Shocking Analysis of FC Dallas from the Athletic
Is FC Dallas bad in attack and bad in defense?
Did my article subject serve as a bit of old-fashioned clickbait?
Because it is.
Nothing is shocking about how poorly FC Dallas has been out of the gate. Fans and followers of this team have little reason to be surprised when Jeff Reuter of the Athletic rightly labels as bad in both attack and defense. I recommend the read, and it shows Dallas, even after spending big on a striker in his prime, is trending even worse than last season.
Even if the sample size is a bit small.
(I highly recommend you read the whole story and support fellow soccer journalists.)
Again, the sample size is small and even the past two matches, 0-0 draws on the road and at home, likely helped Dallas’ numbers drift back toward the excellent defensive side of the chart. But the attack is a mess right now. There is no soft way to put it.
Going to Colorado, at altitude, to face the Rapids, who have always been a tough team to get results against, it’s not likely to improve a lot in the short term. If anything, FC Dallas would be happy with another 0-0 or 1-1 draw at this stage, to keep trending results in a more positive direction. The Rapids, however, have a veteran coach and will find ways to grind out results.
I’m as optimistic as they come, and I do think FC Dallas will turn things around. They have too much talent, too many players who can be dangerous enough to get things done. Are we going to score as much as some teams? No. But this roster has more quality than they have shown.
It’s too early in the season to panic. Here’s why:
Injuries are the biggest reason for the slow start. It’s not been ideal. FC Dallas is not the only team dealing with injuries, and certainly, this does not explain every aspect of their poor start. When Jesus Ferreira returns, we can deduce how the offense will shape up the rest of the long season. Asier Illarramendi flashed his quality in limited minutes last week. Marco Farfan will give the team another tool at defense soon.
New players always take time to integrate. Petar Musa scored on his debut. He’s shown some quality here and there, but it is hard to do much damage when the service is so poor. Patrickson Delgado has grown as a bright young presence as well. Omar Gonzalez had a rough first start, but he has started to gel with the back line.
Nico switched the team’s formation, made changes due to injuries, and now has settled back into the 5-2-3 or 3-4-3. Continuity helps when a team is struggling. They should get more comfortable and iron out the disconnects in attacking patterns. At least I hope so.
Youth also plays a key. Both Dante Sealy and Patrickson Delgado are young. We’ve seen minutes given to Bernard Kamungo and Herb Endelay. Young players make mistakes. They have rough games. It’s part of the learning process.
It’s way too early to conclude that the team lacks talent. Yes, some guys have not done well or had very uneven games. Maybe some tweaks still need to be made. Maybe some guys need to be benched or rotated to get the most out of them. If this poor run continues, there will be questions about the talent on this roster, but they should be good enough to grind out results.
Head Coach Nico Estevez continuously talks about the team’s identity and attitude. If anything, these next few weeks will answer a lot of questions about what is to come. It begins in Colorado, but since it is unlikely Jesus will be ready (at best off the bench), Dallas will look to build confidence and stay solid at the back, even if the attack suffers.
What do you think about the Athletic’s analysis this early in the season?