Thanks to the Rangers post game show and some DVR fail I was only able to watch the first half of last nights game. TXA21 brought a nice quiet start to the game, no announcers, nice... but can we at least get a game clock lol. Curios if anyone else thought the picture went to crap once the announcers were tabbed in?

Starting off I was happy about the line up, it's what I asked for all week (C-rod in for Benitez though), an opportunity to see Guarda get a start and try to play the gapping hole we have in the attacking mid position; we still have a hole there...

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So I had tonights winner completely pegged to be the team that scored with the wind; this was not the case. We came out with a very defensive look, albeit one that just kinda used what was available. My first musings lead me to think our guys would be free to fire away with the wind at out backs. From memory (no adult beverages involved, I promise) I recall two decent corners that came back to back and one nice opportunity for Castillo to get one v one with the oppositions keeper.

The first half was pretty much unsuccesful long balls with an obvious disconnect between the center mids, Hernandez and Jacobson, and the front line (Perez and Castillo). We all know Danny doesn't get around so well these days but he brings leadership and a lot of heart, oh and a few good set pieces now it seems!

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Hey guys I just wanted to throw this out there. I had intended on joining the big d soccer head to head fantasy league but then had missed out on the opportunity therefore I started my own head to head league which starts scoring this week and has a cap of 30 members. I have been going to FC Dallas games since '97 since my dad has worked for them since the beginning so I am definitely Dallas 'Til I sandals I am excited to get to know all of y'all. Here is the link I'd love for whoever to join, it'll be fun. http://t.co/XcGKQgQP

Calling all FC Dallas fans and Ticket P1s, P2s, and P3s... Help let Sportsradio 1310 The Ticket know you want more soccer talk on the radio by "Liking" P1s For Soccer Talk. Soccer's popularity in DFW has reached the point where it deserves respect, news coverage, and even segments. Has anyone heard a peep on the Ticket about David Ferriera's status as he recovers from last season's injury? There ARE lots of things to talk about, we just think they need to know that people really do want to hear soccer talk! We may face an uphill battle, but it's worth a shot, right? Let's get more of the world's most popular sport on "America's favorite radio station."

P1s For Soccer Talk

This is a brand new feature I thought would be a cool idea for the site. Basically The Oven is going to be a fanshot posted once every few days that won't be promoted to the front page(other than today). It's simply going to be a catch-all place for random MLS/world soccer stories that we run across that might merit some discussion but aren't really front page or news update relevant. I encourage anyone to post whatever they run across that you feel is interesting and merits a look.

While I'm excited about the new jersey release on Thursday, I'm making myself a promise that I'm not going to buy another FCDallas jersey until they start to offer a long sleeve version. I'm sick of buying the same inferior short sleeve shirt year after year when the long sleeves are much classier and just look better. Even if its very hot in Dallas in the summer, that extra foot of material makes no difference and I want one so badly it hurts.

I swear I'm not the only person who feels this way, right? Or am I crazy?

Days after someone watches a match, what do they remember? The decisive goals are recalled almost universally, as are the passes that led directly to them (especially if highlights are widely distributed). Other dramatic events like a goal-line clearance, violent tackle, amazing save, impressive piece of skill, or a good chance bungled away are many times recalled as well. An expert of the game would also remember more nuanced actions or non-actions as well. Still, how many people have accurate memory of more than 10 minutes of the actions in a match? Can the human brain even process all the details of the 11 versus 11 flow of the game in real time? How can fans (and even coaches and scouts) effectively evaluate a player when their brains are incapable of taking in the nuance of play?

Statistics can fill in some of the observational gaps in soccer. After all, one of statistics' primary purposes is to bring attention to trends which might otherwise escape our notice. Historically, the beautiful game hasn't been interested in quantitative commentary. It does seem odd that someone would try to break down into numbers a continuous-action sport which can be transcendentally unpredictable. If you can identify trends, though, you gain an edge on the stat-averse, but you have to dig deeper than you would in most sports.

Until recently, the only widely available soccer stats were goals, assists, shots, saves, and time of possession. These can be somewhat telling when summed up over months or seasons of play, but try picking three of a club's games and drawing larger conclusions from their stats. You would be hard-pressed because they are subject to swings based on tactics, luck, opponent strengths and weaknesses,, refereeing, and small sample sizes. We've all seen goals that had more to do with a fortunate bounce than skilled striking or passing. Chimu Solutions wrote a great article in Shin Guardian last season about time of possession's lack of relevance in MLS. Besides, most traditional stats detail the events that are most likely to be remembered by observers anyway.

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Fox Soccer Plus is on free preview with some cable and satellite providers this week, and it happens to sync up with one of the last two opportunities George John will have to get on the pitch and impress Sam Allardyce before West Ham decides to buy him or send him back. From Steven Goff's always excellent Weekend Soccer & Streaming Video post:

SATURDAY

England, West Ham vs. Crystal Palace 7:30 a.m. Fox Soccer Plus, foxsoccer2go.com

foxsoccer2go.com is also available on free trial, but it's the type of trial that involves entering your credit card and remembering to cancel before you get billed, so sample at your own risk.

Goff's column doesn't cover Spanish broadcast's, but I did find that Duilio Davino's Estudiantes Tecos will be playing Chiapas FC on ESPN Deportes 5:55pm on Saturday. They also play against Tijuana Xolos FC on Galavision 9pm on March 2.

Of course, more important than any of those broadcast are the webstreams on mlssoccer.com and espn3 for FC Dallas' games in the Disney Pro Soccer Classic (after the jump):

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Join me in welcoming our newest writer Steve Fenn who will be providing statistical analysis for us all season. Enjoy!

Welcome to OptaHunt, where I will be using statistics to analyze FC Dallas, and occasionally their opponents or MLS in general. I aim to publish an article on at least the 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month. Hopefully I get more efficient in time and will write more regularly. Sometime soon I'll write a mission statement laying out my general thoughts on soccer statistics; their strengths, weaknesses, and recommended resources for advanced metrics and analysis. Oh, and I'll be re-tweeting any interesting things I come across on @OptaHunt.

For today, I've collected various insights from @OptaJack that give perspective to FC Dallas' incompetent strikeforce of 2011.

OptaJack OptaJack 39.5% - FCDallas has the worst shooting accuracy in MLS, hitting the target with just 39.5% of it shots. Awry. #RBNY 26 Oct

OptaJack OptaJack 72% - Excl. crosses, New York has the 2nd best passing accuracy in the opponents' half (72%) - FCDallas ranks 17th (64%). Vision. #RBNY #MLS 26 Oct

Obviously, the first stat speaks to the general inaccuracy of the every FC Dallas player's shooting, but I think both of these figures are partially the result of FC Dallas running out forwards that were largely incapable or unwilling to hold up the ball and distribute. Everyone was stuck trying to force low percentage passes and shots because there was no one to anchor the attack.

OptaJack 17 - FC Dallas saw 17 different players directly assist a goal for them in MLS this season; more than any other side. Promising. 20 Dec

Opta labeled this promising, and on the surface, it's nice that 17 got at least 1 assist, but Castillo was the only "forward" with more than one (he had 3, but I'd wager a couple were when he was playing on the wing). No single player had more than 4 (Jacobsen led, averaging an assist every 370 minutes). Without a reliable forward, the club did what was needed to score, but I think a more focused attack with a reliable target would have been preferable.

OptaJack 67% - @FCDallas has seen 67% of its away goals scored by midfielders, the highest % by any team in #MLS. Wingers. #DTID #RBNY #FCDallas 14 Sep

Before 9/14, FC Dallas had scored 18 goals in 15 away matches. So, according to Opta, 12 were from midfielders. George John and Ugo Ihemelu were the only defenders to score during those games, accounting for 3 combined. Which means that forwards scored as much as defenders in those games with just 3 goals (2 from Maicon Santos, and 1 from either Marvin or Jackson doing their best impression of a striker).

After the jump we'll look at the 3 "strikers" that left (we won't bother discussing Uncle Miltie, who wasn't really around long enough last season to be worth analyzing)

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Casually told my son this summer that the only autographed shirt I would want would be one of Castillo - I like his moves and speed.. He remembered this and had my wife figure out how to get one of his FC Dallas shirts signed..

Interesting note - I always thought the FC Dallas youth shirts and the ones you could buy at the concessions stand were the exact same - they are not. Quite a few differences.