Monday Morning Centre Back: Trying to Make Sense of the Brian Ching Situation

I'm opening this with the following statement:

This is an editorial piece containing my opinions about the Brian Ching situation. I do not have factual evidence to support my points, I'm simply making educated assumptions based on the information we've actually seen. That said, I'm sure I'll get some reactions from people who don't make it past the headline before jumping to a conclusion. Oh well.

Jesse Marsch, the coach, is a bit of an asshole.

I've never met the man personally, but I have an extremely low opinion of him. Before you lose your mind about this statement, realize that this is not the reaction of a bitter Dynamo fan about the fact that the Montreal Impact selected Brian Ching in last week's expansion draft. Sure I'm angry about the pick, but not for the simple reason that the Dynamo have lost the face of their franchise. I'm annoyed that Jesse Marsch is using a great guy like Ching as leverage in an attempt to get a player he has no chance of getting.

According to the Sporting News, Marsch wants defender Andre Hainault and draft picks for Brian Ching...whatever Jesse. That's not only ridiculous, it's borderline insane. We love Brian Ching but even the most orange blooded Dynamo fan should realize that trading one of our best defenders AND draft picks for a guy that is at the end of his career is a bad business decision. So the fact that Marsch is asking for that is completely absurd.

We of course do not know if Marsch and the Impact approached the Dynamo before the draft and inquired about what it would take to get Hainault. If they did, then the pick of Ching is nothing more than a spiteful move that belongs on an elementary school playground. If there was no approach, then Marsch was simply taking Ching as leverage in hopes of forcing the Dynamo in to trading away whatever Montreal wanted to get back their team captain. If that's the case, Marsch is sadly mistaken and has likely done nothing more than bring Brian Ching's career to an unceremonious conclusion.

All that said, let me quickly point out that if you are going to be upset with Marsch and the Impact, you need to be just as upset with the Dynamo front office for exposing Ching in the first place. You can't just rail against Montreal and their staff and pretend that our own front office team isn't culpable in this. So let me suggest that maybe we should calm down about Montreal and remember that Dominic Kinnear was directly involved in the decision making process that created the Dynamo's unprotected list. Why? Take a second and ask yourself what lesson did we just re-learn during the 2011 MLS Cup playoffs? Say it with me...In Dom we trust.

You can't blame the Dynamo for not protecting a 33-year old injury prone forward with a guaranteed contract of close to $500,000. On the other hand, it's hard to defend the decision to risk the face of the franchise ahead of the new stadium opening in the spring. It really feels like a no-win situation for them considering the love Dynamo fans have for Ching.

The question really will come down to if the public relations hit they are taking can be overturned with the roster additions they can make thanks to the significant amount of cap space they now have at their disposal. Let's be honest here, having Ching's guaranteed contract off the books isn't the worst thing that could happen to a team that needs depth in the attack and an additional creative midfield player to keep the offense from being so dependent on Brad Davis. Unfortunately, many people won't accept that if the cost is a player of the stature of Brian Ching and I sympathize. Still, this move may end up making sense in the long run.

Something tells me this story is far from complete and while we would all love to see Ching helping to open the new stadium in May, this move may ultimately lead to a better overall team in 2012.