Unsurprisingly, Fuentes gets called up to the Honduras U17s for their first camp of the new U17 cycle.
NTX finished up their regular season today with an 8-2 win over Minnesota United 2. NTX had clinched the overall #1 seed before the day started and MNU2 was already eliminated, so it was kind of a dead rubber, but NTX played their top lineup as a tune-up for playoffs (having taken a chance to rotate in KC last week). Goals from '06 Diego Garcia (who finished the year with 7G/3A in about 2,000min, a great rate for someone who was part of a double-pivot all season) and '05 Tarik Scott (who finishes with 10G/3A in about 1,600min). They will now have the top pick for matchups in the first round of playoffs. That happens in the next couple of days.
The FCD U15s are going to *checks notes* an indoor soccer tournament in south Germany at the end of this month? Games to be played on Nov 30 and Dec 1. Involves teams like ManU, Barca, Bayern, Stuttgart, Olympique Marseille, Chelsea, Dortmund, PSV, Dinamo Zagreb, RB Leipzig, Frankfurt, and Palmeiras.
Can I say.......................it pisses me off that Dallas didn't play the kids in last night's game. It was a dead game. Nothing to play for. Why the hell are we starting Jimmy Maurer in goal instead of Antonio Carrera? Its not like we can say that we wanted to "respect the competition" as the opponent had something to play for. It was against SKC, and also a dead game for them. What the hell?????
FCD's season is (mercifully) over! Offseason starts today. Here's what I would do. Players with contracts running out: cut Maurer and Ruan, make Delgado's loan permanent, resign Illaramendi. Players on options: cut Parker, Henry-Scott, Twumasi, Korca, Sealy, Tsiki, Endeley, Gonzalez, Ansah, and Fraser. Option Tafari, Ibeagha, and Carrera. Players to prioritize selling/trading: Velasco, Lletget, Pondeca, Arriola (in descending order; if Paul wants to convert to RB/RWB he can; if not, keep Ruan) Of note, I think Tsiki and Pondeca are fine, but just fine, and they're blocking better, younger players. That leaves you with the following (if you manage to get rid of all of Velasco / Lletget / Pondeca / Arriola): ST - Musa, Farrington, Scott (boy, they sure fixed the #9 position for the next five years in one offseason, huh?) FW/AM - Ferreira, Delgado (or is he a CM?), Sali, Kamungo (or is he a #9) CM/CDM - Illarra, Show, Pomykal, Urzua, Norris (or is he a CB?), Sainte (Or is he a CB?) LB - Farfan, Junqua RB - Geovane, Arriola/Ruan CB - Tafari, Ibeagha GK - Paes, Carrera Priority additions from NTX (in descending order): Garcia (CM), Pedrinho (FW/AM), Collodi (GK), whichever CB you like best (for me, Westergren). Likely / priority HG signings: Ramirez (FW/AM), Molina? (RB), Baran? (FW/AM) Further priorities: Starting left-footed CB (Obispo from PSV?), add another veteran CB that's not as decrepit as Omar Gonzalez, add a youngish TAM to the attacker rotation. That creates this final roster (use your draft picks on best player available): ST - Musa, Farrington, Scott FW/AM - Ferreira, TAM, Delgado (?), Sali, Kamungo (?), Pedrinho, Ramirez CM/CDM - Illarra, Show, Pomykal, Urzua, Norris (?), Sainte (?), Garcia LB - Farfan, Junqua RB - Geovane, Arriola/Ruan CB - Obispo, Tafari, Ibeagha, Vet, Westergren GK - Paes, Carrera, Maurer Ideal lineup looks like this (subs): Ferreira, Musa, Farrington (Scott, TAM, Delgado, Bernie) Farfan, Illarra, Pomykal, Geovane (Show, Sainte, Garcia, Junqua) Obispo, Tafari, Ibeagha (Vet) Paes (Carrera)
Are we sure Carrera is going to be back? The fact they haven’t given him any game time yet is a bad sign. It’s not like Paes has been available and needed for every game and that’s why. Colorado is out there starting Beaudry. Philadelphia started Rick a bunch of games. Beavers split playing time this season. Brady a starter. Slonina a starter years back and now gone. He’s not too young. The coaching staff just doesn’t seem to rate Carrera overly high.
NTX advances 3-2 over Vancouver. Goals from Endeley, Garcia, and Pondeca, all three of which were pretty high quality. Typically NTX by conceded some huge chances at the other end, and the Whitecaps actually converted two, which hasn't been usual. NTX has the right to choose their opponent next round too. As far as thread-eligibles go, '05 Norris and '06 Garcia started. Thought both were quite good apart from a bizarre minute from Norris where he kicked the ball to the other team a few times in a row. '05 Scott subbed on for the last 25min or so; got run down on a breakaway and had a couple of nice defensive moments. '05 Ramirez came on late.
I wonder is Collodi has jumped Carrera? I can't recall the last time i heard of Carrera doing anything this year. Has he played a single MLS game? How many NTX games did he play? Has he played any competitive minutes this season after he got back from the loan?
Is there any chance Sealy turns it around and becomes an impactful player for the first team? The 00 to 04 years for FCD were terrific in terms of HG that made an impact for the first team, were sold and made their way to Europe. Has FCD had any HG since 2004 that turned into big minutes for the first team, were sold for a decent amount or went to Europe? This seems like a huge drop off when compared the likes of Tessman, Bryan Reynolds, Justin Che, Sealy,, Benny redzich, Pepi, The Gomez brothers, Cerillo, etc. So many good players but none since 2004?
I don't expect Sealy to be with FCD next year. .................but what do I know? FCD had that great group of 00 to 04s that they won literally nothing with. So, they went in another direction and aren't winning that way either. What will they do now? Hell if I know.
Carrera actually was on the bench for that NTX game last night. It was Collodi who started. So maybe. They may just have started Collodi because he'd been the starter with NTX. It would suck to have a guy start all year for that team and then pick somebody else for the playoff game. Maybe they let Maurer leave....................and Collodi/Carrera are 2 and 3 next year. Let them duke it out for any playing time that becomes available.
That makes sense and I agree they should have given Collodi the start based upon the year he had. It doesn't make sense why they didn't give Antonio a few first team games this year after they were out of the playoff picture. Or why they even brought him back from the loan. Don't see the benefit of him sitting around and not playing.
Maybe playing Maurer was a "thanks for the memories" kind of appearance. He's been at the club since since coming on loan in the 2017 season. Maybe he's going to stay as a coach or administrator. He's been doing that job rotation in the front office. Kyle Zobeck is still at the club as a coach. Still, I would have preferred giving Carrera that game.
I saw that Collodi was starting, and it got my attention. I think it's probably just that he was the starter for NTSC all year and had a good year, and they thought it'd be a lack of respect to yank him from the team for a guy who isn't even really part of the team. At the same time, they yanked Scott for Farrington, so they clearly didn't take that stance throughout the team. I think it's at least a possibility that they prefer Collodi at this point, even if I lean towards that not being the case. There are definitely questions though with Carrera. I wouldn't be certain that he's back.
You mean like what they did to Tarik Scott to get Farrington into the team? edit…sorry, I didn’t see the post saying the same thing as I did. Too quick of a trigger finger.
I will say that Collodi was literally the MLSNP keeper of the year. The gap between him and Carrera is probably not great either way. I wasn't a fan of them using Farrington in that MLSNP game. He's a first team player. 12 goal contributions on the MLS level. Only appeared in one MLSNP game all year. Frankly, it feels like sending an MLB pitcher down to AAA to win a AAA title. Who the hell cares about a AAA title? Friggin' meaningless. Win the games with the guys that you've used all season. North Texas was the best team in the division with the guys that got them there. And if they lose; they lose. But anyway, I'll get off of my soapbox on that one.
FCD 16s v Capital City SC, 10/20/24, W 2-0 Lineup (L-R, where applicable): Ortega; Grimm, Olu, Drygas, Salm; Aragundi; Velazquez, Vargas; Cruz, Glosson, Dias Subs: 15min into the 2H, Fumtim and Martey come on for Velazquez and Aragundi (Martey goes to RW, Fumtim to RB, and Dias and Salm go into midfield). 5min later, Grimm and Ortega come off for Orlandelli and Wells. Goal(s): · 36:15 – Ensuing CK after the 35:32 chance below, Grimm hits a hard inswinger at the near post and Salm beats the GK to the ball to deflect it in off of his shoulder. · 1:09:50 – FCD takes the second half kickoff, playing back to Olu and Drygas, who pass between themselves for a bit before Drygas whaps a lofted pass down the right side to Salm, who takes it down to get a pass out in front of an underlapping Dias. Vargas has hustled out in front of Dias and gets the ball in the side of the box before lashing a cross across the top of the six to Glosson, who chests it down into an empty net. Other Key Chances: · 31:00 – Aragundi dribbling around under pressure near the kickoff mark. He pushes a ball forward to Velazquez, who plays left to Grimm, who slides a ball forward to Cruz on the LW, where Cruz flips a pass first time in behind for Velazquez who’s made a diagonal run into the corner. Velazquez hits a cross backwards to the PK spot, where Dias cushions a ball down for Vargas, who rings the crossbar from about 14 yards. Glosson grabs the rebound but can’t turn it into a shot, so he recycles. · 35:32 – Glosson won a foul on the left side and now FCD’s got a set piece. Dias makes the puzzling decision to chip it at the top of the box, but Glosson chests it down, takes a handful of touches to make space, and fires from about 16 yards from the top of the box; shot is deflected just wide of the post and out for a CK. · 43:09 – Capital City FK on their LW after Dias fouled a guy while backchecking. Service is flat to the back post where an attacker that ran in from outside the box is unmarked and directs his header to the right post (or just past it), but Ortega dives left and grabs it. · 1:13:35 – Cruz noodles around on the left side of the box for a bit before laying it wide to Grimm, who hits a flat cross into the middle where Glosson gets his head on it, redirecting it into the back post and forcing a good movement save. · 1:29:16 – Drygas on the ball to the right of his own box. He finds Dias in the pocket near midfield, and Dias goes square to Vargas in the center circle. (Capital City is sooooooo stretched out here). Vargas turns and plays wide to Cruz down the left side, and Cruz dallies a moment to let Grimm catch up before putting in his underlapping run into the box. Grimm then hits what appears to be a shot from an acute angle, striking the crossbar so the ball goes out for a CK. · 1:32:45 – Vargas gets called for a foul in the left halfspace at midfield, but the play goes on long enough for Olu to slide in and clear the ball before it’s whistled. He takes a second to mess with his socks or something, but in the meantime Capital City is setting up to take it quickly and play behind Olu into the box. The ST takes a touch toward the endline, just giving Olu enough time to slide in and block the shot out for a CK. · 1:35:28 – Fumtim collects a cross into FCD’s box at the back post and slides a ball out in front of Salm into midfield. Salm looks up and finds Dias on the left and plays it to him first time, and Dias quickly puts it out in front of Glosson up the LW. Glosson dribbles at two defenders, cutting into the middle before turning, poking a ball back left, and firing with his left from the corner of the six yard box and over. · 1:50:41 – Salm gets the ball entering the final third after a spell of FCD possession. He goes left and FCD works the ball out to Cruz on the LW, who hits a nice disguised ball into Dias just outside the top of the box. Dias collects, fakes right, shifts left, and pokes a ball in behind for Vargas who had run over to support Cruz. Now Vargas beats the outrushing GK to the ball near the corner of the six, poking a shot at the near post that rings the goalframe and bounces out the backside. · 1:51:33 – CK almost immediately afterward for FCD. Dias takes it back to Orlandelli, who cuts past a player and curls a shot at the center of goal from about 20 yards out. The GK saves it directly to Drygas in front of goal (nice ST movement from Drygas to take the space), but he somehow manages to get a hand on Drygas’ first time shot, putting it off the post. A defender manages to beat Drygas to the rebound and clears it. Notes: · Sedeh and Wygant (at least) played up with the U17s this weekend. Cook's injured. Odom and Vejrostek and Wegman and Eason were missing from this game. Glosson’s maybe the only high-tier prospect in this one for FCD (and a handful of TBDs). They loaded the ‘09s roster and pared back the ‘08s, so maybe I should have expected them to push kids up out of the ‘09s more than last year. · Lots of opportunities for FCD around the sides of the PK box in the 1H, but they struggle to (a) find attacking feet in the box and (b) control the ball quickly/intently enough to get a good shot away. · Intensity of this game drops a TON in the 2H. · Grimm seems like he’s won the LB job for now. Like his brother, he’s a plus from dead balls. · Aragundi giving Jared Aguilar vibes (in a variety of ways). · Vargas is a January birthday and seems to have a few of limitations, but one thing he does really well is moving constantly and smartly. Such a quick thinker; lubricates possession for the rest of the team. Was one of my favorite things about Jared Salazar around this age too. · Some disconnect between Ortega and Olu such that Ortega’s passes to Olu in the 1H are missing or Olu’s not receiving them correctly or something. Ends up with FCD under pressure over there pretty often. · Velazquez wins a TON of good fouls in this one. All three of he, Vargas, and Dias are in the “Probably good college players, probably not pros” tier for me, but I wouldn’t be shocked if one of them jumped up at some point. · Really like Glosson’s awareness. Consistently reacts a step or two quicker to loose balls than the defenders. No doubt very useful in the box (though I haven’t seen that yet). Good feet from him at 1:19:01 to make space for a shot. Lots of good stuff from him in this one. · Little nutmeg from Dias at 1:25:40. · First time seeing Orlandelli: lanky, awkward style. Very baby giraffe, but he mostly has a positive impact. Doesn’t have the same obviously facile relationship with the ball that the others do. · Olu doesn’t look like he’s moving at a different speed than others (like Martey does every once in a while, for example), but boy does he get to a lot of balls. Reminds me of young Justin Che in that way. · Cruz does this a couple of times: slowing down his run at 1:35:30 when he doesn’t get the ball kills me. Just keep going! Add numbers to the attack! Overlap! It’s not complicated! · Salm looked pretty lost as a CM last year before moving to W, then looked good. Now they’re trying him at RB (makes sense: he was a CB at his prior club – if you can play both W and CB, why to FB?), but then he gets to play most of a half as a CM in this one and looks totally in control, languid, playing two speeds faster than the (admittedly slow) game. Makes me wonder.
To be fair, I don’t know that Collodi deserved that award. He was third in G+ for MLSNP keepers, and a decent amount behind the top performer (Columbus ‘06 Lapkes). MLS is a little archaic, so having the most clean sheets to them means the best. Collodi had a good year for sure, but NTSC routinely fielded old teams. A lot easier to play behind a bunch of veterans instead of kids. I think Collodi very well might project as a good MLS backup keeper. Maybe FCD sees that, they believe it’s going to happen, and there are greater issues with Carrera that we don’t know about. At the same time, I don’t actually for a second believe the upside is even close. Carrera also probably would’ve been right there for MLSNP keeper of the year had he played regular game time in the league.
If Carrerra thinks he is first team talent, it makes no sense for him to stick around with FCD. Paes is the number one and unless they have talked about selling him or him leaving, he will be the #1 for years to come. If I am Antonio, I am looking for a way out and place to play. Goalie is a weird position, if you are not #1, it sucks. I expect NTX will clean house a little bit like most years. The older veterans will most likely get pink slips. You look at the path of guys like Colin Smith, Blaine Ferri etc who played big minutes and played well for NTX but never made it to the first team. That is the trajectory for most of these guys. Other than Kamungo, who else made the leap and stuck at FCD. If we discount Tessman and Cerrillo and Bryan because they were a different era. Norris makes FCD benches,(playes a little) but they don't seem to have long term plans for him. If he doesn't stick in the first team this year I would expect they cut him next year. Can't play at NTX forever. Same with Pondeca, Scott, Henry-Scott
Agree with this completely. They bang on all year about development league, then use a first team player the first opportunity they get. Poor form.
They see it as a U23 team. Does anyone know where to find minutes-weighted average age by team for MLSNP? Been looking for that data forever (in an easy-to-get format). I get the sense that NTSC is about average compared to the other teams in the league, but I don't have a good, systematic way to know that.