Five Points to Ponder About Moor Trade
September 3rd, 2009 . 9:42 am . By: Captain ObviousMonday’s announcement that FC Dallas’ longest-tenured player, Drew Moor, had been shipped off to Colorado was jarring to say the least. Now the Dallas native is not one of the top defenders in the league and has never been an all-star, but Moor’s veteran leadership and respect he commanded from his teammates will be hard if not impossible to replace. It remains to be seen whether or not Ugo Ihemelu will be an upgrade over Drew at right back, but let’s give him the benefit of the doubt. Still, there are a few miscellaneous aspects of this trade to consider and here they are. By the way, Schellas will be referred to as Kramden (as in Ralph from The Honeymooners since he drove a bus) throughout this piece. ChemistryThis might be an extreme statement but I think this trade shows that Kramden has officially lost this team. Not that he ever had them to begin with and anyone who spends any time at training can tell this group collectively doesn’t buy into what he’s saying. They clearly don’t care about playing for him, something you couldn’t say about either Clarke or Morrow. From what I hear, one look at Ricchetti and Sala and the hangdog looks they sported after hearing about the trade yesterday said it all. That’s two of your most easygoing and most seasoned players clearly shaken by what has happened. There has been a growing discourse in the locker room for some time now over how the team is being run and this latest move might just be enough to light the fuse on this powder keg. LeadershipIt was just last week that Kramden publicly said that one of this team’s biggest issues was a lack of leadership in the room and a sports psychologist was being brought in to help rectify the problem. Of course, this proclamation drew lots of puzzled looks from FCD supporters who wonder why Kramden has yet to take any responsibility for this mess he helped create. Fact of the matter is Drew was one of the leaders in the locker room and when things aren’t going well, changes have to be made. I have to say though, hearing an account of someone who was at training yesterday and who saw the dejected looks on the players’ faces, this is not a popular move in the room. Eric Avila’s quote says it all about how his teammates felt about Moor. LoyaltyWhen Kramden was first hired, Moor was one of his staunchest defenders. Always a true professional, Drew never wavered in his faith that the new coach would turn things around here. However, it turns out Kramden didn’t place that much value in Moor’s loyalty and had been shopping him for some time. In the end, Moor wasn’t someone Kramden brought in here, so that thereby made him expendable. Whether he was a top defender or not, Drew always gave it his all and was never disruptive in training. You definitely can’t say the same for Rocha, who has been mailing it in all year and continues to be rewarded for bad behavior with playing time. Moor is just another example of Kramden’s dreaded double standard. Narrow FocusLast summer, Kramden gave up way too much to get one of his SMU players in here, Bruno Guarda. Well, Bruno was less than impressive last fall and this year, hasn’t seen much playing time and for good reason. Now it looks like our coach has overpaid to get another former Mustang in Ihemelu. Guess we should be glad he didn’t trade for Colin Clark with him being out for the year and all. Fellow SMU product Jay Needham could very well be on this team next year and is definitely worth a look, but what’s next? Is Drew Keeshan going to be relieved of his duties so Tom Presthus can become Kramden’s new goalkeeping coach? Offensive ProductionOne of Kramden’s talking points about why he brought Ugo in (other than him being from SMU) is that he will provide much more in the attack than Moor. Sure, Ihemelu will be more active going forward but looking at their career numbers, Drew has actually been more productive. He finished his FCD career with eight goals and two assists, an average of two goals for his four years in the lineup. Ugo, on the other hand, has just one goal and three assists in his five seasons in MLS. If you want to judge by the numbers alone, Moor clearly provided more offense than his replacement. 18 Comments Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI Leave a comment |
spot on, imo.
good analysis Buzz, thanks. Looking forward to your first post-Moor practice observations. As your other post pointed out, at least Kramden has usually done well with his talent assessments when bringing players in. Once the Hunts (or maybe even new ownership) eventually get rid of him, there could be a talented roster primed and ready for real leadership. Unfortunately, that could be a while.
I agree with every part except offensive production. Moor scored almost all his goals off set pieces. He was never a good fit as a right back for SH system from an offensive standpoint.
If Ugo provides what is hoped for, then FCD should control the ball more and be more dangerous down each flank.
While his set piece work will be missed, one hopes that others could pick up that production. Maybe George John if he can stay on the field. And Ugo was probably never called on to be productive on set pieces, he probably was kept back.
Finally, while Moor scored a bunch on offensive set pieces, he was poor at dominating the air in our defensive end on opponents set pieces.
We miss Goodsen, and have since he left. Can we get him back? He’s be perfect.
Thanks Steve, although I didn’t write this one.
Went to training yesterday, but as sometimes happens didn’t get to the write up. Am working on it now.
Very nice analysis.
I felt when SH started talking about the team’s leadership or lack thereof that changes were in the works. When at SMU, SH liked his leaders to be more dominate, sometime head knockers. Drew is a great guy, but I never saw that in his personality.
SH has had trouble with the locker room since last year. The veterans can’t be handled like young players. There has been a learning curve here for SH. I’m not sure how much progress has been made.
Lastly, don’t look for Goodsen to return. His team is in the hunt for a Europa Cup spot. They have slipped a little, but could get it back. He is one of the team’s leaders. They are afraid he is going to move to a bigger Euro club. And, the NY Times Soccer Blog yesterday named their top 11 uncapped Americans playing in Europe. Jay Needham was one of the three defenders named. It might be hard for SH to get him too.
why don’t they just move fcd to smu and call it done? i HATE what has been done since the bus driver took over…i hate to say this, but shit rolls downhill, and we have to start over from the top (very top) down…morrow wasn’t the greatest thing to happen to fcd, but players played for him and respected him…sh is an emotionless robot that is screwing everything up.
Morrow also led FCD to the playoffs and sans the arturo alvarez knee to the nuts would have beat Houstank in the first round.
captincanuck,
Quit bringing that up; it’s just too hard to get over!
Maybe the Inferno should wear SMU jerseys to the next game?
Sunny,
That’s an awesome idea! You guys should totally do it!
The loss of Drew is a knife in the heart of this team. He had more minutes than just about anyone else, started every game he played in for three years, was a good citizen of the soccer community, nationally recognized, appreciative of the fans and appreciated BY the fans, excellent role model for the kids… a guy from Dallas who did more than was asked of him and put his heart into every game and loved being here. Keny was the same way. Now both gone within a month. I am sorry for the team, but I will not be in the stands to watch it suffer. Bye Bye FC Dallas
jayhawk,
I don’t sit in that section, but can you imagine that? That would be quite an impact if that section turned completely blue. Better than any sign you could hold up.
Steve, it should be obvious Buzz didn’t write this since all the words are spelled correctly. Unless it’s a cunning ploy by Buzz to misdirect us…
Sunny – the Inferno isn’t that big anymore, I don’t think they would even be noticed in SMU shirts. Of course their SH signs were noticed right as FCD blasted KC out of PHP 6-0..
Buzz, you’re always good, but this analysis is particularly razor sharp and insightful. Let’s face it, SH is a coaching bust at the professional level. He’s so frustrating, it’s taken the fun out of being a fan and killed my enthusiasm for the team. The Moor trade was the straw that broke it, for me. Goodbye, FCD. I’ll spend my fan dollars someplace else.
Long term, a loss of season ticket subscriptions will be Kramden’s last stop. His collective actions are increasing talk in that direction.
Until the Honeymoon is over, this bus ride will continue. Atta boy, Kramden, to the Moon you take us!
Great article! Really enjoyed it. I am friends with Drew Moor’s sister and linked her and her family to it. I am really glad the trade happened before the season ticket holder event – because I had planned on renewing my season tickets but am now having second thoughts. There seems to be a pattern of really terrible decision making taking place within the organization and I am not sure I want to contribute $$$ to the downward spiral of FCD.
I think we could finish in the Final Four of the NCAA tournament this year! Woohoo. Finally!!
- SH
PS Oh nuts, i forgot i am a professional coach now. Well, at least we are gonna give Virginia some trouble this year!