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With all of the Home games played, and our farewells give to Dom, we look back at the entire season and cover the 4 main faults that we found for the performance we saw throughout the season. We will also discuss what the Dynamo can do to fix these problems in the off-season
The Four Faults
The Coaching Choices: 17%
Now one thing I want to make clear before I start this section is that Dominic Kinnear is one of the best coaches in Major League Soccer and we owe him our 2 stars and 4 championships. With that said 17% of our audience reported they felt it was the coaching staff's fault for the seasons poor performance.
Many questioned not the coaching staff's motivation but rather the formation the Dynamo played and the selection of players who got starting positions. Dominic Kinnear has and always will be known for his old style tactics with 4-4-2 and having a tight defense. This year that defense gave up to many goals and the 4-4-2 didn't fit the goal scoring needs of the Dynamo. With a -18 goal differential on the year many claim it was the fault of tactics.
The other side of it was the starters used by Dominic Kinnear, with the fans getting upset often with the favored Will Bruin, and Jermaine Taylor. Taylor was later removed after too many mistakes and a small injury while Will Bruin was able to get a little more goal scoring touch but not enough to help the Dynamo out of the hole they dug.
Players: 19%
When it comes down to teams, the fans can show up, the coaches can teach, and the organization can hand out the cash but it's up to the players to do their job and many fans felt that individually many players failed in their tasks. Of the players under scrutiny are Jermaine Taylor, Andrew Driver, Brian Ownby, and Will Bruin.
When we look at salaries some of these names are the most paid players with the Dynamo and yet they fail to produce. Is this their fault for not giving enough or is it a case of paying too much for too little. It's most likely both but the production numbers from Bruin and the mistakes by Taylor are what dug a hole for the Dynamo in the beginning. With a new Technical Director and Coach I can't wait to see who really wants to play for the Dynamo and is willing to put in the work with favorites out the door.
Front Office: 24%
When it comes to the players we see brought in and sold during the season and off-season it comes down to the Front office and their money management. Overpaying for damaged goods has been the tale of the Dynamo this season as big money was paid out to players who had little impact.
One of the largest talking points of this section has to be the release of Bobby Boswell who captained the Dynamo defense last year and is now Captain of the #1 DC United. We can't forget however the signings that aided the Dynamo so much in Garrido and Beasley. However, with a new Technical Director coming in I can't wait to see if they go for small names or big names to make an impact on the next season.
We also look at the ownership as well with the ideas of many different options for the team to be sold and personally I would invite the idea of new ownership as it might aid in more money flow into the team for transfer costs and other expenses to better prepare for the new season.
Injuries & Bad Luck: 40%
When you have such good luck as the Dynamo it was bound to happen that the injury train would arrive at the station and it came at a bad year for the Dynamo. With the World Cup, FIFA dates and injuries the Dynamo fielded one of the most diverse number of players over the season.
Injuries are seen as the biggest impact as Mark Sherrod, Tony Cascio and Tally Hall all suffered torn ACL's while many other players faced concussions, and small injuries such as cramps. This was just bad luck and bad timing for the Dynamo but the brightest thing is that with Hall's injury we might have found a new starter that doesn't hurt salary cap in Tyler Deric.
The World Cup also was timed very badly for the Dynamo as they looked to gain momentum but were interrupted with their 2 major players in Boniek Garcia and Brand Davis disappeared to their respective camps. Bad timing and the injury bug were all seen as the worst and most detrimental parts of the season but give us hope for next season.
Hope is on the Horizon:
With every sunset, there will be a sunrise as the old proverb goes. The Dynamo may have ended an era but there will be growth, and a new era will begin. The Front Office with the creation of the Technical Director has shown they are looking to focus on coaching with the coaches and managing with the management. The players will be evaluated by a non-biased new head coach and will be sent packing if their motivation is lacking. The World Cup is not for 4 more years which means FIFA dates will die down for a while, and the injury bug should allow us to come back more prepared.