Houston Dynamo vs. N.E. Revolution: Time for Massive Overreaction.

 

All offseason I tried to temper it.  I tried to tell myself that despite all the moves, the talent influx that we were looking for just wasn't there.  But with every move,  every player added, and every new department or front office position created it started to grow: Hope.  There wasn't a lot, just a flicker.  It wasn't even hope that we'd be one of the best teams in the conference, just hope that we'd be better.  Match Day 1 against Cincinnati actually helped build that hope, as though even though we failed on the scoreline we were clearly the better team for long periods of that game.  Saturday was the type of game that crushed every bit of hope that had been seeded its way into my psyche in a mere flash.  When Dylan Borreo raced in to track down a low cross and sneak one past Steve Clark 40 minutes into the game, it not only felt like the game was over, it felt like the entire season was over.  The game had been fairly uneventful at that point, but the Dynamo had a couple of decent chances that they put right on the keeper.  "Oh.....Come.....ON!!!!" Could probably be heard three blocks away as I pounded my fist into my poor little Ikea coffee table that has taken too much punishment over Dynamo games, PS5 renditions of FIFA and War Thunder, and is much more durable than my belief in my beloved club at this point.  It took me a good day to think about what I wanted to write because at first reaction it was all hellfire and brimstone.  This post will be full of answering some of my own overreactions but also setting appropriate expectations.

It's time to set our sights higher:

When Ted Segal came in, my biggest hope wasn't in fancy stadium renovations, brand changes, or anything like that.  My hope was that we would have an MLS Organization that was the best in the league.  This team had no real scouting department, they had no fancy analytics department, their youth development was trash, and so was the product on the field.   You could see just from their MLS Super Draft picks over the last decade that they had no idea what they were doing, and from the vast majority of whiffs they had on foreign transfers (especially the cheap ones).  This offseason Ted Segal attempted to fix all of that, and with that should come real expectations.  Pat Onstad and Asher Mendelsohn have every tool and resource available to their disposal.  Now it's time to put it together.  No more swapping mediocre players for other mediocre players.  No more having a team of mismatched parts that don't fit. It's time to do the things that make great MLS teams.  Go get stars, go find a few gems, and develop a few of your own.  At each position find guys that will outwork their man.  Build a tuff, gritty, blue collar team that fights for 90 minutes and represents our city and our fanbase.  The tools are at your disposal, it's time for you to prove if you can use them.

This is the same ol' Dynamo:

It is, but it isn't.  Despite all the work this offseason, this team still has gaping holes.  The back line isn't good enough.  While it's probable that Ethan Bartlow will grow into a solid MLS defender, right now he still has work to do.  It was his mark that  back heeled it to wide open space after he allowed a free run to the near post on the first goal Saturday.  On goal #2 he was stuck in limbo as a low cross went right in front of him to a streaking Bobby Wood.  Hadebe is getting beat far too often, and our backs are still attrocious at defending.  Our midfield can control the game, but we can't get them the ball, and they have no one to play it to.  Ivan Franco has been good but has yet to make a scoring impact, Tate Schmitt has shown some good things going forward but struggles in defense, and Corey Baird has mostly been a ghost through 136 minutes. Neither of our strikers has seen much space or the ball, which is a testament to both their play and their teammates.  Right now our best offense is getting the ball to Coco or HH and have them break three lines with the ball at their feet. Steve Clark has been terrible, and with a save percentage of 44% you have to wonder if he can do this job anymore.  He didn't even attempt at the third goal on Saturday, and hasn't been able to stop shots effectively this year at all.  The even worse news on that front is that Andrew Tarbell has historically been a below average MLS keeper (to put it nicely). We knew that going in, and when we are prayerful that we did enough to possibly sneak in to the 9th spot that tells you that we didn't really do a lot.  Ivan Franco has looked good.  He's aggressive, has good skill, and isn't afraid to take people on.  Tate Schmitt has looked good coming up the left wing, but the right side of the attack has been non-existant.  

What's exceptionally frustrating to me is this isn't an inexperienced Head Coach that we are working through this with.  Ben Olsen should have answers.  He's the most experienced Coach the Dynamo have ever hired (he's got 28 games on Owen Coyle coming in).  He should have answers.  We were completely exposed against New England, and the game plan wasn't that complicated.  Flood the midfield, hit us deep down the wings, fire a low cross across the box.  They beat us on it three times, and we had no answer for them going forward.  Ben not only found a way to cover this tactical weakness, he made no adjustments to get the ball to his goal scorers for two weeks.  We have yet to score a goal from open play, and in both games our Strikers got shut down.  I also don't understand why you already bring Sebas off the bench.  It seems to me like early in the year with a team trying to gel you sit your best goal scorer to start the game.  

This isn't about a "team needing to gel", it's just not good enough.

Good teams produce.  While I wholeheartedly agree that it will take time for Franco, Bassi, Thor, and Sebas to click (I don't add Baird, because I don't consider him offensively relevant), producers produce.  One of them should have lucked their way into a goal by now.  Franco has had chances, but has been unable to finish off a play.  Our strikers are absent, and it's almost as if we are playing with ten at this point.  Even if they gel, is it going to be a playoff caliber team?  I'm still doubtful.  Maybe that's the cynic in me, but I just don't see it.

We aren't even building for the future:

While Coco and HH are our best two players, Juan Castilla and Brooklyn Raines need to play.  They should be getting sub minutes at a minimum and rotational minutes on occasion. The fact that the two have combined for 1 minute played on the season is ridiculous.   We've seen Corey Baird, he's not going to help us win.  Amine Bassi and Nelson Quinones need to be playing minutes there.  Bartlow and Dorsey are younger type players, and both are being given an opportunity, but both need to be better.  I'd actually like to see Micael in the near future.  This is a team that's not good enough, not building, just stuck in mediocre limbo.  At least we have HD2 season around the corner. 

This game is forcing overreaction:

It was because of HOW BAD this game was.  It was sloppy, it was disorganized, and it just looked bad.  We can make excuses about it: it was cold, New England is good, Bruce Arena is a legend.  But at the end of the day the scoreline makes this game look closer than it actually was.  My buddy Wade has a good handle on it:

Next Up:

Until then,

Thanks again for reading.

Remember to always #HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange

Brian