Hainault targeted by Houston

[Duane Rollins1555362254]

Andrew Hainault has been put on Houston's "discovery" list, which means the Dynamo hold his MLS rights.

Link: http://www.glenndavissoccer.com/2008/12/23/dynamo-considering-two-new-defenders/

I've always thought MLS would be a good fit for Hainault. Of course I had a different team in mind.

Mo Johnston is a g0ddamn fool. There is no excuse for TFC not to put a discovery on any Canadian international looking for work -- especially when they play a position that they are desperate to improve at.

[jonovision]

It could be a good fit. Will Johnson did well with his move to MLS over the summer.

[BearcatSA]

I'm curious to see how this turns out for Le Grand Orange (oops, that was Rusty Staub's nickname).

[Loud Mouth Soup]

quote:Originally posted by MediaGuy

Mo Johnston is a g0ddamn fool. There is no excuse for TFC not to put a discovery on any Canadian international looking for work

Sorry, but that's ridiculous. It's TFC's responsibility to field a good team, not slap discovery tags on each and every Canadian who might be hard up for work. It's ultimately a club side, not the National Team.

I hear Lombardo's out of work. We should claim him, or slap a tag on him, or get one of those orange 'Loblaws' stickers they put on your case of pop on his forehead...

[Grizzly]

quote:Originally posted by Loud Mouth Soup

Sorry, but that's ridiculous. It's TFC's responsibility to field a good team, not slap discovery tags on each and every Canadian who might be hard up for work. It's ultimately a club side, not the National Team.

I hear Lombardo's out of work. We should claim him, or slap a tag on him, or get one of those orange 'Loblaws' stickers they put on your case of pop on his forehead...

Hainault is an improvement over several international defenders at TFC and could be a starter. That is why TFC should claim him. As an Impact fan I am glad they didn't though.

[Duane Rollins1555362254]

quote:Originally posted by Loud Mouth Soup

Sorry, but that's ridiculous. It's TFC's responsibility to field a good team, not slap discovery tags on each and every Canadian who might be hard up for work. It's ultimately a club side, not the National Team.

I hear Lombardo's out of work. We should claim him, or slap a tag on him, or get one of those orange 'Loblaws' stickers they put on your case of pop on his forehead...

Forget my opinion of him. Let's look at Houston's. A franchise that has won FOUR MLS Cup titles is looking at him as an INTERNATIONAL spot. The man can play in MLS. This is a multiple capped player, not Andrea Lombardo for God's sake.

[VPjr]

quote:Originally posted by Loud Mouth Soup

Sorry, but that's ridiculous. It's TFC's responsibility to field a good team, not slap discovery tags on each and every Canadian who might be hard up for work. It's ultimately a club side, not the National Team.

I hear Lombardo's out of work. We should claim him, or slap a tag on him, or get one of those orange 'Loblaws' stickers they put on your case of pop on his forehead...

Sorry LMS...hate to pile on but i've got to vehemently disagree with your assessment too.

Not so long ago, Mo made the claim "we can win or we can play Canadians"....now, here comes a Canadian that can help TFC win and Mo just watches as another team makes a discovery claim on him. That's just piss poor managerial work.

Hainault is far from being the 2nd coming of Fabio Cannevaro but he's a solid player who should be able to transition to MLS with minimal trouble.

I hope to see Hainault playing in MLS. He's the kind of player that MLS exists for, in my opinion (someone who can make a team in many top flight leagues but might be on the fringes of playing regularly at this point in his career). He, like Will Johnson before him, needs a chance to play. If the trials in England or France don't work out for him, I hope to see him in the Dynamo lineup this upcoming season.

[Cheeta]

Think he'd be quite reasonably priced to.

And lets face it, I don't think Hainault would have any problem stepping into TFC's first 11. And I also don't think a great many people wouldn't expect the club to be stronger for it.

Still, the man has to interested in playing in MLS, and MLS HQ has to offer him an attractive wage or that discovery tag isn't worth a sausage.

[Loud Mouth Soup]

If you check my commment, I didn't point to Hainault specifically (though his pick up did trigger the reactions), but the generalized comment of, "There is no excuse for TFC not to put a discovery on any Canadian international looking for work".

That's what was ridiculous. But it's also about luck, and it's possible Houston either had first shot at him or knew about his availability first. I'm not defending Mo, but addressing the fury that seems to be unleashed at TFC for every little thing people on here assume they aren't doing.

[jimmynow]

I wouldn't waste one of my 6 discovery claims per season on a player unlikely to be taken due to being an international. That's a pretty solid strategy for a Canadian team. There are hundreds of potential players for MLS and putting a claim on a relatively unknown Canadian who hasn't stuck in Europe would be a waste of such claims.

Remember, promising young guys like Nana were left open to the draft and not selected, so an American team making a discovery on Hainault is indeed a surprise. None of the other MLS teams claimed him apparently.

Anyhow, I find it amusing how people on here have such confidence in Canadian players coming into MLS and joining the starting 11 when there isn't really a track record for that.

Players from other countries with a far better pedigree than Hainault have fallen flat on their faces in MLS, so this isn't a slam dunk by any means. He may succeed, or he may fail. There's no guarantee. he seems like a decent player from what I've seen, but nothing fantastic, nothing to apply a discovery claim to. But to say he could immediately start in TFC's starting 11 is an extreme exaggeration. One thing I've learned about MLS is that it's not as easy as people think. You can't just walk in and be a starter when you don't have much experience.

Houston has to sign him and use an international spot on him or else he's up for grabs by anyone in MLS.

[bettermirror]

Hainault in Houston? Let's not look beyond what this board is about - Canadian soccer. This is great news for the Nats. Sure, it's preferable he was in the first eleven at Sparta Prague and playing European competition every year. But if that isn't a reality, the MLS is nothing to scoff at - Landycakes has done fairly reasonably well for himself over the years. That being said, both our Nat central defenders are Texas now? Frustrating considering TFC had one of them!

After some digging - he hasn't actually signed yet. Guess my post above is either hypothesis or prophecy.

[loyola]

My guess is someone like Pat Onstad placed a good word in Hainault's favour.

I think this would be a good move for him, Houston is one of the top team in the MLS and he would certainly get some interesting minutes there.

[youllneverwalkalone]

quote:Originally posted by loyola

My guess is someone like Pat Onstad placed a good word in Hainault's favour.

I think this would be a good move for him, Houston is one of the top team in the MLS and he would certainly get some interesting minutes there.

Patty must be a good lad because I recall several horrendous back passes from Hainault between GC and WCQ. Maybe Sutton gave Houston the recommendation?

I think he should still hold out for B2 or even B3. Or look to a club in the region like Ferencvaros who are rebuilding. The more physical the league, the better he'll do. MLS isn't the greatest fit at this stage.

[jpg75]

When somone mentioned him being out of contract this winter i thought maybe TFC would be interested in him, but it looks like Houston beat them to the punch. Should be interesting how he handles MLS (if he signs), there was some interest from Hansa Rostock a year and a half ago and i think Bund 2. would have been better for his development. That said, MLS will be better for him to adapt to the CONCACAF style and hopefully he can ditch the bad habits he picked up in Czech Rep. ie. mugging opponents.

[loyola]

quote:Originally posted by youllneverwalkalone

Patty must be a good lad because I recall several horrendous back passes from Hainault between GC and WCQ. Maybe Sutton gave Houston the recommendation?

I think he should still hold out for B2 or even B3. Or look to a club in the region like Ferencvaros who are rebuilding. The more physical the league, the better he'll do. MLS isn't the greatest fit at this stage.

Those weren't back passes from Hainault. More like rolling balls where Hainault got out of the way at the last second exposing Onstad.

I remember Onstad saying it was a case of not knowing each other really well more than Hainault's fault.

[masster]

Given that TFC has picked up so many international slots, the best thing for Canadian players would be if the MLS followed the path of the USL and made Americans and Canadians count as domestic players throughout the league. That would make it much easier for players like Hainault (and Gerba in the past) to land a roster spot and stick in MLS.

I think this move will have to be made regardless, when and if a second or third Canadian team is added to MLS. I also think this is something the CSA should push for. Right now, the system might be to the liking of Mo and TFC, but it isn't working for the Canadian player.

[Duane Rollins1555362254]

There seems to be a misunderstanding of MLS' discovery rule. You can only sign six players a year off of it. You can have up to 10 on at any one time --i.e. you can remove a player from the list without penalty.

Adding Hainault to TFC's list would have in no way committed Toronto to signing him. It just would have given them first crack at doing so.

Again, we aren't talking about a slug here. This is a guy that can likely play in MLS.