FC Dallas is in the middle of a quite unusual summer break because of the World Cup. But the season gets going again on July 22nd.
And now, the secondary transfer window is about to open on July 13th. That means FCD can improve itself.
Here is the big question: Does FCD think it’s a contender and should go for it, or are they still in development mode?
Being in development mode means mostly standing pat, and that’s no fun for us in this space. So let’s pretend the decision is to roll the dice on “go for it.”
The Not All That Big Elephant in the Room
Peter Musa is an amazing footballer. Yeah, I know. Mindblowing analysis.
But the point is, if you are going for it, you keep him.
(Or I suppose if someone offers $20 mil plus, you take the money and go get another $10-$13 mil striker. But in this space, I’m keeping him.)
Only in the “standing pat” mode should the club ride it out with Logan Farrington. But we’re not doing that here.
Turn a U22 into a Designated Player
Right now, FCD is using the 2 DP / 4 U22 model. In fact, they actually have 5 U22s. Three that play (and are on the roster) and two that don’t. Ran Binyamin, Patrickson Delgado, and Kaick all three are rostered and play.
The two that don’t are Enes Sali and Geovane Jesus.
Sali has been loaned out to Al-Riyadh SC, that loan needs to be renewed. Geovane has been hurt for over two years; the odds of his playing again this season are slim. Technically, he’s on loan to NTSC. That clears him off the books.
Which means FCD can go to the 3 DP / 3 U22 model!
Now, what to do with that DP spot? We’ll get back to that.
First…
A Tactics Change?
FC Dallas has been playing a shifty, flexible, hybrid 4-4-2 of late. Coach Eric Quill, looking to get his best players he had available, came up with the thing.
But with it we see a lot of players being used out of position to make it work. Binyamin at left back, Joaquín Valiente at right mid, Delgado at striker, and DP Santiago Moreno at left mid.
Plus, with a month and a half off, Quill should also now have fully healthy and rested Bernie Kamungo, Anderson Julio, and Christian Cappis at his disposal.
Which means FCD is back to having a lot of wingers, including the above; there’s Louicius Deedson, Sam Sarver, Ricky Louis, and maybe Farrington. That’s a lot of bodies for shapes without wings the club has used all year.
And FCD also lacks a baller 10. A true game-breaking playmaker. Valiente is a nice player, but he’s not a game-breaker. FCD has a lot of guys that are more 8 than anything.
So I’m advocating a turn to a 4-3-3.
But to do that, FCD needs to sign a very specific player.
A Designated Player Holding Mid
Right now, FCD has one almost indispensable player in midfield: Ramiro. He’s in there for his leadership and organization. Even though he’s not a true 6, he’s playing the stay-at-home holder.
But because Ramiro is relatively immobile, Quill is forced to play a double pivot with Kaick alongside.
A quick scan of Ramiro’s defensive number shows the issue. He’s low by comparison (to all mids, not just defensive ones) in tackles, intercepts, and dribble past, while being high in fouls committed, blocks, and clearances. In other words, he’s doing a lot of late-arriving, last-second defense.
He’s also not great, comparatively, in offense categories. You can see with your eyes the lack of dribbles to separate, line-breaking passes, and chance creation. Lots of side and back passes.
So this is where I spend my money. This is where I think the biggest upgrade can be found in the team.
I even have one in mind: Érik Lira of Mexico and Cruz Azul. He would not be cheap.
Which gives me something like this…
4-3-3 Two Deep
Feel free to flip the wings around if you like one side or the other.
| Musa Farrington | ||||
| Moreno Kamungo | Julio Deedson | |||
| Valiente Cappis | Kaick Binyamin | |||
| Lira Ramiro | ||||
| Norris Torquato | Urhoghide Starnes | Moore Ibeagha | Johansson Abubakar | |
| Daniel Collodi/Sirois |
With Delgado, Sarver, Nic Simmonds, Ricky Louis, Josh Torquato, Caleb Swann, and Diego Garcia all in various levels of squad rotation.
The Cost
Lira is going to cost about $8-10 mil if you’re lucky. Even if you buy someone less impressive, you are still talking $5-$6 mil at least to get the kind of player I’m talking about. Unless you get really lucky in the free agent market. (FCD will probably end up with 32-year-old Fabinho instead.)
To make a move like this happen, the club also needs an international slot and a senior roster spot. Álvaro Augusto isn’t really doing much; shift him to NTSC, and that would get you the international part.
It’s the senior roster spot that is hard. I see two options.
- Use a buyout on Lalas Abubakar. That gets you a senior spot. (But as much as I like Starnes, this buyout combined with Álvaro going down leaves you thin at CB.)
- Sell Patrickson Delgado. In my 4-3-3, he’s a bit down the depth chart. So senior spot open, international spot open. Problem solved.
I’m ok running with one less U22 Initiative.
That’s it. Let’s go.
