Barclay's Premier League Best XI and Review 2014

Man City lifted the trophy for the second time in three seasons.

It may be hard to believe, but another season of the Barclay's Premier League has come and gone.  There was no shortage of story lines this season between manager antics, the resurgence of a traditional power, and the title race again coming down to the last day.    If those stories don't suit you, how about the fall of a league giant or perhaps one the greatest relegation escapes in recent memory?  It was all there this year.

First off, congratulations are in order for Manchester City, who clinched their second title in three years by virtue of a 2-0 win over West Ham at the Etihad yesterday.  No disrespect to Liverpool, but City was the class of the league this season.  The biggest reason for this is defense.  City only yielded 37 goals this season, while Liverpool gave up 50.  Crystal Palace gave up 2 fewer goals than the Reds, and Hull City only gave up three more.  You can't say enough for Manuel Pellegrini and the job he did for City this season.

Of course the best defense in the league this year went to Chelsea.  They only gave up 27, ten fewer than City, who were in second place.  Unfortunately for Jose Mourinho's squad, they once again lacked the fire power to score with the likes of City and Liverpool.  Samuel Eto'o and Fernando Torres both scored some big goals along the way for the Blues, but neither proved able to score consistently and make themselves a constant threat up top.  Still, 3rd place and a run to the Champion's League semifinal is a decent year for Chelsea, and they'll certainly be looking to spend big this summer, with both Diego Costa and Edinson Cavani's names being bantered around the rumor mill.  It will also be interesting to see if Mourinho brings Romelu Lukaku into the fold after he had another great year on loan.

Back to Liverpool though.  What a tremendous season they had.  If not for a stinging home defeat to Chelsea and last week's huge stumble at Crystal Palace, they might have really pushed City to the limits.  However, the defense issue reared it's head at Selhurst Park, as Palace scored three goals in the last 11 minutes to tie Liverpool and all but end their title hopes.  Brendan Rodgers has brought Liverpool back into the Champions League and back into title relevance, but look for them to try to fix some of their issues at the back this summer.

But now, let's get to some awards, highs, and lows.   Let's start with a refresher on the Champions League Spots and teams that were relegated.

BPL Champions League Qualification Spots--
Manchester City
Liverpool
Chelsea
Arsenal.  (Playoff Qualification Round).

Teams Relegated From the BPL--
Cardiff City
Fulham
Norwich

As for the relegated folks, I seriously feel for Cardiff supporters.  I loved watching their matches and the passion they bring, despite having some flake of an owner try to alter their club identity to fit his National promotion agenda.  To that I say good riddance, Vincent Tan.  Fulham was just bad this year, and they were all over the place both in the transfer market and in the manager scene.  Hopefully they can find some stability in the Championship and bounce back up next year.  Norwich?  Meh.  They had a good run, but just couldn't sustain it.  Even the firing of Chris Hughton late in the season couldn't help them as they became the victim in Sunderland's great escape.

Surprise Team of the Year: CRYSTAL PALACE
Palace looked to be in serious trouble at midseason, bleeding goals and scoring none themselves.  They were mired in the bottom three and looked to be a good bet for relegation.  Then they did something incredibly smart, they hired Tony Pulis.  Pulis had been instrumental in Stoke's BPL rise, but was let go after last season as the Potters wanted to go in a different direction from Pulis's defensive style.  As it turns out, that defensive style was just what the doctor ordered for Palace.  They found themselves not only propelled out of the bottom three, but all the way to an 11th place finish.  I'll be looking forward to seeing them in the league again next season.

Disappointment of the Year: MANCHESTER UNITED
Is there any way that this can go to any other club?  The appointment of David Moyes turned out to be a complete disaster as United fell from champions to seventh, behind Moyes' old club Everton.  The defense was a complete screw up for most of the season and United suffered with injuries in the attack with Wayne Rooney and RvP missing significant time.  Moyes bought Juan Mata in January, but that seemed nothing more than a booby prize in the end as the former Chelsea man failed to be a game changer in the midfield and was often a defensive liability.  In the end, Moyes was sacked and Ryan Giggs guided United to an unremarkable finish, but at least he wasn't Moyes.  That brings us to our....

Story of the Year: David Moyes, damaged goods.
Moyes was the hand picked successor to Sir Alex, and hey, he won the Community Shield, but it was all down hill from there for United.  A decent run in the Champions League wasn't enough to save Moyes, as he often looked like he was in way over his head with the pressure on, something he didn't have to deal with much at Everton.  Is he really damaged goods now?  It will be interesting to see where he ends up.  Somebody will give him a shot.

And now finally here is the Puddle's Best XI for the Barclay's Premier League, 2014.  I'm sure all the players mentioned will value this extremely high honor.....ahem.

GK--David De Gea: Manchester United

Defenders--Branislav Ivanovic: Chelsea.  Gary Cahill: Chelsea.   Vincent Kompany: Manchester City. Leighton Baines: Everton.

Midfielders--Adam Lallana: Southampton.  Steven Gerrard: Liverpool.  Yaya Toure: Manchester City.  Eden Hazard: Chelsea.

Forwards--Luis Suarez: Liverpool.  Daniel Sturridge--Liverpool.

Player of the Year--Luis Suarez: Liverpool

Manger of the Year--Brendan Rodgers: Liverpool.

One last note, I want to thank NBC Sports for the tremendous job they did in their first year with the BPL broadcast rights.  It was so awesome to be able to watch any match I wanted to, live or on demand.  Now we just need to get Rebecca Lowe on twitter.

I hope you all enjoyed the BPL season as much as I did.  With the World Cup and the summer transfer window coming up, there will be plenty to talk about this summer, but I can't wait for August.

Moyes Gets the Axe. What's Next For Him and United?

Presented without comment, Lord David Moyes

 

The long nightmare for the Red half of Manchester is over.  One year to the day after United won their last title, David Moyes, the former "chosen one" has been sacked by Manchester United.  The last straw for Sir Alex's hand-picked successor was a disappointing 2-0 loss to his former club Everton on Easter Weekend.  This morning United released a very short statement on their website that simply read: "Manchester United has announced that David Moyes has left the club.  The club would like to place on record its thanks for the hard work, honesty and integrity he brought to the role.”

 

In the space of a year, United has gone from Premier League champions under Sir Alex to 7th place in the league, and eliminated from Champions League Qualification  for next season.  This in itself is going to cost the club big time for it's war chest.  With Moyes' transfer policy showing itself as an abject failure, United will be happy to place it's cash in someone else's perhaps more capable hands over the summer.  As far as Moyes' mark on the club, Fellaini has been a huge bust, and Juan Mata, who couldn't even play for United in the Champions League due to being cup tied to Chelsea, faliled to really lift the team.   To be fair to Moyes, many of United's vets are long past their prime, think Rio and Giggs, and both Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie have missed significant time with injuries.  However, in the end, Moyes was never able to really push United into great form no matter who was on the pitch.

According to the club Ryan Giggs, who had been occupying a player/coach role, will take over as manager for the remainder of the season.  I actually like this move for United.  Giggs has perhaps the deepest ties of anyone to the club and can probably connect to the fans more than Moyes ever could.  He should also benefit from the pressure being totally off, as it appears that United aren't at all interested in giving him the role permanently.

Most of the early speculation is focusing on managers who have experience in big matches, which Moyes certainly lacked.  A lot of the current talk centers on Dutch national team manager Louis van Gaal, who is leaving the Netherlands after the World Cup this summer.  Van Gaal had been previously tapped to join Spurs , but ESPNFC is reporting the his talks with United are pretty serious in nature.  Another name that seems to be popping up is Borussia Dortmund's Jurgen Klopp, but the German side have said that he will not be leaving.  Whichever way they go, it has to get better than it was Moyes, especially in the transfer market.

It will be interesting to see where Moyes himself ends up.  He has proven that he can be a successful manager, but perhaps the big club, pressure-packed role was too much for him.  It's more than likely that Spurs will be in for a new boss, but I can't imagine any of my Spurs friends being really excited if that move were to happen.  Norwich could be an interesting situation for him, whether or not they manage to stay in the Premier League.  Aston Villa might undergo a change in ownership, which could spell the end of Paul Lambert there.  A manager who has proven himself at a medium sized club in the Premier League might be right up their alley.

At any rate, most United fans that I've heard from are more than happy to see Moyes go on his way.  It'll be interesting to see what changes await the club in the offseason.  It should be one of the story lines of the summer.

Puddle's Goal of the Weekend: Obafemi Martins Chips Chivas USA

Obafemi Martins chipped in the winner against Chivas USA on Saturday (MLS)

Much to the dismay of Portland Timbers fans, and some others in the Western Conference, Seattle Sounders are off to a good start in this young season, sailing into 2nd place in the division after 7 matches.  Saturday night they took on Chivas USA at the Stub Hub Center and looked to possible be heading for a draw.  However. Chivas USA took a red card late in the match and the Sounders pounced with this great build up that finished by this gorgeous chip from Obafemi Martins.  It proved to be the match winner as Seattle took all three points from the Goats.

Puddle's Goal of the Weekend: Dempsey Freezes FC Dallas

Clint Dempsey scored twice to help send Dallas to their first defeat.

After the US friendly vs Mexico a couple of weeks back I commented to one of my Seattle friends that Clint Dempsey seems to have become the new whipping boy for US Soccer fans.  Fortunately for the USMNT and Sounders fans, since that match Deuce has been absolutely on fire, scoring 5 goals in two ROAD matches at Portland and Dallas.  Particularly in the Portland match, Dempsey took the Sounders on his back and punched in two goals in the last few minutes to earn Seattle a vital road point against their rivals.  Last Saturday he sparked the Sounders to a win over Dallas with this spectacular free kick goal in the first half.

RSL Avoids the Sword, Escapes Sporting KC With a Point.

Rich Balchan helped RSL to a scoreless draw against Sporting KC. (KSL.com)

So I was sitting in a restaurant after work last Saturday night when I saw the RSL lineup hit my notifications bar.  I knew Wingert would be out, but I saw that Nick Rimando and and Tony Beltran would be out as well.  In stepped Jeff Attinella, Rich Balchan, and Abdoulie Mansally to try to hold down the fort.  Now I'm pretty comfortable with Attinella in goal, as he filled in well for Rimando last year after Josh Saunders went down during the Gold Cup run.  However, forgive me, but at that moment I thought that RSL was going to end up like the Starks at the Red Wedding in this MLS Cup remtach.

Luckily I was wrong. Attinella had a beast of a match in goal, and Balchan and Mansally more than held their own as RSL rode out the storm to claim a point in a nil-nil draw.  Sporting got their chances though, and the first of which fell to Dom Dwyer, who made headlines before the match with his "we hate RSL very much" talk.  In the 11th minute he got through the RSL defense and had a chance to put his money where his mouth is in a 1v1 with Attinella.  However the RSL backup man was more than a match for Dwyer, stopping him cold to end the danger and leaving the Englishman like Joffrey after getting slapped by his uncle Tyrion.

Dwyer would get a chance to redeem himself in the second half though.  In the 63rd minute he managed to evade Attinella and sent a shot in on the open net.  Unfortunately for him, the shot hit the post and bounced away.  Sal Zizzo recovered the rebound and seemed to have the match's opening goal in the bag, but his shot was desperately cleared by the bearded Nat Borchers, looking like a member of the Night's Watch fresh off the Wall.

Can you tell what show I watched this weekend?  I apologize.

RSL seemed to be holding on for dear life when they caught a break in the 83rd minute.  KC midfielder Oriol Rosell went in hard on Devon Sandoval and received a straight red for his trouble.  However, RSL couldn't really mount much of an attack from their defensive posture, though Chris Schuler did manage to send a header just past the post from a Morales cross late in stoppage time.  Attinella was called on more time though, as he stopped a goal bound effort from Graham Zusi in stoppage time as well.  In the end, neither team could manage as many goals as Jon Snow has had girls....Sorry.

All in all it as a great defensive performance by RSL and a masterpiece by Attinella in goal.  In my mind, it was always going to be an uphill battle to win in KC, even if we would have had all of our first choice guys available.  I didn't really buy in to the "revenge" talk, as even a win wouldn't have brought the MLS Cup back our way.  Thankfully it looks like Jeff Cassar and the team didn't buy into it either, and I'm really impressed with the way he set up the team, especially given the injury situation.  

As I said earlier, I'm more than comfortable with Jeff Attinella in goal, but he was really standing on his head Saturday night.  Thankfully his one error didn't cost us, but even Rimando has his moments.  Balchan and Mansally both proved their worth as well, especially Balchan, who largely contained Zusi.  RSL didn't have many chances, and with only having a paltry 43% of the possession their defense was pushed to the max.  I think all of them passed with flying colors and helped the team pick up what could be a crucial road point.  For Sporting Kansas City, they have to look at this match as an opportunity missed, and despite their large possession stat, I wasn't all that impressed outside of a couple of moments of good buildup.

Here are my three stars from the match:

FIRST STAR--Jeff Attinella, RSL.

I can't really say it better than the official MLS recap says it: "No Rimando? No problem."  Jeff continues to impress me every time he gets in goal for us, and the more experience he gains, the less scary the inevitable future departure of Nick Rimando becomes.

SECOND STAR--Rich Balchan, RSL.

This guy has waited so long for his crack at the RSL first team, and so far he's really showing me why the club stuck by him during his last big injury.  He strikes me as a better than average 1v1 defender and looks really comfortable in the system on the offensive or playing defense.  He didn't have a perfect night against Zusi, but he certainly limited the danger posed by the US international.

THIRD STAR--Nat Borchers, RSL.

Chris Schuler has deservedly gotten a lot of the ink this season, even from me, but Nat really showed what he brings to the table in this match.  He was a steady veteran presence that helped lead the depleted defense all night and his clearance of Zizzo's shot truly preserved the point for RSL.

Puddle's Goal of the Weekend: Jose Mari Sinks Vancouver

Colorado's Jose Mari scored two goals late on to give the Rapids 3 points.

It was another eventful weekend in Major League Soccer, with goals raining down everywhere, except at Sporting Park.  The league gave us many great goals to spotlight this week, including EIGHT between Portland and Seattle, but I'm going to head north of the border for this week's best.

The Vancouver Whitecaps seemed to have things well in hand heading into the late stages of their match with the Colorado Rapids.  They were leading 1-0 in the 77th minute when Matias Laba was handed a second yellow card for a rather silly handball offense.  The Rapids jumped at the chance, and their defensive midfielder, Jose Mari, scored this beauty just two minutes later.  Of course, then just two minutes after the goal in the video, Mari scored another to secure the 1-2 win for the visiting side.

RSL Punishes TFC For First Home Win

Luis Gil added a goal as RSL beat TFC 3-0 Saturday night at the RioT. (Yahoo Sports).

There has quite understandably been a lot of excitement around Toronto FC so far this season.  The club, which up until now has been a doormat in the Eastern Conference, made vast improvements to their side during the offseason with the additions of USMNT midfielder Micheal Bradley, former Spurs striker Jermain Defoe, and Brazilian National team keeper Julio Cesar.  All three of these guys took to the pitch at Rio Tinto Stadium Saturday night, but in the end, it was a different look, but the same old TFC  for Real Salt Lake as they took apart the visitors in a masterful performance.

The crap hit the fan early on for TFC as Doneil Henry threw Alvaro Saborio to the ground in the box with the a wrestling move in the 10th minute.  Referee Baldomero Toledo immediately pointed to the spot and Sabo stepped up to take the penalty kick.  With the extra motivation of TFC coach Ryan Nelsen calling for his suspension earlier in the week, Sabo iced the PK to give RSL the 1-0 lead after 11 minutes.

It didn't get any easier for TFC after that as they looked semi helpless against an organized RSL squad that was hell bent on keeping the ball, and defended very stoutly when they lost it.  TFC tried to find some joy over the top a few times as Micheal Bradley attempted to connect with Jermaine Defoe, but for the most part, RSL dealt with both of these guys confidently.

RSL was nowhere near done after the Sabo PK either, and the next goal came in the 28th minute after some classic RSL build up.  Javier Morales, who was SPECTACULAR all night, fired a ball along the ground that looked to find Sabo at the top of the area, but at the last minute, the big Costa Rican dummied it, and let it through to an onrushing Chris Wingert, who smashed a shot on target.  Cesar made the save, but the rebound fell to a perfectly placed Luis Gil, who calmly slotted past the befuddled 'keeper to make it 2-0.

TFC came out of the halftime break in an attacking mood though, and nearly got one back.  Early on in the second stanza Michael Bradley launched a shot at the RSL goal that from the other end, I was sure was going in.  He had Nick Rimando absolutely frozen.  Fortunately for RSL, the ball slammed off the post and out of danger, and the lead was intact.

Then in the 55th minute, the Claret and Cobalt put the points in the bucket for good.  Kyle Beckerman connected with Morales, who flicked the ball over the defense to Sabo, who put a tidy chip inside Cesar's left post to make the score 3-0, and cap the night off right for RSL.

It really was just clinical from RSL on the night, and you have to wonder if Ryan Nelsen took notes.  RSL came out and played like a team with great chemistry and TFC came out and played like a team with three high priced players and some other guys.  Think about it folks.  Outside of Keane and Beckham, none of these big dollar DPs have won the Cup yet, and those two guys had a much better supporting cast than TFC has.  They also have that guy named Landon Donovan, and Bruce Arena is a much better coach than Nelsen will ever be.  Henry and Cahill have yet to sniff MLS Cup, and their cast is better too. It remains to be seen how well TFC will gel for the rest of the season, and it is quite possible that the drubbing handed to them by RSL might facilitate that process.

However both sides came away from the match with injury concerns.  For RSL, Chris Wingert left the match in the 58th minute with a tweak to his groin.  Rich Balchan came on filled in very well, however.  Cassar has now commented that it looks like Wingert might not be able to go when RSL faces Sporting Kansas City this weekend at Sporting Park.

The news is arguably worse for TFC.  In the 62nd minute Jermain Defoe came off and headed straight to the locker room for what TFC have confirmed is a hamstring injury.  He is currently listed as questionable for this weekend's match at undefeated Columbus.   Julio Cesar took a knock in a collision with Olmes Garcia, but stayed in the match and should be ok to go for TFC.

So now here are my three stars for the match:

FIRST STAR--Alvaro Saborio, RSL.
It would be easy to give Sabo the first star just for the goals, and the fact that he earned the PK that resulted in his first.  However, there was much more to his performance than that.  He was all over the place for RSL, both on offense and defense.  Some RSL fans like to knock Sabo for a percieved lack of work ethic, but he was definitely above reproach on Saturday night.

SECOND STAR--Javier Morales, RSL.
RSL's midfield maestro was on fire against TFC, with pinpoint passes, flicks, creativity...he had it all and TFC had no way to deal with him.  He showed why he is still one of the best play makers in MLS.

THIRD STAR--Chris Schuler, RSL.
It wasn't a flashy night from the RSL defender, but he was very solid.   If he was at all intimidated by the flashy big names of Defoe and Gilberto, he didn't show it.  He was equally good passing at the back even when the TFC forwards were closing in on him trying to make something happen and force an error.

Puddle's Goal of the Weekend: Saborio Punishes TFC

Sabo scored a brace to help lift RSL over TFC on the weekend (SL Tribune)

Saturday night was so much fun, I just have to put on my homer hat for this weekend's featured goal.  Of course, there is some background tho this too.  Early last week Toronto FC coach Ryan Nelsen called on MLS to suspend RSL's Alavaro Saborio after a tackle that was correctly given a yellow card in the previous match against the Galaxy.  Well, apparently MLS hasn't learned that you don't want to give RSL's main man extra motivation.  Sabo scored two goals, one of them a PK, to help bury TFC on a cool, windy night in Sandy, Utah.

I've chosen to highlight the second goal.  Check it out as Sabo takes a flick from Javier Morales in the 55th minute and chips it past Brazilian national team GK Julio Cesar for the final goal of the night.

MLS Top 5/Bottom5: Week 3.

Where do Will Bruin and the Dynamo sit in my first rankings?

So I really wanted to try my hand at some rankings and trend spotting this year in MLS.  The fact that there is so much parity in the league makes this kind of thing really fun and challenging for me, and gives me something to think about during long lulls at work, and to keep me up at night with my mind turning over and over.  I decided to wait a couple of weeks though, until everybody had at least a couple of games under their belt, though I suspect that rankings like this are always fairly inaccurate this early in the season anyway.   What I'm going to present to you are my top five and bottom five, with comments on each.

TOP 5--   


1. HOUSTON DYNAMO --The Dynamo were quite impressive in their opening matches, and Will Bruin (above) was on fire.  According to the league site, he is one of the most captained fantasy players going into week four as well.  Dom Kinnear's side has also yet to give up a goal.  However, they still might be a paper tiger.  Their first match was against the Revs, who have been absolutely awful so far, and their second was against the almost equally hapless Montreal Impact, sans Marco Di Vaio.  Also, both of those matches have been at home, where they're always good.  This week they travel to Vancouver, who should provide a better test.

2. TORONTO FC--I've been pretty skeptical about TFC in the offseason and through the preseason.  These new additions are great, but at this point, I still have to see it to believe it from them.  However, I just might be starting to see it.  The win at Seattle was definitely a quality win, though a 1-0 victory over DC at home was slightly less impressive.  Defoe and Bradley have been the real deal for sure, and Cesar is big time keeper in net.  However, their job gets a little harder this weekend coming to RSL, especially without speedster Jackson, who has been suspended by the disciplinary committee. 

3. REAL SALT LAKE--RSL's biggest problem in the opening weeks has been a failure to land the knockout punch, or the inverse, letting some rather simple defensive mistakes put teams back on level ground.  Still, undefeated with 5 points from 3 games with LA and San Jose (2 of them on the road) is a pretty solid start.  The other issue is injuries, especially up top, with Big Dev, Joao Plata, and Robbie Findley all injured. 

4. SEATTLE SOUNDERS--It wasn't a pretty performance, but Seattle took down Sporting in the first match at home at beat the Impact on the road last week.  Those two results were sandwiched around that home loss to TFC.  The Sounders played well at Montreal and executed their game plan and counter attack very effectively, despite not having Clint Dempsey.  If Obafemi Martins stays healthy, he's gonna cause MLS defenses some issues this year, without having to compete with the large "Pay Me" ego that he used to partner with.

5. COLUMBUS CREW--The Crew opened the season with an absolute smack down of DC United at RFK, and then beat the Union at home in week three.  They had to hold on a bit in that one, but it was still an impressive performance against a Union squad that I think is gonna be pretty good.  This weekend they travel to Seattle, where the local supporters will be less than welcoming after the fiasco that surrounded the "Seattle is sending capos to Columbus for the USMNT" article that happened last summer.  They have potentially the biggest test of any of my top five this weekend.


BOTTOM 5--

15. PORTLAND TIMBERS--Sorry, I'm still not sold on the Portland Timbers.  Apparently "Porterball" still means draw at home and lose on the road, at least so far this year.  Their defense is still suspect, and while the midfield is a strength, they still lack a true target guy up front.  Urruti doesn't cut it for me, he's just a bull in a china shop.  The Timbers have yet to show me that they can take the next step by converting all those draws from last year into wins and gain points consistently on the road.  It doesn't get any easier for them this weekend as they play at FC Dallas, who just missed out on my top 5.

16. CHIVAS USA--The Goats are definitely an improved side, and looked decent in their first two matches, even though they had to largely resort to packing it in to try to keep the Whitecaps out after going a man down at home.  It didn't work.  This last weekend they were largely pasted by FC Dallas on the road.  They're better, but not good enough, yet.  This weekend they travel to New York, where the Red Bulls will be looking to smack them around and get their season on track.

17.  MONTREAL IMPACT--I'm not rating them lower because they've been without Di Vaio, and hey, that  road swing through Texas isn't going to be easy for anybody.  However, they never really threatened the Sounders at home either.  They were in the match, but I never really thought, "Oh yeah, here they come."  Getting Di Vaio back will help, but as of right now, I really can't see Montreal really making a push for anything.  This weekend they play at Philly, and I'm forecasting a Union victory.

18. NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION--I'm so disappointed in the Revs so far.  I really thought they were gonna build on the playoff run from last year, and they still might.  However, it's hard to really find much that they did right in their opening three matches, though they did get their first point this last weekend, albeit without managing to score a goal.  It's too bad that they didn't get to hold on to Juan Agudelo.  This week they travel to play at San Jose, and you'd have to figure in a win for the Quakes, maybe without having to pull the "Goonie" stuff.

19. DC UNITED--DC was another team that ostensibly got better this offseason, at least they threw a bunch of money at players, particularly one Eddie Johnson.  They then paired Mr. "Pay Me" with Mr. "I Dive and Miss Big Shots" in Fabian Espindola, who also is known to be a bit combative.  Both Seattle and RSL fans predicted that this experiment was not going to go well.  For all their spending and revamping, DC have shown nada, zero, zilch.   This week they host the Fire, and Mike Magee will probably look to feast on DC's back line.

RSL and Galaxy Meet Again, Fight to a Draw

RSL's Luke Mulholland in the second half of Saturday's action. (realsaltlake.com)

This afternoon I finally got over being bummed that I couldn't make the match last Saturday and fired up the DVR to take it in.  It was honestly about what I expected from an RSL vs Galaxy match.  A tight, methodical. sometimes physical affair with both teams seemingly afraid to risk to make a big mistake.  Ironically, both of the day's goals came off of mistakes on the part of both sides.

Of course the Galaxy actually made the first mistake of the match not even two minutes after the opening whistle.  Joao Plata caught Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez deep in his own end and swiped the ball, darting toward what looked like might be an easy finish.  Unfortunately, Plata snatched his ball wide of the post.  That goal would have come in handy at the end.

However, you have to like RSL scoring off of a set piece, which they did in the 19th minute.  Plata hit Sabo in the box with a cross, and well, the Galaxy seemed to think that RSL's big man was off lounging in the Costa Rican sun, because he was as unmarked as you can be. It what must have been like training move, Sabo took the ball down, set it, and smacked it into the back of the net making it 1-0 to RSL.

Unfortunately, the home side were not functioning to perfection on the back line either, and it cost RSL the lead and eventually a point..  Chris Wingert lost the ball around the midfield stripe on 35 minutes and Juninho recovered for the Galaxy.  He dropped the ball off to Robbie Keane, who sprinted toward the RSL goal.  Chris Schuler did a pretty decent job trying to stay in front of Keane and force him wide a bit, but in the end he just became the latest defender to get juked out of his shoes by the Ireland captain as Keane discarded him and put the ball past Nick Rimando with a clinical finish to tie the match at 1-1.

So both goals were well taken, and both sides made a mistake that cost them.  It's not really a surprise.  These clubs are just too good to let big mistakes go unpunished.  There were no further goals in the second half but there was some controversy and talking points.

First off, RSL had a pretty decent penalty case for a penalty, when Dan Gargan clearly held Sabo in the box with two hands on a cross.  Supposedly MLS is looking to crack down on some of that, but not this time.  Second, Sabo was shown the yellow card in the 63rd minute for a rather nasty hit on AJ DeLaGarza that featured a raised leg as he sent the LA defender to the floor in frustration.  Now, Bruce Arena is calling it dirty play and said Sabo was deliberately tying to injure DeLaGarza.  I watched it, slow motioned it, and checked out Simon Borg's thoughts on the "Instant Replay" segment.  I don't think Sabo was trying to hurt him, but as much as I just wanted to be able to see it as something clumsy that a forward might do, there was obviously a frustration involved and bringing the leg into it does make it worse.  Arena wants a ban, and he and the Galaxy openly called for it after the match, which I'm not a fan of.  This whole retroactive punishment thing has turned into a situation where players and coaches now OPENLY lobby for bans and fines after the match has ended, and that needs to stop.  It undermines the referee on the pitch and comes across as very whiny, I don't care who is doing it.  In this case, the referee gave Sabo a yellow, which I personally think was the correct call.  However, I wouldn't be surprised to see the league hit Sabo with a one or two game ban.  I don't agree with that kind of thing where the play was already given a card on the pitch because it takes away the referee's discretion.  It should be as hard to get a ban after a play has already been punished as it is to get a red card or ban rescinded, in my opinion, but we'll see what the league does, likely Thursday or Friday.

All in all, I was pretty satisfied with the performance, though I think it was a tremendous lost opportunity to get the Galaxy right after a CCL loss and without their main 'keeper in net.  Last year we ended up regretting dropped points at home to Chicago and Sporting KC.  I wonder if we might regret this one similarly later on down the road.  However, the Galaxy deserve a massive amount of credit for coming in and locking horns with RSL, and taking their first point back home to LA.

So finally, here are my three stars for the match:

FIRST STAR--Alvaro Saborio, RSL.  I really hope Sabo can stay healthy this year.  He was a beast on Saturday and the Galaxy had lots of trouble with him.  He seems to be in a good frame of mind and looks to be really up for it this year.

SECOND STAR--Robbie Keane, LAG.  I hate it when he does what he does to us, but man, his skills are pretty amazing.  The way he just discarded Schuler and scored the goal past Rimando was the work of a master.

THIRD STAR--Chris Schuler, RSL.  Schuler bares no fault for the goal, that's on Wingert.  However, it is so great to see him back on the pitch.  If he can rekindle what we saw from him in the playoffs last year, he's going to be a beast for RSL at the back and who knows, future captain maybe?  I'm always much more comfortable when I see him next to Nat, the bearded one.

Don't forget to join us, yes even me, at the RioT on Saturday against Michael Bradley, Jermaine Defoe, and TFC.  Pop 'round to section 30 and give me a holler.  I'm next to the guy who brings all the cool tifos.

Chivas de Guadalajara Bans All Supporter Groups After Derby Violence

Multiple injuries were reported after Chivas fans fought police this last weekend.

In case you missed it, Mexican soccer suffered a HUGE black eye this weekend.  During the Tapatio Derby between Chivas and Atlas, this time being played at the home of Atlas, Chivas supporters engaged in a running battle with Guadalajara police in the upper terraces of the stadium.  According to Reuters, the Chivas folks managed to outnumber the police and several police officers were seriously injured, including two suffering serious but non life threatening injuries.  Approximately 30 civilians were injured and were being treated at local hospitals after the match.

Reaction from the club, the Mexican Federation, and the local government has been swift, and hard line.  First off, Chivas has announced that they will ban ALL supporter groups from their matches indefinitely and with immediate effect.  This includes this weekend's coming Superclasico with Club America to be played at Chivas's Omnilife Stadium.  The statement on this issue also says that ALL MEMBERS of credentialed supporter groups are banned as well.  According to Soccerly, The FMF is seriously considering banning all supporter groups from all clubs in the wake of this incident.

Guadalajara officials are none too pleased with events either.  They have closed Estadio Jalisco, home of Atlas, and prohibited it from hosting soccer matches until further notice.  17 arrests have already been made in connection with the violence, and both Chivas and the local police are working on rounding up anyone else involved as well.

This derby has long had a reputation for violent incidents, especially involving Chivas "ultras" who puff out their chests and announce that they take pride in such things, again, giving real supporters a bad name.  Chivas and Atlas shared Estadio Jalisco until recent times when Omnilife stadium was built to host Chivas.

  

This kind of thing has no place in soccer and just gives people who are against the sport more ammunition to use against it.  Anyone who thinks that this is "cool" or that it's the right way to "support your club" should never be allowed through the gates of a stadium.   Check out the video below for footage of the incident, but be cautioned that it's rather graphic.

Puddle's Goal of the Weekend: Bernardo Anor BLAST

You won't want to miss this sweet strike from Bernardo Anor (Dispatch.com)

It would be awfully easy for me to pick Wayne Rooney or maybe a goal from this weekend's remarkable Clasico for my goal of the week, but I decided to keep it close to home and Major League Soccer.  Check out this rocket from Columbus Crew's Bernardo Anor in first half stoppage time against the Union.

MLS Crashes and Burns in CCL. Again.

Cruz Azul's Mario Pavone scored a hat trick as Azul demolished Sporting KC.

Remember last week when there was a little more than cautious optimism about MLS sides in CONCACAF Champions League play?  Reigning MLS Cup champs Sporting Kansas City took down Cruz Azul at home, and the LA Galaxy managed to hold off the Xolos of Tijuana.  Even San Jose managed to fight back late to earn a home draw against Toluca.  Things looked fairly bright.  If all three MLS clubs could pull a sweep in Mexico, it would guarantee that an MLS club would make the CCL final and have a chance to play for the trophy and a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup.

Then reality set in starting on Tuesday night, really harsh reality.

That night the LA Galaxy took on the Xolos at Estadio Caliente in Tijuana, and things went rotten quite quickly.  The 1-0 lead they had from winning at home evaporated in less than a minute.  The Galaxy couldn't clear their own box and the ball finally managed to fall to Xolo Jaime Ayovi, who easily knocked in the first goal of the match on 57 seconds, equalizing the aggregate.  By halftime, the Galaxy found themselves down 3-1.  Oops.  Still, the Xolos didn't have a road goal, and the Galaxy scored one through Robbie Keane out of halftime to make it 3-2.  One more goal and the Galaxy could take the series on road goals.  However, things fell apart in the last ten minutes Richard Ruiz scored for Tijuana in the 82nd, which put the Galaxy into full kitchen sink mode.  Keane managed his brace in the 85th, but they Galaxy were never able to tally the last needed goal and fell to the Xolos by a 4-3 aggregate.  The Galaxy fought hard, but just could not overcome the dreadful first half.

The first of two ties on Wednesday night involved Toluca hosting the San Jose Earthquakes, who came into the match tied 1-1 after yet another Goonie style comeback at Buck Shaw last week.  As an MLS fan, you have to hand it to the Quakes who were playing at 9,000 ft, much higher than Rio Tinto Stadium or even Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado.   The Quakes actually took the lead in the tie in the 56h minute through Ty Harden, but Toluca equalized 13 minutes later, sending the tie into extra time.  In the 96th minute Alan Gordon appeared to tally his second of the tie, but the goal was ruled out for offside.  It was really close call, but if you freeze fame the replay, he certainly looked even.  At any rate, the match ended up going into penalties, where Toluca picked up the victory 5-4.  The Quakes might feel a bit hard done by, but they certainly represented the league well.

That was certainly not the case for defending MLS Cup Champs Sporting Kansas City.  Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I'm still a little bitter over the MLS Cup final, and Cruz Azul is my favorite Liga MX side, so this probably isn't unbiased, but SKC laid a total egg at Estadio Azul.  Backup 'keeper Erick Kronberg got hammered and Azul blew up the the KC defense who suffered while Aurelien Collin sat on the bench.  They did their best keystone cop impression and Mario Pavone scored a hat trick on the way to a 5-1 victory in the match and 5-2 on aggregate.  It was a clueless performance from the champs, who from what I managed to see, didn't really look all that interested.  That's nice, because the supposed "best team in MLS" got obliterated on Mexican soil.  It was a result that I think sets the league back 2 or 3 years in CCL play.  Thanks Peter Vermes.  Why don't you let somebody who wants to play in next time, say, Seattle or RSL?

At any rate, MLS bows out yet again without even getting a team into the semis, let alone into the finals.  Both Houston and Canadian Champions Montreal were eliminated in the group stage.  For us RSL fans, we can continue to hold on to "we're the only ones to make the final," which stings a little as Portland was handed our spot when the qualification rules were changed AFTER the MLS season and playoffs last year, which doesn't seem fair, but whatever.  Next year we'll have the Timbers. the Red Bulls, and Sporting KC in as well as DC United (thanks to RSL's own massive egg laid in the US Open Cup final, and probably Vancouver, TFC, or Montreal provided they win the Canadian Championship.  I don't expect anything from DC United barring a massive improvement, Portland still has issues on the road and has only managed draws in it's first two home matches this season, Thierry Henry will probably come up with a reason not to play, and I really can't see Sporting KC doing any better.  So uh, maybe we hope TFC wins and goes in?  That's the ticket.

Another year, another disappointment for MLS fans.

The Puddle Congratulates USMNT Defender Steve Cherundolo On a Great Career

US international defender Steve Cherundolo retired earlier this week. (Zimbio.com)

Most of the buzz surrounding the United States men's national team this week surrounded the announcement that young Bayern Munich player Julian Green has decided to switch federations and play for the USA.  That is certainly newsworthy, but another bit of news crossed the wire that was of interest to seasoned fans as well.  Wednesday evening, USMNT and Hannover 96 defender Steve Cherundolo announced that he was retiring from professional football due to a knee injury.

It's kind of sad news as Cherundolo has been a fixture on the US back line for quite awhile.  He earned his first cap for the USA in 1999 against Jamaica.  He then went on to participate in multiple CONCACAF Gold Cups for the USA, winning the trophy in 2005 and wearing the captain's armband in the 2009 edition.  He also competed in two FIFA World Cups for the USA, in Germany 2006 and South Africa 2010.  He scored two goals for his country as he compiled 87 caps overall.

Cherundolo is also fairly unique because he's one of the few American players to have spent his entire playing career in Europe.  After two years at the University of Portland, "Dolo" went to Germany and signed on with Hannover 96, who were in the German second division at the time.  In 2001-2002 Hannover won the league and was promoted to the Bundesliga.  Cherundolo eventually ascended to captain of the side, making 423 appearances in all competitions and scoring 8 goals.  He also earned the nickname: "The Mayor of Hannover."  At his press conference, Cherundolo confirmed that he will remain Europe as an assistant coach for Hannover's U-23 team.

Personally I would like to congratulate him on a fantastic career for club and country.  He was certainly a great player and person to represent our country and even wear the armband.  It's unfortunate that he ended up missing a couple of big international tournaments due to injury.  Though I never really got to see him in action for Hannover, I always enjoyed watching him play for the national side.  Thank you, "Dolo" for all you have given to US Soccer and to the beautiful game as a whole, and good luck in your future endeavors.

Smash and Grab Job Gives Whitecaps A Point At Chivas USA

Darren Mattocks heads a ball against Chivas USA (sporttopix.com)

I was really impressed with the way the Vancouver Whitecaps took apart the defending Supporter's Shield winners, the New York Red Bulls, last week up at BC Place.  Kekuta Manneh and new signing Sebastian Fernandez has Caps fans, and me, asking "Camilo who?"  Well, after last night's outing against Chivas USA, one has to wonder if that first match was a bit of a fluke since Red Bulls were missing Thierry Henry and Jamison Olave, among others.

The match began rather sluggishly at Stub Hub Center, with neither side looking as though they wanted to put out much effort or creativity in what was an unseasonably warm day in SoCal.  I know this because the announcers mentioned it probably twenty thousand times in the first 10 minutes.

The first event of note came in the 13th minute, and it seemingly spelled disaster for the Goats.  Augustin Pelletieri went in for a hard challenge on Vancouver's Pedro Morales.  As he continued through the challenge, he came down on Morales's ankle, and the referee showed the Chivas midfielder a straight red card.  I suppose by the letter of the law it was a good call, but it seemed rather harsh to me at the time.  At any rate it was dumb challenge for Pelletieri to make so early in the match with absolutely nothing going on offensively for either side.

So now that the Caps had a man advantage I got excited and thought that now I was going to see that same awesome football that I saw last week in Vancouver.  I was disappointed, though hey, Chivas played pretty well.  You couldn't tell that they were down a man as Vancouver just refused to press the issue.

Still even the Goats couldn't manage anything but blocked shots, and Vancouver couldn't manage a shot at all in the entire first half.  Then in the 45th minute, the scales tipped in favor of the Goats.  Mauro Rosales threaded a ball into the area where Chivas forward Erik Torres was waiting.  Torres fired off a shot, and it took a tricky deflection off of 'Caps defender Jay DeMerit and into the goal to make it 1-0 to Chivas heading into the break.  DeMerit joked afterward, via Twitter, that at least his ass scored it's first goal of the season.

Things didn't look any better for the Whitecaps at the start of the second half either.  The adjustments that were needed seemed clear, but didn't seem like they were taking place.  Chivas stayed organized on defense and continued to outwork the listless Whitecaps on offense.  In the 52nd minute Leandro Barrera shot forward on a counter and looked to have a sure fire second goal for the Goats.  However, 'keeper Pat Ousted made a nice save, getting a hand to it and knocking it wide for a corner.

Finally the 'Caps made some good hay starting at the hour mark with the insertion of Manneh into the match.  He immediately brought the energy that the Caps had been lacking, and started opening up the match for others as well.  In the 61st minute Morales sprayed a shot just wide of goal and then in the 66th Darren Mattocks knocked the ball past Dan Kennedy, who had come out to the top of the area to claim it, and sent it rolling toward the goal line.  However, he couldn't get much power on it and a Chivas defender came and poked the ball out of harm's way.

But the 'Caps kept up the pressure and finally came good in the 81st minute.  Mattocks had the ball on the left side of the box, and dropped a nice centering pass to Manneh near the penalty spot.  The Gambian promptly slotted the ball past Kennedy in goal to tie the match at 1-1, which was the score at the full time whistle.

You have to feel a bit for Chivas in this one.  I thought they really deserved all three points.  They played with a grit and spirit that hasn't always been there for a franchise that has been considered the doormat of the west.  I'm not sure that's gonna happen this year, especially if they can hang onto Torres all season.  They really played a solid match.

On the other hand, it's hard for me to say that the 'Caps really deserved the point that they got.  Their performance was woeful for the first 60 minutes, 47 of which were played with a man advantage.  The bright spot for Vancouver was definitely Manneh.  He showed some real chemistry with Mattocks in the 2nd half, and that's really good news for 'Caps fans.  Now they just have to pray that their club can gain some consistency to keep pace in a loaded Western Conference.

Next week the 'Caps travel to New England to take on a Revs squad that has looked miserable to open the season.  Chivas USA will travel to Frisco, Texas, to take on FC Dallas.

RSL Leaves Buck Shaw With A Point

Yeah, these guys.  Enough said. (MLSSoccer.net)

MLS starts off their official recap of the match by talking about how the Quakes "broke their RSL Hex" in season openers.  Well, despite the fact that I remain slightly frustrated after Saturday night's result, I wouldn't say that going down by two goals at home and then coming back and earning a last second draw is a particularly awesome thing to do.  I guess you can look at it two ways: one, the Quakes showed a lot of heart to come back at home twice this last week after going down.  Two, going down at home twice in a row cost the club two big missed opportunities, one in CCL, and one in MLS.  There comes a point where draws aren't good enough.

But speaking of missed opportunities, let's talk about the match and Real Salt Lake.  Might I say that things were a bit sloppy?  Yes.  Especially on set pieces, which were one of RSL's big issues last year.  They were really solid on them in LA, but less so up the road in San Jose, and it cost them in this one.  The first goal came off of a set piece in the sixth minute.  Shea Salinas sent a free kick into the box that found the head of Victor Bernardez.  (We'll talk about both of these guys again in a bit.)  Bernardez flicked the ball to Chris Wondolowski, who basically deflected the ball in at close range to give the Quakes the 1-0 lead.  Did anybody check to see if he had an extra "W" on the jersey?

Fortunately RSL responded well to going down a goal in the early stages.  I liked this, because it hasn't always happened with this team.  In the 11th minute Joao Plata dropped the ball off to Kyle Beckerman who drilled a shot on target from outside the box.  It bounced off the post and into the goal to knot the match at 1-1.  I always like to see Beckerman taking those kinds of shots, he's proved to be very dangerous out there, just ask the Portland Timbers.

From there on in, RSL controlled the rest of the first half and had the best scoring chances.  In the 32nd minute Plata torched a couple of Quakes defenders, then engaged in some nice give and take with Luis Gil, and then slotted the ball into the back of the net to give the Claret and Cobalt the 1-2 lead.  It really was top notch work from both Plata and Gil, who I thought looked pretty good filling in for the injured Javier Morales.

RSL would take further control in first half stoppage time.  Ned Grabavoy, who I thought had a better night than he did against LA, smashed a shot off of Quakes 'keeper Jon Busch, and RSL new boy Luke Mulholland played trash man, scooping the rebound and knocking it into the net to make it 1-3.  It was is first goal for the club in his first start.

Things seemed to be under control in the second half.  Well, as under control as they can be against the Quakes anyway.  You always wait for the other shoe to drop against them and sure enough it fell late on in the match.  In the 71st minute Aaron Maund, who I thought had another solid start, had to come off and was replaced by Carlos Salcedo.  Then in the 75th minute set piece issues struck again as Salinas (again) put a corner into Bernardez (again) who headed the ball into goal to make it 2-3.

Still, it seemed like RSL was going to survive and take all 3 points.  They took their one goal lead deep into stoppage time and looked to have it sealed up.  Then in the 95th minute Shaun Francis sent a cross into the box, and it looked like we had it dealt with, as Nick Rimando rose to try to punch it clear.  However, his punch was weak, and it went only so far as an unmarked Victor Bernardez, who hammered the ball into the back of the net to make it 3-3 at full time.

In the end, I guess it at least wasn't Lenhart that did the damage, but it was just as frustrating.  I'm not trying to blame Carlos Salcedo at all, but one wonders if Schuler or Maund were in the game late on, well maybe the defense is just a little tighter on those last two goals.  To Salcedo's defense, it often takes a CB 30 minutes or so to get into a match as they don't move and loosen up as much as forwards or midfielders.  In the end I think Maund going out was a big moment in the match.

At any rate, RSL should be relatively pleased by getting 4 points from that opening road swing.  They'll head home for the opener at Rio Tinto this weekend, again against the Galaxy, where the set piece defense is going to have to be better.  It would also be nice to see Schuler back in the lineup.  San Jose will travel to Sporting Kansas City, where the defending champs will try to break out of their early season doldrums, but before that, the Quakes will travel to Mexico to take on Toluca in the 2nd leg of their CCL tie.

So now here are the three stars for the match:

1st STAR--Shea Salinas, San Jose.  This guy caused trouble for RSL all night long, and contributed two set piece balls that led to the first two San Jose goals.

2nd STAR--Joao Plata, RSL.  Platita continues his role as danger man in chief for RSL during these early weeks of the season.  Saturday night he contributed a ton of energy, a goal, and an assist to the cause.

3rd STAR--Victor Bernardez, San Jose.  Yeah, the guy has a bit of an attitude problem on occasion, but to me there's no denying that he's one of the best center backs in MLS.  He's more than solid at the back and is ALWAYS dangerous on set pieces.  I would like to see our center backs emulate that particular quality on a more regular basis.

Puddle's Goal of the Weekend: Motaz Salhani in the Jordan Pro League

Even Zlatan is is not sure he believes what he sees on this remarkable goal.

I was all set to pick a goal from MLS to feature this weekend, I mean, hey, Jermaine Defoe right?  Then I saw this, and well I'm just not quite sure what to say.  This is Motaz Salhani who plays for Al Wehdat in the Jordan Pro League, and the unfortunate keeper plays for Al Ramtha.  What is this even, a back heel goal?  Luck? Pure skill? Check it out:

I'm not sure which is more amusing, the goal or the keeper's reaction.  The whole thing is insane!

Quakes Bounce Back to Draw Top Seed Toluca

Alan Gordon scored a stoppage time equalizer to draw Mexican side Toluca (sjearthquakes.com)

Stop me if you've heard this one: A team favored to beat the Earthquakes makes the trip to Buck Shaw Stadium, takes the lead, then seemingly has it all wrapped up going into stoppage time.  Of course, then this guy named Alan Gordon shows up, puts the ball in the back of the net, and the rest of us have to hear about "Goonie Magic" until the Quakes play again.

Well that's exactly what happened to Mexican side Toluca in CONCACAF Champions League play last night.  Toluca came in as the top seeded team in the knockout phase of the tournament and figured to have somewhat of an easy ride against the Quakes.  Toluca has had a pretty good 2014 Clausura campaign in Liga Mx as well, sitting second only to Cruz Azul.  I'll even admit that I didn't give the Quakes a chance at all in this tie.

I don't want to give the impression that the Quakes just showed up in stoppage time though.  They actually acquitted themselves fairly well for much of the match, but it was a mistake that cost them the lead in the first place.  In the 67th minute Jason Hernandez attempted to clear the ball from the Quakes' end, but saw his kick go only as far as Raul Nava, who is NOT the guy you want to gift the ball to at the edge of the box.  Nava deftly volleyed the ball past Jon Busch to give Toluca the 0-1 lead.

Fortunately for the Quakes fans, their club continued to press,  If you've watched MLS and the Quakes over the last couple of years, you know they don't give up, it just doesn't seem to be in their DNA, even after they changed coaches midway through the 2013 MLS season.  In the 79th minute Steven Lenhart headed a cross from Shea Salinas off of the crossbar.  Both JJ Koval and Alan Gordon had chances to tie the match on the rebound from this opportunity, but neither could get the ball through all the traffic in front of the Toluca goal.

So it seemed like that might be all she wrote as the match entered second half stoppage time.  Of course as it turns out, the Quakes had Toluca right where they wanted them.  In the fourth minute of added time, Salinas again provided a dangerous cross into the box.  This time it was Gordon who got his head to it first, and he didn't miss, bouncing his header in off the post to knot the match at 1-1, which was also the score at full time.

All in all the Quakes did a pretty good job last night, but Toluca are still going to be in the driver seat in this tie.  Next week the two sides will head down to Mexico and Toluca's Estadio Nemesio Diez to settle the score.  I don't think the Quakes will be able to rely on "Goonie Magic" in Mexico.  They'll have to finish their chances and more importantly keep the high flying Toluca side out of the goal as well.  It's just really hard to see San Jose coming away with a win in Mexico, but then again, you can never count this team out until the final whistle has sounded.

So What Do We Think of the New NYCFC Crests?

These are the final two choices for the NYCFC crest. (nycfc.com)

So early this week NYCFC (NY2) jumped on the beginning of the season hype machine for MLS by announcing the final two choices for it's crest, err badge.  They use "badge," but I prefer "crest" so I'm going with that.  It's actually a pretty smart move for the franchise, one year out from actually hitting the pitch.  It continues building their fanbase by letting fans vote for which crest they prefer on the official club website and gets the rest of us talking about them as part of the league throughout the 2014 campaign.  

Now that they have their first coach, *COUGH--HACK--WHEEZE.* Sorry about that.  Anyway, now that they have their first coach, there will be more steps toward formulating the club's identity and building their support.  You'll have the first signings, the first DP signings, the signing of a sponsor, the first money drop from Manchester City (I kid, kind of), the stadium announcement, the first kit, the first supporter group, the second supporter group, the first cranky disagreement between supporter groups, then finally the first game, the first goal, oh and the first chance to bitch about MLS referees.  Welcome, NYCFC!

Actually I like the crests.  Now, I had seen some others during their design contest that I liked better, but I think these are two solid choices.  I think I like the circular one a little better.  The shield looks just a little too elaborate for my taste, then there's that hint of Mets orange that, as a Braves fan, I think is rather meh.  Honestly, I don't think the club can go wrong with either one though.

In previous entries I've been quite critical of Major League Soccer's choice to put a second team in the NYC area.  But hey, now it's happened, so I'm gonna get behind what the league thought was a good move, even if I disagree.  I'm still not thrilled with the Man City aspect either, but again, it's out of my control.  I do think a healthy derby between Red Bulls and City could be a great thing for MLS, even if it might take it awhile to develop.

There are going to be those who hate it for other reasons as well.  You've got the "I hate whatever MLS does" faction of folks who feel that this sucks just because it's affiliated with MLS.  You also have the history buffs who thought that MLS should have brought the Cosmos back into division one.  NYCFC is always going to be an abomination to these guys with their reanimated zombie version of the Cosmos sitting in NASL while this Man City farm squad plays in the US top flight.  Nobody is ever going to win over either of these two groups of people.

But, if you're an MLS fan like I am, I urge you to get behind this effort at least a little bit, even though it might be a particular issue for my fellow RSL fans.  NYCFC is going to bring more talent into MLS, and we know that Jason Kreis is going to play the right kind of soccer with that talent, well, either that or he'll end up being the David Moyes of MLS.  We shall see.  Besides, away days in NYC?  I'm thinking that might be a pretty good time, don't you?

Rimando, Plata, Boost RSL to 3 Points Over Galaxy

Robbie Keane missed two sitters and a PK for the Galaxy (LAGalaxy.com)

Sorry, I couldn't help but lead my first RSL 2014 entry with this pic of Robbie Keane.  Let's face it. Keane is one of the best, if not THE best striker in MLS, but Saturday night was not his night.  Instead the night belonged to a heroic Nick Rimando and a dangerous Joao Plata as RSL defeated the Galaxy 0-1 at StubHub Center.

Of course, it was hard to tell that it was going to be RSL's night from the action in the opening half.  The Galaxy opened the match looking very dangerous, and finding quite a bit of open space for Keane, Landon Donovan, and new attacker Samuel.  They even got in behind the RSL defense a couple of times.  Aaron Maund got the start next to Nat Borchers at CB instead of Carlos Salcedo, and that made me nervous, even knowing that Keane absolutely abused Salcedo in LA last year.  Maund held his own early and throughout the game though.  At one point in the first half, LA found Keane behind the defense streaking toward Rimando in what appeared to be a 1v1 situation.  However Maund, showing flashes of his good speed, got back and tackled the ball away from Keane to save the day.  It was remarkable that he didn't give up a yellow card or even a foul.  In that moment, Jeff Cassar's confidence in the youngster paid off.

That wasn't the only good chance the Galaxy would have though.  In the 34th minute Rimando botched a clearance and sent it straight to Keane.  It looked to be lights out for the Ireland Captain as he knocked it back toward the goal.  Incredibly the ball smacked off the woodwork, hit the ground, then bounced away from the goal line and the score somehow remained 0-0.  A few minutes later, Keane found Donovan on an angle and Landon smacked toward Rimando's near post.  Rimando hit the deck and made an outstanding save though, keeping the match yet level as the teams headed into the halftime break.

LA continued their assault in the second half, and RSL's defense continued to bend but not break.  Gradually they did start to shut down the space though.  Still, the offense seemed to be sputtering some, so Cassar went to his bench.  The first sub for the Claret and Cobalt was former NASL Best XI player Luke Mulholland, who came in for Luis Gil in the 66th minute.  Gil never really got into the match, but Mulholland had no such issues.  Not long after entering, he found himself putting the ball into the back of the net off of a rebound from a Plata shot, but he was whistled offside, despite having two LA defenders and keeper Penedo between him and the goal at the time.

Still, RSL's had signaled their attacking intent and LA was starting to look nervy at the back.  In the 80th minute Captain Kyle Beckerman played Plata into the box, and Platita slotted past Penedo to make it 0-1 to RSL.  This time there were no flags.

The Galaxy cranked up the pressure over the last ten minutes looking for an equalizer.  New Galaxy man, and rather large attacker, Rob Friend entered the match and caused trouble along RSL's back line, but the boys held into stoppage time, that's when it looked like it was all going to blow away.

In the final minute of the 3, Friend went up in the box over Tony Beltran.  He fell over theatrically, with the ball striking his hand on the way down.  The ref fell for it though, and awarded the Galaxy a penalty kick on the rationale that Beltran had undercut him.  It looked to be the opposite for me, but my opinion doesn't matter.  Keane stepped to the spot and hoped to redeem himself for earlier misses, but his PK was stoned by Nick Rimando and the points were preserved for Real Salt Lake.

The win launches RSL's new season and the Jeff Cassar era on a high note.  They showed real grit and determination despite several things going against them.  The Claret and Cobalt will take on San Jose at Buck Shaw stadium next week.  For the Galaxy, the played well, and were superior to RSL for large swathes of the match, unfortunately for them, they couldn't finish even one of several possible chances.  Still it's hard to argue that LA didn't deserve a point.  They have a bye in league play next weekend, but they host  Tijuana this week in CCL play.  That should be interesting as both Keane and Donovan played 90 minutes in this match.

Now, here are my 3 Stars for the match, the first installment of 2014:

1st STAR: NICK RIMANDO: RSL.--Yes, Nick made a pretty big goof in the first half, but bounced back in epic fashion.  He had nine saves on the night, including the big one on Keane's PK in stoppage time.

2nd STAR: Joao Plata: RSL.--Plata was the most consistent offensive threat for RSL.  He forced Penedo into a save in the first half on a driven shot, earned a rebound that Mulholland put in for the called back goal in the second, and eventually beat the LA shot stopper for the match winner in the 80th minute.

3rd STAR: Aaron Maund: RSL.--Hell yes, I was nervous.  However, Maund did have a good preseason, and really justified Cassar's selection by putting out a solid performance in the back.  He also nearly had a goal in the first half.  I would really like to see our CBs be a more consistent threat on set pieces this season.

Euro 2016 Draw Announced

If you were sleeping this morning, US time, or perhaps just in a funk over what looks like will be the USA kit for the upcoming World Cup, you might have missed this bit of news.  The draw for Euro 2016, which will be held in France, took place Sunday in Nice.  The tourney will look a bit different this time around as 24 nations will get a chance to compete in the finals, instead of 16 which was the previous case.

It doesn't look like many of the big fish should have a problem making the finals.  England manager Roy Hodgson was particularly happy with the Three Lions' draw in Group E against San Marino, Switzerland, Slovenia, Estonia, and Lithuania.  It's hard to see any of those countries putting up much a fight against England, outside of perhaps Switzerland, whom Roy Hodgson previously coached in 1990s.

Wales should also like their draw.  They were placed into Group B with Belgium, Isreal, Cyprus, Andorra, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.  It's doubtful that they could top Belgium, but one would think they would have a decent shot at battling Israel for second place.

Euro 2016 qualification will also see a new nation competing to make their first international tournament.  Gibraltar was admitted into UEFA in 2013 and will play their first qualifiers this time around in Group D against Germany, Georgia, Scotland, Poland, and the Republic of Ireland.  They were originally drawn into Group C, but were moved because of political tensions between themselves and Spain.

You can check out the full draw below:

Matches begin in September 2014.  The top two teams in each group and the best third place team will automatically qualify for the finals.  The remaining third place finishers will have a playoff to fill out the field that will take to the pitch in France, Summer 2016.

Puddle's Goal of the Midweek: Ibra vs Leverkusen

Zlatan Ibrahimovic lifted PSG over Leverkusen in UCL Action

Unfortunately you won't be seeing him at the World Cup in Brazil this summer, but you can check out plenty of Zlatan in UEFA Champions League play.  Today Ibra propelled PSG to a 4-0 win on the road at Leverkusen to all but secure their passage to the next stage.  He scored 2 goals on the day, the first a PK, and the second this rifle blast of a shot to the postage stamp:

Check out this great Fox Sports video - Ibrahimovic rifles in PSG's third goal

MLS Murky Offseason....The Story So Far.

While MLS trumpeted high profile new signings, it's Golden Boot winner went South

You could say that the last couple of weeks of this MLS offseason have been.....eventful.  Personally I would describe it as a soap opera almost juicy enough to pass that English soccer soap opera, you know the one, "Dream Team."  Love MLS or hate it, you've been able to look around the last couple of weeks and find plenty of ammunition to support your point of view.

The rumblings began before the playoffs were even totally underway.  After the Colorado Rapids lost to the Seattle Sounders in the first round, a rumor spread through MLS like wildfire that Rapids manager, and my pick for Manager of the Year, Oscar Pareja would be packing his bags and heading for the open job at FC Dallas.  That rumor was laughed at and even went away for awhile, until a couple of weeks ago when reports hit that Pareja had resigned from the Rapids.  This was eventually followed up with an announcement that Colorado and Dallas had reached a deal for Pareja to coach in Dallas.   But that wasn't all for the Rapids either.  On January 9 Chivas USA announced that Rapids assistant Wilmer Cabrera was now the head coach of the Goats.  This left Colorado without a head coach on draft day, and Colorado legend Pablo Mastroeni was named as "Assistant to the Technical Director."  The Rapids website suggests that they will take their time looking for a new coach, and that they may hire an interim coach for the short term.  That's rattling a few sabers as the beginning of preseason training is nearly upon us.

Now as rough as that might sound for our friends in Colorado who still have an outstanding young squad, it's nothing to what supporters of the Vancouver Whitecaps have endured so far.  The Caps, despite just missing the playoffs last year, had some things to be positive about.  They won the Cascadia Cup and ended up with the MLS Golden Boot winner, Camilo Sanvezzo.  Camilo looked to be a dynamic player that their new coach could build around in the offseason.

Then Mexican side Queretaro posted a picture of Camilo wearing their kit on twitter and introducing him to their fans as a new signing.

This seemed to take both the league and Vancouver completely by surprise.  After all, the 'Caps had exercised a club option for Camilo at the end of the season.  Chaos reigned.  The 'Caps said they still had Camilo's International Transfer Certificate, and that Camilo would be expected to report for preseason training.  New pictures soon emerged of Camilo training with his new side south of the border.  There was much snarling and gnashing of teeth, and nearly every MLS pundit on twitter turned into a Lawyer that specialized in International Contract and Commerce Law.  The 'Caps had a strong case.  The 'Caps had no case.  Rulings of the International Court of Arbitration for Sport were cited.  FIFA precedents were mentioned.  In the end all the poor folks in Vancouver got was a half hearted apology from Queretaro, a transfer fee that might have been put to use earlier, and a statement from Don Garber saying he was "disappointed" in the situation.

Really Mr. Garber?  You should be outraged.  Your league's top scorer just went to a rival league.  Not just a rival league, THE RIVAL LEAGUE.  Now, nobody's saying that Camilo was the next Pele or anything, but he was clearly a dynamic player that leaves a huge hole in Vancouver's lineup right before the start of preseason training.  I'm glad that Mr. Garber is disappointed, but I'd like to see him be as outraged as the Vancouver supporters that I follow on Twitter are.

But why should he be outraged?  While the league's leading scorer was sneaking out the back door, MLS was too busy pointing to a brand new shiny object for us all to love.  Ok, actually two brand new shiny objects, Jermaine Defoe and US International Michael Bradley, who signed with Toronto FC.  Now I'm not here to bag on these great signings.  I'm thrilled for TFC Supporters, who now actually have something to be excited about.  TFC's season tickets looked to sell out in a manner of days and depending on who you were, you were either putting MLS Cup in their hands or at least putting them on par with Sporting Kansas City and New York Red Bulls, which they are clearly not.  But hey, new signings generate excitement which is great for the league, and I look forward to seeing them play when TFC visits Rio Tinto.

The question I have is this: more league money was used to sign up Defoe and Bradley, one way or another, just like it was for Dempsey.  On the surface I don't have an issue with this, these players are extremely talented guys who will help raise the profile of MLS.  On the other hand, the league couldn't spare a little cash to throw at Camilo so the 'Caps could keep the Golden Boot winner around?  That's followed up by reports that the league is having issues with the Philadelphia Union's pursuit of Maurice Edu, even after the Union traded up to the top allocation spot to get him, of course neither Dempsey or Bradley were put through allocation, the reasoning being that they are DPs.  The Union want to pay Edu, but the league doesn't believe that he is worth that money.

Now the league is probably right in that regard.  Edu is no Dempsey or Bradley.  Coaching moves aside though, this all underscores the need for more transparency in the way MLS handles these things.  Garber flat out said in the State if the League that they were kind of "making it up as they go along."  Really?  The game itself has rules, supposedly MLS has player acquisition rules and procedures as well.  However these rules, which were already murky in the first place, seem to have gone right out the window in some very high profile matters while they are more strictly applied in other cases.  Wouldn't it be nice to have a set of rules that applied to everybody in this "single entity structure?"

On top of that, Garber announced during the draft that MLS is still bleeding money to the tune of  7-10 million dollars per year.  Of course, if you've read "Soccernomics" you don't REALLY expect soccer organizations to turn a profit, but I know my job would be in trouble if my company was losing 7 mil per year.  My employers wouldn't be out dropping extravagant money on new employees either.  Of course all of this hits as negotiations are set to be going forward for a new CBA between the league and it's players, and you couldn't begrudge the rank and file MLS player for wondering where his piece of the pie is in all this.   I'm hoping for a salary cap bump and a salary bump.  We could also do away with this stupid allocation process which the league only uses when it suits them anyway.  Let the players play where they want within the confines of the salary cap structure.

In the end, it probably seems like I'm really ripping on MLS here.  It's true, I do have concerns.  Bradley and Defoe aren't Beckham.  I think the future of the league will be cemented by bringing up academy talent  and perhaps more players from Latin America to help raise the total standard of play in the league.  Bradley, Defoe, and Dempsey aren't going to do that by themselves.  Ticket sales and jersey sales are great, and help the league's bottom line.  However if the league really wants to raise it's profile, we need to keep raising the standard of soccer on the pitch by providing a set of rules for all clubs to follow, raising salaries and the cap to make the league a more attractive destination, and be a little bit more careful throwing huge chunks of league money at players while we're still bleeding money.

But that's all just my two cents.  I can't wait until the season starts so we can actually talk about the product on the pitch instead of "MLS: As the Brazuca Turns."