In one of the league's most anticipated games this year, as a result of some serious drama between the clubs, the Chicago Fire came out on top in dominant fashion. One can only wonder, if the Fire can destroy New York with 5 goals on the road, what are they going to do to them at home? Juan Carlos Osario better get himself suspended for that game too, because if this week is any indication - it will be another long night for the New Jersey Energy Drinks. Click to continue reading...

Dear readers,

Thank you for your continual support of MLS Fan Central. Despite a serious lack of content lately, we still continue to receive a lot of feedback on our posts and we greatly appreciate your interaction with the content posted here (yes, even the hate mail). In the recent months, we have decided to take this blog a different direction, as the demands for MLS rumors and inside information has become too demanding for our schedules. Click to continue reading...

The Los Angeles Galaxy put forth one of the most pathetic performances I have yet to see from the ever-disappointing side in the MLS season opener. Now as you know, MLS Fan Central has been "closed" for quite some time, but we had to return to make this one comment...

Do you think maybe the Galaxy defense gave up four goals because their star Dennis Rodman impersonator was busy playing Simon Says with the referee? Click to continue reading...

Philidelphia has some pretty good arguments for Major League Soccer to award their city an expansion franchise. The city has drawn capacity crowds for international exhibitions at Lincoln Financial Field. The Sons of Ben have been dedicated and passionate supporters of the league and their city despite not having a team, and they have proved over and again that they are ready for and deserve a team. Click to continue reading...

The juice: Hopeful MLS fans are keeping a close watch on Andriy Shevchenko's fallout with Chelsea. According to The Daily Express, Shevchenko hopefuls have something to talk about again. It appears as if Chelsea is not only ready to listen to offers for Shevchenko, but the club also is prepared to take a massive loss on the Ukrainian international. Click to continue reading...

Once again, the annual Carlos Ruiz rumors have heated up in the MLS off season, and MLS Fan Central is here to weigh in on what is being said and how the drama is lining up this year. Let's first take a look at a recent blog from the Washington Post:

According to the great Steven Goff, Dallas is growing just as restless with Ruiz's huge contract as Ruiz is growing restless with the club. Click to continue reading...

The juice: The MLS is looking into changing its senior/youth international designation rules. The new rule would allow teams to sign seven total international players, regardless of age. (It used to be four old and seven young.)

The judge: I've always found this to be a funny rule. Anything that references young and old players shouldn't really be a rule anyway, and I'm glad the league did away with the designation requirements. Click to continue reading...

From the Washington Post blog, we have an update on Christian Gomez and where he might end up in the near future:

According to the brief article, which I encourage you to read for yourself, it appears as if Gomez's future is all about the money. He has in fact drawn interest from clubs in Asia, Argentina and Mexico, yet Gomez has expressed his interest to remain in the MLS. Click to continue reading...

The juice: Cuahtemoc Blanco has recommended Claudio"Piojo" Lopez for the Chicago Fire, according to Radio La Red from Argentina. Blanco and Piojo were teammates at America in Mexico. Presently, Lopez plays for Racing Club in the Argentinian Premier League.

The judge: This is purely a rumor at this point, and it is just a result of Blanco making a few public comments. Click to continue reading...

According to www.nj.com, construction is finally set to begin on Red Bull Park. The process has been delayed for over a year due to cleanup and design issues, but sources say that construction should finally commence this week. Red Bulls managing director Marc de Grandpre said the construction timeline is 18 to 20 months, with a target date to open in the summer of 2009. Click to continue reading...

The juice: Goal.com has received word that Argentine midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron will sign with D.C. United when his contract with Estudiantes de la Plata ends in December. While Veron is listed on the roster of Estudiantes de la Plata, he is legally under contract with Chelsea, who had been loaning him out to the club. Click to continue reading...

"Make no mistake, we are hellbent with the vision of being the first MLS soccer team to emerge as a SuperClub" – Alexi Lalas, Los Angeles Galaxy Executive (Link)

It has been hard not to talk about the Los Angeles Galaxy this year. Much of the chatter must be attributed to David Beckham, but the fact that there is more to talk about than the "larger-than-life" superstar is a tribute to the club's success and vision of their fearless leader, Alexi Lalas. Click to continue reading...

The juice: The transaction isn't official yet, but it appears as if Pavon will be released by the Los Angeles Galaxy.

The judge: People either love or hate Pavon, most criticizing him for his inability to score more goals with David Beckham serving him up balls. Last year Pavon scored 3 goals with 0 assists in a Galaxy lineup that felt thrown together most of the season. Click to continue reading...

The juice: The league's board of governors has proposed raising each club's salary budget to $2.3 million, an increase of 4 percent, according to SportsBusiness Journal.

The judge: At first glance, MLS fans are bound to be angered and confused. After such a great year on the league's bottom line, with clubs seeing substantial increases in average attendance and increased interest in the league abroad, one would think that the increase would be a little more than a mere 4%. Click to continue reading...

The news: In an ongoing attempt to diversify ownership of the league and improve the bottom line of franchises, Major League Soccer has asked Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) to sell the Houston Dynamo because it also owns the Los Angeles Galaxy. Even better, the league has found a way to negotiate a stipulation that the sale would not affect Houston's progress toward building a new soccer-only stadium downtown. Click to continue reading...