Houston, we have a problem: The Darwin Debacle Continues

 

He was the face of our franchise.  El Científico del Gol is a chance creator, a wizard with the ball, and a dynamic offensive player.  He has a skill set no one else on the team possesses and yet......he can't see the field.  It's left me with so many questions, many of which I don't know if they'll be answered.  Last year, Quintero was the lone bright spot in the Houston attack after the departure of Alberth Elis. He lead the team in goals and assists.  His 7 assists placed second in the league in 2019/2020, and he was passing to a bunch of guys who couldn't finish.  He was 5th on the team in minutes, made 20/22 starts, and played the full 90 eighteen times.  This year, he's managed 52 minutes in 6 games (3 appearances). How did he go from shining star to.....well....playing 52 more minutes than me?  How has he played fewer minutes than Nico Lemoine and Ariel Lassiter?  I've read reports about how his age is holding him back, but that can't be the case.  Boniek is 35, and Maynor is 38.  Both have played 5x the minutes he's played.  Think about this again.....Nico Lemoine made 1 appearance........and has played more minutes than our only designated player.  What's more concerning to me is you don't hear anyone in the organization talking about it.  Even more so, I don't hear anyone asking Tab about it.

A quick Google search netted zero results, dating all the way back to the beginning of the season.  There are some speculative reports from the preseason, but I don't see anyone directly asking Tab Ramos why the team's most influential offensive talent isn't playing.  While a lot of attention was paid to the midfield this offseason (Joe Corona and Derek Jones have been quality additions soo far) it was hard to think either of them would supplant Quintero as a starter, much less as a focal point.  Matias Vera is a nice player.  He plays hard, is a decent defender, and a smart passer but he offers little going forward.  Memo is Memo.  Memo has guts and grit and plays well.  But when he makes a play it's more from determination than skill (see his week 1 goal as example).  Rodriguez is a willing defender, but is his defending up top more valuable than what Quintero can create offensively?  I think we are at the point in the season where this question has to be asked.  I'm not going to deep dive into Memo on this one, but I do want to deep dive into Quintero's usefulness and how I think Tab is missing an opportunity.

Is Darwin as bad defensively as we think?

When the season first started, I had two trains of thought. (1) Darwin is just being held out of preseason games to keep his legs fresh.  (2) Darwin has to have some nagging injury we don't know about.  Now, things have switched to (Positive thought) We are just keeping his legs fresh for the summer and for the second half of the season. (Negative thought) He's done here and we are looking to get rid of him.  It's no secret, Tab wants to press high and defend from the front.  He wants teams to earn every inch of the pitch against his team. I've read where Quintero doesn't fit into this, but last year he had more attempted tackles (31) than Memo (26), and a higher pressure success rate (28.6% - 26.3%)  In 52 minutes this year, he has more tackles (4)  than Tyler Pasher (2) Maxi Urruti (1) and Ariel Lassiter (1). He's outperforming Pasher (28), Lassiter (30) and Christian Ramirez in the number of pressures (30) and his success rate is only slightly behind Derek Jones (30.2%) even with Lassiter (30%) and higher than Fafa Picault (28%).  I'm fully aware that Darwin isn't a defensive stalworth, but he's outperforming guys in this area who can't come close to what he brings offensively.  Darwin isn't great at getting his foot on the ball, he's not great at chasing down balls and getting recoveries, but he's also (historically) on par with others that are playing in front of him.  So truthfully, the answer is we lose some defensively if we switch him out with Memo. We lose a lot if he takes minutes from Corona, Vera, or Jones.  

How effective is Quintero offensively?

Do we really need stats to back this up?  The answer is, at creating goal-scoring chances: extremely. If you look at the top five players creating goal-scoring chances from last year, he was #1 by a pretty decent margin. His goal-scoring actions off of Live Passes was #2 in the league (80) and only 8 behind leader Alejandro Pozuelo and 20 more than third-place Christian Espinoza. His number this year is actually higher than last year despite his limited playing time.  End of the day, he's the best shot creator in MLS.  Not only do our eyes back it up, the data does too.

Last Year's Team - Comparable Statistics. 

2021 Possession and Goal/Shot Creation Stats.

Even though Memo has really improved in that area this year, and the addition of Tyler Pasher has added another layer, neither can produce these actions at the level of Darwin Quintero.  The Dynamo are actually down 4 shot-creating (23 in 2020 vs 19 in 2021) actions per game with Darwin out of the lineup, and with an offense as anemic as they have had this year they could use those extra chances. The Dynamo have gone from ranking 5th in Shots/90 in 2020 to 20th this year.  Without Quintero's creative playmaking ability, the Dynamo offense is at times stagnant.  Tabs system is a timing-based, ball movement and people movement attack.  It requires crisp passing and well-timed/executed runs.  As some guys (Vera, Corona, Memo) are logging heavy minutes, that movement and crispness have fallen off at times.  It's hard to run to open space AND defend the length of the pitch for 90 minutes every game.  Quintero can help take the pressure off of this by simply utilizing space, finding his way through the defense, and allowing tired legs to get through.  

Many times this year we've seen Fafa or Pasher streaking the flank with the ball, only to  yell "Somebody get with him!" It's my buddy Wade's rallying cry during games.  While Quintero doesn't help with this, he gives a second layer to that attack.  He helps open up the pull-back pass.  He helps to create up the middle through the teeth of the defense where your only option isn't hoping that Fafa can just outrun everybody.  He helps balance out the "lob it into 5'8 Memo or 5'6" Vera" attack we see at times. He gives the attack another dimension.

How bad has it gotten?

There was one interview where this was topic was brought up recently.  It was an interview that Darwin did with Jorge Clará from Deporte Total USA.  Not sure how many of you saw it, and if you're a Spanish speaker click the link and tell me if I got this wrong. Now, admittedly, I speak zero Spanish and I'm relying on translations, but things seem unlikely to turn around in terms of playing time.  Darwin said that he understands he doesn't fit what Tab is trying to do from the wing.  His size and two-way ability are lacking compared to the others on the team.  He said the locker room is good, and he has a good relationship with Tab, but that if he isn't playing as a starter or as a sub that he would have to sit down with the team at the next transfer window.  There were also reports that he had told Tab that if he wasn't in the plans for Saturday against Colorado, he'd rather not make the trip.  These aren't good circumstances, and while I understand that Tab is trying to win through building up the defense, leaving your most efficient creator on the bench is creating a bad situation.  I know that Darwin is 33, but using him as a situational starter, or flipping roles with Memo needs to be considered.

Why is this important?

Don't let the "He's the only DP" language distract you.  Yes, that's important.  But Urruti and Parker make DP money, they just don't have the tag.  Christian Ramirez almost makes DP money too, and Fafa makes more than Elis did (who was labeled a young DP).  Personally, I think the DP tag is stupid and needs to be gotten rid of, but that's a whole other topic.  However, if you're treating your only Designated player this way, why would anyone else want to come here under that label?  You're running the risk of running guys away before they even sign, and then you have to look for "Potential DP's" (i.e. Alberth Elis and Mauro Monatas).  We are pretty much down that road already.  But......this is professional sports.  Word gets around, and while we have made a habit of signing guys who are from small leagues in South America on frees, is that really how we want to continue in perpetuity?

I'm a coach myself, and by no means am I suggesting that you play a guy simply because of a label.  I believe in playing guys that give you the best chance to win regardless of reputation or label.  We know that some players don't fit certain systems, and being that Darwin is on the wrong side of 30, and is severely undersized, this could be a bad fit for him.  However, he's still the best option you've got at creating something out of nothing.  He's still one of the best the league has, and you have to find a role for him somewhere on this team.  

It matters organizationally long term.  If we ever want another player of his caliber, we have to treat him with the respect that he's due.

Summary:

I find it shockingly absurd that the Dynamo played 3 games in 8 days against solid opponents and Darwin managed to not make the rotation.  I don't understand how, in a desperate need to rotate the squad, (with Tyler Pasher out of action for the entire swing) Darwin DNP'd in two games and managed only 7 minutes as a sub in the first game.  I don't understand how Pasher goes down to injury, and Darwin gets less playing time.  I completely don't understand why Ariel Lassiter is the first man off the bench in many games. And even though they play different positions, how do Jose Bizama, Darwin Ceren, Alejandro Fuenmayor, Christian Ramirez, and Nico Limoine all have more minutes than Quintero?  This team could use an offensive spark.  They don't have to look for the summer transfer window to get it.  They don't have to look for Free Agents hanging around after this season is over in Europe (even though they need to dig through that junk drawer).  They have that spark on the bench and just need to figure out how to utilize it.

Thanks again for reading,

#HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange.

Brian

Colorado Rapids : Houston Dynamo - Recap

I had a bad feeling about this one before we every got started. The Rapids are a decent squad, and being that we were playing our 3rd game in 8 days while Colorado had 7 days in between two games at home it was going to have to be perfect.  With some positions aging, the lack of oxygen up in the Denver area, and being the Dynamo were also going to be without our coach (Thanks for that red again.....Penso) I was holding out hope we could at least hold onto a point here on the road.  When I saw the opening lineups and formation, I was pretty worried about it. 5 new starters, a formation I've never seen us play, and some of these guys haven't seen the field all year. I can't even remember the last time I saw Nico Lemoine play (much less start). I was curious to see what Alejandro Fuenmayor would looked like, same with José Bizama.  I really thought that starting with (basically) a back five would help keep us solid in defense, maybe we could keep them off the scoreboard, and maybe Ramirez could sneak one in for us. Colorado was coming into the game scoring only 5 goals in 4 games but was the more rested team.  Colorado is a good team, Kellyn Acosta, Sam Vines, and Michael Barrios are really good players, and although we hadn't lost to them in 5 straight games dating back to 2018, I didn't think this was a good situation.

It didn't take long to see this was going to be bad.  Colorado found cracks in the early going and completely destroyed us from minute 10-45.  The first half was awful defensively, Marco Meric had 10 good minutes then fell apart, and we didn't generate a single shot for 27 minutes.  It wasn't until Adam Lundkvist blasted one on target from about 40 yards out that we finally tested William Yarbrough.  What happened directly after this pretty much sums up the game.  Yarbrough hit Barrios on a dime about 70 yards downfield, who in turn left one in a gaping chasm right in front of the goal.  On a ball that seemed like it was in slow motion, and took about 5 hops to get there, Sam Vines blasted it in the top right corner.  What's most disappointing about it was no one reacted until after the ball was in the back of the net.  The second one 7 minutes later showed how much Alejandro Fuenmayor needs to grow to be a full-time defender.  When Christian Ramirez pulled one back soon after, you kinda thought we had a puncher's chance.  But Marko Marić's mistake was just unbelievable and deflating.

The second half was much better, and I actually felt like we were the better team for much of the half, but it was all for naught as we couldn't close the score down.  There was a lot working against us in this game, but good teams have to be able to overcome those things.  It's kind of a sign of where we are right now.  Our best 11 aren't bad, and are actually pretty solid defensively.  We have little depth, and if we have to rotate the squad it means trouble. While it's not all fire and brimstone, and you just have to chalk it up to Colorado being the better team on this night, there are some things you can take away from this game.

Alejandro Fuenmayor is not the answer:

Not with the way he played on Saturday night. He had several bad moments, including whiffing on a cross soo bad he did a 360 and fell on his rear end.  He got beat soo badly on the second goal, Tim Parker threw up his hands in frustration. Fuenmayor didn't even bother to fight for that ball. While his stat line reads 8 interceptions, 6 clearances, and 9 recoveries he was beaten several times and was out of position or not moving often.  While we need another center back, Fuenmayor might need to move on.  I've been asking for him for two years, but I wasn't impressed by his performance against the Rapids.

Remember when I said Marić's distribution would come back to bite us?

Yeah, not a lot of commentary on that, and the bad news is there's more to come.  While he was slightly better in the two previous games this gaff was inexcusable. 

Bajamich looked ok:

Not a glowing endorsement here, but Bajamich has a little something.  Had a couple of nice runs and a really nice back heel on a play that he was called offsides on.  He looks a little green, but between he, Lemoine, and Lassiter, I'll take Bajamich from the 30 minutes I've seen right now.  I'm hoping he earned a little more time.  He basically outperformed Lemoine in 1/2 the minutes statistcally.

I'm interested in seeing more Bizama:

I'm not a huge fan of Zarek Valentine, but not knowing what's behind him it's been hard to clamor for someone else.  I thought Bizama was decent, but I don't know he possesses the deep passing ability that Valentine flashes at times.  Both of these guys are limited, but I think Bizama earned at least another look.

We need Tyler Pasher back so we can stop seeing Memo on the wing.

Memo isn't fast enough to play there in Tab's system, he doesn't cross particularly well, and he can't cut back inside to his right foot.  While Memo is a decent defender, there was a noticeable difference when Fafa Picault came on for him.

Sorry this is a quick one, not a lot to say after that one.  I'm hoping this is an aberration, and not the norm going forward.

Thanks again for reading,

#HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange.

Dynamo vs. Sporting KC - A hard earned and well deserved three points.

 

It wasn't pretty, but we'll take it:

Before the game, Jimmy Mack from SBC Nation wrote:

Houston always gave Sporting KC fits in years past due to their speed. With winger Alberth Elis no longer in the picture, who is Houston’s primary offensive weapon and do they have the speed they used to?

Former Sporting KC man Tyler Pasher has been a revelation for the Dynamo so far this season on the wing. He missed Saturday’s Texas Derby with an injury, but Tab Ramos has suggested he will be available against SKC. I would look for the Canadian to come off the bench, with Fafa Picault and Memo Rodriguez likely on the wings. Picault has loads of pace to make up for the speed Elis had, but his other abilities aren’t as refined as La Panterita.

You could tell from the announcement of the starting lineups that this was going to be an ugly game. With Pasher out yet again and Memo on the wing, the Dynamo have very little punch going forward.  Tab instituted Derrick Jones again in the midfield. Once Johnny Russell went down, you kind of expected the free-flowing nature of this game to disappear.  This was an old-school boxing match, designed to go the full 12 rounds.  The teams were testing each other out, throwing jabs, but looking to drop that haymaker when the defense was down.  As the game set in, Sporting set in high and compact daring the Dynamo to try to beat them deep. Urruti nearly cracked them open in the 3rd minute of the game but was caught just offside.  The Dyanmo were trying to draw them out and kept pulling the ball back into their own half trying to stretch KC enough to find Memo or Joe Corona in the pocket between lines. One minute later, Derrick Jones turned a well-timed interception into a fast break the other way.  Fafa got in behind Luis Martens and fired a shot to the back post.  Houston finally landed one but spent plenty of time rope-a-doping in the corner absorbing and deflecting body blows to get it.   The first big shot came just before the 10:00 mark when Tim Parker narrowly missed the goal off Joe Corona's cross.  A large portion of the first half was played in the midfield. It turned into a tactical defensive half that resembled something out of Serie A.  It was a slow-paced game, with both teams really trying to find a way through.  Houston began finding Urruti in the wide areas to the right of the box, cutting Fafa and Memo back inside.  While Urruti got a couple of decent crosses off, it wasn't really posing a danger.  Urruti lobbing balls into Vera and Picault isn't ideal, but we were finding cracks and slipping through.  

The move to Figueroa in the second half was a smart tactical decision.  Maynor has a good leg and decent accuracy on the deep ball. Figuroa hit several guys through the lines in the opening minutes, and the Dynamo began to look a little more dangerous and controlled at the same time. He opened the second half with a blasted diagonal to Fafa that found it's mark. Fafa should have made it 2-0 after an amazing deep ball by Zarek Valentine.  Fafa was the most active player out there by far, and his work rate was tremendous all the way through the 95th minute. In the end, we sealed all the cracks uptight for the last 25 minutes of the game.  KC wasn't much of a threat, especially after they pulled Pulido off.  There was some late-game controversy, the game got a little chippy, and when the whistle blew people actually booed thinking it was another bad call. There was a wave of relief when it was finally all over, and we were happy to walk out of that with 3 well-earned points.

Jones and Vera spearheaded the win.

Derrick Jones (5 tackles, 1 Interception, 1 assist) was standout in his performance.  Jones is best known for his defensive capabilities and has been searching to find footing in Tab's system and rotation.  While his pass to Urruti for the goal is what everyone will look back to, what no one's talking about is how he just took the ball from Gadi Kenda before he dribbled split two KC defenders and found Urruti in the slot.  The play seemed to develop at a snail's pace live but turned out to be perfectly timed.  Jones led the Dynamo with 4 players dribbled past, and he really made life difficult for Gadi Kinda and Gianluca Busio.  While Marić was named man of the Match, Jones was the most noticeable player in the field.

Vera was flying around making plays all over the field, and even when he wasn't making the play he forced several mistakes by Sporting players just through effort.  While he only gets credit for 1 tackle and 3 interceptions, he forced several mistakes that he didn't get credit for.  He won 3 fouls, he was aggressive with his runs, and he was a 90% passer once again.  Vera is a solid, calming player for us.  He's not upper echelon MLS, but he works hard and gets the job done every single game.  He chased down Khiry Shelton in minute 77 to knock away a chance at a counterattack. He just turns in 90 solid minutes every game out right now.

The best game by the fullbacks yet.

It only took Zarek Valentine 3 seconds to intercept a pass and find Maxi Urruti downfield. He turned another downfield lob away only a minute later. While neither were spectacular, they did exactly what needed to be done.  There weren't many positioning mistakes, and they didn't try to do too much.  They played tonight like I've been asking them to play all year: Just doing their job, and not trying to do too much.  It's an addition/reduction reaction.  When they extend themselves, they hurt those around them.  Valentine (0 Tackles, 1 interception, 6 clearances) also fired a pass downfield which should have ended the pains in my intestine over the last 15 minutes of play but Fafa just couldn't finish off the play.

Lundkvist (2 tackles, 0 interceptions, 4 clearances) has been really bad at times this year, but last night he just played things easy and simple.  He didn't try to make difficult plays or passes, he just played things solid and simple.   That's part of why we were able to keep a clean sheet.  It helped him greatly when Russell went down, but regardless he was where he needed to be and did what he needed to do to help us win.  Don't take this as too big of a compliment from these two.  But if they can play like this week in - week out our defense has a real chance.

Marko Marić earned his clean sheet.

While he only gets official credit for 4 saves, Marco was exactly where he needed to be. The diving slide tackle he made at the 47th minute that ended up deflecting around and landing in Valentine's lap was great.  His 1 v 1 save vs Daniel Saloi in the 50th minute was about anticipation, timing, and being a big target. Marco got low and was able to block the ball with his foot as it came between his legs.  This was probably the best defense that Marić had in front of him to date, but he made plays when he needed to.  He had a diving stop on Pulido's only clean look of the game. The blast in the 65th minute was a laser into the upper right corner, but Marić got both hands on it and knocked it away.  I understand that Marco has limitations, but he's been really solid back there so far this year and is much improved over last year.  I'd like to see him lay on the ball a little more in late-game situations though.  With a one-goal lead and 10 minutes left, he was in far too much a hurry. 

Fafa came to play, but he has to finish off possessions better.

You saw it early in the game.  In the first five minutes, Fafa was extremely active up and down the right touchline.  Tracking back on defense, and making runs down the wing, he was the spark plug early on.  Fafa had a good night, but not a great one.  He made impacts in the press (3 tackles, 2 Interceptions), the counter-attack, and by flat outrunning Kansas City several times, especially late in the game.  He had several crosses on target, but the problem was Vera or Memo were often on the other end of them. He blew right Martens (with the help of a tremendous through ball by Jones) in the 64th minute and found a wide-open Memo on the run at the back post.  Memo botched the header, and he had time to control it and take a shot.

Fafa was having trouble staying onside.  6 offsides in one match is too much for anyone and add to that the three fouls he committed.  Those are aggressive mistakes, however, and I'll take it.  Fafa knew he could beat Sporting KC with his speed, and he was actively trying to do so.  He dominated the right-wing in the second half. Martens had no answers for him. It was in the 74th minute when he found himself alone with John Pulskamp, and left it too far left and too far in front of Ramirez.  He won a key ball in the 83rd minute, deep in the attacking third, but fired it out of bounds when Ramirez was down after a Pulskamp elbow to the back of the head on a jump ball.  He had a big run in the 87th minute. We all know what happened in the 88th minute, when he had an angle on Martens and instead to a forearm to the back and lost the ball.  He won a ball and blew out of the Defending third in the 90th minute.  He looked tired, but he was still moving faster than anyone else on the pitch all the way through the 95th minute.  He wasn't great, he missed some easy plays, but he definitely came to play and had an impact on the wi.

Final Thoughts:

Dear Tab, if you get fined for this, start a GoFundMe, we'll get your back.  The linesman on the near sideline was simply awful.  There were several questionable calls over the last ten minutes (i.e. the foul called against Fafa, then the no-call on Fafa, and a couple of out-of-bounds calls) that seemed to boil things over.  Then to get red-carded for being upset about it is ludicrous.   As a coach (although in a different sport), I understand that sometimes you just have to stand up for your guys.  I didn't think anything Tab did warranted a red.  On the replay, it looks like all he said is "Hey! You're right here" and pointed at the spot. It should have been a no-brainer foul.  It could have been a Yellow because he made no attempt at the ball.  Instead, our coach gets tossed.  In fact, it happened soo fast I almost missed it.  I looked to the video replay boar to see what happened on the Fafa tackle, and how that was possibly a KC throw-in, I looked back, saw Tab with his hands up, and immediately saw Chris Penso flashing red.  Wade Dowden loves to talk about how much Penso hates us, I actually thought it was a fairly decently called game until about the 90'th minute.  Then the wheels fell off.  Right after that Fafa made another run that obviously deflected off Martens, but instead, KC got the throw-in.  There was a really bad foul call in the 95th minute. As Tab said in the post-game, I'm sure the Dynamo will get a letter of apology, how about we just get better officials? 

Lastly, I do have to question why (in a game where we are clinging to a 1-0 lead) we left two subs unused.  Why did we not turn to Darwin Quintero at all?  Joe Corona looked exhausted after the 70th minute and Memo has logged heavy minutes this week.  With another game Saturday, why would we not get some fresh legs out there?  I understand that playing the final few minutes without Tab might have disrupted substitution plans, but at the same point, we have to have a rotation better prepared.  This is two games in a row where we have gone into the 80th minute with subs available in a close game.  With 3 games in 8 days, and mostly using the same starting 11, I feel the rotations could have been better.  That being said, we played Frisco and The Wiz (I still think this game is cooler than Sporting KC) and ended with 4 points.  Even though it's fun to play armchair coach, I'll take the results so far.

Stat Notes

• The Dynamo are currently 8-6-3 (30 points in 17 games) at BBVA dating back to August 2019.  
• Despite being undefeated at home, the Dynamo have a negative expected goal differential (-0.5) at BBVA.  
• Marco Marić currently ranks 8th in Shots on Target against, is tied for 7th in Goals Against per 90, and is tied for 9th in Save Percentage among qualifiers. He's been very solid, and one of the reasons why the Dynamo have drastically dropped their GA average this year.  He's performing as a top ten keeper in goal, and his distribution has slightly improved the last two games. It's not hard, he's been awful through the first five in that department. Marco's completion % is 4th worst among all MLS goalkeepers, and his distance per kick is 3rd highest.  He needs to be quicker, and find better options after recovery.
• Fafa Picault ranks 4th in the number of times failed to dribble past an opponent in the final third (16).  Fafa is lightning quick, but his slight build means he's often knocked off the ball or knocked down.  He's drawing attention, but he has to improve in this area and either pass and run, or use his angles and speed better.
• Max Urruti currently ranks 150th in the league in times Targeted with a pass (132).  That ranks him just behind Adam Lundkvist (134) and Joe Corona (158) as well as Memo (160) and Fafa (187 - 42nd in the league).
• This isn't a stat, but this is my favorite Tweet of the year so far.
  
  
  
  

Next Up:

Colorado @ Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

Thanks again for reading

#Hold it down and stay #ForeverOrange

Dynamo vs. Frisco - Recap

 

So, to all the readers out there, I have a confession to make.   I'm not a lifelong Dynamo fan, I was late to the bus.  I grew up in North Richland Hills, nestled in between Dallas and Ft. Worth, and I'm a lover of (almost) all things Dallas.  Growing up, it was all Cowboys, Mavericks, and Rangers, then we latched on to the Stars when they came.  It was also the Dallas Sidekicks of the old MISL, and we all wanted to be Tatoo. I was super excited when we were chosen to get an MLS team, and I fired up the popcorn and turned it to whichever UHF channel the Dallas Burn were playing the San Jose Earthquake on.  What I saw, was terrible and boring soccer. I tried really hard to get into that team, but I just never could.  

When I moved to Houston in March of 2009, I decided I needed to latch onto a team from here.  There was no way I was giving up my Mavericks, the Cowboys, or the Rangers.  I had spent 32 years of my life loving these teams, and too much time (and money) in those stadiums.  Around 2001, I had completely stopped following MLS except for the occasional check of the box scores.  When I got married, I needed something to connect with my stepsons about as well.  One was a big Dynamo fan, so I chose to give them a try.  It wasn't love at first sight, but it was love at first sight of Alberth Elis.  I know I talk about him a lot on here, but I loved watching La Pantera play.  I decided to start getting tickets and start taking my stepson to some games, and I completely fell for this team.  The point in all of this is, it's hard for me to hate Dallas-based teams, but I gladly support the distaste for Frisco coming out of Houston.  I may have been late to the party, but now I wanna be in this party like Frank the Tank.

Anyway.....ON TO THE GAME!

Before that....

Is it too much to ask that we get a game broadcast on an English channel?  I have an SAP button, it for some reason never works.  I understand 3 languages, none of them are Spanish, and it's extremely infuriating that we are playing any game, much less playing against FC Fisco Burn, and I can't understand a single word of the broadcast. I finally found it on Twitter, but why do I have to watch the game on my phone to hear the English broadcast?  It's a Saturday afternoon game.  Why isn't this on Quest?  Why did Fox only pick up El Traffico (trash by the way)?  Also, to all of MLS, is it too much to ask that we start the game relatively on time?  It says the game starts at 2:30, it's currently 2:48 and the game still hasn't started.  As a person who stresses over punctuality and is somewhat OCD, this wears me out.  I totally don't understand.

Ramos Rotates the squad.

Not many differences in the lineup today.  Maynor Figueroa gets the start, Derrick Jones gets a start at the 6, moving Joe Corona as a quasi-10 and moving Memo right wing.  With 3 games coming in 8 days, Ramos had to give some guys a break.  Boniek can't play the minutes over that side, and Figueroa is a nice move.  Would have loved to see Ethan Bartlow here, but I understand how Tab wants a left-foot dominant player on the left side.  Bajamich and Bizama made the squad, and Pasher (the only player who's had a hand in all of the Dynamo goals this year) was left out.  It seemed like the Tab was trying to play clean sheet ball here because I don't know why else you'd push Joe Corona up behind Urruti and leave Darwin Quintero on the bench.  I don't like Memo on the wing, but I like him more than Ariel Lassiter, and at this point, all I can think is that if Mateo Bajamich is this much worse than Ariel Lassiter, we wasted $1.2 Million in the transfer market.  I'll chalk it up to James Harden money.  

The first thirty minutes were ug-uh-ly:

It seemed like the game was going to go gangbusters from the kick.  With both teams coming out aggressively, and Maxi Urruti winning a foul deep in Dallas Territory 0:19 in.  Maynor blasted it, and it wasn't a serious threat, but you felt like that was going to set a tone.  It didn't. Seriously, the first 1/3rd this game looked like a pee wee game.  There were packs of guys running around turning the ball to each other.  Even Eddie Robinson said during the broadcast "it's just kind of been ugly and boring.  Tanner Tessmann's lobbed through ball to Andrés Ricaurte at the 27-minute mark began to open things up.  Ricaurte got a good head on the ball, and Marco Meric made a nice diving save.  

That all changed with a fortunate pinky:

The Dynamo were trying to answer back after Frisco had found their way through.  After some ping pong action and a decent build-up, Memo fired in a cross to Joe Corona who had found space directly in front of the 6-yard box.  Corona's header deflected off Bressnan's hand, and the Dynamo had won their first penalty of the season.  Phelipe guessed wrong, Fafa Picault hit it true, and the Dynamo were up 1-0.  The Dynamo really pulled back after this.  Urruti, Memo, and Fafa sat back in their own half and allowed Dallas possession with their backline.  Tab basically dared Luchi Gonzalez's side to build an attack, and after seeing Franco Jara trying to finish I don't blame him.  The problem is we lose all opportunities to attack when we play this way.  Without Quintero, we can't build an attack either.  Dallas began finding cracks and Jáder Rafael Obrian's chance with just under ten minutes left in the first half went just off the side net.  Houston immediately knocked back, as Mattias Vera found a wide-open Urruti inside the box.  Urruti fired a left-footed banger that was deflected by a Frisco defender, and Memo fired the rebound back only to it turned away as well. Derrick Jones eventually won this ball back and a foul from about 25 yards out.  From minutes 32-40, the most exciting moment was when the Announcer screamed "PENALTY GIVEN.....oh, no wait.....that's offside." on a corner that was called off because the ball went out of play.  

Then things changed.   At the 40 minute mark, Vera had given away a free-kick at the 30-yard mark.  The free-kick and the following shot were no threat, the Dynamo had posted a wall of eight men in front of the goal, and Valentine put a good block on it.  The rebound found  Ryan Hollingshead, fired a diagonal across the field.  Lundqvist didn't see him a streaking Freddy Vargas who completely blew by him.  Vargas fired one across the goal and Meric just barely got a hand on the ball. Nobody chased Obrian on the back side, he was the only man to the ball, and the game is now level.  It seemed like Meric was the only person who was fighting to keep this ball out of the net, and both Fullbacks got beat on this play.

The second half was a sloppy snoozefest:

I actually went back and watched it to make sure.  I was right the first time. Outside of a few decent chances, the game never really turned. Urruti had a nice run and a decent strike on a ball early in the first half, but there wasn't much here.  This was a disappointing and frustrating game because it didn't seem like we were ever pushing for a goal.  Not only were we sitting back, but in a game where we are struggling Tab's first sub is.....Darwin Ceren? At the 72nd minute?   Then we don't sub again until the 84th minute?  What in the world Tab?  Like serious man (I know he doesn't actually read this, I'm venting), we'd like 3 points here.  Can we please put on the only guy we have on our roster that can break a defense down?  I don't understand why Quintero is on the bench in the first place, much less on the bench until the 84th minute against a really poor FC Dallas team.  This is a game we should have won, but it seemed like Tab was more worried about wearing the guys out for Wednesday than he was about winning today.  We can't take games for granted like this.  I've been really excited about Tab being here, I've given him plenty of credit, but I was really disappointed in him today.  This wasn't a winning lineup or mentality.

Derrick Jones' first start was decent, but he has to improve his passing:

Honestly, at first glimpse, I thought Jones was terrible.  I was focused on the couple of times he fired balls into the sideline while generally under no pressure.  At second glance, he won some headers, drew some fouls, and got his feet on some interceptions.  He's big, he's athletic, and he's a solid defender.  Should be a decent mix with him, Corona, and Vera.  Not saying he was terrific, but he was decently solid.  Was actually the Dynamo's highest-rated player according to WhoScored.com.

Meric secured the point.

He did it last week, he did it this week.  He's playing really well in goal, and his distribution began to look better when he was throwing out instead of booting it into the stands.  His distribution is suspect, his goaltending hasn't been.

https://twitter.com/HoustonDynamo/status/1391142983467212802?s=20

After being encouraged for two weeks, and confused last week, I felt like we moved backward this week.

This game was just bad.  It looked bad, the attack looked sloppy, and we just didn't look crisp.  I felt like we should have sat back less, and sought out the second goal.  Despite all their speed, the Dallas Burn don't have much in terms of quality finishers.  Darwin Quintero should have come on much earlier, and we need to find ways to get him the ball in space.  At this point, I don't care if that's on the wing or behind Urruti, just get him the ball in space.  Fafa played well, it was good to see Maynor out there and he held up, but I was really disappointed in today.  

That being said, never turn down a point on the road.

Thanks again for reading, 

#HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange.

Brian

 

Early Results are in, what have we learned about the Dynamo so far.

The results have been slightly disappointing.  Going 1-1-1 over the first three weeks of play, we saw an encouraging 2-1 win over San Jose, a disappointing 1-2 loss to Portland Timbers, and a confusing and frustrating 1-1 tie to LAFC.  We played two of the better sides in MLS and took both to the wire.  While we have to fight and grind for everything we get, we are also winning a lot of battles in the midfield and have flashed really nice combination plays.  While there are definite signs of improvement over last year's dreadful squad, there are also still signs with lots of work to do.

Statistically, this team isn't much different than last year through the first three games.  Goals per game (1.3 in 2021 - 1.25 last year), Shots-per game (13 - 14.2), and shot on Target percentage (33.3 - 34.2) are roughly the same.  Their distance per shot is slightly improved (17 yards vs 18.9 a year ago) but they have dropped in expected goals from 5th best in MLS last year to 6th worst. However, the style of play has been much different and the defense has been much improved.  Joe Corona and Mattias Vera have been difference-makers in the defensive midfield, and the additions of Tyler Pasher and Fafa Picault have been good ones.  Although some of thin

While the storyline will continue to build, here's a look at ten early returns on the young season.

(1) There are decent playmakers on the wing, we are lacking up the middle.

While the two have been fairly inconsistent, Fafa Picault and Tyler Pasher have added a decent amount of playmaking from the wings.  Pasher has flashed the ability to take it to defenders in chunks of games, only to back it up with chunks of disappointing play.  His find of Urruti in Week 1 against San Jose was equal parts run, breaking down the defense and timely passing.  Picault has been a constant threat with his speed, and he did find Pasher on a button to get the equalizer against LAFC, and he has found space several times in front of the net but has yet to put one home.  Urruti however, has been a different story.  It's not that he's playing badly with the ball at his feet, it's that he's having trouble getting the ball at his feet. Maxi only has 42 touches in the final third over 3 games.  That's 22 less than Adam Lundkvist and 111th in the league.  His 9 touches in the penalty area rank 60th.  He has to find better space and we need to find ways to get him the ball in order to balance the offense out.  While Urruti leads the league in Pressures in the Attacking third (42) and is a big part of the revamped defense, he has to find ways to get open and put the ball in the back of the net.

Vs. Portland Timbers

Vs. LAFC

Notice in the last two games the gaping hole in the middle of the field. In week 1 Urruti and Memo Rodriguez really used pockets of space in the middle to produce two goals.  While Memo's was based on guts and tenacity, Urruti's was about timing and space. The following two match days, Urruti was bottlenecked and Memo had trouble making plays behind him.  Darwin Quintero came on and looked better in the playmaking role, but in the Portland game he came on for Urruti, and versus LAFC he was playing behind Ariel Lassiter.  Memo is averaging 4.7 Shot Creating Actions per game which places him 24th in the league among those with enough minutes to qualify.  Memo has taken more than twice the amount of shots as anyone on the team (10, tied for 7th most in the league) and only 2 have been on target.  His average distance per shot is 20.2 yards, and there are several takeaways from that: (1) He's not utilizing his dribble to beat defenders; (2) He's not forcing action up the middle (3) He's not capable of doing either.  Memo's shot on Target % ranks him 131st in the league, and although he's been solid leading the defense from the #10 position he needs to be more efficient in attack. 

(2) Fafa Picault and Tyler Pasher are an upgrade from what we saw at the end of the year last year, but not a big enough upgrade to vault us into playoff contention.

Both of the new wings have been dangerous at times, and both have made key plays that secured points.  Pasher's pass to Urruti against Portland secured three points.  Picault is the one that found Pasher on his first MLS goal to help snag a point against LAFC.  Picault had a nice run in the first half of the LAFC game that was rewarded with a foul and a Yellow.  Both have also been extremely disappointing and almost non-existent at in attack.  Pasher is second on the team in Shot Creating Actions (11) and is the only player on the roster that has bagged a goal and an assist.  He leads the team in Crosses and has been good at getting the ball into spaces to guys on the move.  Pasher has made some excellent runs to get behind the defense as well.  On the flip side, he's also had several opportunities to make big plays and came out on the wrong end of it.  

Picault also has shown flashes, as with his cross to Pasher against LAFC.  He has been a constant pest, and while he has given the ball away at terrible times, he's also made the occasional run to draw a foul in a dangerous position.  Fafa has blazing speed and good feet, and maybe he's knocking some rust off after not playing much last year in Dallas, but let's hope that he can continue to balance things out across from Pasher.

(3) Corona and Vera are workhorses. Vera has played 90 minutes in all three games and is going just as strong in minute 90 as minute 1.  Corona has played 230/270 minutes and has been a defensive anchor.  Vera is one of the best passing midfielders in MLS, in both the short and long passing games.  The two have also combined for 11 interceptions and 14 blocks, and 11 tackles and were one of the main reasons for the points drawn against both LAFC and San Jose.  They've done a good job winning balls not only in the middle third but also in the attacking third.   It seems like they can still gell a little more, and I'm really excited to see where this duo can go as the season progresses.

(4) Memo's progression seems to have plateaued. I don't have a lot of data to back this up, but it seems like Memo is the same player today he was 3 years ago.  He doesn't have great vision or playmaking ability, and he's not very accurate with his shooting.  While he plays hard and I love the guy, I also really wish he could take it to the next level.

(5) The organization and combination play is massively upgraded over what we saw at the end of last year, but we still have to work too hard for goals.  I think we all agree, this team is simply more fun to watch despite the inconsistent results.   They press higher and harder, they move the ball quicker and more precise, and the combination of ball movement and body movement is.....well.... why they call this the beautiful game.  If they can continue to progress and throw Darwin Quintero more into the mix they could be really fun to watch.

(6) Marco Maric's distribution: oof.  Maric at times has been unbelievably terrible trying to get the ball downfield.  There are too many balls in the stands.  Some of those are on goal kicks, some are simply trying to get the ball out.  There are times where not only isn't there an orange shirt in the area.....there isn't any shirt in the area.  This is going to come back and get us multiple times in the season this year.   It's that much of a problem.

(7) We need to find Tim Parker a partner: Honestly, I've loved watching Boniek fly around in the defensive third.  He plays hard, he's a smart veteran, and he has made some really key plays through the first five games.  He also pushes too high and leaves Tim Parker exposed at times.  Garcia attacks the ball in the midfield like his hair is on fire.  WhoScored.com actually has Boniek rated slightly higher than Time Parker this year, although it's by a narrow margin.  Boni has connected on over 90% of his passes (including 16/17 deep balls), and he's been generally solid.  He's been a good short-term fix to this point and I actually feel he's a good yin to Tim Parker's yang. However, we need to find someone who is more solid in the backline, and we have to keep an eye on this position for the future. I'm dying to know what Ethan Bartlow can do back there, and would also like to see them utilize Derrick Jones back there as well.  Jones is a long, rangy 6 and his left footedness should slide in next to Parker well.  

(8) Their best players so far are all new acquisitions:  This shouldn't be a surprise, considering how bad we were last year and the amount of roster turnover that took place.  But Corona, Picault, Pasher, and Parker have been far and away the best players in La Naranja this season.  It's not even close.  Memo has had his moments, and Boniek has been a pleasant surprise, but the aforementioned quartet have been solid on both sides of the ball, and while Picault and Pasher are mixed bags of dynamic play and fumbling turnovers, they have created an edge to the blade.  Corona has been quietly spectacular at solidifying the midfield.   Parker is been both exactly what we expected and needed.  He's a big, aggressive, and extremely solid defender.  He's all the things Kiki Struna isn't.  Kiki had the build but definitely didn't have the mentality that Parker has.

(9) Tim Parker needs a nickname:  I like "The Kraken".  That way, when someone lobs a ball deep down the middle of the pitch, or when Tim is freight-training his way directly at an opponent's center forward, we can all yell: "RELEASE THE KRAKEN!!".  I think it's great.  

(10) A Solid DP would push us into a playoff-caliber team, but we might be there with the one we've got:  If Matt Jordan can somehow get ahold of a solid goal scorer at the #9, this team could really be a force to reckon with.  I'm not talking about a Josef Martinez, Zlatan level goal scorer, I'm just talking about a solid #9 that can net 12-15 goals this year and hold up play we'd be better.  Urruti would be better with a playmaker behind him.  While Memo has been OK so far, I honestly think Quintero would be a better fit there.  Quintero can't create the front-loaded defensive pressure that Tab is looking for, but he's much better with the ball at his feet and making plays for others.   Urruti was really solid in the opening game, but the last two matchups have seen him be almost a total non-factor. It's not that Urruti is messing up chances, it's that we can't get him the ball.  Quintero is ranked #7 in all of MLS in shot-creating actions per 90, and he's usually playing with the B squad.  We have to find a way to get him more time as a focal point in the attack.  We already have a DP to utilize, just need to play him.

Thanks again for reading

#HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange.

Brian

Houston Dynamo FC vs. LAFC - Recap

 

Can one be both frustrated and relieved for pulling one point out of this game?  This was a really odd and sloppy game from the get-go, the wind was visibly affecting the play and the new turf seemed to be playing like a putting green. Without Carlos Vela, this is a game we should expect to win.  There were good things, there were bad things, and there were ugly things.  Luckily, non of the ugly things came back to cost us.  Let's go through this one and look at what's next. 

The First Half was about missed opportunities, and one unbelievable stop:

Both teams had decent looks in the opening minutes.  After a terrible turnover from Boniek Garcia at the 1-minute mark, Diego Palacios's low cross was deflected by Zerek Valentine.  The ball found Latif Blessing's left foot and he blasted one towards the net.  Zerek deflected that one too and luckily Joe Corona picked it up and headed the other way.  Only seconds later, Maxi Urruti found a streaking Memo Rodriguez in front of the net.   Jesús Murillo was just able to get a toe on the ball and knock it away, but both teams came out very aggressive.  There were multiple times in the first 10 minutes of play that LAFC found a way to get the ball into the box, but the back four held firm and turned almost all of it away.

At the 11 minute mark, after a great turn by Eduard Atuesta and a terrific through ball, Diego Rossi stood all alone with the keeper just outside the 6-yard box.  Rossi got a good foot on the ball, but Marco Maric got his big left paw on the ball and stopped it cold.  Maric was fading right, and the ball was back to his left, and he somehow just snagged it with a big meat hook.  It was a tremendous stop and saved a sure-fire goal. The Dynamo had their first real chance at the 17-minute mark.  Off a corner, Memo placed a terrific ball to Urruti on the back post.  Urruti managed to flub it, and the ball went wide left.  It wasn't the most open of nets, but Urruti had time and space and was nowhere near the mark.  Memo had a really good strike on a ball only a few minutes later.  His left-footed attempt from almost 25 yards out bent just left of the goal.  It was a nice attempt on the run but just couldn't find the mark. On the ensuing possession, Altuesta had almost an identical shot which also missed wide by about 12 inches.  The game stalled after this and got really sloppy. Diego Rossi had us dead to rights once, when Tim Parker's footing failed on a deep ball.  Luckily Rossi couldn't control it and the Dynamo defense had a chance to recover.  Fafa Picault had a really nice run down the left touchline that resulted in a foul and a Yellow on Jesús Murillo.   Urruti had a decent chance (but he should have hit Memo on the run) that sailed about 50 feet high of the net. Just minutes later, after an unbelievable interception by Boniek, Memo had a chance with time around 30 yards out.  That one sailed about 20 feet high and wound up in the Surge.  Corona had a great shot on target at the 41-minute mark that Pablo Sisniega just got a hand on.  We went to the half 0-0.  Other than Urruti's chance off the corner, we didn't have a real serious threat, but we were holding it down on defense.  The back four were holding together well and keeping Rossi under wraps.  

Both teams came out swinging in the second, the Dynamo got the better of the first 15 minutes.

The Dynamo came out really aggressive to start the half, and while nothing was connecting they definitely were the more dangerous side.  Memo had a nice cross 46 minutes in that was caught by Sisniega.  Pasher finally came through and had a solid cross into traffic that was just headed away shortly thereafter.  LAFC broke the scoring open in the 54th minute with a terrific passing display that found Corey Baird completely unmarked on the back post.  Atuesta had a great ball to Mark-Anthony Kaye, who one-touched it to Palacious, who managed to pull it back and fire one through traffic to a wide-open Baird.  The action didn't allow Maric any time to recover, and Baird hit it solid and into the back of the net.  Being there live, I thought for sure that Baird was offsides.  We never found out if this was even reviewed, but Baird was directly in my line and I thought it was a no-brainer.  (I am known to be wrong however lol). It took less than a minute for the Dynamo to respond.  The Dynamo came right back at it, and after a deflection, Maxi Urruti had an unbelievable diving challenge in the middle of the attacking third.  The ball rocketed directly Joe Corona, who fired to Fafa Picault down the left flank.  Fafa put a left-footed cross on an absolute dime to Tyler Pasher who was crashing down in front of goal.  Pasher got an outstretched right foot just squarely enough on the ball to get it past an outstretched Sisniega and net his first-ever MLS goal. It had to feel good for Pasher.  Pasher had struggled early in this game and had a few opportunities in the first half on the run but just couldn't make anything happen.   Pasher has played really hard to this point.  He's showing flashes of being a solid MLS player, and his pressing has been huge for the Dynamo to this point.  

Chances became a little harder to get shortly thereafter.  The ball stayed in the midfield for much of the next 30 minutes, other than Altuesta's knock at the 63rd minute.  Fafa had a right-footed blast cutting in minute 82, and the doors opened back up. Danny Musovski had a right-footed blast moments later that landed right in Maric's lap.  Maric fired the ball out of bounds, and LAFC came directly back at it.  Alutesta found space at about 40 yards, and fired one well high of his mark.  Shortly after, after a good defensive stand, Vera picked off a pass and fired one from just outside the 18.  It was on target, but little trouble for the LAFC keeper. At the 94th minute, Diego Rossi gave the Surge another souvenir, and the game finally ended as Joe Corona fired downfield to Ariel Lassiter, who completely overran the ball.  The game ended in a 1-1 draw.

This game was hard to get a feel for:

Although LAFC dominated possession (61%-39%) it's hard to say they controlled the game.  When the Dynamo found their way through, they did so on the express train.  The deep ball was there, and the Dynamo fired off 78 long balls throughout this game.  While the quick hitters and the combos weren't necessarily open, the deep balls down the flanks gave LAFC problems all game.  The ball seemed to have a mind of its own sometimes, however.  If you looked at the corner flags, the two on the west sideline were blowing in opposite directions, and the two on the east sideline weren't blowing at all.  You could tell everyone on the pitch was having trouble, especially in the first half.  Memo fired several free kicks well off the mark, which is unusual for him.  With LAFC selling out to take the middle away, the Dynamo were relegated to lobbing deep balls and crosses.  It was a good game plan for LAFC, and we were solid in our approach.  While we were lucky to come away with a point (mostly because of Marco's miraculous save), the game definitely could have gone either way.

The new grass plays extremely fast:

The ball was skipping like it was on ice at times, especially on through balls. There were many times when you could see the ball spinning like a top in place after a first touch.  I actually think it helps our style of play, but we need to spend more time on it.  It's definitely a different surface than the turf we've been playing on the last few years.  Not sure if it was just short, or wet, or both, but we need a little time to figure it out.

Game Notes:

Teams have figured out how to take Urruti completely out of the game: Urruti managed only 19 touches the entire game.  He wasn't a significant threat in the vast majority of them, and I can only really think of his nice pass to Memo in the opening minutes and his shot he fired 50 feet high in the second.  Memo utilizing space behind him and the wing combination of Pasher and Picault should help open things up for him, but right now he's having trouble finding breathing room. I think the shot he fired up was simply out of frustration of not getting the ball.  This is two consecutive games where we have had problems finding him.  This is something we need to solve.

Ludkvist played his first solid game of the season:  While there were a couple of awful passes, he was taking less touches and distributing the ball much better.  He was solid defensively as well, and actually put up 4 interceptions in this game.  He got several good breaks on the ball, and you never even noticed Opoku was on the field.  If he can play like this more often, the Dynamo will be alright.

What is going on with Quintero?  While he picked up more minutes than we've seen from him this year, why is he not in the starting 11 yet?  Is he hurt?  Is he unfit?  I haven't seen or read anything on this anywhere.  I'm actually wondering where he fits in in the starting 11, because ideally, he'd be playing Memo's role behind Urruti.  I'm not really sure how all this fits, but we can't leave our DP as a super-sub all year.

We are finding multiple ways to attack:  This is a work in progress.  With all the new guys in tow, we have seen several different forms of attack and have had somewhat successful runs at it.  The quick hitting combos, the downfield passing from the back, and the midfield picking off passes and turning them into quick offense.  It's nice to see that we can play multiple styles, especially with the varied landscape of MLS.  

Our midfield is really good defensively:  The combination of Mattias Vera and Joe Corona have been extremely solid so far.  Vera has been excellent at playing passing lanes and winning balls.  Corona has been a bully in the midfield, and both have been excellent in the passing game as well.  Vera is sitting deeper and connecting the ball up really well.  I'm actually really excited to see these guys solidify as the year continues.

Final thoughts:

It was great to see the crowd as it was.  As people started to sneak under the awnings to escape the rain it made the crowd feel bigger than it actually was.  The Supporters were hype as always.  Great showing by all of you.  Let's keep it up, and let's stay #Forever Orange.

Thanks again for reading.
Brian.