Wither the Houston Dynamo? The longtime MLS power may be falling apart
by Steve Davis on Jan 20, 2010 1:19 PM EST
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Last one out of Robertson Stadium, turn off the lights, eh?
It’s not exactly that dire, but the club from
Ricardo Clark, the team’s rock in midfield, is reportedly in the final stages of signing with Eintracht Frankfurt in
Stuart Holden may soon sign with
I saw a fairly significant decline in Dynamo midfielder Brian Mullan last year. It was his first year in MLS without a goal. And his assist total (4) was his second lowest personal since 2002.
I also have to wonder if his effectiveness will be further diminished when Clark and Holden, the fittest and most industrious of worker bees, aren’t around to help provide cover? That will leave even more running and chasing for Mullan, who will dutifully try to fill the void. But can he? The man turns 32 in April, after all.
Geoff Cameron, as versatile as a blue blazer, will certainly help as Dominic Kinnear rearranges things. And Eddie Robinson’s healthy return will be absolutely essential.
I have some degree of confidence that Kinnear’s managerial abilities and his MO – keep things simple, sign players with good character and demand ultimate accountability – can help the club maintain a steady course. Still, a manager can only do so much. Replacing Clark and Holden will be tough. Replacing their value will be absolutely impossible. They weren’t making $300,000 between them. At about $35,000, Holden was probably the best value in the entire league in 2K9.
Plus, I’ve got a feeling that Luis Angel Landin, signed late last year as the organization’s first Designated Player, won’t emerge from “bust” status. I’m not sure what happened there, but right now he’s on track to fall into the Denilson zone. Two words: Not good.
I have a hard time believing the Dynamo brain trust could be so wrong about the Mexican striker. This much is certain, the man reported to
Oh, one more thing: John Spencer, Kinnear’s friend and trusted assistant, is the only candidate to have been interviewed by
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Holden to Braga?
Not sure how reliable this source is, but I suspect it’s more reliable than the Mirror:
“The Holden-to-Braga report is full-on hokum. I do not know where the UK scribes get this stuff. I’ve spoken to the club, who have already made their full allotment of five winter moves (league rules). In a word, Braga says it’s ‘impossible’.” (http://www.noshortcorners.com/2010/01/another-digging-day.html)
by PeterJH on Jan 20, 2010 1:30 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
All good things come to an end
Listen I love the way that the Dynamo were put together, even before they moved it was clear that Kinnear understands the value of putting together a team and then doing your best to keep them together for as long as you can. Either age or opportunity will cause players to leave eventually, developing a good pipeline of talent is the hardest part. I think with players like Cameron, Weaver, Oduro, and others that there is some talent to step in but losing a player like Holden could be a huge hole to fill. It was a stretch to think that Stu could fill the boots of DeRo but he has stepped up and played very well and now is getting looks to take his game to another level. For Houston can they find that next diamond in the ruff to fill Holden’s boots?
That's just asinine
Any MLS team folding at this point is not good news for the league as a whole or soccer in this country. It seems that lately soccer has been growing here and even a small step backward would severely stunt that much needed growth.
by the12thman11 on Jan 20, 2010 5:46 PM EST up reply actions
No
What’s asinine is MLS stealing clubs from where they rightfully belong. First they illegitimately steal Donovan and then they steal our franchise. THAT is what’s bad for soccer in this country – decimating a fan base in the second or third most important urban area in the country. The Bay Area is 3 times the size of Houston and San Jose has a far higher income per capita than Houston. 40% of the venture capital in the country goes right into Silicon Valley. What’s bad for soccer in this country is MLS trying to abandon a gold mine like that.
The Earthquakes were one of the flagship teams of NASL. Houston had a NASL team for what, 2 years? The Bay Area has a much stronger and longer soccer tradition than Houston. Speaking of history and tradition, check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2HWUbFGHMU. You won’t see anything like that from Houston.
Screw the Dynamo. I too hope they fold. This is karma for the crap they pulled on San Jose. I love watching Landin play he is so freaking out of shape. I can’t believe the Dynamo were that dumb to sign him. He looks like he eats 10 super burritos for breakfast every day. He’s horribad.
Cust is the new Jaha.
by johnjahafanclub on Jan 21, 2010 1:46 PM EST up reply actions
MLS still needs to win over soccer fan
before it can move on to the casual fan. The only way for that to happen is to increase the level of play on the field. A club folding is not good for that.
by the12thman11 on Jan 22, 2010 9:18 AM EST up reply actions
Whoa dude
Hold a grudge much? That stinks you lost your team for a couple of years, but I think your anger is misplaced. Whose fault is it that San Jose wouldn’t spring for a new stadium, prompting Anschutz Entertainment Group to move the team? Should Houston (with its diverse population ripe for a soccer team) have refused to accept the franchise?
Furthermore, comparing the Bay Area (a region made up of 9 counties) to Houston (a city) is rather disingenuous. Even comparing the regions as Combined Statistical Areas, Houston is not that far behind, and the population is growing at a rate of over 21%, rather than under 4% in the Bay Area. Houston’s per capita income is also much higher than that of cities in the Bay Area when adjusted for cost of living. Houston is home to the world’s largest medical center, nation’s 2nd largest port, and is behind only NYC in Fortune 500 companies. Maybe not the equal of your “gold mine”, but no slouch either.
The ownership did something that they thought made financial sense. Maybe a crass move, but I see no reason to wish ill will upon the Dynamo players and fans. No way that an MLS team folding is good for soccer in the US. Quit being so petty and move on.
Houston Will Never Fold
We are just talking shit for the BS they pulled to move to Houston. Leaving SJ was a crass move that you would never see happen in other countries. In fact it’s only happened once that I know of, with MK Dons, and they are universally despised for it.
As for stadiums, I hate pro sports franchises that try to bleed taxpayers of money for subsidies. It’s disgusting. Talk about “disingenuous.” I’m sorry that San Jose would rather spend that money on education and social services for poor people instead of handouts to multi-millionaires like Phil Anshutz. How terrible of us.
As for the Bay Area vs. Houston, you have no argument. The Bay Area is hands down a far more important area for MLS to be in than Houston (albeit Houston is still more important than places like Kansas City). Size, TV audience, per capita income, corporate headquarters, diverse population, everything. And yes, you do aggregate the cities. Oakland and SF are very close to SJ and there’s these magical things called cars and trains that allow you to travel to games that are farther than 2 miles from your house. Pretty crazy I know.
You can change your job, you can change your wife, you can even change your gender, but you can never change your club.
Win or lose, we will always be here for you.
Fear no foe, wherever we go.
by johnjahafanclub on Jan 23, 2010 2:39 PM EST up reply actions
Sour Grapes
Teams moving to other cities is distasteful, but it does happen in this country. Pretty crazy I know.
I did not mean to imply that San Jose should’ve cut education or whatever to build a stadium, just giving the stated reason that AEG moved your team, poor wording I guess. I don’t like the idea of publicly funded sports stadiums either. My point was that Houston was not really to blame for being an attractive location for an MLS team. They were not part of some nefarious cabal conspiring to steal your MLS team by, for instance, promising a new stadium etc. In fact, Dynamo ownership is now footing most of the bill for the new soccer stadium going up in Houston (curious that they would pay to build it in Houston, but not in SJ).
You also appeared to miss my point with respect to Houston vs. the Bay Area. To be consistent you should either compare Houston to San Jose, or the Houston Area to the Bay Area. People in cities within 40 or 50 miles of Houston also have magical cars, and when you include them, the size difference is less significant (and will continue to be even less so with current population growth trends). The difference in population of the areas is around 20% (not threefold like you claim) and could be negligible in 10 years or so. Again, the per capita income difference is not much of an advantage, if any, due to the much higher cost of living in the Bay Area (disposable income is what matters for ticket and jersey sales and what not); and the diversity factor is a push at best. You seem to have an overinflated sense of regional "importance" that you back up with mostly flimsy statistics and patronizing sarcasm. Bay Area may be a better market for the MLS, but it’s not a "hands down far more important area". If there was absolutely no argument, the team would’ve stayed.
Furthermore, you have a team now, so you can chillax and tone down the shit talk and hostility. If anyone’s to blame it’s AEG, so maybe you should be happy that they’re no longer running the franchise in your town.
I Repeat
You have no argument. Just stop, you sound retarded. It would be like me trying to argue the Bay Area is a more important market for MLS than New York. It’s obviously not. Same goes for Houston vs. Bay Area. Get over it. You can call the sky purple as much as you want it doesn’t change the fact that it’s blue.
You can change your job, you can change your wife, you can even change your gender, but you can never change your club.
Win or lose, we will always be here for you.
Fear no foe, wherever we go.
by johnjahafanclub on Jan 25, 2010 5:54 PM EST up reply actions
Really
because his stats hold up more than your screaming like an 8 year old that you’re better.
by the12thman11 on Jan 25, 2010 6:03 PM EST up reply actions
I See You Are Another Texas Idiot
They clearly don’t teach you how to read statistics in your school so I will help you out a little, son.
Greater Houston: 5.8 million / 12,400 square miles
SF Bay Area: 7.4 million / 7,000 square miles
Harris County Median Income per Household: $42,598
Santa Clara County Median Income per Household: $74,335 (Santa Clara County has the highest median household income of any county in California)
Dumbass Texans
PS: Lew Wolff is getting a stadium done for the Quakes without public financing and he has a fraction of the amount of wealth that billionaire Phil Anschutz does.
You can change your job, you can change your wife, you can even change your gender, but you can never change your club.
Win or lose, we will always be here for you.
Fear no foe, wherever we go.
by johnjahafanclub on Jan 25, 2010 8:15 PM EST up reply actions
median home price:
Houston-Baytown-Sugarland 160,600
San Francisco-Oakland-Freemont 538,100
That is a 235% increase in housing cost.
Per your statistics there is only a 43% increase in median household income.
Can you see the difference here, or should I spell out that with a significantly cheaper cost of living people have more money to spend on say… tickets or jerseys? Which I do believe are profitable for an MLS team.
Maybe you should have been taught to actually analyze instead of just spouting a single statistic. Go educate yourself before you try and teach the teach.
Jackass
by the12thman11 on Jan 25, 2010 10:42 PM EST up reply actions
HAHAHAHA
Your logic is hilarious. You just cited a statistic that shows that the Bay Area is wealthier than Houston.
It would be like me citing Manhattan housing prices and saying it shows that Kansas City is a better market than New York because it has a lower cost of living. LMAO! I guess the Yankees should just leave New York because there is such a high cost of living there that no one can afford their jerseys and tickets!
You can change your job, you can change your wife, you can even change your gender, but you can never change your club.
Win or lose, we will always be here for you.
Fear no foe, wherever we go.
by johnjahafanclub on Jan 26, 2010 12:10 PM EST up reply actions
No moron
I’m saying that the higher income is negated by several factors, and a major one is cost of living. You really are an idiot.
by the12thman11 on Jan 26, 2010 12:38 PM EST up reply actions
It's seriously like talking to a brick wall
You Texans really are retarded
Let’s break this down for you: since Manhattan housing prices are higher than the Bay Area’s, doesn’t that mean, by your logic, that New Yorkers have less disposable income than people in the Bay Area, and that the Yankees and Mets should be having more trouble selling jerseys and tickets than, say, the Giants or A’s?
Of course not.
You can change your job, you can change your wife, you can even change your gender, but you can never change your club.
Win or lose, we will always be here for you.
Fear no foe, wherever we go.
by johnjahafanclub on Jan 26, 2010 2:21 PM EST up reply actions
I give up
you really just reinforced the South Park stereotype. I thought it had to be a joke, but nope.
by the12thman11 on Jan 26, 2010 5:48 PM EST up reply actions
Last post on this
Not sure why I am writing this when the only things likely to follow are condescension, logical fallacies, and insults of an entire state.
1. Nobody ever said Houston was larger, more important (however that is defined), or had a higher per capita income. The point was that a Houston MLS team would not have 1/3 the market of a San Jose team, like you insinuated, and poor little Houston is more worthy of an MLS franchise than you seemed to think (the point was not that Houston is more worthy than San Jose of an MLS team). The gap between Houston and the Bay Area is a lot closer than you originally stated.
2. Cost of living (COL) was brought up to put into perspective your use of per capita income, which you used to show how much more important the Bay Area is (COL was not brought up to show that Houston is more important than the Bay Area). Disposable income and adjusted income are more relevant than just median income when deciding where to locate a sports franchise. And yes, you also look at population, in addition to other factors. Not seeing why this so hard to grasp.
3. You seem to think that the Bay Area is more important than it really is. “[S]econd or third most important urban area in the country.” By population, it is the 6th largest combined statistical area (CSA), not 2nd or 3rd. “It would be like me trying to argue the Bay Area is a more important market for MLS than New York.” Again, even though I never argued Houston was more important, you imply the gap between Houston and the Bay area is similar to the gap between the Bay Area and New York. CSAs: NYC 22.15 million, Bay Area 7.35, Houston 5.83. NYC actually is 3 times larger than the Bay Area, while Houston is projected to catch up to the Bay Area’s population in about 10 years. Houston is closer in many ways than you’d like to admit. And again, this does not mean I am saying that Houston is more important than the Bay Area.
4. I was originally arguing that there’s no good reason for you to wish some kind of karmic retribution upon Houston or the Dynamo players and fans, but whatever, hate on I guess. OK, let the name calling commence.
by K. Hungus on Jan 26, 2010 5:51 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Settle down, boys
I love good debate on the site … but since I’m in charge, I do get to set the rules. No more name calling, eh? Oh, by the way, I was born in Texas … and went to school there, too. I still manage to spell most of the words correctly. So now you know …
by Steve Davis on Jan 27, 2010 10:54 AM EST up reply actions
Not looking good
The Dynamo can’t lose 3 top players like DeRo, Holden, and Clark in the center midfield and expect to replace those guys from within. Mullan is only getting older, Davis is offensive but cant go box-to-box like Holden.
People assume Cameron can fill in Clark’s shoes… I don’t see it. We have never seen Cameron as a regular starter in the midfield. Cameron was an all star because his great recovery speed and tackles… these great recoveries were because he was be or out of position to begin with. He also had the advantage of having a former defender of the year finalist in Bobby Boswell next to him. Cameron grew leeps and bounds last year, but I see him coming back down to earth this year.
Kinnear was quote as saying they are looking abroad for central midfielders and have filed discovery claims. IMHO the 2010 season depends on these players.
Never Count them out
After losing D-Ro, I believed that the Dynamo would take a big step backwards, which they did but only marginally. Losing Clark and Holden will leave a big void in the midfield while Mullan’s struggles will only magnify their dearth in midfield. Trading Kei Kamara and acquiring the Ro -BUST Luis Landin will cost them this season in attacking prowess, though Oduro was a good concellation prize. Defensively, the Dynamo should continue to perform at a high level.
On the other hand, the midfield will experience a big drop in performance which could starve their forwards of service. Davis should replace Holden in the midfield, while Ashe will man the left flank. Although Mullan concludes his career, Danny Cruz demonstrated flashes in limited action and boasts a very strong motor, offering coverage at both wing positions. The question remains: where will Cameron play?
If the Dynamo acquire a starting defensive midfielder from the international market, then Cameron could fill in at either midfield or defense. Although I doubt that the Orange will challenge for the Cup, they will still compete for a playoff spot. With the margin for error diminishing due to overall parity, the Dynamo must make their mark in the free agency market.
BTW, I am not a Dynamo fan, but I respect Coach Kinnear’s ability to rebound from key player departures. That being sad, this year could unfold as a rebuilding year.
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