Personnel wise it's been a disastrous couple of days for the New England Revolution. Rajko Lekic is off in Denmark, Monsef Zerka has signed in India, Milton Caraglio is off in Chile, Re-entry Draft pick Danleigh Borman is in South Africa, and now news out of Columbia has told us that one of the Revs "big" offseason signings has changed his mind and will not suit up for Jay Heaps in Foxborough.

When a politician suspends his or her campaign, it effectively means the end of the campaign. Even if it is restarted, all of the momentum generated has been lost and almost impossible to recover. Sports league operations are no different, and especially soccer leagues in the USA. So the news today that Women's Professional Soccer has suspended operations for the 2012 season is very bad.

Looks like the the effect of those UEFA financial fair play rules are having at best a marginal effect as losses rose to €1.6bn for the 2010-11 FY, up from the previous year's €1.2bn loss racked up by Europe's soccer leagues.

The only exception is the Bundesliga which managed to turn around losses into a healthy profit of €52.

The loss of Justin Mapp in the expansion draft to me wasn't a huge loss, Mapp is replaceable by younger talent, however, the Union regardless have positions that they need to fill over the off-season. The Union (and MLS in general) have been linked to several high profile names in other soccer leagues around the world.

How does MLS stack up against the other top leagues in the world?
This is a question that is often debated among Major League Soccer supporters and detractors, and Leander Schaerlaeckens of ESPN.com takes a crack at the debate. Where he finds that it doesn't necessarily hold up against the likes of the English Premier League or the German Bundesliga, it's grown steadily to reach that group below the top tier leagues in the world.

Photo: Daniel Gajdamowicz

Union

Danny Califf and Sebastien Le Toux both agree that the hope among the players is that there will not be as much player movement in the closed season. Le Toux said, "I hope with the good result we got this year, we'll get most of the guys back and move on and continue.

Article By Lee Camblin
MLS is a league that is in its infancy compared to many other Soccer leagues around the world. When you think that other league structures found in England, Spain, Italy, France, Germany have been around 40,50and even over 100 yrs.
MLS started back in 1993 as part of the USA bid to host the 1994 world cup, which they did host.

In the world's leading football (soccer) leagues pinpoint accuracy, speed and intensity can make the difference between a top flight place in the standings or relentless pressure to avoid league and cup disappointment. With the stakes so high, players look for a ball that gives them unrivalled touch and feel to ensure it goes exactly [.

Coors Light, the official U.S. beer sponsor of Mexico's Primera Division, is giving fans unprecedented access to one of the sport's most elite and passionately-followed soccer leagues via "Fanaticos del Frio

By Cesar Diaz - Harrison, NJ (Sep 28, 2011) US Soccer Players -- With all the coverage that's invested in various soccer leagues worldwide, it's easy to forget that the United States has a soccer history of its own. Whether or not many in the audience recognized it, that point was stressed by last week's US Open Cup final.

This is why national team coaches don't run their nation's soccer leagues.

U.S. national team manager Jurgen Klinsmann has made his feelings known about the regrettably insufficient length of Major League Soccer's season. Only through longer seasons and a greater run of matches can MLS properly develop international caliber high achievers, according to Herr Klinsmann.

How does a 20-team MLS sound to you as a stopping point? Enough? Too many?

Either way, you might just need to formulate a personal opinion on this matter, because it looks like official MLS policy is leaning in on the big 2-0.

MLS commissioner Don Garber was in Dallas over the weekend for the Red Bulls-FCD contest.

The Seattle Sounders are sitting pretty good going into the weekend. The Sounders put in a yeoman's performance after traveling down to Costa Rica. They remain perfect in the CONCACAF Champions League with their 2-1 win over Herediano. This weekend D.C. United arrive in Seattle looking to bolster their record in the less than competitive Eastern Conference.

The most powerful and prestigious soccer leagues in the world have stopped at 20. From a huge country like Brazil to a relatively small one like England, 20 clubs seem to be the limit for even the strongest circuits. Whether it's to keep the number of games manageable, maintain the depth of the talent pool or simply a trend, 20 has become the standard.

Great news! In an article printed on Monday by Sporting News, MLS president Mark Abbott stated that there are currently no plans to expand beyond 20 MLS teams. Here's the exact quote:

"Our focus right now is the 20th team in New York and we have not yet set a timeline for expansion beyond that, or even (determined) if we're going to expand beyond that.

MLS is off to a huge start in CONCACAF Champions League, looking dominant in the process. Mexico may have won the Gold Cup this year, but for the first time in a long time, the U.S. First Division may be a stronger league than Mexico's.

Players from Carolina Railhawks and Montreal ImpactThe Price Is Right Host Drew Carey must have felt the pricetag for the Seattle Sounders was close enough without going over, as he partnered up and ponied up to lead that franchise to MLS and beyond. But, would he do the same for an NASL franchise, in other words, are there more big pocket spenders out there ready to take a chance on the NASL?

Stephon Marbury is the biggest NBA star to play in China.The obvious big difference between the NBA and the NFL when it comes to options for where to play is that there are few other tackle football leagues around the world, but dozens of successful basketball leagues. The NFL players have very little chance of making a living playing tackle football outside of the U.

I'm not planning on preparing a full MLS All Stars game review. I just don't have the time or will to put so much effort in something I never really cared about to begin with. That said, I'm not sure you could call Manchester United's 4-nil win over the MLS All Stars anything other than a crushing defeat.

In what we hope will be a reoccuring section of the site, Ned Hardwood has submitted the first guest column on the site. He writes an article breaking down his thoughts on MLS's use of Designated Players and the DP rule. While "MLS Reserves" does not always agree or disagree with the thoughts of our guest columnists, we do encourage healthy debate and conversations on this topic.

Following Manchester United's 4-1 victory over the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium, Sir Alex Ferguson told the press that a system of promotion and relegation in MLS would help develop soccer in the United States.
The game kicked off Manchester United's U.S. tour and the 2011 Herbalife World Football Challenge, which showcases some of the world's top clubs in friendly matches across the United States.

Welcome to The Weekly Five. Each week I address a topic by presenting a list of five examples that support, oppose or simply relate to the subject.
There is no doubt that the English Premiership, one of the top (if not the) best soccer leagues in the world, is better than Major League Soccer.

Major League Soccer has more extensive rules than most soccer leagues in the world, but they aren't as complicated as say Major League Baseball. The "Reserve" League for example is not run from a seperate roster, but is a collection of guys that didn't play much in the last or next game. But there is a significant issue where MLS could help its teams that have suffered significant long term injuries.

At first glance, Soccer appears to be quite distant from anything related to this week's Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. But there's more to it than meets the eye. The English Premier League is, of course, one of the greatest club Soccer leagues in the world and has been for many years.

Fulham-Blackpool the encounter I watched last Saturday with real attentiveness is, in a weird sort of way, my kind of match. Not that I don't enjoy the big clubs with their expensive workforces: especially when they play one another there's an entertaining Clash of the Titans feel to the enterprise.

I can tell you a great deal about the Chicago Fire and how individual players perform but sometimes it's difficult to get an accurate snapshot for players on other teams. In addition less sources and media coverage existing for MLS players than other American sports and other soccer leagues, soccer has a very limited stat sheet.

From the dreaded "You Snooze, You Lose" department -- my planned essay for the week leading into my dreadfully ill-fated Premier League picks.For the last week or two I'd been bouncing around an idea in my head (truth) how the NBA was becoming about as competitive as the Premier League -- or other major soccer leagues.

Recently I got a chance to read Tobias J. Moskowitz and L. Jon Wertheim's book, Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports are Played and Games are Won. For those that regularly read this blog you know I enjoy statistics and looking at the break down of them when it comes to the game. Moskowitz and Wertheim take an incredibly deep look into statistics and break down many of the stereotypes of sports that most fans think of.

For soccer fans on the go, mobile apps are incredibly useful tools so you can follow your favorite sport wherever there's a cellular connection. So I was particularly interested to see that one of the most popular soccer video sites, 101 Great Goals, had launched an iPhone app recently.

Just this week, Brazilian player Marta was awarded the FIFA Player of the Year award for the 5th consecutive year. As the soccer's number one female athlete, her career is still without obstacles.
After joining the Women's Professional Soccer league from Sweden, her club the L.A. Sol folded after one season.