Comments on: Monday Morning Gaffer: FC Dallas vs Toronto FC

By: I

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 15:17:14 +0000

Richetti is clearly the choice of captain over Moor for all the reasons stated by everyone else above. Really there is no question. He has considerably more of a presence on the field, more attention from teammates, more respondant with the referees, and much more experienced than Moor. Plus as stated, Moor is still learning his position and not where he needs to be. That is a HUGE reason to have someone else as captain. Moor is good, but he is still very young, and Pablo is clearly a leader. Maybe in the future for young Drew.

By: Pegasus

Pegasus — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 12:49:53 +0000

Buzz, I would agree with youon the captaincy but it is obvious with Ricchetti that everyone listens to him and takes direction from him. That kind of respect is what makes a captain. Ruiz wears the armband but watch who really leads, who talks to the refs etc. Because of that I believe they already feel he is captain.

By: Buzz Carrick

Buzz Carrick — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 03:44:39 +0000

Alejo, Agree completely with your assessment. The last month or so has not been great for many reason.

Peg, right this minute I will take Gbandi, Goodson, Serioux and Moor. If it were the beginning of the season I would do something different, but there’s not really time to mix it up now.

Everyone else, my criticism of Ricchetti is not based on him, it’s based on how players who have been here prior to him might (and probably do) react to the choice. There is a club seniority/respect issue IMO. Altough it’s not a massive issue, Morrow is a new coach after all so a newish captain isn’t that big a deal probably.

By: Pegasus

Pegasus — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 03:07:34 +0000

I agree with Skeeter that the first game I saw Ricchetti I knew he would be captain. Surprised it hasn’t already happened but I figure Morrow doesn’t want to dump on Ruiz. Sala and Toja are getting better but aren’t tip yet. The overtime game didn’t do any favors to Arturo. He will be fine by the next game. Really looking forward to when evryone starts making dangerous runs when Denilson has the ball knowing he sees them and will get them the ball.

Buzz, you have seen four central defenders and four outside defenders. What are your optimum pairings even excluding a better player for someone who fits in better with the others?

By: Alejo

Alejo — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 22:52:39 +0000

Buzz, you have to agree that this team has not been top notch the last 3 or 4 league games when compared to earlier in the season. I see you as our inside man for our team, and I ask of you to mention the weaknesses of this team the next time you talk or interview SM.
FCD continues to be… 1. Vulnerable in the opening 10mins 2. We are not scoring as many goals as we should even with all our offensive firepower 3. SM and the team need to anticipate and study their opposing team better b/c many teams have been able to shut us down and FCD rarely shuts anyone down, but they sure did it during SuperLiga. I don’t want you to tell him how to do his job, but just remind him of our flaws because if we don’t get our act together then the following will occur “FC Dallas is starting to fade” –Goal.com.

By: Buzz Carrick

Buzz Carrick — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 22:20:52 +0000

Skeeter, with some teams it’s the coach. In FCD’s case I am fairly sure the players make the decision on the field.

By: Skeeter

Skeeter — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 21:16:38 +0000

I have thought since the first game that I saw Pablo play in person that he should be the captain. It is obvious that he is the leader of this team on the field. My second choice would be Goodson.

I think Ricardinho looked great for the second straight match. Once he breaks the seal and puts one in the basket, he will go on an Alvarez like tear.

Buzz,
Who makes that PK decision? Is that something that is game planed for prior to a match? Does the coach bark out who he wants to take the kick from the sidelines, or do the players on the field make that decision?

By: Friend of 14

Friend of 14 — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 21:13:07 +0000

Let’s not forget, three games in eight days (again) including a 1500 mile trip to play on a very hard surface. If we can get the pieces clicking down the stretch, it could be a great run for FCD and fans.

By: Nathan

Nathan — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 20:59:17 +0000

I may have misheard it, but I was only a few rows behind the Dallas bench and it sounded like Steve and Oscar were not too thrilled with Richetti early in the game.

Seems to me like a lot of Toronto’s most dangerous times came when they attacked from the flank. They caught Wags napping a couple of times.. Wags is fairly fast but Wynne is a rocket.. fortunately he is a rocket out of control. I do give Wags credit for that great link up with Denilson that lead to McCarthy’s shot. That was class stuff. Would have been an awesome goal.

There were many times in the game where I said to myself “Thank goodness they’re crap”.. any other team would have profited from our defensive mistakes and the result may well have been different. We really missed Goodson, and his aerial presence because our team had virtually none.

There were some nice touches from Denilson and Ricardinho.. Toja was almost back to his normal self… but Arturo had a bad game. He had a few decisions go against him, but he was not as fast or fluid as he can be.

Sala pulled off a few big saves, but he was definitely limping at certain points in the game and the limited kicking ability was giving me serious heart failure.

While there were some nice touches here and there, all in all I wasn’t very impressed. We’ll need to seriously tighten up the holding midfield / defense and add some bite and finishing to our attack if we’re going to be successful.

By: Buzz Carrick

Buzz Carrick — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 20:58:10 +0000

TT, Edu is an American.