Monday Morning Centre Back: Houston, Do We Have a Problem?
by Zach Woosley on May 9, 2011 9:38 AM CDT
in Monday Morning Centre Back
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After an unbeaten streak of six matches, the Dynamo have gone a bit off the rails with two straight losses to the Colorado Rapids and Toronto FC. It's far to early to panic, but considering the schedule between now and June 1st, there is certainly reason to be concerned.
This is a good team, with talent at a lot of positions and clearly worthy of being amongst the player contenders in MLS, but there is still work to be done to sure up the tactics and get everyone on the same page. Let's face it, the Dynamo looked listless for nearly 80 minutes on Saturday night, only showing a spark after going down two goals.
Dominic Kinnear was honest in his assessment of his team's failures after the match.
"I'm disappointed. I think [Toronto is] a team that if we showed the same urgency for the whole game that we showed in the last 20 minutes," Kinnear said. "I think it's a team we could've beat. We made a mistake that led to a penalty and then you're chasing the game. It was a good play by them to break us down for the second goal."
There were many things the Dynamo didn't show until the end of the match, not just urgency. Tactically the Dynamo looked a bit lost and the possession based attack we had seen over the past month went away as Brad Davis virtually disappeared from the match and Sergio Koke seemed to be moving all over the field trying to create and get involved. It really felt like Koke was working too hard and his teammates aren't quite sure how to play with the Spanish forward yet.
"We had a lot of chances but couldn't find a way to score." Davis said. "Every chance right now teams are getting, they're scoring, and we go down and can't score at all. I don't know how many balls we sent into the box but we can't finish."
I don't completely agree with Davis' assessment, considering that nobody was generating many chances on Saturday night and the few times Davis or Freeman got forward, the crossing and service was not up to they usual standards.
Defensively, the Dynamo once again succumbed to mistakes.
"We fought back and got that goal back and we pushed for the equalizer, which is a positive to take from the game," said Andre Hainault. "But we've got to get better overall."
Hainault's slight tackle from behind on Nick Soolsma in the box led to the first Toronto goal, but the real blame for the play has to be laid at the feet of veteran defender Eddie Robinson whose sloppiness with possession led to Soolsma being able to break free on goal and forced a quick reaction from Hainault. Jermaine Taylor's foot can't heal fast enough.
Why Robinson was even the match is up for debate. I suppose Corey Ashe was being given a night off and that necessitated moving Hainualt outside to allow Robinson to cover in the middle, but considering the Dynamo have Mike Chabala and Kofi Sarkodie sitting on the bench, you have to wonder what the decision making process was in setting up the defense the way the coaches did.
Hopefully the sub-par performance in Toronto is a blip on the radar rather than a growing trend. With a trip to Real Salt Lake next weekend, followed by a seven day stretch that includes a trip to Carson to face the Galaxy, bookended by home matches against New York Red Bulls and FC Dallas.
One thing is certain, by June we should have a good idea of just how good this Dynamo team really is.
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Ouch!
Quite a few bench players got the nod and came up way short. Didn’t see this one but from what I’ve read, perhaps missing it was a good thing. Based on the starting lineup, this was one Dom expected to win or draw with a yawn. Too bad Toronto and Plata went off script.
Tactically, the only variations I see from game to game are lineup changes and either direct or possession approaches. The possession piece doesn’t seem to create many, if any, chances and the reliance on set pieces dries out when Davis has a bad game.
When it works, it looks great, especially against a shite defence (DC). On the other hand, it isn’t too hard to prep against a team that plays rock-paper-scissors without the scissors. It reminds me of the mid to late 60’s Green Bay Packers. Lombardi let you know- we will run the sweep, and we will run it to perfection right at you. Try to stop us!
With the right players, on the right day, it is almost impossible to stop.
The Dynamo FO continues building a good, competitive team. We’ll be right up there in a few years. It could even be this year. It’s just not right now.
Games are won or lost on a combination of chemical mix, luck, gritty determination, player talents, and tactics. We don’t seem to do much with the latter- which I think both hurts (same-o, same-o) and helps us (same-o same-o becomes a mantra- back to Lombardi like perfection of sweep).
While I would like to see better adjustments, given the sea of new faces, perhaps same-o same-o isn’t a bad thing and we’ll just have to wait and see.
What do youse think?
I think it's Dom's intention to mix in some difference
And putting Koke out there was part of that, but it takes time for a new player to gel. Bruin, Weaver and Ching are all pretty much the same forward with just minor differences here and there. Koke is an entirely different style altogether, way different than Oduro, too. It will take at least a month IMHO for Koke to adjust and for the team to also adjust to his style. It’s just, when you’ve been banging the same practice stuff for so long, a new style is going to be very hard to adjust to, but entirely necessary
-- "...I was sick, napping, and then woke up and came to the computer to read a note from the Gingered Angel of Doom..." Martek - Dynamo Theory Blog
Viva difference!
I agree. I also think it’s telling Koke had to run all over the field for service.
I thought Taylor was healed
Even if he wasn’t putting Robinson out there was a mistake. I love the guy, but age and injuries have taken their toll. He was never the speediest guy to begin with, but now? If I’m an opposing manager and I see Robinson out there I’m putting in some quickness and telling my team to run at him ALL day. He was terrible in this match. I know he’s rusty, but out could see him cheating back to keep from getting beat over the top and that just throws things out of balance. He tried to step up and challenge for several balls, but all that did was create a huge void behind him when he was beaten badly. I can’t for the life of me figure out why Dom left him on and took Boswell off. I know Boswell could probably use the rest, but I just thought Robinson looked really bad all night(well at least the parts I saw. I did miss the first 25 minutes or so).
Overall I was frustrated by how many simple “possession” passes were misplayed. Some of them were a case where a guy zigged when their teammate thought they were going to zag. Some of them appeared to just be a lack of focus though, and that is just unacceptable.
"If my hips had pockets, I wouldn't wear pants at all." @NotBurtReynolds
Very interesting and mystifying lineup changes, such as:
1. I wanted Koke to start, but in place of Weaver, not Bruin. The Dancing Bear is the one who’s looked good so far, while Weaver has cooled off considerably. Odd there, and you’ll notice how the attack woke up some after Bruin came on.
2. Bogie was right in Key Largo when he said that Johnny Rocco’s day is done. I love Eddie Robinson and all, but you can easily lay both of Toronto’s goals at his feet. Keep him on the reserve squad mentoring there, but I hope not to see him in teh first team any longer. And it kills me to say that. And that brings us to…
3. Corey Ashe has done quite well in the left back slot. You want to give someone a break, great, but why Ashe? Why not Hunter Freeman, who has been solid on the right, but whose speed is lacking. This would look to be the perfect team against which to employ some speed in wide defense, such as Ashe-Hainault-Boswell-Sarkodie. Odd that he went with Robinson. It’s possible that what Kinnear saw in training dictated the decision and maybe someone’s carrying a knock, but right now it looks strange. At the very least, if Taylor was healed, why was he not starting ahead of Robinson? Lotta questions here. Maybe Kinnear went with his gut and got it wrong. Or maybe Kinnear has a soft spot for his longtime veteran Robinson and that influenced his thinking. Who knows?
4. After the DC explosion, look at what has happened to the two teams. Dynamo has lost two consecutive 2-1 games against peer or inferior opponents. Meanwhile, DC has put it together, beating Seattle 1-0 and then drawing Frisco 0-0. Weaver’s freak throw-in behind the backline goal was the last goal they gave up. Maybe we activated an ancient curse by scoring that way. If so, anyone know any good incantations to get the mojo back?
"We don't care who finishes second." -- Celtic's Peter Lowrie
E Rob needs to adopt the same role Waibel did in his last two seasons with the Dynamo as a player
Reserve Squad duty, being an on-field coach for the younger guys coming through. His aggressiveness served him well when he could keep up with the quicker guys, but now, he’s not able to keep up and thus an overly aggressive play leaves his d-line or the keeper out to dry.
-- "...I was sick, napping, and then woke up and came to the computer to read a note from the Gingered Angel of Doom..." Martek - Dynamo Theory Blog
I feel better now
that I’m not the only one that saw it as Robinson having a lot of culpability in that game. Koke and the team aren’t ready to play together yet. After so many weeks of keeping the same winning formula going, I have no idea why Dom made sweeping changes to the line up.
LOL
I remember Marty having a ‘what the hell moment’ (but with more colorful words) when I told him we lost AND Robinson started.
“WHAT!!!???”
I think my exact word was “”http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/hitchhikers/guide/belgium.shtml" target="new">Belgium." Which is a word I do not use lightly.
"We don't care who finishes second." -- Celtic's Peter Lowrie
I think my exact word was Belgium. Which is a word I do not use lightly.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/hitchhikers/guide/belgium.shtml
"We don't care who finishes second." -- Celtic's Peter Lowrie
Poor
Ashe definitely has gotta start, that alone takes a lot of pressure off the center and gives davis more room. which brings me to my next point, not only did davis disappear like you said but he also was just off tonight, just absolutely shanking a few crosses/ free kicks in the first 20 minutes. also gotta say i miss seeing cruz out there, he’s had a lot of growth this season.
by Futbol anonymous on May 9, 2011 1:23 PM CDT reply actions
I said it before the season in my season preview...
Davis is the player by which the Dynamo will either succeed or fail. There is no one other player, at the moment, who defines the play of the team more than he. This is not a knock on any individual, but of a growing problem with the Dynamo as a whole. Koke has been brought in to be a relief valve, but it is going to take time for him to find his place. Until then we live and die by the play of Brad Davis. When he is off, we will feel it. When he is on, we will feel it.
-- "...I was sick, napping, and then woke up and came to the computer to read a note from the Gingered Angel of Doom..." Martek - Dynamo Theory Blog
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