During the MLS All-Star game against Chelsea, a new technology quietly made it's debut to fantastic
results. The adidas miCoach system is a going to be a mainstay for Major League Soccer beginning in
the 2013 season. All 19 teams within the league will use miCoach Elite System to provide coaches
and trainers with top level analysis of their players' movement, speed changes, and real time
metrics.
Toronto FC is off to an 0-8 start to the Major League Soccer season, and rather than seeing
anybody lose their job, the club's response to that awful start has been to change some people's
job titles.
TFC announced on Monday that assistant coach Bob de Klerk has been moved to a role as Technical
Manager, while former TFC player and recent Toronto FC Junior Academy coach Jim Brennan takes over
as the team's lead assistant.
D.C. United are riding high on a six-game unbeaten streak following a 4-1 victory over the New
York  Red Bulls Sunday night.
Converted forward Chris Pontius is largely responsible for the resurgence in D.C., scoring four
goals, including a hat trick Sunday night, since being moved up top to provide the finishing touch
his club had been lacking.
It makes no difference to me that his New England Revolution rebranding effort and his recent
post about "The Revs in the Age of Mutual Love" are good. Really good. (Though, just in case,
perhaps you should go check them out.)
Now, please don't misunderstand, I've not met him or spoken to him and only recently found his
work online.
So here's some news for you guys! And I apologize that it's coming just a bit later than my
usual punctual self. Today has been quite hectic for some of my other writing duties... and we'll
just leave it at that.
In any case, Adam Smith the 2010-2011 season goalkeeping coach has gotten a bit of a promotion
after being moved over to a Director position with the Timbers Academy.
By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (July 15, 2011) US Soccer Players -- When Brian McBride steps
onto the field at Crew Stadium in Columbus this Saturday night, it will be in his relatively new
position of former player. McBride will be in Columbus so that he can be the first player inducted
into the Crew's Circle of Honor at halftime during their game against the San Jose Earthquakes.
So that's it then, it's official, Robin van Persie is on his way.
It's a pity it's ended this way, with van Persie (prompted by his agents, Kees Vos and Darren
Dein) having forced his way out of the club by publicly undermining the club of which he was
captain. It was clear when he came on as a sub against Cologne at the weekend, when the Arsenal
fans in the house gave our erstwhile hero the most tepid of welcomes, that his statement had hit
home; his hero status had evaporated.
So that's it then, it's official, Robin van Persie is on his way.
It's a pity it's ended this way, with van Persie (prompted by his agents, Kees Vos and Darren
Dein) having forced his way out of the club by publicly undermining the club of which he was
captain. It was clear when he came on as a sub against Cologne at the weekend, when the Arsenal
fans in the house gave our erstwhile hero the most tepid of welcomes, that his statement had hit
home; his hero status had evaporated.
Boy oh boy, what a weekend! If you're anything like me, then you're going to find actual work
quite difficult today. So, to help you prolong the inevitable, here's some links. Happy Monday,
folks.
Revolution Links
Nguyen: "I couldn't have dreamt it any better" - RevolutionSoccer.
After recently voicing out his irritation about being placed in a new position at Tottenham
Hotspurs, Rafael Van Der Vaart's future at the club could very well be in jeopardize.
This possibility occurred after Spurs' manager, Harry Redknapp, answered back to Van Der Vaart's
statement by stating that if the Dutchman is insisting to play on his preferred role than the
ex-Real Madrid player must compete with Jermaine Defoe for one position in the starting eleven.
Being played out of position can be a real problem for some players, including Tottenham
Hotspurs' Rafael Van Der Vaart, who recently voiced out his disappointment of being continuously
placed in a wider positions in recent matches including the London derby against Arsenal.
The Dutchman confessed that he doesn't like being played in a wider position as he felt that his
best post is playing from the center.
Hughpocrite Some of Mark Hughes' former players might have raised their eyebrows at the ease with
which their ex-boss quit Fulham this week. Hughes resigned from Craven Cottage and is now widely
tipped to take up a new position at a 'bigger' Premier League club. His matter-of-fact departure to
further his career could have the [.
After every match this season, the staff here at The Bent Musket will be putting together player
ratings. Ratings are on a 1-10 scale, with 5 representing a thoroughly average performance, and 6 a
decent/capable showing. The final ratings will be averages of individual ratings from Steve Stoehr,
Corey Major, Matty Jollie, and Abram Chamberlain.
Lots of reports in the newspapers over the weekend that Arsenal will sell Robin Van Persie for
£30 million this summer if they cannot get him to sign s new deal. That is a new position for
Arsenal, who previously said that they were willing to let van Persie leave on a Bosman in
12-months if they could not sign him, and that they were not interested in selling him.
A coach can be considered good if he does one of two things. One: He looks at his squad and
says, "Right then, these are my players. I will build a system to suit them." Then he creates a
system, plugs in players, and off they go on a fine run of form.
Shortly after accepting his new position at New England Revolution Head Coach, Jay Heaps
expressed his desire to change the style of play completely. Heaps stressed a more attacking,
better passing with a focus on maintaining possession. We're through six games of the 2012 season
the New England Revolution find themselves with six points at a record of 2-4.
Newcomers Fernando Cardenas (pictured) and Saër Sène will boost the competition for spots in
the starting XI. (Photo: Chris Aduama/aduama.com)
When Jay Heaps took over as head coach of the New England Revolution in November, the rookie
tactician had a host of issues in front of him that needed to be addressed for the team to be
competitive in 2012.
Levi Houapeu, Morgan Langley, Ryan Richter and Joe Tait will not be with the Philadelphia Union
in 2012 after the group's contract options were declined by the team. Only Langley saw action in
MLS regular season play last year, with Houapeu hurt most of the year, Richter learning how to play
a brand new position (fullback) and Tait a late signing for center back depth.
This past weekend's match between the top team in each conference featured a Philadelphian
playing yet another new position.
Now in his first season with Kansas City, Bobby Convey is being deployed at left wing in a
4-3-3, the only new starter for the league's best and only undefeated team.
Speaking at his weekly presser ahead of the Norwich game Wenger was asked whether or not he
believed there was adequate cover in the full-back areas following the fresh injuries to Gibbs and
Jenkinson, he responded with a resounding "frankly speaking NO"
A stress fracture to the lower back and a hernia operation for the pair respectively, means
there is a very good chance neither player will be in first team action again in 2011.
CARSON, Calif. – Jose Torres has had his ups and downs as part of the U.S. men's national team
over the past three years, but under new U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann, Torres has enjoyed a national
team renaissance.
Despite the United States' 1-0 loss to Costa Rica on Friday night, Torres was one of the
standout American bright spots, and was arguably the best U.
In part one of this series, we saw an overview of Bob Bradley's career, focusing on his time as
the United States national team manager. Bob saw some pretty amazing heights, from the ethereal
Gold Cup 2007 campaign to the extraordinary Confederations Cup in 2009 that saw his USA squad
beating European and soon-to-be world champions Spain.
Where were you when the news dropped that U.S. soccer fired Bob Bradley?
A day after the Manchester United blitz of the MLS All Stars, the U.S. Soccer Federation
announced the immediate termination of head coach Bob Bradley. Â According to the federation's
press release, the firing happened during a meeting in Carson City.
The return of center backs Aymar Sinaise (UW) and Chase Morgan (Poynette) not only
stabilized the backline for Madison United on Sunday, it allowed coach Raj Rajani to check
out one of his newer players in a new position.
And Malcolm Calbert (Stoughton) made quite an impression as a two-way midfielder in
United's 7-0 victory over city rival Mad City FC in a Wisconsin Major League match at Elver
Park.
HARRISON, N.J. -- The more U.S. national team defender Timmy Chandler plays at left back, the
more it looks like the long search for a dependable option at the position has come to an end.
The International Development Secretary Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn has stepped down from his
role and will take up a new position in charge of "international development" at the club. Quinn
was forced to make the move after the Black Cats failed in their attempts to lure Bono to the
Stadium of Light.
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.
