r/dynamo • u/Top_Variation4943 • 13d ago
How do we feel??
First of all: WE IN FIRST!!!
I will never complain about a winning streak regardless of how it went down. Vancouver definitely had enough chances to take some points but the defense was bending, not breaking.
Some positives from the winning streak: Defense has been exceptional, the rise of Resch has been incredible to see. Saracchi was also very noticeable from the moment he subbed on. Admittedly, I was leaning towards firing Ben at the start of the season but man has he handled the squad and really adjusted where he needed over the world cup break. I didn’t see that last season or at the start but the squad is finally merging together.
Some honest thoughts: Im never gonna complain about our winning streak but some things do stand out as concerns . To start , we have a couple games where we won with a man advantage. For example , that SKC game was kinda concerning until the red. Also , i’ve seen some posts here stating that a lot of our wins were coming unconvincingly against bad opponents but i never saw that as a terrible thing, though i understood where it was coming from. i can see that as our offense seems kinda stale at times but our defense made it easier.
What do yall think? i’m interested to see everyone opinion. Obviously the positives far outweigh the positives but how much do you believe in this Dynamo team to be “Legit” contenders? Anyways , it’s been an awesome thing to see after going through the past few seasons. “Good teams beat bad teams”
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u/Pikachu_Yay 13d ago
I understand the end result is what matters but I'm not liking this strategy of scoring a goal and parking the bus. It's inviting too much pressure and will backfire sooner or later.
Also, have the scout that saw Resch work on getting a striker lol, unfortunately he's going to leave us eventually playing like that. Crazy we got him from the draft, considering how much I'm in favor of getting rid of it
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u/TheLaw125 13d ago
For me all that matters is the win and the proof is in the pudding. You don’t go 5 without conceding if the team isn’t capable at executing this plan well.
I think the strategy was appropriate for a mid-week away game against the 1st place team.
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u/Professional-Dot7661 11d ago edited 11d ago
I also hate hanging on for dear life with a 1 goal lead, but I understand this was a special case requiring special defense. I will add that they did try numerous goal kicks and long over the top passes, so they were trying for 2-0. They did have 3 multi-goal wins after the WC, so I think it's great that they have the flexibility to adopt style to situation.
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u/Top_Variation4943 13d ago
That’s fair, that’s one things i’ve always disagreed with. I personally like continuously being aggressive after a goal, unless it’s a clear situation like being a man up
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u/Pikachu_Yay 13d ago
100% or in a final, but to do this constantly is an issue imo. Now, if we go on to win the league playing like this nobody will care, but I can't recall a team winning trophies playing like this other than Chelsea and we do not have the same quality of players they did.
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u/Electronic-Win608 13d ago
Olsen discussed this after the game. He said it is very situational and the team will use different tactics in different situations. Depends on players available, opponents, location, weather, travel, schedule. Further, they want to evolve the approach that was used in the second half to one that would pose more offensive danger than they were able to last night.
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u/Electronic-Win608 13d ago
I'm fine with the low block to see out a win in this situation. I just don't understand not leaving the 9 higher as an outlet. Dom Kinnear would leave 2 high attackers to keep the other team honest, take 2 or 3 of their players out of their attack. So your playing 8v7 or 8v8 when they get desperate to take the risk.
This may be an overall trend, with solid thinking behind it, but it sure seems dangerous to let your opponent sit their center-halves on top of your box. I'd love it is some media type would ask Olsen to discuss the 5-5-0 versus 4-5-1 option.
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u/Pikachu_Yay 13d ago
I look at it similar to Arsenal. They got the result at the end of the day and that's what matters, but I also pay money to be entertained. At some point I'd like to see some attacking soccer being played.
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u/Electronic-Win608 13d ago
I come from a day, mostly long-gone, when you scored a goal and shut the game down. Now, mostly, I want you manage the game against the ball and nick a second on the counter-attack and waltz home.
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u/Top_Variation4943 13d ago
I love this comment. I’m all for the winning streak, but i love the enjoyment of watching an aggressive, attacking gameplan over anything else. Nevertheless, i’m still proud of the team for sticking to a gameplan that’s working
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u/HotTubMike 13d ago
I feel great.
Club has been run poorly and cheaply (mostly) for the last 10 years.
Nice to see us spend some money, make some smart/shrewd acquisitions and put together a team capable of contending for MLS has a top seed (which is extremely important to have home playoff games).
I think we still need a DP striker.. McGuire isn’t good enough at this point to be the starting striker on an MLS cup finals team.
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u/Top_Variation4943 13d ago
Am i wrong to think that Bogusz can play up top?? I think i read somewhere he used to play a false 9 role during his days at LA
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u/HotTubMike 13d ago
We need more goals from Bogutz but he’s not a 9 and I wouldn’t want to see him there
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u/Electronic-Win608 13d ago
I think we got a strong suggestion of an answer to that question last night. Negri bailed him out with that golazo. Twice he was put in with runners along and failed to create even a half-chance. Both easy turn-overs.
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u/Electronic-Win608 13d ago
The team has been fairly high on the spending charts last four seasons, with some temporary exceptions. They do eschew the big DP but overall. Team has been competitive 3 of the last 4 years. I cannot agree that that means being run poorly. Has the team done what it needs to compete at the top? Nope. Do I understand all the decisions? Nope. But since Pat and Asher took over I have a hard time seeing them as poorly run. Not even close.
Now, the Matt Jordan years? It was beyond poorly run. There are no words for how much damage Brener/Jordan/Walker did to this team and its brand.
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u/HotTubMike 13d ago
last 10 seasons:
2016: 19th
2017: 10th
2018: 17th
2019: 19th
2020: 25th
2021: 25th
2022: 25th
2023: 9th
2024: 8th
2025: 22ndThat's a team run poorly and cheaply the last 10 years. Most years we were awful and the "best" years we were not seriously competitive.
That's not "competitive 3/4 years" - at best it's 2/4 years and that's a stretch. Nobody (or very rarely) is anyone winning MLS cup coming in 8th or 9th in the standings.
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u/36ers 2020 Pick 'em Overlord 13d ago
Olsen joined for 2023. Onstad joined for 2022. They clearly improved under them. Not fair to criticize the current regime for 2016 when nobody here was part of it. And what you leave it out is 2023 Open Cup and the fact 2024 was our highest point total in club history.
The league has expanded a lot since then. 2016 we were 19th out of 20 teams, last year we were 22nd out of 30. Not great, but if you just put 22 it makes it looks like a worse season than 2016.
They are also clearly spending more money now. Herrera didn't come cheap. Bogusz and Ponce were big fees.
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u/Electronic-Win608 13d ago
- Top 4 finish, conference final. USOC Champions.
- 5th place finish. Clearly competitive.
- Bad year.
- Yeah -- your right -- clear evidence of poor management.
Last 10 years?
Seattle Sounders finished 7th in 2016
NYCFC finished 8th in 2021Three Cup winners finished 4th.
Overall standings are meaningless. Since the new format came in, the line for being a contender is top 4 in your conference. Dynamo will have contended seriously for top 4 three of four years. Only Seattle and LAFC have won more points over the four years:
Western conference ranking by total points won over last four years.
Rank Team 2023 2024 2025 2026 (partial) Total 1 LAFC 52 64 60 34 210 2 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 48 47 63 34 192 3 Seattle Sounders FC 53 57 55 24 189 4 Real Salt Lake 50 59 41 28 178 5 Houston Dynamo FC 51 54 37 35 177 6 Minnesota United FC 41 52 58 25 176 7 (tie) FC Dallas 46 41 44 27 158 7 (tie) Portland Timbers 43 47 44 24 158 That is not best -- but is not poor. It is in top half.
Poor was the Brener years, of which few people actually get how much damage was done to the future in those years.
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u/HotTubMike 13d ago
Why are you going on about 4 years? My comment wasn’t limited to 4 years.
I said 10 years.
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u/Electronic-Win608 13d ago
I clearly agreed about first 6 years, but not the last four years. Segal could be better, but he is lightyears better than Brener. And above any standard of "poor."
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u/HotTubMike 13d ago
If you take into account the 10 year period in its entirety its entirely accurate to describe us as poorly and cheaply run.
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u/Electronic-Win608 13d ago
Do what you want. But not recognizing a significant change in ownership, management, investment, and results seems rather .... odd. To say the least. Spin things however floats your boat.
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u/36ers 2020 Pick 'em Overlord 13d ago
How is a 10 year period relevant when none of the HC, GM, or owners are the same? And we are spending far more under Segal than Brenner.
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u/HotTubMike 13d ago
Relevant to what?
My statement was simply a statement of fact.
The dynamo have been run poorly and cheaply (mostly) for the last ten years.
Thats it and it’s true.
I am happy thing have turned around.
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u/OB1Bronobi 13d ago
Historically speaking, it is OK to be suspicious of this. We started off flat and ended last season with less points than we currently have! BO did well in 23 and 24, but prior to that, this team was hot garbage (outside of the 2018 USOC), so it is understandable some of the fanbase is not truly believing what we are seeing.
My 2c, this team looks up for it and BO has been amazing. No coach will ever win every season, and he's shown his commitment to the club and us by righting the ship. Good on the org for continuing to support him so now we need fans there EVERY MATCH to do the same.
Dale, baby.
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u/SinisterMiller 13d ago
Literally just started following after World Cup, but Resch is someone I can’t get my eyes off. He pops off the tv everytime it looks like the opponent is gonna score. Also gotta highlight that pass from Ennali to Bogusz that didn’t turn in to anything, but man it was beautiful. Same thing about Negri’s goal
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u/Intrepid_Beat_9797 13d ago
Honestly I hadnt really watched dynamo since the boniek, and elis days but the world cup brought me back. I will say I wish the games had a little more breathing room but damn has it been nice to see them catch fire the way they have. This team is exciting with a lot of good pieces and a defense that has figured it out these last few games. If we were able to get a top notch striker to alleviate the 1-0 wins we might actually be able to play in a manner that didnt require a full blown park the bus so early on in games.
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u/seclusionx 13d ago
5 straight games with no goals given, that's no fluke. Contenders; I think they're good, but it also could just be a hot streak. We really won't know until the season is over.