Friday, June 2, 2023

Roller Coaster Ride: Wins against Minnesota and Austin, disaster vs. Vancouver.

 

This season is going to be taxing.  For all the work Ben Olsen has done to transform PNC into a true Hell in the Shell, this team is still absolutely abysmal on the road.  We had the highs with the thrashing of Minnesota United in the Lamar Hunt USOC, beating Austin FC at home, and experienced the lows after getting dismantled against Vancouver on the road Wednesday night. Is this a season of highs and lows?  Will it be a year-long roller coaster home vs. away? Or, is this the beginning of what has become our annual pitfall into the abyss.  There are some signs this team is built differently than the ones we've seen over the last half decade, but to keep asking the question: is it better?

What we see at home:


Simply put, the Dynamo are the best Defensive team in the league at home.  They've given up a league-low 2 goals in 9 games, have outscored their opponents 13-2, and are 7-1-1 in the friendly confines of Shell Energy Stadium. Playing primarily in a mid-low block, taking very few risks going forward, the team is simply grinding out games consistently in front of #ForeverOrange fandom. One of their losses came with only 9 men on the field (1-0 vs. Seattle). They've made Shell more than a fortress, they are making teams not want to come to play here.......and it's not really summer.  We haven't had much to be cautiously optimistic about for a while, but this trend is a positive one. Recently, putting up 4 on Minnesota's stingy defense AND beating Broccoli F.C. felt good! While I can't foresee this team being this good at home for the entire year with all this travel and short weeks, they will remain good enough to stay in the playoff hunt.

Rough Times Ahead:

They've got one of the ingredients for making the playoffs down, but the rest of it is nowhere near ready.  Unfortunately, there's an entire load road games on short rest coming up, as The Dynamo have some brutal stretches in June and July. Only four of their next ten matches are in Houston.  Their next 6 MLS games are a meat grinder, with St. Louis (3rd best in the league @ 1.92 points/match), then back-to-back with LAFC (best in the Western Conference @ 2.08 points/match) over a 4-day stretch, and especially after a short rest with Chicago smashed in prior to it on June 6th.  There are soo many short rest weeks in June and July, before having a month off to start August.  Road games, short weeks, summer heating up, and we are about to really find out what this team is made of.

Why we shouldn't give up.....yet.

(1) Ibrahim Aliyu is good.  He's changing this attack in a positive way with his runs, his first touch, and his pace.  Opponents not only have to worry about his speed, but he also knows how to do something with it in pockets of space dropping back to the ball.  He's not only creating shots for himself and being aggressive, but he's opening up gaps for Bassi, Baird and HH as well.

(2) Corey Baird is starting to score.  There were a lot of people poo-pooing his hat trick against Minnesota, but he came back and scored a nice one against Vancouver before the wheels fell off. 

(3) This game was part of a scheduling nightmare by MLS.  To go from Houston to Vancouver on a short week is extremely harsh.  Play Saturday night -> fly 2,000 miles, play one of the best home teams in MLS ->  Vancouver is really good at home, we played terribly and looked like we had just traveled 2,000 miles on short rest.

(4) Steve Clark (minus Wednesday night) had been playing extremely well since the first two games of the year when I questioned whether or not he had anything left.   He was

Why the sky is falling.

(1) Micael has been trending downward for a couple of weeks, and played terribly on Wednesday night.  I understand why Ben Olsen is trying to get him in the lineup, because with Escobar, Bartlow, Sviatchenko, and Steres, there's not a left-footer in the lineup.  Micael at CB was even showing cracks against Austin, but he was able to make plays when needed.  Playing both Steres and Escobar at FB severely limits what you can do forward, and Escobar is better on the right side.  Micael has been getting a lot of time since Teenage got hurt, but it might be time for Sviatchenko to step in.

(2) The card situation is getting completely out of hand. While the Dynamo are actually improving in the Yellow Card situation over a year ago, the red accumulation of 4 (and don't forget about the one in the Open Cup) not only lead the league but would have been good for 3rd most in the league last year......for the entire season.  While two of them (HH's second yellow vs. Seattle & Nelson's from Saturday) were extremely petty, it's something they have to get under control. (rant about this later)

(3) The team, who had been fighting for 90 minutes in every game, flat-out quit on Wednesday night.  Not only did they quit, but to give up a goal in under 18 seconds to start BOTH halves is flat-out embarrassing.

(4) This team is winless on the road and has lost 5 of 7.  Winning on the road has been something this team simply can't do for more than a decade, and Ben Olsen has to find a way to start pulling at least 1 point from these games.

Final Thoughts:

It's a long season, there are 20+ games left, and we haven't even gotten into the heat of summer yet.  This team is set up defensively really well, and they are attacking better of late.  I think we saw some of that in the first half before they gave up a goal 18 seconds in the second half and threw things out of the window.  Wednesday night was a chaotic game where Vancouver banged the ball deep and it paid off.  Bartlow, Artur, and Escobar have logged a ton of minutes lately and were on short rest. The best thing for us, and for the team to do, is burn the Vancouver tape and never watch it again.  Let's just get ready for St. Louis on Saturday and figure out how to pull points on the road.

Final Rant:

Major League Soccer is the softest officiated league on the planet, and there is enormous inconsistency in Yellows, Reds, and sometimes even fouls.  Not only the quantity of reds given in this league are ridiculous, but the standard by which reds are given is soo low that it makes the league hard to watch.  Add to that the fact that calls are soo inconsistently given you don't even know what is a card or not.  Take Wednesday night for example.  Cordova, sitting on a yellow, toe pokes Steve Clark who had just fell on the ball.  Not only is there no card given, there's nothing given at all except a yellow to Clark who asked where the call was.  I'm not a "The Refs hate us" guy, but I am a "ProReferees are embarrassing this league and the standard of officiating has to dramatically improve" guy.  The refereeing makes games choppy, it's creating a league where diving is encouraged because of the ease in which cards are given.  While I am holding back on how all of our sports leagues have gotten ridiculously soft over the years, MLS has global standards by which to compare themselves and compete in.  I both of these areas they are currently fighting a losing battle.


Thanks again for reading,
Remember to always #HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange

Brian



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Wednesday, May 24, 2023

GOD MODE ACHIEVED: Houston Dynamo 4:0 Minnesota United

 

What a game!  On short rest, playing a team they hadn't beaten in their last 8 matchups (going back to 2020), the Houston Dynamo exploded in an offensive display we haven't seen in quite some time.  Led by Corey Baird's epic performance (3 goals + 1 assist), the Dynamo completely dismantled the Minnesota backline in a multitude of ways in order to advance to the quarter-finals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.  For once, we were on the other side of the red card, and benefitted from another penalty.  Let's take a look at some interesting facts from last night's game.

Corey Baird:

  • Bettered his goal total for his entire tenure in Houston during league play. (2 in 2,607 minutes played)
  • Equaled his goal total for his entire Houston Dynamo tenure (3 in 2,834 minutes played).
  • Had twice as many shots on target (4) as he's had in 900 MLS minutes played this year (2).
  • Had a pen, a right-footed chipper, and a left-footed chipper on his three goals.  Of Bairds 24 Career Goals, 18 of them have come off his right foot, 4 left footed, and 2 off his head.  It was his first left-footed goal since 2021 (with LAFC). He hasn't had a headed goal since his rookie year.
  • Produced the first Houston Dynamo Hat Trick since Cubo Torres on April 2nd, 2017.
Andrew Tarbell:
  • Has yet to concede a goal during regulation on the season.  The only goal he's given up on the year was the one game he played for DynaDos: The first Pen attempt in the overtime shoot-out, he saved the next two to secure the win.
Valuable Experience:
  • Talen Maples added to the list of young Dynamo players making their debut in the USOC.  Ben Olsen has done a good job weaving these guys in this year.  Raines, Murana, and Micael, have all filled in nicely and gotten valuable experience in the opening rounds.  Add to that Nelson Quinones getting a full 83 minutes, and Erik Sviatchenko making his Dynamo Debut and it was a very successful day for #ForeverOrange as a whole.
  • On top of Corey Baird's performance, Ibrahim Aliyu opened his Dynamo account.  Aliyu made two perfectly timed runs to get in behind The Loons' back line, and the through balls were perfectly timed and weighted.  The first, on his goal:

  • The second was on this assist: 

  • Aliyu had a tremendous night.  In 28 minutes he managed 14 touches, was 9/10 on passing, had a goal and an assist, and his runs completely opened up the game. 
  • Amine Bassi was also stellar evening.  Playing more centrally than usual over his 73 minutes on the pitch, Bassi was 48/50 (96%) on passing and had a whopping 5 key passes.  Had a bunch of nice weighted passes behind the defense to Nelson, Baird, and Aliyu.  It was his best game from a shot creation standpoint to date.
Clean Sheet Haven:
  • The Dynamo have 8 clean sheets in 15 games across all competitions. They've already bettered the number of clean sheets from last year (7) and have the same number as 2021 (5) & 2020 (3) combined.
On a night like tonight, there's not much else to do but dance.
Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIAN CHING! Not that he reads my blog, but it'd be cool if he did.

Until Next Time!
Remember to always #HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange
Brian

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Sunday, May 21, 2023

This team is confusing: Houston 1:1 FC Dallas + A short season recap.

 


What are we even watching?

12 MLS games, 2 USOC wins, and a plethora of sheets soo clean they'd make both a mom and a drill sergeant happy.  While there are still many things up in the air with first-year coach Ben Olsen and this rendition of the Houston Dynamo, what is certain is that this team is different.  Offseason additions plus some tactical changes have the Houston Dynamo as one of the best defensive teams in the league, and better defensively organized than we've seen in quite some time.  But does different mean better, or more importantly, Playoff Capable.  How is this team soo good defensively, and yet so terrible in the attack?  After nearly a decade of misery for the Dynamo Die-hards, there are some positive trends, some concerning trends, and some disastrous trends happening this year that we'll look into. So let's sit back, put on our bibs, and dig in as we look at FC Dallas, and some comparisons to the past three years.  Note: This is a fairly long post as a heads up.

Last Night was a miserable joy:

Is it surprising?  Going into the game you had to know that (1) Playing on the road is not good for us, and hasn't been since 2013 (when we went 5-7-5) (2) playing Frisco on the road is just setting us all up for heartbrake.  The Dynamo came out looking for a goal, and trying to play through Sebastián Ferreira.  Playing a different lineup in many ways, with Escobar lined up on the right (as opposed to Steres), Sebas starting at striker, and Ibrahim Aliyu getting another start on the wing.  It also saw Chase Gasper start at LB as Ben Olsen finally got a naturally left-footed LB on the left side.

There were some good moments in the first five minutes.  Coco found Sebas at the top of the box, who laid it off to Bassi for a shot.  Bassi chose to go back post, but instead found the sliding Marco Farfan's body.  Aliyu's back-heeled attempt off a Bassi corner on the ensuing corner and the Dynamo looked like they were serious about trying to snatch one early.  Then both the game and the attack ground to a halt as from minute 3 to minute 45, there were only two shots generated by either team (both by FC Dallas) and none for the final 25 minutes of the half.  It was a choppy, turnover and foul fest that wasn't the best to watch.  It was, in fact, such a snooze fest that referee Victor Rivas ended the half at 44:54 during a FC Dallas throw-in attempt.  

The second half turned quickly.

Steve Clark really deserves a lot of credit for keeping this game as close as it was.  His stop on Jesus Ferreira's shot right at the top of the 6-yard box in the 19th minute kept the game 0-0.  Frisco definitely held the advantage in the opening minutes of the second half.  Their pressing was disrupting Houston's play from the back, the Dynamo were having problems finding Coco and HH, and giveaways were plentiful.  It was a giveaway by Coco in the defensive third that led to the free kick that Jader Obrian scored on.  A play that was terribly defended from the start, nobody marked Facundo Quignon at the back post, and several Dynamo defenders gave up on the play leading to the rebound by Obrian.  FC Dallas began to swarm the midfield, the Dynamo could barely do anything other than pass around the backline and bang 40-yard passes downfield.  

The game changed slightly with the subbing on of Thor and Nelson Quiñones.  Quiñones began to stretch the field and Micael immediately connected one to him downfield, drawing a foul.  Thor had a great chance off a nice slip-pass from Coco (61:35) that went just wide of the far post.  The biggest threat of the second half, however, came from FC Dallas:

Clark and Escobar managed to keep it at 1-0, which was the biggest defensive play of the game for the Dynamo.  Thor's late-game heroics helped secure a point and turned a game that had been a punchless attack, sloppily played game into a sigh of relief.  The goal was an important one for many reasons: (1) It was the first goal by a striker in MLS play on the year. (2) It was yet another perfectly played corner by Hector Herrera. (3) It shows how important having a guy that can go up and get the ball is when Hector Herrera is taking the corner.  When Hector's options are Bassi, Corey Baird, Ivan Franco, Coco, Franco Escobar, and Artur there's literally no chance any of them are getting on the end of a cross. 

With the draw, Houston is below the playoff line for the first time all year.  We all know that June has brought trouble to this team in the past, but this team is playing differently than years before.  This is a very important stretch for the Dynamo, with Austin coming in on the 27th and 5 of our next 7 after that on the road.  All of the games are against teams ahead of us in the standings, and 4 of them are against the top 3 in the conference.  This is a brutal stretch for the Dynamo, and the defense will need to hold up.


But this scenario is all too familiar for Dynamo fans.  Let's take a brief look at this year's team vs. teams of the previous two years.  How are we different?  How are we similar?  Will we be able to land in a playoff position for the first time since 2017?

3-Year Record:


It's somewhat mindblowing that for three straight years, we've landed with the exact same number of points over the first 12 games.  While this version of the team is the best defensively that we've seen in a while, the offensive production has yet to be there in order to push the team forward.  While there have been pleasant surprises and tremendously steady performances on the backline (Bartlow, Hadebe, Micael, Steres, Escobar, Tate Schmitt) and Artur has been the best pickup of the offseason, the front line has been overwhelmingly disappointing.  


In fact, disappointing isn't even the word.  This has been the least threatening attack ever fielded wearing the Dynamo crest.  Not to take away from our efficiency on set pieces (which is good) to be twelve games in and your combined attackers (Baird, Franco, Bassi, Thor, Sebas, Quinones, and the newly acquired Ibrahim Aliyu) have 2 goals and 3 assists from open play is unfathomable.  We can place a lot of blame on the stranglehold that Corey Baird has had on the #9 position, but Franco, Bassi and Quiñones haven't created anything on their own.  

We can decry the set piece goals, but we should actually be thankful for them.  The Dynamo's combined 7 goals off set pieces and penalties is good for 3rd in the league.  What is dreadful, as we all know, is their attack in open play. #HoldItDown's 0.75 Non-Penalty Expected Goals/90 ranks dead last in MLS.  The second closest, Sporting K.C. is slightly better at 0.82.  Houston ranks near the bottom in almost all shot creation and shooting efficiency matrices: shots/90 (3rd worst @ 9.92), shots on target/90 (last @ 3.08), goals per shot (second to last at 0.06), and goals per shot on target (0.19; 4th worst).  Even Tab's teams were creating shots.  The front line doesn't create enough for each other, and when they do they won't pull the trigger on the shots.  Hector Herrera has been tremendous in the midfield this year, but to play this style and in this system, your front three have to be shot-creators.  Corey Baird, our starting #9, is averaging 1.8 shot-creating actions/90.  Thor (1.87) and Sebas (1.60) are no better, and the three COMBINED have 7 shots on target in 12 games played.  

Bassi has put home penalties, but has yet to create anything in open play.  When he tucks inside to allow the LB to overlap, he is actually limiting the attack because he doesn't make plays with the ball at his feet.  He's hesitant, and often looking to make the safe pass back to Coco or HH instead of taking initiative and taking guys on.  He's not cutting inside and looking to shoot, and he can't find any of our strikers in front of the net. Because of this style of play, the Dynamo attack often resembles a bowling alley.  Ram it straight down the middle and pray the pins to fall. When Escobar is playing on the left side, he's not a natural crosser from that position and the wide play simply comes back middle.  There's no threat out there.

What's needed?

A total change in attacking philosophy. It won't matter which players you put out there if the defense can simply stuff 6 bigger, stronger defenders in the box and shut down the middle of our attack.  Corey Baird, for all his running and pressing........and getting the crap kicked out of him every game....which we actually should praise him for (for real, the dude is taking a beating this year on a nightly basis) doesn't get in behind and often when we win the ball back it's played backward to the midfield instead of being direct and going for goal. Playing 3 CB's works well defensively, but when Steres rarely crosses the midfield line its stifling the entire right side of our attack. The RW plays inside on top of HH, and there's no overlapping option to stretch the defense.  Switching to a traditional 4-2-3-1 with a #10 and a #9 doesn't work either, because our wings are "cut in on your strong foot" wings, not wide play wings and we don't have a #10 (Coco and Bassi aren't going to cut it there). 2 striker set with Thor and Sebas?  Which of HH, Coco, or Artur are you willing to sit?

We need a #9 who can cut back to the ball, allow our wings to run off of him, our midfield to run into the wholes behind them, and make the secondary run to open space off the pass.  We also need some guys who will just rip the ball when it comes to them.  Quit waiting for the perfect chance to come to them, and create one on their own.  The only one I've seen that appears unaffected by anything and is going to smash the ball toward goal with every part of his body he can is Thor.  Thor may be the least defensive capable of the three, and he's probably the worst passer and hold up play player, but at least he'll shoot.  It's clear that the tactics aren't working.  It's even more clear that the back 8 seem to be consistent while the front 3 can't find their way.  In years past, I've said that "No X's and O's can fix this", but in this case I think the exact opposite.  This team has no ideas going forward, no plan, no real set patterns, and is consistently too narrow.  In order to solve this problem, it needs a ton of attention and a drastic change in philosophy.  

Ranking the offseason additions:

Note: I'm not adding Ibrahim Aliyu to this list since he recently started playing and the jury's still out on him, we'll re-evaluate him later. 
  1. Artur - A - Artur has been a rock in the midfield all season for the Dynamo.  His defensive work rate combined with occasionally flashing some skill with the ball at his feet has been a huge reason why the Dynamo have improved their defense and possession game this year.
  2. Amine Bassi - B - While Bassi leads the team in goals (5), his 1 goal and 0 assists from open play in 668 minutes has to be better, especially when you consider that he has more touches (461) than any other attacker on the team.  Bassi does have 15 key passes, which is tied for second on the team and has him top 50 in the league, but the results just arent there from his work as of now.
  3. Ivan Franco - C- - Ivan is a high-work-rate, high-energy defensive forward.  His pressing has been key to the Dynamo defensive record this year, as he's pressing backlines and causing deep passes under pressure and making teams uncomfortable.  The downside for Ivan, however, is in attack.  Ivan has 36 touches inside the box, more than any other Dynamo player (Coco is second with 27).  0 Goals, 0 Assists, 13 shots, 7 on target, 7 key passes.  Ivan has some tremendous flashes (like the overhead shot in Week 2), but also has a lot of runs that end up with him taking on 4 defenders, falling down, and losing the ball.  Franco works really hard, but the Dynamo are overfilled with hard-working, low-producing forwards right now.  He needs to unlock some of that magic into actual results.
  4. Franco Escobar - B- - Another hard-working defender that has spent a lot of time playing out of his natural position.  Escobar is a key member to the defense, and one of the few wide players the Dynamo have.  While he does get the ball wide, he's mostly not a threat to shoot or connect on a cross from there.  Solid veteran pickup this offseason.
  5. Luis Caicedo - B - Luis has been exactly what he was brought in to be, a solid veteran replacement for HH and Coco.  He's been steady, solid, but unspectacular.  Caicedo was a really good veteran pickup late in the offseason.
  6. Brad Smith - D- - Not all Brad's fault as he recovers from knee surgery, but the veteran LB with pedigree should have been the reason it was ok to let Adam Lundqvist go to an in state rival.  Brad hasn't played much, and when he has he's been extremely disappointing.  He's nowhere near as fast running up and down the touchline as he used to be, and unable to go by anyone he can't find space to get crosses off either.  While he's not a defensive liability, he hasn't been particularly good in defense either.  Very disappointing pickup so far.
  7. Tate Schmitt - B - Tate was the width to the Dynamo attack until a shoulder-to-shoulder challenge ended his season.  A very pleasant surprise picked up on a free, was a left-footed left back.  While he struggled in finding his marks at times, and wasn't the greatest 1v1 defender, Tate looked good going forward.  
  8. Chase Gasper - D- - Gasper has been extremely frustrating on the field.  Picked up a red in the USOC for getting beat, and has been beaten consistently in defense.  Offers almost nothing going forward.  In need of a left-footed LB, Gasper wasn't the one.
  9. Erik Sviatchenko - INC - Sviatchenko was a late addition and has yet to make an appearance in #ForeverOrange.  
  10. Andrew Tarbell - B - Tarbell gets a B because of his play in the USOC.  Did his duty and picked up two wins and two clean sheets along the way.  
  12. Djevencio van der Kust - D- - The grade is not necessarily his fault, but the team desperately needs a LB and he's yet to make a first-team appearance.  He's young (22) and is on loan with a very reasonable buy option, could still pan out with time, but the Dynamo needed to hit on this one badly.

Next Up:

Two Games at Shell Energy this week as The Dynamo play Minnesota in the USOC on Tuesday.

Minnesota completely owns us, going 6-0-0 against us in the last 6 and outscoring us 11-3 over that span.

Saturday: Broccoli FC comes to town.

Thanks again for reading,  

Remember to always #HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange
Brian



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Sunday, May 14, 2023

I...can't.....even......Houston Dynamo 0:1 Seattle Sounders

So, there's not to say about this one, so this will be probably the shortest post ever.  Last night was a game soo ridiculous, I.....just....can't....even.  It was 90 minutes of "Ugh", "WHAT?" "How in the world!" and "ARE YOU KIDDING ME??".  In the end, it was the Dynamo's first home loss of the season as well as Seattle being the first team to find the back of the net against a 9-man side with Head Referee Rubiel Vazquez playing steadily at their side.  To quote Krystopher Scroggins from Dynamo Faithful Podcast: "The story of this game was much like Galveston Bay.  You know...it's a distinctive Houston feature, but it just kinda stinks."

The Refereeing:

I really don't like complaining about officiating or blaming losses on Refs. In his post-game press conference, Ben Olsen said "I don't think it was his best night", but it's not the first time something like this has happened with Head Referee Rubiel Vazquez at the helm.  Remember the game last year against the Sounders (May 18th -> 1-0 Sounders win) when Coco got a soft yellow in the first 10 minutes of the game, then got a second soft yellow in the first ten minutes of the second half while the Dynamo were chasing a goal?  I'll give you a guess who was the head Referee in that game. Before either Vasquez ever read for his back pocket the first 18 minutes of the game was completely dominated by whistles and was unbearably choppy. 

I have no real problem with the Bassi red-card.  There was obviously no intent behind it by Amine, and it happened so fast that Vasquez didn't even catch it in real-time.  You can even see Nicolas Lodeiro sitting on the ground and saying "You're gonna look at it right? Are you gonna look at it?" and Vasquez shaking his head "no" right after it happened. Then you see his facial expression change as the call comes down, and him going to the screen.  If you really want to know if it was a red, check out Bassi's facial expression when Vasquez communicates that he's going to the screen.  Bassi knew it was the end of his night the second it went to V.A.R.  Just two guys going after the ball, and a poorly placed cleat by Bassi, but definitely not a malicious act.  The second red that put the Dynamo to 9 men?  That was a call that was given because HH had spent a little too much time arguing with the ref.  That's never a yellow, not even if he was sitting on one.  This is what it took for the Fortress of Solitude to be broken into.  Rubiel Vasquez found the enormous golden arrow leading to the door, which also happened to be the key, and sneaky Nicolas Lodeiro found his way in.  It wasn't just that we got two reds, and that one of them was ridiculously weak, it's the amount of stuff that Vasquez let go to begin with.  If you think about it, if VAR hadn't called down, Bassi wouldn't have even gotten a foul called against him.  Go from not calling a clear red, to calling a second yellow on HH (also a phantom call at midfield in the 40th minute), to calling NOTHING against a guy grabbing Corey Baird by the face and dragging him down and it was just an inconsistent mess of a performance, and it honestly cost the Dynamo points.  There are soo many things about this league and its structure that needs to improve for the United States to make a jump to a top Soccer destination World-Wide.  Adding to that consistent low level of officiating year after year, AND that those refs continue to make appearances year after year.  There needs to be major change in the way MLS holds referees accountable, trains referees, and promotes referees.  If they put together a system training referees the with the same fire that they put towards developing players, we could see some of these referees out of here and replaced by a better level of officiating.  Don Garber recently said that the USOC wasn't the level of product that MLS wanted, but at least the officiating didn't overshadow the game.  This is something that's killing his league, he needs to act on it.

Winning Ugly is fun, not winning makes it hard to watch.

Credit to Ben Olsen, this team defends like it means it.  This team represents all the clichés that you hear coaches and pundits speak.  They fight for the badge, they give 110%, and the have turned their home into a fortress.  But I'm not going to sit here and say it's pretty.  It's not.  In fact, at times this attack is a large dose of UGLY with a pinch of some decent attacking soccer.  Spending large chunks of time sitting in a low block of 4 and barely getting the ball across midfield?  It's not exactly Must-See-TV.  It's not even the WB.  It's basically a two-hour block of Bob Ross and Mr. Rogers on PBS.  I give them full credit, they played to the final whistle, but being two men down and against fresh legs was too much for them to handle on this night.  

I'm mad, I'm watching this game for a second time and I just...can't....even.   So, on this one, I'm done.  

Thanks again for reading,
Remember to always #HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange.

Brian

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Sunday, April 16, 2023

We don't know how to feel: RBNY1 1:1 HDFC

 

If you take it at face value, it's something we should be excited about.  The ability to earn a point, ANY POINTS on the road is something that has been absent from the Houston Dynamo repertoire for nearly a decade.  To those who woke up this morning and looked at the box score, you might shrug your shoulders and think "Hey, Alright!". But to those who watched the game or were there?  There are so many ways you can look at this game and soo many takeaways, it's like one of my favorite quotes from George R.R. Martin: We all look up at the same stars, and see such different things.  

Positive Outlook (A.K.A. the Web Tilton):


We earned a point on the road without Hector Herrera.  To get in the playoffs you have to get whatever points you can away, and we were able to do that last night. Despite all the problems going forward, we defended like we meant it. The backline of Steres, Bartlow, Hadebe, and Escobar had another stellar outing, and Clark was on point for 99.9% of the night.  We also earned a point when we were vastly outplayed and SHOULD have won the game.  We actually created a goal in the run of play, our defense is shaping into one of the better defenses in the league, and we pulled down a point starting only 1 DP.

Debbie Downer Outlook:


We should have won the game.  We were up 1-0 and gave up the lead in the 89th minute.  RBNY is one of the worst teams in the league, and we need 3 points here no matter where we played.  

Eeyore Outlook:


We didn't even deserve the point we got.  We were completely dominated in every way and scored a lucky goal.  Giving up the goal in the 89th minute was the most "Dynamo" thing ever.  This team is terrible.  We haven't beaten anyone good, we can't win on the road, we can't score goals, and our DP striker is sitting on the bench.  If we can't score goals, we aren't winning anything this year.

The Truth:

It was an ugly, boring game.  The Red Bull press absolutely killed the Dynamo last night.  Without Hector Herrera helping control the midfield and with no real threat to score OR get behind the Red Bull back line, the Dynamo could barely get out of their own half.
This game actually looked soo much like the Post Alberth Elis Dynamo it was scary.  Almost, but not identical because they managed to grind out a point AND Hadebe, Bartlow, Escobar and Clark defended with intent. It's also true that (1) Raines is not ready to play attacking midfielder of any kind, especially out wide. (2) Bassi disappears during open play.  (3) Corey Baird's only value going forward is drawing fouls.  Anything that requires him to put the ball at his feet and make an actual play is not going to happen.  In fact, Corey Baird's stats on last might: 90 mins, 27 touches (0 inside the box), 0 shots, 0 key passes, 14 passes completed, 1 tackle that ended up in this:
2/3rds of this play are why Baird brings value to this team.  It's the end of that play that has a large part of this fanbase asking for something better. Baird is a smart, heads-up defender.  His work-rate is good and he plays hard.  He draws fouls in dangerous situations and has been beaten up pretty good doing just that this year.  But he can't play with the ball at his feet.  We all saw the assist against the Galaxy.  If you watched, you also noticed that the Galaxy made almost no attempt to actually guard him at all on the play.  It was drill work: playing against cones.  This isn't a call for Sebas necessarily, but there has to be a better option than this somewhere out there.  Pat's signed 4 LBs this year, he just went out and dropped over $1mil for an insurance policy at CB.   Surely there is some attacking talent out there that can defend like our current #9 and actually make a play.  At least Victor Araiza is out there asking the right questions:


So, should we be happy that we managed to pull a point out of that performance? Should we be excited about the defending of our back four and encouraged by Clark's performance? Should we be embarrassed that we played soo poorly, concerned that we handled the press so badly, and gave up a late goal to equalize?  Should we be angry that an attack performing soo anemically does so with the a guy who had 16 goal contributions last year sits on the bench, and that we may have not done enough to make the playoffs this year?  The answer to ALL of that is yes.  

Up Next:


Thanks again for reading,
Remember to always #HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange,
Brian





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Sunday, April 9, 2023

Fortress of Solitude: Dynamo 3:0 LA Galaxy


Can we all just take a second and enjoy being 3-0 at home?  Not just 3-0, but a dominating 3-0 at home.  The Houston Dynamo are one of two Western Conference teams who have won every game at home, and one of two teams in the entire league who have yet to concede a goal in their own stadium.  It's not always pretty, and it's not always the most fun to watch, but if you can't enjoy winning our first 3 at home against the teams we've won them against......I've got nothing for you.  Although it's early and it's been a small sample size, Benny Ball is currently working (at home).  The road is an entirely different story, but last night wasn't a road game.  Let's sit back, soak this one in, and enjoy a 3-0 win at home.

The first 45 minutes.

You could see the game plan right away: (1) Sit Back (2) Get the ball downfield quickly (3) Fight for the box.  On the opening kickoff, Hector Herrera lofted a 60-yard diagonal the Franco, and the Dynamo won a throw-in just outside the 18 only thirteen seconds into the game.  It was only seconds later on their second possession of the game when Amine Bassi scooped up an errant LA Galaxy pass and raced down the left flank.  Bassi found Coco wide open just outside the penalty circle, whose shot found the back of Corey Baird's legs.  Franco Escobar jumped in front of a Caligeri pass and fired a cross to Corey Baird, but it was intercepted.  The Dynamo press forced 4 errant passes, and each led to getting in dangerous positions in the final third in the first 4:10 of the game.  

Defensively, Arur was dropping down ontop of Jovelic, and with both Bassi and Franco dropping back to help gum up the wings, the Galaxy were overcommitting both Raheem Edwards and Caligeri forward trying to break down the Dynamo defense, which in turn was leaving gaping holes behind him for Baird to run into. As Baird's run caught the Galaxy defense's attention, the midfield opened up quickly as the back line of the Galaxy defense began to stretch. The Galaxy did find their way through a few times in the first 20 minutes of the game.
  • Jovelic's first shot (6th minute) was blocked by Hadebe.
  • Caligeri cut inside to hit a left footer from 25 yards out (14:26) that was also blocked by Hadebe.
  • Memo found Jovelic in the box, which was broken up by a streaking Clark.  The ball landed back in Memo's lap (Penalty overturned by VAR).
But in the 35th minute, the Dynamo finally broke through.  It was an unbelievable shot by Hector Herrera, but the play that set it up was a microcosm of what the Dynamo were doing all night.


The strike was absolutely inch-perfect and was a no-doubt goal as Ivan Franco was also wide open and covering the back post.  It was not only completely misplayed by the Galaxy goalkeeper, but by their defense as well.  Hector had been putting in very dangerous corners the entire half, and decided just to go ahead and put this one away himself.  The strike seemed to wake the Galaxy up.  Memo was being super aggressive hear the middle of the pitch.  Puig and Delgado were penetrating the Dynamo back line and getting into the box.  The half ended when Gastón Brugman blasted a free kick into the Dynamo wall after Memo had won a free kick in a battle with Artur.  The first half was fairly even, and the Dynamo were somewhat fortunate to be up 1-0, but it was a fairly uneventful half compared to what was coming in the second.

The Galaxy came out aggressive.


Greg Vanney made several changes to both personnel and formation that really caused the Dynamo problems in the early goings of the second half.  Not only bringing on Preston Judd for Memo, but also bringing in Center Back Chris Mavinga for Tyler Boyd and switching from a 4-1-4-1 to a 3-5-2 formation. The attention that both  Judd and Jovelic were getting was opening up a lot of space behind them for Puig, Brugman, and Delgado. Puig had two very dangerous shots in the opening minutes, and Judd found a way in behind Hadebe to put a really good shot on Steve Clark (The Hadebe accidental back pass play).  When Chichirito came on (54:43) and LA. Galaxy dominating the run of play, all of the Dynamo Faithful had to be a little nervous.  But it's then that things actually began to turn in the Dynamo favor.  Ivan Franco got in behind and put a nice left-footed attempt on goal, the DYnamo defense adjusted and the midfield began to dominate meaningful possession.  When Coco got fouled in the box at the 65-minute mark, it began one of the zaniest 30 minutes of soccer I believe I've ever witnessed.
  • The Galaxy picked up 3 yellows in just under 5 minutes.  The first was for Raheem Edwards for losing his temper for being subbed off. The second (Martín Cáceres) was one of the most bone-headed plays I've ever seen by a guy on a yellow and put the Galaxy a man down.  The third (Gastón Brugman) was for arguing the penalty and the card that his teammate got.
  • Bassi scores his 4th PK in 4 games, setting a MLS record.


  • The Galaxy drop off and leave the Dynamo soo much space they can do virtually whatever they want with the ball.  This wasn't a team digging in their heels down a man, this was a team that was done. While the Dynamo were dominated in Possession (37%) in the first half, they turned the tables in the second.
  • Bassi scores the second run-of-play goal for the Dynamo all year.  After a corner was lost, great pressure from HH, Thor, and Baird, HH disposes Chichirito and the Galaxy literally don't guard Baird at all.  Baird finds a wide open Bassi just at the edge of the box.  Bassi has time to take a good touch, test the wind, eat a Trill Burger, drink a shake, and blast it in the back of the net.
  • Judd has a tremendous left-footed shot in the box, Bartlow heads it away.  
  • Herrera gets his second yellow and picks up a red coming late across the back of Chichirito's legs.
  • Raines bosses Douglas Costa, Costa gets mad about it and slams Rains down on the ground for no real reason.  If you want to know how this team is changing, watch Dorsey, Teenage, and Steres go after Costa and stick up for the teenager Raines.
  • The ref, recognizing that tempers are flaring AND that this game had turned into a flaming pile of garbage, calls the game.

Tid Bits.

Ethan Bartlow: was really good. Bartlow got in the way of 4 shots, had a big break up of a pass to Preston Judd early in the second half, and was a huge reason why Jovelic and Chichirito couldn't get a clean look at the goal.  Teenage had one of his better games this year as well, but Bartlow was tremendous last night.

HH doing HH things: Forget the goal for just a second, he was far and away the best midfielder in the game.  He was just in total control the entire 90 and affected every phase of the game.  He's completely legitimized our set pieces, he's solid in defense, and he picks other teams apart with his passing.  The second yellow was a really poor decision, and the game against RBNY will be almost really tough without him.  

Corey Baird: His pressure caused LAG some real problems at time.  He was constantly marking away one of the CB's and causing LAG to play down their left side.  Was responsible for setting up 2 of the goals, and despite only having 1 shot and several really bad passes into the final third he really impacted this game on multiple levels. 

Franco Escobar: One of the forgotten offseason signings.  Escobar had some huge plays last night including the play that stopped Memo in the box. It was a perfectly timed and executed tackle that got the Dynamo the ball back and shut down a Galaxy attack.

Bringing the Nasty: I thought Dorsey, Baird, and Thor really ramped it up over the last 15 minutes of the game. The Dynamo also committed 10 fouls and picked up 5 yellows defending their clean sheet.

Next Up:

Final, Final Thoughts:

I hope everyone had a safe and happy Easter.  My thoughts go out to the sacrifice that was given, the love that covers us, and the victory we are blessed with.  

Thanks again for reading,
Remember to always #HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange.

Brian

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Sunday, April 2, 2023

Completely U.G.L.Y. - Dynamo 1 - Earthquake 2

 

U

G

L

Y

You Aint got no alibi

You Uglyyyyyyyyy....what what what.......you uglyyyyyyyyyy.

This Dynamo team, 5 games in, still has soo many questions that are nowhere near being answered.  Is it a team good enough to sneak into the playoffs?  What is going on with Sebastian Ferreira?  What formation are they even playing?  Can you win in this league without a #10, or a DP striker?  What does Ivan Franco put in his hair to make is so stinking amazing?  One thing that is absolutely certain though: they are going to play ugly.  It's turning many of us into absolute hypocrites (calm down, I'm mostly talking about myself) who love to win ugly but hate to lose that way.  This team threatens their opponent's goal about as much as my 7 lb pomeranian threatens everyone who dares to walk past my house.  They're aware that she's there, but no one is scared of her.  "NOBODY'S SCARED OF YOU BELLA" Is one of my most uttered phrases during the day.  And nobody is scared of our attack either.  When you decide who will start in your forward positions based on who can defend the best, there aren't going to be many goals scored.  This is a clock management, don't make mistakes, and hope your opponent doesn't score type of team.  They made that switch when they decided to start 3 CBs and a #9 who can press the way you want.  When it works, it's ugly and you pull points.  When it doesn't work, it's just ugly.  Either way, Ben Olsen has this team well-organized in defense and playing hard defensively.  What's missing is absolutely anything in the final third other than drawing a penalty. It's easy to point at the #9, but in reality, it's all three of them up top doing nothing to generate goals through the first five games.  It's easy to put the blame on Coco and HH as well, but in reality, they are playing the ball to guys who do nothing with it. When the ball leaves the feet of our two star midfielders, it usually goes into an albatross of turnovers.  Ben Olsen needs to find the right combination of players that can actually find the back of the net DURING the run of play.

This was a tough, physical game from the start.


It was ugly literally from the start.  Cade Cowells beautiful run and low cross nearly broke the game open before the clock even struck 2:00, but from the start, both teams were set on muddying up the opposition.  From the get-go, there were shoulders, grabs, heel kicks, slide tackles, and some good ol'fashioned shin guard checks.

Just look at the highlights of the first 20 minutes, they are all either tragic or fouls.

  • Carrasquilla's foul 3:56 into the game.  He just grabbed Moreno by the head for no real reason at all. 
  • Hadebe's Handball
  • San Jose's double takedown of Raines (8:43) just outside the box.
  • Espinosa's run in the box 14:10 (Hadebe's near pen #2)
  • Mensah's foul 16:55
  • Espinosa's cross that ended up 200 feet from where he wanted it @ 18:10.  


The only exciting plays in the first 30 minutes of the half came from San Jose, and the only thing the Dynamo could do to hold possession was to pass the ball between the back three.  The Dynamo could barely get the ball across midfield with any idea what to do with it, and when they did break the midfield line they could never break down San Jose's press.  The Earthquakes press was giving our back line a ton of problems, and if it wasn't for some tremendous play by Artur to just muscle the ball away from Espinosa and Ebobise inside the box, San Jose  might have broken through several times.  It wasn't until the 25 minute mark that HH began sitting between the lines of press and getting the ball at his feet that the Dynamo began to break through.  But time and time again, despite some nice back heels and through balls, Luchi González's defense was always there.

This game was physical.  31 combined fouls, 5 combined yellows, 3 PKs, 2 of which were for bad tackles in the box. Akapo's shoulder to Schmitt was an example (31st minute), and his yellow for taunting was a sign of what it meant to San Jose.  The Dynamo lost possession 134 times, a season high.  Led by Corey Baird's 16 on only 41 touches, the Dynamo simply could not end possessions with shots.  Too often they tried to do to much, get too cute, be too patient, when simply they needed to play direct and take guys on.  In the first half Ben Olsen's side managed just 2 shots from the run of play (0 on target).  

While we weren't helped by the final decision of a penalty (and the lack of Coco getting one at the end of the first half), the game should never come down for that.  The Dynamo never owned the moment, the attack lacked purpose and passion.  The runs up top never got in behind, when we put together a nice combo play the person in space was always looking for something that wasn't there instead of just taking someone on and beating his man.  This attack actually took a step back last night, and that's almost impossible to do.  Olsen has to find a way to jumpstart this attack before next Saturday, or there is a chance that the Dynamo are going to be over their head before May. Let's take a look at a few of the keys from last night's game.

The Striker Position


Baird was pesky.  He drew the penalty and applied pressure to San Jose's back line at times.  Offensively however Baird was terrible.  I understand that Baird runs hard and defends from the front, but his runs almost never end up with him being onside and behind the defense.  Baird's hold-up play is spotty, and he rarely wins position on deep balls allowing him to hold possession.  Baird does occasionally occupy a CB on some of his runs, allowing Coco and HH to occupy the space in behind, but the biggest problem with Baird is what happens when the ball actually touches his feet.  Currently, he's a poacher who can't poach.  He doesn't create or generate anything offensively, his runs are currently all meaningless, and when he finds the ball in front of an open net he can't put one home.  Last night Sebas checked on and did absolutely nothing.  You could see him gesturing in frustration the second he checked on.  His pressing was terrible, his energy was bad, and his runs were nonexistant.  His hold-up play was OK and he did complete 4/5 passes, but never posed a threat at all and didn't change the game for the better when he checked on.  This position is a void on the offensive side of the ball, but it isn't the only void going forward.

Bassi, Franco, Quinones, and Raines and Schmitt.


This isn't a 4-3-3, and it's not a true 4-4-2.  While they are defending with 2 lines of four, the shift to a 3 man back line going forward is getting 6 guys in the box with regularity. It may be controversial to throw Bassi in here since he's scored 3 goals, however he hasn't done anything to generate a goal yet this year.  He didn't even draw the penalties (Biard, HH and Bartlow's header did), he simply scored them.  The formation switch has him tucking inside and playing centrally while Tate Schmitt gets down the wing.  Last night when Franco Escobar subbed on, they actually flipped the tactics and Bassi played more on the edge. Bassi only has 3 key passes on the year, and his Shot-Creating Actions/90 (2.02) is less than half of what we'd seen from him at Barnsley and Metz. (5.05 and 5.87).  On top of that, he's only taken 2 shots all year during open run.  He needs to be more assertive.  It's not that he's not being clinical, it's that he's not forcing action.  He needs to be one of the key offensive contributors in the attack and do something with the ball at his feet.

Raines looked lost for the most part on the wing last night.  Had one play early in the game where you saw the potential (when he got taken down, got up, ripped the ball away from a defender and kept going until the dragged him down just outside the box @ 8:43 in the game), but often had trouble just getting on the ball.  Cut inside once and missed HH on a perfect run to the outside, instead passing it directly to Michael Baldisimo.  He often had trouble simply getting the ball.  Franco looked no better upon checking on, giving the ball away roughly half (7/16) of the times he touched it.  Nelson Quinones has done nothing to show he can actually help this team in any way, and as much as I like Tate Schmitt his final play needs to be crisper.  His crosses are often just a tad misplaced, and his dribbles in the box often don't beat his man.  To be fair, there needs to be a better tip of the spear for any of these guys to succeed with the final ball.

Too much is being asked of the midfield.



HH, Coco, and Artur are doing their part.  While all three could be better, their job is to control the center of the field and play it up to guys who make plays.  Coco currently ranks 9th in the league in creating shots/90 (4.78), and HH is setting just behind him at 4.40.  Those actions are leading to actual shots or goals though, and that's not necessarily all their fault.  These two guys are box-box players, they aren't Thiago Almeda who stay forward, get forward, and use space around a striker to create for themselves.  They defend, get the ball at their feet, and progress it up to the forwards.  Because our forwards are struggling to do anything offensively, it's putting additional pressure on them to do create goals.  There's no doubt that HH and Coco can do more, but Bassi, Franco, Baird, Sebas, Quinones et all need to really step up.  

Next Up:

Until Then:

Thanks once again for reading.
Remember to always #HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange

Brian.


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