American soccer, with extra calories...
This morning, at about 11:15 a.m. EST I was sitting in my office preparing for lunch when a DM came
across my Twitter from @islanderslegion:
"Just read the NASL press release, any news out of ATL about the Silverbacks coming back"
I was shocked, to say the least. I had spent October 30th up in Raleigh for the USSF D-2 Final
telling everyone (most notably @PasionNaranja and @danielstroud) that in no way would the Atlanta
Silverbacks be coming back for the 2011 season.
With the potential return of the Silverbacks, we'll clear the mothballs off the Cupcakes and try to
figure out what is going on...
All the word on the street was that IF Atlanta returned to pro soccer, it would not be via the
Silverbacks. The last few years of the pro team were not successful financially and things didn't
look viable in the future.
Let's see how this works...
Bring Back the Stripes: The Goat Edition
- Chivas USA has no offense, will they score a goal before May? I like Osael Romero, good quality
there. How does Maicon Santos miss that shot in the 6-yard box?
- Los Angeles is solid, if not all that spectacular right now. They'll be around at the end of
the year.
- Real Salt Lake will also be around to defend their championship.
A 4-0 loss on Opening Day does not typically signify a good season coming up. DC United did not
look ready for its game on Saturday night, which is even more frustrating after the fairly
successful run in Charleston at their preseason tournament. After a day to try to calm down, here's
my thoughts:
- The defense struggled, but that was to be expected a bit.
Philadelphia was not quite ready for prime time last night as they dropped a 2-0 result to Seattle.
Toni Stahl's red card before halftime definitely didn't help, but Seattle was in complete control
of the match from the opening whistle. The Sounders' counterattack was in fine form, especially
through Steve Zakuani down the left side.
The quick & dirty 2010 MLS preview, mostly so I can see how wrong I am at the end of the
season...
EASTERN CONFERENCE
1. Columbus Crew
Losing Alejandro Moreno could hurt more that the Crew are expecting, but they should be good enough
to win the East.
2. DC United
DCU has looked good towards the end of the preseason, but depth could be a major issue.
With MLS gearing up, I'm hoping to be in the Bakery much more often.
For those interested, you can join our MFLS Division, just search for Who Ate All the Cupcakes?
Don't forget about predicting the games there too...
See you at the bottom of the standings...
Just kidding, although it is just my luck. Maybe United is starting to get its act together after a
great win in Mexico over Santos Laguna. Everyone's favorite, Party Boy, got the fiesta started and
Boyzzzzzzzzzzzzz scored the game winner. Not too shabby, even if it was just a friendly.
The upsetting news comes that we still don't have an agreement between MLS and the players' union.
MLS is in a catch-22 situation when it comes to the CCL. As it stands now, outside of a
high-profile match-up with Chivas or Club América (which will bring in more fans of the other team
than yours), most of the matchups aren't appealing to the casual soccer fan.
On top of that, the games are tough and your club might not look so great against a team casual
fans don't really know anything about.
Being sick for most of the week gives you time to think about stuff. I'll spare you my thoughts on
faulty sinuses, the joys of Kleenex with lotion, and the horrors of minestrone soup. Here's a few
things that crossed my mind...
- ESPN announced 4 Brits to call play-by-play during the World Cup.
President & CEO Kevin Payne said in a press release - "Our first priority was to find someone who
shares the club's long-standing philosophy of attacking soccer – and Curt absolutely does."
Curt Onalfo told the Washington Post - "D.C. set the standard in this league and the goal has got
to be to return to that level.
Onalfo was all about his commitment to attacking soccer when he started in KC. The offensive
production went down each season he was there.
He was all about keeping United's tradition alive at DCU. The team went out and signed a big
Australian striker, Danny Allsopp, who was recently described as "absolutely hopeless" and had his
biggest success at Notts County.
Mind you, these observations come after beers & watching the game without sound. I'm not going to
get into the obvious hoopla about the red card, I want to talk about what I saw in the US team.
- For the rest of the first half, there wasn't much to see. The US looked like pouting children
who didn't get their way.
No time for much, but quick thoughts on the DC-Philly trade:
- I wasn't really in favor of bringing back Fred. His production has declined, and was never
worth his salary to begin with.
- Welcome back to DC Mr. Perkins. He was one of the tops in MLS before leaving, and should be
better with his additional experience.
