Monday Morning Centre Back: Road Results

It's Monday morning (just barely still) and it's time for another edition of Monday Morning Centre Back. It's always nice to get a result on the road, even a draw -- especially when the team plays entire halves like they don't really want a result. Even nicer is seeing Danny Cruz and Lovel Palmer fighting their way through their injuries.

I'm proud of the team for fighting through the match as they did. There were plenty of frustrating moments, like when the ball was sitting in front of the Fire goal and Dynamo players were close but couldn't seem to strike the ball. There were also a few moments of zen, like when Dominic Oduro was one on one with Dynamo Keeper Tally Hall and using mystic powers only he possesses managed to strike the ball into the post. All in all it was another Dynamo road result, and that is good news for the Dynamo.

Sitting at 6 games into the still very young MLS season, the Dynamo are undefeated on the road in League Play. What might be most telling, however, is the final score of every road game thus far. In 3 road games, the Dynamo have managed to keep the results consistently at 1-1. It's intriguing to think, and if my poor memory serves me correct, each of the 3 goals given up on the road have been due to poor defensive clearance or poor marking, ie: defensive miscues and mental lapses.

My major concern is that's exactly what plagued the team last season. The difference this season is the team is managing to equalize the mistakes with small moral victories. As any general would tell you, moral victories might keep you alive in the battle, but they certainly won't help you win the war.

Is it time to move Geoff Cameron or does he deserve more games to grow into the CAM position? I've been thinking about it, and it's been discussed over and over. In a perfect world, you would leave Cameron at the CAM position and give him more time to develop and grow into the role. In the real world, you can only give him so many more chances before you have to move him back to DM or CB.

If I were in the Dom's shoes, I would still give him a few more games at CAM. Yes, even I the one who has consistently called for Cameron's move to CB once more, would give him a few more games to develop. Here's the way I see it.

Even if Koke is ready to go Friday, I don't foresee the Dom placing him into the Starting XI. There won't be enough time to get Koke comfortable with the Houston heat and humidity, nor enough time with his new teammates for connecting his creativity. Still, I do anticipate to see Koke with some substitution minutes in the game, and hopefully making the most of them.

I think if the Dynamo are down a goal or more at halftime without enough offense having been generated by the lineup, the Dom will make the move and put Koke up top at Forward subbing out Will Bruin. But if the Dynamo have secured a lead or are on even footing, I suspect him to hold off until the 70th or even 75th minute to bring in Koke.

Also, with it now being a foregone conclusion the team will sign a DP when the summer transfer window hits, I think the Dom would like to know for certain whether Cameron can handle the CAM role or not. Of course if the Dynamo have a specific DP in mind, which we know they do, then it has to be taken into account, too.

And I think we can all agree on this one point: Cameron needs confidence. He's becoming highly frustrated with himself and his expressions and body language say it all. It's the one factor we as fans can't truly appreciate about Kinnear. He has to read players, hear players, and managed players. All we have to do is try to understand them.