With the offseason over, what exactly did we learn?

Normally you would consider going 5-0-1 over the preseason and outscoring your opponents 10-4 over a 6 game span a pretty good stretch. Despite all of this, if Saturday's match against FC Dallas was any inclination about the upcoming season, The Dynamo are in trouble.  A step slow, a foot off, a half-second too late were common themes on Saturday, with few bright spots.  The final two games against Austin F.C. and F.C. Dallas left some to be desired.  

On another note, how great was it to hear El Batallon, the Surge, and the Texian Army all fired up for 90 minutes.  It's been too long since we've heard you guys own the North End of the Stadium, and it brought some chills down my spine just hearing you all walk into the park.  

Anyway, ON WITH IT.

The Good

Tim Parker 

He's the steal of the MLS offseason.  Not just for the Dynamo, but for the league. Let there be no doubt, Tim Parker is a tremendous defender.  He's the best defender we've had in some time, hands down. He has been in the right spot at the right time and is always on alert.  The big, strong CB with the athleticism to play with MLS's best is also competing on every single play.  His positioning, aggression, and timing have been great.  Being that the team didn't give up a goal until Saturday's matchup, it's hard to be too negative about the backline, but he was the lone bright spot in the back on Saturday afternoon.

Tyler Pasher

Don't get me wrong, Pasher hasn't been amazing.  But, he's had a solid showing so far.  He made several key runs on Saturday, although ended with nothing to show for it.  It's hard to see exactly how he fits in, other than a rotation player or a late-game sub at right-wing, but he looked good coming back inside to his left foot.  His blast in the first half was just too high and left, which was also the nearest thing the Dynamo had to a goal in the first 45 minutes of play.  He was attacking, holding up, and cutting inside when he needed to and made good decisions on the ball.  I don't know that he's a full-time MLS player right now, but he's shown enough to get minutes and could earn legitimate time at the right-wing.

Fafa Picault

Fafa scored a brace against Austin FC, and was generally on the front end of the attack over the last two games.  Although he couldn't really shake loose against Frisco, he was creating pressure both on the attack and by defending from the front.  Fafa is a professional, and a nice addition.  

The Bad

The System

I can't see how this group of players fits this system.  Vera, at times, was the only player capable of creating up the middle.  Vera isn't that type of player, and the offense was often stagnant because of it.  The full-backs were constantly pushing too high, especially on the backside, which opened them up to counterattacks.  Neither Lundkvist nor Zerek Valentine are the fleetest of foot, and the Dynamo are just one turnover in the mid-field (which happens far too often), from being in a one-on-one battle with only Marco Meric protecting the goal.  The good news is neither Darwin Quintero nor Memo Rodriguez were in the Starting 11, but the bad news is they don't have another goal creator on their team.  Fafa Picault could never get loose, Max Urruti was often covered up and couldn't find space as there was no other threat up the middle, and neither wing could penetrate anywhere near the middle of the field. Crosses were easily turned away, or there was no on the end of them.  Tab Ramos will need to find a way to get Darwin and Memo on the field together and yet still get the defensive cover he needs in order to have any sort of chance this year.

The Midfield

The midfield made some plays defensively, but constantly gave the ball back in bad positions and did little to create anything going forward.  This midfield is a hodge-podge of assembled parts, but the problem is there is no true stand out.  Mattias Vera is a nice player, but he needs someone in front of him who can make plays.  Honestly, I don't think these three will be playing together for bulk moments when the season starts, but they looked out of sorts and offered little to nothing going forward.  

The Ugly

Sam Junqua

Sam Junqua looked completely overmatched, and completely incapable of playing a central defender position.  The final goal of the game, Junqua completely misplayed a ball in the air with time and space to make a play.  Jesus Ferreira easily picked it up, turned Junqua soo badly he fell down twice, and easily beat Maric at the far side.  Junqua misplayed passes, he whiffed on headers, and pushed too high up and lost shape which once ended with him getting roasted for the second goal of the game by Ryan Hollingshead.  He looked out of position, and completely unreliable. He was in a position to make plays on both of the other goals, but made absolutely no attempt to make a play on the ball. The second goal of the game he watched a ball push about 6" to his right, and then watched Ryan Hollingshead beat the only defender who gave any effort (Tim Parker) and deposit it in the back of the net.  It was a nice pass by Andrés Ricaurte, but 4 Houston defenders watched it go through. 
Hopefully, Maynor Figueroa has enough left in the tank to fill this position, and Ethan Bartlow develops enough to earn minutes here. Is it too late to still make a run at Carlos Salcedo?

Ariel Lassiter

Not sure of a nice way to say this, because there's not one.  Ariel Lassiter was awful on Saturday.  It was one of the worst performances I've seen from a Dynamo wide player.....ever.  He seems to have a complete lack of awareness on the pitch, and couples that with a very low skill set.  He twice was in a 1 v 1 on the wing, and twice gave the ball away.  The first, a hard-charging run down the left flank that started with promise, turned into simply dribbling the ball directly into the defender, who took it away from him.  He had space, he was coming with pace, and he didn't even attempt to make a move to get past the defender.  The defender didn't even have to work to get the ball, Lassiter just gave it to him.  The second started as a nice run down the left flank and ended with a cross to absolutely no one.  I don't even know who he was trying to cross the ball to, as it simply found a central defender (who didn't have to move or rush to get the ball) who wasn't within 20 yards of an attacking player.  It was more of what we saw from him last year.  If we are ever in a position where we have to count on Lassiter for heavy minutes, we are in serious trouble.

The Verdict:

My stance hasn't changed.  This isn't a playoff-caliber team and will be in the lower tier of the league for most of the year.  There's not enough attack, and the defense is suspect.  They need another defender, and they have little depth despite all the offseason moves.  Despite the fact that I think this team will be better than last year's team, they don't have enough pieces to climb into a playoff position.  

On another note, can I ask why everyone is so sure that Tab Ramos will be gone after this season?  Does this front office actually care enough to fire him if we aren't competitive?  Is it even Tab's fault?  Asking Matt Jordan and Tab Ramos to win games with this current ownership group is like asking someone to make a gourmet meal only from the Clearance rack at Kroger's.  Sure, someone could do it, it'd be unusual, weird, and "trendy", but there wouldn't be Creme Brule at the end.  I get that we Dynamo fans are frustrated, but why would we hire a guy who has a reputation for developing young talent, stick him with a bunch of aging, mediocre players, and then put him on a short leash?  That makes no sense.  To do this right, it'll take 4-5 years for Tab to really have the time he needs to turn it around.  Can't we at least give him Wilmer Cabrera levels of patience? Just something to think about as we progress through this season.  

Thanks again for Reading.

Stay #ForeverOrange and #HoldItDown Houston.