Houston Dynamo: Two DP spots open for playoffs goal
Houston Dynamo will have some work to do this offseason
Houston Dynamo says goodbye to scoring forward Mauro Manotas in this off-season. He tallied 51 goals in five-and-a-half seasons, plus a 2018 U.S. Open Cup victory. He’s transferred to Club Tijuana in Liga MX.
The club previously sent off forward Alberth Elis, who had scored 34 goals in four seasons for Houston. Elis played only six games – four starts – for the Dynamo last season, scoring four goals. He was sent to Boavista in Portugal’s Primeira Liga in September.
With the three goals in 20 games last season, Houston Dynamo is giving up only seven goals, produced in 26 games. Although the career-long statistics would make it look much more devastating than that.
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The transfers of Manotas and Elis open two valuable Designated Player spots on the Houston roster. Forward Darwin Quintero holds the only other DP spot.
That’s two open chances Houston Dynamo have to answer supporters’ accusations that the organization just doesn’t want to put a superstar on the field for them to cheer.
The two DP spots give them to the entire globe to scout for this name to put in lights. The team does hold five international players on the roster. But these players don’t yet meet the supporters’ expectations.
At the end of still another season failing to qualify for playoffs, head coach Tab Ramos expressed confidence the team had at least part of the core of a winning squad.
He said he’s happy with new goalkeeper Marko Maric and forward Ariel Lassiter. In turn, general manager Matt Jordan said the team had the right leader in Ramos. He added midfielder Nico Lemoine is the right choice, as well. Neither Ramos nor Jordan has hinted at a timeline for when the Dynamo win the league for the first time since 2012, let alone return to the playoffs.
But Ramos was clear in a bitter media conference in October. The playoffs are why Houston Dynamo exists. In fact, he went further. Making a playoff-run is what the team is here for. He’s not satisfied with missing the playoffs in his first year as head coach.
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The Dynamo finished last in the Western Conference. Ramos emphasized that the Dynamo must make the playoffs and win games – not just make the post-season and go one-and-out. He said Houston Dynamo are meant to enter the playoffs as a team with a chance for the championship. They have two important Designated Player to lock that goal in.