Thursday Night Futbol - Mulletocracy

Some random thoughts from last night's less-than-stirring goal-less encounter between Chivas and Dallas.

• The forward pairing of Merlin-Cunliffe doesn't inspire the same sort of fear in defenses that Galindo-Razov do. Losing Razov for 4-6 weeks might just have doomed Chivas' chance at MLS Cup and the Supporters' Shield. The Goats seem to have the same problem that DC United are afflicted with--after the top two strikers, the drop-off in quality to the numbers three and four is immense.
  
• Mullets for everyone! Was that Bobby Rhine doing a dead-on Toja "caveman dribble" in the clips from the Dallas practice session?
  
• Brian Hall is a joke and remains up near the top of my list. "What list is that?" you may ask. To which I respond, "Don't ask questions about the list--lest you find yourself added to it! You have been warned!" Props to Wynalda for calling a turd a turd, though such honesty may not stand him in such good stead were he to stand in front of a mirror--a situation that I'm absolutely sure he never finds himself in for hours upon hours at a time .
  
• Rob Stone--UGH! Just ugh.
• Send in the clowns. Or at least Denílson. Sure he can be loads of fun to watch, but where's the payoff? He was a dagger in the heart of Dallas' season. What are the chances he's still kicking around MLS in 2008? All signs point to "unlikely"--unless RSL continues its pattern of miserable player acquisition.
  
• It was good to see big Kenny Cooper back on the field. He may look like Frankenstein, but he's got the potential to shine in a US shirt. It was a shame that he missed out on this summer's tourney fun for the Stars-and-Stripes, but I'm sure he'll have a say as we roll into qualifying.
• Speaking of folks who deserve a shot at the US shirt--how about Arturo Alvarez? While I've been singing his praises off and on this season, I'm still not completely sold on his work ethic. That said, he looked to be getting back defensively last night, and the way he's been torching defenders and hitting bombs from the edges of the box sure make him an attractive prospect for Bob Bradley to take a look at--and Bradley has not exactly been shy about exploring the stagnant fringe-waters of the player pool. Alvarez for that extremely thin right wing spot?