Having a full day off I thought I would share the links that are out there of interest to Sounders fans and those that read the site, as well as a recap of the Sounders FC weekly radio show on 710 ESPN. First TOA v NuRock is getting to a boiling point. Yep, hints of [...] Click to continue reading...

This may seem like an odd departure during the Playoffs, but if the team does it why shouldn't we. Coach Schmid found a way to get his Reserves and Subs more playing time by getting together with the Seattle Wolves. He did this even while his senior side is smarting from the nil-nil [...] Click to continue reading...

Just getting this out there, no time for extensive thoughts. 24thMinute and CBC on Vancouver and Montreal pulling out of USL. Inside MN Soccer on the fuller situation. The TOA is clearly now the 2nd tier of the sport. Not just due to market size, but also due to the quality of the organizations involved. Click to continue reading...

Recently Steve Clare over at Prost Amerika interviewed Jeremy St Louis of Fox Soccer. It is a far ranging interview covering national teams (particularly the issues facing Canada), MLS, Sounders, the EPL and the upcoming World Cup. There were a few semi-precious stones in there, that you might just miss. Click to continue reading...

While I have been focusing on the issues that are facing the lower tiers of the American soccer system recently, please let's all remember that our issues here are not as bad as in other places. In Scotland the Old Firm are constantly making noise about leaving the SPL and SFA for the supposedly greener patches [. Click to continue reading...

While I have been focusing on the issues that are facing the lower tiers of the American soccer system recently, please let's all remember that our issues here are not as bad as in other places. In Scotland the Old Firm are constantly making noise about leaving the SPL and SFA for the supposedly greener patches [. Click to continue reading...

In all the drama around the USL mess (NuRock v the TOA - sounds WWE) much of the speculation is about how and sometimes why MLS is involved. Let's address the why first. Major League Soccer and Soccer United Marketing control 99% of all revenue generating soccer in the country. From the [...] Click to continue reading...

Yes, the USL-1 Finals are between Canadian teams. This isn't the problem. The problems is that the USL (all levels: 1, 2, PDL, SuperY, WLeague) was purchased by a group that currently does not operate a team NuRock Sports. They do have the rights to operate a team in Birmingham, AL [...] Click to continue reading...

Sure, the attendance numbers for MLS aren't that strong, down about 700 per game. But it is still the 4th best season for the league by any attendance measure. No it doesn't compare strongly to the NBA (slightly up) or NHL (also slightly up), but does to MLB (down 6%) and NFL (in danger of [...] Click to continue reading...

San Jose's draw against Colorado could be seen as a loss for the Sounders, but honestly, the Rapids are amazing at home. That San Jose stole a few points from them is huge for Seattle. The expanded pacing formula (including H/A Strength of Schedule) now show Seattle at 7th with Colorado heading East [. Click to continue reading...

Not baseball, but the 4-3-1-2 or 4-1-3-2(Sounders sometimes in this variant), and how it developed and is used in Europe. This is a great read on tactics. What is notable is that while Sounders FC use a formation that could be described this way, they actually abandoned the #10 concept for which Ljungberg was initially slotted. Click to continue reading...

You may think you missed the start of the Argentine football season, you would be wrong. The league canceled its first week in an effort to save money. The tough economic times hit Argentina as hard as anyone, maybe harder. Now the AFA is going to break their TV contract to try and double [...] Click to continue reading...