Andre Hainault is officially making the move to the Scottish Premier League.
Now you likely already know this. Is the move to 11th place Ross County an upwardly mobile move for Hainault?

He debuted for the Dynamo at left back off the bench on May 3, 2009 against NE coming on for then captain Wade Barrett now an assistant for the Dynamo.

In 2011 Hainault was the Dynamo team mvp defender and was generally seamless in moving in and out of any position in the back four.
He has appeared for the Dynamo over 100 times and was an unused sub in the MLS Cup final against the LA Galaxy but had ups and downs in 2012.

His versatility may have hurt him but this past season and he struggled at times which may have had more to do with a heavy work load representing Canada internationally as well.
The emergence of defenders Jamaican Jermaine Taylor and Kofi Sarkodie plus the acquisition of Eric Brunner from the Portland Timbers must also be factored in to the equation.
Hainault played 2035 minutes starting 24 times and appearing 25 times for the Dynamo registering 2 goals and 3 assists.
Only Tally Hall, Will Bruin, Brad Davis, Bobby Boswell, Jermaine Taylor, and Cory Ashe played more minutes in 2012.

His next destination of northern Scotland is a cold windy place and this for me is curious move for Hainault who moves on a free transfer.
Ross County is not bathing in the trappings of wealth either so one could wonder why Hainault did not elect to seek MLS employment either with the Dynamo or other clubs.

Hainault will play for coach Derek Adams who led the “Staggies” into the Scottish Premier League after gaining promotion last season.
They currently are 11th out of 12 teams and play in a 6300 seat Victoria Park.
The club was founded in 1929.

Hainault had impressive moments over the years for the Dynamo and was an asset in the community as well!
Ironically it was Hainault who scored the opening goal of 2012 which led to a road win at Chivas USA.

Twitter: GlennDavisSoc

While on a morning drive today I was listening to the break down of the Texans loss at NE yesterday and a thought came to my mind as the host talked about the lack of a deep threat on offense that they lacked against NE.
Of course this will be examined up and down through the rest of the week and where the future of the Texans will lie.
Now I don’t profess to know the ins and outs of NFL football but there are similar aspects of attack and defense that compare.
The hosts simple comment made me think of soccer and the fact that team’s are always trying to be dangerous in a variety of ways.
As much as the Texans need to have a deep threat in order to “stretch” out the game the same lies in the game of soccer. Having a threat behind defenses creates more space in front of defenses, and it creates additional space and time for midfield players.

I would imagine in the NFL it is essential to an offensive game plan to have a deep threat and bring possibility to opposing defenses to make it more difficult to scheme.

We learned in Houston in consecutive years that a threat behind defenses in the playoffs was essential and that role and target was Calen Carr who sadly got injured in the MLS Cup Final after a wonderfully timed run behind the LA defense and a finish.
New Dynamo signing Omar Cummings will be asked to provide that threat in the absence of Carr. Still a blend of strikers that make runs behind defenses, check back into midfield to be part of the build up, and can hold play up is vital to unsettle opposing defenders.
Variety, possibility, unpredictability in attack is essential and it must include a threat behind defenses.
See futbol and “American” football might not be so different after all.

Twitter: GlennDavisSoc, facebook: Glenn Davis