3rd Degree

November 4th, 2008 . By: Buzz Carrick

It’s that time of year again, when 3rd Degree takes a look at the off season plan.  This year FC Dallas has a new coach that has almost unlimited and complete power with regard to the team.  The General Manager held on to his job by the skin of his teeth and had to fire his three highest profile directors.  Through various moves that have occurred since Schellas Hyndman took over, plus what our own sources tell us, Hitchcock is not involved in player decisions anymore and has been left only dealing with contracts.  It remains to be seen Hitch he will even be handling that area this winter.

But no worries fans, since we know Hyndman has the power we know all we need to know to predict what he will do this winter with the team.  The prediction here in this piece comes from numerous conversations with Hyndman as well as what we know about the man from experience with our own observations and evaluations mixed in.  As you read this please remember that this article is not meant to convince you that Hyndman is right about what he is planning, nor is it an endorsement or sales job, this is merely a prediction of how Hyndman is most likely to go about transforming the team in his image.

First let’s consider the new coach and what we need to know about him before we begin.

Hyndman Soccer Truths

Schellas likes to talk about what he calls Soccer Truths. We’ll get into a few of these in here.  Adding into this section will be some things that have come to be seen as truths about Hyndman himself.  Once we understand what his soccer philosophy is we can better predict what’s gonna go down.

1. Diamond 4-4-2.  For some of you that is all I need to tell you to explain Hyndman’s tactics, diamond 4-4-2.  Others of you will understand it better by saying it’s the way Houston plays.  Here’s a quick run through.  Flat back four with defense first defenders rather than flying outside backs running the line.  A dogged defensive midfielder to break up traffic and win balls, he must be able to pass and hold the ball.  Width coming from the midfield with true flank players.  An attacking mid that gets forward with the ball and without it, but also plays defense in the mold of De Rosario.  One target striker in the main channel and one second striker to play a bit deep and help link and create.

2. Structure First. Hyndman this year adapted what a wanted to some extent to the talent he had.  While he dropped the 3-5-2 for a 4-4-2 he adapted it to a tight central diamond with width coming out of the fullbacks.  He did this mainly because he lacked wide mids and needed to make sure of what he did have, notably Andre Rocha.  Now Hyndman will go with the structure he wants and will get players to fit what he wants.  He may not be able to get there 100% in 2009.

3. Everyone Plays Defense.  Every single player on the field needs to play defense, from the strikers on back to the actual defenders.  This means the attacking midfielder too, no Carlos Valderrama on this team.

4. Work Rate.  Hyndman has this quote he likes, “The only place talent comes before work is in the dictionary.”  That quote says a lot about why players many fans don’t like, Saragosa, Guarda, play over some players that have more talent.

5. No Kids. Hyndman doesn’t like youth.  When told the youth on this team was a positive, he said something to the effect that he didn’t want a young team.  Notice how little youth got playing time once he took over.  Wallace got little action, McCarty and Avila moved to the bench.  One might point to Guarda but he’s know Hyndman for a long time and in relative terms is older than both McCarty and Avila.  Another example is the deference to Duilio Davino over Pitchkolan.  Part of this will be represented in drafting in that Hyndman won’t be picking a senior as a starter but rather for someone who can be good in two or there seasons.  He probably won’t be drafting 16 year olds.

6. Counting.  Hyndman likes to divide players into those he can count on and those who he can’t.  It goes beyond more than talent, but also has to do with heart, mentality, and intangibles.  Sometimes it can be very difficult to see what Hyndman sees in his players.  It’s a feel issue.  Bruno Guarda is a good example of that, Hyndman trusts him.

7. Not Satisfied. This one may be the most surprising to some readers, but Hyndman is NOT happy with this team.  He is going to change this team and change it a lot.  I’ll let Hyndman speak for himself on this one.

We’re a .500 team basically. Part of that is player personnel. How do we get from being a .500 team to being a .700 team? 

I think in reality, if we wanted to be a .500 team next year, let’s not change anything. Let’s leave it the way it is. But if we want it to be better, then we’ve got to change things.

I have particular players I’m looking at and hopefully particular players that can come in and help this team to become a .700 team. Coming from .500 to .700 is a huge jump but if I said to you, ‘we’re going to be champions,’ the reality check is not going to be here. If we can get ourselves to a .700, then I think the following year, we can talk about being a champion. But right now, this team did not reach its goal.

So much for the “we have championship talent” and “we need a coach who can win a championship now” talk we heard from the GM when Morrow was fired eh?

8. Swap Meet.  In order to get good players, FCD will have to give up good players, so the coach has said.  When talking about who one would like to see on the field, one has to consider where the team already has good players.  One example sited by Hyndman specifically came when a reporter expressed how much they liked Kyle Beckerman (and no it wasn’t me), Hyndman pointed out that giving up whatever it would cost to get Beckerman would be a silly move since FCD has a terrific player in that spot in the form of Pablo Ricchetti.

Break It Down

So change is coming it seems, but what exactly does Hyndman want to change.  One might think it would be hard to predict just what he has in mind, but Hyndman being Hyndman he happily spelled it out for us.  Let’s go through the formation and talk about each tactical area.  Again when we can I’ll let Hyndman speak for himself, every quote in this piece is straight from the gaffer himself.  Gotta love the man for that, he will answer any question about his team.

Goalkeeper

I think Dario [Sala] is a very good keeper in this league. I’m satisfied with Dario.

I think [Sala]’s a player we want to keep. As I’m looking and trying to make this team strong, I don’t want to be looking for a goalie. As a professional, he has been great. I have not had one second where I worry about him.

All right, Sala is good to go, in fact as I am writing this he get’s a new deal.  He’s had a good year and is currently in the top 1/3 of keepers in the league, arguably top 1/4.  Keeper is a trouble spot in MLS right now and Sala is capable of playing at an even higher level I think.  Both physical health and fitness are important for Sala, he needs to be challenged.  Which is where Ray Burse comes in.  Hyndman has expressed his satisfaction for his entire set of keepers and Burse’s immense upside is part of that.  It’s time for Ray to seriously challenge Sala and make Hyndman’s decision difficult at this spot.  Lambo remains one for the future and just needs to be patient and learn.

The only way the keeper spot changes is if some teams makes a crazy offer for one of the top FCD net minder.  See point #8 above.

Defense

In the defense, I think we need to add some pure athletic ability, pure speed. When we get beat, we have nobody who can recover or catch the person under pressure. So, I think we need speed, we need hardness and quickness. We’ve got to be smarter. Right now, we’re playing more forced defending, which we’re trying to win balls athletically and trying to not concede easy goals but at some point, we break down when there’s a lot of pressure.

…I really like [Serioux] on the right.  It opens up his hips, he’s able to play diagonal balls and play balls up the flank.  He’s a neat guy and I think he’s been playing out of position for years just because of the situation.

I think Duilio was brought here for a purpose. I understand his purpose was to try and help a team that was having trouble on the defense to bring in a mature player whose very experienced at the international level and somebody who can also lead the team on the field by the captainship. I don’t know if he’s reached all those expectations. That’s a pretty demanding role to bring in one player and say, here are all the things we want you to do.

Blake [Wagner]’s been solid for us.  We’ve always felt like we needed a good left-sided defender.  I think what happened with Blake was that he really wasn’t playing with a lot of confidence.

I think [Pitchkolan]’s been a tremendous defender for us. If you saw the Tigres game, he scored two nice goals. Up until that point in time, he and Drew [Moor] had a really good combination as far as playing together. But it’s a similar player and I don’t know if we need a similar player. We need players that complement each other. Pitch has done a tremendous job and we’re trying to redo his contract because we think enough of him.

[An] even greater [need] is that we need a very good, athletic defender than can run with the best, battle with the best in the air, somebody who can be a force in defending corner kicks, free kicks and also be an attacking force in those plays.

All of which looks to be saying the #1 priority this winter is a big, fast, tough central defender that is good in the air. The anti-Davino if you will.  Unfortunately that kind of player doesn’t grow on trees.  One real positive is the massive amount of connections Hyndman has in the world game.  Hopefully he and Ellinger can find what they need.  If they do then one center back spot is changing.  Which one?  That’s a good question. 

Given Davino’s consistent breakdowns when faced with speed and Hyndman’s admittance Davino hadn’t lived up to his purpose, one might be tempted to think it’s the former Mexican international who will make way, particularly in light of Drew Moor’s new contract.  If it’s not Moor it might be Pitchkolan.  How this spot breaks might tell us how much power Hyndman has in regard to dropping his highest paid player, a player who is guaranteed for the 2009 season. 

We also see from Hyndman’s own words that he likes Serioux on the right and thinks Wagner has been solid on the left.  Serioux, unless he has to be moved to get something Hyndman is desperate for, will be on the right again.  Wagner isn’t as locked in.  “Solid” isn’t a ringing endorsement so that’s a position that could change but isn’t high need.  We’ll keep on eye on that.

Midfield

In the midfield, I think we need flank players, players that can get up and down the line, players than can get forward and cross the ball and be part of the strike force. In the center midfield, I think we need a true No. 10. I think we need a [Guillermo Barros] Schelotto or someone who can hold the ball and make the killer pass. (Javier) Morales does it. Every team that’s successful in this league historically has a true No. 10.

In the attacking phase, I think we need a true No. 10, a player that can unbalance opposition, give the killer pass, a potential goal scorer, somebody who can be strong on free kicks, somebody who can combine with the players and thread the needle on a killer pass.

I really cant say enough about what [Ricchetti]’s meant to this team since I’ve been here.  He’s been a true professional to begin with, I know I told you the stories about moving him to defense from midfield, and he’s enhanced that position and did very well. 

I also had to compromise and take that 4-4-2 into a central 4-4-2.  Bring that diamond in a little bit more to bring the best out of him.  Once we did that we started to see the best out of him and he started being a better player instead of getting stuck out wide and trying to do the things that maybe he wasn’t going to be able to do.  I’ve never really had a problem with Andre on the field.

You  know, I don’t think we’ve ever seen the best of Victor. I think when he got here early, he wasn’t match fit and he worked awful hard. Then, he gets hurt against Kansas. The best we saw with Victor was his recovery. The guy was a demon. He worked out so hard and knew he had to get on the field. When he got on the field, there still wasn’t that sharpness but he’s a true pro and he worked hard for us. I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him.

So Ricchetti is the only dead solid lock in midfield, pending his contract of course.  Outside of that everything looks like it’s going to be new.  Sikora is a true flank player, yes.  But he never did enough for the contract to be picked up as was.  Will he stick around all winter?  Will he regain top form?  Don’t bet on it.

Andre Rocha we know isn’t a Hyndman favorite cause of the amount of time’s he got pulled or dropped.  Hyndman flat out says Rocha isn’t the kind of player he wants.  So right midfield will be new.  It would take a real leap of faith to think it might be Dax McCarty.  Clearly he’s not on the “count on” list in Hyndman’s book, and certainly not as a pure wide player.

Perhaps the biggest surprise to many will be the indictment of the #10 spot and his highly trusted young protégée Bruno Guarda.  Guarda has the tools to be really good eventually, but it’s now clear that isn’t know and Hyndman knows it.  This is in fact the #2 off season priority for Hyndman.

Forward

Up front, right now, I think we have a good combination of strikers.

FC Dallas has done an unbelievable job trying to keep Kenny here, for all the reasons we’ve talked about for months and months, is a very important player to Dallas, very important to the community, and very important to FC Dallas. Now, as we had hoped from the beginning, we have two legitimate players that can score.

It’s quite clear Hyndman likes his strikers.  The only problem is going to be contracts.  Cooper has one but he wants a new one for a massive amount, maybe even DP amount.    One thing we can be certain of is that FCD will pick up Cooper’s roughly $80,000 option.  The question becomes, will FCD sell him, try to work a new deal, or force him to play out the reaming two cheap years on his deal. 

Cunningham is the opposite problem, he doesn’t have a contract.  The contract Cunningham was on was much bigger than Cooper’s (and much smaller than Cooper wants), but Toronto was paying most of it and he’s not free.  Cunningham’s going to need mid-100s, maybe even approaching 200k to get it done.

The Team

So where does that leave us?  With half a lineup, that’s where.  At this point there could be as many as six or seven new starters.  Heck maybe even be eight if certain contract negotiations go wrong.  Here’s the team we can lock in.  Sala in net, Serious at right back, Ricchetti at holding mid, Cooper and Cunningham the last three pending contracts. 

One player that’s not a lock but seems most likely to be the choice is Drew Moor at center back.  Another that isn’t a lock but is probably a low priority fix to upgrade is Blake Wagner at left back.

Priority 1 and 2 are the center back and attacking midfielder.  Unless FCD can get very lucky in trade I would expect foreign signings at those position.  Unfortunately FCD only gets eight foreign players next year, rather than the ten slots they have now.  Those extra who slots they traded for revert back to their original teams.  So any foreign signing means someone has to go.

Richhetti and Serioux are starters and Duilio Davino has a guaranteed contract.  So the highly unlikely prospect someone wants Davino aside, changes are going to come out of the other five spots: Bruno Guarda, Marcelo Saragosa, Andre Rocha, Victor Sikora, and Dominic Oduro.

Could the two wide mids Schellas wants come from overseas as well?  Sure it’s possible, but at this point I would assume Hyndman and Ellinger will look internally to MLS for a trade.  Unfortunately you have to give up something to get something.  Which brings us to the rest of the team.  Let’s break them down as best we can with some quotes, comments, thoughts, and evaluation.

The Rest

The Andre Rocha Exception

Rocha is a special case.  It’s not apparent Hyndman thinks he can count on Rocha nor that he thinks he can fix the Brazilian’s game to fit the 4-4-2 he wants.  The guy has some serious talent, but doesn’t fit the tactics or coach style.  The CAP deal means Rocha can’t be traded, which prevents him from being attractive trade bait.  Yet “the Rock” is by no means a reserve. 

Hyndman could end up just sending him back to brazil, but Rocha’s loan was a two year deal so it’s fairly certain he will be here next year. Is he a starter, if so where does he play; or does he even get much PT at all?  Might be interesting to see what position Rocha ends up playing next year.

Counted On

Hyndman sees certain players as ones he can trust.  We can tell from how much playing time they get and what he says about them which category they fall into.  The counted on are easy to identify.  These are the players Hyndman will want to keep around as role players and spot starters for his team.   Could some of them be trade fodder?  Sure, sacrifices must be made to improve, but Hyndman will try and keep them.

- Ray Burse, backup who can start.
- Bruno Guarda, most trusted disciple.
- Marcelo Saragosa, massive PT in multiple positions.
- Aaron Pitchkolan, new deal in works and high regard over the stretch run.
- Michael Dello-Russo, jumped way up the depth chart into the 18 man game day squad.

Upside

Also on the roster are some players that Hyndman sees upside in and he thinks he can turn into special players by coaching them into different positions of tweaking their game.

- Brek Shea, “could be worth a $1 million as a center back.”
- Eric Avila, more talent than Guarda, just needs defense.
- Josh Lambo, happy with keeper situation top to bottom.
 

Trade In

Next we have the players on the roster that the coach doesn’t seem to want that have some value that could be used to obtain some piece he wants.  You gotta give something to get something and these guys could be it.

- Dax McCarty, dropped form first team, rumors of dog house over being a “distraction.”
- Dominic Oduro, dropped behind Watson on depth chart?
- Anthony Wallace, getting chances under Morrow, playing time vanished under Hyndman, out of game day 18.

Reserves

Lastly are the group of mainly reserves who mainly will be competing for the last roster spots with the nine SuperDraft picks FCD currently has.

- Jamie Watson, moved above Dom on the chart but not one to build around.
- Chase Wileman, late season PT.
- Andrew Daniels, no PT.
- Jeff Rowland, injured… again.
- Spencer Wadsworth, very little opportunities of meaning.
- Yannick Reyering, 08 pick, injured.
- Ben Shuleva, 08 pick, injured.

Retiring

Lastly are the two players who are moving on, or one who’s time has come and one that should for his own health.  And no Duilio Davino isn’t in this section.

- Bobby Rhine, classy career comes to an end.
- David Wagenfuhr, string of concussions means he needs to move on for his health.

The Davino Problem

Here’s the biggest area of concern for the winter.  What does the team do with Duilio Davino?  The Mexican defender has the highest contract on the current FCD roster and it’s locked in for 2009 at the maximum $400,000.  This isn’t the place to talk about who’s fault it is, instead we need to discuss the circumstances of what is for next year. 

Hyndman talked speed and toughness at center back.  That’s not Davino. It certainly points to Davino not starting in the middle next year.  Yet how do you go all year with a player with such a massive contract sitting on the bench?  Will he make waves in the locker room or does he just not care as has been asked in this space before?  Retirement, buyout, loan?

Who knows.  Maybe he can play left midfield.

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