April 4th, 2008 . 10:29 am . By: Buzz Carrick

I drink your milkshake! - Daniel Plainview

Nice day for training; a little windy, I suppose.  The few sprinkles that come through only chase the media under cover once for 2 minutes.

Nothing that will harm my golf game this afternoon.

News, Notes, and Observations

- David Wagenfuhr is not here, presumably doing medical stuff somewhere.

- No sign of DouDou Toure, either.  I didn’t get a chance to ask where he is.

- Sheldon Emmanuel, whom I liked when the team was in T&T, should show up tonight and be around on trial at least through the scrimmage Monday.  He’s a fast and strong left-sided defender, great range.  Very capable of playing wingback, but more likely is an option for the left center back spot currently occupied by Adrian Serioux.

- FCD Reserves is set to scrimmage Midwestern State at 3 PM on Monday.

- A guest keeper is here, likely to fill out practice since Burse is not here.  His name is Jaime Barrientos and he’s a local 28-year-old who Marco said is trying to catch on with the DFW Tornado.

- Saragosa, Yi, and Ibrahim do rehab on the side.  Morrow called Saragosa questionable. I expect all three to miss out.

- Ricardinho trained and Morrow says he’s now questionable.  They’ll see how he reacts to training before deciding if he can play.  I think he’ll play.

- Bobby Rhine pulled out of training with a high quad strain of some kind.  That has to make him questionable for the weekend.

- FCD is flying to Houston (they have sometimes ridden a bus before) and are flying back the evening after the game.

- Ray Burse will be in Houston on the bench for FCD.

Catching up with Morrow

Thanks to Steve Hunt for help with obtaining these quotes.  As usual the translations are a bit; I don’t speak for Morrow.

Why Saragosa over Ricchetti?

“I’ve told those guys that we have four or five good guys for three spots in the middle and that there’s going to be good competition all season. I want to get the most out of those guys throughout the season. I don’t want to go through particular reasons for every game and have to explain them. I go with what I see on the day and what we think will work.”

Buzz’s Coach Speak Translator:  ‘Cause I felt like it.

What did you think of Wagner’s play?

“I thought he did OK. It wasn’t his best performance but he didn’t do a lot wrong, either. He was reasonably consistent. He’s got to find that consistency as a young guy and play at a high level. I thought he did some good things in the game, as well. Hopefully, he can take that now and start to grow in confidence.”

Buzz’s Coach Speak Translator:  It was like riding the Texas Giant.

Was moving to left wingback an adjustment for Wagner?

“I think it was for him. He was a little confused at the start with that position, but now he feels more comfortable with it, which is good. With young guys, it’s all about learning the game. When we made that adjustment, he had a few question marks about where he needed to be and what position he should be in. But he’s got it now and I think he’s more comfortable with his role.”

Buzz’s Coach Speak Translator:  He’s 20- everything’s an adjustment.

On playing in Houston

“It’s always a tough game going down there. I think it’s a good challenge for us and at the right time of the year to go there in the second game. They haven’t had the start that they wanted, either. We’re all looking forward to going there and playing. I think it’s time that we started to improve our record down there.”

Buzz’s Coach Speak Translator:  They can’t score either.

Is it a revenge game or just a regular game?

“I think it’s a combination of both. It is a league game in a long season. For us, the rivalry definitely comes into it. Our record hasn’t been good down there and we want to try and improve that. That gives us a little extra motivation. The players will definitely be up for it and have a desire to get a result down there.”

Buzz’s Coach Speak Translator:  It’s a revenge game; there will be blood.

Why does this team struggle at Robertson Stadium?

“I don’t think it should be viewed as a tough place to go for our boys at all. I think it’s a good place to play. It’s a good atmosphere down there as well and we should look at that as a positive. We should look forward to playing in places like that and being able to challenge ourselves. I want us to take that and use it as a strength and something we should look forward to.”

Buzz’s Coach Speak Translator:  ‘Cause it’s a dump.

Training

Interesting day for tactics as Morrow did about 40 minutes of half-field walk through after the warm up and stretching.  I won’t go into the tactics to give it all away, but I do have a few things to toss out. 

McCarty, Ricchetti, and Rocha- all three took turns working with the starters as the two holding mids.  When Rhine went out McCarty moved out to right wing in Rhine’s spot.  Alvarez paired with Cooper and Thompson with Ricardinho.  Moor was back with the starting D.

Lineup Prediction

Alvarez back- does he go straight in?  Saragosa questionable, Rhine questionable… Moor back- surely he’s in.  So a Thursday guess…

Thought of the Day

Rhine got hurt, McCarty has been struggling with a bad back…  Can’t help but wonder who plays right wing if both can’t go?

Saragosa is hurt, which means Rocha kinda has to play central. Otherwise, I would suggest him.  I suppose Wallace can go in there and then push Rocha right.   Could Serioux play that spot?   Brek Shea on the opposite side?  Michael Dello-Russo has played there a bunch with the reserves.  I suppose if Morrow follows form Dello will get a shot.

Anyone ready for Dello to start?  Got any other ideas?

Categories: Practice Observations.

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