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As I usually try to do before Sporting KC play a match, this week I had a chance to exchange a few questions with Dynamo Theory managing editor Zach Woosley, who hosts the American Soccer Show podcast. I had a chance to ask Zach a few questions about the Houston Dynamo before they take on Sporting Kansas City in the Eastern Conference Finals.
As always, a big thank you to Zach for taking the time to answer my questions.
The Daily Wiz- Brad Davis has had a great season, but for some reason a lot of times he's not mentioned among some other players when it comes to MLS MVP talk. Why do you think that is, and do you think Davis is deserving of being awarded the MVP in 2011?
Quite frankly they aren't paying attention and that's ok, they are busy. There's no question Brad Davis is the 2011 MLS MVP, whether or not people realize it is the real question. He led the league is assist and despite what Kyle Sheldon would have you believe, this is a legitimate reason to make him an MVP candidate. Run of play goals are nice and all, but did De Ro get DC United in to the playoffs? Nope. Brad Davis is the engine that runs the Dynamo, without him this season there is no playoff run and Sporting KC is playing someone else on Sunday. Davis is having a career year and his team would be lost without him, that's the definition of an MVP.
The Daily Wiz- For Sporting KC fans who might not be as familiar with the Houston Dynamo; who does Houston's starting lineup usually consist of, and what kind of formation and tactics does Houston head coach Dominic Kinnear use?
Kinnear tends to stick with a 4-4-2 formation, he's done it for years and rarely changes it up. The Dynamo will play a physical style, they will tackle you hard, they will try to get you off your game. Plenty of people will complain but it's not dirty, it's just physical. Expect the following lineup on Sunday: Hall; Ashe, Boswell, Cameron, Hainault; Moffat, Davis, Cruz (if healthy), Camargo; Ching, Carr.
The Daily Wiz- The last time these two teams faced off Sporting KC won pretty handily 3-0, but this is obviously a different Dynamo team than the one that showed up on September 10th at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. What do you think have been the reasons why Houston has been able to become such a dangerous team late in the season and going into the playoffs?
There are two connected reasons why the Dynamo have caught fire down the stretch and in the playoffs. The first was the arrival of Luiz Camargo late in the summer. His insertion in to the CAM role has changed the team's offense and made them much more dangerous from the run of play instead of just being a set piece team (which they are still quite proficient at). With Camargo in the CAM role, Geoff Cameron returned to his central defensive partnership with Bobby Boswell, reason number two for the Dynamo's improvement. Cameron is a defender, it's his best role and the place he should have been all season. Boswell is more comfortable playing with him and ever since his return the defense, the settled back line has been playing better and allowed Tally Hall to becoming even better in goal.