September 27th, 2007 . 5:31 pm . By: Buzz Carrick

Some people hear their own inner voices with great clearness and they live by what they hear. Such people become crazy, or they become legends. – One Stab

It’s almost October and it’s still 90, of course this is Texas so that’s par for the course.  You’d hardly know it was fall around here if it weren’t for the calendar.

It’s crunch time of the season where the games are more about current form as you move into the playoffs than any actual position.  The hated Houston Dynamo come to town this weekend for another Texas Derby.  Unfortunately it’s unlikely FCD will face anyone else but Houston in the first round of the playoffs.  So this could be a sneak peak if you will.

News Notes and Observations

- Cooper’s made a lot of progress by going to a strength and conditioning coach to regain leg power.  He trained full contact today and Morrow says depending on how he reacts this week it’s likely you’ll see him get some minutes in the next couple games.  As much as his return could be a spark, it’s unlikely in my opinion that he will be able to get to starter form in the remaining season.

- Pablo Ricchetti has improved a bit and was given a recovery day today. He will give it a go in training tomorrow and depending on the reaction he will be a Saturday decision as to his availability.  Which I think means you might see him.  If it was me I would hold him out of the Houston game and play him in the USOC final.

- The team signed a ball and gave it to Dax today.  Evidently it’s a  FCD tradition to get a team signed ball presented to you when you get your first goal.  Morrow said as much as Dax has played this year he is considered a First 11 player.  He also said he’s done much better in the last couple game maintaining possession and playing with defensive responsibility.

- Anthony Wallace worked at left back today and was in the rotation ahead of Wagner.

Catching up with Steve Morrow

Blah, blah, the translations are a bit.

On Chris Gbandi’s red card.

Chris made a mistake, and I always back my players cause everyone makes mistakes in life.  He won’t be the first or last person to get a red card for doing something stupid.  He knows that I was annoyed and there’s no one more annoyed than Chris himself.  He took it very, very badly cause he cares for the team a lot. If a player makes a mistake once and I tell him he made a mistake and he keeps doing it, then it becomes a problem.  Since I became head coach that’s the first time he done it and he won’t be doing it again.

Buzz’s coach speak translator: Gbandi’s my best left back, I forgive him.

On the poor recent team form.

It’s a mixture of things I think.  We’ve had an unsettled lineup with people in and out of the team and I don’t think that’s helped it much either. Some of the games we played well in and should have gotten better results and we’ve had a man sent off in one of the games.  So I think it’s a mixture of things, but we don’t want to look back, we just want to look forward.  What we need to do to get it right and get back on track for the last part of the playoffs and that becomes the most important thing right now.  The team mentality is still strong and we still believe in what we’re doing.  When you go through a bad run it’s important how you react to it and come out stronger on the other end. We can talk all day about what’s gone wrong in those games and I think it’s a mixture of things, and what we need to focus on is what we do now between the end of the season.

Buzz’s coach speak translator: We’re so past that.

On Denilson

He’s a quality player.  He’s done a lot of good things so far. I think he knows that he can do even more.  He’s still got time to do that.  With the quality that he has, #1 he needs to produce and #2 we need to see how we can fit him best into out team.

Buzz’s coach speak translator: We need to see more, both form him and us.

On the team shape

That’s the only real change I’ve made, looking to get someone up top along side Carlos a little bit more and have him some company up top.  #1 that suits him and it suits our team and frees him up a little bit more.  I think that’s shown in terms of the goals that he’s scored recently and I think that’s been particularly helped his game.  We’ve always looked defensively to get the four back across the midfield with one in front.  The only change we’ve made is having that guy in behind Carlos play a bit further forward.

Buzz’s coach speak translator: Carlos can’t do it alone.

Does Thompson benefit Ruiz

I think he does. He takes the distraction away from Carlos a little bit.  He makes runs around him and frees up a little more space for him, both outside the box and inside the box too.  Abe is a guy who can drop back in behind the front and pick up the defensive midfielder of the other team so that hasn’t changed too much.  I just feel it’s helped Carlos by getting someone up top along side him a little bit more.

Buzz’s coach speak translator: Thompson is the new Núñez, only higher up.

Does a coach have the choice to bench a DP?

I’ve got that choice and if I want to do it I’ll do it.  I don’t care who it is, whether it’s the designated player or any other player on the team.  They’re all the same in my eyes, they’re all doing the same job, they all gotta produce for the team. If they don’t they are the same as everybody else.

Buzz’s coach speak translator: If he doesn’t start producing, I’m gonna sit his ass.

Is Denilson producing?

He’s scored one goal and he’s done a little bit in terms of what he’s been doing on the ball.  I think we need to get him into more effective positions higher up the field and get him the ball higher up the field. He’s done a lot of good stuff without actually hurting teams to much.  We’ve gotta be able to add that to his game to help us as a team.

Buzz’s coach speak translator: Not enough.

Do you see Serioux improving?

Yeah I do. He and I had a talk a couple weeks ago and I told him I expected a lot more from him going into the final run.  I think he’s answered that and is playing well. He’s getting back to his best and that’s good for him and it’s good for the team going into the last stretch.  We need our experienced guys to step up at this point and play to the best of their ability, lead the team, and be a presence on the field. That’s why I brought him here and I think he’s starting to show that now.

Buzz’s coach speak translator: This Canadian kid’s gonna make me look like a genius.

How close are Wagner and Wallace to challenging Wagenfuhr for Saturday?

Close.  I see all three of them competing for that spot this weekend. I haven’t made up my mind up.  I have to take into consideration a lot of things; the importance of the game, the stage we’re at in the season, and what we need for this particular time.  I see all three of them in contention at the moment.

Buzz’s coach speak translator: It’s Wagenfuhr.

Training

After the running and jogging the team moved through some passing drills.  After that was some possession and then a defense vs. offense kind of half field game drill.  The point of this drill was breaking out of pressure and then playing forward.  30 minutes later Morrow had them do some fitness sprints and called it a day.

Lineup Prediction

With Ricchetti still doubtful I think you will see the same lineup as LA, minus Gbandi of course and with Goodson back. Based on what I saw today I will defer to Wagenfuhr at left back at this point.

Thought of the Day

I really don’t like this current shape 4-2-2-2 FCD is playing.  It’s not a 4-3-3 and it’s not a 4-4-2.  FCD’s left with a big hole in the middle of the field by trying to get someone up next to Carlos to help get him going.  It would be better to go back to the 4-3-1-2 shape of earlier in the year if Morrow really feels he needs a second high forward. 

The problem there is that you have to take Alvarez out of the game to do it and he’s been fairly good over the later half of the season.  It might be worth trying once Ricchetti comes back to see if they can get Denilson on track that way.  It would keep both Toja and McCarty in support to help create chances.

Quite frankly there can’t be more than a game or two left to try and get Denilson going.  Surly Morrow will have to cut bait with two or three games left before the playoffs.

Categories: Practice Observations.

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