There are so many clichés that commentators, pundits, coaches and players use, whether intentionally or inadvertently, when talking about the Beautiful Game (that’s one). “The defense were at sixes and sevens”, “I’m/They’re over the moon/sick as a parrot with that result”, “He didn’t deserve to be on the losing side tonight”, “The team are really rising to the occasion”, “He literally covered every blade of grass”, “A 2-0 lead is the most dangerous score in soccer”, and of course “It was a game of two halves” amongst others.

One way or another, pretty much all applied to FC Dallas in 2009. A season that started off with Dax McCarty being told to stay home by head coach Schellas Hyndman for the first two weeks of pre-season camp, Kenny Cooper’s 60 yard bomb that was Seattle ballot-stuffed out of a deserved Goal of the Week, and just four points from the first 8 games always promised to be an odd one, but who could have predicted the weirdness and excitement that was to come? On the face of it, the preseason should have given us a clue to what was going to happen, at least early on. New signing Steve Purdy was deemed the best defender of the preseason though Dallas managed to let in roughly 3 goals per game, while McCarty, who was only still a Dallas player because San Jose didn’t want to meet Hyndman’s asking price, outstripped the rest of the midfield to the point that the coach had to admit that he’d worked his way into the first team plans. Much like last season, Cooper was doing the majority of the scoring while, besides the opening minute goal against partner club CAP, Jeff Cunningham struggled to get his name on the score sheet.

Finally opening day (and Inferno’s 24 hour tailgate) was here, expectations were high as it was against Chicago, a team who had failed to live up to the Brimstone Cup rivalry for 7 years running. Cooper blasted the opener past Busch from beyond the halfway line but for the first of many games, Dallas had a lead that they would fail to hold on to. Even this early on in the season, it was clear that Cooper felt he had to do a lot of the work himself – he was often to be spotted trying to help out the defense and the wings, covering, if not all, most of the blades of grass on the pitch.

With injuries to Purdy, Dario Sala, and rookie George John, and inconsistent performances from Daniel Torres, Blake Wagner, Anthony Wallace and Marcelo Saragosa, the square peg who was shoved into the round hole left open at the right-back position, Dallas seemed to field a different back line in almost every game. The defense truly were “at sixes and sevens”. Forcing captain Pablo Ricchetti into a center-back position he hated at least provided some level of experience and stability, but FCD and Ray Burse failed to keep a clean sheet for 3 whole months – right up until the second match up with Chicago. With the US Open Cup over before it had ever really begun, and El Capitan halfway out the door to Houston after a performance in Robertson Stadium that saw only 1 shot on target, coming in the 91st minute, fans would have been forgiven for thinking they’d have to wait until next year to be able to have a beer out of the Brimstone Cup. Chicago were unbeaten, while Dallas were very much so. However, Section 8 would be the ones forced to wait for their Brimstone beer, as Cunningham finally notched his first of the season, CJ Brown put a beautiful looping header past his own keeper and Cooper blasted a free-kick over the wall and in off the crossbar for the second win of the season and only the second multi-goal game. Finally Dallas had their season underway, scoring more points in this 6 game stretch than they had in the previous 10. Unfortunately, that did include a home loss to Houston, so El Capitan will have to spend 2010 unfired in Hellhole Stadium. Just as soon as it had begun though, it looked like it was going to come to a grinding halt once more, as star striker Kenny Cooper headed off to the Gold Cup and from there on to the Bundesliga with 1860 Munich. With youngsters Brek Shea and Peri Marosevic not ready for prime-time, the goalscoring burden fell on the shoulders of Cunningham. With just the one goal against Chicago to his name, it looked like 2009 Dallas were going to join 2003 Dallas in the MLS Hall of Shame. An unconvincing win over fellow strugglers New York followed in which Cunningham scored both Dallas goals, but the early results, the loss of Cooper and the next game loss to Colorado had fans calling for Hyndman to step down or be fired.

One game later and those voices were even louder, as Dallas proved that a 2-0 lead can certainly be dangerous. For 45 minutes, FCD dominated in Salt Lake City taking a 2-0 lead into halftime that could have been more. Suddenly everything seemed to be starting to come together. David Ferreira looked to have got the league figured out, perhaps earlier than anyone was expecting. Dax McCarty was evolving into one of the best playmakers in the league, his tackling and distribution from the middle starting off a lot of the attacking play. New addition, Colombian left-back Jair Benitez appeared to have solved some of the defensive problems as well as providing attacking width, Andre Rocha had finally been dropped from significant playing (or strolling) time, and Saragosa had finally been traded away, to be replaced on the right by Atiba Harris. Of course then it all went wrong, as George John succumbed to his second hamstring injury of the season and had to be replaced by Daniel Torres. Salt Lake brought on Movsisyan, who exploited the slow pace of Torres and RSL scored 4 unanswered goals in the second half. It was time for protest, as many fans brought signs, banners and anti-Hyndman chants to the Kansas City game. Especially concerning was the sight of Torres starting in the backline – had he not learned from the second half in Utah? And then the strangest thing happened – FC Dallas broke their record for a winning margin as Cunningham blasted 4 out of his 5 shots past Kevin Hartman and Ferreira added two of his own, with no reply from the men in blue. The protests were shelved as finally the Inferno had something to celebrate.

A 1-0 win over arch-rivals Houston the following week in a game that Dallas dominated from start to finish, and suddenly it looked like the team might be turning things around, before a return to form in New York brought the team back to reality. A 2-1 lead and a man advantage was squandered against the worst team in the league; New York scoring only their 4th win of the season, 3-2 late on. Following that, fans were blindsided as local boy and fan favorite Drew Moor was traded to Colorado for another Dallasite, Ugo Ihemelu, and then two refereeing blunders gave DC United an undeserved draw at Pizza Hut Park. Dallas fans were left trying to figure out what they’d do with themselves during November – playoffs clearly, if not yet mathematically, being out of reach.

Hyndman and the Dallas players didn’t see it that way (well, except for Ricchetti who decided he’d had enough and didn’t want to play for Hyndman anymore). History at the Home Depot Center was forgotten as Dallas rolled out their second 6-goal game of the season, thrashing the Galaxy 6-3, the first of a stretch that saw Dallas take 5 wins in 6 games and Jeff Cunningham suddenly become a surprise contender for the Golden Boot, having scored 17 goals, 16 of them in the last 14 games.

The stars were aligned – with Toronto laying down and dying in Giants Stadium’s final MLS game, Kansas City getting a late tying penalty against DC and Salt Lake taking the Rocky Mountain Cup over Colorado, it was a case of win and you’re in for Dallas. Unfortunately we all know what happened next. Fairy tales are just that, and this one didn’t come true for FCD.
Sure it’s disappointing to not make the playoffs, and frankly I hope that all the players are as pissed off that they didn’t make it as Dave van den Bergh is (apparently there were some choice expletives hurled at the locker room wall by the Dutchman immediately following the Seattle game), but you have to look at it this way: Dallas were 1-6-1 over the first 8 games, they lost their number 1 goal threat, had huge roster and first team turnover, and for one reason or another, could not play the same back four twice in a row for the majority of this season’s games. Much like New York, they should have been out of playoff contention before September rolled around. Instead, they worked hard to put themselves just 30 minutes away from the post-season, played some great soccer, scored a hatful of goals and had fans from all around the league (even Houston) hoping they’d do the impossible and make the playoffs, because it just wasn’t right that the current most exciting team in the league didn’t make the post-season. The results over the final stretch have earned Hyndman and FC Dallas the right to a clean slate for 2010. Keep the core of the team together, jettison the small amount of dead weight and bring in a few capable backups and this team has the makings of being at the very least a repeat of the 2009 LA Galaxy – from zeros to heroes in one season. It’ll be make or break for Hyndman, at least as far as fans are concerned – this is his team now.