Dynamo 2008 Season Thread

[papabear]

I really think Kinear is a genius. I don't know how much he has to do with trades/aquisitions but it always seem they find the perfect fit....jaqua twice, kamara( keith is dead on with his speed pairing with the size of Jaqua and ching), and plenty others. His subsitutions/formation changes against Pachuca were brilliant. I'm in Germany so I've missed the last couple of matches, but once again he seems to have them ready for a run at the MLS cup.

I like what Bradley does, at least initially, with the national team. It seemed he was more willing to experiment with new players compared to the mouth breather that preceded him. I think kinear would be a fantastic with the national team....but I don't want to lose him from my home club.

[Keith]

And the Dynamo just keep on rolling. Watching them wipe the Wiz 3-1 on the DVR last night helped make yesterday a little better for me. Minus DeRo, Ching, Rico, and Pat (i.e. almost half their starters, the better half), the Dyanmo still treated their opponents like they were a reserve squad.

They have a pretty substantial lead in the conference now, but I worry since the West sucks so much that they might have to play the NYRB on that turf in the first leg of the playoffs. As good as the Dynamo are, astroturf is their undoing every time.

[Keith]

Very entertaining game tonight in Mexico City, the Dynamo earning the unusual 4-4 draw in CONCACAF champions league play. If I'm not mistaken, it is the first result a MLS team has had on Mexican soil.

Intriguiging matchup, what with the size and set piece ability of the Dynamo versus the speed and creative play of UNAM Pumas. I think the Dynamo's SuperLiga play, albeit mostly at Robertson Stadium, really helped them tonight. They played some smart soccer in the last 20 minutes or so and even created a chance or two to steal three points.

I think competitions like these sometimes expose just how slow (and in most cases, old) the backline is. I don't know who took Eddie Robinson, but I want the old one back immediately. Just lots of flat-footed defending back there, and Jacqua, who yes I know is a forward, was nothing special defending set pieces either. I was a little surprised not to see more from Rico given how he tore up SuperLiga.

That said, guys like Kamara, Cameron, and Holden did great. Our reserves are simply amazing, and they rarely disappoint on nights like these when given then chance at more minutes. There is talk of DeRo and Jacqua leaving in the offseason (to Toronto and Seattle, respectively), and while that would suck, Kinnear has assembled more than enough depth - young depth - to keep on keeping on. I love it.

[papabear]

Yep, fantastic game. If you would have told me we would come out of Mexico city with a point I would have taken it in a heartbeat. Watching the game it is one I feel we should have won. Our backline has major problems against faster opponets....they are slow, but some of it last night was just lack of focus. It's also amazing to me how good Jaqua can be on corners on one end, but so bad on the other. That's not his job, but there are plenty of times when we need him to defend set pieces.

I thought this was much better ref'd match than most of the Super Liga games. I thought their could have been at least a few cards handed to the Pumas for diving, but you can say that in just about every game.

I thought the tackle on Holden was pretty blatant and should have drawn a card as well. There is a pattern of hard late fouls with a high potential for injury from the Mexican clubs any time they lose or are down to a US side. That and the fact that Pumas got their first goal with Holden on the ground had me more than a little irritated. It wasn't like they played for several minutes and didn't play it out of bounds, and they were in a attacking position so I understand....but throw that in with the fact that Holden was down to a dirty tackle got me a little excited. There was no reason for our defense to be that flat footed, and Holden being on the ground really shouldn't have affected our D on that particular play. I really hope Holden's injury is not to serious.

Any time you can get any points on the road in a competition like this is a plus though. I'm really starting to like this team more with some of the younger guys on the field. I really enjoy watching guys like Cameron, Ashe, and Holden. As much as I would hate to lose D-Ro I think we are capable of filling that hole...I woulds till rather keep him though.

Kamara was fantastic last night....even if you take away his two goals. He did a beautiful job of holding possession until the attack could get organized. Another genius personnel move for the Dynamo.

I think Kinnear's next move will be to work his magic and find some youth for the backline. Hopefully Ianni develops, but it would be nice to have one more young guy back there. As much depth as I think we have at forward and especially mid-field I don't have that same comfrot level with the backline.

The schedule is brutal, but I'm pretty optimistic about our chances to gain some respect internationally in this tournament.

[papabear]

Tonights a great chance to get 3 more points towards advancing in Champions League. I hope the weather clears out by then. If it wasn't for the weather and the late start I would probably go....I still might.

I've really gotten into this tournament....even though it's made our schedule brutal.

[papabear]

I hate caig

[Keith]

Hou 2:1 SF

De-fureaking-Ro. 'nuf said.

This was a painfully frustrating second half to watch until DeRo did what DeRo usually does.

Caig is total rubbish. I think Ashe would have to be my MOTM, but DeRo singlehandedly saved Caig's arse here tonight. I would have loved to have gone (seemed like I could have had my pick of any seat), but these 9pm midweek international start times are just brutal for those of us with kids and jobs living an hour away.

The new CCL is the way this thing ought to be. I love watching Liverpool in the UEFA CL. SuperLiga is nice and all, but the CCL needs to be the premier midseason tournament for MLS and really all club teams in CONCACAF.

On a side note, Beckham picked up a yellow and will miss the match here (again) on 10/18. I don't have a ticket to the game only to see him (I'm there to see another win, of course), but I was kinda looking forward to it regardless. F'ing Capello picking up his old ass for England this weekend... otherwise he'd suffer his suspension this Saturday instead of next.

Speaking of... wtf MLS?? Quit scheduling games on World Cup Qualifer / FIFA weekends. Seems other leagues can figure this out. The whole MLS schedule just frustrates me. I wish they kept a calendar more like the Euros do. I'm guessing they think it's too cold to play in Boston/NY/Chicago in the winter? I dunno... sucks to have such counter-programming to the rest of the soccer world.

Lastly, have you seen the new jersey? Ugh, absolutely horrible. The lone blue sleeve is about the dumbest kit design I have seen. I was holding off on buying a long-sleeved jersey for when the new ones came out, but that's off now. No way I'm paying for that thing.