Anti-United Bias? Sir Alex Escapes FA Sanction After Ref Clash

Sir Alex Ferguson clashed with match officials on Boxing Day (Guardian.co.uk)

The English FA confirmed that Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will not face disciplinary action following a halftime clash with match officials during United's 4-3 win over Newcastle on Boxing Day.  In the 28th minute Newcastle appeared to have tallied their second goal of the match on a Jonny Evans own goal.  Newcastle forward Papiss Cisse was in the area, and in an offside position.  The assistant referee ruled the goal out by raising the offside flag, but head referee Mike Dean overruled his assistant, allowing the own goal to stand on the interpretation that Cisse, while he was in an offside position, did not interfere with play.

Sir Alex was furious and animatedly approached Dean as the sides headed to the locker rooms for halftime.  Not getting what he wanted from Dean, Ferguson then rounded on the fourth official and confronted the linesman as well.

In their statement on the matter, the FA said that they were declining to pursue action against the United manager because referee Dean did not mention the incident in his match report.  The Premier League did, however, backup Dean's interpretation of the rules and events by stating: "as Cisse did not play the ball, then he was not interfering with play. It is also the case that Cisse didn't interfere with the opponent."

United ended up winning the match 4-3 after a 90th minute goal from Javier Hernandez.  The win, coupled with Manchester City's 1-0 loss to Sunderland, increased their lead at the top of the EPL to 7 points.  However, perhaps Sir Alex should be more concerned with his poor goal-keeping prospects and Swiss cheese defense than referee's decisions. 

Opinion: MLS Pushing "NY2" Way Too Hard

Area of proposed stadium for "NY2" (WSJ/Empire of Soccer)

Outside of David Beckham's exit from the league, there hasn't really been a bigger story in the post season, at least from a league wide perspective, than the possible location of a 20th MLS franchise in New York City, specifically in Flushing Meadows, Queens.

The league has launched a huge PR campaign in recent days about the proposed site for their new stadium.  They launched a twitter handle for the purpose and even hosted a town hall style informational meeting last week in Queens to pitch their idea to the local community.   However, not everyone, both inside and outside of Queens, has been impressed, and the rather vocal opposition seems to have taken the league and its advocates a little by surprise.

Local residents opposed to the plan turned up at Don Garber's little party last week, and complained that they, and anyone who suggested they were against the stadium bid, were directed to an off floor overflow area apart from the Commissioner and the rest of the crowd.  The league responded by saying that they were just late, as the seating was open, but other reports said that passes given to advocates of the stadium were clearly marked with seating assignments.  Geoffery Croft, president of New York City Park Advocates was quoted as saying: "This is not a town hall meeting, it is a pep rally sponsored, bought, and paid for by Major League Soccer."  Croft also confirmed that they were asking people's opinions of the stadium site at the door before directing them to a seating area.

So why are some of the local folks in Queens having an issue with this?  To hear MLS talk, the area is practically BEGGING them to build on their site and bring their product to NYC proper.  The league is also suggesting that MLS is somehow not whole without a "dominant team in the nation's dominant city," to paraphrase Garber himself.

Part of the issue is that the site that MLS wants to build on is public park land.  Supposedly according to law in the area, MLS would have to find the same acreage in the area to replace the park land with.  There has been little to no evidence that MLS has done this yet, which has caused Garber to walk back his statement that the deal was "near the finish line." However, there are no rules in place stating that the replacement public park land has to be in the borough of Queens.  That and the fact that MLS's search for this land has been closed to public input has caused growing concern in Queens.

Worse yet for MLS, some of the local media have issued editorials condemning the site.  Both the Queens Chronicle and the Queens Tribune have done this.  I urge those who think that locals are fully behind this effort to take a look at these two editorials.  There were also demonstrations against the stadium site yesterday which curiously evaded coverage from the official league outlets.  It is interesting to note that a lot of this opposition isn't opposed to the idea of soccer in Queens, but that this is the wrong place for it to happen, which leads to my opinion on the subject, namely that MLS is pushing this way too hard, both down the throats of the locals and the non NY based fans of soccer in the USA.

Now I don't live in the NY/NJ area.  I've never been there.  To read a lot of the social media comments, that means that I don't have a good reason or right to stick my nose and my two cents into this issue.  I call BS on that.  What I am is a season ticket holder for an MLS franchise and I care greatly about how the league uses the money spent by me and my fellow fans in support of growing the beautiful game in the USA.  MLS and soccer have grown in the USA, no doubt about it, and it seems to me that the league is on the verge of really trading in a lot of it's good name value on a land grab for a stadium for a team that doesn't even exist yet.  Usually there is an interested ownership group and stadium plan in place when the league awards a franchise.  Now there is no definite ownership group, at least as of yet, and the stadium plan is financed and put in place by the league?  Sorry if I'm skeptical.  Also, if the free market dictates that MLS just HAS TO BE in Queens, why has it not happened in 15 years?  If investors are so hot to trot on it, where have they been?

Plus I'm not sure that putting a team in NY proper is any kind of panacea for the league's sagging tv ratings, both country wide and in the NY market area.  Look at all the empty seats at Red Bull Arena.  Don't give me the line about the drive from Queens to Jersey.  We drive an hour plus in traffic to see RSL play.  Plus if that's only reason, put the Red Bulls in Queens and be done with it.  Stop pretending that a second team is going to blow the market open.  One could watch nearly every Red Bulls game on National TV this last year featuring one of the great players of our time, Thierry Henry, and one of the big name players out of Mexico, Rafa Marquez, to attract the Latino viewers.  They even pasted his face all over Red Bull cans.  Then they brought in a bona fide star of the EPL in Tim Cahill, supposedly to win over more of us Euro snobs.  We still didn't watch.  However, you drop a team on public park land in Queens and all of the sudden we all start to watch both them and the Red Bulls?  I don't think so.  Lets face it, the creation of a derby in the LA area didn't help, of course any conversation involving what has or hasn't happened at Chivas USA is opening up a whole other can of worms  In the end, I just don't think that dropping a team in Queens is going to make people watch if they don't already watch Henry, Cahill, and company.

Now I'm not saying MLS should never go to NY proper.   If there really is the demand, then of course it makes sense for the league to have a presence in the market.  I just don't think the time or the site are right.  I don't think the league has any business trying to pull public park land out from under a community that obviously has it's concerns.  I would also be more in favor of it if the League already had an ownership group and independent stadium financing announced and in place.  Again, if MLS is wanted in NY so badly, lets get the investors on record and have them put the money where their mouth is, instead of the league's money.

There are several other things MLS could be doing to help spur league growth in new franchises as well as to bolster the teams already in the league.  DC United and the New England Revolution desperately need stadiums of their own.  The wonderful fans of DC get lost in the pit that is RFK, and while the throwball/MLS partnership works well in Seattle, it doesn't in New England.  It's really hard to watch a Revs match with 2/3 of the seats visible to the TV cameras being tarped off.  Certainly the league has been working some with these two teams. but I think this needs to be a much bigger priority than "NY2."

There are several other markets currently almost begging MLS for a team.  Some of these are markets that have USL Pro or NASL sides that could be just as successful as Seattle, Portland, or Montreal.  These are places like Atlanta, San Antonio, and Orlando.  Of course, people always point to the fact that Florida has had two failed franchises in the past.   This is true, but having lived in Florida I can tell you that Miami (Fusion) and Tampa Bay (Mutiny) were and still are largely throwball, or if you prefer handegg, towns.  Baseball might be second, and in Miami these days you have the NBA to contend with.  Orlando is not an NFL town.  It never will be.  There isn't a Major League Baseball team, and it's no more an NBA town than Salt Lake City is.  Trust me, I lived there.  Orlando City in USL has drawn extremely well and has received a great deal of positive press football wise.  They can definitely support an MLS team in the very near future, and it would give the league a chance to make inroads in a market where they have none at all.   I just wish the league, who has already said that they'll be going over FIFA's 20 team limit, would look seriously at some of these other things instead of forcing NY2.

In the end, I think football can and will work in NY proper, but isn't ever going to be the brand the Cosmos had.  There's just too much competition for the sporting dollar in New York City, and I don't see Messi or Ronaldo showing up like Pele did for the Cosmos.  Agree or disagree, but I think the league needs to put this on the back burner and find a site in NYC that the local public is more comfortable with.  Who is going to show up and watch the team if you piss off the locals?  While that search continues, MLS should continue to support the teams they already have and focus on growing the game in different parts of the country that are just waiting to receive it with open arms.

Juventus Down Palermo In Conte Return

Antonio Conte returned from his ban to manage Juve on Sunday (AP/LaPresse)

Juventus got their manager Antonio Conte back for Sunday's match at Palermo after he had served a four month ban for looking the other way involving match fixing that took place before his managerial term at Juve.  They were able to welcome him back with a fairly convincing win, especially being that Sicily can be a tough place for opponents to come and play.  Of course, they did alright while he was gone as well, staying top of the table in the Serie A while advancing to the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League.

Palermo came out the better side in this one though and controlled the first 20 minutes of play while Juventus looked vulnerable.  In the 11th minute Jasmin Kurtic sent a screaming drive in on the Juventus goal that forced a quality save from Gigi Buffon, and in the 14th minute a defender just managed to step in the way of a shot from Josip Illicic that was seemingly destined for the back of the net.  On 17 minutes Frabizio Miccoli found the back of the net for Palermo, but the goal was correctly ruled out for offside.

That seemed to be a bit of a wake up call for Juve as they gradually started to find their feet and push into Palermo's defensive third.  In the 30th minute Claudio Marchisio had a nice look from the center of the area, but just floated his shot over the bar.  In the 36th Marchisio had a shot blocked from close range and the rebound fell kindly to Mirko Vucinic, who just couldn't quite find his mark as his return shot clanged off the near post and rolled away for the Palermo 'keeper to collect.

Juventus would continue to look dangerous throughout the rest of the half, and nearly took the lead once again in the 44th minute.  This time it was Alessandro Matri that tested the Palermo 'keeper, firing a shot at him from point blank range.  Samir Ujkani's instincts did not fail him though, and he was able to corral it, preserving the scoreless draw going into halftime.

Juve announced their intentions right away in half number 2 though.  In the 46th minute Vucinic again went close, but found himself drawing woodwork for the the second time in the match.  However he totally redeemed himself in the 50th minute, sliding one of the niftiest backheel passes that you're ever likely to see to Stephan Lichtsteiner, who promptly slotted home the match's lone goal from close range to make it 0-1 to Juventus.

Both sides would put up one more quality chance in the match.  For Juve, Andrea Pirlo nearly handed Vucinic another assist in the 62nd, volleying his cross toward goal, but again Ujkani was up to it.  Palermo had their best chance for an equalizer in the 82nd minute when they managed to get the ball to the feet of Miccoli on a quick counter attack.  However the Italian international couldn't find the target, knocking the shot just high and sealing Palermo's 0-1 defeat to the Old Lady at home.

2012 MLS Inquest: FC Dallas

Brek Shea's season was plagued by injuries and disciplinary issues.

2012 MLS Inquest: FC Dallas

Record: 9-13-12

Points: 39

Position: 6th, Western Conference

Player of the Year: David Ferreira

How can a guy that missed half of the season due to injury be player of the year for a team?  It's simple.  Before the 2010 MVP returned from his broken ankle that had cost him the better part of both the 2011 and the 2012 campaigns, Dallas was barely a team.  After his return, the Hoops made a push out of the Western Conference cellar and landed close to the Vancouver Whitecaps for the final playoff spot in the West.  In the end, the stats might not have shown it, only 2 goals in 17 games, but after seeing him torch RSL at Rio Tinto Stadium, I realized exactly what his presence meant to the team.

Flop of the Year: Brek Shea

I actually thought long and hard about this one.  On the surface the stats don't look too bad for the young US International.  He had three goals and two assists in 21 games, but the reality of the situation is that he was far less dangerous when he was on the field.  Unfortunately for Brek, his highest profile moment of the season came when he intentionally kicked a ball at a linesman in Columbus, resulting in a lengthy suspension.  I would characterize it more of a season of growing pains for Brek though.  He still can be one of the best in the league, and sometimes we forget that he is still very young.  I don't believe he was quite ready to be the leader the team needed without Ferreira, but if David can stay healthy, he should continue to grow as the team's situation improves.

The Good:

Dallas finished the regular season strong, picking up points in 8 of their last ten matches.  The run was highlighted by the 2-1 victory at Real Salt Lake and two wins over the Vancouver Whitecaps, who were right in front of them for playoff positioning.  Coming into the final 3 matches of the season, they looked to be almost certain of catching Vancouver, with 2 of the last 3 matches against lowly Chivas USA, it didn't turn out that way though, which leads us to........

The Bad:

The Hoops melted down when it mattered most, right at the end of the season.  To begin that crucial final three match run, they failed to muster more than a draw against Chivas USA.  One might have thought they would up for at least a draw against a Seattle side that wasn't playing particularly well in their next match, but they ran into a Sounders side pushing for playoff positioning and got eaten alive, pretty much ending the playoff push.  Their last match of the season ended in disappointment again, as they drew once again with the Goats.

The Ugly:

Many of FC Dallas's wounds were self inflicted this year, as the team suffered from a severe lack of discipline early on in the campaign.  Certainly the fact that the team was bitten by the injury bug didn't help, but the Hoops could not seem to control their frustrations, and much of it came out on the pitch, with consequences.  I've already mentioned Shea's suspension for kicking the ball at the linesman.  The team also picked up six red cards on the year, including two from Captain Daniel Hernandez, and two from defender Zach Lloyd.  Blas Perez continued to gain a reputation in the league for diving, a complaint that is sometimes lodged against Ferreira as well.  It really got to a point where Dallas could not seem to get out of their own way on the pitch, and it cost them some results.

The Verdict:

The season ultimately ended in disappointment for Dallas, but it could have been much, much worse.  Around midseason they were mired in the bottom of the western conference, Ferreira was still injured, and Shea was suspended.    Keeper Kevin Hartman seemed to be the only man keeping Dallas in some matches.  They persevered though, recovering from the injury bug to make a push for the playoffs, though they eventually fell short.  One must wonder if they would have given LA more of a push had they gotten into the playoffs instead of the dead in the water Vancouver Whitecaps.  I really would like to say that the forecast is probably brighter next season, but I'm not so sure.  They did re-sign defender George John, which has been a high point of the offseason so far, however some folks, including myself, were left scratching heads over the rejection of Kevin Hartman.  If Ferreira stays healthy and Shea rounds back into form, Dallas can be very dangerous.  However, the last two years since their MLS Cup appearance have been pretty disappointing, so for me, they'll have a lot to prove before being considered one of the best in the West again.

MLS Notes, 12/9/12: Re-entry Draft and Philadelphia ReUnion

The Chicago Fire acquired Maicon Santos in the MLS Reentry draft.

Things simmered on the MLS transaction front this week after RSL and the Portland Timbers started proceedings with a bang last Monday.  There were a couple of notable trades that went down, and the league held the first phase of it's reentry draft.  There were some decent names on the table, but for the most part the first phase was a dull affair, with only one team in action.

The Chicago Fire were that one team that picked up a player in phase one.  They picked up forward Maicon Santos, who had had his option declined by DC United.  Santos started last season really well for United, and looked to have finally found a home at RFK.  However, as the season wore on his playing time and production tailed off, leading DC to ultimately to deem him expendable.

No other team picked up a player in the first phase, and teams are now free to negotiate with their declined players leading up to the second pahse of the draft later this coming week.

There was also some really good news for Sons of Ben and the supporters of the Philadelphia Union.  Fan favorite Sebastian Le Toux traded back to the Union from the New York Red Bulls.  Le Toux had been shipped out to the Vancouver Whitecaps prior to 2012 as part of Peter Nowak's purge.  Later in the season the Whitecaps sent him to the Red Bulls as part of the deal that sent Dane Richards to Vancouver.  Le Toux was excited about returning to Philly, where he hopes he can remain for the duration of his MLS stay.

That was not all of the activity for the Union however.  They also acquired defender Jeff Parke from the Seattle Sounders, who are in need of cap relief.  They also loaned midfielder Zach Pfeffer to Hoffenheim in Germany.

RSL: Reality, Retooling, and Reloading

There will be new faces at the RioT, and that's not a bad thing.

The Story so far: Real Salt Lake has let a number, a large number, of key players go on their way in the wake of the 2012 campaign where they came up short.  These names are familiar to all RSL fans: Olave and Espindola were sent to New York,  Will Johnson was sent to the Portland Timbers.  Other less legendary but equally important cogs in the team were sent packing as well.  The club declined options on Emiliano Bonfigli, Paulo Jr, Kyle Reynish, and Jonny Steele.  Salt Lake native Justin Braun was also sent to TFC after failing to impress Jason Kreis enough to crack the 18 on most days.

RSL made a couple of additions as well.  They signed GK Jeff Antinella from the NASL Tampa Bay Rowdies.  Antinella was in the NASL best XI this last year as they beat the Minnesota Stars to claim the NASL Title.  In the final, he did something that RSL could not do:  beat the Stars.  They also acquired former Notre Dame standout defender Aaron Maund from TFC in exchange for Braun, plugging the roster hole in defense left by Olave.  The trades for Olave, Espindola, and Johnson brought major allocation money, which the team will have several uses for.

RSL also announced the re-signing of two key players: fullbacks Tony Beltran and Chris Wingert.  This keeps the defense line in superior shape while preventing RSL from taking a hit at FB, one position where they were short on depth.

Why did RSL make these moves?  Contrary to widely held beliefs on the RSL FB comment section, it wasn't to tank the team in favor of getting a bunch of cash or to screw the fans who have faithfully supported the club through good times and bad.  The Claret and Cobalt were up against several harsh realities of life in MLS and professional sports in the United States.

First off, MLS players are entitled to minimum pay raises as per league policy.  RSL was already hard up against the cap in 2012, and these minimum pay increases would have put them well over it in 2013.  It's a fact of life, the math didn't work.  The salary dump from Olave, Espindola, and Johnson will bring much needed cap relief.  The salary cap colors most of the other realities as well.

The second reality is that RSL needed some more cash to try to re-sign Javier Morales.  The allocation money as well as cap space will give them wiggle room in this respect.  GM Garth Lagerway said yesterday that some Mexican clubs are in for Morales as well, so keeping him won't be cheap.  Sources seem to indicate that he wants to stay here, so maybe he'll give us a little hometown discount.  While Javi hasn't been quite the same since his injury, I do not believe his talents are replaceable at cheaper price.

Next, MF Luis Gil loses his Generation Addidas tag this year, so if RSL want to hold onto him, they'll need some cash and cap room.  Trust me, we want to hold onto him as long as we can.  Gil is well on the path to being a significant talent both in MLS and for the US International System, in fact he is likely to see major action in the U-20 World Cup for the USA next year.  By all accounts, he's the real deal and has a great chance of making a move to Europe someday.  Next year we'll be able to keep him and give him the minutes he needs to develop.  I believe he's ready for that chance.

The final reality is very stark, and it cost RSL both in the CCL run this year and in the MLS Cup playoffs.  We need guys who can score goals, who can be creative and not just possess the ball.  Really the only proven, consistent goal scorer RSL had was Alvaro Saborio, our one remaining forward.  Fabian was inconsistent at best, and in my opinion, drifted wide too much.  Paulo Jr, while talented and speedy, was basically Fabian Lite.  Bonfigli did not seize his chances at all, and it was obvious by the end of the season that the Justin Braun experiment was a failure.  We needed to reload at forward, desperately.

In that same vein, we also need goals from more positions on the pitch.  Will Johnson, while the hardest working guy on the team and a spot goal scorer, doesn't bring a consistent scoring threat from that midfield position.  He's always willing to have a go, but more often than not the ball finds the supporters section instead of the back of the net.  I'm certainly not trying to bash Will.  I don't think RSL would have gotten where they did without him.  He's a great player and truly has the heart of a lion, but the team needs a little different kind of a player there, which they can now go out and pursue.

We can also perhaps get a more creative midfielder as well.  Sabo is a target man who most often thrives off of quality service into the penalty area.  Javi can provide that.  I think Luis can provide that.  Grabavoy can as well.  Will was not the best crosser, as we saw painfully demonstrated in the last playoff game against the Sounders.  We can be, and I think need to be, much more dynamic in the midfield.  Cue guys like David Vianna, Sebastian Velasquez, and Enzo Martinez.   Don't sleep on Cole Grossman either, he has some potential.  We need to give more of a purpose to our possession.

I also feel the need to point out that we still have the spine of our great team intact, pending Javi's situation.  Go up the Middle of the formation and what names do you see?

Rimando

Borchers/Schuler

Beckerman

Morales

Saborio

Now of course Sabo is a forward, not playing in the middle generally, but he's a target man in the box, which is why I characterized him that way.  If you fill in Beltran and Wingert at FB and Grabavoy and Gil on the sides of the diamond, what have we really lost?  Three goals and three assists from Will Johnson, which Gil is more than capable of replacing if not surpassing.  Also don't forget that Kwame Watson-Siriboe also has the potential to be huge alongside Borchers and Schuler while Maund matures.  Antinella should be more than capable behind Rimando, and I expect that he's actually an upgrade from Reynish, again no offense to Kyle.

So what do we still need?  Obviously I think priority one is to lock up Javi, which I'm sure is the focus of the front office at the moment.  We need forwards, especially a good up top partner for Sabo.  Garth said yesterday that the team would be looking overseas for that man, so don't expect  that to happen before the international transfer window opens in January.  I do however, expect RSL will add depth to the forward corps with some tried and true MLS guys, and maybe another minor international type.

I also think we need another decent midfielder and perhaps some veteran depth there as well.  Justin Mapp is a MLS vet and is available in the reentry draft.  While not a major dynamic attacker, he is capable of providing service and a Ned Grabavoy like work rate.  Probably won't happen, but he is an interesting option, though I don't expect RSL to be overly active in that draft.

Suffice it to say that I think Jason and Garth have done an outstanding job handling something that was going to happen one way or another.  The club could have just sold all our vets, guys like Beckerman, Borchers, Rimando, Wingert, etc and started over with a baby-face club, but they didn't.  I think we're well positioned to remain competitive for the future, and these moves will also give us wiggle room next summer if things don't go as planned.

So there it is, a logical look at what is happening with the team and some nice reasons why fans shouldn't panic.  If one looks at things from the eyes of a manager or a neutral, and not just the cloudy eyes of a home fan who is sad to see favorite players depart, then it can be seen that RSL has PLENTY of hope for the future.

QPR Efforts Net Draw Against Villa

Eric Lichaj and David Hoilett do battle on the ball. (Getty Images)

Harry Redknapp's home debut as QPR manager was fairly positive in most regards.  About the only thing they failed to pull out was a result.  Rangers certainly looked much more confident in attack as well as possession, but in the end an early defensive miscue would cost them the chance at all three points at Loftus Road.

QPR came out of the opening whistle like a house on fire.  They moved the ball very well in the opening five minutes and backed Aston Villa, in their road green strip, down into their own end.  The unfortunate thing was that they could only manage one shot out of all the pressure, a distance effort from Adel Taarabt that was blocked in the 5th minute.

Villa finally got a touch of the ball after the opening storm and proceeded into the QPR half.  To their credit, they took their big chance when it came their way,  In the 8th minute Ashley Westwood found Brett Holman just outside of the penalty arc.  The Villa midfielder proceeded to blast a cannon shot at goal between Rob Green and his near post.  The former England man got his hands to it, but wasn't able to turn it away as the ball deflected off his hands and into the inside of the side netting to give the away side a 0-1 lead.

QPR responded well though, coping with the shock and going back on the attack a few minutes later.  In the 18th minute Samba Diakite found Jamie Mackie in the area with a spot on early cross.  Mackie got great contact on it and put it past Brad Guzan in goal to make it 1-1 just 10 minutes after Villa had taken the lead.

QPR would have two golden chances to take the lead later on in the half, both coming off of long balls.  In the 29th minute Shaun Wright Phillips got himself in the middle of a 1v1 situation with Brad Guzan but the Villa 'keeper stoned him cold with a great save.  Four minutes later Wright Phillips found himself in the same situation, this time beating Guzan but clanging his shot off the near post.

There was also a scary moment for QPR and their fans late on in the first half.   In the the 33rd minute Stephane M'bia collided with Gabriel Agbonlahor just outside the center circle and collapsed into a heap with an apparent head injury.  The physios rushed out to treat him, concentrating on his head and neck, which they braced before stretchering him off the field.  He was taken to a hospital, but apparently suffered no major damage.

The second half was largely a dull affair, but still QPR had a couple of quality chances to take the lead.  In the 58th minute former United man Ji-Sung Park found himself alone in the penalty area, but smacked his shot right at Guzan, who easily parried the blow.

Rangers would have two decent chances to win late on as well, but again Guzan was up to the task on both opportunities.  In the 80th minute Taarabt hit Chris Hill in the area and Hill directed a header to the top corner, but Guzan was able to neutralize it.  The American shined one more time in the 82nd minute, stopping a low shot from Armand Traore to preserve the 1-1 draw at full time.

RSL Begin Parting of Ways

Fabian Espindola (left) is one of the faces departing RSL

Ever since RSL was eliminated from this year's CONCACAF Champions League, the fans (and players) have been waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop.  Without winning MLS Cup or advancing in CCL, the Claret and Cobalt wouldn't be receiving any extra allocation money to put toward keeping the team together, combined with the fact that they were hard up against the salary cap.  The news began to trickle out today, and it was not happy news for the fans.

Ives Galarcep began breaking the story this evening.  When the MLS roster freeze comes off on Monday, RSL is expected to pull the trigger on two deals.  First off, defender Jamison Olave and forward Fabian Espindola are headed to the New York Red Bulls in exchange for allocation money.  These are two of the key men in RSL's Championship run in 2009, as well as the 2010-2011 CCL Final run.  Olave was MLS defender of the year in 2010 and Espindola is 2nd on the team in all time goals.

The second trade is a little less of a blockbuster, but just as heartbreaking for the fans.  Midfielder Will Johnson is set to be shipped to the Portland Timbers in exchange for yet more allocation money.  The Canadian International has played all but 6 of his 120 career MLS games with Real Salt Lake.  It seems fans have been most shocked about this move when one looks at the response on social media.

Last but not least, MF Jonny Steele is departing the club after 1 season.  While he certainly seemed to lack consistency overall, he was always worked his tail off and provided the fans with great memories with goals both at Portland and the dagger game winner against TFC at home.  He certainly contributed to the team this season.

It's worth saying that as of this writing, late Sunday night, these moves have not been confirmed as the roster freeze is still on.  However, no one representing the clubs involved, the league, or the players has denied it.    This should go down during the next couple of days, and rumor is that RSL may not be done.

I can tell you one thing that this off-season will not be: boring.  The Puddle wishes all of these guys the best as they pursue their careers and they will always be part of the RSL Family.