March 2nd, 2009 . 11:25 am . By: Buzz Carrick

Time is running out for FCD to make changes this spring. 

Ok, you got me.  Technically it’s not, FCD can make changes for quite some time cause the spring window doesn’t close till April 15th and they can of course make trades for most of the season. 

But time is running out before the start of the season. The opener against the Chicago Fire is March 21st, three weeks from now. Schellas Hyndman will want to have his team in place before that, certainly by the USA-Brazil Challenge wraps up on the 14th.  FCD has made some nice moves, Hyndman is working his team, and the season is around the corner.  Things are looking good.

What’s Not to Like?

There are quite a few things going well this spring.  Some are moves the team has mode, a couple are philosophical, and a few are even front office related.

The System

One excellent decision by Hyndman has been locking down a specific formation and system of tactics for the team.  Almost every season over the last four or five years there has been a new system here in Dallas.  I’m a four-four-two guy myself, although I prefer a flat four to Hyndman’s diamond.  But what system doesn’t matter as much as just picking one and sticking with it. Really good franchises, in my opinion, stick with the same system year after year.  Houston has played that same 4-4-2 since their San Jose days, an New England hasn’t changed since they drafted Parkhurst. 

A quick break down of Hyndman’s 4-4-2.  Two strikers, one high and one more withdrawn.  Width out of two traditional wide mids, with one water carrier in the holding mid spot, and a penetrating active attacking mid who can score goals.  What you won’t see as a #10 is a static passer pulling the string, in other words no Carlos Valadarama type.  In the back is a flat four with defense first outside backs, the width is from midfield remember, and two center backs who can run with strikers and control the air.  Reliability and consistence in keeper are important.

The massive burden in this system is on the #10 attacking midfielder.  We’ll come back to that.

The Plan

Hyndman went into the winter with a specific list of players he wanted: a couple center backs (a.k.a. improve the defense), a left mid, and an attacking midfielder.  Hyndman and FCD GM Michael Hitchcock have taken steps to do exactly what they said they would do.

On the defensive front FCD went with the quantity over quality approach hoping to hit on one of the moves they made.  First they signed Steve Purdy from 1860 Munich.  Purdy was one of top defenders in the pool back in 2007 but bypassed MLS and the Combine.  And given the evidence in the spring so far I’ve got a good feeling they might have hit big time with him as he’s an impressive combination of speed, size, strength, and grit.  Experience is the only question mark so far.

Hence the second defensive signing, Daniel Torres.  A player with MLS, European, and international experience, Torres is a smart insurance signings by FCD.  Ellinger knows him, so FCD is well aware of what they are getting; a not to fast but very experienced and smooth left footed defender who is solid in the middle with the capacity to play wide left in a pinch.  I fully expected Torres to start opening week in the middle, but Purdy has been so good he may have locked up that spot.

Lastly Hyndman grabbed George John in the later part of the first round of the SuperDraft.  John is a big, strong player who spent his college career in the defensive midfield role giving him a solid touch and passing game.  He’ll be converting to center back in MLS and Hyndman expects him to contribute very quickly.  He’ll also fill in at holding mid some.

At the left midfield spot I don’t think we could ask for much more.  Getting Dave van ben Bergh out of New York, where he was arguably their best player last year, for Dominic Oduro, a player who had lost out in the depth chart to Jamie Watson, is a terrific piece of business.  While he’s not a spring chicken, VDB should have several years of top caliber play for FCD on the left side of midfield.

On paper at least, Hitch and Hyndman look to have hit what looks like a home run with their attacking midfielder acquisition, Colombian David Ferreira (Dah-veed feh-RARE-ah).  The proof, as they say will be in the pudding; we won’t know for sure till w see him play with FCD in MLS action.  But this is a different caliber signing than FCD has seen in some time. 

At 29 Ferreira should still be in the prime part of his career.  Attacking mids require a lot of experience to really excel, they are at the best from their late 20s to early 30s.  This is not a player in his 30s from Europe looking to retire in MLS (Shaka Hislop).  This is not a past his prime player trying to steal a few extra seasons of pay before he quits (Denilson).  Ferreira is even different from the other CAP players; Ricardinho was a youth team player, Rocha while he had been in the first team, was a fringe role player who had seen his role decrease under the most recent coach.

According to some 3rd Degree contacts in Brazil, Ferreira has been one of CAP’s best players the last three years.  His loan to Al-Shabab in the United Arab Emirates was a buy a championship move that got that club the ‘08 title.  Our contacts say Ferreira’s absence was a large contributor to the recent downturn in CAP’s first team results.  So why is CAP willing to loan him to FCD?  First the CAP business model is to develop and sell/loan players.  It’s how they make money and progress their club.  Second, according to our contacts, CAP has a new young talent they are looking to put into that spot as they rebuild their first team.  Like many American baseball teams, CAP rebuilds form within their system with their own youth team players.

Hyndman had a plan, unlike with Morrow last winter, HSG and Hitchcock backed the plan with the money to get the players Hyndman wanted.  

Training Organization

Hyndman likes to talk about his six areas of concentration in training this spring.  Having seen his book with the breakdown of the program it’s really about 100 steps.  Hyndman has broken down each area he wants to work on into ten to twenty steps.  This level of tactical and skill breakdown is something I’ve not seen from a coach here before.  Hyndman seems to think he needs to go back to basics with this team.  It’s going to be a step by step building process of the tactics and system.  Given the lack of fundamentals in technique and tactics we see, mainly from the American players and younger foreign kids, this kind of back to basics can’t be a bad thing can it?

Clean Slate

Credit to Hyndman, he said this spring was a new season and a clean slate and he wasn’t kidding.  Credit to Dax McCarty for taking him at this word. 

McCarty has changed his game.  He’s done what the coach asked and he’s twice the player this year that he was.  There is an urgency and energy to Dax’s game that wasn’t there before.  He’s playing defense, winning balls, and creating trouble for the defense.  His timing on runs forward is better and he’s scoring some goals for it.  Dax had taken the starting spot as a attacking mid from Bruno Guarda.  While Ferreira will certainly get a shot at that spot, McCarty has played so well Hyndman says he’s earned the right to keep a spot in the first team.  Specifically at right midfield over the firmly in the dog house for lack of fitness Andre Rocha.

CAP Relationship

Here’s a case where we have to give some real credit to Hitchcock.  This relationship with Atletico Paranaense has turned out to be amazing.  Compare it to the Tigres relationship, which has give FCD a game or two each year some help some not, and the T&T league deal, which has give FCD to date exactly one post season trip.  This CAP deal has now brought three players to FCD, one a real success so far and the last looking very interesting. 

In addition there have been coaching trips for scouting and learning, three two-week long training camps, some serious games each spring to prep FCD, training stints to help develop some FCD youth, and help designing the FCD Juniors program.  That’s a absolutely home run already and the deal is only three year’s old. 

CAP even has a “FCD” third jersey.  The only thing missing is a FCD third jersey that would honor Paranaense, black and white hoops anyone? (with white shorts please.) 

Hording Allocation Money

Now one might be tempted to say FCD should spend the cash they’ve been collecting.  But currently FCD sits #2, right behind LA Galaxy, on the allocation list.  That means in the second transfer wind, the one that lines up with the end of the European season when more players are available, FCD could be sitting to grab a returning American.  Do we know who might be coming back?  No, but take a look at any list of Yanks abroad and the possibilities are interesting.  DeMarcus Beasley, Eddie Johnson, Carlos Bocanegra, Danny Califf, Charlie Davies, Maurice Edu, Heath Perce, Frank Simek, Zak Whitbread?  Wonder when Steve Cherundolo might come home? Who knows who might want to come back.  Odds are there will be more than one and odds are FCD will get one.

Heck maybe LA will burn their allocation before then.

What’s Not to Like

And now for some troubling spots.  Not everything is going as I would like it.  I have some concerns about the progression of the team and I see a few areas that still need work.

Fitness

Hyndman has a philosophy of fitness with the ball will be involved.  That means there’s no pure running, everything is drills.  Last year I was sure the team wasn’t fit enough under Morrow.  Hyndman when he took over agreed and worked the team hard in the middle of the season to improve that. 

But given how hot is gets here I think FCD has to be far fitter than everyone that comes in here.  The heat could make PHP an insane home field advantage if the team could handle it.  Last year FCD stunk at home and I think fitness is a is the biggest part of that.  Teams came in here and played a tight shape and slowed the game down.  FCD wasn’t able to draw teams out and make them work in the heat.

When was the last time we didn’t see a late summer fade for FCD?  Last I can think of was when Dave Dir was here and FCD had a massive home field advantage at the Cotton Bowl.  My memory says Dir used to hammer the crap out of the team in the spring.  I recall the Burn being fitter than almost everyone.

Hyndman says he thinks the team will be fit enough and insists he will change his method to straight fitness if they let him down in that regard.  I’m still worried about it.  

Honesty

Hyndman is one of the most open and up front coaches, or people for that matter, that I have ever met.  He tells you exactly what he thinks about almost anything.  As a writer, and as a person, I love that.  There is no duplicity in the man.

So how exactly is honesty a problem? 

Cause these are professional players.  Although they are almost all adults, many of them have been superstars their entire lives.  They are not used to being called out, told they stink, or being bluntly told what they are doing wrong.  How will they react?  We saw last year that McCarty and Rocha didn’t handle it well. McCarty this spring has matured, but Rocha is again in the dog house.

Is honesty really the best medicine?  Not all players are the same.  Some of them need to be coddled, some of them need to be ripped and challenged.  Using the same method for all of them probably won’t get the best result from every players.

You recall how Hyndman likes to talk about getting on the bus and players he can trust.  Mental toughness is a big part of that.  He likes players who are mature and mentally tough enough to handle honest evaluation.  Right now he doesn’t have a team built 100% with that kind of player. 

Will the team be hurt by the coaches openness?

Inexperience in the Back

With the departure of Adrian Serioux, FCD is all of a sudden very inexperienced in the back.  Drew Moor is now the veteran leader back there.  If the lineup goes as Hyndman has most recently said it will, we’re looking at the young and relatively inexperienced Blake Wagner at left back, the young and inexperienced in MLS Steve Purdy at left center back, the one experienced player Moor at right center back, and the veteran but inexperienced at on defense Marcelo Saragosa at right back. 

Torres would be bring some savvy to the back line but at the cost of some pace.  He could fill in at left back for Wagner, go into the middle if Moor were to go right, or replace Purdy straight up.

Without Torres I think we can expect some growing pains this year as the defense tries to gel.  It may take half the season or more before the group starts playing tight.  If at all.

Lack of Depth at Forward

We all know Cooper and Cunningham are going to get the bulk of minutes.  But Cunningham isn’t a spring chicken anymore.  Will he hold up for the entire season at 90 minutes a game? 

What happens if either player goes down for an extended time frame?  After Cooper and Cunningham FCD has Jamie Watson.  Watson is a scrappy hard working forward who annoys opposition to distraction.  He can score goals and he’s versatile with the ability to fill in other spots in a pinch.  But he’s not notably fast, nor experienced.  After him FCD only has Peri Marosevic.  While he’s protected and has immense upside, Marosevic isn’t MLS ready.  You’ll see him get time off the bench to help progress his development, but if he has to start games it won’t be pretty at this point.  Neither player is someone you can plug in for a long run of starts and expect to challenge for the playoffs.

Hyndman has talked about experimenting with Andre Rocha a second forward and new signing David Ferreira could play up top as well.  But I’d really like to see FCD add another striker in their 18 man roster without dropping the strikers they have now.  With a 24 man roster I want to see the extra spot go to a striker and not a center back at this stage of the season because of Marosevic’s inexperience (two deep is 22 + 1 third keeper + 1 extra=24).

Lack of Pace Overall

The lack of pace has been a bit of a concern for me the last few years.  Notably for me this year there doesn’t appear to be any truly fast players in the team outside of Cunningham, who isn’t fast as he used to be, and and Purdy at center back.  (Although we don’t really know about Ferreira yet, he has a quick burst on the videos we’ve seen.)  So there’s no real game breaking presence that can pull the position apart, even off the bench. 

If FCD does add a player, I wouldn’t mind it being one with some pace.  I think Hynmdan may be aware of that given the roll of the dice on Sean Bucknor that didn’t work out.  Bucknor had some wheels, just not enough game to go with it.  Now in Brazil we hear about 4 trailists at the attacking mid, second striker, and flank positions.  Hopefully a couple of them have some wheels.

A Playoff Team?

So what do you think?  Does FCD have what it takes to make the playoffs?

I think so.  Championship team?  Hum… probably not yet unless things really go right.

But the moves have been smart and solid, the tactics are well defined and in place.  There are a lot of things to be positive about.  If one or two questions marks are resolved this could be quite a nice team.

But isn’t that case almost every year?  Just another typical season for FCD.

Categories: 120 Fahrenheit.

15 Comments

Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI

Leave a comment