So apparently, April 1 is some kind of international holiday that has produced the following football-related posts:
Soccer by Ives: Teal Bunbury to renounce US MNT and play for Canada in surprise switch
Free Beer Movement: Deriding the whole notion of April Fools as "a day where the un-funny try their damnedest to be funny" nevertheless offers the following: "We thought about selling out to Budweiser for the day, but, eh, it would've been so obvious that it was fake. Wait for that story on May 4th or something like that!"
The great Tweet from Travis Clark: "From @ussoccer the @WhitecapsFC will join the USSF Dev. Academy for 2011-12."
But then there are multiple Twitter feeds talking about a potential Dwayne De Rosario trade, probably to the New York Red Bulls for Tony Tchani and Danleigh Borman. Apparently, this last one is for real (which we'll probably find out about 2 seconds after I finish writing this post.) And DDR might just be available to play for NYRB against Dynamo Saturday night.
I can only think now about what might have been if DDR, who my Orange Heart will love forever, no matter what he does and for whom, had not let his homesickness take him over and stayed here in Houston. What problems have we seen here at Robertson over the last couple of years that would not have been solved with No. 14 still occupying the central attacking midfielder role that he pretty much invented under Frank Yallop and Dom Kinnear before the move from San Jose? In many ways, filling that role, and the lack of success in doing that (I still maintain that Holden's last year here was not that wonderful because he was still growing into that role when he left.) has been THE story regarding the Dynamo attack and the problems therein since that dark December day in 2008 when he left.
That's why I find the hints from Jose de Jesus Ortiz about a potential infusion of up to three new players up top for Dynamo so encouraging. There is currently nobody in house, not Calen Carr or Colin Clark (whose names as well as my expected grades for them all begin with "C") who can put a serious charge into the Dynamo attack or suddenly turn them into a dangerous attacking team.
On one level, this is not all that surprising, and to be fair, not all unwelcome. Any rebuild, especially after a season's like 2010, begins from the back. The play of Tally Hall, Jermaine Taylor (one game, but a nice one), HRH Kofi Sarkodie and Hunter Freeman in the first two games (as well as the unimportant ones in preseason) give much confidence in an Orange future. I blame Bobby Boswell (as does he, according to his published and recorded comments) for both goals so far (though as Hall himself said, had he been more aggressive against Philly early, Le Toux would never have connected with that throw-in to begin with), but I have confidence in his ability to improve.
And, continuing this meme, a new attacking player would allow Geoff Cameron to move into a holding midfielder (though whither Lovel Palmer in that case, eh?) or possibly right wing or (in complicated who sits/who plays scenarios) central defense. This is so needed because as his play in the central attacking role has shown over the past year a square peg does not fit into a round hole. He's fine because he's a good player (as my dad said about golfers so many year ago, "Those guys are so good they could play with plastic clubs.) and can adapt to so many roles, anything asked of him. But it's time to start looking at what he does best, what positions best fit his skills, even what would be his best role in a possible USMNT sense, and none of those answers, not one of them, to me is spelled "C-E-N-T-R-A-L A-T-T-A-C-K-I-N-G M-I-D-F-I-E-L-D-E-R".
So who would best fill that role? Well, according to Ortiz and the team, it appears the first next step is JeVaughn Watson. A nd here's hoping it is and the move works. And after that? Well, Fuzion and I are hoping to get a "Kaka-to-Dynamo" rumor trending on Twitter. But back in the real world? DDR to Houston would have me going to bed a happy man, but according to Ives and others, he's definitely headed to Harrison, and without the decency to wait until I finished this post. Typical.
More moves from Dynamo will be welcome from these corners, no doubt. And that is no foolin.'