SuperDraft thoughts

Ives Galarcep on Soccer by Ives is reporting that Dynamo are actively trying to trade up for tomorrow's SuperDraft to get a shot at Texans FC player Brek Shea, a left winger. Shea, pictured, an 18-year-old from College Station, is a Generation Adidas player who apparently has already expressed his desire to play for Dynamo. But the only way that is going to happen is if the Orange brain trust starts in with the wheeling and dealing.

One deal that Galarcep alluded to yesterday was the rumor that Dynamo were actually in play for the No. 1 pick before Kansas City sent Nick Garcia to the Quakes for the top spot. According to Galarcep, Dynamo were prepared to part with Brian Mullan and a 2008 pick for that spot. Personally, I would rate that rumor as very low on the believability scale. I mean, I know Shea looks like the real deal and all, but the SuperDraft has historically been anything but super. Picks come and disappear utterly. And according to numerous sources all over the Internet, this year's Combine had one of the lowest quality of players in recent years. Apparently, the draft looks like more of the same. So trade the co-MVP of the 2007 MLSchamps for a pick in the SuperDraft? Sounds like a very un-Kinnear move to me.

Still, Galarcep is also reporting that he expects Dynamo to move into a Top 4 spot just in order to nab Shea. Anyone got any potential trades that you think would make sense here?

And though the idea of signing a local kid like Shea is always a nice one, it seems that winger is hardly Dynamo's area of concern. With both Nate Jaqua and Joseph Ngwenya trolling Europe for job offers, and right now the oldest player in the league as Dynamo's only keeper, it would seem that the team's top areas of concern are the alpha and omega, forwards and in goal. I'm not saying Dynamo doesn't deal. Looking at his track record, Dom never, EVER stands pat when a good deal can be made. I'm just saying that a midfield-heavy team like Houston (Mullan, Davis, Clark, Holden, De Rosario, Mulrooney, who am I forgetting?) seems unlikely to trade up in a suspect draft to get TA-DA, another midfielder.

My personal feeling is that both Ngwenya and Jaqua, even though right now they're both free agents, will return, and the fixture-congested squad will be able to employ their depth to stay afloat in all of their various competitions. Read more!

Dynamo thoughts and links

So I really am tickled pink that Dynamo has resigned Brian Mullan, their 2007 co-MVP. (Story here and Dynamo's press release here.) I expected no less for the guy that makes the right side go. My friend and fellow prawn-sandwicher Dimitri even goes so far as to say that as Mullan goes, so goes Dynamo. I'm not so sure I'd go as far as Dimitri on that one, especially since his finishing and often crossing can be atrocious at times (Brian's, not Dimitri's), but I will say this, insofar as the Orange thrive on wing play, Mully is one of the top 3-4 key guys on the field at any time.

One thing I've always noticed about Mully is his speed and the creativity he brings to even the simplest run. Opposing mids and backs are always on their heels. Even idiot Wynalda has noticed this about Mullan, mentioning in a broadcast last year that whenever Brian is in a tackle, either as the tackler or tacklee (is that a word?), he is always, ALWAYS, the first to get up. This has gone so far as to be a key component of seemingly about 50 percent of his runs up the side. Defenders go after him, they both go down and while the defender is still getting up, Mully-Mull is already about 10 yards away and resuming full speed with the ball and space in front of him.

He's also one of those Jekyll/Hyde guys who looks totally different with facial hair and without. I mean, check out the challenge with the candystriper above and now look at this one right here. With beard, dude is Brian Mullan, Into the Wild mountain hermit. Clean shaven, he's Brian Mullan, teen heartthrob. I mean, look at this guy, does he look like the kind of player who's among the toughest attacking forces in MLS? To me, he looks like he's about to break into a rendition of Jesse's Girl any moment now. I gotta move on because this photo is starting to freak me out.

OK, while we're on the subjects of mountain men and teen heartthrobs.

The Dynamo site is currently running two journals, one from Brad Davis about his experiences in Cali with the US MNT camp, and another from Stuart Holden and Patrick Ianni from the right coast with the U-23 camp in Bradenton, Fla. You can check out both at the Men in Orange's wonderful Web site at houstondynamo.com.

And here are their lovely pics for your viewing pleasure, first Brad Davis, Scruffmeister extraodinaire.

Next is Holden and Ianni, good buds and breakers of hearts (I'm glad I don't have a daughter) far and wide. I'll bet Awty alumnus and Sugar Lander Holden is still even sporting his oh-so-sexy scar from this little incident chronicled here three years ago. (Thanks to The Offside Rules' SF for digging this one up.) Geordies' wrath or no, Holden is just about the No. 1 Bachelor from Buffalo Bayou, or at least so say several friends of the female persuasion up at my office.

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