By DAVE MARTINEZ
As the New York Red Bulls opened their preseason camp two weeks ago, coach Hans Backe surveyed
the landscape of his young goalkeeping ranks and assessed the need for an established veteran to
take a leadership role.
Despite being heavily rumored to be grasping that role, Venezuelan netminder Renny Vega will not
be the one manning the posts at Red Bull Arena this season.
So Long Timmy!The long-running transfer saga involving New York Red Bulls central defender
Tim Ream appears to have finally come to an end this afternoon, with the BBC reporting that Bolton
Wanderers have secured a UK work permit. There had been considerable doubt about Ream's
qualifications for a visa, as he had only played in a total of two competitive fixtures for the US
Men's National Team.
Kenny Cooper: Jersey-BoundOn what most people expected to be a relatively quiet 2012 MLS
Draft day for the New York Red Bulls, Erik Solér and company made a surprising amount of noise.
First, even before the draft began, the team confirmed the signing of defender Markus Holgersson
from Swedish club Helsingborgs IF.
In the last few weeks the Seattle Sounders have lost a total of 9 players by draft, transfer,
trade, retirement, and just about every other way you can think of for a team to lose a player.
This week we talk about those loses and what the team will do to fill those gaps.
We have an audio clip from the December 7th press conference call with new Sounders netminder
Michael Gspurning (Guh-SHPURN-ing), answering Jeremiah's question as to how long he would like to
stay in Seattle.
In the last few weeks the Seattle Sounders have lost a total of 9 players by draft, transfer,
trade, retirement, and just about every other way you can think of for a team to lose a player.
This week we talk about those loses and what the team will do to fill those gaps.
We have an audio clip from the December 7th press conference call with new Sounders netminder
Michael Gspurning (Guh-SHPURN-ing), answering Jeremiah's question as to how long he would like to
stay in Seattle.
The Montreal Impact came away from last week's expansion draft without a proven goalkeeper, but
that void was filled in a major way on Monday after the Impact acquired Jamaican national team
goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts from the Impact for allocation money.
Ricketts had been one of the best goalkeepers in the league before a broken arm sidelined him
and paved the way for Josh Saunders to take the starting job away from Ricketts.
Plymouth Argyle's season goes from bad to worse, as they were knocked out of the FA Cup First
Round by Southern League Premier Division side Stourbridge. Goals from Paul McCone and Sean Evans
gave the Glassboys a well deserved victory, and the chance to face League One Stevenage in eleven
days time.
Goff's version of the protected list is out, so I thought I'd stir from my hibernation1 to do
some comparisons. (Revisit my list in four parts by hitting the links highlighted in the
sidebar.)
- On both lists: Willis, Jakovic, De Rosario, Kitchen, McDonald, Pontius,
Quaranta, Wolff
- Goff also protects: Korb, Woolard, King
- I also protect: Boskovic, Brettschneider, da Luz
We're in alignment on a number of points beyond the obvious (De Rosario, Kitchen, Pontius).
No. 3 Fort Lewis (4-0-1) scored early and often in trouncing Colorado State-Pueblo (3-2-0) 5-0
Friday at Dirks Field in the league opener for both teams.
Midfielder Julia Thompson scored the first two goals of her career — one coming in the waning
moments of each half — as the Skyhawks dominated possession and shots 21-5 and shots on frame
13-2.
Good afternoon! It's a glorious one here in Red Bulls Land. Not only that, but our glorious team is
back in action @The Home Depot Center. Chivas USA will be the opponent and three points are a must
for RBNY. But before all that, let's examine some RBNY news from the past week.
Of course, the big news of this past week was the signing of former Hamburger SV netminder Frank
Rost.
The Colorado Rapids returned home to Dick's Sporting Goods Park badly needing a victory after
suffering a pair of blowout defeats, but the home team's hopes for three points were thwarted by
Houston goalkeeper Tally Hall.
The Dynamo netminder made six saves, including several highlight-reel caliber stops, to help
Houston salvage a 0-0 tie on Sunday night.
Okay, it wasn't a serious question, but we just had to acknowledge Mike Magee's stunning turn as
the Los Angeles Galaxy's emergency goalkeeper after a Donovan Ricketts injury and Josh Saunders red
card left the Galaxy without a netminder.
Magee had no problem stepping up and volunteering for the job despite never having been a
goalkeeper before, and all he did was make four saves and post a shutout to help the Galaxy win a
game despite being a man down against the San Jose Earthquakes.
American striker Herculez Gomez is on the move again after being dealt from Pachuca to
Estudiantes Tecos on Wednesday.
Gomez was packaged with Braulio Luna in a deal that sent Tecos midfielder Mauro Cejas to
Pachuca.
Gomez joined Pachuca after a Golden Boot-winning season with Puebla in 2010.
Photo by Howard C. Smith/ISIphotos.com
By AVI CREDITOR
The Philadelphia Union's goalkeeping corps is down to a 39-year-old veteran and a 19-year-old
rookie.
The team elected to waive Brad Knighton Tuesday, parting ways with the 25-year-old netminder who
started eight games in the club's inaugural season.
