Cerrillo who's sorta the odd man out.

The reason that some have highlighted Roberts' good play this pre-season is that HE IS showing more of an aptitude to being a 2-way player. Luchi has had good things to say about him.

With the complete disappearance of Blaine Ferri from Planet Earth, and Tanner Tessman's decision that he really wants to be a place kicker, we can also see Roberts as being a key player in central midfield for the US U20s. So he could be gone quite a bit on international duty himself.

 

Completely agree.

2 goals and 5 assists in 2141 minutes (involved in a goal every 3 games)
Roberts was involved in a goal every 6 games in USL

I agree with this as well and hope he continues to show he can play on both sides of the ball. It will serve him well.

Which could be a huge confidence booster for him if he plays well. I've seen many a player come back from a good International tournament and really kick on.