Like most of the Seattle Sounders web community this week's major topic is the First XI, the gameday 18 and who will make the roster 30. This week's guest was probably the most difficult booking ever for Jeremiah and Aaron as they had to convince Dave to join them in the new yet-to-be-named studio.

The Seattle Sounders' preseason roster got just a little bit lighter as they got ready to take off for Florida and Mexico. Although the Sounders didn't officially release an updated roster, Joshua Mayers of the Seattle Times has managed to piece one together:

Goalkeepers (5): Chris Blais*, Josh Ford, Michael Gspurning, Bryan Meredith, Andrew Weber*

Defenders (10): Marc Burch, Andrew Duran#, Leo Gonzalez, Harlinton Gutierres*, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Patrick Ianni, Adam Johansson, Jeff Parke, Zach Scott, Michael Tetteh

Midfielders (13): Osvaldo Alonso, Servando Carrasco, Alex Caskey*, Cordell Cato, Brad Evans, Alvaro Fernandez, Lamar Neagle, Mauro Rosales, Andy Rose^, Amadou Sanyang, Michael Seamon, Christian Sivebaek, Steve Zakuani

Forwards (7): David Estrada, Mike Fucito, Roger Levesque, Fredy Montero, Sammy Ochoa, Babayele Soldade#, O'Brian White

* -- trialist/invitee, # -- unsigned draft pick, ^ -- acquired on draft day trade, underline -- recovering from injury with uncertain timeline

Still not a whole lot of surprises at this point.

Looks like we have some catching up to do. The Seattle Sounders have sold about 14,000 tickets for the March 7 CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal against Santos Laguna. With a month left before the game, that's a perfectly respectable total, but it's also about 25,000 fewer than Toronto FC has sold for their quarterfinal against the LA Galaxy the same day.

As our own malcontentjake and countless others have demonstrated repeatedly, the numerical shorthand for soccer formations which we're all accustomed to (e.g. 4-4-2) is almost completely useless. Whether you have a 'band of 4' defenders or a 'band of 5' is much less important than what those defenders are doing at any given time.

From Joe Roth to Adrian Hanauer to Sigi Schmid to players like Mike Fucito Seattle Sounders FC has been quite clear about their goals for this year. Another US Open Cup title will not be enough. It is a consistent organizational chorus that started at the End of Year Business Meeting and is hinted at in most conversations about the upcoming season.

Continuing their preseason tradition of a Community Shield match to raise funds for charity partners, the Seattle Sounders today announced that their opponent in the Feb. 29 7 PM match will be Jaguares de Chiapas of the Mexican Primera. In a new twist, the match will be free and seating on a first-come, first-serve basis, but the club will be accepting donations at the door.

For those of you not lucky enough to have season tickets this year then you'll probably be relying on nabbing a few of these single game tickets. Luckily, you now have plenty of time to request February 28th off from work and get in line nice and early to ensure that you're able to attend at least a few games.

It would appear the Seattle Sounders may be getting close to announcing details of their summer friendly. A league source has confirmed to Sounder at Heart what Michael C. Lewis originally tweeted that the Sounders' home game against Real Salt Lake will be moved from July 18 to Oct. 17 in order to accomodate an international friendly.

File this one under the category: most likely to attract choice commentary from Seattle Sounders supporters.

As the Sounders-less MLS First Kick fast approaches, we here at Stumptown Footy are spooling up the statistical analysis drives in preparation for the 2012 campaign. Lacking much in the way of hard data so far, with just one preseason match under our belt, we've decided to start with the schedule.

Now with a stunning 1-1 draw in the books against the Vancouver Whitecaps the Seattle Sounders announced five preseason scrimmages in their "Florida" phase of training. Florida in quotes because the key note match will be against Atlante FC behind closed doors in Cancun, Mexico on February 22nd at 4PM Pacific.

Sigi Schmid's Seattle Sounders FC took the pitch in anger for the first time. While it may only be preseason anger, the number of cards (10 yellow, 1 red) and the puncture wound on Mike Fucito indicate that emotions were high and form was off. While the game ended with both the Vancouver Whitecaps and Sounders netting just one goal apiece, the point of these matches is not to win, but to prepare to win meaningful games.

The Cascadia Cup rivalry takes no games off, even in the preseason.

The Seattle Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps dueled to a 1-1 draw in a 120-minute scrimmage in Casa Grande, Ariz., on Monday -- a game that included nine cautions and a red card. The game was split into two 45-minute sessions and a 30-minute one, with each team using different lineups in each period to take advantage of their expanded lists of trialists and rostered players.

Darwin Jones was among the Seattle Sounders' recent cuts from preseason training camp, but that doesn't mean he'll be going very far. The 19-year-old has joined the University of Washington's 2012 recruiting class, giving the Huskies four Sounders Academy products in this class alone. Jones will be accompanied by Michael Gallagher, Ian Lange and Dominique Dismuke.

If you're a fan of the "wobble wobble" aka dubstep and American soccer you're going to love this new video by Jimmy Diebold playing with the lights at Century Link Field, the home stadium for Major League Soccer's Seattle Sounders (and some silly NFL team, too).
Just splice some goal highlights, Kasey Keller saves, or some player running up-field making some ball moves to the music and you've got something even sexier.

MLS Taking On Distinctive Foreign Flavor - MLSSoccer.com

As you've surely noticed, the Seattle Sounders aren't the only MLS team that is not particularly American. Matthew Doyle of MLSSoccer.com looks at the trend, and points out that it's nothing to be afraid of.

As the preseason gets into full swing and rosters begin to stabilize, it's time to take a look at the men who pull the strings and have the greatest impact on the team itself. The modern manager is part tactician, ...
Visit http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com for the rest of the story.

Asked directly what excites him most about his new opportunity to be the Coach of the Seattle Sounders U-23 side Darren Sawatzky gives two answers. The first isn't a surprise. As the Technical Director of the Sounders Academy his passing for player and personal develop is a strong fit in this new intermediary step between Academy and Pro.

A few weeks ago while watching the MLS Player Combine I was struck by a strange realization; what happens in the Seattle Sounders FO is a spectator sport and that for me it is one of my favorite aspects of the game.

The internet broadcasts for the Combine were sponsored by a video game called Football Manager 2012 by Sega.

The beginning of the 2012 Major League Soccer season is right around the corner and the folks over at MLS Soccer have released their first preseason power rankings. As expected the LA Galaxy are on top, while the New England Revolution get no love, as MLS Soccer ranks them below the expansion side Montreal Impact.

The beginning of the 2012 Major League Soccer season is right around the corner and the folks over at MLS Soccer have released their first preseason power rankings. As expected the LA Galaxy are on top, while the New England Revolution get no love, as MLS Soccer ranks them below the expansion side Montreal Impact.

A fantastic story by Grant Wahl on Seattle Sounders midfielder Steve Zakuani. Just read it. That is all.

Last season, Seattle Sounders Academy players seemed scattered around the country, with only a handful local. This year, there are many more in the Greater Puget Sound, with three each committed to the University of Washington (Coach Jamie Clark), Seattle University (Coach Pete Fewing) and Western Washington (Coach Travis Connell).

A year ago, the Seattle Sounders opened their season on March 15. This year, they will essentially do so eight days earlier. On paper that might not seem like a huge difference.

But unlike last year when they opened against a LA Galaxy team that was in the same stage of its season, the Sounders' first opponent will be Santos Laguna, a Mexican Primera side that will have already played nine matches.

The past few days have altered the landscape of MLS, the Western Conference and, specifically, Cascadia. While many of us have always believed that the West was much stronger than the East, the amount of talent that has flooded in during the past week alone has only strengthened that belief.

Let's review: The Portland Timbers have added Kris Boyd, the leading scorer in Scottish Premier League history; the Vancouver Whitecaps traded for Sebastien Le Toux, who's contributed to 45 goals over the past two seasons; and the LA Galaxy brought back Edson Buddle, who scored 19 goals during the 2010 season.

Even after bidding farewell to five players, the Seattle Sounders' list 39 players as participating in training camp as the team begins activities in Casa Grande, Ariz. The five players who didn't make the trip were Sounders academy product Darwin Jones, University of Washington product Abdul Aman, goalkeeper Tyrel Lacy, invitee Jonathan Prieto and an unnamed trialist.

In the past four preseasons Lamar Neagle grew from trialist to veteran player for Seattle Sounders FC. In talking to the player who during the split sessions trained with the veterans Neagle smiled as he noted his path, his responsibility as a veteran and the need in every training session to compete for minutes on a deep squad.

Photo: Nicolae Stoian

But if you see me walking by,
And the tears are in my eyes,
Look away, baby, look away.
If we meet on the streets someday,
And I don't know what to say,
Look away, baby, look away.
Don't look at me;
I don't want you to see me this way.

Photo by Tony Quinn/ISIphotos.com

If Sebastien Le Toux makes an appearance at PPL Park this summer for his second MLS All-Star Game, he won't be representing the home team. He'll be doing it as a member of the Vancouver Whitecaps.

The Philadelphia Union officially announced that they have dealt Le Toux to the Whitecaps, acquiring an undisclosed sum of allocation money in exchange for its leading scorer and 2010 MLS All-Star.

Anyone who reads this site and is on Twitter probably knows that Brad Evans is probably the Seattle Sounders top personality there. Not only does he interact with fans, he's also quite funny. On Monday, he decided to "interview" new roommate Michael Gspurning.

Evans solicited his followers for questions to ask his new teammate.

Sebastien Le Toux will not move to Bolton Wanderers, of the English Premier League, signaling that his time in MLS has not yet ended. However, the Philadelphia Union may not be the club with which Le Toux starts the 2012 MLS season.

A source close to the situation tells the Brotherly Game that the Vancouver Whitecaps have inquired about Le Toux and have emerged as a candidate for a trade.

Lets start off Monday's edition of Major Link Soccer with a local flavor.

The North Sound SeaWolves FC have moved from their Everett home to new digs in Edmonds. The club plans to make it official this week. As you may know, the SeaWolves play in the PDL North Division. This is the same division that is home to PDL champs Kitsap Pumas and formerly the Tacoma Tide -- now Seattle Sounders FC U23 -- just to name a few.

In all the hoopla surrounding the Seattle Sounders offseason moves, there has been one player that seems to have flown under the radar more than any other: Servando Carrasco. During the midfielder's rookie season, he became better known for the person he was dating than anything he did on the field.

Tonight I was watching Metro Sports Zone on Metro Sports, watching a feature that was being done on Kyle Miller and Matt Kuhn and their attempts to become the 5th and 6th local players on Sporting KC's current roster. It struck a thought in my head that I'd been thinking about yesterday after an announcement from the Seattle Sounders.

The beep test is a progression of short runs where the testee is to pace themselves to turn on the beep, not faster, not slower. It tests not speed, but endurance and today a few players showed quite well. Andy Rose and David Estrada each won their heats, while Mike Seamon and Cordell Cato came in second in their rounds.

Article by Pedro Gomes
As yet another January camp enters the United States Soccer history books, let us take a quick look back at what has transpired and what we have learned from the camp.
Rosters:
Typically US roster announcements are desperately anticipated, usually overly analyzed and this camp was no different.

One of the issues with depth charts and roster math is how to place players who can fill many roles. With Adam Johansson in Qatar for the opening of training camp, Seattle Sounders coach Sigi Schmid gets to test a bunch of different options at the right back role. One thing quickly clear when asked was who the leader in that role is:

Obviously Zach Scott is somebody who can play there.

The Seattle Sounders have added a PDL team to their youth development program, partnering with the Tacoma Tide and rebranding the team as Sounders FC U-23. The team will be coached by current Sounders academy director Darren Sawatzky and play somewhere in Pierce County, although a permanent home has not yet been determined.

STARTERS
US Soccer has named Clint Dempsey as the 2011 Male Athlete of the Year. And Brek Shea was named the Young Male Athlete of the Year.
dN
Richie Williams, the original Ankle Biter, has been named the new head coach of the USA U17 team. He had been serving as coach of the U18s, so I guess they are looking for a new boss now.

When Sigi Schmid said Saturday, "there are a couple guys I'm concerned about a little bit that I don't think came back as fit as I would have liked," some alarm bells went off in with in the Seattle Sounders fanbase. The question asked concerned how the team needed to change training in light of the CONCACAF Champions League series against Santos Laguna that starts a week and a half prior to League play.

Despite the unbalanced nature of the 2012 Cascadia Cup, the three biggest supporters groups of the Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps elected to have each game count equally toward the trophy.

Various options had been discussed, such as counting just one home game for each team or weighting road results differently, but there was apparently near universal support to make the competition's rules as straight forward as possible.