WVHooligan 20 November @ 04:27 PM EST
Will David Beckham and Landon Donovan be celebrating on Sunday? (Getty Images)
This is a game I've gone back and forth with all week. Two western conference squads meeting in
the league final is going to be interesting. Not many had picked both the LA Galaxy and Real Salt
Lake to make it this far back at the start of the season.
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WVHooligan 20 November @ 01:56 PM EST
Toronto will certainly protect their stars but who won't be protected? (Getty Images)
The 15h and final club in our expansion draft speculation lists is Toronto FC. Yesterday they
announced Preki as their new head coach and his first big task will be helping General Manager Mo
Johnston with figuring out who to protect and who to leave exposed in the expansion draft.
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WVHooligan 20 November @ 11:49 AM EST
We can't imagine Fredy Montero will be left exposed, who will join him in the protected list?
(Getty Images)
Only a couple more clubs left to preview here for the expansion draft. Now we turn our attention
to a previous expansion club, one that has set the standard for all expansion clubs to come, the
Seattle Sounders FC.
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Barcaloco 20 November @ 09:35 AM EST
Jasper Juinen/Getty Images
Ahead of Barcelona's match against Athletic Club Bilbao the team was handed another blow going
into a very important week for the team. Eric Abidal was diagnosed with the H1N1 virus also known
as "swine flu" on top of already being sidelined for up to three weeks with a leg injury.
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WVHooligan 20 November @ 06:35 AM EST
Will San Jose lose one of their players in the expansion draft? (Getty Images)
Today is the final day in our expansion draft coverage/speculation/etc. as we look at three
clubs. First up this morning is the San Jose Earthquakes. Later on today I will have Seattle
Sounders FC and Toronto FC to round out the lists.
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Barcaloco 19 November @ 08:34 PM EST
Angel Martinez/Getty Images
Zlatan Ibrahimovic suffered a slight leg strain back on Nov. 7 against Mallorca that kept the
striker out of international duty with Sweden this past week. Ibrahimovic began training this week
in preparation for Saturday's match on the road against Athletic Club Bilbao.
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WVHooligan 19 November @ 03:59 PM EST
RSL made it to MLS Cup this year, but who will they protect for another run in 2010? (Getty
Images)
Our second club for the day as we get closer to finishing out our look at each 15 MLS clubs
before next week's expansion draft. Earlier in the day we took a look at the lowly New York Red
Bulls, now we turn our attention to one of this year's MLS Cup participants, Real Salt Lake.
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Barcaloco 19 November @ 09:23 AM EST
Angel Martinez/Getty Images
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was Barcelona's big money signing in the summer with Samuel Eto'o and a
reported £40 million going in the opposite direction to Inter Milan. Few can doubt that
Ibrahimovic has ability and on his day is one of the best forwards in the world, however many have
criticized him for his work rate and not everyone was convinced he would cut it in Spain.
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WVHooligan 19 November @ 08:49 AM EST
Preki is headed north to Toronto FC. (Getty Images)
Former Chivas USA head coach Preki will be introduced as Toronto FC's fourth head coach.
Preki led Chivas USA to the playoffs in all three seasons he was head coach, but he will be
looking to improve on three first round exits.
With Preki in town you have to believe the Toronto roster may get a little makeover in the
winter months.
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WVHooligan 19 November @ 06:54 AM EST
Juan Pablo Angel will definitely be protected, but who will join him? (Getty Images)
Moving forward yet again on our quest to preview all 15 MLS clubs before the 2009 expansion
draft next week. Today we turn our focus to the New York Red Bulls.
Protected Available Exempt Juan Pablo Angel Danleigh Borman Jeremy Hall Danny Cepero Andrew Boyens
Kevin Goldthwaite Bouna Coundoul Macoumba Kandji Walter Garcia Ernst Oebster Carlos Johnson Mike
Petke Leo Krupnik Dane Richards Carlos Mendes Luke Sassano Matthew Mbuta Seth Stammler Jorge Rojas
Sinisa Ubiparipovic John Wolyniec Nick Zimmerman
Hall should graduate from the GA program, the key word is should.
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WVHooligan 18 November @ 05:32 PM EST
We know Steve Nicol stands to lose one quality player, who will it be? (Getty Images)
While the rest of the world is waiting for a couple World Cup qualifiers to finish up here we
move forward here with our expansion draft coverage. Earlier in the day we discussed the LA Galaxy,
now we take a gander at the New England Revolution.
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WVHooligan 18 November @ 02:11 PM EST
Houston had another strong season behind Brian Ching. (Getty Images)
Dominic Kinnear teams always compete, always and the 2009 edition of the Houston Dynamo looked
very similar to the ones we've seen win league titles over the last few years. Even though the
Dynamo lost their big star in the midfield in a trade to Toronto before the season started everyone
knew this team would still compete.
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WVHooligan 18 November @ 07:31 AM EST
The mix of young and old make the Galaxy a tough team to figure out for the expansion draft.
(Getty Images)
We are quickly working our way through the 15 MLS clubs as we gear up for next week's expansion
draft. The new kids on the block, the Philadelphia Union will get to select 10 players from the
list of unprotected players that each club will have to submit by next Monday.
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WVHooligan 17 November @ 09:03 AM EST
Houston has plenty of guys worth protecting here. (Getty Images)
Today we move another day closer to the 2009 expansion draft. Now we turn our focus to the
Houston Dynamo.
The Dynamo are a tough team to figure out due to the number of quality players that are both
young and old.
Protected Available Exempt Corey Ashe Wade Barrett Danny Cruz Bobby Boswell Mike Chabala Geoff
Cameron Ryan Cochrane Brian Ching Tyler Deric Ricardo Clark Tally Hall Brad Davis John Michael
Hayden Andrew Hainault Richard Mulrooney Stuart Holden Dominic Oduro Luis Angel Landin Pat Onstad
Brian Mullan Abe Thompson Eddie Robinson Erik Ustruck Craig Waibel Cam Weaver
Either way they stand to lose a good player this year.
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Barcaloco 16 November @ 10:23 PM EST
FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images
Barcelona received the bad news that they were dreading today regarding defender Eric Abidal.
Team doctors confirmed the left leg injury that Abidal suffered in France's World Cup playoff match
against Ireland.
The injury comes at a very bad time with the matches coming up in the next week against Inter
Milan and Real Madrid.
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WVHooligan 16 November @ 07:23 PM EST
Garber sees growth in MLS. (Getty Images)
I've spent a good portion of the day collecting my thoughts on a couple subjects and then it
happen to be the same day that MLS commish Don Garber had his State of the League address. Yeah,
let's just say some of his comments just made my head go nuts (and your's too judging by some
emails).
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WVHooligan 16 November @ 04:26 PM EST
Who will Dallas protect this year? (Getty Images)
With the expansion draft being next week I have to pull in some two-a-days for my expansion
draft lists. Earlier today we looked at DC United's roster and who could be protected or not not
this afternoon I want to turn our attention to FC Dallas.
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WVHooligan 16 November @ 03:08 PM EST
Expect a new look Fire in 2010. (Getty Images)
The 2009 season for the Chicago Fire was expected to be a big one. Talks of MLS Cup and
Supporter's Shield were all the rage to begin the season. Early on this year it looked like the
expectations were being met as the Fire lost a single game in the first three months of the
season.
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WVHooligan 16 November @ 09:30 AM EST
Kyle Beckerman and RSL are going to MLS Cup 2009. (Getty Images)
Looking back on this past weekend that was the conference finals I must say the result isn't as
shocking as it initially was. The thought of a LA Galaxy-Real Salt Lake MLS Cup final was something
no one would have called back in March, hell or even back at the beginning of this very month.
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WVHooligan 16 November @ 06:41 AM EST
Luciano Emilio and DC United have a lot of question marks. (Getty Images)
The 2009 expansion draft is only a week and a half away here. Today we move forward in our look
at each club's potential protection lists with DC United. The Black-and-Red are still without a
head coach so don't be shocked if somethings here could change depending on who takes over this
club.
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Wow, wow, wow. What a game!
Like commenter Diane, I LOVE me some AJ Delagarza! Magee was fairly worthless with a horrible
first touch for most of the match. Kirovski was brought in, why? Beckham did very well, but boy he
was soooo tanked in overtime. I really felt for him and the others.
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The Offside 13 November @ 07:30 PM EST
Something to read while you support your national team hanging out the window of a moving vehicle.
On Friday 13th. FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/Getty Images World Cup playoff previews here African qualifying
preview Like ill-informed radio shows about Asian soccer? Then you'll love this... (Podcast
Offside) Premier League legends to cherish right now (EPL Talk) A reminder that penalty kicks
aren't [.
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WVHooligan 13 November @ 06:45 AM EST
This group could look a lot different in 2010. (Getty Images)
Moving forward once again in our expansion draft coverage. Today we take a look at the
Supporter's Shield winning Columbus Crew. More than likely we will see a player picked from this
bunch, anytime you go through the regular season and are as good as the Crew were this year you
will most certainly see a player picked off in an expansion draft.
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Barcaloco 12 November @ 08:01 PM EST
Alex Livesey/Getty Images
Is there any truth in the Rooney rumour?
The rumour mills, as always, have been in full swing in the last couple of weeks with the latest
one being that Barcelona are set to launch a swoop next summer to make Wayne Rooney the most
expensive player in the world with an £85 million bid which would beat the current record held by
Cristiano Ronaldo, but is there any truth in the rumour and would he move to Barcelona?
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WVHooligan 12 November @ 05:18 PM EST
Preki is leaving Chivas USA...so where will he go next? (Getty Images)
Some news that I'd like to say we've been calling here for the last couple weeks has finally
come down. Chivas USA and Preki have decided to go their own ways as they mutually agree to Preki
stepping down as the club's manager, this according to a press release just sent out by the
club.
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WVHooligan 12 November @ 02:43 PM EST
Omar Gonzalez was named Rookie of the Year today. (Getty Images)
Another season award came down today, this time it is the league's Rookie of the Year. For the
second straight year a LA Galaxy defender has won it as the honor went to Omar Gonzalez today.
Gonzalez helped a defense go from one of the worst in league history to one of the better ones
this season.
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WVHooligan 12 November @ 02:14 PM EST
GBS helped lead the Crew to a second straight Supporter's Shield trophy. (Getty Images)
We all expected big things in 2009 for the Columbus Crew. Anytime you win a MLS Cup and retain
the bulk of a lineup that got you that title you expect to repeat or come extremely close to do so.
As we saw last week the Crew fell short of that this year as they lost to Real Salt Lake at home in
the semi-finals of the eastern conference.
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WVHooligan 12 November @ 06:02 AM EST
Colin Clark and Conor Casey make up a big part of the Rapids. (Getty Images)
We are moving forward today in our expansion draft coverage. So far we've knocked out both the
Fire and Chivas USA, today we stay out west with a look at the Colorado Rapids. Now this is a club
that may go through a bit of a change this winter because of their collapse late in the season.
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WVHooligan 11 November @ 03:24 PM EST
Freddie Ljungberg and Osvaldo Alonso were huge additions to Seattle and to MLS this year. (Getty
Images)
Everyone knew going into the 2009 season that the new kids on the block would make a splash.
Just the kind of splash the league needed in some folks eyes. The Seattle Sounders FC came into the
year not as a typical expansion club.
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WVHooligan 11 November @ 07:32 AM EST
Who will Chivas protect this year? (Getty Images)
Yesterday we started our look at the expansion draft and who teams will and won't protect for
this month's upcoming draft. The Philadelphia Union get ten players to pick from and this year will
be as tough as any to predict who will stay and who will be left exposed.
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Jeremy Christie (R) shields Joan Capdevila of Spain from the ball during the 2009 FIFA
Confederations Cup match between New Zealand and Spain (Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images
Europe)
I had a chance to chat with New Zealand international midfielder Jeremy Christie, who was in town
recently for a trial selection session organized by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) for
the upcoming season, which is scheduled to kick-off next February.
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WVHooligan 10 November @ 05:34 PM EST
A change is coming to Chivas USA as Preki is set to leave the club. (Getty Images)
Don't say we didn't tell you so. Preki is not be coming back as Chivas USA's manager next season
as his contract option for 2010 is not being picked up. Goal.com is reporting that with Preki
leaving assistant Martin Vasquez is likely to get the top spot as Chivas' front man.
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WVHooligan 10 November @ 05:12 PM EST
Who to protect and who to expose is the guessing game for the Fire. (Getty Images)
This year unlike the last couple the expansion draft caught up with me here. I almost feel like
I am a little late getting these lists out for the draft which is a couple days after MLS Cup.
Starting today I will release a team-by-team list of who I think will be protected and who I think
will be left exposed.
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WVHooligan 10 November @ 02:55 PM EST
Chivas USA was a surprise early on in 2009, but they faded quickly in the summer months. (Getty
Images)
It seems like every season or so we get one club that comes out hot to start the season then to
only fade in the summer. In 2009 it was Chivas USA who was just that club as they went 7-2-3 to
start the first couple months of the season.
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WVHooligan 10 November @ 09:12 AM EST
Peter Vermes is now the head coach of the Kansas City Wizards. (Getty Images)
I guess Peter Vermes liked coaching enough after all. Today the Kansas City Wizards are set to
remove the interim tag from Vermes title and name him their full time head coach.
The Wizards will formally announce Vermes as the club's head coach at a press conference later
today at the Wizards Swope Park Training Complex.
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