The Offside 15 November @ 03:30 PM EST
Yes, the Philadelphia Union kit is rich in American history; it's blue and gold color scheme
reflects the uniform of the early American Revolution, it's collar boldly highlights Benjamin
Franklin's "Jungite Aut Perite" (Join or Die) rallying cry, and the crest highlights 13 stars for
each of the original colonies, along with the "Don't Tread [.
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The Offside 01 November @ 08:23 PM EST
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 [.
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The Offside 01 November @ 04:46 PM EST
"We have all got to question ourselves, me included. We have a week and we have got to try to get
our self-confidence back by discussing things. Otherwise, there's no point even going to (Hertha)
Berlin. We may as well stay here." "I can understand the fans' disappointment. We were weak and
deserved to lose.
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The Offside 01 November @ 01:15 PM EST
Two dreadful seasons that have been plagued with injuries, mismanagement, power struggles, coaching
changes, confusion, inner turmoil, and a very revealing book highlighting the insurrection of a
misguided and torn team have bought David Beckham to a place he has never been before; the MLS
Postseason.
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The Offside 01 November @ 11:44 AM EST
This was the face that told the story, as Liverpool was stunned at Craven Cottage yesterday, taking
a 3-1 loss with them into their Champions League clash against Lyon this Wednesday. (So much for
that Manchester United revival, huh guys?) The loss thrusts the spotlight back on Rafa Benitez. But
is such scrutiny deserved?
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Commissioner Garber announces further Pacific Northwest expansion. NEW YORK Major League Soccer has
reached an agreement with The Paulson Family that will bring an MLS team to Portland in 2011, MLS
Commissioner Don Garber announced Friday. The announcement of Portland as the League's 18th club
comes just two days after Vancouver was announced as the [.
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PORTLAND City Council has approved financing $60 million to bring a Major League Soccer franchise
to Portland, but hasn't resolved how to raise a quarter of the money. The $60 million would go to
renovating PGE Park to meet MLS specifications, and building a new ballpark for the Portland
Beavers, the city's Triple-A baseball team.
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As promised, it's time to do some post-season reflection on the current state of FBF and see if we
can make some roster changes or formation adjustments prior to the 2009 season. Let's kick off with
a discussion of the blog's focus. When I started FBF, I was admittedly watching far too much
soccer.
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The Offside 06 August @ 11:38 AM EST
It was an afternoon of fun and surprises as Barcelona, teaming with the AYSO and MalariaNoMore.org,
took part in a 4 v 4, eight team tournament titled "More Than A Game," to benefit their
work in Africa and abroad. Each team consisted of 2 Barcelona players, a rank amateur (Fernando
Fiore of Republica Deportiva [.
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The Offside 11 July @ 11:00 AM EST
Over three weeks of tournament action and only one country stood tall: Sweden. Ibrahimovich proved
to be unstoppable in the virtual world, earning glory for his country where the real world left a
bit to be desired. Standing in the finals against a tough Croatian squad, they dispatched their
opponents 2-1 for [.
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The Offside 20 April @ 01:00 PM EST
Former Spanish National Team manager Javier Clemente has found a new home at Real Murcia this
season. This comes after a lengthy discussion with Iran about coaching their national side, which
ended in Clemente accepting the job, but saying he wouldn't live in Iran. Needless to say that
didn't go well, and Clemente [.
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In recent weeks and months, there's been some discussion on two of the sources for soccer news I
check routinely -- Clever Football and the World Soccer Daily podcast -- about the tiers of leagues
in Europe and where, if at all, MLS would fit in.
Personally, I think that particular debate shouldn't even be had; it's like comparing apples to
oranges.
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The Offside 04 February @ 08:00 PM EST
Some news to contemplate as you're getting arrested for hitting a police officer with a snowball:
And the African Player of the Year is... (World Cup Blog) Who are the Premier League's twenty most
valuable players? (Who Ate all the Pies? ) Why are so few Americans coaching abroad? (Culture of
Soccer) Basketballer Steve Nash [.
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The Offside 15 January @ 06:00 PM EST
The football fraternity - or more like secret society - has disbanded after coming to an accord
with The Man and The Other Man on points which lie near and dear to their big moneyed hearts. So
the off campus fraternity will now get their wish of getting an on-campus house where some of their
[...]
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The Offside 04 January @ 06:00 PM EST
Well, my calendar says it's January. So where are all the transfers already? No one seems to have
signed anyone yet, unless you count Leicester City's capture of Steve Howard and Barry Hayles.
Which unless you live in the East Midlands of England you probably don't. The problem, as you'll
see below, is that big [.
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The Offside 03 January @ 10:00 AM EST
All over Europe some strange happenings have transpired so far this year, eliciting massive amounts
of drama. Some of it warranted, some of it not so much. But what would the media sport be without
drama? Nothing, I say. And absolutely nothing gets the drama pumping like a good benching. From Jen
Lehmann to Ronaldinho [.
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The Offside 16 December @ 06:00 PM EST
Some news to peruse as you give your child Roadkill Teddies for Christmas: The Club World Cup helps
keep football afloat in New Zealand, and Sepp isn't happy (Ian Plenderleith) European vs. South
American Starting XI (World Cup Blog) Posh says yes, those photos are anatomically correct. And the
rest of us lose our lunches.
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I have now completed all the initial 56 grounds I have information for, which includes some
defunct grounds, and others of interest.
With regards to the league table data, I have now completed all professional leagues up to and
including 2006-07.
I will work on the non-league data, as well as adding functions that allow you to report and
aggregate league data for each club.
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WVHooligan 03 October @ 05:01 PM EST
Sometimes repeating the obvious helps. Even though I feel this has been the best season to date for
the MLS since it's first season, I still fear for the playoffs to be a complete mess-up due to the
fact that the league still hasn't managed to get a proper system in place for the playoffs. Sure
[...]
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The Offside 30 July @ 12:52 AM EST
