Well that went a lot better than I think most of us imagined it would. New coach Wilmer Cabrera was able to identify a style of play that would bring success with the players at his disposal. Not only did the team make the playoffs but they made it all the way to the conference finals. And yeah, they got spanked by Seattle in those conference finals but still a very successful season.

Onwards to 2018! Lots of personnel decisions to be made. Will the team retain Elis? Can they hit the jackpot again this off-season with their acquisitions?

News thus far:

Alex likely to leave on a free transfer for Asia. He'll get paid a lot more and his playing time was always going to be diminished with the mid-season acquisition of Martinez

11 players had their contracts declined with the most notable being Rico and AJ. Both could come back at lower salaries.

Just saw the roster changes- holy guacamole!
Really going to miss Rico and Sanchez and Remick
and who will be in goal???

Remick's contract expired. Doesn't mean they won't agree to a new contract. I thought he did well in his limited play and would like to see him back for the right price.

Rico is 34 years old. Unless he takes a significant pay cut, I don't see him playing in Orange next year which means all of the original Dynamo players from 2006 will have moved on (and if he leaves he isn't coming back this time)

Some good news. Cabezas option to buy has been picked up. Now let's see what they do with Elis who I'm sure will require a significantly higher transfer fee.

Remick showed up in limited action at the end of the season- really liked his hustle
Sanchez was just flat exciting on the pitch- you knew something was about to happen
Rico, my man, our favorite- forever orange

Nothing confirmed but strong signals that Elis will be brought in permanently. Rumor is that the transfer fee is in the $2.5 million range.

I really enjoyed our new mentality last season.

I know Vanney did some incredible things in Toronto, but Wilmer gets my vote for Manager of the Year

Elis is ours!

Cabrera didn't even make the top 6 which is a damn joke IMO.

Pitiful. Do they realize how BAD we were? How unwatchable?

We should have sent a contingent of fans to the league office, full of testimonials from the Coyle era.

Dre_00 said:

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Cabrera didn't even make the top 6 which is a damn joke IMO.

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Horrible. I didn't expect Wilmer to win the award, but for him to not be a top finalist is just criminal neglect. The Dynamo were a gigantic pile of **** for the last few years. Wilmer completely changed the trajectory of this franchise and he was absolutely the best coach in the MLS this year.

This just supports my thinking that there really is not a national viewership for the MLS. The league has over expanded and the individual clubs don't really have any identity. People only watch "their" MLS team and therefore nobody realized the amazing job Wilmer was doing in Houston.

Chris Seitz signed from FC Dallas per Houston Chronicle.

And Remick returns

Crap...I broke the rule and posted in the 2017 thread.

Recap: Cubo moves to UNAM. I'm cool with this if it means that we'll use the DP spot on another player. If this was made to recoup the investment in Elis, then that's much less inspiring.

Even if it was the former, I don't expect this spot to be filled anytime soon.

Crap, I broke the rule too

Those responsible for sacking the people who have just been sacked have been sacked.

No more robot

Met Eric Bird and Kevin Garcia today. Bird's gotten himself a haircut since his team pic was taken. Also got to talk to Wilmer for a few minutes. Great guy, very humble, excited about the season.

New away unis on 2/20

Ricardo Clark signs with the Crew/Austin whatever they are going to be called. Not surprising given the Dynamo brought in Ceren. There are officially no remaining players from the 2006 team on the roster.

That's probably ok, since it's 2018 and all

It still makes me cry a little.

Better look at the goal. That was smooth.

So apparently the Dynamo re-signed Deric at about half his salary even though he's still suspended and his domestic abuse case still hasn't been resolved...and they have 3 GKs right now anyway.

I'm not going to pretend I know all the details but it's not a great look to re-sign a guy who is accused of headbutting the same woman who filed a complaint against him in 2015 but was dropped on the condition that he receive counseling.

Just win, baby! Breaking in a new club culture, put the best players on the field.


Kidding aside, maybe club personnel know more about the situation than we do. I agree that bringing in someone with a looming domestic abuse case doesn't look good.

According to the Mr. Roepken, it sounds like the club did it to claim his MLS rights more than anything else. If he's found guilty, then he'll be waived. If he's found innocent they'll try and trade him (given that they have 3 GKs right now)...or they'll waive him. Somehow, he doesn't take up a roster spot during this time and it could still be months before his case is heard.

If all of that is true, it's a little more palatable. Whether he's found guilty or innocent, the fact that this is the second time this matter has come up is a red flag in my opinion. He needs to go.

I'm liking the retro jersey (stros)

Just found this thread...did OP not drop a link to it in the old thread?

Speaking of threads, LOVE the new away kit. Love even more that they kept the same design for Replicas, unlike the last black kit. This Replica even has the Texas flag on it. The only things missing are the stars, but you get a more comfortable cut and save $35.

I bought mine the first day they were available. Apart from loving it, I also wanted to get it while it's clean. If they find a jersey sponsor, who knows how it will look once they slap a logo on there.

Bryan98 said:

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Just found this thread...did OP not drop a link to it in the old thread?

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Do I have to do EVERYTHING around here?

(I too love that jersey. I'll be ordering one.)

FWIW I got my jersey at Soccer 4 All. I like being able to try on both the Replica and Authentic in various sizes. These things aren't cheap, and they vary so much.

Does it look as good on you as it does on the model?