After being suspended before the start of last week's game in DC, Sky Blue FC coach Ian Sawyers has been officially fired by the club as coach and general manager. "The disagreements between the coach, team, and management made it impossible to move forward successfully," Sky Blue CEO and president Thomas Hofstetter said in a press statement.

New Jersey's Sky Blue FC announced the official firing of Head Coach/General Manager Ian Sawyers on Thursday afternoon.

According to the SBFC CEO and President Thomas Hofstetter, "The dissagreements between the coach, team, and management made it impossible to move forward successfully."

Hofstetter goes on to say that the club "needs to maintain the goals, and the atmosphere that is most conducive for [the] team, and be able to focus on building the league.

I imagine I wasn't alone in being totally gutted upon learning there is next to no chance of Carlos Tevez returning to Old Trafford for the Manchester derby. Whilst it would have been so annoying if he had scored against us, I was really looking forward to the even more heated atmosphere his presence would have brought.

Cristiano Ronaldo is full of confidence following our brilliant result against Tottenham Hotspur, knowing all too well that four wins will wrap up the title for us.

He was also quick to praise the fans after a brilliant atmosphere on Saturday carried the team through.

"We have five games left and we know that if we win the next four we will win the league," said Ronaldo.

MLS's newest addition adds to their great atmosphere with a great showing of class in support of keeping MLS's most successful club in it's home of Washington, DC.
The following screenshots are of a banner that appeared on the ESPN broadcast last week of DC United at Seattle Sounders FC.

26th July 2009
Singapore National Team v Liverpool Football Club
National Stadium, Singapore
7.00pm Kick Off
‘The Kop' (East Entrance): $88
North Entrance : $88
South Entrance : $88
Grandstand Lower : $88
Grandstand ‘RED' : $188
The Kop?

Whilst the other players lapped the pitch, Cristiano Ronaldo went straight to the press. I'm not trying to be too critical of him, but this act seemed to sum him up for me this season. Every other player made sure they had thanked all the fans before talking to the media but Ronnie missed out the South and East stands all together, catching up with his team mates at the North stand.

According to ESPN Soccernet, Gazzetta dello Sport is reporting that 16-year-old Empoli starlet Alberto Massacci claimed that he is joining Manchester United. He said,

"When they called me, I really couldn't believe it .

I wasn't THERE but I almost felt like i was. What an exciting atmosphere from Mexico City yesterday for the Mexico v. United States world cup qualifier. For anyone who doesn't know, Mexico won 2-1. I predicted 3-1 and it could have easily been that bad if the US defense and Tim Howard had not saved face.

I have managed to get hold of one Arsenal fan that was in the stands, directly at the front when everything kicked off against City after Adebayor's goal celebrations.

As it turns out, the 'Elephant' song, as it is being coined in the press, was not sung in the stands at all. It was the 'Arshavin version'.

There are hundreds of pre-match CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINALvideos on the Web elaborated with love by fans. The mayorityare great & recommend you have a surf through "YouTube" toreally see some dedication & time spend on them.SFS has a "sense of humour" & wishes to post somethingdifferent for Barça fans & help warm-up the atmosphere.

As one would expect in a game between a newly-promoted EPL team and the Ventura County Fusion, which play in the fourth tier of American soccer.

Quite a different atmosphere than the one 90 minutes or so away in Pasadena, but no doubt considerably cooler at Buena High in Ventura.

Thanks to loyal 100 Percent Soccer reader Evan Z from Camarillo for sharing some of the pics he shot during the game.

Fabio Capello is doing everything in his power to avoid the mistakes of previous World Cups for England's national team. Mostly that pressure-filled duty would involve the manager's important decision making in what moves should be made on the pitch. But recently the World Cup bound coach has voiced his game plan of stopping his players from making moves off of the pitch.

Before the season started Mr Wenger OBE said this would be the closest Premiership title race for years.
Yet Abramovich's chequebook was beginning to prove him wrong.
But ‘wow' what a day we had yesterday. Man City the draw kings drew, The top 4 Spuds lost, The Bancrupts from Salford lost even with the scouse version of Jacques Cousteau in the team .

The tenth week of the season is now upon us. Lot's of exciting story lines to gloss over, starting first with the ballot stuffing going on in Seattle. I've got no problem with it, and love hearing how the game has caught fire in that area. If anything, wishing that MLS had a similar presence in another city in the U.

With the lack of internet over the weekend I nearly missed this post. Thankfully WVHooligan writer Geoff Reid did not miss out on it. He sent me this post over from CenterLineSoccer about the possible roof that could be on the new San Jose Stadium.

Here is what Jay Hibbs has to say about the roof.

A Honduran club's 6-0 rout of Costa Rican opponents last week is giving Honduras added belief for their World Cup qualifier at home to their neighbours in San Pedro Sula on Wednesday.

The Costa Rica team arrived amid tight security following the coup in June that ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya but coach Rodrigo Kenton said they found the atmosphere calm and felt at home in "a brother country".

Fed up.
More drama in T-dot.
It is being reported today that Toronto FC's coach John Carver is headed back to Newcastle. This should come as no surprise given his comments about his job being on the line in a recent outburst in which he blasted US Soccer officials for some of the officiating early on in Toronto FC's season.

On Monday May 11th Middlesbrough make the short journey to St James' Park to take on Newcastle United in what should be an ethralling relegation battle. Both sides desperately need three points if they are to put together a run and make a last dash towards survival and the game should be appraoched by the players like a cup-final.

The first panel of the dynamic form roof for Red Bull Arena has been installed according to the New York team. The unique stadium roof design will create a distinguished identity and unique atmosphere for Red Bulls fans when the stadium opens in 2010. When completely installed, the roof will extend over the entire seating bowl and curve down to the concourse.

Join or Die: Philly Union Prez Has Big Plans
In a candid and very interesting interview over on Goal.com ,John Mantia recently spoke with Tom Veit, President of the Philadelphia Union. In it, Veit admits they are looking to become not just a continental power but a hemispheric one.
Here is an excerpt:

With 11 months to go before opening day, there remans an ever-critical challenge for Veit and his staff: "We need to continue to show the Philadelphia market who we are.

New Jersey's Sky Blue FC announced the official firing of Head Coach/General Manager Ian Sawyers on Thursday afternoon.

According to the SBFC CEO and President Thomas Hofstetter, "The dissagreements between the coach, team, and management made it impossible to move forward successfully."

Hofstetter goes on to say that the club "needs to maintain the goals, and the atmosphere that is most conducive for [the] team, and be able to focus on building the league.

STARTERS
And now a message from Columbus Crew President & General Manager Mark McCullers:
June 1, 2009
Dear Crew Fans,
I have received numerous emails and letters from fans complaining about the language emanating from the supporters section. We have communicated the standards, policies and expectations of fan behavior to the supporters group leadership.

As players have mentioned to me many times, supporters groups and fans really do make a difference. Not only do they motivate and lift players during a game, but they make the atmosphere of a game an instant MLS advertisement for those who attend a soccer game for the first time. Recently, CBS caught some tof he Angel City Brigade (click here for more info about the group) supporting their LA Galaxy player, Landon Donovan, on his arrival back into the US.

Last week, donning the number 8 on his shirt, Kaka was revealed to the world as a Real Madrid player in front of 40,000 adoring 'Los Blancos' fans. They turned up to celebrate his arrival and see him in the clubs famous all white kit and for many loyal 'Madridistas' and keen neutrals it was a day of renewed hope and what some would expect to be the start of a new force in Spain and Europe.

Well, terrific if you like your games full of goals and incidents. No so much if you like, youknow, vaguely competent defenders.

After a couple of pretty stale rounds the Tippeliga perked up a bit in round 17, with goals flying in at a fairly bonkers rate of 4,4 goals per game. Still, no matter how hard the ever-excitable TV2 tried to talk it up, it was hard for the discerning viewer to watch the weekend's highlights without being slightly troubled by the hopelessly poor defending displayed by most of the Tippeliga outfits.

Ouch.
What else can you say about that second half yesterday?
It's disappointing any time you lose to your rival 5-0. However, when it's the reserves from both teams playing, it's not quite as bad. It doesn't hurt as much.
It's disappointing to lose in a final 5-0. However, when it's the final of a tournament that is lacking in meaning (no Confederations Cup slot, reserves playing, etc.

In a move that will surely not please Inter Milan fans, Jose Mourinho indicated that he would be a willing replacement for Sir Alex Ferguson when/if the aging Scotsman ever retires. "I would consider going to Manchester United, but United have to consider if they want me to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson.

The World Football Challenge and other assorted friendlies played the US this summer, featuring some of Europe's most-storied clubs and biggest names, have packed stadiums from coast to coast. ...

Photo by ISIphotos.com

It may be vacation time in SBI land, but that doesn't mean I can't find time to finish off the rest of the biggest Q&A in SBI history.

This installment includes questions about everything from U.

Today was in stark contrast to the mediocre playoff showings of yesterday, as all teams were playing with a little extra something. Maybe they were bored out of their minds while watching Columbus play yesterday too. Regardless, there was a great atmosphere in todays games, especially in anticipation of David Beckham's first venture [.

And here it is, the final video of Man Utd vs Barca - Flashbacks. This is easily the worst game out of the ones I've shown so far but is also my favourite in terms of importance and atmosphere.

Man Utd 1 - 0 Barca (CL Semi-Final Second Leg 07/08)

The feeling I got when Scholes scored that goal is indescribable, I screamed, shouted, jumped, cried and did more, it was awesome.

The atmosphere in Rome has in general been one of a celebration of football with both sets of supporters mingling without any problems, sadly fears that Italian Ultras could cause trouble have come to fruition with news that a United supporter was slashed last night outside his hotel close to the Vatican, the injuries were not serious and after spending a few hours in hospital the fan was

Well boys and girls, get ready for one hell of a show. Ginge's beloved Everton have fallen in their bid for the FA Cup, and that's sure to make for an extra lovely Black Cloud atmosphere. Zach...

A few bonus quotes from Wednesday's USA-Costa Rica preview, which focuses on the fact that it's been 24 years since the USA took a qualifying point out of Costa Rica, and that wasn't in Saprissa.
Eddie Pope (several games; now working with MLS Players Union):
On Costa Rica's team: It seems like that region has taken a bit of a hit.

The top two teams in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying square off tonight at Estadio Saprissa as the U.S. national team visits Costa Rica.

You know all the background by now. The Americans have never won at Saprissa. Costa Rica is very strong at Saprissa and a win for either team tonight would go a long way toward helping that team qualify for the 2010 World Cup.

... is someone covered in blue and white, if you're in Chicago. Going through the downtown area, in just about every neighborhood are small groups of fans. Especially if you're heading toward Millennium Park, Grant Park and down by the lake shore path to Soldier Field. While U.S. fans are gathering at local watering holes for the afternoon, Honduras fans have arrived - loudly - at Soldier Field hours before gates open.

This was my first journey to RFK this season, and boy did I pick a good one. It sure did feel right for this to be a battle for first place, because United and the Fire did look like two of the best teams in MLS tonight. Great atmosphere in the stadium.
Just a shame for a really well-played competitive match between two good teams to be influenced so heavily by the officials.

The 2009 Confederations Cup got underway today with two results that I pretty much expected. South Africa and Iraq put us to sleep while Spain and New Zealand was train wreck TV; done and dusted inside of six minutes.Ellis Park was a buzz as host nation South Africa took the park to host Iraq. Great crowd, great atmosphere, pathetic football.

Barcelona's Yaya Toure, just like last summer, is one of the many players linked with Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp believing the club should indeed sign the midfielder.

But Toure's representative Dmitri Seluk is quoted as saying by Sport:

He is very happy at Barca and in the city.