Well this is nice, a couple of wins and one that doesn’t even have an asterisk next to it!
As always, there is nothing scientific about this, we’re just looking at who of the 53 contracted players for FC Dallas and North Texas SC is playing. Also, who we and our colleagues in the media are talking about, and who the fans have been lifting up or slamming down. At the end of the day, it’s all just a bit of fun!
Starting XI
| Rank | Trend | Comments | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paes, Maarten FCD (G) | High: 1 | Low: 2 | — 0 | A whole country is talking about him with a lot of main stream media coverage. That’s an automatic #1 – Dan |
| 2 | Illarramendi, Asier FCD (M) | High: 1 | Low: 4 | ▲ 2 | He’s back and showing why he’s such a pivotal player. He’s the only two way mid healthy and playing. The halftime sub vs Austin is concerning. – Buzz |
| 3 | Tafari, Nkosi FCD (D) | High: 2 | Low: 3 | ▼ 1 | A spell out of the starting lineup seemed to bring Kos back to the player we know – Dan |
| 4 | Musa, Petar FCD (F) | High: 4 | Low: 12 | ▲ 5 | Goals are starting to come – 3 in the last 5 games – as he gets dialed in with Jesus Ferreira. – Buzz |
| 5 | Fraser, Liam FCD (M) | High: 5 | Low: 6 | ▲ 1 | Is the Canadian Destroyer a leading MLS midfielder, no. Is he FC Dallas’ second-best midfielder right now, unquestionably – Dan |
| 6 | Junqua, Sam FCD (D) | High: 6 | Low: 9 | ▲ 2 | He’s a lock starter at a position that isn’t his prime. What an amazingly valuable player. – Buzz |
| 7 | Ibeagha, Sebastien FCD (D) | High: 7 | Low: 10 | ▲ 3 | Whether it’s Sebas stepping up, or the team really dropping off en masse, Ibeagha is looking one of the brighter spots of 2024. Extra points for the goal in the one and only Texas Derby – Dan |
| 8 | Ferreira, Jesus FCD (F) | High: 6 | Low: 11 | ▲ 3 | Is the Jesus back? Youngest player to 50 goals in MLS history! When he’s focused and on he’s special. |
| 9 | Arriola, Paul FCD (F) | High: 3 | Low: 9 | ▼ 6 | In the five MLS games he played since we last ranked, Arriola has only one shot on target and four key passes for a total of 0.4xG and 0.6xAG. That’s $1.5m in salary and nearly $1m in TAM to pay it down below the DP threshold – Dan |
| 10 | Farfan, Marco FCD (D) | High: 10 | Low: 17 | ▲ 7 | He’s back in the XI and wow did FCD need him. He may not leave the lineup again. Burnout is a worry as usual. – Buzz |
| 11 | Lletget, Sebastian FCD (M) | High: 5 | Low: 15 | ▼ 6 | Hurt again after three games – Dan |
In The Mix
| Rank | Trend | Comments | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | Delgado, Patrickson FCD (M) | High: 12 | Low: 32 | ▲ 4 | He’s getting a lot of PT even after Illarra returned. Basically any time Illarra is out, he’s in because of all the injuries. – Buzz |
| 13 | Farrington, Logan FCD (F) | High: 12 | Low: 14 | ▼ 1 | Got the winner in the Open Cup, but displacing Musa is nigh on impossible. Recorded 92 minutes since we last ranked, but not a lot of time where he’s in a position to chase a game – Dan |
| 14 | Ansah, Eugene FCD (F) | High: 13 | Low: 20 | ▼ 1 | In and out of the team. Can’t seem to lock down a spot even through he’s outplayed most of the alternatives. – Buzz |
| 15 | Kamungo, Bernard FCD (F) | High: 8 | Low: 15 | ▼ 1 | Bernie is growing in to the new system, but his minutes and performances are hit or miss – Dan |
| 16 | Twumasi, Ema FCD (D) | High: 15 | Low: 19 | ▼ 1 | He’s the starting right wingback for now but his hold seems tenuous. Herbert Endeley is pressuring and Geovane Jesus will be back in the next month or two. – Buzz |
| 17 | Ntsabeleng, Tsiki FCD (M) | High: 17 | Low: 24 | ▲ 7 | Got the start in the Open Cup in a higher role than we’re used to seeing and looked one of FCD’s better players. Retained the start against Austin with Arriola out – Dan |
| 18 | Endeley, Herbert FCD (D) | High: 16 | Low: 18 | — 0 | He’s showing enough with NTX to get FCD PT again with the Open Cup start. – Buzz |
| 19 | Sealy, Dante FCD (M) | High: 7 | Low: 19 | ▼ 12 | Lost the starting spot in the middle of this ranking period, and doesn’t look likely to get a ton of minutes at present – Dan |
| 20 | Sainte, Carl FCD (M) | High: 20 | Low: 29 | ▲ 1 | Made his MLS debut with an eye on being a center back long term but can emergency 6. – Buzz |
Second Team
| Rank | Trend | Comment | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Maurer, Jimmy FCD (G) | High: 17 | Low: 21 | ▼ 2 | You know the drill with Jimmy. Not getting the USOC game is a bit of a knock though – Dan |
| 22 | Gonzalez, Omar FCD (D) | High: 18 | Low: 22 | ▼ 2 | Since Nkosi Tafari rebound, Gonzalez hasn’t been in much at all. – Buzz |
| 23 | Scott, Tarik FCD (F) | High: 23 | Low: 26 | ▲ 3 | Only Michael Collodi has more minutes for North Texas SC, and he’s top scorer with three goals. Not bad for the first year back from an ACL – Dan |
| 24 | Norris, Nolan FCD (M) | High: 22 | Low: 24 | ▼ 2 | He dominates in midfield for NTX but picks up too many yellow cards. Why is he not playing for FCD? Might be the cards. – Buzz |
| 25 | Garcia, Diego NTX (M) | High: 23 | Low: 25 | ▼ 2 | Scored in both of the last shootout wins, including one in the seventh minute of stoppage time against The Town FC – Dan |
| 26 | Sali, Enes FCD (F) | High: 26 | Low: 27 | ▲ 1 | Has good flashes of dangerous attacking play for Los Toritos, but still has bad moments too. This project may take a while. – Buzz |
| 27 | Carrera, Antonio FCD (G) | High: 23 | Low: 27 | ▼ 2 | Toño’s loan is truly baffling. Started three of the six games in this period, he’s even splitting time in the Open Cup – Dan |
| 28 | Collodi, Michael NTX (G) | High: 28 | Low: 35 | — 0 | What a gift Collodi is. Every skill is the same as from the Academy and yet the overall player is even better. Amazing leader. – Buzz |
| 29 | Gordon, Nico FCD (F) | High: 29 | Low: 31 | — 0 | Consistent starter, and great in possession. Gordon recorded 97.2% passing success across the full 90 minutes last weekend – Dan |
| 30 | Pedrinho NTX (M) | High: 28 | Low: 42 | ▲ 12 | Back from compartment surgery, back influencing, heading toward dominating. – Buzz |
| 31 | Pondeca, Tomas FCD (M) | High: 31 | Low: 34 | ▲ 2 | Returned from injury during this ranking period with two sub appearances before starting the last two games – Dan |
| 32 | Parker, Isaiah FCD (M) | High: 32 | Low: 37 | ▲ 5 | Steady starter for NTX at left wingback. Actually started at left center back in their last game. Still don’t think Coach Nico will ever recall him. – Buzz |
In Reserve
| Rank | Trend | Comments | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | Humphrey, Turner NTX (D) | High: 33 | Low: 40 | ▲ 7 | Started 6 of the 7 games this period, and contributing to the attack with a few shots and four key passes from center back – Dan |
| 34 | Korca, Amet FCD (D) | High: 27 | Low: 34 | ▼ 2 | Made his MLS debut at The Town. Just 8 minutes played but I think we will see him more going forward. – Buzz |
| 35 | Molina, Malachi NTX (D) | High: 35 | Low: 45 | ▲ 10 | Made his return against SKCII with a brace and carried that over into another start in last weekend’s first loss of the season – Dan |
| 36 | Mendonca, Nick NTX (M) | High: 30 | Low: 36 | ▼ 6 | Losing PT to Nolan Norris, Tomas Pondeca, and Diego Garcia. – Buzz |
| 37 | Zanne, Abdoul NTX (M) | High: 34 | Low: 43 | ▼ 3 | A red card back at the first game of this run of games. Played the full 90 last weekend after a couple of sub appearances – Dan |
| 38 | Henry-Scott, Malik FCD (F) | High: 36 | Low: 38 | ▼ 2 | He hasn’t scored, but appeared in all 7 games with 3 starts. He’s got a small window but there’s something there. – Buzz |
| 39 | Pepi, Diego NTX (F) | High: 31 | Low: 39 | ▼ 8 | The little train is sitting at the station waiting for an opportunity since Tarik Scott came into form – Dan |
| 40 | Ramirez, Anthony NTX (M) | High: 35 | Low: 40 | ▼ 5 | 7 games played with 3 starts for a U19 player. – Buzz |
| 41 | Urzua, Alejandro FCD (M) | High: 30 | Low: 44 | ▲ 3 | Made the bench against Houston but still no minutes for the season – Dan |
| 42 | Lacy, Dylan NTX (M) | High: 39 | Low: 42 | ▼ 3 | Had a fantastic Dallas Cup but he’s not seeing any time in MLS Next Pro. On a straight MLSNP contract so we need to see something soon. – Buzz |
| 43 | Mulato, Jose FCD (F) | High: 43 | Low: 49 | — 0 | Mulato has a grand total of 42 minutes for San Antonio since we last did the roster ranking, and 29 of those came in an Open Cup defeat – Dan |
| 44 | Westergren, Mads NTX (D) | High: 44 | Low: 47 | ▲ 3 | Made hit MLS debut at The Town. Just 8 minutes played but I think we will see him more going forward. – Buzz |
| 45 | Taboada, Lautaro NTX (F) | High: 38 | Low: 45 | ▼ 4 | Three minutes since we last did this, and nothing in over a month – Dan |
| 46 | Orejarena, Leonardo NTX (M) | High: 38 | Low: 46 | ▼ 8 | Just 1 appearance for 1 minute. Honestly, it feels like he’s more of a paid Academy player than a Next Pro player. – Buzz |
| 47 | Londe, Leonard NTX (F) | High: 44 | Low: 47 | ▼ 1 | The open trialist has made the bench twice in this period with no minutes as of yet – Dan |
| 48 | Darub, Victor NTX (G) | High: 45 | Low: 48 | — 0 | 0 minutes played. Got some Dallas Cup time with U19s and didn’t look great. – Buzz |
| 49 | Isaiah Kaakoush NTX (M) | High: 49 | Low: 49 | — 0 | New signing. FCD/NTX thought enough of the 16-year-old to swipe him away from Phoenix Rising and get his homegrown priority from RSL. Top Drawer Soccer named him one to watch in USL Championship back in March – Dan |
| 50 | Jesus, Geovane FCD (D) | High: 46 | Low: 50 | ▼ 1 | Running and jogging. Ahead of Velasco in timeline of return. – Buzz |
| 51 | Velasco, Alan FCD (M) | High: 47 | Low: 51 | ▼ 1 | We include hype from people talking up players in the rankings disclaimer, but maybe not players talking up themselves. Velasco has been very active on social media which puts paid to those fears he’d be mentally checked out in his recovery – Dan |
| 52 | Rose, Tyshawn NTX (D) | High: 48 | Low: 52 | — 0 | Also ACL recovery. Timeline about the same as Velasco. When will he return? – Buzz |
| 53 | Pomykal, Paxton FCD (M) | High: 11 | Low: 53 | ▼ 2 | :’-( – Dan |
Comments
Oh no, what a shock, the guy who has a weekly CNN Indonesia article on him is top. Maarten Paes isn’t putting in the performances we saw last year, but he’s still really good for FCD and warranting attention.
Pedrinho is the big winner this month, jumping 12 spots on the back of a strong return from injury. After a great preseason, it’ll be interesting to see if he can get back to where he was in 2024 with the short-term nature of North Texas SC recruitment.
Mal Molina is a close second, returning to start the last two North Texas SC games, and even stick a couple of goals in on his comeback game.
Dante Sealy takes the biggest drop not through any fault of his own. Marco Farfan is the only option on the roster with a defensively sound game in the wingback role, and his return after a few injuries came with the added surprise that Marco can indeed get forward. With it not being the most likely position for Nico to utilize subs, Sealy’s playing time naturally takes a massive hit after being ever-present early on.
Let’s see how the rest of May and June sets up for our first summer rankings ahead of the national team tournaments – can anyone get back in a national team other than Liam Fraser?! Since the roster has got a little longer than when we started these, we’ll play around with the groupings so there aren’t 20 players in one category.