International Break:Teenage Hadebe, and roster drama; The Dynamo need this week off.

 

After an up and down first 8 games to the season in which the Dynamo have played a fairly difficult schedule, they finally get a much-needed break.  There were some really good performances, a couple of really bad performances, and a few that made us go......"meh".  Tim Parker, Fafa Picault, Maxi Urruti, Joe Corona, and Tyler Pasher have proven to be good additions to the squad, we've seen some experimentation that has helped (Boniek at Central Defense) and some that didn't (the 3-4-3 against Colorado, Memo playing large chunks at the wing), and some moves that have us scratching our heads (the constant appearances by Lassiter, the disappearance of Darwin Quintero, There are a few items of business that Tab and his crew need to take care of over the break, we'll take a look at those and Teenage Hadebe in this week's blog post.

Teenage Hadebe (Rumor) could give us a dynamic backline.

Depending on which report you read, Hadebe is between 5'11 and 6'1'.  He's long, he's rangy, he has good feet, and is a tuff & aggressive defender.  He plays balls in the air well, and he does a really good job playing angles.  He could help at both CB and LB, and has been battle-tested against some really good clubs.  He started in the 3-0 win over Fenerbahce, started at LB versus Galatasary in a 0-1 loss, started at CB vs. Besiktas in a 0-1 loss, and started again against Galatasary in a 1-3 loss.  Yeni Malatyspor isn't a Turkish League powerhouse, their a lower table team in a decent league.  But those three teams are quality teams and he went the full 90 against Champions League and Europa League qualifiers.  He's a left-footed left Center Back, which we could definitely use.  The only one we currently have is Maynor Figueroa, and he's 38.  We'll see what happens when the transfer window opens there, while I'm interested in how this develops, we've been down this road before.  The transfer is reported to be about 1.8 Million, which makes me highly doubt the move will actually happen.

The most intriguing part about this rumor (and I'm not giving it any serious consideration until I see it happen) is that it tells me they've already decided Ethan Bartlow can't play.  Why make this move is Ethan Bartlow was the guy they think he is?  Hadebe is only 25, it's not like he'd be a stopgap.  So if this move actually happens it would likely mean we missed on a high draft pick and have no plans to develop him here.  I think we all know that Alejandro Fuenmayor isn't in any future plans and we need to find a way to move him.  This could all be wrong and just a transfer rumor, but we aren't involved in these very often and so I have to speculate we at least made a call to see what it would take to get him. 

The Dynamo really need Tyler Pasher to get healthy:

Pasher adds depth and a dimension to the attack which just can't be replicated without him.  Memo doesn't have the speed or playmaking ability, and Ariel Lassiter doesn't have the skill.  Pasher helps get the ball forward, whether he's the one doing it or not.  Tyler can actually take defenders on and get past them, something that Memo really struggles with (only 20 attempts in 8 games, with a team-low 40% success rate) and something Lassiter seems incapable of (0/3 on 81 touches).  Fafa has really improved in this area over the last few games, but the guys playing on the other wing are adding nothing.  The only way Tab has been able to get production out of both wings in the last few games is to switch Fafa sides.  Bajamich has actually done really well in his limited minutes (and I believe needs more time), but to keep teams honest Pasher is our best option.  He's an important cog in this machine.  The Dynamo have the 5th most attempts at taking defenders on in the league (141) and the 5th lowest success rate (54.6%).  Derrick Jones is actually fairly solid at this (68.8%), and of the midfield, he's by far the best (Joe Corona - 47%, Matias Vera only has 8 attempts in 7 games, at 50% success) but we need a wing player that can stretch the defense and open gaps up the middle.  Tyler (opposite Fafa) is the best option we have.  He's not going to post enormous stats, but he makes plays and does his job. There's no secret to that.

Dear Parker, Maric, Fafa, and Urruti don't get off the couch.

They've played a ton of heavy minutes, Tab basically has no options off the bench at these positions, and we need them to be as healthy as possible.  Wrap yourself in bubble wrap, prop your feet up, and crank out some binge-watching on Netflix.  Hit the cryo chamber and take a few ice baths.  Freshen those legs up and get ready for the next stretch.  I actually think that Parker should have replaced Aaron Long for the Nation's League roster.  I'd take him over Tim Ream or Mark McKenzie at this point, but I'm also glad that he's able to keep those legs fresh and possibly hang out with Woody a little bit. I don't really like Maynor and Boniek playing in these games, but of the two I'm glad Boniek wasn't in the starting 11 (selfishly) against USMNT.  While we actually have some depth in the midfield, the front and back lines are currently paper thin and as we can see with Pasher going down one injury can throw large kinks in our lineup.  Parker has been extremely reliable on the backline, he's helped transform this defense and is constantly in the right place at the right time.  While Boniek has done an admirable job back there this year, Parker doesn't have a reliable partner much less a backup.  He's completely irreplaceable.  Fafa has been the biggest threat going forward almost all year, and with Pasher out the only threat we have at the counter-attack.  Not only that, the work rate of both he and Urruti has led to the positive showings in the early going.  Fafa and Urruti are covering the entire field.  It's fairly regularly you see Fafa knocking away crosses into Maric's area, or Urruti tracking back to chase down oposing attacks.  Not only is their ability to press high vital towards Tab's tactics, but their willingness to work in the defending third helped secure points in all three games they've won.  That work comes at a cost, especially with the brutal Houston summer coming up.  Every chance we get to rest, we need to take it.

We have a fairly brutal & compressed schedule after the break:

June 19th - @ LAFC

June 23rd - Home vs. Portland Timbers

June 26th - @ Real Salt Lake

July 3rd - Home vs. FC Cincinnati

July 7th - @ Seattle Sounders.

Picking up 8 or more points from this stretch is hugely important to hold our current position in the table, and we'll need every healthy body we have to do it.

Thanks again for reading,

#HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange

Brian