Top Stories

SBI MLS Player of the Week: Giles Barnes

GilesBarnes2HoustonDynamo (HoustonDynamo)

By DAN KARELL

Clint Dempsey was expected to be the main show in town when the Seattle Sounders visited the Houston Dynamo on Saturday, but Giles Barnes reminded the home fans that he could still find the back of the net.

Ending a 12-game scoring drought, Barnes bagged a brace to lead the Dynamo over the Sounders, 3-1, including a long-range blast that may be a Goal of the Year nominee. Barnes’ performance earned him SBI MLS Player of the Week honors.

Barnes beat out Robbie Keane, Marco Di Vaio, and Federico Higuain for this week’s honor.

What did you think of Barnes’ performance? Which player stood out to you in MLS Week 25?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Good signings by the Dynamo:

    Boniek, Clark, Driver, Carr, Barnes, Brunner, Sarkodie, Hall, Taylor

    Bad signings:

    Landin, Koke, Craig, Akinbiyai, Costly

    Gone too soon: Kamara, Cameron, Holden, Wondolowski, DeRosario, Hainault, Kandji, Oduro, Mullan,

    Jury is still out on these players: Cummings, Lopez, Salazar, Ownby,

    Glad they’re gone: Moreno, Jaqua, Ianni, Cruz, Gray,

    Needs to go: Weaver, Moffat

    Reply
    • I’m pretty surprised to see that you think Costly was a bad signing. I wouldn’t say he was the team’s best signing ever, but I thought he was very good during his short tenure with the team.

      Reply
  2. This explains his background http://t.co/hvVBFaVHct

    He was wanted by Spurs/Villa/Newcastle/West Ham, had been scouted by Liverpool. Unfortunately, three serious injuries meant he missed 2 years of football. There were people who thought he would never play again, and were definitely shocked that he had retained his pace

    Reply
  3. 25 year old Barnes signed with Houston one year ago. He’s played for England U-19’s, Derby County, West Bromwich Albion, Fulham, and Doncaster Rovers. He was a promising young player that was plagued with injuries, and in particular a bad knee injury. I believe that he has 10 goals with the Dynamo, including 5 goals, and 5 assists this season. He is a technical player that at times seems well above other MLS players in speed, and on ball skills.

    Reply
      • Barnes, and Driver are both interesting signings. Both are England youth team players with great speed, and both like to run at defenders. They also have been plagued with injuries. I’m not sure if Barnes will ever get back to his full potential, but if he does, then the Dynamo will not be able to hold onto him.

      • If you look at Cummings, Carr, Colin Clark (while he was here), Driver, and Barnes, I agree with your theory that we take some chances with players with an injury history. But I think our “net” from these signings has been a mixed bag. Cummings is expensive, sucked all the air from our forward bankroll, and has rarely played this year. Carr was out until August last year, mediocre when healthy, back out this year to date. Colin Clark has played 960 minutes for Houston and then LA since 2012. Driver and Barnes have been obvious injury risk pluses but if you look at the minuses, they impact our frontline which has struggled for production outside of Bruin….which may be pivotal in terms of silverware hopes.

        The big Seattle win was nice but they were not at full strength and they are outside of the West playoff spots right now.

      • Seattle never win in Houston, and you could say that Houston was not full strength with their second DP yet to play, and Rico Clark leaving the match.

        Barnes, and Bruin have been even this season on goals and assists, and Driver has been great for the Dynamo. He can play both sides of the pitch, and the ball. A couple of matches he played defense almost heroically.

        I agree on Cummings, and Colin Clark, but only to a certain extent on Carr. The Dynamo had used him effectively last season for the playoff run, but he has not been as prolific as Oduro. Maybe Houston is hard on forwards, but for the most part have been successful. These next few months will be telling though. I believe that the talent in the attack is as good as it has ever been for Houston, but defensively they have fallen a ways. No longer the brutally physical defense that put fear into other teams.

      • Why would they not be able to hold onto him? Plenty of guys could play elsewhere and are “held onto” by US teams.

        The inferiority complex strikes again…

      • Don’t be so quick to judge. The man is not an American, and he has not led me to believe that he wants to be American. Why would he not want to go back home.

        Talk about complex LOL.

  4. So who is Barnes? How long has he been with Houston? How many goals has he scored? where was he before Houston? Without any of that info there is no context for how expected or unexpected is this feat.

    Reply
    • Giles came to Houston on August 29, 2012 on a free transfer. Before that he was with Doncaster Rovers of the English Championship and Derby County. Made his first start in EPL at age 18. Made 12 appearances for the England U-19 national team.

      Giles has started 21 games for the Dynamo in 2013 and now has 6 goals and 3 assists.

      Reply

Leave a Comment