Houston Dynamo managing partner Gabriel Brenner released an open letter to fans on Monday, just two days before the Seattle Sounders take on the Dynamo at BBVA Compass Stadium in a crucial midweek match for both teams on Wednesday (6 p.m. PT; JOEtv, ROOT Sports, El Rey 1360AM, 770 KTTH).
Brener and his ownership group expressed their disappointment with the club's results this season in their first season in charge. The Dynamo sit in last place in the Western Conference with just 24 points from 24 matches, as well as own a 4-1-6 record at home. They parted ways with head coach Owen Coyle on May 25.
"Our first season of ownership has been a challenging one," Brenner said. "As an ownership group, winning is out first priority, and we expect better. As passionate fans of the Dynamo, we know that you deserve better. And we are committed to delivering that to you.
"Unfortunately, we have not met our expectations," he continued. "We are not satisfied with our situation; the status quo is unacceptable, and we are taking actions to improve things."
The Dynamo replaced Coyle with longtime Dynamo player and former assistant Wade Barrett, and the club has since gone 4-4-7 across all competitions, including a 2-1 win over San Jose on Friday, the team's first road win of the season.
"While the record may not yet reflect the progress that has been made, we have been in every game with a chance to win them all," said Brenner. "We have become a tough team to play against and defensively solid - like the old Dynamo."
The old Dynamo were back-to-back MLS Cup champions in 2006-07 and featured longtime MLS standouts Dwayne De Rosario and Brad Davis, the latter of whom was traded to Sporting Kansas City in January after spending 10 decorated seasons with the club. Houston was the runner-up for the Supporters' Shield in 2008, as well as MLS Cup runner-up in 2011 and '12.
Since then, however, the Dynamo have failed to make the playoffs each of the past two seasons and seem destined for a third straight miss this year.
"We don't accept where we are, but we have a plan moving forward," Brenner said. "We believe that we can finish strong this year, and we are optimistic that we will re-establish ourselves as the team we once were and expect ourselves to be.
"We appreciate your support through these challenging times and look forward to sharing better days ahead."
Seattle has never won in Houston in MLS play, but the Sounders enter on a three-game winning streak after their 3-1 victory over the Portland Timbers on Sunday.
