Quill’s starting to win with just half a deck of cards

The last time Lucho Acosta played for FC Dallas was the 4-3 home loss to NYCFC on July 25th. After that game, FC Dallas Coach Eric Quill dropped Acosta (and the club sold him on August 25th).

Since dropping Acosta, FC Dallas under Quill is 2-0-3. That’s over a month and a half of undefeated play.

And the amazing thing is, Quill is turning this team around with only half a deck of cards.

You see, MLS is a salary cap league ($5.95 mil), but it has three main mechanisms that allow clubs to exceed a player’s salary beyond the single-player maximum of $743,750.

They are…

1. Designated Players – Spend as much as the team wants over the max.
2. TAM players – A player over the max charge up to $1.74 mil.
3. U22 Initiative – A younger, lower-paid player with a high purchase price.

Getting these usages right is how good teams become elite, and how elite teams become great.

FC Dallas is either misfiring or, in two cases, leaving these spots empty. Allow me to show you.

Designated Players

Player	Verdict	Notes
Petar Musa	Amazing	As good as it gets, this is what DPs are supposed to look like.
Lucho Acosta/Empty	Bust	It’s hard to believe how bad the Acosta went at FCD. It’s up there with the biggest bust signings in club history. Full credit for selling him, but the spot is now empty, leaving FCD with 1 DP.
—	Empty	FC Dallas has chosen to use the 2 DP / 4 U22 model. That means they got an extra $2 million of General Allocation Money. Their choice, but no DP is no DP.

So 1 for 2 technically, but 1 for 3 in real terms.

TAM Signings

Player	Verdict	Notes
Anderson Julio	Mostly Good	Other than the two months missed with injury, Julio has mostly looked good. He was the most impactful player in the first half of the season. After his return, he’s being outplayed by Logan Farrington, but the system may be a factor.
Sebastian Lletget	Poor	On one hand, his contract is at the tail end of a deal from back in 2022. But he’s 33, struggles to stay fit, and seemingly can’t go 90 minutes anymore. So that salary is a big overpay.
Shaq Moore	Average	Just barely over the TAM line in salary. Over the first 2/3 of the season, I would have called him a bust, but the last month, he’s come on. (Is it the shape?) He’s a big part of the improved defense in the revival.
Paxton Pomykal	Effectively Empty	34 league minutes in the last 2 seasons. Effectively, a vacant roster spot that costs $1 mil a year.
Osaze Urhoghide	Amazing	As good as it gets. He’s a TAM player due to his signing fee, not his contract. FCD nailed this signing.

If I’m being generous, I’ll give them 3 of the 5 as being worth the TAM spend, but one of those was only recently.

Sebestien Ibeagha and Lalas Abubakar are just barely under the TAM line, but they are under, so I didn’t include them here, even though neither of them has played up to their near-max salaries.

U22 Initiative

FCD chose the four U22s model, but then started the season with five of them and got around it with a clever roster move.

Player	Verdict	Notes
Leo Chu	Bust	Showed up out of shape, got hurt, and got sold in July. In total, 212 minutes played. But the plan was always to sell him.
Patrickson Delgado	Hit	The one successful U22 signing. Was out of Quill’s rotation at the start of the year, but he’s listened, learned, and become a good starting piece and a big part of the post-Acosta revival (an occasional stinker aside). Quill now raves about him.
Geovane	Bust	He’s been on the season-ending injured list for two seasons now, which is why FCD has five U22s. But at this point, the injuries mean he’s a bust.
Kiack	Good’ish	He’s been in and out of the lineup, but there are some positive signs he’s going to be a really nice player… eventually. He is part of the revival, though.
Enes Sali	Bust	Loaned out – perhaps just to make room for Chu – and returned right after Chu was sold. Well played in the roster mechanic. But he’s still a bust, and I’m not sure he will play for FCD beyond a Cup game or North Texas SC.

Being generous, that’s a not-so-great 2 for 5. Not sure Kaick can be called a hit yet, but he’s servicable and part of the rise.

Sold and Not Replaced

FC Dallas has also sold two senior roster players and not replaced them: Marco Farfan and Lucho Acosta. Plus, loaned to Mamelodi Sundowns with a sell option is Tsiki Ntsabeleng – who we don’t expect to come back – and has not been replaced.

Admittedly, with the time left in the season, I can’t be too critical of waiting.

But the point stands: Quill is leading this turnaround with three open senior roster spots.

They did have one contract expire midseason, Show Cafumana, and his replacement, Christian Cappis, is a big part of the turnaround. So that’s a win.

And Antonio Carrera (sold) was replaced by Jacob Jackson. Louicius Deedson, Leo Chu’s replacement in the actual roster, we know little about him yet, with just 21 minutes played.

Homegrowns and Kids

“But,” I hear you saying, “this club is about the pathway, about developing players.”

That’s true.

So let’s take a look at the Homegrowns and other Kids, for this purpose, will consider the supplemental roster.

Player	Verdict	Notes
Alvaro	Promising/Low PT	Mostly with North Texas SC, just 364 minutes with FC Dallas, but he does look promising. He’s not part of the revival beyond a bench seat.
Michael Collodi	Amazing	What a bonus that FCD signed him out of college (That might not have happened had they not missed on Julian Eyestone). He’s been fantastic in every way and has saved the club with Maarten Paes injured.
Herbert Endeley	Loan/Injured	Loaned to Colorado Switchbacks, recalled after injury. Out for the season.
Logan Farrington	Fantastic	Last season, Farrington was so good at “wing,” he made Jesus Ferreira expendable. This year, Quill has finally realized that playing makes the team better. A big part of the revival.
Diego Garcia	Promising/Low PT	Mostly with North Texas SC. Played in a Cup game. One for the future. He’s not part of the revival beyond a bench seat.
Enzo Newman	Injured	Out for the season.
Nolan Norris	Depth Piece	Captain of the US U20s, but isn’t really in the FCD rotation at this stage. Most of his 11 games and 8 starts came in the first half of the season. He’s not part of the revival much beyond a bench seat.
Pedrinho	Good, but a Headache	Undeniably talented, but he was Acost’s running buddy and part of the problems that arose in California. He’s just now getting out of the doghouse. 18 games played and 9 starts, but he’s not part of the revival.
Anthony Ramirez	Promising/Low PT	Mostly with North Texas SC, he’s played 1 minute in the league with FCD. He’s not part of the revival beyond a bench seat.
Carl Sainte	Loan	Usual starter for Phoenix Rising in USL-C.
Tarik Scott	Loan	On loan to Monterey Bay in USL-C.
Tomas Pondeca	Loan	On loan to New Mexico United in USL-C
Josh Torquato	Promising/Low PT	With the Farfan sale and Norris call-ups, Torquato got 4 games really quickly (201 mubytes). So he’s not part of the revival beyond a bench seat.
Daniel Baran	Off-Roster	Rostered with North Texas SC.
Malachi Molina	Off-Roster	Rostered with North Texas SC
Diego Pepi	Loan	On loan to Texoma FC
Ale Urzua	Off-Roster	Rostered with North Texas SC
Sam Sarver	Promising/Low PT	Just 37 minutes with FCD, he still mostly plays with NTSC.

Lots of promise for the future, but in terms of the revival under Quill, it’s 2 of 17. With maybe a 3rd (Pedrinho) about to be involved.

So how is Quill making this revival happen?

The Dudes and a Tactic

The most important factor in the revival is that Quill’s team stopped the bleeding of goals.

Since dropping Acosta after losing to NYCFC, FC Dallas has given up only 3 goals in 5 games (0.6 ga/game). Compared to 43 goals in the previous 29 games (1.5 ga/game).

He did it with a swap to a back 3 – or really back 5 as he calls it – a 3-5-2’ish type shape, and some solid play from a few of the dudes.

So who is getting it done?

1. Christian Cappis – We don’t know his salary; possibly he’s TAM, but not probable. It took about 2 sub appearances and 1 start Cappis to become FCD’s best midfielder.
2. Ramiro – The captain (in the absence of Paes), leads the team via effort and game awareness. Playing more right wing back in the revival with Shaq Moore in the middle.
3. Bernard Kamungo – His trajectory at left wing back has been remarkable. His last game has been his best each time.
4. Lalas Abubakar/Sebastien Ibeagha – While neither is flawless, rotating them seems to be helping a bit. Moore has taken one of the CB spots, so only one is going to play, but someone has to eat up those minutes without too many mistakes.
5. Jacob Jackson – The plan probably was for Collodi to get all the games, but when he got the red card, Jackson had to fill in, and he’s done so admirably.

Throw in Musa, Farrington, Delgado, Moore, Kiack, and Collodi, all improving their play since Acosta left, add in Urhoghide (who was always great) and Julio returning from injury, the Cappis and Jackson signings… and voila!

You’ve got a 2-0-3 revival.

All with just 1 DP, 3 quality TAM signings, and 2 worthy U22 signings.

Like I said, winning with half a deck.