No matter how good a coach you may be, your success will ultimately come down to your players on the field.
Especially in professional sports, ownership groups with itchy trigger fingers seem to think that a quick firing can present a quick fix for a team in disarray. That has been brought to the forefront in the National Football League (NFL) here in the United States, and in the English Premier League (EPL).

FC Cologne forward Lukas Podolski has indicated that he will consider all his transfer options at the end of the current season, insisting that he can "fit into any side in Europe."

Podolski has been on the radar of Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger for quite a while and widespread reports in the English media suggested that Tottenham Hotspur were also keen on signing the Germany international.

Coaching changes aren't usually fodder for this website, but since the Revs have reached into their broadcast booth when grabbing a coach for the 2012 version of the team, we can file this under media coverage of the team. Heaps retired after the 2009 season and spent two years paired with Brad Feldman while providing color commentary.

Hard to believe it but New York will not make a change next year even if they fail to reach the post season this year.

Red Bulls GM Erik Soler says coach Hans Backe will return next season regardless of if the team qualifies for the playoffsabout 4 hours ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®ReplyRetweetFavorite@NYDNInterNetsStefan Bondy

This tweet came earlier in the day and sparked a decent debate between folks on Twitter.

We like to paint the world in perfectly ordered opposites. On the one hand, as an American, I have grown up with the cold familiarity of the franchise sports model. Here's how the cookie crumbles in the States. Basically, a businessman (or woman) who has made billions in selling chemicals or prescription drugs hits middle age, gets bored, doesn't want to start a foundation, and picks a small Midwestern city to inject with happiness and PR via a sports team.

This season's Serie A campaign looks to be one of the most competitive in recent memory. With the top clubs from the last few seasons getting older, and upstarts gaining more experience, the gap seems to be closing and fans of Italian soccer have much to look forward to.

For this reason, predicting the team who will place fifth in the table during this upcoming season was perhaps the most difficult selection to make.

The Seattle Sounders are at home this weekend after a week's worth of well needed rest. They play an improving Chivas USA team at the CLink on Saturday. Hopefully, they can build on last weekend's win at Sporting KC. Also, for those of you who are interested, Pat Noonan talks about the foul and the flop from Omar Bravo.

With practice getting under way next Monday and season openers set for Aug. 16, it's time to catch up on some prep boys soccer news.

As usual, there have been plenty of coaching changes across the state since the season ended last October.

Two NASL matches were played Wednesday evening, with both matches, Montreal Fort Lauderdale and FC Edmonton Carolina RailHawks, ending in 1-1 draws.

Montreal Impact 1-1 Fort Lauderdale Strikers

Photo courtesy of the Montreal Impact/Pépé

This season certainly isn't going as scripted for the Montreal Impact.

Two NASL matches were played Wednesday evening, with both matches between Montreal Fort Lauderdale and FC Edmonton -Carolina RailHawks ending in 1-1 draws.

Montreal 1-1 Fort Lauderdale Strikers

Photo courtesy of the Montreal Impact/Pépé

This season certainly isn't going as scripted for the Montreal Impact.

Seattle and RSL could be battling it out for a Supporter's Shield this season. (Getty Images)

Aside from a handfull of teams, we are at the halfway point in the Major League Soccer season. Most teams have played 17 games or more at this point so we should have a very solid understanding as to who is contending and who is just flat out pretending.

It's been a busy news week for the Sounders and the rest of MLS. The Seattle Sounders invited strikers Cillian Sheridan and Myron Samuel to train with the Sounders this week. Sounders fans were able to see both play in the reserve league game against the Vancouver Whitecaps. The Whitecaps senior team, and their family-friendly fans, will be in town this Saturday for the big rivalry game.

For those of you who haven't been following the drama happening within FIFA, you really should be. It's fascinating how such an inward, closed-off organization was finally pried open, if only a little bit, for the rest of us to see how it works. Over the last week or so there's been a lot of upheaval within the organization over corruption to the point where FIFA had no other option than to address them properly.

New Chicago Fire interim head coach Frank Klopas went right to work on Tuesday conducting his first training session and his first media sessions. The sports press was out in full press with cameras galore. You might have even noticed the coverage on the local news stations yesterday. I think this was in part due to Klopas' history in Chicago as a player and a famous soccer figure.

With coaching changes made in Major League Soccer this past weekend with both Teitur Thordarson (Vancouver) and Carlos de los Cobos (Chicago), Ives Galarcep looks at the moves by both teams.

The 2011 season started off with so much promise for both the Vancouver Whitecaps and Chicago Fire, two teams who came into the season with question marks and coaches who seemed like prime candidates to be replaced if things didn't go well.

At times, it seems that coaches in professional sports are shuffled more often than the decks at Vegas blackjack tables. And when the cards finally land, the hand can be a raw deal: with even a hint of distress, managers take heavy fire from team brass, sponsors and fans, all of whom have different stakes at risk and their own set of expectations for success.

Teams typically begin each season with high expectations. The previous season's performance, new player acquisitions and coaching changes raise anticipation of the upcoming campaign. Some these expectations are realistic and some are not. As a result, as the season begins to play out, many teams meet or exceed expectations but some some fail to live up to their perceived potential.

It's been a long time since Red Bulls fans have experienced such a quiet offseason. While other MLS teams have been announcing roster moves and unveiling coaching changes (and while the David Beckham to Tottenham Hotspur loan saga has been playing out in L.A.), RBNY fans have had to be content with the merest crumbs of information.