Perceptions of the Sounders have evolved significantly over the course of the season. Early in
the year many people questioned whether Eddie Johnson could still score goals. Later, when it was
clear that EJ found his shooting boots, there were concerns that Fredy Montero could not play
alongside him.
Andy Johnson's hat-trick and ongoing contract talks got me thinking. Should we renew? Tough
call, but my instinct is that if we do it should be very much on our terms. He's been a good
player to have around, but the time he's spent off the pitch should be a red herring flag
(herring indeed!
A fixture in the Italian Serie A for much of the 2000s Empoli FC was relegated from Italy's top
flight at the end of the 2007/08 season and has campaigned...
A Scottish Premier League side in the early 2000s, Glasgow-based Partick Thistle Football Club
currently campaign in the Scottish First Division. As The Jags look towards a possible promotion
run...
The exodus from the Philadelphia Union's front office and technical staff has continued, despite
former head coach Peter Nowak leaving almost two weeks ago.
Diego Gutierrez, a former teammate of Nowak's with the Chicago Fire, and Alecko Eskandarian, a
former player under Nowak during the early 2000s at D.
It's been a summer marred by disappointment for U.S. Soccer. Most notably there was the CONCACAF
Gold Cup Final collapse against Mexico by the U.S. Men's National Team and the loss to Japan in the
Women's World Cup Final by the U.S. Women's National Team.
But while those two defeats may have garnered the most attention, the youth national teams on
the men's side were also falling well short of expectations.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. After Wednesday's practice, Jay Heaps took a moment to reflect on where he
feels his team is six games into the season.
Sure, there are still improvements to be made. After all, the team's 2-4-0 record would seem to
indicate that they're far from from becoming a finished product.
John Murphy (right), seen here with former Revolution goalkeeper Adin Brown, served as an
assistant coach for the Revs from 2000 till February of 2004. (Photo by Art
Donahue/artdonahue.com)
Taylor Twellman, Sharie Joseph, Pat Noonan, Clint Dempsey – four stars of the New England
Revolution in the 2000s that came through the MLS SuperDraft thanks in part to John Murphy's input
into the team's draft decisions.
It didn't take long for Adam Cristman to realize that he was in the midst of something special
this year.
Only weeks into his first season as a member of the Los Angeles Galaxy, the fifth-year striker
witnessed something he hadn't seen since his rookie year: the hallmarks of a team destined for
greatness.
One of the difficult parts of the whole three games in six days is trying to keep up with our
regular features. But, we're on a great network, and in this case The Bent Musket reminded me of
the Sunday 1PM game against the New England Revolution. Let's just ignore the future game for a
moment and pay some attention to the whole issue concerning their supporters' groups battling with
the front office.
With a return to Wembley to face rivals Everton coming up in a few days, it was probably
inevitable that most of the Liverpool news floating around the interwebs would be more worried
about the near future than the immediate past. That's not entirely a bad thing, though. Because,
you know, Liverpool are facing Everton on Saturday.
There have been 217 Merseyside derbies in total. I limited this remembrance to the previous 122,
those played in the last 50 years. Which is actually a handy dividing line, as Liverpool and
Everton only met once between 1951 and 1962, in the '54-55 FA Cup (which Liverpool won), because of
Everton then Liverpool's relegation to the Second Division.
Woke up beat to hell but forced myself up and skipped breakfast (no time). Left hotel at 9:30 am
to walk to turf field across the street from Camp Nou for coaches course with Jordi Vinyals and
Arnau. Coaches ran sessions and they critiqued them to improve. Paul and I went to Barca offices to
secure tickets for Stadium Tour, Athletic Bilbao game, and Milan game.
Evans Park in pictures
Ground Statistics (marks out of ten, maximum 40)
Character 7, Structures/Terracing 7, Hospitality 8, Backdrop/Scenery or aesthetics for larger
stadiums 7 Total 29
Stafford Town, founded 1976, are in only their second season back in the pyramid at step six or
above.
Evans Park in pictures
Ground Statistics (marks out of ten, maximum 40)
Character 7, Structures/Terracing 7, Hospitality 8, Backdrop/Scenery or aesthetics for larger
stadiums 7 Total 29
Stafford Town, founded 1976, are in only their second season back in the pyramid at step six or
above.
As I'm sure every Liverpool fan remembers, Steven Gerrard almost became a Chelsea player on two
separate occasions during the mid-2000s. Thankfully, he decided to stay at Anfield, but almost 7
years later, Gerrard still hasn't won what he desires the most: the league title.
Time is running out for Liverpool's captain, and former Leicester City and Blackburn Rovers
midfielder Robbie Savage believes that Gerrard must leave Anfield if he is to achieve that
goal:
"I'm sure Gerrard doesn't regret turning down Chelsea and Real Madrid in summer 2005 to stay with
Liverpool.
The first soccer jersey I purchased was as stereotypical as it was ill-advised. Like most
barely-adolescent Americans attracted to football in the early 2000s, I faced the difficult task of
keeping abreast of a sport in a country where domestic media coverage began and ended with blooper
reels.
ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as simply Fiorentina or La Viola, is a professional Italian
football club from Florence, Tuscany. Founded by a merger in 1926, Fiorentina has played at the
top-level of Italian football for the majority of their its existence. After climbing back up the
Italian football system in the early 2000s from Serie [.
Inter have been coach-less for little under a week since Leonardo's official departure from the
club last Friday (June 17, 2011). An outsider may look at Inter's recent coaching trend and make a
false assumption that the club has returned to the frequent coaching turnover of the late 1990s and
early 2000s.
...under the watchful eye of three guys who've played a wee bit of football.
The U.S. WNT had some special guests today at training as the three U.S. Men's National Team
players who play (well, played) for the Glasgow Rangers were nice enough to stop by to watch some
practice and wish their WNT counterparts all the best in their Olympics.
"Back in the late ‘90s or early 2000s, you were instructed to eat a lot of pasta before the
games and keep yourself hydrated and that was about it. We're understanding things a little bit
better now in terms of macro-nutrient and micro-nutrient needs, the value of proteins and fats.
Euro 2012: Will Poland's economy benefit from hosting a European Championship? is a post from:
Just Football
by Kane Prior
Poland will co-host Euro 2012 (the third largest sporting
event in the world) with Ukraine this summer and it will be a fitting reward for one of Europe's
rising economies.
A good time alternative to the FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer simulation in the 2000s, EA Sports
FIFA Street is back after a four-year absence with a reboot of the...
Towards the end of BBC Radio 5 Live's Rangers – What Next?, my attention was flagging.
A worthwhile broadcast descended into soppy sentiment as listeners were told of the 11-year-old boy
asking his dad to cancel the family holiday to Florida and give the £2,000 cost to Rangers
"Fighting Fund" instead (and Mickey Mouse was more likely to be in the Ibrox boardroom,
anyway).
Plenty of former and current professional athletes have found their way to the poker tables but
few can match the success that Teddy Sheringham has had. The star striker retired from competitive
football at the end of the 2007-2008 season, giving him the perfect opportunity to get serious
about another favorite pursuit: playing poker.
The starting all-around forward for the Rapids All-Time Team is John Spencer. How Acquired: Transferred for free from Scottish side Motherwell. Years In Colorado: 2001 through 2004 How Departed: Retired after the 2004 season.
For the final player pick on the All-Time team I went with possibly the biggest heart the team has
ever had (though Kimura gives him a run for his money) the wee Scotsman John Spencer.
You can stick your Chelseas, Arsenals, Liverpools and 500 dollars for a take away with Manchester
Uniteds pro on holiday, Indonesia have out trumped the lot of them.
Jakarta is going to host a game featuring Indonesia and AC Milan early next month.
The official title is the Asia Disaster Relief Tour 2011 and the game will be between Top Skor
Indonesian All Star Legends and Milan Glorie.
I remember when I was first getting into football back in the mid-2000s. I started watching
Manchester United and didn't know whether I would take to the sport. In the first years of
following United, there were three players that made me instantly...
