All you who criticized Bruce Arena, said the game had passed him by, said he relied too much on old
veterans...all you who said Dema Kovalenko was a one-dimensional hack...all you who said there was
no way Ricketts or Berhalter would make it through the whole season...all you who said that Beckham
and Donovan couldn't work together.
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For much more on this subject, see the original MLS team ages post. It includes the average age of
every MLS team in league history.
Age Breakdown
First, I wanted to look at the leaguewide distribution of ages. The percentages here are based on
the total number of minutes played in MLS history by every player, using on the age of players on
July 1st of each season (the midway point).
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Being a rookie in MLS is quite different than young players in any other sport around the world.
First off, if you're part of the select few deemed not talented enough, your salary won't be near
six figures. That being said, with smaller rosters and bargains a necessity in MLS, getting a shot
your first professional season isn't out of the question.
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The Netminder 12 November @ 02:03 PM EST
Salt Lake vs. Chicago: Saturday's MLS playoff teams have one thing in common --
their goalkeepers are the shortest starting netminders in the league. Chicago's Jon Busch is listed
at 5-10; Salt Lake's Nick Rimando at 5-9.
"People that tell me I wasn't going to achieve anything because I was too short, I just remember
that, and I like to shove it in their face whenever I can," Rimando says.
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In a little over a year, Bruce Arena transformed one of the worst teams in the league into a
contender for the 2009 MLS Cup. As a result of the remarkable turnaround, Arena was named as the
2009 Coach of the Year.
Hired to replace Ruud Guillt on August 18, 2008, Arena looked to change a Galaxy squad seen by
many as in disarray.
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In a little over a year, Bruce Arena transformed one of the worst teams in the league into a
contender for the 2009 MLS Cup. As a result of the remarkable turnaround, Arena was named as the
2009 Coach of the Year.
Hired to replace Ruud Guillt on August 18, 2008, Arena looked to change a Galaxy squad in
disarray.
Click to continue reading...
It is getting more and more difficult to pick the winners for Players of the Month as the Online
Soccer Academy is growing so much and players are improving a lot! But that is a good problem,
any good coach or manager will tell you they want that type of problem! I apologize for not
announcing these awards sooner.
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WVHooligan 06 November @ 10:42 AM EST
Landon Donovan leads the Galaxy against rivals Chivas. (Getty Images)
One more weekend of action and we will be in the conference finals here. One club is already in
and three others will move on this weekend. After last weekend's play the pressure is on a couple
home teams to rebound while one just has to keep on doing what they do best in front of their
fans.
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1) I've updated the home/away records for each MLS team in each season through 2009:
Check them out here.
2) If Omar Gonzalez wins the Rookie of the Year award, he'll be the youngest winner ever. He was
20.72 years of age as of July 1st. The current record-holder is Carlos Bocanegra in 2000, at 21.
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WVHooligan 04 November @ 04:43 PM EST
2009 was a rough season for Ben Olsen and DC United. (Getty Images)
We knew going into 2009 that the calendar for DC United could be a fairly packed one. Possibly
Champions League matches, US Open Cup title to defend, summer friendlies, and of course the regular
season slate. It turned out to be just the case as DC United played a schedule so packed this year
it definitely raised some eyebrows about how little depth MLS clubs really do have.
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DCUMD 30 October @ 06:10 PM EST
When posting the 2009 ADRs earlier this week, I asked what jumped out at you. Well here's some
questions that jumped out at me:
1.
Is Dejan Jakovic really all that good? The biggest surprise for me on the whole
was Jakovic's even 3.00 rating. After winning three Benny Awards, you would have thought his rating
would be among the best on the team.
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_______________________________Photo by ISIphotos.com
Being the top rookie in any MLS rookie class is an accomplishment, but being the best rookie in
arguably the strongest rookie class in league history makes the 2009 MLS Rookie of the Year award
more special than most.
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_______________________________Photo by ISIphotos.com
Being the top rookie in any MLS rookie class is an accomplishment, but being the best rookie in
arguably the strongest rookie class in league history makes the 2009 MLS Rookie of the Year award
more special than most.
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DCUMD 27 October @ 09:31 PM EST
The 6th Annual United Awards Reception isn't the only United Awards Reception going on tonight.
Because it's also time to announce the winners of the 2009 Benny Awards!
- The Richie Award for the most underrated player goes to Bryan Namoff
- The Nelly Award for the best newcomer goes to Dejan Jakovic
- The Convey Award for the best rookies goes to Chris Pontius
- The Donnety Award for the biggest disappointment goes to Danny Szetela
- The Grosy Award for the ballsiest player goes to Ben Olsen
- The Freddy Award for the biggest story goes to Chris Pontius and Rodney Wallace
- The Harkesy Award for the greatest leader goes to Ben Olsen
- The Popie Award for the best defender goes to Dejan Jakovic
- The Etchy Award for the team's MVP goes to Dejan Jakovic
- The Benny Award for the highest ADR rating goes to Chris Pontius
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Soccerblog 25 October @ 02:05 AM EST
Gregg Berhalter is all business!
While Landon Donovan and David Beckham bask in the aftermath of the Galaxy making the playoffs,
the real story in their turnaround is their defense.
31 goals given up in 2009. That is half of the 2008 total!
That is right. In 2008, the Galaxy gave up 62 goals even as they set the scoring ablaze with 55
goals.
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It's been a fabulous season for rookies in MLS. All across the league, rookies have peppered
starting lineups, as the 2009 draft yielded one of the best returns ever.
As a result, narrowing the candidates is a tough call. Two rookies in D.C., Rodney Wallace and
Chris Pontius, started almost every single game for United, and Pontius showed his class with a
couple of spectacular goals this season.
Click to continue reading...
It's been a fabulous season for rookies in MLS. All across the league, rookies have peppered
starting lineups, as the 2009 draft yielded one of the best returns ever.
As a result, narrowing the candidates is a tough call. Two rookies in D.C., Rodney Wallace and
Chris Pontius, started almost every single game for United, and Pontius showed his class with a
couple of spectacular goals this season.
Click to continue reading...
After 27 years supporting Middlesbrough Football Club, I could be forgiven for thinking I had
seen it all. Cup finals, relegations, promotions. Liquidation, Europe. Memorable victories and
crushing defeats. I thought nothing about the club would ever truly surprise me again. Tuesday
night, I was proven wrong.
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Voting for the 2009 MLS Year End Awards is underway. I've learned some interesting things about
this season's voting process:
1) For the Best XI, Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Landon Donovan are listed as midfielders this year, while
Guillermo Barros Schelotto is listed as a forward. You may remember the unfortunate situation from
two years ago, where Blanco was a finalist for the MVP award yet missing from the Best XI.
Click to continue reading...
DCUMD 16 October @ 08:41 PM EST
By definition, the Harkesy Award should go to the DC United player who has been the strongest
leader for our team this season. On-field leadership is important, but for this award, it isn't
everything. And that would be evidenced by the fact that Ben Olsen won the award last year after
playing only 15 minutes.
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Episode 48: "In Which Devin Bought The Ladies a Bottle of Boone's Farm"Host: Scott
Panel: Sandra, Gina Z, Devin Howard
Listen on the CSRN Media Player
DOWNLOAD Episode 48
32-Bit (Small File)
96-Bit (Large File)
Available on iTunes, just search Winning Ugly
This week on the show, Sandra returns and is joined by two rookies who will attempt to defeat the
veteran diva.
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Love seeing a fellow Lynn University Alumni doing well! He hasn't had the glitz and glamor
season like some of the other rookies, but he sure is getting great experience. All you can ask
for sometimes as a young player is to have your coach back you the way Jason Kreis is backing
him.
Keep pushing Jean, you are in a great spot!
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WVHooligan 09 October @ 06:15 PM EST
Darrius Barnes is currently leading the way for the rookies. (Getty Images)
Its finally Friday, though I will admit this week has flown by for me due to it being a four-day
work week and things being fairly steady on both the regular job front and this place. I had
planned to do more than what had been posted today but I blame the weird rainy weather here in
Dallas for me not getting around to some of it.
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Coaches take on the Rookies...
JM
If you are watching this video on the main page of the blog and the video is sticking out
into the categories on the right hand side I apologize. Some YouTube videos are too large and I
cannot control the size of the video. To remedy this, if it bothers you, please click the title
of the blog post and it will take you to a single page on the blog so you can watch the video
without any categories on the right hand side taking up part of the screen.
Click to continue reading...
DCUMD 02 October @ 08:41 PM EST
By definition, the Donnety Award goes to the player who has been the biggest disappointment for DC
United in 2009. The award's namesake Matias Donnet came to United in 2006 and was seen as a
potential all star due to his pedigree after playing for Boca Juniors, as well as spending some
time in Serie A.
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After dropping a 2-1 decision to the San Jose Earthquakes, United will be looking to get back to
the win column with a Champions League match against San Juan Jabloteh. The Trinidad & Tobago side
finds itself at the bottom of Group B without any points. A win over Jabloteh and a Marathon loss
to Toluca tomorrow would give United a berth in the quarterfinal stage of the tournament.
Click to continue reading...
Pistolas F.C. 28 September @ 11:05 PM EST
TORONTO - Entering this season there were plenty of prospects - rookies - new to Pistolas FC and
looking to make their mark. Some big expectations were expected from them all.
Earlier in the season, a poll was held where fans voted on who they thought felt the most of this
pressure. Between Eckleton's brother Sam, former high school star Frank, MSL Superdraft picks
Stefan and Conrad, former Celtic FC player Jules, former CFL player Rob Pikula, and rugby playing
Colin, there were 7 rookies in total; only one can win.
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Yesterday Ben Knight tried to move the soft cap debate forward (we'll call it a salary cap debate
at this point) and for some reason looks in my direction to provide rational discourse. And Dan
Loney. Yeah. Did you read the part in his last column where Loney talked about using nerve gas on
the promotion/relegation supporters?
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MLS Rookies talking about their chances of making the playoffs and how they are handling it.Â
This is an exciting time of the season in MLS!
JM
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When I posted my expansion draft preview recently, the subject that stirred up the most debate was
this one. Anyone who's followed MLS for a number of years knows that it's a bit of a mystery. When
exactly do Generation Adidas players graduate, and what are the criteria?
Basically, players are supposed to graduate when they no longer need the roster protection that it
provides.
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By TRAVIS CLARK
In an attempt to increase the following and coverage of men's collegiate soccer -- the biggest
producer of MLS talent to this point -- welcome to a new series on the Division I game. Nearly all
the prominent MLSÂ rookies in 2009 came after a successful stint in the collegiate ranks, with
Akron, Maryland, UCSB, and Wake Forest produced some of the best rookies this season.
Click to continue reading...
By TRAVIS CLARK
In an attempt to increase the following and coverage of men's collegiate soccer -- the biggest
producer of MLS talent to this point -- welcome to a new series on the Division I game. Nearly all
of the prominent MLSÂ rookies in 2009 came to MLS after a successful stint in the collegiate ranks,
with Akron, Maryland, UCSB, and Wake Forest producing some of the best rookies this season.
Click to continue reading...
First off let me apologize for being so late on announcing the August Online Soccer Academy
players of the month. I have been in the process of moving from Chicago to Louisiana and things
have been very hectic. It never is an easy decision to pick the winners so I didn't want to rush
my choices.
Click to continue reading...
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                                               Â
                      Photo by ISIphotos.com
As we hit the three-quarter mark in the current MLS season, the race for MLS rookie of the year
honors is still too close to call.
Click to continue reading...
