It's been a wild night in Houston.
Around 7:00pm central time, the team made a three-part announcement as the team added a player, released a player and lost an assistant coach...and since my witty headline (which wouldn't exist without inspiration from @commie) references the lost coach, we shall start there.
John Spencer has left the club for personal reasons, resigning from his assistant coach position effective immediately. Spencer has been with the Dynamo since the move to Houston in 2006 and coached the Dynamo Reserves to a Division championship in 2008. The general opinion amongst fans appears to be that Spencer will resurface in Portland when the Timbers join MLS next season. No word on possible replacements for Spencer.
Luis Landin's reign of terror in Houston is over, as buffets everywhere are releasing a collective sigh of relief. Let's be honest, this move doesn't surprise anyone and it's been more of question of when it would happen and not if.
Landin was signed in August 2009 as the team's first designated player and was never able to live up to the expectations placed upon him. Landin played in 16 matches, amassing an unimpressive 2 goals and 3 assists. It's disappointing that Landin's most lasting contribution to Houston soccer will likely be his struggle with fitness that made him the punchline of many jokes as fans became more and more frustrated with his poor play.
The last bit of business for the Dynamo was the signing of Ghanian midfielder Anthony Obodai.
Obodai is a 27-year old native of Accra, Ghana. He began his career in Ghana playing for S.C. Adelaide and Liberty Professionals before signing with the Dutch side Ajax in 2001. He joined Sparta Rotterdam in 2005 and moved to RKC Waalwijk in 2007. Obodai has also earned three caps with the Ghana National Team.
According to Dynamo COO Chris Canetti, Obodai can quote, "add depth to our central midfield and give Brad Davis the chance to move back to his natural position on the left". Sounds like the plan would be for Obodai to play in the CAM role at the top of Kinnear's preferred midfield diamond depsite being listed as a defensive midfielder. Lovel Palmer was in the attacking spot against Columbus on the weekend and played well, but it appears Kinnear would prefer to keep Palmer in the holding role at the back of the diamond.
Obadai could be available as soon as Thursday for Houston's first SuperLiga match against Pachuca.