Makonnen Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 The upheaval in 5m1w probably impacted Levi McKinnon the most (his story begins here). With the abrupt disappearance of the entire North American structure, the question of what to do with Levi--and the players on the Comets to whom I had gotten attached--was a difficult one. The answer--which remains only partially satisfactory--was to place him as the head of the Houston Dynamo, and move some of the Comets along with him.That did not include Julian Johnson, or the flame-haired vixen, Bones. Whether either of them reappear in this incarnation of 5m1w is yet to be determined. Indeed, for now, this story will be pretty devoid of narrative, until one of the characters demands to be heard. The key for the Dynamo remain their midfield, anchored by Brad Davis (who will, thanks to this story, forever be known in my household as Brad Mother****ing Davis) and Boniek Garcia and the defense, which seems to be full of similarly skilled players in Kofi Sarkodie, Jermaine Taylor, Warren Creavalle, and Sebastian Ibeagha along the veteran leadership of Bobby Boswell. On the flanks, young Buster Raphael continues to struggle to establish himself in front of veteran Corey Ashe, who continues to fall just short of the American national team. Goals look to be an issue: Will Bruin continues to offer more promise than substance, and while Adán Ramírez has a ton of potential, at nineteen it may be too early to expect production at the MLS level. The MLS drafts loom ahead, as does a lengthy preseason, so there is time for the questions to sort themselves out, and, knowing Levi, some significant movement of players in and out.. Levi is also the head coach of the USA national team which, as always, seems to be caught between generations, struggling to bridge between the veteran leadership of Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, and Geoff Cameron to the emerging talents of Silas Adams, Nick Johnson, Denis Wales and, yes, the trail-blazing Leigh Musicek. The hexagonal kicks off in February, as does the OOSL so early 2013 will bring quite a few matches for McKinnon to sort out the national side. Additionally, there is an international tournament of North American, Central American, and Caribbean countries that will provide a full schedule on the international front. March 2, 2013 Houston Dynamo @ El Paso Patriots, Friendly Dynamo 4 (Bobby Boswell 10; Samuel Ríos 33 35; Brian Ching 74) – El Paso 0 DynaBest: Bobby Boswell March 4, 2013 DC United Academy @ Houston Dynamo, Friendly Dynamo 2 (Adán Ramírez 18; Will Bruin 60) – DCU Academy 1 (Bill McClellan 89) DynaBest: Adán Ramírez March 7, 2013 Houston Dynamo @ San Antonio Scorpions, Friendly Dynamo 1 (Martín Monroy 43) – San Antonio 1 (Jeff Jennings 10) DynaBest: Martín Monroy # # # Preseason Incoming Transfers MLS Drafts: Lorenzo Guerrero (GK); Pat Hall (AMR); Michael McCarthy (MC);Tommy Garay (DC); Rick Dixon (DM); Martín Monroy (ST); Jamel Johnson(AMC); Galen Tyrol (DM/MC) Free Transfers: Meir Luien (DC/DM); Vidar Vikstøl (DC/DM) Guerrero is a project for the future, and may top out as a backup in MLS. Hall and McCarthy both have some potential as attacking players. If any of the rest of the draft picks stick, it will be a bonus. Both Luien and Vikstøl are filler, chosen as much for their versatility as anything else. Preseason Outgoing Transfers Transfers: Luiz Camargo, to Columbus for $1.1M + 2 Draft Picks Loaned Out: Brian Ownby, Sief MacAthan, Christian Lucatero, Kat Katraine,Jimmy Nealis, Anthony Arena, Josue Soto, Alex Dixon, Olympe Audouard,Samuel Ríos Waived: Cam Weaver, Erich Marscheider, Jamel Johnson The fee for Camargo was great. Of the loanees, MacAthan is the most likely to make an impact in the near future, although Lucatero, Katraine, Audouard, and Ríos are all part of a strong youth crop for the Dynamo. Katraine and Audouard are Houston’s first female players, but both are at least two years away from MLS action. # # # March 9, 2013 Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club @ Houston Dynamo, MLS Vancouver 3 (Kenny Miller 28 79; Camilo 47) – Houston 2 (Bobby Boswell 23; Calen Carr 73) DynaBest: Bobby Boswell March 13, 2013 Monterrey @ Houston Dynamo, North American Champions League Monterrey 5 (Aldo de Nigrís 45+1 65p 87; César Delgado 49; Omar Arellano 68) – Houston 2 (Adán Ramírez 71; Will Bruin 79) Monterrey win 5-2 on Aggregate DynaBest: Adán Ramírez March 17, 2013 Colorado Rapids @ Houston Dynamo, MLS Colorado 1 (Nick LaBrocca 70) – Houston 0 DynaBest: Oscar Boniek García March 20, 2013 New York Red Bull @ Houston Dynamo, MLS Houston 2 (Will Bruin 12; Giles Barnes 63) – NYRB 1 (Thierry Henry 57) DynaBest: Giles Barnes March 30, 2013 Toronto Football Club @ Houston Dynamo, MLS Houston 2 (Giles Barnes 47; Calen Carr 68) – TFC 0 DynaBest: Calen Carr # # # League Position: 4th of 10, 4 points behind Sporting Kansas City. League Goals: Calen Carr & Giles Barnes (2); Assists: Pat Hall (2); Rating: Barnes (7.45) Overall Goals: Will Bruin, Carr & Barnes (2); Assists: Hall (2); Rating: Barnes (7.20) # # # Not the best of starts, but the trend is positive at least. Monterrey just tore the team apart, underlining the gulf in talent between teams in Mexico and the USA, but the two wins to close out the month were strong. We’ll know more about the strength of the team at the end of April and its five MLS games. Injuries have hit the team pretty hard already: Tyler Deric is out for most of the year, and Buster Raphael and Sachin Tendulkar–both of whom were anticipated as starters for the team–have missed the start of the season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makonnen Posted September 25, 2014 Author Share Posted September 25, 2014 April 3, 2013 Houston Dynamo @ DC United, MLS Houston 2 (Oscar Boniek Garcia 49; Brian Ching 80) – DC United 2 (Rafael 61; Casey Townsend 73) DynaBest: Oscar Boniek Garcia April 6, 2013 Houston Dynamo @ Montreal Impact, MLS Montreal 2 (Marco Di Vaio 12 50p) – Houston 0 DynaBest: Ricardo Clark April 13, 2013 Philadelphia Union @ Houston Dynamo, MLS Houston 1 (Brian Ching 37) – Philadelphia 0 DynaBest: Brian Ching April 3, 2013 Houston Dynamo @ Montreal Impact, MLS Montreal 2 (Marco Di Vaio 1; Andrea Pisanu 69) – Houston 1 (Brad Davis 44) DynaBest: Brad Davis April 27, 2013 San Jose Earthquake @ Houston Dynamo, MLS Houston 3 (Oscar Boniek Garcia 7 16 52p) – San Jose 0 DynaBest: Oscar Boniek García # # # League Position: 4th of 10, 6 points behind New England. League & Overall Goals: Oscar Boniek Garcia (4); Assists: Sachin Tendulkar (3); Rating: Boniek Garcia (7.70) # # # Welcome to the latest installation of treading water. This is a good squad, and McKinnon is getting them to play an exciting brand of soccer–two forwards, two wide attackers, all built on a defensive trio anchored by the exceedingly stable and versatile Ricardo Clark. But the results are inconsistent, and if Levi never sees Marco Di Vaio again, he’d be fine with that. He knows his defense is weak, but Julian won’t return his messages. He could really use the Comets’ old defensive coach. Not to mention his best friend. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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