Wilman Conde is back in MLS with the Red Bulls. (Getty Images)

This news had been around for some time. The New York Red Bulls and the Chicago Fire finally made it official today though. Wilman Conde is finally going to the Big Apple.

The fun part about this deal however is that it is really a few years too late.

So I'm sitting at my desk at work around 4pm this past Friday trying to figure out what my plans for the evening are. Then out of nowhere Illinois Piasa General Manager Matt Williams makes my plans for me with one short e-mail:

"FYI - Mike Banner, Chicago Fire, will wear #16 for Piasa tonight vs.

There has been an increase for televisions in homes every year up until last year. Hulu.com is one of the reasons 2011 marked the first time ever since television was created that less people claim to have a TV in their home than the previous year.

It's the latest, and greatest, episode of Seeing Red: The NY Soccer Roundup. This week is Mark Fishkin and Dave "The Emperor" Martinez have none other than NY Red Bulls President of Business Operations Chris Heck. Mr. Heck makes a massive 40 minute appearance here and lots of topics (Season Tickets, Harrison lawsuit, the 2012 schedule, Cosmos, etc.

The SR boys are back to chat with Chris Heck, Red Bulls President of Business Operations. We discuss the 2012 home schedule, ticket sales trends, staffing changes, marketing plans, and success metrics for the season to come. First comes a review of Henry at Arsenal as well as roster additions in and around the MLS draft.

By Chris Wright

"You got once chance, mon frere!"

It was a bit of a strange, suffocating old game but, thanks principally to Kenny Dalglish switching to a flat-back nine for the majority of the second-half, Liverpool came away from the Etihad with the slimmest of advantages (City's first back-to-back home defeat since February 2008) to take back to Anfield for the second leg.

In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so.

Brad Evans was certainly a hit at Friday night's Q&A session at Official U.S. Soccer Bar Tim Finnegan's Irish Pub, answering questions and sharing stories for more than an hour about rising from a club player in Arizona to the U.S. National Team.
The local fans were particularly interested in his thoughts about player development in the state and how more kids can reach the elite levels in the sport.

By Alan Duffy

Lionel Richie? I was going for Craig Johnston meets Bruce Grobbelaar...

This hasn't been the best of periods for Liverpool FC, certainly in terms of PR. With the club tying itself in all kinds of knots over the Luis Suarez affair, and then Anfield legend Alan Hansen getting lambasted for his out-dated use of the word "coloured", it's been a heck a few weeks for the club.

I watched FC Barcelona in the wee smalls on Sunday, mesmerized as always by the side's peerless ability to hold possession and work nimbly out of pressure, as Pep Guardiola's men operated in Asia. It took me back a couple of weeks to my trip into that stylish and splendid Catalan city.

Just after sunset, my girlfriend and I sat in a coffee shop not far from the Barcelona's main port.

After one day of poor weather in Los Angeles, the usual sun has been out for U.S. WNT Training camp and that means we were able to snap a few pics. We can report that, without a match at the end of the camp, the U.S. WNT has been working extra hard through a battery of fitness tests, possession drills, finishing drills and a heck of a lot of playing, whether it be 4 v 4, 6 v 6, 9 v 9 or 11 v.

For the tournament I'm doing Outside Pack Reffing. There's a minor problem with roller derby - it's not that outside pack reffing isn't important; it's just that it could be said that the other positions are just "more equal" than OPR - honestly, it's much like Assistant Referees in soccer; when you have good OPRs things can go absolutely awesome, and the inside refs appreciate the heck out of them and it can turn a well-reffed bout into an awesomely reffed-bout.

Thorrington now unavailable in Re-Entry Draft; Jay Nolly to the Fire?

UPDATE 1 - 9:00 AM on December 5: This is now official according to the Chicago Fire. Chicago acquires Nolly for a first round selection in the 2013 Supplemental Draft

John Thorrington and Joe Cannon re-sign with the Vancouver Whitecaps

**********************************

This comes via Benjamin Massey over at 86 Forever in response to MLS releasing an updated list of players who will be available for the Re-Entry Draft that starts this Monday.

Tim Tebow just wins. In high school he won. In college he won. Now in the NFL with the Denver Broncos, he continues to win. If a game is within reach, Tim Tebow will reach in and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Oh, and Tim Tebow can deliver a heck of a pep talk. Before the Broncos latest game, head coach John Fox asked Tim Tebow to speak to the team.

Keep it under your hats but Spurs can go third tonight. Yes. Exactly. Ruddy heck. In a season where the City of Manchester is shaking off the ghastly idea of having to actually compete with the rest of the league and instead branching off and starting their own SUPER AWESOME MEGA league where non-local types aren't even allowed past reception, there's a feeling that anything's possible in the race for, well, everything else.

There's no good way of putting this: The Seattle Sounders are in a ridiculously deep hole right now. How deep? Since Major League Soccer went to its current playoff format in 2003, no team has ever trailed by three goals and only seven teams have trailed by two after the first leg. Heck, only eight teams have ever trailed by three goals at any point in the entire two-legged conference semifinals.

I'm not trying to make one of those posts that exist solely to generate pageviews, but I'm seriously wondering if it's time for Riise to start the next game on the bench.

What is he offering at this point that is so unique that different looks through Briggs or Baird or Kelly can't provide?

By Chris Wright

Germany coach and former 1970s catalogue model Joachim Loew has seen his lucky blue cashmere sweater sold to retail magnates Galeria Kaufhof for a cool €1 million on behalf of a children's charity (the deal actually took place last year) and, in turn, the sweat-stained pull-over has now been donated to the DfB's new German football museum, which is set to open in Dortmund at some point in 2014.

This Could Be Par for the Course in 2012 (Photo by Dan Dickinson)Tomorrow, September 30, marks the end of the 2012 Red Bulls season ticket renewal period. Those RBNY fans who have not renewed their seats - either by payment in full or via an installment plan - will surrender them when the clock strikes twelve Friday evening.

Sometimes I get these weird feelings, like something meaningful is about to happen.

It may be intuition. It may be linked to something that someone told me in confidence. Or, in all honestly, these "feelings" may just be the product of too much spicy food. You never know.

Either way, I'm getting a "feeling" these days related to MLS .

If You Liked the Henry Shirt, You're Gonna Love 2012 Season Ticket Prices!There has been plenty written and said about the 2012 Red Bulls season ticket debacle, with prices in some midfield sections doubling or tripling. This for a team that has been downright putrid on the pitch.
Our Twitter friend Boca107 is among the new pricing scheme victims (I shudder the think what it would cost if I still sat there as I did in 2010).

The first major change of the Chris Heck era has been unleashed on the RBNY fan base, and like the team's results as of late, it's not going over well.

After this weekend's league-record-tying draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps, the RBNY Front Office has begun its renewal process for 2012 season tickets.

So how many MLS coaches do you think could give this interview in Spanish? Heck, for many of them, giving an interview in English is hard enough. So here's to Dom, who is, after all, a former Necaxa player.

I have little patience for midseason friendlies in general. I know in the best case scenarios, they make money for the teams and give the staff a chance to assess players coming back to fitness (Bruin and Cruz), as well as those new to or trialing with the squad (Camargo), as well as give fans a chance to enjoy an exhibition.

Remember when MLS teams couldn't buy a win in Mexico?
Way back in like 2010 and before, MLS teams did pretty bad south of the border. It was a little sad to see MLS teams go there, knowing that no matter what they did, it would not be good enough for a win. Heck, a draw would have been seen as an accomplishment.

Remember when MLS teams couldn't buy a win in Mexico?
Way back in like 2010 and before, MLS teams did pretty bad south of the border. It was a little sad to see MLS teams go there, knowing that no matter what they did, it would not be good enough for a win. Heck, a draw would have been seen as an accomplishment.

One more player leaves Liverpool while rumours swirl about potential replacements. Plus Aquilani's agent doing what he does best, papers rehashing year old stories, and all the rest of the week's fun as the rumour mills hit top gear again with the window heading to its close...

Sotirios Kyrgiakos

The big Greek defender left for Wolfsburg on a free transfer late on Monday, the player eager to get more playing time than seemed likely at Liverpool and the club happy to get his wages off the books.

I've been catching up with Carnivale, the US series about a carnival travelling through the dustbowl during the Great Depression. It's compelling television but frankly not one to come home to after a bad day, evoking as it does a picture of poverty and suffering that places little value on human life.

A quick rundown of the moves over the last two weeks is pretty simple. Carlo Costly and Luiz Carmago signed. Yea, that's about it. Sad, I know. We all were hoping for something a bit more, but alas we have a FO that is reminiscent of early Houston Texans era -- lots of huff and puff, but nothing to actually blow the house down.

Another great episode of this RBNY-themed podcast. This week Mark and Dave discuss the night the season died @RSL and how it is that our season has gone south so quickly. A major coup this week, as they have brand new RBNY President Chris Heck as their featured guest. The always great Brian Lewis, of the NY Post, also makes a guest appearance in this one.

So how to feel about Wednesday's result in Philadelphia, where a tie felt like a win because: 1) It came off a rally; 2) Because the United States was clearly better through the final 20-30 minutes, and; 3) Because the Americans didn't get run plum off the field, a la the Rose Bowl roasting they took from Mexico six weeks back.

RBNY is dismantled at Salt Lake, and Dave and Mark look for answers. The SR boys then welcome new NY President Chris Heck to the show for the first time, and chat with Red Bulls beat writer Brian Lewis of the Post. For dessert, a heaping helping of listener mail. Playoffs or bust? CSRN MEDIA PLAYER

Jurgen Klinsmann will begin his USMNT coaching career with a game against Mexico tonight in Philadelphia.
While the result won't mean a whole heck of a lot, some (many?) fans and media are taking this game rather seriously. Of course, it's a game no US supporter wants to lose. It doesn't matter if it's a friendly, a qualifier, a game on FIFA 11.

Jurgen Klinsmann will begin his USMNT coaching career with a game against Mexico tonight in Philadelphia.
While the result won't mean a whole heck of a lot, some (many?) fans and media are taking this game rather seriously. Of course, it's a game no US supporter wants to lose. It doesn't matter if it's a friendly, a qualifier, a game on FIFA 11.

Lovel Pamer Transfer Fee was $250k

According to this article, the transfer fee for Palmer was $250k. Considering how well Moffat is playing right now, dumping Palmer plus getting back $250k in return seems like a heck of a steal. Even if Chabala is playing damn good football for Timbers.

With the greatest respect to Manchester United's US tour opponents, it would difficult to draw any incisive conclusions from their four successive wins pre-Barcelona friendly where they tallied an impressive 18 goals because the opposition were simply abject and below standard. However, a match up against the side that they had been routinely beaten by in the Wembley final in May would be far more educative and despite both teams not opting for full-strength, the level of quality on the pitch would have considerably improved to United's previous games.

Luka Modric is rumoured to have submitted a second written transfer request to Tottenham.
My feeling on the situation is that the player signed a contract for Tottenham and thus agreed to fulfull his end of that contract, which obliges him to play for Tottenham for the duration of that contract.

Seattle and Colorado put on one heck of a show Saturday. (Getty Images)

I can't saw we should be shocked by many of the results this past weekend in MLS. More draws were the name of the game and a few of them were scoreless yet again. But we did see plenty of drama over the weekend as a couple games reminded us of how interesting this league can be when the right players decide to show up at any given moment.

Heck is Not Wasting TimeWhen the Red Bulls replaced General Manager Erik Stover with longtime NBA executive Chris Heck a few weeks ago, it was a signal that an era had ended. Stover, a specialist in stadium operations, was the right man to lead the club through the transition from East Rutherford to Harrison, but perhaps not the right person to take the club forward as a legitimate force on the New York sports scene.

Today in Seattle Sounders camp there were a few notable items. In addition to the numerous trialists, to include Mrisho Ngassa, in training today. Tomorrow we'll find out if more will get a longer look, as some were necessary so the starters could do regeneration and the rest of the team could scrimmage.

I feel like I beat on Charlie Davies quite a lot. My beatin' arm is all sore, in fact.

Heck, when it comes to my writing and domestic soccer piñatas, Davies is right up there with MLS refereeing and Los Angeles Galaxy's sense of entitlement as the most tiresome targets.

So I want to go on the record: I have absolutely nothing against Charlie Davies personally.