A look at Joe Willis and Samuel Inkoom with Black and Red United

On Monday, the Houston Dynamo traded Andrew Driver and a 2016 SuperDraft 4th round pick to DC United for Joe Willis and Samuel Inkoom. This meant we wanted a chance to talk with the guys over at Black and Red United to get their take on the players headed our way. Specifically we talked with Adam Taylor, a contributing editor with the site.

Even though Joe Willis dropped to the third spot on the goalkeeping depth chart this year - having lost out to both incumbent starter Bill Hamid and 2013's #3 Andrew Dykstra - Joe Willis remained a popular figure with D.C. United's fanbase. Most of us counted ourselves lucky that somebody with the quality of Willis had been relegated to "loan him to Richmond" status, and we were happy to have him available to recall when Dykstra went down for the season with an injury. Some of our love has to do with his size and shot-stopping ability, and some of it has to do with his performances leading up to the 2013 U.S. Open Cup Final, including the penalty shoot out against the Richmond Kickers early in the tournament. Even more has to do with his stopping Kenny Cooper's penalty retake in DCU's 2012 playoff win at Red Bull Arena. But mostly it's we love Joe because he is a really good, really weird guy. You've no doubt seen his roster picture from this year, which created a whole #AngryJoeWillis meme, and that's only the tip of a hilarious iceberg I'll let you explore for yourselves. You're in for a treat.

Samuel Inkoom is a bit harder to write about, in part because he spent all of about five minutes in the District. He's a Ghanaian international fullback who has been on the Black Stars' last two World Cup squads. He's also got among the best, coolest, craziest fashion senses you're ever going to see - at least in an MLS player. He can hit a great cross from the right side, and in his short time he had a knack for finding the right pass to net an assist - in limited league minutes he managed one assist, and in three Champions League appearances for United he got two. All of those came from the right midfield position, though, and not from his listed fullback spot. That's mostly because his defending was non-existent from what we saw at RFK Stadium. He was a traffic cone - and not a very good one - in 1v1 situations, and he was disconnected from the rest of the defense (which would be excusable as a new addition to the team if not for the 1v1 deficiencies).

In the end, you're getting a couple of guys who United might have considered contributors next year, but neither is a guy Ben Olsen would have been counting on to replicate the team's success in 2015. Willis has the quality to be a starter in MLS, and in the right situation Inkoom might really shine.

Chances are both of these guys will come off the bench for the Dynamo.Tyler Deric has established himself as the number one keeper in Houston with Tally Hall traded Willis will serve the Dynamo a veteran on the bench. As for Inkoom, he is also at a position that has an incumbent starter in Kofi Sarkodie. However, when it comes to the right-back position Sarkodie was all we had. Inkoom gives the team the depth it was sorely lacking last season.