The [Horribly Unpopular] Soccer Thread

[Talgrath]

Jozy probably sits out the friendlies but should be back for Gold Cup.

That's my feeling too. Time for the young strikers (particularly Aron Johansson, who has looked very good for his club) to show they can put it in the net against top competition.

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

That's my feeling too. Time for the young strikers (particularly Aron Johansson, who has looked very good for his club) to show they can put it in the net against top competition.

Not just him. But Agudelo as well.

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

U-20 men crushed hosts New Zealand 4-0 to lock up advancing to the knockout round.

After Ukraine destroyed Myanmar, New Zealand is seemingly knocked out. With a 10 goal differential to make up vs Ukraine they'd need us to crush Ukraine and them to crush Myanmar. I can't see the US playing in crush mode.

It's really hard to not get too excited about the U-20 squad, there's a lot of promising players on that team. Rubin, Zelalem, Hyndman, Jamieson, Tall, Steffan, Carter-Vickers, yada yada yada. Just so many kids who could be contributors. You have to love that. I'm most excited personally about the first 3 I listed. I think Hyndman may be the next Bradley type but I think he's more talented physically than Bradley. Him and Zelalem coming up at the same time will make things interesting. I was one who pinned Diskerud heavily next WC run, he may lose out if some of these younger guys keep developing. 3 years out would puy Hyndman in his early 20s, same with Zelalem.

I do think as well long term we'll switch to a 4-2-3-1 formation. It just makes sense with all the wide talent we have and guys who can play wide. Bedoya, Green, Zardes, Agudelo, Ibarra, and Gyau being all guys we've seen used out wide. I think we have as well guys we could see there like Zusi, Gil, and Nguyen who probably get bumped from the behind striker position by Zelalem. Then you have Dempsey who will be there if he is healthy. Potential addition of Nagbe who while I don't think will start could be in form at the right time.And then the more defensive guys. Pretty much all our fullbacks but CHandler can play in an more attacking role as well. Garza, Johnson, Shea, and Yedlin have done the job both ways.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

Sepp Blatter to resign. It turns out that he couldn't trust himself, so has fired the slimy bastard.

 

[Grannyknot]

Sepp Blatter to resign. It turns out that he couldn't trust himself, so has fired the slimy bastard.

have to wonder what $h!t is about to hit the fan that caused him to retire.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

have to wonder what $h!t is about to hit the fan that caused him to retire.

Persactly! It's only going to get better.

I had half hoped that he would stay, and it would lead to a complete collapse of FIFA

 

[HoppyDaze]

bubye

 

[Talgrath]

It's a party!

 

[hopstupid]

alex neil is from a town in Scotland where some of my family is from. they are really pumped about his success.

He has brought up 2 teams in two years his record is pretty incredible. I wish I had some Buckfast to Celebrate


Pirlo to NY City is the rumor going around

 

[soccerdad]

4-3 USA !! I was beginning to have my doubts about Michael Bradley, but not today. He certainly was the difference maker with his set up on the winning goal.

 

[Talgrath]

Wow, what a game, if nothing else for USA vs the Netherlands, that game wasn't boring. A historic US win, on Dutch soil, absolutely stunning stuff. And while the US certainly got lucky at times, it's hard to call that game a fluke, without several of their usual starters the US got it done and scored a 4-3 win almost at the death. I've thought for some time our youth recruits are very good, but this game surely proves it. What I found most striking was that Bradley really looked good in this one in an attacking role. He's not quite a true #10, at least not yet, but he put in some excellent balls and as key on two of the goals. Vines of all the goals below.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2487553-netherlands-vs-usa-goals-and-highlights-from-international-friendly

 

[botigol]

What I found most striking was that Bradley really looked good in this one in an attacking role. He's not quite a true #10, at least not yet...

My thought exactly! He's more of a two-way player than a CAM, but he seems to be developing in that direction. The play was much better each time the ball went through him today.

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

My thought exactly! He's more of a two-way player than a CAM, but he seems to be developing in that direction. The play was much better each time the ball went through him today.

I think Klinsmann agrees that he's more of a 2 way player. I still think he's addressing the concern that Mix and Bradley will wind up sitting too comfortably with Mix going forward and Bradley staying deep. I think he's doing this to get both of them out of their normal comfort zone. We saw it with Bradley and Jones, Jones would often maraud forward leaving Bradley behind to cover. If Bradley went forward sometimes Jones would as well leaving the CBs uncovered and I think it exposed Bradley. I have this hunch and I may be wrong the playing Bradley up and other guys who're more attacking minded back is just that. Getting them used to potential scenarios down the road. I think come 2018 Zelalem will be in the number 10 role. But Bradley is our current best option for that role. Even if he's not a traditional CAM, he's certainly got the best vision on the team and is one of the leaders. Basically I'd say he's more Xavi than Iniesta, but us lacking an Iniesta makes us put Bradley out of play. Dempsey may be th eonly one kind of able to fit that role but he's not a distributor. He has some clever tricks that he utilizes, but he can't pick out a long through ball like Bradley.

I think what matters the most is that Bradley's form continues.

We look ahead to the gold cup. I think we are looking at a few things on the depth chart

GK is 2 locks and 2 likelies. The locks are Guzan and Rimando, the likely is Yarbrough or Hamid. I'm guessing Yarbrough so Klinsmann can get him tied to the US.

DF has a few locks. A few of them may move to the MF. I see there being no way that Johnson, Yedlin, Chandler, Shea and Garza are left off the roster. Maybe Chandler gets left off or Garza gets left off but I think Klinsmann will use Fabian or Shea as a wide mid anyway to keep the FB depth strong, I see 2 locks at CB, Gonzalez and Brooks, I see a lot of question marks. No one seems to be willing to jump into that last spot. I'm assuming Cameron will have a more than legit shot at it. I know he's been out of the roster lately but if for no other reason than him being able to play CB, RB, and CDM he should be on the team. And then the last spot, who knows, Alvarado and Orozco both have done well enough to earn a spot but they may not have done well enough to kick someone off.

For the MF, Bradley, Jones, and Diskerud are virtual locks for the center. Jones has the added flexibility of being used as a CB by Klinsmann. I think Morales or Beckerman would be the last choice, not sure who Klinsmann would go with. Out wide I think we go with Fabian, Bedoya, and Zardes. The other potential guys for that role include Ibarra, Green, Zusi, and others as well.

Then comes the question about the 4 fowards, asusming Jozy comes back from his hammy, he and Dempsey are locks as is Johansson. Then you have likelies in the WOndo and Agudelo.

WHat's nice is development has let us get a lot of options. Depending on how US does in U-20 WC, we could see guys from that roster make the GC roster as well. Rubin, Hyndman, and Zelalem being the most likely. This is fun. Lots of options and that's not including some left field guys who haven'ty played for the team in some time.

 

[Hugh_Jass]

I think Klinsmann agrees that he's more of a 2 way player. I still think he's addressing the concern that Mix and Bradley will wind up sitting too comfortably with Mix going forward and Bradley staying deep. I think he's doing this to get both of them out of their normal comfort zone. We saw it with Bradley and Jones, Jones would often maraud forward leaving Bradley behind to cover. If Bradley went forward sometimes Jones would as well leaving the CBs uncovered and I think it exposed Bradley. I have this hunch and I may be wrong the playing Bradley up and other guys who're more attacking minded back is just that. Getting them used to potential scenarios down the road. I think come 2018 Zelalem will be in the number 10 role. But Bradley is our current best option for that role. Even if he's not a traditional CAM, he's certainly got the best vision on the team and is one of the leaders. Basically I'd say he's more Xavi than Iniesta, but us lacking an Iniesta makes us put Bradley out of play. Dempsey may be th eonly one kind of able to fit that role but he's not a distributor. He has some clever tricks that he utilizes, but he can't pick out a long through ball like Bradley.

I think what matters the most is that Bradley's form continues.

We look ahead to the gold cup. I think we are looking at a few things on the depth chart

GK is 2 locks and 2 likelies. The locks are Guzan and Rimando, the likely is Yarbrough or Hamid. I'm guessing Yarbrough so Klinsmann can get him tied to the US.

DF has a few locks. A few of them may move to the MF. I see there being no way that Johnson, Yedlin, Chandler, Shea and Garza are left off the roster. Maybe Chandler gets left off or Garza gets left off but I think Klinsmann will use Fabian or Shea as a wide mid anyway to keep the FB depth strong, I see 2 locks at CB, Gonzalez and Brooks, I see a lot of question marks. No one seems to be willing to jump into that last spot. I'm assuming Cameron will have a more than legit shot at it. I know he's been out of the roster lately but if for no other reason than him being able to play CB, RB, and CDM he should be on the team. And then the last spot, who knows, Alvarado and Orozco both have done well enough to earn a spot but they may not have done well enough to kick someone off.

For the MF, Bradley, Jones, and Diskerud are virtual locks for the center. Jones has the added flexibility of being used as a CB by Klinsmann. I think Morales or Beckerman would be the last choice, not sure who Klinsmann would go with. Out wide I think we go with Fabian, Bedoya, and Zardes. The other potential guys for that role include Ibarra, Green, Zusi, and others as well.

Then comes the question about the 4 fowards, asusming Jozy comes back from his hammy, he and Dempsey are locks as is Johansson. Then you have likelies in the WOndo and Agudelo.

WHat's nice is development has let us get a lot of options. Depending on how US does in U-20 WC, we could see guys from that roster make the GC roster as well. Rubin, Hyndman, and Zelalem being the most likely. This is fun. Lots of options and that's not including some left field guys who haven'ty played for the team in some time.

Agree with most of this. Remember, the last two matches, yedlin has been in the number 8 position. As we witnessed yesterday and in WC play, his speed is killer especially when he gets an open run in the channel. I believe Klinsmann wants to begin to transition yedlin to full time Midfield.

I really enjoy reading your posts. They're very insightful.

 

[Talgrath]

Basically I'd say he's more Xavi than Iniesta, but us lacking an Iniesta makes us put Bradley out of play. Dempsey may be th eonly one kind of able to fit that role but he's not a distributor. He has some clever tricks that he utilizes, but he can't pick out a long through ball like Bradley.

I mostly agree with you, but I'm going to disagree on Dempsey here. It's not that Dempsey can't put in a long ball from attacking mid, in fact I've seen him play some nice long balls with the Sounders, it's that he usually doesn't and that putting him at center attacking mid is a bit of a waste. Dempsey plays best as an underneath forward, interchanging with another forward, he'll occasionally drop back like a CAM but he looks best when he's near the 18 and he can slide a tricky ball to another forward past the defenders. If I'm a coach, I'd much rather have Dempsey up top, pinging in shots from the 18 or so and playing through balls to a second forward than at CAM.

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

I mostly agree with you, but I'm going to disagree on Dempsey here. It's not that Dempsey can't put in a long ball from attacking mid, in fact I've seen him play some nice long balls with the Sounders, it's that he usually doesn't and that putting him at center attacking mid is a bit of a waste. Dempsey plays best as an underneath forward, interchanging with another forward, he'll occasionally drop back like a CAM but he looks best when he's near the 18 and he can slide a tricky ball to another forward past the defenders. If I'm a coach, I'd much rather have Dempsey up top, pinging in shots from the 18 or so and playing through balls to a second forward than at CAM.

When I'm talking about through balls, I'm not just talking about long ones. Bradley has the vision and ability to make all passes. Long, short, over, through, etc. I agree with you about Dempsey and working with the striker though. Dempsey loves to score, Bradley loves to create. I think he could be a number 10 if he wanted to though. But I think he prefers being a support striker.

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

Agree with most of this. Remember, the last two matches, yedlin has been in the number 8 position. As we witnessed yesterday and in WC play, his speed is killer especially when he gets an open run in the channel. I believe Klinsmann wants to begin to transition yedlin to full time Midfield. .

I dunno, I prefer Yedlin's potential as a fullback. I mean if he's better at RM then great. But I'd prefer him as a RB. I see what guys like Cherundolo can do offensively and defensively and drool at that potential. THere's 2 other options of course. Assume Garza/Shea and Chandler all develop into quality players. Than we could consider moving Yedlin to RM as most of an attacker as I think he has more creativity than all of them but Shea.

 

[Talgrath]

This week was a bad look for MLS, hoo boy, let's get to it.

1. The Referee Situation Needs to Be Fixed
I could focus and rant about all the bad calls this week, the two shaky red cards in San Jose vs Dallas (that last one to Koval was absolutely correct) and the various refereeing mistakes by Baldomero "Wild Card" Toledo that led to that point. I could rant about two terrible calls that essentially handed Sporting KC a win against the Sounders, a phantom offside call and a bad penalty call, for those that missed the game. I could talk about how the ref in RSL vs Colorado Rapids essentially allowed both teams to foul each other all over the field for most of the match, but none of that would be terribly productive. Instead, I think that it's time to look at the (conveniently timed by MLS) article for "referee week" on the MLS website.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/referee/news/article/2011/10/12/ref-week-former-players-reluctant-switch-allegiances

It's a bit of an interesting read, one filled with irony. Players and coaches want people who have played the game to referee, but players won't become referees because it would be viewed badly by their former colleagues. I've been a referee before, at the amateur level, and it really is a thankless job, even if you're just the ref for little kids people don't like the ref; give a (deserved) red card to someone's perfect little snowflake only if you're ready to confront an angry dad who will have to be held back by the other parents as he shouts profanities unfit for 14 year old ears. People only notice the ref, usually, if they do something wrong and the entire match they'll get berated, usually unnecessarily by players, fans and coaches, even when the call is the right one. Add in that, usually, referees are pretty poorly paid by comparison; even the most experienced MLS refs get a mere $1,100 per game (about $38,000 per year), unless refereeing a playoff match. So maybe the fix isn't just saying we want players to ref or that we want better refs, maybe the key is to make the job a better one; berate the refs less and pay them a little more and maybe you'll get more competent people.

2. Portland Gets Their First Ever 3 Game Win Streak
Portland, with their win over the New England Revolution, have recorded their first ever MLS 3 game win streak. Having Wil Johnson back certainly seems to help, but it seems like the run is more than just that. Asprilla is, arguably, playing his best soccer so far this year, Nagbe is actually making good runs and Adi is coming on as a super sub that scores goals and gives defenders fits. With all of that said, this run of form has been primarily off of the backs of out of form opponents, with the exception of the 1-0 win over DC United Portland beat Colorado (bottom feeders of the west) and a wounded and incomplete Revolution side, at home. Upcoming matches away against LA and against the Quakes and Sounders at home should tell us a lot more about this team.

3. The Impact Make an Impact
Montreal continues to surprise this season, their gritty 2-1 away win against Columbus has put them up to 6th in the eastern standings, but that is with 6 games in hand against the current #1 in the east (and several other eastern teams). Montreal currently has 1.4 points per game, good enough for a tie for third with the Revolution in the east, while their wins aren't usually the prettiest, they still seem to get things done. The Impact's upcoming schedule is also filled with squishy teams, the next four are against NYCFC, Orlando SC, Toronto FC and Philadelphia, if they can get a result against Toronto the remaining games should let the Impact rise up into the playoff spots. For Columbus, I thought they might be the best in the east at one point, but their form has dropped off significantly, they're now in danger of dropping out of the playoff spots unless they can find a solution and soon.

4. International Call Ups Are Still a Problem
It bears repeating here, MLS why can't you get take these international breaks off? If Montreal Impact can squeeze in a third of a season in the space of the quarter of one, you can certainly squeeze in a week off here and there for international call ups. Dallas was without star striker Blais Perez, the Sounders would have been without Clint Dempsey if he wasn't already gone for the birth of his son and they were without Brad Evans, Michael Bradley at Toronto, Mix Diskerud was missing from NYCFC and Break Shea from OCSC; these guys are some of your biggest names and they were all out due to international duties. I understand not taking time off for the U-20s, but at least take the week off for these friendlies. These are your biggest stars and you're missing them (and the dollars they bring in) out of stubbornness.

5. The Sounder Have Scary Depth At Midfield
With Dempsey, Martins and Barrett out up front the Sounders deployed a 4-5-1 (or a 4-2-3-1, depending on how you want to look at it) in their match against Sporting KC. Despite missing their DP defensive mid Ozzie Alonso on a conduct suspension the Sounders midfield was formidable, pretty much any of the Sounders starting 11 on Saturday at midfield would get play elsewhere, Rose, Azira, Roldan, Pappa and Pineda all had very good games. If the Sounders' bet on the Brazilian Thomas pays off they could have the scariest midfield in MLS.

 

[Talgrath]

Hop on the hype train! USA 2-Germany 1 from another late stunner from Bobby Wood. I wasn't able to see much of the game due to being unable to stream it, but from what little I saw seemed to indicate another good game from Bradley, if he can stay this comfortable for the Gold Cup the US should pick up another Gold Cup trophy.

 

[Hugh_Jass]

Here's a link to video of the Diskerud goal. It's nice to see the US moving toward a possession style game when playing a quality opponent. Much preferred to park the bus and counter.
[ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ofZ0Ueocl7I[/ame]

 

[Hugh_Jass]

Hop on the hype train! USA 2-Germany 1 from another late stunner from Bobby Wood. I wasn't able to see much of the game due to being unable to stream it, but from what little I saw seemed to indicate another good game from Bradley, if he can stay this comfortable for the Gold Cup the US should pick up another Gold Cup trophy.

I wonder if Klinsmann regrets leaving Bobby Wood off the Gold Cup roster....

 

[Talgrath]

I wonder if Klinsmann regrets leaving Bobby Wood off the Gold Cup roster....

Well, the claim is that he is trying to sort out his club situation, so it's more of a mutual thing. Beyond that, a couple of (very good) goals does not a consistent starter during a big tournament make. One of the biggest advantages that young guys have is nobody knows what to expect out of them so nobody can really study up on them, the key to seeing how good someone really is is to see them after they are a known quantity.

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

Well, the claim is that he is trying to sort out his club situation, so it's more of a mutual thing. Beyond that, a couple of (very good) goals does not a consistent starter during a big tournament make. One of the biggest advantages that young guys have is nobody knows what to expect out of them so nobody can really study up on them, the key to seeing how good someone really is is to see them after they are a known quantity.

It was certainly mutual. No other reason to include Alan Gordon who has 1 national team cap at 33. I'm not saying Gordon won't serve a purpose (will probably be used as practice target man)

 

[Talgrath]

It was certainly mutual. No other reason to include Alan Gordon who has 1 national team cap at 33. I'm not saying Gordon won't serve a purpose (will probably be used as practice target man)

Oh absolutely. I think it's pretty unlikely that Gordon actually hits the pitch in the Gold Cup, he's a good target forward on corners and long balls but he's also way too slow/old to do much at the international level, in my opinion.

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

Oh absolutely. I think it's pretty unlikely that Gordon actually hits the pitch in the Gold Cup, he's a good target forward on corners and long balls but he's also way too slow/old to do much at the international level, in my opinion.

I think Gordon will play in the camp to get guys used to target men. Sharpen up set piece defense. So on so forth.

Just a cracking guess, based on the men on the team, I'd say the 23 assuming health are (basically my opinion on the best players)

GK - Guzan, Rimando, Yarbrough (Hamid may be better, but this cap ties Yarbrough)
DF - Besler, Gonzo, Brooks, Chandler, Yedlin, Shea, Garza - Beasley may get in there for Vet as the 23rd man, I can't see anyone from that 7 not making it. Chandler maybe, but he's solid at LB.
MF - Bradley, Bedoya, Mix, Johnson, Beckerman, Morales, Zusi 0 Not sure about Graham as he hasn't been featured much lately, but that could be similar to Jurgen not using Gonzalez, his club team needed him and he knew what he has with him.
FW - Jozy, Dempsey, Zardes, Morris, Johannson, Agudelo - On my roster, Juan is the 23rd man. I can see him being replaced by Beasley, Wondo, Nguyen, Davis or Alvarado. I don't think we need to carry 4 center backs. I don't think we need Beasley or Davis, and I take Agudelo's versatility for Wondo's poaching. Wondo does one thing well and that's get into dangerous positions. He's like a poor man's Clint Dempsey. To me it's likely Johannson takes that role off the bench as the poacher, and I'd take Agudelo's versatility to strike or wing.

My best guess roster for game 1

GK - Guzan
RB - Yedlin
CB - Brooks
CB - Gonzo
LB - Chandler
CDM - Mix
RM - Johnson
LM - Bedoya
CAM - Bradley
CF - Dempsey
ST - Jozy

My personal choice lineup would be

GK - Guzan
RB - Johnson
CB - Brooks
CB - Gonzo
LB - Garza
CM - Bradley
CM - Mix
CM - Bedoya
RW - Zardes
ST - Jozy
LW - Dempsey

Dempsey is a bit out of position. And Jozy is better being a lone wolf but I love the potential of that lineup. 2 of the CMs have the luxury to join in the attack most of the time, with the other conducting play from the back, Both fullbacks have the potential to attack, then you have Dempsey slightly out of position but he would basicalyl not really cover back too much, and he would from the left side have the ability to come in on his right foot and do some damage.

Then when it comes sub time, we're already in a formation that benefits Beckerman (bring him on for Mix and let Bedoya and Bradley really come forward) we can use Shea in for Dempsey or Zardes and move dempsey to the right side same thing with Yedlin as both are dangerous as mids who attack and not true forwards.

 

[Talgrath]

I mostly agree with you there, but let me offer an alternative at keeper, Rimando OUT and Hamid and Yarbrough in. Getting Yarbrough cap tied is important, Hamid is just as good, if not better than Rimando (personally, I think Hamid is the best keeper in MLS right now) and Rimando is definitely not the future as he's even older than Guzan, get the young bucks some experience and Hamid is a perfectly valid replacement for Guzan if it is necessary.

I'm going to disagree that Yedlin shouldn't be RB, even though I think Johnson has better positioning, Yedlin is such an amazing athlete that I think I'd rather have him slightly out of position than Johnson getting better positioning.

At midfield, I think this is Beckerhman's time at defensive mid. With Jones out, the only US DM outside of Bradley (who Klinsmann is using as a #10) is Kitchen and Beckerman, I think Kitchen is the sub/back up and Beckerman is the main defensive mid. I think Mix will slot in on the right as he did vs the Netherlands and Germany, Klinsmann wants him to be a #10 but he just isn't there yet.

Hard to argue with the up top duo though, barring injury I expect to see Dempsey playing underneath Altidore, as long as Dempsey can put some through passes into Altidore we'll do well.

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

I think RImando makes it as a veteran presence and lockeroom leadership. Could be wrong and I agree with your points. Rimando may not be better than Yarbrough or Hamid now and certainly isn't a prospect in the future.

 

[Talgrath]

Very true, I suppose we'll see; I strongly agree that we're going to try to get Yarbrough cap tied though.

 

[Talgrath]

This was a short week in MLS, here are my thoughts:

1. That's a Penalty
The announcers didn't think it was during the Orlando vs DC game, but that was definitely a penalty: (If the video doesn't go to the proper spot, skip to 0:37 to see the penalty call)

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=intl:2492337&startTime=00:37

Maybe Ribeiro goes down a little easily, but then again he's hit from behind. Either way, you don't get to knock people off the ball like that when they have position, and really it's a stupid foul. Ribeiro is facing away from goal towards the end line, just keep him from turning, there's no reason to bowl him over. Aside from the stupid penalty give away by Kemp the game was closely contested and could have gone either way, but DC United didn't look like a team that was trying to get back into the game, of course, DC has also played 5 games in 15 days, so exhaustion combined with heat (it was the first game in MLS history to use water breaks) probably contributed to that.

2. Sounders Remain Scary, Dallas Continues to Slide
The Sounders remain one of the, if not the, most scary team to play against in MLS. While Dallas played a very good first half, in the second half the Sounders found their mojo and put in 3 goals (in 3 shots on goal) including the first goal in five years from Leo Gonzalez. The Sounders remain the most accurate team in MLS, putting in very few shots and shots on goal, but scoring off of most of them, combined with their passing accuracy they are scary good at putting the ball where they want it to go. Dallas, on the other hand, has cooled off since their early season dominance, Dallas hasn't won since their May 9th victory over the LA Galaxy and includes two 3+ goal losses now. Not so coincidentally Matt Hedges has been out since May 9th with a hamstring injury, and the back line has been banged up in general for the last few weeks.

3. The West is a Brawl, Why Isn't the East?
The west remains incredibly close, the difference between first and 6th is a mere 7 points and the bottom three of the playoff spots are all at 22 points; so why isn't the east? Arguably the biggest reason is that the eastern teams are spending a lot less money than their western counterparts. Outside of Toronto and Orlando City, and to a lesser extent, Montreal Impact and New England Revolution there aren't a lot of DPs in the east and most of those DPs aren't being paid significant sums of money. The reason for less spending in the east is that is that there is less money to go around, the east coast is saturated with teams to root for that aren't soccer teams, plus soccer fans in the east are more likely to root for foreign teams, usually in the EPL, as they are closer in time zone to them. What's more, as a general rule, the people in charge of western teams seem to be better organized and more clear in what they want to do, organizational strength is immensely important to a successful sports team, no matter the sport. In any case, DC is, for the moment, running away with it in the east despite their loss and the Revolution look like the only team that can catch up in the near future, but don't count out the Canadian teams, Toronto has only played 12 games and Montreal has only played 11,

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

Very true, I suppose we'll see; I strongly agree that we're going to try to get Yarbrough cap tied though.

I think we'll work on captying a few guys to the senior squad this year. Yarbrough, Tali, and Carter-Vickers I think will all be cap tied before the end of the year. I know the former are tied from the U-20 world cup but showing them heavy senior interest could convince them to stay with the Yanks. The pure potential of Tali and Carter-Vickers is enough to get me drooling.

 

[Tamarlane]

Copa America off to a thrilling-slash-heartbreaking-slash-frustrating start. Looking forward to Chile-Mexico but Brazil-Colombia should be intense. Definitely game to watch this week. Vamos cafeteros!

 

[Qhrumphf]

Premier League fixtures for 15/16 are out.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/33141588


Also this is a fun read: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/transfers-40-players-need-rescuing-5892719

 

[Mongrel]

2. Sounders Remain Scary...

A lot less so now

Seattle Sounders' Clint Dempsey may face suspension after ripping ref's notebook in Open Cup meltdown

 

[Talgrath]

Very possibly so, but it's worth noting too that if Dempsey is out for the Sounders...he's out for USA at the Gold Cup too. I find it ironic that US Soccer, arguably the group most responsible for the situation, is the one that decides Dempsey's fate. US Soccer, for a match up between the biggest rivals in MLS, decided to put in a ref with only 8 games as center ref under his belt in which he put out an astounding 45 yellow cards and 5 red cards (he's now at 52 yellows and 8 reds in 9 games). If Dempsey is out that's a major blow to the USMNT, but if they don't deal out what seems to be the required suspension it looks suspiciously like favoritism.

 

[Mongrel]

Whether or not the ref is card happy or not doesn't really matter at this point. Dempsey acted like a twat, and he's going to have to be suspended.

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

Very possibly so, but it's worth noting too that if Dempsey is out for the Sounders...he's out for USA at the Gold Cup too. I find it ironic that US Soccer, arguably the group most responsible for the situation, is the one that decides Dempsey's fate. US Soccer, for a match up between the biggest rivals in MLS, decided to put in a ref with only 8 games as center ref under his belt in which he put out an astounding 45 yellow cards and 5 red cards (he's now at 52 yellows and 8 reds in 9 games). If Dempsey is out that's a major blow to the USMNT, but if they don't deal out what seems to be the required suspension it looks suspiciously like favoritism.

Dempsey being out may be a blessing in disguise.

Imagine instead of a 4-4-2 it's a 4-1-4-1 letting both Bradley and Mix get forward while Beckerman/Morales cover the CBs. Dempsey is obviously a better goal scoring threat than either of them. But with their creativity, they could really create some chances for Jozy.

 

[Talgrath]

Dempsey being out may be a blessing in disguise.

Imagine instead of a 4-4-2 it's a 4-1-4-1 letting both Bradley and Mix get forward while Beckerman/Morales cover the CBs. Dempsey is obviously a better goal scoring threat than either of them. But with their creativity, they could really create some chances for Jozy.

Admittedly, I don't think Dempsey being out would be the end of the world for the US in the Gold Cup, he isn't quite the star player he once was. On the other hand, he's still a very valuable player to have. You are right that the US should still do just fine at the Gold Cup though.

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

Dempsey is still a very talented player. But I think Dempsey and Bradley don't mesh well. It seems like when they're both on the pitch Bradley has played worse. When it's just Bradley he is much better. At least lately.

 

[kingwood-kid]

Just want to throw a little love at the Women's World Cup, and especially to Megan Rapinoe.

 

[Talgrath]

Dempsey is still a very talented player. But I think Dempsey and Bradley don't mesh well. It seems like when they're both on the pitch Bradley has played worse. When it's just Bradley he is much better. At least lately.

True, I think it's because Dempsey is one of those strikers that drops into the midfield sometimes, which throws Bradley off a bit as he doesn't know how the interplay works now, since he doesn't usually play offensive mid.