Dynamo Theory

A view of the Futty Danso hackjob on Calen Carr

2012-05-18T04:17:41Z

OK, here is the view of the incredible hack that Futty Danso put in on Calen Carr Tuesday night. Danso was rightly suspended today for a game and fined for the foul, but like in the previous post, the question has to be asked: Why doesn't the MLS Disciplinary Committee mete out justice to referee Chris Penso and his unnamed AR as well?

This foul gets worse the more times you look at it, and there really is no reason (A) why Penso and his AR missed the call, (B) Penso fell for Danso's obvious fakery of an injury after the play and THEN CALLED FOR TRAINERS FROM THE SIDELINE and (C), and this is not on the video, Penso ordered Perkins to throw the ball out, and then Dynamo to throw the ball back in to him because of the "injured" player?

Missing the call is one thing, but when you add all of the rest to it, you get Class A Crapitude from Penso. Just another day at the park for MLS. Honestly, MLS officiating is in general so bad, that I am all in favor of retroactive discipline. However, some of that discipline needs to go to the officials. The players will do whatever they can get away with, as they should. After all, they're professional competitors, and I would expect no less from them. Birds gotta fly, fish gotta swim, and players gotta get any edge they can, up to and including criminality. That's why punishing them retroactively is needed to catch those with larceny in their hearts. However, at some point the cops who miss the whole crime, while standing/running just feet away from its committal, need to be disciplined too.

And don't give me that whole "I didn't see it" bullshit. The play happened ON THE BALL. If they didn't see it, then what the hell were they watching, the Dynamo Girls?

Really, I thought I was over this whole thing, and then I saw the video again. Good thing Danso punches like he's a student at the Little Sisters of the Poor Girls Day School, or Carr could have been seriously injured. Of course, not that Penso would have noticed.

Maybe Chris Penso should be disciplined as well?

2012-05-18T02:08:29Z

Maybe Chris Penso should be disciplined as well?

MLS announced today that Mamadou "Futty" Danso will be suspended one game and fined for the vicious hit to the head he delivered to Calen Carr (who is wearing protective headgear for goodness' sakes!!) late in the 0-0 draw on Tuesday night at BBVA Compass Stadium.

Referee Chris Penso not only did not make the call himself, a call that should have been a straight red as Danso tomahawked Carr from behind on a breakaway, denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity, but he actually did not make any call at all on the play. Oh wait, he did make one call. With that violent thug/disgusting cheat Danso faking an injury on the play on the ground, as the ball went out of bounds, he ordered Dynamo to throw the ball to Troy Perkins, surrendering possession.

Personally, I think Danso should get one game for the hit and another for the cheating, and Penso should get a suspension somewhere two games and life just for being so pathetic at his job.

A look back at opening day at BBVA Compass Stadium

2012-05-17T19:57:22Z

A look back at opening day at BBVA Compass Stadium

2012 US Open Cup: Dynamo Learn Their First Potential Foes

2012-05-17T01:22:33Z

The Dynamo enter the 2012 US Open Cup in the 3rd Round with the rest of their MLS brethren. They won't be hosting the match, with either a trip to San Antonio or Laredo on the agenda.

Here's the possibilities:

at Laredo Heat (PDL): Texas A&M IU Soccer Complex; Laredo, Texas; 7:30 p.m. CT

at San Antonio Scorpions (NASL): Heroes Stadium; San Antonio, Texas; 7:30 p.m. CT

Match is scheduled for Tuesday, May 29th, three days after the Los Angeles Galaxy visit BBVA Compass Stadium. The good news is while the Dynamo have a match schedule for two days later, it's a friendly against Valencia. There isn't another league match until June 10th at Vancouver.

We'll have to see what Kinnear's plan is, but it's always a bit of a toss up how importantly the Dynamo take this tournament.

You can see all the potential match-ups for MLS clubs thanks to TheCup.us

Dynamo v Portland Timbers: Video Highlights/Post-Match Press Conference

2012-05-16T14:15:05Z

Enjoy the highlights from last night's scoreless draw between the Houston Dynamo and the Portland Timbers.

Dynamo v Portland Timbers: Houston Fails to Solve Troy Perkins in Scoreless Draw

2012-05-16T14:01:08Z

Well that was not a match to write home about. It happens in every sport, not every game is great and while last night's nil-nil draw between the Houston Dynamo and the Portland Timbers will not make any highlight reels, it wasn't the worst match we've ever seen. It's a little disappointing to leave points on the table against a struggling Timbers side but considering the lineup changes and the insanely busy schedule the Dynamo are facing right now, a point is a point.

The biggest positive for me is the defense. There were some major questions just a month ago about how the back line was playing, thanks in large part to several mental breakdowns that led to goals. Since the 3-2 loss at DC United which was a defensive train wreck, things have gotten steadily better and that's a good thing. Defense is this team's bread and butter, after all we have not true central attacking midfielder and there are going to be times where goals just are not being generated.

If you want to point to a single reason why the defense has been getting better, it's Jermaine Taylor. The Jamaican defender has been a house a fire of late and if you watched last night's match, you saw him make fantastic player after fantastic play. Since there's a real chance Geoff Cameron could be gone for international duty very soon, having Taylor playing some of his best soccer since joining the team is important (unless he's off playing for Jamaica which is very likely). Add to that he's playing out of position, it's just that much more impressive.

The offense, for the most part, stunk last night. There were a couple chances late, referee Chris Penso completely screwed the pooch on Futty Danso's blatant take out of Calen Carr, but it simply wasn't good enough. It happens, that's how this team operates and while we know it, it still gets frustrating when the Dynamo go on multi-game stretches without the ability to score consistently. I'm hoping that once the schedule settles down and the lineup can be a bit more consistent, that things will pick up again.

Now, it is important to mention that the Dynamo did generate some great chances late in the match and Timbers goalkeeper Troy Perkins deserves a ton of credit for making some fantastic saves to preserve the point for his team. I do not want to take anything away from his performance.

I was quite upset with referee Chris Penso after his ridiculous no-call on Futty Danso's takeout of Calen Carr in the 82nd minute. After watching replays, it was clearly a mistake by the linesman who completely missed the play and failed to properly tell Penso what happened. Also, it doesn't matter one damn but that Danso got a touch on the ball, he played the man and erased Carr from the play. Clear foul and a definite case for a red card.

The Dynamo TV commentary team of Glenn Davis and Eddie Robinson did a spectacular job of explaining the play and the breakdown in the officiating.

A few thoughts:

When Adam Moffat is unavailable or needs a rest, it's great having Nathan Sturgis available. He's not the physical force that the Scottish midfielder can be, but he's extremely smart with the ball, has a great work rate and is the type of player you need to do the dirty work in the midfield.
Luiz Camargo is finally starting to influence the game in the way we saw towards the end of last season. The off-season injury set him back but you get the feeling he's almost back to full fitness and starting to find his game again.
Calen Carr has really played well in the right side winger role. It's the biggest hole in the Dynamo lineup and if he can settle in to that spot, it could be a huge boost for the team moving forward.

What is your reaction Dynamo fans to last night's match?

Game Thread: Dynamo v Portland Timbers, 2012 MLS Match 9

2012-05-15T23:00:10Z

BROADCAST INFORMATION:

FOX Sports Houston Plus - 7:30 p.m. (Comcast: 110; AT&T U-Verse: SD= 692 HD=1692; DirecTV: SD=680 / HD=680-1; Dish Network:SD=443 / HD=9581)

MultiMedios Houston - 7 p.m.

KBME 790 (ENG Radio)

La Ranchera 850 (SPN Radio)

REFEREE:

Chris Penso. MLS Career: 18 games; FC/gm: 22.7; Y/gm: 3.3; R: 5; pens: 10

INJURY REPORT:

HOUSTON DYNAMO -- OUT: DF Kofi Sarkodie (R foot sprain); GK Erich Marscheider (R shoulder sprain); FW Brian Ownby (L elbow dislocation)

PORTLAND TIMBERS - OUT: DF Steve Purdy (concussion); QUESTIONABLE: MF Charles Renken (R ankle sprain); PROBABLE: MF Kalif Alhassan (R knee sprain); DF Eric Brunner (L hip flexor strain); GK Jake Gleeson (R knee IT band tightness)

HEAD-TO-HEAD:

ALL-TIME (2 meetings): Dynamo 2 wins, 4 goals ... Timbers 0 wins, 1 goal ... Ties 0

AT HOUSTON (1 meetings): Dynamo 2 wins, 2 goals ... Timbers 0 wins, 1 goal ... Ties 0

LAST YEAR 8/14: HOU 2, POR 1 (Moffat 17; Ching 27 - Jewsbury 56) 10/14: POR 0, HOU 2 (Hainault 36; Cruz 59)

This is the only league meeting between the clubs this season. Dynamo won both league meetings a year ago, a 2-1 triumph at Robertson Stadium and a 2-0 win at Jeld-Wen Field.

Coaches record: Dominic Kinnear vs. POR: P2 W2 L0 D0 ... John Spencer v HOU: P2 W0 L2 D0

Dynamo Starting XI & Bench:

Timbers Starting XI:

Perkins; Jewsbury, Mosquera, Danso, Smith; Songo'o, Chara, Palmer, Wallace; Nagbe, Boyd

Dynamo v Portland Timbers: No Time For Rest Dr. Jones

2012-05-14T22:00:10Z

The emotional home opener at the newest cathedral of soccer in America has passed and it's time to get down to business. The Houston Dynamo have limited time to recover and prepare themselves mentally and physically for a well rested Portland Timbers team that is desperate for points.

It's been a hectic week for the Dynamo, the dreaded side effect of having to compress the season's home schedule in a shortened amount of time. The tricky thing about this match against the Timbers is that all of these matches are of increased importance because of the somewhat condensed home schedule due to the delayed opening. Houston needs to take advantage of games in hand and pile up the points.

This is a good Timbers team that is underachieving at the moment and Gavin Wilkinson and John Spencer are already starting to take a lot of heat from fans for the slow start this year. That said, this is MLS and there is never an easy win in this parity dominated league. The biggest statistic in the Dynamo's favor is that Portland struggles mightily on the road and it should be warm and muggy for a team that enjoys playing in cooler climates.

The good news for Kinnear is that no players appeared to pick up a serious injury over the weekend. No doubt there are some sore muscles and bruises but hopefully the emotional high from Saturday will help the players fight through the aches and pains.

Kinnear has been tinkering with the lineup a great deal over the past week in an attempt to keep his players as fresh as possible, so it's a bit difficult to predict exactly what we'll see tomorrow night. I'm guessing we'll see Corey Ashe return since he was not used on Saturday, Calen Carr will probably be on the bench after starting two matches in a row. Colin Clark should take his place after subbing in against DC and looking very good. Luiz Camargo also saw limited minutes so I expect him to start.

Brian Ching expended a ton of energy on Saturday so it wouldn't surprise me to see Macoumba Kandji start alongside Will Bruin up front.

It comes down to riding an emotional wave versus a rested team, if the Dynamo can dig down and find the energy, this is a winnable match for them.

Predicted Lineup: Hall; Taylor, Cameron, Boswell, Ashe; Moffat, Clark, Davis, Camargo; Bruin, Kandji

Predicted Score: 2-0 Dynamo