Dear FCD Brass
January 14th, 2010 . By: John Carlton
Please trade up.
Please trade up.
To get you ready for this weekend’s big match, here are some highlights of the first 29 games.
On Friday, Steve Davis at his excellent blog, Daily Soccer Fix, wants to atone for the ripping he delivered to the FC Dallas organization for their adventure in re-branding the Dallas MLS franchise circa 2004. In the original post he was discussing the name change from Dallas Burn to FC Dallas, and he made a number of interesting points regarding the fate of the franchise since that decision was made.
Welcome to the 3rd annual MLS Offseason Report Card. You can see the past two years’ report cards here and here, just in case you were wondering if my grades are anything close to reality. Because of the length of the season and the nature of the transfer market in soccer, some grades look good [...]
FC Dallas got help from the referee in the dying moments for the second straight game to salvage a home draw against Toronto FC. After referee Mark Geiger’s dubious call in the penalty area during stoppage time, Kenny Cooper converted the kick to give FC Dallas a crucial point and a chance to still make the playoffs.
Needing a win to maintain position for a playoff berth, FC Dallas instead managed only a 1-1 draw at home against the expansion San Jose Earthquakes. The Hoops came back from a goal deficit to salvage a point on a Kenny Cooper penalty kick in the 89th minute. The result means that FC Dallas need to win their remaining games and hope for help to get into the post-season tournament.
In Week 27 of Major League Soccer, FC Dallas’ wild season continued Sunday with a 3-0 win against visiting DC United. Goals from Andre Rocha, Jeff Cunningham and Kenny Cooper gave Dallas one of its more complete victories of the year. With the playoffs looming, the Hoops are finding their form at the perfect time and resurging as a force to be reckoned with in Major League Soccer.
So many of the league-high nine draws that FC Dallas has amassed during the course of an up-and-down 2008 MLS campaign have felt more like losses when the final whistle was blown. To the relief of the Hoops, last night’s 2-2 draw against DC United at RFK Stadium in Washington felt more like a win.
Facing a must-win home game Thursday evening against the Colorado Rapids, FC Dallas turned in an uninspired performance. A goal by Colorado’s Mike Petke was all the Rapids needed to get all three points on the road and leapfrog Dallas in the standings. The loss puts any playoff aspirations in serious jeopardy as the Hoops head down the home stretch.
At the beginning of August, which seems like a lifetime ago, a new hope and vigor infused the clubhouse at FC Dallas. New signings and a bit of a win streak seemed to give the team the lift it needed heading into the home stretch of regular season play. But when the epitaph is written for this season’s campaign, it may tell the sad story of two August matches against the Columbus Crew.