FRISCO, Texas -- To anyone watching FC Dallas in 2008, it was apparent that the Hoops were a side with good talent. But if there was a chink in the FCD armor, it was that they were prone to frequent lapses in concentration, gaffes that often led to goals that either resulted in ties -- or, in several cases, losses.
FCD also seemed to lack a killer instinct. On numerous occasions, the Hoops went ahead of their opposition but were unable to keep their foot on the gas, get another goal and put them down for the count. The end result saw FCD miss on the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2004, and for just the third time in club history.
The inability to maximize their points left FC Dallas with a regular-season record of 8-10-12, good for 36 points, fourth in the Western Conference. It's a trend that FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman is intent on reversing in 2009.
"I think we seem to have given up goals at the wrong time," Hyndman said. "We've had a team (down) and instead of scoring again, we gave them a chance to come back in. I can't say we're a team that hasn't scored goals. We score goals. We just seem to give goals up at the wrong time."
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SIGHTS & SOUNDS
FC Dallas finished at the bottom of the league when scoring the first goal, losing three and tying five in 15 games when they took the first lead. The Hoops were also at the bottom of the table when leading at halftime, going on to tie six games and lose one in 13 occasions.
"I think it's more we let ourselves down at the wrong time," defender Drew Moor said. "Throughout the course of the season, every team is going to have lapses and every team is going to have a lack of concentration where they're going to give up goals. It's just where you give the goals up, it's how big of a game it is. You have to stay concentrated for the full 90 minutes for sure. I think it was just bad lapses at bad times this season."
The Hoops also struggled to win at home and posted a mark of just 5-4-6 at Pizza Hut Park, tying them with the 2003 team for the fewest home wins in club history.
"We've got to develop a culture of winning," Hyndman said. "With our culture of winning, it's got to happen at home. When we go on the road, we've got to try to steal points and win games. We've got to make our defense a little bit better, maybe a little more athletic and a little bit more cautious about the defending third to not give up goals where one goal costs you the game."
Hyndman feels that in order for the team to return to the postseason in 2009, they need to do a better job of defending set pieces and crosses.
"Ninety-plus percent of our goals were given away from services -- free kicks, corner kicks and crosses," he said. "So, you've got an idea of what is the problem. It's ridiculous. We put four in the back and that helped. We talked about the goalkeeper having a little more range and that has also helped. Then, we've set up a structure where we want to force them wide and force them to cross but keep our center backs where we are. I think that's helped us."
Another disturbing trend that reared its head in 2008 was that FCD had seven players shown red cards, another club record and the Hoops were 1-2-3 in those contests.
"I think it's a bad tradition here to get the cards," Hyndman said. "You're winning, playing at home, have the better team and you self destruct. That's players that need to sort things out. If you foul because you can't defend, it's going to catch up with you. Nobody ever tries to get the second yellow but it's a tendency."
In fact, in both of FCD's last two games of 2008, they finished at least a man down -- in a loss at Real Salt Lake that eliminated them from the playoffs and a tie at Los Angeles to end the season.
"In the last two games, we have had two players with two yellows," Hyndman said. "Both games were games I thought we could have won and jeopardized our opportunities to get into the playoffs. It's something we have to address."
Even though FCD began the year coached by Steve Morrow, who preferred a 3-5-2 formation before he was fired in May, and replaced by Hyndman in June, who installed a 4-4-2 system, the Hoops players were quick not to cite the rollercoaster of a season they experienced as a reason for their missing out on the postseason.
"That's normal," FCD defender Adrian Serioux said. "There are teams overseas that get new managers every three weeks or every three games. So, we've got to put all that aside. New players come and go. It's just a matter of us really meshing together and becoming a team. All of us are capable of handling it and playing at this level or we wouldn't be here. So, us being professionals, we should be able to deal with what's thrown at us."
In 2008, FCD had Bobby Rhine and Alex Yi retire and defender David Wagenfuhr miss the entire season with a concussion. Then there was the transfer of two-time all-star Juan Toja to Romania in August and trades that sent Arturo Alvarez, Abdus Ibrahim and Abe Thompson elsewhere plus the release of Richardinho.
FCD also brought in some new players. The biggest name was Jeff Cunningham, who was acquired in early August, a week before Dutch international Victor Sikora was brought in to play the left side of the midfield. In late July, Hyndman acquired Bruno Guarda, who played for him at SMU, from Colorado.
But that's not to say that there weren't some positives in Frisco. Striker Kenny Cooper showed no ill effects from the broken leg that forced him to miss much of the 2007 season and the Dallas native found the back of the net 18 times, second-most in MLS. Cooper got some help up top when Cunningham was brought in. The veteran scorer contributed five goals and two assists in 11 games for his new side.
However, Cooper is getting a lot of attention from several clubs in Europe and could leave in the offseason. Cunningham is now out of contract and will need a new deal if he is to stay in hoops. Keeping the strike pair together would be a great start for FCD and Hyndman.
In the midfield, newcomer Andre Rocha contributed eight assists to lead the team and also had three goals. But it's unclear exactly where the Brazilian international will fit in Hyndman's system, clearly a question that will be addressed in the offseason.
Holding midfielder Pablo Ricchetti was likely the glue that held the FCD midfield together. The seasoned veteran was a solid stabilizing force in the middle for the Hoops and also played a few games at center back late in the year. FCD does hold a club option on Ricchetti for 2009, something they will likely pick up.
Another highlight was the admirable job that versatile fourth-year player Aaron Pitchkolan did while filling in at center back for captain Duilio Davino, who missed seven games with a toe injury late in the year. Pitchkolan scored his first goal in league play since 2006 and also had a brace in a friendly with Mexican side Tigres UANL in October.
"I think he's been a tremendous defender for us," Hyndman said. "If you saw the Tigres game, he scored two nice goals. Up until that point in time, he and Drew (Moor) had a really good combination as far as playing together. But it's a similar player and I don't know if we need a similar player. We need players that complement each other. Pitch has done a tremendous job and we're trying to redo his contract because we think enough of him."
Some FCD players saw the reasons for their season ending early a bit differently.
"I think we were so unlucky," said Sikora. "We were giving up goals too easily and the games at home we had to win, we got draws. If we had taken those points, we would have had four or five points more and would have been going to the playoffs. I think we hurt ourselves too much there."
For Cooper, the season all boiled down to one thing.
"You have the whole year to make the playoffs and we just didn't do enough not only in the last game (at Real Salt Lake) but throughout the year to get the results that we needed," he said. "It's definitely disappointing. We've got to regroup, stay positive and keep our heads up. I know the coaching staff and all the players here are really ambitious and disappointed that we didn't make the playoffs. So, hopefully this offseason, we can kind of take a look at ourselves, ways to improve and hopefully come in with a great winning mentality next season, make sure we make the playoffs and hopefully go on a good run."
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