Happy Labor Day to all and lets keep our eye on Gustav.
The DYNAMO took three very important points against Chicago tonite at Robertson Stadium in front of the largest crowd of the year.

This game started off strangely with Chicago scoring first after an akward clear by DYNAMO defender EDDIE ROBINSON deflected to Chicago with BLANCO ultimately finding BRIAN MCBRIDE at the back post for a simple tap in almost.
Could have potentially been a foul called against BOBBY BOSWELL who got tugged and pulled to the ground.

Poor set piece defending from CHICAGO let the DYNAMO tie it up quickly through DWAYNE DEROSARIO and then BRIAN MULLAN scored into the far side netting past JON BUSCH and that would be the final scorline. Now you may have seen it differently but the FIRE were not prepared from the opening whistle despite scoring first and just to me did not live up to the evening. I was surprised how unemotional they seemed in the first half of this game and the DYNAMO should have won the game in the opening 45 minutes if not for the goalkeeping of Busch and indifferent play in the last third of the field. Chicago was organizationally a mess and the team shape was a disaster.
For me they got it all wrong and were not prepared nor motivated. Chicago tactics were all wrong as well and we can watch the tape to prove it ( no width and wide play as repeatedly Justin Mapp and Chris Rolfe came central rendering Brian McBride useless. He is a target man and his lifeline is delivery from wide areas) .

The collective effort and will of the DYNAMO on many a night can win them three points that others might not get. No one stood out yet they produce a huge win over a team that should be around at the end of the MLS playoffs.

Chicago did perplex me on this evening and really had no wide play which to a large degree rendered BRIAN MCBRIDE ineffective. Both JUSTIN MAPP (does he have a fire in his belly? Not this night) and Chris Rolfe both continued to drift central eliminating any width and delivery from wide areas to McBride. With MCBRIDE and BLANCO deep they had no threat in behind the Dynamo ….one would have thought that Rolfe and Mapp would have made some deeper runs out of midfield but it never happened.
Yet the fact that the DYNAMO did not put CHICAGO away kept them hanging around and they put some pressure on in the final few minutes and nearly produce a tying goal that would have left them with a valuable point.
CUAUHTEMOC BLANCO did not live up to it on this evening apart from a few brief moments of brilliance including a backheel as though he had eyes in the back of his head. Limited influence from the AMERICANISTA…..but he put them in the stands. Blanco himself probably responsible for an additional 5-6 thousand fans at this one.

This was about getting it done and the DYNAMO did that to the tune of three points and a five point spread in the Western Conference over RSL. Winning ugly? Maybe a little bit but they can’t all be artistic masterpieces. Brian Ching, Ricardo Clark, Dwayne DeRosario and Pat Onstad all off to WORLD CUP QUALIFYING duty so KEI KAMARA, CRAIG WAIBEL, STUART HOLDEN and TONY CAIG , JEFF CAMERON are all looking at opportunity next weekend it would seem.

*Dynamo banner’s were awesome. The monster orange and black one unveiled by EL BATTALON worked perfectly with the comedic relief provided by the TEXIAN ARMY……What a sight! What an effort!

Happy Labor Day and I want your thoughts on this game……

It seems as though MICHAEL BRADLEY of Dutch side HERENVEEN is headed to BORUSSIA MOENCHENGLADBACH in GERMANY.
The 21 year old midfielder scored 15 goals in 33 league appearances and those goals made people stand up and take notice.
Apparently an agreement on the transfer fee has been reached with BRADLEY’s contract due up in 2009 at HERENVEEN.
Terms still have to be agreed upon as well as BRADLEY passing a physical.
More expected in the next day.
Which leads me to the thought of some players that are targets for Europe:
*RICARDO CLARK- Clearly could play in Europe in the right environment/
*SACHA KLEJSTAN- apparently already has interest after Olympic display.
*KEN COOPER JR. – a move to ENGLAND turned down by MLS.
*STUART HOLDEN- excellent possession player who has dual passport.
*PABLO MAESTROENI- apparently has had interest from ITALY.

RANGERS defeated CELTIC 4-2 at Celtic Park in front of 58,595 fans. KENNY MILLER scored twice for RANGERS while former EVANSVILLE UNIVERSITY defender PAT WEIR went the full 90 minutes. U.S. OLYMPIAN and national team player MAURICE EDU was on the subs bench for RANGERS but did not play.

*A quick thank you to those who have contacted me concerning my father’s recent open-heart surgery, my sincerest appreciation for your kind thoughtfulness.
Glenn

Having called the game for HDNET last night at Gillette Stadium here are a few observations off the top of my head:

*Just short of 40,000 fans….Beckham drawing power amazing.

*LANDON DONOVAN the star of the show behind EDSON BUDDLE, I hope we stop wasting him as a wide midfielder for the national team. If Bob Bradley wants to go conservative then play with a five man midfield with Donovan at the top so as not to waste his ability to get behind a defense. Our most dangerous attacking player most be put in a position to be a goal scoring threat to opponents
DONOVAN scored twice in the 2-2 draw and both were fantastic goals…….Now has 16 on the year to lead the league.

*EDSON BUDDLE and TAYLOR TWELLMAN both could not control a ball to save their lives. Though Twellman was brave as hell on his goal. Forwards who couldn’t hold the ball killed the quality of the game.

*ARENA is having an influence on LA…EDDIE LEWIS had a solid debut but will not get past many people. LA fielded very experienced line-up under ARENA.

*SAINEY NYASSI was tormenting ANTE JAZIC with pace in the 2nd half and ARENA made a good change bringing on MIKE RANDOLPH and moving LEWIS inside.

So do the DYNAMO do it over CHICAGO before we have to high-tail it out of town with GUSTAVO chasing us?
This will be the first time that CUAUHTEMOC BLANCO and BRIAN MCBRIDE visit Robertson and will be on the field together.
This game has it all, start quality, teams in need of points plus what should be a good playoff type atmosphere. Don’t forget to where your ORANGE.
Still have my thoughts about the DYNAMO center-back situation with EDDIE ROBINSON having an indifferent year due to injury, suspension and performance. Hopefully he can find his ALL STAR form from last year.
Tell me your thoughts on this game!!!

DAVID BECKHAM and the LA GALAXY begin their nine game fight for playoff survival tonite at Gillette Stadium against the NE REVOLUTION a game that you can see on HDNET at 6:30 pm.
BRUCE ARENA will be charge for the GALAXY for his second straight match and the first time in charge with DAVID BECKHAM on the field. BECKHAM may play in a central role tonite against NE who are fatigued but will hope to get energy off an expected 40,000 fans.
Glenn Davis will interview BRUCE ARENA at halftime of the broadcast.
NE expects to have goalkeeper MATT REIS back in the lineup.

*UEFA CUP holders ZENIT ST PETERSBURG beat MANCHESTER UNITED 2-1 in the UEFA SUPERCUP yesterday on goals from Pavel Pogrebnyak and Danny. Manchester United got a goal from Nemanja Vidic in the loss. Did you see this game and what is your take?

*JOSE MOURINHO debuts today with INTER MILAN as they open up the 2008/2009 SERIE A season at SAMPDORIA.

*DYNAMO take on CHICAGO FIRE and for the first time MLS fans will see Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Brian Mcbride on the field at the same time. Over 20,000 fans expected at Robertson so get their early.

HOUSTON your soccer program is on the air tonite.
Catch the DYNAMO SOCCER REPORT with GLENN DAVIS at 9:30 pm on Channel 55.
Glenn visits with DYNAMO striker BRIAN CHING and head coach DOMINIC KINNEAR ahead of this SUNDAY’s big match-up with the CHICAGO FIRE.
CHING recounts what it is like to play in Central America…..
Rumors, rants and raves plus we here from you the viewer.
Get your tickets now by visiting HOUSTONDYNAMO.COM…….for those who can’t make it to SUNDAY’s showdown featuring CUAUHTEMOC BLANCO , BRIAN MCBRIDE and all the DYNAMO stars catch the game on CHANNEL 55 with pre-game beginning at 5:30pm.

Bring on your thoughts from all of the following topics:

*BRIAN CHING and RICARDO CLARK have both been called into the U.S. National team for World Cup qualifiers at Cuba on September 6th and against Trinidad and Tobago on Sept 10th. Ching helped secure the 1-0 U.S. win at Guatemala with timely decisions and good defensive work. Little service and a lack of chemistry with CLINT DEMPSEY was evident.
CLARK gets back into the U.S. side after being by-passed for the GUATEMALA game last week. Ok so here is the U.S. roster in full chosen by manager BOB BRADLEY:

Goalkeepers: Tim Howard, Brad Guzan
Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra, Danny Califf, Steve Cherundolo, Frankie Hejduk, Oguchi Onyewu, Michael Orozco, Heath Pearce, Marvelle Wynn
Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley, Michael Bradley, Ricardo Clark, Maurice Edu, Eddie Lewis.
Forwards: Brian Ching, Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Eddie Johnson.

So what are your thoughts on this roster? Areas you would improve or bring in different personel? What is your ideal U.S. set up? Would you play on the road with a five man midfield with Landon Donovan behind a lone striker so as to cash in on his passing ability and threat to get behind defenses? Are you comfortable then with Clint Dempsey out wide in midfield ?

*I mentioned that JOSEOPH NGWENYA played 90 minutes in the TURKISH SUPERLIGA in a 3-2 loss for ANTALYASPOR. Now that is 27 minutes more than his entire AUSTRIAN journey.
I guess KEI KAMARA has put last years MLS CUP HERO out of sight out of mind……Nonetheless I will keep you up on Joe’s exploits.

* PAUL GARDNER recently wrote in SOCCER AMERICA that BRUCE ARENA wanted to off-load MARCO ETCHEVERRY at DC UNITED in the early years in order to get ALEXI LALAS…The league nixed the deal and presumably ARENA came to appreciate the exploits of “EL DIABLO” two MLS CUPS and a COPA INTERAMERICA later over SAO PAULO. Arena recently moved CARLOS RUIZ to TORONTO to make room for EDDIE LEWIS. Fact is few want RUIZ at this stage I believe based on baggage and limited production in the last few years. PESCADITO is gasping for air in MLS.

*LA Galaxy manager BRUCE ARENA will be the featured interview at halftime of the LA/NE match this Saturday on HDNET.

*ROBINHO to CHELSEA looks close to being done…….thoughts?

* BRIAN CHING is a certainity to start this SUNDAY when the DYNAMO host the CHICAGO FIRE in a big one at ROBERTSON STADIUM. Be mentally prepared for football (AMERICAN) lines. Yet this can’t dampen the excitement around the arrival of Cuauhtemoc BLANCO and Brian MCBRIDE who will play together for the first time in MLS. As many of my callers on the radio show mentioned the DYNAMO have a way of living up to the moment and producing. Something tells me they will rebound on Sunday after a 3-0 loss on “turf” in New Jersey to the RED BULLS. Ching and McBride on the same field is somewhat ironic as Ching was McBride’s back-up at the last WORLD CUP in Germany. This will be heated.

*CHAMPIONS league groupings came out today:
Group A: Chelsea, Roma, Bordeaux, CFR Cluj
Group B: Inter Milan, Werder Bremen, Panathinaikos, Anorthosis Famagusta
Group C: Barcelona, Sporting Lisbon, Basel Shakhtar Donetsk
Group D: Liverpool, PSV Eindhoven, Marseille, Atletico Madrid
Group E: Manchester United, Villareal, Celtic, Aalborg
Group F: Lyon, Bayern Munich, Steaua Bucharest, Fiorentina
Group G: Arsenal, Porto, Fenerbahce, Dynamo Kiev
Group H: Real Madrid, Juventus, Zenit ST. Petersburg, Bate Borisov

* CALIFF NIGHTMARE
Nursing a 1-0 lead over Manchester City at home Midtjylland (Danish CLub) defender DANNY CALIFF a U.S. international was a part of an own goal in the 89th minute that tied the aggregate and put the teams into overtime. Penalty kicks ensued with City goalkeeper Joe Hart saving two to become the hero and MANCHESTER CITY advanced in the UEFA cup.
Barely…..

Dynamo Soccer Report with Glenn Davis this Friday at 9:30 pm features an interview with BRIAN CHING and DOMINIC KINNEAR plus much more. Go to HOUSTONs55.com and click on the DSR and send me your story ideas and or your thoughts on the great game of soccer!

Dynamo All Access with Glenn Davis moves to this Wednesday at 7pm on 790 The Sports Animal.

HDNET brings the LA GALAXY at NE game this Saturday in high defintion …….

DANNY CALIFF is long remembered for his play in MLS with both the LA GALAXY and the SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES. He moved on to EUROPE with little fanfare and has sparingly been called in to the U.S. National team. Yet, under the radar he is one of the leaders of MIDTJYLLAND of the DANISH SUPERLIGA. Recently MIDTJLLAND beat MANCHESTER CITY at MANCHESTER CITY in the first leg of UEFA CUP second round qualifying.
Tomorrow they take on MANCHESTER CITY in the second leg in DENMARK.
“We expected them to come back at our groand and not underestimate but we’ll have our fans behind us and believe we can do it.”
I am officially pulling for CALIFF and MIDTJYLLAND tomorrow. The game can be seen on SETANTA sports.
Additionally, should CALIFF be in the mix more with his experience with the national team. Where do you rate the tattoed one with CARLOS BOCANEGRA and OGUCHI ONYEWU?

So last night I am watching depleted, fatigued MLS teams playing against clubs like JOE PUBLIC of TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO and FC TAURO of PANAMA.
Both NE and Chivas USA come out on the losing end and I say to myself….’Can this be good for soccer in the UNITED STATES. Televising empty, emotionless stadiums against obscure teams who are BEATING MLS teams. It can’t be great at this stage and it only goes to remind us that this process of the sport growing is a slow and steady growth in some areas. This is another of example and vote of confidence that the salary cap has to be extended and the depth and quality of players on MLS rosters have to be increased.
MLS as you continue to want your teams to participate in these international tournaments you must look at your product. You are now extending it beyond belief and rendering the coaches to be in impossible positions. Not whining here but putting more resources behind these tournaments will enable MLS teams to win them.
Then there is the whole issue of the COPA LIBERTADORES…won’t get into that here.

Now the positive take. MLS players and coaches will become more familiar with CONCACAF and it’s environments. For young players those environments last night were lessons learned. For coaches it is also any opportunity to familiarize themselves with Concacaf and maybe identify a player or two worthy of playing in MLS. The more understanding and experience gained in these situations the better for the future. But from a marketing and PR standpoint these games last night did little to help the sport in the U.S. Do you care?

Conversely, how interesting is it to watch giants like BARCELONA have to go to play at WISLA KRAKOW in POLAND in the CHAMPIONS LEAGUE qualifiers. These are intriguing matches and challenging for giant clubs

NERY CASTILLO is set to move on from MANCHESTER CITY in ENGLAND to join Spanish Club Real Betis. The talented Castillo seems to be the future attacking focal point for MEXICO and has tormented the UNITED STATES on a few occasions. If he passes a medical exam a deal could be made with SHAKHTAR DONETSK of the UKRAINE who hold his rights.
CASTILLO because of injury was limited with his playing time in the EPL and moves to a league that may be more conducive to his talents.
“The BETIS offer is very important for NERY because he will be an important player there. It will be useful for him to gain confidence and find his best form ahead of the WORLD CUP,” said his agent Juan Carlos Padilla.
When on form, Castillo is a dangerous, active player.

JOSEOPH NGWENYA may have played limited time in AUSTRIA but after just one game he has bested his minutes played in that country already in Turkey.
Ngwneya went the full 90 minutes in a TURKISH SUPERLIGA 3-2 loss playing for ANTALYASPOR this past weekend. The good news …he played 90 minutes. The bad news, his team was leading 2-0 in the 78th minute and conceded 3 goals in the final 12 minutes to lose to BESIKTAS at home.

PODCAST of DYNAMO ALL ACCESS with GLENN DAVIS is up at 790thesportsanimal.com Click podcasts, click Glenn Davis…..
Interviews include Dominic Kinnear, Kei Kamara and Pat Onstad.

DYNAMO SOCCER REPORT WITH GLENN DAVIS every FRIDAY at 9:30 Pm on Channel 55