Coyle Establishing Houston Dynamo as MLS Entertainers

For a team that plays in bright orange, the Houston Dynamo haven’t always caught the eye in Major League Soccer. With Dominic Kinnear in charge, the Texans were an outfit of sheer function, becoming something of a permanent fixture in the play-offs. Those days are gone with Owen Coyle now at the helm, but from an entertainment perspective; that is no bad thing. 

Not much was expected of Houston this season, with Coyle rebuilding his midfield over the winter. Brad Davis left for Sporting KC and with it the Dynamo were also perceived to have lost their identity, or at least a significant part of it. In actuality they have been given the freedom to forge a new one. 

Quite simply, the Houston Dynamo have become MLS’s most compelling and exciting side over the off-season. Coyle’s side scored 11 times in their first three outings in 2016, finding their attacking groove quicker and more emphatically than any other team in the league.  

The Vancouver Whitecaps stopped their goalscoring streak at the weekend, as the Texans suffered a 1-0 defeat and a shutout in Canada. Nonetheless, the Dynamo have enjoyed a start to the season that nobody anticipated, even if their attacking prowess has been somewhat cancelled out by their defensive slackness, only claiming one win in four.

But that only adds to the intrigue over Houston this season. Their matches have been worthy of top billing, with the 4-3 defeat to the New York Red Bulls arguably the best game of the campaign so far. If Coyle can somehow tighten things up at the back while maintaining his team’s free scoring, he will be on to a winning formula. 

So how has Coyle done it? Two signings in particular have changed Houston’s identity as an attacking force. The addition of Andrew Wenger, signed from the Philadelphia Union over the winter, has been an unprecedented success, with the 25-year-old quickly settling in as a key member of the Dynamo’s attacking frontline.  

Even from his role on the right side of the attack, Wenger has become a hub of attacking activity, taking 2.8 shots per game, also notching two goals and two assists in the process. Wide operators can often find themselves on the periphery of things, but that is certainly not the case when it comes to Wenger. 

Then there’s Cristian Maidana. The Argentine is one of the flakiest players in the league, establishing such a reputation in his year with Philadelphia last season. At his best he is one of the most creative playmakers in North American soccer’s top flight, but his best days tend to come after about five of his worst. That has not been the case since his move to the Houston Dynamo, though. 

Maidana has slotted in seamlessly as the Dynamo’s new number 10 in behind Will Bruin as the central striker, with Leonel Miranda on the left side of the attacking diamond, while Giles Barnes continues to struggle with injury early on this season. When he returns Houston will boast an even sharper cutting edge. 

Playing an average of just 32.3 overall passes per game, Maidana isn’t the kind of playmaker that gets on the ball a lot, but when he does he makes the most of his possession, averaging 1.3 key passes per appearance. The Argentine has become the dynamo through which the Dynamo’s attacking play flows. 

Of course, Oscar Boniek Garcia is still at the club and is still one of their most important players from a creative standpoint. The Honduran has notched two assists from just one start this season, also averaging 1.7 key passes per game. Coyle doesn’t just have a red hot attacking line, he also has options to keep it red hot. 

The midfield platform of Ricardo Clark and Alex has given Houston a basis on which to build this newfound attacking prowess on. The addition of the latter from the Chicago Fire has been as successful as anything else Coyle has achieved over the off-season, with the Brazilian averaging 43.5 passes per game as the pivot in the centre of the pitch. Neither player does anything especially remarkable, but they move the ball on to players who can do something remarkable. That is their role in the system. 

The Dynamo are still a long way short of being genuine contenders, with Coyle’s side still in seventh place in the Western Conference with just four points to show for all their progression over the last few months. Houston’s development has been a philosophical one rather than one that will take them into the upper echelons of the Western Conference.  

But Coyle deserves credit for overseeing such a replenishment of his side’s attacking ranks when so many suspected he’d actually diminish their quality instead. The Dynamo certainly have others paying attention now.

Is Coyle the right manager to lead Houston Dynamo to MLS Glory? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below