Geoff Cameron has been a standout for the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer, and has not only lead the Dynamo into the MLS Cup this past season, but also received a recent call-up to the US National team.
His play is worthy of national team consideration, but it's his presence and positive attitude that have been key components in his success.

Our friends over at New England Soccer Today are once again flexing their muscles and showing off their superior sources, and today's piece does not disappoint. Few people were probably expecting Monsef Zerka to return this season, but most were operating under the assumption that the front office was at least making some attempt to bring him back at a reduced salary.

Less than a week after bringing American Edson Buddle back to Los Angeles, the team has bolstered the roster further by unveiling two Brazilians.

Earlier this week, the Galaxy officially announced that the club had reached an agreement with Brazilian club São Paulo FC, allowing midfielder Juninho to return on loan for the 2012 season.

Mike Fucito and Lamar Neagle head to Montreal in exchange for Eddie Johnson. (Getty Images)

The allocation was quick and swift for striker Eddie Johnson. The former FC Dallas and Kansas City man was quickly selected by the Montreal Impact via the allocation order today. The Impact quickly tweeted out that they would be trading him though.

Without a fuss in Sunday's 2-0 win over Swansea City, Wayne Rooney strolled off, looking resigned, and accepted his substitution. Manchester United were bringing on Dimitar Berbatov for the last 10 minutes of a game that had already been won and just as Rooney was coming off, he received a warm ovation.

It isn't every day that a bright young player like Junior Flores comes around. Major League Soccer knows it and is trying desperately to add him to their 2012 Generation adidas class.

Reports from the Washington Post say that the league has already offered Flores a lucrative GA contract, one likely to be on the high end of those deals signed in this class.

Playing for the Carolina RailHawks in 2011, Etienne Barbara had what many would consider a dream season. Playing in NASL 1st season he set records in the league while racking up 20 goals and 9 assists. He was named to the NASL Starting 11. He was also named the leagues Most Valuable Player and the [.

Morning all,

and let's start with some good news, for a change. Word is Thomas Vermaelen could be in line to play against United later on. He trained with the first team yesterday and assuming all went well it means he'll start the game at left back. It'll certainly add some solidity to a back four which could really do with it at the moment, but we ought not to forget that our defensive issues aren't simply the domain of that group of players.

With more than half of the premier league season already over, Liverpool winger Stewart Downing has achieved a grand total of no goals and no assists. Based on his recent history with Villa, I still can't understand why Liverpool decided to spend so much money him, but it seems like Kenny Dalglish may have had no choice in the matter.

It seems odd to me, but over the last few weeks I've seen Aaron Ramsey come in for a lot of criticism, especially on the angst-spewing machine that is Twitter. The main bone of contention seems to be that he has become an automatic first XI pick for Arsene this year, despite the fact that he has not contributed enough to the team.

Barry Robson (left) will be battling it out on a MLS pitch this summer. (Getty Images)

Add Vancouver to the list of clubs with multiple Designated Players.

Today the club announced today the acquisition of Scottish international midfielder Barry Robson as the club's newest Designated Player.

I know Bryan Ruiz frustrates people but to my untrained eye he's a player we should keep on the field at all times, both because he has vision and creativity lacking elsewhere in the team (real final ball quality) and because he needs the minutes to adjust.

On that, there seems to be a common enough scenario whereby some foreign players need a season to adjust to English football.

Sir Alex Ferguson has sung the praises of Antonio Valencia who was arguably our best player on the pitch in the 5-0 win over Wolves.

"He could be very important," said Ferguson. "His form before he got the injury was outstanding. Now he is back we hope he stays back fit. He is such an honest, hardworking player.

Well we pretty much knew that it was happening, but today the Portland Timbers confirmed that Brent Richards has been signed as the Timbers first ever homegrown player. Richards joins the club after three seasons with the Timbers U-23 PDL side where he scored 26 goals and 12 assists in 37 games...

Good morning from the windiest place on earth (besides an old folks on home on semolina night).

A few bits and pieces going on this morning as we head into a kind of natural lull considering we don't play again until Monday. A report in the Telegraph this morning says that Arsenal have had informal meetings with Theo Walcott over his future.

Featured image courtesy of Reading United A.C.

When Major League Soccer teams make their draft picks in Thursday's amateur draft, several players with local ties are sure to go off the board. You may not have three former Reading United players go off the board in the first round, as happened last year when that burgeoning soccer factory churned out C.

The last time the Revs had a top 3 pick in the draft, they took a 21-year-old named Taylor Twellman in 2002.

Ten years later, Jay Heaps and Co. hope that they landed a similar talent in Kelyn Rowe, who was selected with the third pick in Thursday's SuperDraft in Kansas City.

Rowe, a creative midfielder out of UCLA, will be be counted upon to revitalize an attack that was nearly non-existent for many stretches last season.

MLS lives by a simple creed, there is no such thing as too many drafts. Thus today we had our fourth draft of the off-season with the 2012 Supplemental Draft. This is essentially rounds 3-7 of the SuperDraft but in the interest of time, money and general interest, it's been split off in to its own event.

Hard to believe it but the Philadelphia Union are close to selling their biggest star, Sebastien Le Toux.

The Philadelphia Union are preparing to sell star striker Sebastien LeToux to a European club. Story coming on Fox Soccer. #Wow38 minutes ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®ReplyRetweetFavorite@SoccerByIvesIves Galarcep

To further drive home the rumor, Le Toux tweeted the following:

On a jet plane to Englandabout 16 hours ago via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite@SebastienLeTouxSebastien Le Toux

Ives later goes on to report that Bolton could be the landing spot for Le Toux.

David Beckham is staying put in LA. (Getty Images)

He's staying put.

The Los Angeles Galaxy announced today that they have reached an agreement with David Beckham on a new two-year deal.

Beckham turned down offers from French club Paris-Saint Germain, now backed by wealthy Qatari owners who dangled a reported 18-month, $17.

After signing on to remain an LA Galaxy player, David Beckham is aiming for more silverware with the reigning MLS Cup Champions.

It was announced Wednesday that Beckham agreed to a two-year contract with the Galaxy after playing a pivotal role during last season's championship run, the club's first triumph since 2005.

Much has been made in recent weeks of the Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey debate. The debate began as a casual conversation while trying to design the perfect US National Team lineup. It seemed at the time, there would be no way to pin down which player was truly better. Donovan plies his trade in Major League Soccer whereas Dempsey produces his magic in the English Premier League.

photo by ISIphotos.com

By FRANCO PANIZO

In a week that saw several young and inexperienced players make their cases for more playing time on the U.S. men's national team, it was the veterans of the United States who shined brightly.

Landon Donovan was one of those players, as he inspired Everton to victory by setting up both of its goals in a 2-1 win over Fulham in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Friday.

The Los Angeles Lakers need a new point guard. While Derek Fisher is a champion and can still provide great moments, he's no longer a starting quality point guard in the NBA. The Lakers admitted that when they attempted to trade for Chris Paul.

The Lakers are rumored to have another target in mind: Ramon Sessions of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The last time the Baltimore Blast visited U.S. Cellular Arena, they shut out the Milwaukee Wave for the final 50 minutes and dealt the home team its first loss of the season.

Those points appeared to provide some motivation for the Wave on Saturday night.

Greg Howes had a goal and two assists in a seven-goal first quarter as Milwaukee raced out to a 14-0 lead and thumped the Blast 22-8 in a Major Indoor Soccer League match watched by 4,707 fans at U.

Well, we kind of had an idea that Arsenal were playing well but not getting the results. It was a matter of details according to Arteta, Wenger, and others. It all came good in this one as Blackburn were the hapless victims of a rampant Arsenal side.

Chance conversion was another issue which was put to bed, at least temporarily, with 7 out of 8 shot on target registering on the scoreboard.

Juninho proved to be a handful for most MLS sides in 2011. (Getty Images)

I said a few weeks (or maybe just a couple weeks) back that the biggest thing that the LA Galaxy needed to replace this winter was Juninho.

Well, what better way to replace him than with him.

The LA Galaxy announced on Tuesday that the club has reached an agreement with Brazilian club São Paulo FC that will allow midfielder Juninho to return to the Galaxy on loan for the 2012 MLS season.

For the second straight loan, Landon Donovan has performed at a high level for Everton, and for a second straight loan, he's been rewarded with the club's Player of the Month honors.

Donovan captured Everton's award for January, replicating the feat that he accomplished back in January of 2010.

Ola John impresses at FC Twente. Game in game out, the mercurial winger is involved with dribbles, pinpoint crosses, assists and goals. He scored a beauty last midweek against Steaua Bukarest, gifting his new/old coach McClaren the away win.

Ola John, Adam Maher and Luciano Narsigh were selected by team manager [read more]

On Friday afternoon, the Montreal Impact selected United States International Eddie Johnson via the allocation process. Per MLS rules, the Impact will now move to the back of the allocation order for the next time a player enters this process.

After only an hour of being a member of the Impact, it was announced that he was traded to the Seattle Sounders in exchange for Lamar Neagle and Mike Fucito.

By Tony Edwards - San Jose, CA (Feb 28, 2012) US Soccer Players -- In Tuesday's edition, Tony looks at Major League Soccer's all-time statistical leaders, Nottingham Forest's league position, and an upcoming attendance record in Toronto. At the end of this coming MLS season, could Landon Donovan be the all-time MLS leader in any statistical categories?

Santos' Quintero injured, may miss CCL quarters

The Seattle Sounders probably needed to catch some sort of break to beat Santos Laguna in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals. It appears they've already received one. Carlos Darwin Quintero, one of the team's starting forwards, suffered a torn thigh muscle and will probably miss the entire quarterfinal.

Looking back at AC Milan's game with Arsenal earlier this month, I was amazed how easily they managed to pick apart a team. They played like an opponent always one trick ahead.

The majority of moves Arsenal conjured together were thwarted by the AC players and left the away fans frustrated and the home crowd delighted.

Veteran U.S. Women's National Team and WPS midfielder Heather O'Reilly will join the Breakers this season in between National Team commitments, the club announced on Monday.

O'Reilly, who's won two gold medals with the National Team (2004 and 2008) and played in two World Cups (2007 and 2011), has been capped 155 times at the senior team level.

Over the past few years MLS learned that a certain Seattle Sounders forward is a potent offensive force. Fredy Montero collects just over a point per game on average in all competitions currently with 43 goals and 34 assists for a PP90 of 1.12. In 2012, he only has two assists in his three games played.

Look for the Philly Soccer Show podcast with guest Sebastien Le Toux later this morning.

Philadelphia Union

The Union had a live feed of Peter Nowak's weekly press conference on Wednesday on the club website, which is the first time that's happened as far as I can remember.

Danny Mwanga has scored in 11 of his 56 regular season appearances for the Philadelphia Union, and the squad has only lost once when he's found the back of the net. Unfortunately, his last goal came 23 games ago on June 25th. In that same stretch, Danny posted two assists (home and away against the terrible 2011 edition of the New England Revolution).

Liverpool: Did buying British cost Comolli his job? is a post from: Just Football

Since taking over at Liverpool Kenny Dalglish has spent almost £100 million on buying the 'best' of British players within the Premier League in a bid to instigate an overhaul of Liverpool and return them to their former glory.

Manchester United were tonight crowned Reserves League North champions. The lads needed just three points from their remaining five games but after going 3-0 down to Newcastle Reserves tonight, it looked unlikely that the title would be wrapped up tonight.

However, after four goals from Will Keane, one each from Ritchie De Laet and Davide Petrucci, our Reserves were named champions with a 6-3 win.

The Dynamo have played five MLS matches in 2012, all on the road. They have 2 wins, 2 draws and a loss, for a total of eight points, good enough for fifth place in the Eastern Conference. If the playoffs started today, the Dynamo would be out...but they don't start today. There are still two matches until the home opener in the brand spankin' new BBVA Compass Stadium, but no matter what happens in those 180 minutes of soccer, things are looking good for Houston.