Houston Dynamo; money well spent or not?

Major League Soccer has released player salaries for each team. In this first article of a four part series, we'll take a look at the overall dollars spent by the Houston Dynamo FC franchise. We'll see how Houston stacks up with the rest of the league when it comes to spending money. Is it money well spent or money tossed away to look good. Many teams have talented players but are not a talented team. This is the ultimate question we want to answer in this series about salary.

New owner Ted Segal has not been afraid to put his money where his mouth is. He has handed out money in a way that previous ownership never had in an effort to put a winning product on the pitch. Even so the Houston Dynamo FC still rank close to the bottom of the league when it comes to spending money. As such, it is an indicator of why the team is where it is in the standings but not necessarily a predictor as to the future of the organization.

The jury is still out as to whether or not Houston is moving in the right direction under Segal and company. On one hand, Houston has done just the opposite of the league when the money is broken down between the defensive third, the midfielders and the forwards. A majority of the league spends more money on their midfield players and less on defense despite the fact that most rosters are comprised of defensive acquisitions. Houston did just the opposite spending virtually nothing on the middle of the pitch and more than 40 percent on the defensive and offensive end. Maybe they have bought in to the old adage that defense wins championships. The MLS average for spending broke down like this; goalkeepers/defense 28.9% (Houston 42%), midfield league average is 34.7 % (Houston 17%) and the forwards league average is 35.6% (Huston 41.1). So who is smarter Houston or the rest of the league? Only time will tell.

This season, the Dynamo have three players that earn a million plus. That's a first for this team. Defenders Tim Parker and Teenage Hadebe pull in 1.9 and 1 mil respectively while forward Sebastian Ferreria became the highest paid player in franchise history inking the richest contract at just under two million in guaranteed compensation.

How everything plays out remains to be seen. One thing is for certain. Every MLS team is a talented side but has has the money bought a talented team? That is the question to be answered as we look at the Houston Dynamo FC in this four part series