Houston Dynamo
Take Me Out to the Playoffs – Conference Finals
The playoff numbers look like this…
| 5 year comparison | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conference Finals – 1st Leg(Only 1 leg until 2012) | ||||||
| Avg | +/- | Home Teams | ||||
| 2008 | 17,348 | Columbus | RSL | |||
| 2009 | 23,548 | 35.74% | Chicago | Los Angeles | ||
| 2010 | 22,390 | -4.92% | Colorado | Los Angeles | ||
| 2011 | 22,138 | -1.12% | Sporting KC | Los Angeles | ||
| 2012 | 24,551 | 10.90% | Houston | Los Angeles | ||
| Conference Finals – 2nd Leg(Only 1 leg until 2012) | ||||||
| Avg | +/- | Home Teams | ||||
| 2008 | NA | |||||
| 2009 | ||||||
| 2010 | ||||||
| 2011 | ||||||
| 2012 | 32,295 | DC United | Seattle | |||
Take Me Out to the Playoffs Conference Semis Leg 1
Welcome to the 4th edition of ‘Take Me Out to the Playoffs’.
The playoff numbers look like this…
| 5 year comparison | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conference Semifinals – 1st Leg | ||||||
| Avg | +/- | Home Teams | ||||
| 2008 | 14,245 | Kansas City | New England | RBNY | RSL | |
| 2009 | 10,476 | -26.46% | Chivas USA | New England | RSL | Seattle |
| 2010 | 19,985 | 90.77% | Colorado | Dallas | San Jose | Seattle |
| 2011 | 16,718 | -16.35% | Colorado | Philadelphia | RSL | RBNY |
| 2012 | 25,047 | 49.82% | DC United | Houston | Los Angeles | Seattle |
Soccer Potpourri
Message from Peter
Sorry if some of these are a tad dated. Computer committed suicide and I’m just getting back up and running.
Did You Know?
After going unbeaten last season, Juventus ran its unbeaten streak to 49 before losing to Inter.
MLS
- WV Hooligan: MLS International Recap
- Noah Davis: Is MLS Making the Rest of CONCACAF Better at the Expense of the U.S. National Team?
- Reserve League: Houston Dynamo and LA win MLS Reserve League division titles
- Jonah Freedman: MLS, NASL closer to working partnership
- Expansion: Merritt Paulson Forecasts Increase in MLS Soccer Franchise Fees
- J Hutcherson: Canada’s WC exit is an MLS problem
- TheStar.com: Toronto FC’s hands tied by meddling MLS
- MLS Talk: Will MLS Benefit From NBC’s Premier League Deal?
- Devin Pleuler: Pythagorean Expectation tested in MLS
Interesting Reads
The MLS 500 Club – Houston(formerly San Jose)
The charter clubs of MLS are crossing the 500 regular season ‘games played threshold’ this season. This is the ninth and final entry in this series that presents all-time records in league play.
Now I know some of you might bring up the issue that San Jose, the new expansion San Jose, has retained the records and history of the original San Jose MLS franchise(similar to the Browns in the NFL). Not me. I’m old school on this. The team of Eddie Robinson, Richard Mulrooney, Dwayne De Rosario, Brian Mullan, Pat Onstad, and Brian Ching, among others, that migrated to Houston in 2006 is a 4 time MLS Cup winner. Nothing makes me as batty as hearing some announcer discuss the 2 MLS Cups San Jose has won, referring to the current incarnation of the team.
OK, so now you know my stance and why I present the all-time record of the Houston/San Jose franchise, having played their 500th league match in their brand new ballpark, in Houston. Oh the irony.
Soccer Potpourri with a big dose of Soccer Business
For Fun
- Special 1 TV: Special 1 TV Takes Aim at Piers Morgan and Arsene Wenger – Thanks to the good folks at EPL Talk for this.
MLS
- Gregg Seltzer: Top 5 MLS Spines
- Grant Wahl: Star-filled Galaxy primed to repeat, Dallas’ conundrum, more MLS notes
- Houston Dynamo: Dynamo Supporters Groups Facing League-Wide Restrictions in 2012
- Zach Woosley: Learning From the Message Sent by MLS to Dynamo Supporters
Interesting Reads
- David Hills: Said and Done
- Owen Gibson: European clubs clinch deal with Uefa to cut international matches
The Business of Soccer(The terrific David Conn goes to town)
- Two Hundred Percent: On The Brink: An Introduction To Football’s Chaotic Current State
- David Conn: FA proposes licensing system to govern all football clubs in England
- Two Hundred Percent: Is More Regional Football The Answer To The Lower Divisions’ Prayers?
- David Conn: Aston Villa announce record losses of £54m under Randy Lerner
- J Hutcherson: Transfers, Villa, And Financial Fair Play
- David Conn: Portsmouth back on brink as extent of club’s mishandling is laid bare
- David Conn: Clubs paid £1.9bn for international transfers in 2011
Soccer Potpourri
MLS
- Jason Davis: The Evolving Role Of The MLS SuperDraft
- Tweed Thornton: A look at how each Eastern Conference team has done between 2008-2011 – Western Conference
- Steve Davis: At the 10-year anniversary of very dark MLS days
- Kyle McCarthy: Application of the Home Grown player rule keeps the overarching goal in mind
- TFC Blog: MLS can Learn from the CHL – a Case for Single Entity Player Development
- Las Vegas Review Journal: Five years later, Beckham’s U.S. impact up for debate
- Duane Rollins: A MLS mockery draft
- Dynamo Theory: Implications of the Richards Decision for Major League Soccer & Houston
- Brian Quarstad: Etienne Barbara Frustrated with Montreal Impact and MLS Rules
Interesting Reads
Read the rest of this entry »
Take Me Out to the Playoffs – Semifinals
Welcome to the 3rd edition of ‘Take Me Out to the Playoffs’.
| 5 year comparison | ||||||
| Quarterfinals Totals(both legs) | ||||||
| Avg | +/- | Teams | ||||
| 2007 | 17,041 | CHI, CHV, DAL, DCU, HOU, KC, NE, RBNY | ||||
| 2008 | 14,960 | -12.22% | CHI, CHV, CLB, HOU, KC, NE, RBNY, RSL | |||
| 2009 | 20,755 | 38.74% | CHI, CHV, CLB, HOU, LA, NE, RSL, SEA | |||
| 2010 | 18,551 | -10.62% | CLB, COL, DAL, LA, RBNY, RSL, SJ, SEA | |||
| 2011 | 20,776 | 11.99% | COL, HOU, LA, PHL, RBNY, RSL, SEA, SKC | |||
| Semifinals Totals | ||||||
| Avg | +/- | Teams | ||||
| 2007 | 20,645 | NE v CHI – HOU v KC | ||||
| 2008 | 17,348 | -15.97% | CLB v CHI – RSL v RBNY | |||
| 2009 | 23,548 | 35.74% | LA v HOU – CHI v RSL | |||
| 2010 | 22,390 | -4.92% | LA v FCD – COL v SJ | |||
| 2011 | 22,138 | -1.12% | LA v RSL – SKC v HOU | |||
| Playoff Totals | ||||||
| Avg | +/- | Teams | ||||
| 2007 | 17,762 | NA | MLS Cup 2011 Houston v Los Angeles Sun, Nov 20, 9:00pm(ET) |
|||
| 2008 | 15,437 | -13.09% | ||||
| 2009 | 21,314 | 38.07% | ||||
| 2010 | 19,319 | -9.36% | ||||
| 2011 | 19,025 | -1.52% | ||||
Observations
A record crowd at Livestrong Park saw their heroes fall a game short of going to the MLS Cup final. A good crowd, but not a sellout at the Home Depot Center.
The numbers are just about even with last year. They would be higher except for the wildcard fiascos(at the gate), where the Dallas and Colorado games averaged under 9,000.
| 2011 MLS Cup | |||
| Semifinals | |||
| Sporting KC | 0 | Kansas City – Hillcrest Road | 20,839 |
| Houston | 2 | Dynamo Theory – Zach Woosley | |
| Los Angeles | 3 | LA – Official Blog | 23,437 |
| Real Salt Lake | 1 | RSL Soapbox |
MLS Cup Final
Houston v Los Angeles – Sun Nov 20 9:00pm ET – Home Depot Center, Carson, CA
I’ll be there. Contact me if you’d like to meet and talk footie.
MLS Throw Ins
| Cups Won | ||||||
| Supporters Shield | MLS Cup | US Open | SuperLiga* | Total | Years in MLS | |
| Chicago | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 14 |
| Chivas USA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Colorado | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 |
| Columbus | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 16 |
| D.C. United | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 16 |
| FC Dallas | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 16 |
| Houston(SJ) | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 16 |
| Kansas City | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 16 |
| Los Angeles | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 16 |
| New England | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 16 |
| RBNY | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Philadelphia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Portland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Real Salt Lake | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| San Jose | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Seattle Sounders FC | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Toronto FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Vancouver | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Miami | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Tampa Bay | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
As you can see, I am listing the ‘old San Jose’ accomplishments where they belong(IMO), with the Dynamo. I know the deal was that the Quakes would retain the ‘legacy’ of the original team, but I choose reality, i.e.; the franchise that won the cups resides in Houston.
* NA SuperLiga held 2007-2010.
They Qualified
2012-13 CONCACAF Champions League
- Los Angeles – Supporters’ Shield – Group Stage
- Houston – MLS Cup Participant: Winner = Group Stage – Loser = Preliminary Stage
- Real Salt Lake – MLS Cup Participant: Winner = Group Stage – Loser = Preliminary Stage
- Seattle – US Open Cup – Preliminary Stage
Take Me Out to the Playoffs – Quarterfinals Leg 2
Welcome to the 3rd edition of ‘Take Me Out to the Playoffs’. If you are adventurous, try out my new player statistics pages, but remember it’s a work in progress. All feedback will be greatly appreciated. And for historical regular season attendance records, try MLS Attendance.
The playoff numbers look like this…
| 5 year comparison | ||||||
| Quarterfinals – 1st Leg | ||||||
| Avg | +/- | Home Teams | ||||
| 2007 | 14,245 | Chicago | Dallas | Kansas City | RBNY | |
| 2008 | 10,476 | -26.46% | Kansas City | New England | RBNY | RSL |
| 2009 | 19,985 | 90.77% | Chivas USA | New England | RSL | Seattle |
| 2010 | 17,230 | -13.78% | Colorado | Dallas | San Jose | Seattle |
| 2011 | 16,718 | -2.98% | Colorado | Philadelphia | RSL | RBNY |
| Quarterfinals – 2nd Leg | ||||||
| Avg | +/- | Home Teams | ||||
| 2007 | 19,838 | New England | Chivas USA | Houston | DC United | |
| 2008 | 19,444 | -1.99% | Chicago | Columbus | Houston | Chivas USA |
| 2009 | 21,526 | 10.71% | Chicago | Columbus | Houston | Los Angeles |
| 2010 | 19,871 | -7.69% | Salt Lake | Columbus | New York | Los Angeles |
| 2011 | 24,834 | 24.97% | Houston | Kansas City | Los Angeles | Seattle |
| Quarterfinals Totals(both legs) | ||||||
| Avg | +/- | Teams | ||||
| 2007 | 17,041 | CHI, CHV, DAL, DCU, HOU, KC, NE, RBNY | ||||
| 2008 | 14,960 | -12.22% | CHI, CHV, CLB, HOU, KC, NE, RBNY, RSL | |||
| 2009 | 20,755 | 38.74% | CHI, CHV, CLB, HOU, LA, NE, RSL, SEA | |||
| 2010 | 18,551 | -10.62% | CLB, COL, DAL, LA, RBNY, RSL, SJ, SEA | |||
| 2011 | 20,776 | 11.99% | COL, HOU, LA, PHL, RBNY, RSL, SEA, SKC | |||
| Home Playoff Games History | |||
| Teams with Home Games in 2011 | |||
| GP | Avg | < 10,000 | |
| Colorado | 16 | 10,162 | 10 |
| Dallas | 17 | 10,558 | 7 |
| Houston | 7 | 26,268 | 0 |
| Kansas City | 15 | 9,867 | 6 |
| Los Angeles | 25 | 19,895 | 1 |
| New York | 13 | 13,886 | 1 |
| Philadelphia | 1 | 18,539 | 0 |
| Real Salt Lake | 5 | 16,523 | 0 |
| Seattle | 3 | 35,783 | 0 |
Observations
Take Me Out to the Playoffs – Quarterfinals Leg 1
Welcome to the 3rd edition of ‘Take Me Out to the Playoffs’.
The playoff numbers look like this…
| 5 year comparison | ||||||
| Conference Semifinals – 1st Leg | ||||||
| Avg | +/- | Home Teams | ||||
| 2007 | 14,245 | Chicago | Dallas | Kansas City | RBNY | |
| 2008 | 10,476 | -26.46% | Kansas City | New England | RBNY | RSL |
| 2009 | 19,985 | 90.77% | Chivas USA | New England | RSL | Seattle |
| 2010 | 17,230 | -13.78% | Colorado | Dallas | San Jose | Seattle |
| 2011 | 16,718 | -2.98% | Colorado | Philadelphia | RSL | RBNY |
| Home Playoff Games History | |||
| Teams with Home Games in 2011 | |||
| Includes 2011 | |||
| GP | Avg | < 10,000 | |
| Colorado | 16 | 10,162 | 10 |
| Dallas | 17 | 10,558 | 7 |
| Houston | 6 | 26,521 | 0 |
| Kansas City | 14 | 9,245 | 6 |
| Los Angeles | 24 | 19,891 | 1 |
| New York | 13 | 13,886 | 1 |
| Philadelphia | 1 | 18,539 | 0 |
| Real Salt Lake | 4 | 16,388 | 0 |
| Seattle | 2 | 35,664 | 0 |
Observations
Soccer Potpourri – Some Tasty Story Links
USMNT
- Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know by now that Bob Bradley has been replaced as the USMNT coach. With everyone and their mother writing about it, I give you … Fake Sigi: Juergen Klinsmann to replace Bob Bradley as coach of USMNT
- Steve Davis:
U.S. players that may be helped, and hurt, by Klinsmann’s hiring
MLS
- A Fun Series from Houston: Be the GM, What would you do? – Part 1 – Part 2
- CONCACAF Champions League: Dallas with rare MLS CCL away win
Interesting Reads
- Steve Davis: Shifting calculus of the summer friendly season
- Seth Vertelney: Major League Soccer’s summer sideshow problem
- Simon Bird: Cutting edge gizmos that show how much pain footballers suffer during pre-season fitness drills
- ESPNSoccernet: Argentinian league to change
- Raphael Honigstein: Europe’s top clubs threaten FIFA revolt
- Guardian: Should European clubs revolt against FIFA?
- Guardian: Six key questions on why top clubs could stage a European revolt
- Independent: Click and buy: How scouting embraced the 21st century
- Soccermetrics: CONCACAF Club/League Coefficients: 2011-07-26 version
- FIFA: Mohamed bin Hammam banned from football for life by FIFA
- Africa: Soka Afrika sews together a string of issues to uncover the world of African football trafficking
- Turkey match-fixing: Season postponed until September
- Spain: Trouble in Paradise as Spanish league turns into two-horse race, just like the Old Firm
- Run of Play: Reenchanting The World
- Dexy’s Den: Expensive price for home grown talent
Tourneys
- Copa América: Luis Suárez and Diego Forlán shoot Uruguay to record 15th Copa América
- WC14: Thailand through, Palestine out of World Cup
- WC14: Burkino Faso among top African seeds
- CONCACAF Champions League: The CCL preliminary rounds get underway