US U-23 head coach Caleb Porter made a series of roster changes for the current camp that is
ongoing in California.
While last season's D2 playoff champion the Puerto Rico Islanders will meet the Fort Lauderdale
Strikers in the second leg of their semifinal series and 2011 regular season champions the Carolina
RailHawks battle the NSC Minnesota Stars Saturday in the other semifinal matchup, other NASL teams
are announcing roster changes for next season.
Sorry I've been keeping you waiting, I still really need help writing the MLS Offside. If you or
anyone you know is interested, email me at kaufmb@d-e.org. Please.
It was a week of events that just make you go "Jeez". But not in a bad way; this is more of a
raised- inflection, lean back when you say it "jeez", as opposed to the head-shaking, disappointing
one we're used to.
The Philly Soccer Page " MacMath: "They wanted to tell me I was ready."
At a conference call Monday afternoon, Zac MacMath talked to reporters about his first half in
MLS, how he found out he was going in, and what he needs to do to help the team reach the
playoffs.
The DOOP we never took | Union Dues
Well, we came up short again in Salt Lake.
As we enter the second to last month of the MLS regular season, I would like to make a few
observations. The Union's once secure hold on a playoff spot has become tenuous as of late. Despite
the roster changes over the course of the season, many of the same problems that were apparent in
May are still rearing their ugly heads:
1.
There are two deadlines coming up for the roster. The first is the more well-known summer
transfer window that shuts on August 14th. The second is the playoff roster eligibility deadline,
or more simply the MLS trade deadline. That ends on September 15th. Both will, and should lead to
roster changes for the Seattle Sounders according the General Manager and Minority Owner Adrian
Hanauer in our chat today.
For the second straight year, it's July and the Houston Dynamo's season is on the brink of
collapse. After a disastrous 3-0 ass kicking at the hands of Chivas USA last night, Houston now sit
on the outside if the playoff picture with two games ahead that very well could decide the fate of
the season.
Frank Yallop called for a players only meeting Monday at 9 am. Yallop was thoroughly disgusted
with the way the team played in last Saturday's 2-1 loss to Chivas USA. In a game Yallop described
as a must-win, he felt the team played poorly and without fire. Yallop also hinted at some drastic
roster changes for this Saturday's match against Philadelphia, "There might be a few [new] guys
starting.
Following the Houston Dynamo's 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps this past Sunday, I caught
a bit of Glenn Davis' post-match radio show in which he made some comments indicating he was pretty
certain there would be some Dynamo roster changes before the close of the MLS transfer window.
Apparently, Davis made a few other comments earlier this week that got the folks at Dynamo Theory
and SBNation to start snooping around.
One of the components of the Philadelphia Union's new broadcast deal with Comcast SportsNet was
the creation of a Union-focused weekly magazine show called "State of the Union" in the mold
of the Flyers-centric Orange Line program. The first episode debuted last night, airing at
7:00 PM on The Comcast Network and 11:30 PM on Comcast SportsNet.
In a league that is short on rivalries, FC Dallas and the Chicago Fire try hard to maintain
whatever semblance of a rivalry once existed between the two teams. Names have changed, conferences
have realigned, but the Fire and the club formerly known as the Burn still play for the Brimstone
Cup each year.
Seattle set a high bar for expansion teams in 2009. And it was clear early on that the Union
would struggle to reach similar heights during their inaugural campaign.
Still, 31 points from 30 games did not do justice to a team that seemed to undo quality
performances with sudden and unexpected errors.
Union
From a conference call with reporters on Wednesday:
- Noting that the roster compliance deadline is March 1, Peter Nowak said, "The roster is not in
place yet we still are working on some things that could improve our roster offensive and
defensively."
- Nowak said, "Having a forward or even grabbing another defender is still in the works.
It may have been a bit slow in starting, but the New England Revolution offseason transformation
(we hope it will eventually be qualified as such) has begun. Today's announcement that the team
has waived Emmanuel Osei follows a week player movement and news.
The changes started with the addition of Didier Domi, an experienced, left-sided, French
fullback that has played in many of the top European leagues.
"The Vasectomy, where balls go to die, Chad Barrett!" du Nord
"Chad Barrett can't hit the side of a barn with a cruise missile." Our own Nathan HJ
It seems that everything is changing and everything remains the same. Last year the Galaxy had a
fairly solid back line, an unsettled midfield, and a shaky strike force.
