Suit Game: Impeccable -> Tie Game: On Point!

 

There's no recap here.  You want a recap?  The Dynamo can't score.  They defend like madmen for 89.9 minutes (plus 11 minutes of stoppage time) only to see the game slip away by a total defensive blunder. There's the game.  That's it in a nutshell. That's EVERY game in a nutshell.  That's the SEASON in a nutshell. And look.......I get it.  It's frustrating to watch.  It's easy to throw the blame at Tab, or Matt Jordan, or (insert midfielder or fullback here), but the honest truth is: THIS TEAM IS JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH.  This won't be a recap, this will be a rant. 

It's a scary state, really, when your entire attack hinges on a 26-year-old left-footed Canadian who was a solid USL player for two years.  It's even scarier when the attack isn't even that effective when he's on the field.  Don't get me wrong, Tyler Pasher was a really nice signing.  He's been effective (when he's actually been in the lineup), he's our best wing player by a landslide, and he didn't cost all that much.  Last night was a night that reflected how absolutely mediocre this attack is.  It's a shame, because the defense has been massively upgraded this offseason. Tim Parker is as good as advertised, so is Teenage Hadebe.  Joe Corona and Derrick Jones have been really solid signings this year, and they fly all over the field and scoop up balls.  They occasionally make really nice plays with the ball at their feet, it's just not often enough.  Sam Junqua has made huge strides this year at LB, he's still got a ways to go.  The Dynamo just went three halves without allowing a shot on goal.  No matter who you are playing, that's quite a feat. They haven't allowed the other team to score in five of their last six halves. They hold shape well, they scramble and recover, and their work rate is tremendous.  It's just not going to be good enough.  

I began asking this question in the offseason: Where are the goals going to come from? The Dynamo are currently on pace to record their worst goal output season.....are you ready for this?........ever.  Their current average of 1.13 goals per game is the lowest in the franchise's history.  It's slightly behind 2016's and 2014's pace of 1.15.  What's most frustrating is against San Jose, the opportunities were there.  Corona hits Memo with a beautiful pass on the run after the high press gets the Dynamo possession and some combo play.  Memo times it up perfectly, and then hits the ball right to the keeper.  Fafa makes a great run down the wing, hits Memo with a perfect pass in the perfect spot with space and time.......and Memo blasts it off Griffen Dorsey's face.  He rushed it, he hit it horribly, and despite how open he was that ball had absolutely no chance of going in or allowing Dorsey to make a play.  Dorsey hit Urruti with a nice little chip pass 7 yards from the box.  Maxi can't get a good foot on it and just floats far to the back post.  Despite all the nice runs, terrific passes, and give-and-go action that led to players with the ball in dangerous positions, it took a wonder-strike from Mattias Vera to snatch a point. Tabs squad has scored 1 goal after the 56th minute the entire year, which coincidentally is when the only player wearing #ForeverOrange that has the ability to be a playmaking midfielder steps on the field.  It's frustrating, its infuriating, it's.........just soo mediocre. 

Not to keep rubbing it in, but I called that too in the pre-season. So, lets take a quick look at the attack and what is going wrong.  It's easy to blame it on Tab (and please don't take this is me giving him a pass), but that's not the focus here.  

Maxi Urruti:

It's hard for me to be critical of this guy.  I love his work ethic, he plays hard, and he plays 90+ minutes almost every game.  But, when your attack is hinging on a 30-year-old, journeyman center-forward who has never scored more than 12 goals in an MLS season......this is what you get.  Maxi is a hard worker.  He is one of the best pressing Center-Forwards in MLS.  He's just not particularly skilled with the ball at his feet.  Maxi basically has three problems: 

1. He can't turn:  When Urruti has gotten the ball in the slot, with his back to the goal, he can't simply turn and find (a) the goal; (b) a teammate.  Often he spends soo much time fighting for position he loses the ball.  He's not going to have that much time here.  Defenses are keying on him, because he's the only real goal-scoring threat we have.  By the time he tries to back away the defender, two more are on top of him.  Because of his slight frame, often all that work results in him gaining no ground and having the ball knocked away.  He's got to be able to find a teammate behind him and spin and run to space, or simply turn quickly.  
2. He has bad first touch:   When Urruti gets the ball in space, he often tries to take a first touch to quiet the ball down before he strikes it.  More often than not, that ball is knocked too far away for him to comfortably do anything with it.  This results in either him rushing something, or giving the ball away.  
3. He takes too many touches: Even when he takes a good first touch, Urruti is hesitant to simply shoot the ball.  He's got to be quicker, more direct, and simply put his laces on the ball.  Maxi gets himself (and the ball) in good positions inside the box and quite frequently never even gets a shot off. Hes' got 224 touches in the attacking third this year, and 62 inside the box. A perfect example came in the 40th minute against San Jose, after a nice shot by Fafa, the rebound came directly to Maxi.  He had the ball just inside the 18, with a defender at his back and the ball in the air.  Instead of simply waiting for it and hitting it on the way down, he tried to punch it up behind him, spun around the defender, took it over his shoulder again......and lost the ball.

Despite all the griping, Urruti is averaging 3.62 shots per game (9th in the league) and of the people in the top 10 in shots per 90, he has the highest On Target percentage of any of them (40.8%).  He's scored 6 goals this year, which is double what Mauro Manotas scored last year.  He's been an upgrade over Mauro from last year, but he can still be better for this club. His goals/shot, however(.12) is tied for 92nd in MLS.  Compare that with Pepi (.32) and Chicharito (.38). Last year he converted at .25 goals/shot. These stats also only account for the times he's touched or shot the ball.  He's yet to get on the end of some fairly crafty passes by Darwin Quintero.  Those two (much like Darwin and Manotas) are not on the same page at all.  With Pasher out, Maxi has to carry the load better.  He doesn't have to put the entire team on his back, he just needs to be more efficient when he has the ball.

Fafa Picault

There's not going to be a big write-up here.  I honestly didn't have large expectations from Fafa.  They were soo low in fact, that he's actually exceeded them already. Fafa works extremely hard.  He defends the entire sideline and tracks back like a maniac.  He's just not very good at what a winger should be good at.  Despite his speed, and his flashy ball skills, he's not very good with the ball at his feet. His left foot is actually extremely poor, especially on crosses. He occasionally goes by a defender and finds a wide-open teammate, but it rarely pays off.  He's not a very accurate shooter (Shot on Target % of 12.5%, which is 28% under his career average), and when he does find space to shoot it normally winds up in the stands.  In reality, Fafa is a stopgap for someone else.  He's 30 years old, is on the downside of his career, but is a major upgrade from the "Post Alberth Elis" guys we saw last year.  

Tyler Pasher

Tyler's actually been good and a pleasant surprise.  Of the signings, he was both the one I was most intrigued by and the one I had the least expectations for.  I thought it would take him a little time to get acclimated to MLS after spending the last few years in USL.  Your Friendly Neighborhood Canadian can actually play through.  Pasher actually needs to find a way to get more involved in the attack.  He's an extremely accurate shooter, and his SOT% of 57.1% is good for fourteenth in the league.  His conversion rate of 43% is second, and his .75 goals per shot is outstanding.  The problem is, he's only gotten off 7 shots in 531 minutes. That's less than a shot per appearance.  He's got to get more involved in the attack.  Pasher has 3 goals and 2 assists in 8 appearances (7 starts).  He's also the only guy on the squad that can effectively go past an opponent.  His success rate of 75% (15/20) is top 25 in the league, and only two players in MLS (Joe Gyau - FC Cincinatti 28/31; Andrew Brody - RSL - 17/24) with more than 20 attempts have a higher conversion rate than him.  The only gripe I have about Pasher (other than he's played in less than half the games so far) is that he completely disappears for stretches.  The Dynamo actually need to be running the attack through him down the wing as often as possible.  Pasher can play both sides, and the way he and Fafa switch sides throughout the game allows them to keep the defense honest and guessing.  Pasher has to insert himself more.

Memo Rodriguez

Think about this a second: Since the beginning of the 2020/2021 season, Memo Rodriguez is one of the least efficient goal scorers in the history of MLS.   His .086 goals per shot isn't just bad, it's historically awful.  He's taken the 22nd most shots in MLS (31), and his goals per shot (.06) ranks him 164th.  The problem isn't with his accuracy.  His 41.9 SOT% actually is pretty solid.  The problem Memo has is he either gets power or accuracy on the ball.  When he's on target, there's a lot of softballs directly to the keeper.  When he hits with power, it's never on target.  He had 2 great opportunities against San Jose, and failed to capitalize on either.  The aforementioned run off a great pass from Corona, and the time he got the ball in the slot off a low cross from Fafa.  The first was a soft, low shot directly to the keeper; the latter was a blast that was nowhere near a goalward trajectory.  I love to watch Memo play, I really do.  He has heart, he works hard, he's a good defender.  Memo just doesn't create goals, and he never has.  Memo doesn't score all that often, he doesn't create for others, and while he's getting better at being more direct he's just not a #10.  He's an #8 playing one though.  While I acknowledge that's not his fault, it's still ok to ask for better.

Final Thoughts:

There's plenty of other blame to go around.  I can (and will) spend the next two hours talking about how bad Darwin Quintero has been this year.  Quintero has been much better the last two games.  He's playing like he feels the pressure to make something happen every time he touches the ball, and he needs to be more composed.  The pass he had to Vera in the 83rd minute against San Jose on Saturday very well could have broken the game open.  Ariel Lassiter has provided virtually nothing to the attack with his minutes either.  Right now we are soo desperate to find something we are playing Lundkvist up top.  Joe Corona has a rare through ball here and there, but offers virtually nothing going forward either.  Remember, it's virtually impossible to make the playoffs averaging less than 1.3 goals/game.  We've got a way to go, and with Teenage/Parker in the back, it should allow the forwards to stay forward, and not have to desperately track back the whole game.  We need to open this offense up, and find some more goals.

Thanks again for reading,

#HoldItDown, and remember to stay #ForeverOrange,

Brian