2008 FC Dallas preview: Forwards

By: Robert | March 3rd, 2008

(part three of three, maybe four)

Allow me to start off with an apology. I had no idea the Texas primary process would still be nationally relevant this late in the campaign season and since everyone’s favorite Offside blog about FC Dallas has a blogger working in the local media I’ve been forced into following Obama and Clinton and to a lesser extent McCain and Huckabee (even though Huckabee knows he can’t win). Work has kept me from getting into the Hoops season as quickly as I would have liked, fortunately Tuesday everything clears up as the madness shifts to another part of the country. Until then here’s the much belated FC Dallas preview on the forwards.

Side Note: I had a great idea of trying to plug small parts of larger video clips into my post but I am a terrible programmer and had to abandon that idea; in the future anyone that could offer any help in that area would be greatly appreciated.

Last Season: The majority of the 2007 campaign saw Carlos Ruiz pressed into service as a lone forward after Kenny Cooper was hit with a flying scissor kick by LA’s Tyronne Marshall (Laurie, I’m looking in your direction) placing Kenny in a cast for roughly the entire season. I’ve spoken many times about how much I like Carlos Ruiz so forgive me for going soft on him but playing the “1” in what was functionally a 4-5-1 is not his strong suit. FC Dallas’ most expensive player produced his least inspiring season last year and was sent on his way. Drew Moor et al. may take umbrage with the fact I was much harder on them then El Pescadito but I like Carlos, I loved his hair and nowhere does it state that a blogger should be objective.

Carlos Ruiz' hair

Gonna miss this hair.

Major Changes: There was nothing bigger this offseason than Carlos Ruiz being traded to team Hollywood. NOTHING.

Outlook: Expect to see a lot of Dominic “The Birdman” Oduro since there isn’t anyone in the league that he can’t beat in a foot race. If he has learned some ball control in the off season look for a myriad of goal scoring chances to come his way; if he has learned a lot of ball control and figured out how to finish those chances look for him in Europe next year (Dominic Oduro will be playing in Dallas next year). Kenny Cooper and Roberto Mina are back from injury but I’ll be honest with you, while Kenny should be fine I have no idea what to expect from Mina, a return from a knee injury is a lot harder to predict than a broken leg. Abe Thompson will be consistent and there literally is nothing else to say about that man but that, he is that boring. Ricardinho will make some appearances but don’t expect much from him but a lot of running around and maybe a trick or two. Last season he scored as many goals as I did and while I expect his production to increase he’s still raw.

The optimist in me expects to lead the league in scoring but I’m a bit more of a pragmatist than that. FC Dallas might be able produce enough goals to land in the top three of the league but I’m not sold on the defense so this team is going to need to score to be effective. Word on the street is that the Birdman is ready to take off this year, either way tonight in Dallas the FC stands for “Fielding a contender.”

HOOPS PRIDE!

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