In Canetti's Corner, Houston Dynamo COO Chris Canetti's weekly updated to fans, some more information was divulged about the departure of Assistant Coach John Spencer. If you remember, last week the club announced that John Spencer would be leaving the club in the midst of a fury of activity that included the release of Luis Angel Landin and the signing of Anthony Obodai.
Here is what Canetti had to say:
John is moving on to pursue other career interests. An announcement regarding John's future will be made soon by the appropriate party. I'd like to thank John for his contributions to the Dynamo and wish him well. He has been a valuable asset to the organization.
While not saying where Coach Spencer will end up, Canetti seems to confirm our suspicion that John Spencer will shorty be announced as the head coach of a domestic soccer team. It has wildly been rumored that Spencer will be named the head coach of the Portland Timbers, who will join Major League Soccer next year.
Canetti also announced that the Dynamo are looking for a replacement for Spencer and could have already found the right person for the job.
In the meantime, we are actively seeking John's replacement and have some leading candidates in line. It is possible that we could announce a replacement this week.
It is unclear who will (or even could) fill Spencer's role, but a small group of people feel that former player and current member of the coaching staff, Wade Barrett, could be promoted to the open position.
Another interesting twist to this vacancy is that rumours that fan-favorite defender Craig Waibel could be released or will leave the team. If Waibel leaves, many feel that he would be a valuable addition to the coaching staff and still be able to contribute with his veteran leadership.
Updates will be posted as more information becomes available.