Brian Ching will be called to lead the Dynamo yet again. (Getty Images)

The 2010 season presents a challenge for Dominic Kinnear and the Houston Dynamo. First of all their top two stars from a year ago are now gone to Europe. Stuart Holden and Ricardo Clark left a big hole in the midfield and some would even argue that the club is still recovering from the trade of Dwayne de Rosario from last winter.

Today we take a gander at where they are right now going into the new year. So far the Dynamo have shifted some players around drafted a couple guys that may never see time on the field and for the most part done very little in terms of player movement this winter. We’ve actually heard more news surrounding this club’s potential stadium deal than new players joining the roster this winter.

Let’s take a look at who the Dynamo have and where they still need to go before the new season starts next month.

Continue Reading…

Houston had another strong season behind Brian Ching. (Getty Images)

Dominic Kinnear teams always compete, always and the 2009 edition of the Houston Dynamo looked very similar to the ones we’ve seen win league titles over the last few years. Even though the Dynamo lost their big star in the midfield in a trade to Toronto before the season started everyone knew this team would still compete.

Just as in years past the Dynamo started out strong on the year. Brian Ching, Stuart Holden and up and coming stars like Geoff Cameron lead the way for the Orange. Pat Onstad had yet another stellar season in front of the net thanks to another strong defense in front of him.

And just like in years past Kinnear pulled all the right strings in trades by getting parts on his roster that were missing like speed up front when he got Dominic Oduro from New York or some extra size when he got Cam Weaver from San Jose. Yet again we asked questions like “why are clubs even going into business with Kinnear and the Dynamo?” We knew the results would be the same as before as Kinnear would get something out of nothing and lead his club to the top of the standings again.

But then the ladder part of the summer hit. Ching, Holden and Ricardo Clark missed buckets of time with the US national team and that seemed to be when things got a little dicey. They brought in Luis Angel Landin as their DP, and while that should be a good move for 2010 it didn’t pan out all that much for 2009. Also for some reason the club’s discipline kept shooting themselves in the foot. August and September saw more cards, particularly red cards than most would want to see.

By the end of things the Dynamo lost on a weird night in LA in the playoffs. They may have been the better team on the night but moving forward into 2010 will certainly be interesting.

What Went Right In 2009:
A lot of good did happen in Houston this season. Ching produced, Brad Davis continued to be completely underrated, Cameron emerged like most had figured he would and Holden showed he could very well be the real deal. The Dynamo continued to have strong depth that kept them afloat despite all issues they had late in the season with suspensions and what not.

What Went Wrong In 2009:
As mentioned before the lack of discipline they showed late in the season was a real bummer to see. They went from being one of the most consistent clubs in the league on the year to a wildly inconsistent bunch. Offensively they still lacked a punch when needed and Landin didn’t step into the role as a DP like most would have liked this year.

What’s Next:
Well we know Ricardo Clark is out and its possible Stuart Holden could join him. Should that happen this bunch will go from being one of the deepest teams in the midfield to just a mid-level team. Kinnear will have to do his best to find replacements if that happens. They have to find a way to retain Holden and improve their roster on offense. But at the same time they do need to find some depth in defense behind Bobby Boswell and Cameron.

Cam Weaver and Dave van den Burgh battle again tonight. (Getty Images)

There’s nothing like kicking off a week with a good in-state derby. Tonight we get just that for week 21’s kickoff as the Houston Dynamo travel to Frisco, TX to face FC Dallas. Both clubs are coming off big wins from last weekend and look to take ownership of El Capitán, the prize given to the winning club in the season series.

So far this season Houston has gotten the better of their northern rivals by beating them 1-0 and 3-1. The Orange would love nothing more than to do it again for a clean season series sweep.

Dallas may have gotten their offense off the ground last week against Kansas City but looking at what kind of defense they are going up against I think it will be tough for them to get more than one by the Dynamo defense. Sure Houston let in three last week to DC but I just don’t see Dominic Kinnear’s bunch doing that again.

Houston should be able to control things in the middle with Brad Davis and Stuart Holden, which should allow Brian Ching to find openings in the Dallas defense.

I think the difference will come down to guys like Bobby Boswell and Geoff Cameron in the back for Houston going against Jeff Cunningham and Dave van den Burgh for Dallas. I’d like to think that Dallas can keep their offense flying here but they’ve never really been able to dominate Houston since the Dynamo were moved to Houston a few years ago. I also wouldn’t expect a good crowd for this one as no one in Dallas likes to travel to Frisco on a week night with all the traffic around here.

Anyways, I see Houston carrying this one out and extending their lead in the overall standings.

WVH Prediction: Houston 2, Dallas 1

Week 18 in Major League Soccer has already gotten off to a bang. Last night’s 3-1 thrashing in Giant’s Stadium by LA over New York probably set the tone for what this weekend should be like.

The tone was set early and often by LA with Landon Donovan really showing just how good he can be for LA and for MLS. I think the game showed us more about how good LA can be in the second half of the season because of how Bruce Arena has built this club too. Still I won’t get too overly gitty about this win, even if it does move them into third place. It was a win in a place they hadn’t won at in a while but it was a win over a team that showed absolutely no heart. Really can’t get excited just yet about how LA is, a lot of soccer left to play this season.

But enough of last night, time to focus on the weekend ahead. Only five games to discuss this weekend. Four games on Saturday and one lone match on Sunday. All games surprisingly are inter-conference battles.Dallas, Seattle and KC are all off this week. Continue Reading…

The second half of the season is getting under full swing this weekend. Plenty of good games all over the place to discuss as we head closer to the All-Star break later this month. Some very important clashes in each conference this weekend could really reshape the standings after Saturday night.

Most of the 15 clubs are in action except for RSL, DC and New York. I think most Red Bull fans are excited to see the club actually get a weekend off for once here. Still we have six big games to talk about, all on Saturday. Don’t forget about the Gold Cup this weekend too, the US has one more group game left before heading on to the quarterfinals.

Feel free as always to leave your predictions and thoughts below. Continue Reading…

Just got word of this trade today and a big re-signing for the men in orange.

Seattle acquired central defender Patrick Ianni from Houston for a conditional 2010 draft pick (second round pick if he appears in a certain number of games and a third rounder otherwise).

Ianni appeared in 51 total games over three seasons for the Dynamo after being selected in the first round (eighth overall) of the 2006 MLS SuperDraft. He also competed on the squad that represented the United States at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

While I honestly don’t know much of Ianni or his play (I’ve never paid much attention to him so for in his time with the Dynamo), this move could be good for Sigi Schmid and the Sounders. A young, cheap defender that knows the league play. Its a depth thing at this point for Seattle and right now they seem to be filling out their defense.

I like the move, it could be good for the Sounders. As for Houston, I just keep waiting here for a big move or two…I hear they are coming.

A bigger note though for Dynamo fans surrounds defender Bobby Boswell. He has re-signed with the club after having a few trials in Europe. Boswell has to a multi-year deal with the two-time champs. A great deal for the club really as filling a hole that Boswell could have made for them would be have been tough this winter but it looks like they won’t have to worry about it now.

I mentioned late last week that I would post my best XI for this season. As promised here it is for you all, this was how I voted (in a 3-5-2 formation).

GK: William Hesmer – Columbus
DEF: Gonzalo Segares – Chicago
DEF: Bobby Boswell – Houston
DEF: Chad Marshall – Columbus
MID: Guillermo Barros Schelotto – Columbus
MID: Dave Van Den Bergh – New York
MID: Sasha Kljestan – Chivas USA
MID: Shalrie Joesph – New England
MID: Javier Morales – Real Salt Lake
FWD: Kenny Cooper – FC Dallas
FWD: Landon Donovan – LA Galaxy

You may disagree with some picks and not with others. That’s how I voted anyways. It would have been different if there was a different formation given but the 3-5-2 set up wasn’t too bad to deal with in voting.

Who’s in your best XI for the year? Post your’s below.