Following its worst defeat in club history, the Houston Dynamo remains adamant about chasing a playoff spot.
Six points removed from the seventh seed in the West, with 11 matches remaining on the regular-season schedule, certainly provides the team an argument. Anyone who has watched the club throughout the year, however, knows its chances are essentially over.
A 6-0 defeat at the Philadelphia Union brings heavy criticism for a project that was meant to be trending upwards rather than in the opposite direction. The club won't waive the white flag until they're mathematically eliminated. Still, there is plenty to scrutinize across the entire organization as it has all played a part in what is quickly becoming an abysmal season.
From this specific match, the takeaways will focus on the first team but the entire organization has a role to play. This result will leave a sour taste for a long time unless a magical turnaround to the playoffs actually happens.
Players have been maxed out
A loss with this big a gap doesn't happen without the players having a say. Some mistakes can be pointed to lack of effort, certainly, but in all honesty, this roster may have overachieved even to have gotten this far into the playoff race.
The lack of organization in defense plays a part in what's happening on the field. However, the lack of more intelligent decision makers is a bigger factor. The Dynamo had no leader in defense against the Union, even when Steve Clark was still on the field, and the team only became more loose with increasingly tired legs.
"We have to raise our heads, work harder and improve in many aspects," Hector Herrera said after the match. "I am convinced that only united and working together we can get things forward."
Herrera echoes a phrase that has been said ad nauseam by many representatives of the club during its worst years: They just have to work harder.
That phrase rings true, but the lack of action in making that a reality is what keeps the team losing. Simply put, very few players (if any) have improved despite the call to work harder in training.
The harsh truth is that other than a few guys (including Sebastian Ferreira who has lacked quality playmakers around him), most of the players on the roster have hit their peak. They have no other level to give.
This was a bad roster from the beginning of the year. Coaching was not the sole reason for missing the playoffs in recent years and it continues to show.
The only players that are free from the stench of this result are the ones that weren't involved in the 6-0 defeat. In this match, their lack of minutes was a blessing.
The coaching staff will go unscathed
The only thing saving the coaching staff is that this result happened in their first year and it's happening in Major League Soccer. Many other leagues around the world would be much less forgiving.
I'll be the first to say that if the club is betting on this coaching staff, they need to supply them with a better roster. That said, if the club brass were expecting better results, they needed to have hired a more experienced group.
By the same token, this group of coaches accepted a job knowing the limits and constraints it would entail. They could have said "no thanks" and waited for a better place to advance their MLS coaching careers.
To be fair to them, the season isn't over. And as Paulo Nagamura put it, until the team is mathematically out, they won't answer any questions about it being a failed season.
"I will answer this question when, mathematically, this team is out," Nagamura said after the match. "Until then, I don't need to answer this question because the team is still alive. We're gonna give everything for this club."
The coaches have all hurt themselves in several key categories, including making adjustments, reading the game and putting forth the best XI. Training, at least from the 15-minute window afforded to media, still appears to be a relaxed environment.
If this was the Astros, Texans or Rockets outscored and embarrassed, every media outlet in town would be talking about it for the rest of the week. Instead, this will be nothing more than a blip on Houston's collective radar, if that, and things will be business as usual to Friday's match at Vancouver.
The front office blew it by ignoring the past
New club, new energy, clean slate, right? Maybe a bit more should have been evaluated from prior failures before swooping in and putting on the hero cape.
Wanting to give people a clean slate, a fair shake, is one thing, but enough time has passed for that to be the case. An inability to change the situation and make modifications, even smaller ones, at this point, is choosing to evade the problem.
Enabling mediocrity is part of the blame that lies with the executives at the club. It starts at the top from owner Ted Segal to GM Pat Onstad. The congested summer schedule needed better preparation. The lack of quality players was evident from the prior seasons. The blame for lack of movement in personnel lies with the guys at the top.
If the club brass truly wants a winning team on the field, it's time to act. (The transfer window closes on Thursday). There is indeed a chance to make the playoffs, but it requires swift action. Otherwise, there's no reason to give people false hope and the Dynamo has been complicit in that lately.
Of course, it might be hard to backtrack if the club has already raised ticket prices for next season. If people feel taken for a ride, it's only going to hurt the public image of the team even more.
The time for talk is over. It's time to put up or shut up. Playoffs or bust!