FC Dallas hears more whistles than Jessica Alba at a construction worker’s convention

By: Robert | July 24th, 2007

The sound of a referees whistle plays like the musical accompaniment to any Hoops game. Inevitably it’s because Carlos Ruiz, Pablo Ricchetti or Juan Toja have drawn the referee’s ire for their on field actions. Either Carlos has pushed, shoved or posted up a defender a little too doggedly, Juan has gone a little overboard with his youthful exuberance or Pablo has professionally muted an opponent’s offensive rhythm. Soccer is a more physical sport than most people realize and this season FC Dallas is playing it more physical than most.

Soccer is not basketball; six fouls don’t get you a seat next to the coach (although typically a myriad of fouls will cause a ref to raise yellow in your direction,) at times though the Hoops look more like the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons of the late eighties than any top level MLS team ever should. And while some of these fouls are warranted the question must be asked, are we going too far?

It’s not a problem to lead the league in fouls if they go to serve a purpose. And FC Dallas’ wide open style of play leads to that purpose; as midfielders routinely push forward into the attack many fouls are committed by defensive midfielders Pablo Ricchetti and Marcelo Saragosa seeking to halt any counter-attack and to protect our well-intentioned but sometimes over-matched backline. While this would seem to be a flawed defensive strategy most of the goals the Hoops allow come from the run of play and not free kicks (two out of the 24 goals allowed this season.) So the idea of stopping an opponent’s offensive excursion deep into Dallas territory, while only conceding a free kick is a rationale concession even if you always wonder if this free kick will be the one. Add in Carlos Ruiz, who gets called more often than not for playing the game like school yard bully, and Juan Toja, an excited three-year old, and you get a team of players who commit fouls I’m okay with, as long as they stay on the field.

But they haven’t stayed on the field; Carlos Ruiz, Pablo Ricchetti and Chris Gbandi have already missed a game due to card accumulation and Ruiz, Ricchetti, Alex Yi, Clarence Goodson, Toja and Drew Moor are all one or two cards away from missing the next game. This season FC Dallas has been picking up more yellow than a janitor at a mustard factory and this is where the fouls begin to harm the team, not in the 30-40 seconds after the whistle but in the following games when the Hoops can’t consistently field their best eleven. So far every player except Adrian Serioux, who’s been injured roughly all season, has started at least five games and while depth is usually considered as the ability to rest guys for 10 minutes here, 20 minutes there and possibly as a fill-in for the odd game, for the Hoops depth has meant a lack of cohesiveness, especially in the offensive third of the field. To score a goal you need either a great individual play, a bit of luck or solid teamwork but so far this season injuries (Kenny Cooper, Roberto Mina) and suspensions have colluded to reduce a very good attacking Hoops squad into only a tie for seventh in the league in goals per game (1.33)

I like the aggressiveness, I will never tell someone to hustle a little less, or ease up a little bit, but maybe the Hoops can work smarter and not harder on winning balls and stopping the opposition because this is Dallas, where if we want to lift a trophy (or three) the FC needs to stand for “fouling card-less.”

HOOPS PRIDE!

Personal note: My computer died today (It literally just turned itself off and would not come back on, I have no clue what happened) so I’ll probably be posting later in the day from now on.

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