One Strike and You're Out: The 2015 MLS In-Season Thread

[Titans Bastard]

The transfer window closes tomorrow.
 
- NYRB purchased attacking midfielder Gonzalo Verón from San Lorenzo for a reported $2.2m.  He's 25, was on the San Lorenzo team that won Copa Libertadores, but seems to have been hampered by knee injuries from time to time.  Not sure how well or not he'll work out, but NYRB should definitely benefit from adding Verón and SWP to their wing options.  Sam/Grella/Zizzo can only take you so far.
 
- DeKalb County approved a $30m training facility for Atlanta United.  It comes with a 3,500 stadium, which smells like a USL affiliate to me.  Renderings here.  It definitely feels like Atlanta has their shit together far more than LAFC, to say nothing of Miami.
 
- LA signed defender David Romney to an MLS contract; he'd been with their USL team after signing out of college.  Apparently he's Mitt Romney's second cousin twice removed....or something along those lines.
 
- There's been a little cleaning of deadwood to clear roster space.  Bright Dike (Toronto), Guly do Prado (Chicago), and Martin Paterson (Orlando) have been released.  Injury-prone, bad, and injury-prone + bad respectively.  SJ loaned out Khari Stephenson to San Antonio for the rest of the season.
 
- And the Revs update...
 
https://twitter.com/jeff_lemieux/status/628627866805256192
 
 
This team desperately needs a center back and adding a right back option wouldn't hurt either.  However, from the way Heaps is quoted it doesn't sound particularly promising.  Erstwhile transfer target Marvin Ceballos has signed with Indy Eleven.  That's okay with me - he had an unimpressive resume, didn't play a position of need, and it seems the Revs were mostly trying to shop his MLS rights around.
 
But it's been over half a year since A.J. Soares left for Norway.  They had tons of time over the winter to sign someone and didn't.  They had all spring to prepare for the summer window and apparently didn't.  Gonçalves could really use some competition, but as it stands now if he or Farrell get injured for a significant period of time we're screwed.  Poor planning, no initiative or ambition.

 

[soxfan121]

Bright Dike? For reals?

 

[Titans Bastard]

Bright Dike? For reals?

 
It's pronounced DEE-kay.  
 
From Oklahoma and of Nigerian descent.  He has two caps for Nigeria and even scored against Italy in a friendly, but his career for club and country has gone downhill since then because of injuries.
 
His sister Courtney played for Nigeria in the WWC this year.

 

[Titans Bastard]

Today in CONCACAF....
 
This was called a PK:
 
https://twitter.com/LAGalaxy/status/629478305566060544
 
Then this:
 
https://twitter.com/LAGalaxy/status/629484431753936896

 

[Titans Bastard]

Galaxy up 3-1 on Central FC of Trinidad in their CCL opener.  Central is starting a 28 year old Trinidadian defender named Elton John.  LA going with the B team + Zardes.  Gio Dos Santos is on the bench and is supposed to make his debut, but maybe Bruce will decide that he doesn't want his latest signing to be hacked to pieces within 10 minutes.
 
But as a type, he's coming on for Alan Gordon.

 

[Titans Bastard]

Gio scores

 

[sachmoney]

The Krafts are working with Goldman Sachs to finance a new stadium: http://www.boston.com/business/news/2015/08/05/the-krafts-have-brought-financial-heavy-hitter-for-soccer-stadium-plan/75FQsSLG5OJO8wCPgu8g7L/story.html

 

[Titans Bastard]

Solid results to open the new CCL:
 
Municipal (GUA) 0-1 Salt Lake
Vancouver 1-1 Seattle
Los Angeles 5-1 Central (TRI)
 
RSL's win wasn't comfortable, but they got the job done on the road.  LA's B team crushed Central, while the Whitecaps and Sounders both trotted out weak lineups and played to a draw.
 
 
The transfer window closed yesterday, although it is expected that there will be more signing announcements trickling through - the paperwork had to be filed by 5pm.  Also, free agents are fair game until mid September, I think.
 
- San Jose signed Panamanian midfielder Aníbal Godoy.  He's 25, most recently played in Hungary, and has 61 caps.
 
- Columbus signed a 25 year old Argentine CB, Gastón Sauro.  He's played for Boca Juniors, Basel, and last season was on loan at Catania in Serie B.  The Crew's CBs (Parkhurst, Pogatetz, and Wahl) have been struggling lately.
 
- The Crew also shipped Adam Bedell to Orlando for a 2nd round draft pick and released defender Kalen Ryden.  Bedell is the biggest dude in MLS at 6'7", but he's kind of a big lump of a center forward.
 
- SKC signed Jordi Quintillà, a 21 year old Spanish attacking midfielder.  He came through Barcelona's academy, but went on loan to lower division Spanish clubs instead of playing for Barca B.  He spent last season with Ajaccio in Ligue 2.  It seems like they are trying to find another diamond in the rough as they did with Uri Rosell (also a lower level Barca reject).
 
- Chicago brought in Daneil Cyrus, a 24 year old Trinidadian defender, on loan.  He was briefly on loan with SKC in 2011, and has since played in Trinidad with a loan stint in Vietnam.  42 caps for T&T.
 
- DC traded forward Michael Seaton to Portland.  Seaton signed out of their academy in 2013 and is still only 19, but DCU seems to have lost interest in him a while ago.  He spent the first half of the season on loan in Sweden at Örebro but didn't have much success.  He's a dual national, but plays with Jamaica and was on their Gold Cup team.

 

[Titans Bastard]

More stuff:
 
 
- Herculez Gomez has signed with Toronto FC, making his return to MLS (last played in 2009 for KC).  At 33 he's well past his peak, but Toronto won't need to lean on him too heavily with the rest of their strike force.
 
- Seattle signed Nelson Valdez.  The Sounders have really struggled in the absence of Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins; Valdez should be a huge upgrade on their backup options.  He's 31 and joins on a free after his contract with Eintracht Frankfurt expired.  He missed most of last season, but recovered in time to start four games for Paraguay in this summer's Copa America.  He looks like a pretty big signing, especially with the strain of the CCL on Seattle's travel schedule.
 
- Vancouver signed Costa Rican right back Jordan Smith.  A 24 year old who comes on loan from Deportivo Saprissa.  Steven Beitashour is the incumbent starter, I guess they weren't happy with Ethen Sampson as depth.  (Note to Revs: this is what the good teams do.)
 
- Toronto traded Warren Creavalle to Philadelphia for a 2nd round pick.  He was unnecessary after they added Josh Williams.  Philly needed fullback depth after trading Sheanon Williams, although Creavalle is probably better in the midfield.

 

[Cellar-Door]

Montreal outshot DC 25-1 and lost.

 

[soxfan121]

Montreal outshot DC 25-1 and lost.

 
Hamid in goal? Does he get the USMNT's Rimando spot soon?

 

[Titans Bastard]

Montreal outshot DC 25-1 and lost.

 
https://twitter.com/MLS/status/630197407050014720
 
 
That's pretty amazing.  DC has a habit of getting three points out of games they have no business winning, though.
 

 
Hamid in goal? Does he get the USMNT's Rimando spot soon?

 
It was his first game back from injury.  And yes, he should be the #2

 

[OCST]

Just watched NYRB-NYCFC.  NYRB won 2-0.
 
Electric atmosphere - to say the crowd was into it would be putting it mildly.  Felt like.... a derby.   Great stuff.

 

[Turrable]

That's insane from D.C., sad I missed it. Last week's 6-4 was probably the most insane thing I've ever seen live. As a fan it's like one of those crazy fifa rolls where the game just cheats for you. Didn't think they'd have a chance without Hamid, they go down 2-0 early two straight games, they come back and win both games. Now he's back and apparently we're back to scraping by and letting him do all the heavy lifting.

The catch, as always, is it doesn't mean shit if they choke again in the playoffs.

 

[Titans Bastard]

Just watched NYRB-NYCFC.  NYRB won 2-0.
 
Electric atmosphere - to say the crowd was into it would be putting it mildly.  Felt like.... a derby.   Great stuff.

 
The NY games have been a lot of fun this season.  Derby atmosphere indeed, replete with pregame violence between some wannabe-hooligans that hopefully won't be repeated.
 
That NYCFC midfield looked absolutely glacial in the second half.  Kreis has some work cut out for him to balance his lineup.  Lampard and Pirlo need time to settle in and build fitness; NYCFC only had two completed passes between the two of them.  Dax McCarty was better than both of them last night and it wasn't close.  Schadenfreude.
 
It's kind of funny that NYCFC is making the same roster construction mistakes that NYRB always did, albeit on a more extravagant scale.  NYRB suddenly has something like the second lowest payroll in the league now (IIRC they were last, but jumped ahead of Dallas because of Veron and SWP) and they're better than most years.  I have to say, I thought losing Henry would hurt more, but Marsch has done a good job.
 
I'm really bullish about Matt Miazga's future.  He has improved so much in the last 9-12 months, it's incredible.

 

[Jimy Hendrix]

The NY games have been a lot of fun this season.  Derby atmosphere indeed, replete with pregame violence between some wannabe-hooligans that hopefully won't be repeated.
 
That NYCFC midfield looked absolutely glacial in the second half.  Kreis has some work cut out for him to balance his lineup.  Lampard and Pirlo need time to settle in and build fitness; NYCFC only had two completed passes between the two of them.  Dax McCarty was better than both of them last night and it wasn't close.  Schadenfreude.
 
It's kind of funny that NYCFC is making the same roster construction mistakes that NYRB always did, albeit on a more extravagant scale.  NYRB suddenly has something like the second lowest payroll in the league now (IIRC they were last, but jumped ahead of Dallas because of Veron and SWP) and they're better than most years.  I have to say, I thought losing Henry would hurt more, but Marsch has done a good job.
 
I'm really bullish about Matt Miazga's future.  He has improved so much in the last 9-12 months, it's incredible.

Watching both tournaments this summer, I came out a lot more bullish on the future of the Miazga/Carter-Vickers CB pairing than any of the senior team ones that were trotted out.

 

[Titans Bastard]

 
FC Cincinnati will be announced tomorrow as the latest USL expansion club.
 
They're owned by the Lindner family, so undercapitalization isn't exactly a worry as long as the Lindners maintain interest.  They are reported to be playing at the University of Cincinnati.  John Harkes is widely expected to be named manager.
 
 
This is the second new team to be announced for 2016, following the Rio Grande Valley team based in Edinburg, TX, taking the USL to 26 teams.  There should be at least one more, as Orlando has made a lot of noise about adding a second team to the league.  The USL's growth has been pretty remarkable; there were six clubs in the third division of American soccer in 2010.  And while there are some stragglers, most independent clubs are doing fairly well off the field in terms of attendance.  Newer teams like St. Louis, Tulsa and OKC are averaging >4k and Louisville is averaging >6k, which is good stuff for that level, and of course Sacramento is killing it with >11k.
 
The key strategic decision for the USL was the MLS/USL partnership and the subsequent emergence of a number of MLS second teams in the league.  Starting this season, there was enough national coverage and west-of-the-Mississippi presence to regionalize the schedule, which has huge cost savings for travel.
 
The more successful minor clubs, the merrier.  More jobs for domestic players, more developmental opportunities for young players, more local professional soccer for fans, more likelihood that players won't slip through the cracks of the US system.

 

[Titans Bastard]

On  the NASL front, Paolo Maldini's Miami FC revealed their crest today:
 

 
 
 
Miami is a risky bet for the NASL because of fellow NASL club Fort Lauderdale Strikers just up the road and the potential advent of the MLS Miami Beckhams in a few years (even if that looks less and less likely to happen).  Too early to tell if this ownership group knows what it is doing or not.
 
NASL clubs average somewhat higher attendances than the USL, but they don't have a national reach (no US teams in Mountain Time or Pacific Time) and they are going to lose a couple of their franchises soon, with Minnesota United moving to MLS and the league-owned Atlanta Silverbacks set to be crushed by Atlanta United.  Miami FC and Carmelo Anthony's Puerto Rico team are coming in, but both are uncertain bets for success.  If I were the NASL, I'd be a little worried about the rising USL.  There's not much distinction between D2 and D3 in terms of whether fans will come out and the value proposition in terms of travel is much better for the USL now.

 

[dirtynine]

As an interesting sidelight to that issue, the NASL commissioner has come out strongly "pro" pro/rel.  Maybe he thinks that's the best way to take on MLS.  
 
I'm a pro/rel fan in the abstract, but a realist. It's going to take 40 some odd fanatically-supported teams across the country - and probably the introduction of some kind of regionalization - to make it anywhere near realistic.  
 
If and when we get to that point, MLS and the other leagues will have to figure something out.  But pro/rel is a solution to "too many markets / not enough spots in the league" problem, one we don't yet have in America and may never have.  

 

[Titans Bastard]

Watching both tournaments this summer, I came out a lot more bullish on the future of the Miazga/Carter-Vickers CB pairing than any of the senior team ones that were trotted out.

 
There's a nice piece on Miazga on ESPNFC today.
 
Meanwhile, CCV captained Spurs U21 season opener despite being the second youngest player in the lineup.  There are a lot of other promising CBs in Carter-Vickers' age cohort as well.
 

As an interesting sidelight to that issue, the NASL commissioner has come out strongly "pro" pro/rel.  Maybe he thinks that's the best way to take on MLS.  
 
I'm a pro/rel fan in the abstract, but a realist. It's going to take 40 some odd fanatically-supported teams across the country - and probably the introduction of some kind of regionalization - to make it anywhere near realistic.  
 
If and when we get to that point, MLS and the other leagues will have to figure something out.  But pro/rel is a solution to "too many markets / not enough spots in the league" problem, one we don't yet have in America and may never have.  

 
 
I agree with your sentiment.
 
Bill Peterson is either a buffoon, desperate for attention, or both.  I think he talks about pro/rel because it gets him and his league some digital ink.  The NASL has bigger problems - in the linked article he finally acknowledged what was obvious to all observers, which is that announced expansion teams in Virginia and Oklahoma City are dead before ever taking the field.  Virginia was dysfunctional and in the OKC market they were simply beaten out by the USL.  Miami and Puerto Rico aren't guaranteed to pan out, Atlanta and Minnesota aren't long for the league, and there's a chance Ottawa and Edmonton could bolt for a rumored Canadian league.  Hartford is supposed to be coming in for 2017, but there's nothing in the western half of the country.
 
There's a core of decent-to-strong franchises in Indianapolis, San Antonio, Raleigh/Cary, Jacksonville, Tampa, and the Cosmos.  Worst case scenario for them is that they'd be absorbed by a resurgent USL.  Indy and SA could be candidates for a future round of MLS expansion.
 
If the number of viable minor league clubs continues to grow at the current pace and they're consolidated under one league, I could potentially see an experiment with promotion and relegation between a D2 and D3.  But even then, maintaining one giant league that's regionalized will be a lot more appealing to travel budgets of its member clubs.  As you say, there needs to be a lot more interest/support in additional markets, not to mention deeper-pocketed ownership and infrastructure (stadia).
 
For MLS, I think there's zero chance there would ever be pro/rel between MLS and another league.  If it ever happens, there would be a new D2 under the MLS umbrella and administration.  Maybe they'd pick off some of the stronger franchises from other minor leagues -- a.k.a. the J.League model.

 

[dirtynine]

Totally agree.  J-League is the only model that might feasibly make sense for MLS, and even then I can see some hedging (the best D2 team makes the D1 playoffs! or some other Garber-esque invention).  If the Open Cup meant more, or comes to mean more, perhaps the fact that there are still meaningful trophies to win if you're not in D1 will be lessen the "stigma" of being outside the top league.  I do think domestic relegation battles would captivate American audiences.  
 
NASL vs. USL is confusing to me, and I actually care about this stuff.  The underbelly of American soccer is a weird place.  

 

[Arroyo Con Frijoles]

I actually thought that Hartford was targeting a USL team, but I'm not sure it'll make a hell of a lot of difference to people in the area.  That's a market that should work, I think.  

 

[Titans Bastard]

Totally agree.  J-League is the only model that might feasibly make sense for MLS, and even then I can see some hedging (the best D2 team makes the D1 playoffs! or some other Garber-esque invention).  If the Open Cup meant more, or comes to mean more, perhaps the fact that there are still meaningful trophies to win if you're not in D1 will be lessen the "stigma" of being outside the top league.  I do think domestic relegation battles would captivate American audiences.  
 
NASL vs. USL is confusing to me, and I actually care about this stuff.  The underbelly of American soccer is a weird place.  

 
Indeed.  There is a long, confusing history to minor league soccer in the US.
 
The USL was actually founded as a regional indoor soccer league in the Southwest in the mid-1980s and went through a series of names, eventually landing on USISL and by 1995 established a D3 pro league and an amateur summer league that is now known as the PDL.  In 1996, they established a second pro league called the "Select League" by pulling the stronger teams from their existing leagues in hopes of getting D2 sanctioning from the USSF.
 
The next year (1997), the Select League merged with the existing D2 A-League and for the next 12 years the USL (renamed from USISL in 1999) ran a D2 and D3 pro league.  The USL was the only pro minor league entity for this period.  In 2005, the D2 A-League and D3 Pro League were renamed the USL First Division and USL Second Division respectively.
 
In 2009, Nike sold the USL to a new group called NuRock Holdings.  Making a long story short, a bunch of clubs were unhappy and left the league, forming the NASL.  In 2010, neither the NASL nor the USL D2 had enough teams to form a league, so the USSF forced them to all play together in the "USSF D2 Pro League".  By 2011, a few additional USL clubs got out from under contractual obligations and joined the NASL.  From that point on, NASL has been D2 and the few remaining USL D2 clubs dropped into the USL D3 league, now called USL Pro.  The USL now runs only one pro league (D3), which this season renamed from USL Pro to just USL.
 
I definitely can't claim that I was following minor league soccer in the 1990s, but from what I can tell and from what I've heard it was a total wild west.  In 1998, there were 28 teams in D2 and 39 teams in D3.  Very few were sustainable and most disappeared within a few years.  In those days - as well as much of the 2000s - the USL was notorious for collecting expansion fees wherever they could and did little to vet ownership groups.  You can see the rise and fall of club numbers here.
 
Dave Litterer's American Soccer Archive is a fantastic resource as well, although perhaps not one for the faint of heart.
 
--
 
Beyond the pro scene, there are a couple of national summer amateur leagues - the PDL (which is also run by the USL) and NPSL.  These are more or less considered the de facto D4, although it's not official.  Both leagues get quite a few qualification spots in the early rounds of the US Open Cup.  If NASL is like AAA and USL is like AA, these leagues are more like the Cape Cod League than Single-A.  They are amateur and most of the players are drawn from the college ranks, although there are older players as well.  They are national leagues, but clubs play highly regionalized schedules until the playoffs.
 
There are a handful of well-run PDL and NPSL clubs that actually draw crowds - Detroit, Chattanooga, and Nashville (NPSL) and Fresno and Des Moines (PDL) and probably a couple of others that I don't know about.  Chattanooga just hosted the NPSL final and drew over 18,000, which is insane.  But most clubs at this level anonymously toil in HS football stadiums, attracting no notice.  The standard of play is....what you might expect.  Both leagues have high turnover; I think the NPSL is a little worse in this regard.
 
The PDL and NPSL serve a function in giving NCAA players extra games.  A number of MLS teams have "U23" teams in the PDL, which serve as a vehicle for them to keep tabs on their academy players who have gone to college as well as evaluate other NCAA players with a view to the draft.  From the standpoint of building a real national foundation of strong clubs across the country, I don't think these leagues bring much to the table.  Too many transient, rootless teams.  Who's heard of the Real Boston Rams (PDL), who play at Milton HS?  Or Greater Lowell United (NPSL)?
 
Then there's an enormous litany of smaller amateur leagues on the regional or local level.  These are for the most part completely invisible and transient, with pretty much no infrastructure or fan support.  The US equivalent of Sunday League football, really.  Even on that level, though, there have recently been some surprises.
 
 

I actually thought that Hartford was targeting a USL team, but I'm not sure it'll make a hell of a lot of difference to people in the area.  That's a market that should work, I think.  

 
Yeah, I think from a fan perspective there's not much differentiating the USL and NASL.  There are lots of people who will watch Euro or Mexican soccer, but not MLS.  There are lots of people who will watch MLS, but not watch minor league soccer.  But there's almost nobody who will watch D2 soccer but not D3 soccer.
 
USL's pro league looked close to dead in 2010, when it had been reduced to being a six-team league in the mid-Atlantic.  But now it's 24 mostly stable teams with two more announced for 2016 and three more rumored (apparently KC and PHI are looking at second teams, not just Orlando).  With little fan differentiation between D2 and D3 and therefore no revenue difference, the key question from the owner's perspective is which league controls costs better?  Players in both leagues are paid peanuts, so it comes down to travel.  Right now the USL is in a virtuous cycle and NASL is stuck in neutral, in that regard.  NASL clubs are a little "bigger" on average, but IMO that's not worth trading the travel costs.
 
In any case, there's a recent rumor that Hartford's group lost a key investor and the expansion bid is on hold.  I hope they can right the ship because I think a team could be good in Hartford.  The market always shows up for USMNT games at Rentschler, anyway.  You don't need that many of them to make it work at the minor league level.

 

[Titans Bastard]

And on the MLS front -
 
- Seattle finally landed their man, Román Torres.  The Panamanian CB's rights were held by several different clubs and Seattle had to negotiate through some complications.  Torres is fresh off a strong Gold Cup and will no doubt go right into Seattle's XI.  Torres has been playing in Colombia for a long time, most recently with Millionarios, and has been a mainstay with Panama (79 caps).
 
- Colorado signed Maynor Figueroa.  The Rapids are cornering the market on old defenders.
 
- The US Open Cup semifinals are tonight.  Philadelphia vs. Chicago and KC vs. RSL.  Both games are streaming on YouTube......big time.

 

[Titans Bastard]

- RSL announced a signing they had been rumored to be working on for a while.  29 year old Argentine forward Juan Manuel Martinez, otherwise known as "El Burrito" (apparently...).  He's spent most of his career with Veléz Sársfield and, more recently, Boca Juniors.  RSL traded away Álvaro Saborío, who was old and declining anyway, and their current collection of forwards are okay but not top notch.
 
- Philly and KC prevailed last night in the US Open Cup semifinals over Chicago and RSL respectively.  The Union will host the final in late September.  Philly doesn't have much else to play for at this point.
 
- Kaka has been called up by Brazil and conveniently, this means he'll miss the Orlando-New England match on September 5.  Orlando hopefully won't be able to offer much going forward without him.

 

[soxfan121]

El Burrito? There's gotta be an awesome story behind that nickname.

 

[Cellar-Door]

El Burrito? There's gotta be an awesome story behind that nickname.

There isn't. He got it because he resembled Ariel Ortega (the original Burrito).
Ortega supposedly got the nickname because his father was known as burro (The Donkey) hence, little donkey for his son. (a less SFW version is that Ortega got the nickname in the showers).

 

[soxfan121]

There isn't. He got it because he resembled Ariel Ortega (the original Burrito).
Ortega supposedly got the nickname because his father was known as burro (The Donkey) hence, little donkey for his son. (a less SFW version is that Ortega got the nickname in the showers).

 
That's a bit disappointing but it reminds me of the stories about Devon White.

 

[Titans Bastard]

I'm about to kick back with ye olde New York City Football Club and DC United.  No Lampard tonight, as he picked up a quad injury in training the other day.  DCU is missing a few starters.  Between those two things and the fact that they are back at home, I have a funny feeling NYC can pull this one out despite DC's first place bona fides.

 

[Titans Bastard]

1-0 DC, Saborio in off the post.  Bad giveaway by Pirlo springs a DC counter, not great defending either.  Good work from Chris Rolfe.

 

[Titans Bastard]

And on the other end, Boswell clears Villa's shot off the line after Poku made a good run on the counter, beat two defenders, and dished it off.

 

[Titans Bastard]

Kwadwo Poku has been a menace all game and he finally creates a goal, setting up Tommy McNamara, it's 1-1.  Great pass from Villa to Poku though.

 

[Turrable]

Not a great night for DC but that Hamid save on Villa at the end was fantastic 

 

[Titans Bastard]

Not a great night for DC but that Hamid save on Villa at the end was fantastic 

 
Yes, it was tremendous.  As for the rest of DC's performance, well, after three crazy wins some regression to the mean was in order.  The backline just couldn't handle Poku.

 

[Titans Bastard]

- Last night was a somewhat bizarre win for the Revs, who kicked off at 7:30 and finished the game after midnight, following multiple weather delays.  The Revs ultimately beat Houston 2-0, a much needed victory.  Nguyen looked very lively and Agudelo got back on the scoresheet for the first time since May.
 
- KC had an insane comeback over Vancouver in a game between the top two teams in the league on PPG.  Three goals in the last 10 minutes gave KC a 4-3 win.
 
- LA is also a contender for best team in the league...their midseason acquisitions are more or less a good fit for their system, plus Sebastian Lletget has been unexpectedly awesome since joining in May.  They beat Dallas in Dallas last night, their second consecutive road win after failing to win in their first 11 away games.  They have some GK questions (Donovan Ricketts is distinctly below average) but look really strong elsewhere, with pretty good depth too.
 
- NYRB are the hottest team in the East and soundly beat Toronto 3-0.  Matt Miazga had another test against an elite attacker (Giovinco) and handled him pretty well.  Dax McCarty continues to look like someone who should be given a chance to play DM for the US.  For Toronto, Altidore is horrendously out of form.  Even considering his flaws, something is just not right with him at the moment.
 
- Philly soccer writers are saying that the Union will announce a USL team in Bethlehem, PA on Wednesday.  Please call it "Bethlehem Steel"....

 

[Titans Bastard]

This is a cool visualization:
 

 
 
Bottom two Eastern teams in salary are the top two teams in the standings right now.  Dallas is pretty good, too.

 

[Titans Bastard]

- Philadelphia officially announced their USL team, which will be based in Bethlehem, PA and play at Lehigh's Goodman Stadium.  No decision on the team name or crest yet, but:
 

 
There's a very real possibility that the Bethlehem Steel brand will be brought back to life again with the USL team. Multiple sources confirmed to me that the Union have secured the trademark rights for Bethlehem Steel, and that the name will be a finalist in the fan vote that will make the final decision. Everyone I've talked to - including many fans on Twitter - believes Bethlehem Steel will win the vote in a landslide.

 
If the Union are willing to entertain this option in a vote, it's going to win.
 
- CCL this week.  Everyone fielded a B team; I think LA, Seattle, and DC collectively started 5-6 regulars across their three games.  Nonetheless, they came away with nine points.  LA crushed Guatemala's Comunicaciones 5-0 at home.  DC got away with a 1-0 win over Árabe Unido down in Panama.  And Seattle earned a dramatic 2-1 victory over Olimpia with two stoppage time goals at the C-Link, which was one of those schadenfreude victories over a Central American club that should have gotten like 17 red cards and who had faked 21 injuries.
 
Consistently winning with B teams is kind of a new-ish thing for MLS.
 
- In one of the weirdest results of the season, San Jose went on the road and absolutely HAMMERED KC 5-0, who are the league leaders by PPG.
 
- Forbes updated their MLS team valuations.  I take it with a large grain of salt because a significant amount of revenue is funneled through SUM, whose finances are even more opaque than MLS.
 
- There are several transfer rumors surrounding Gyasi Zardes.  Genk has been tossed around, as well as Reading and Brighton.  Allegedly Reading has made an offer.  Normally I'd discount the chances of Zardes being sold....he's the sort of player that is valuable in MLS but lacks the upside to generate a large fee and MLS clubs rarely sell players of this profile.  However, LA's salary budget is stretched pretty thin and they'll need a lot of allocation money to buy down Omar Gonzalez's DP salary next season.
 
- Houston signed an 18 year old attacking midfielder from their academy, Christian Lucatero, who bypassed a commitment to Oregon State and offers from clubs in Mexico.  He's supposed to be a good player, but we'll see.  Fortunately, Houston will have a USL team coming on line in the Rio Grande Valley next season, so if he's not ready for MLS he'll have plenty of opportunity for development there.

 

[Titans Bastard]

The Sounders officially slipped out of a playoff position last night.  Six points from their last 11 and Sigi's on the hot seat.
 
No one has been able to take charge of the Supporters Shield race.  DCU has now lost two in a row, looked shaky in a few wins before that, and are now behind NYRB on PPG (four points back with four games in hand) in the East and behind VAN, LA, and KC in the West.  Vancouver and LA look like the real contenders now, but it changes every month.
 
Orlando and NYCFC are on life support now, especially if NYCFC loses to LA as expected this afternoon.  They'll depend on Montreal totally collapsing with all their games in hand.

 

[Titans Bastard]

I just found the time to watch the Galaxy-NYC game today.  The 5-1 scoreline flattered NYC.  LA looked awesome, but it's hard to gauge because NYC's team defense is terrible, as one might expect from their midfield.  Pirlo is a traffic cone, Jacobson is a mediocre central midfielder, and McNamara and Diskerud lack the athleticism to cover for anyone.
 
Keane, Gio, and Gerrard already look reasonably in sync and they're only going to get better together.  I was extremely impressed with Sebastian Lletget.  I can see him with the USMNT, and soon.  He's a baller.
 
GK is a weakness for LA, but that's about it.

 

[Arroyo Con Frijoles]

Arguably the worst team in the league (Chicago) just beat arguably the best team (NYRB, ok at least in the east, just go with it).  I love MLS.  

 

[Titans Bastard]

- Philadelphia, rejoice!  Raïs M'Bolhi is officially gone!  His contract has been mutually terminated now that he's finally found a new club -- Antalyaspor in Turkey.
 
- After half a season, Chicago sold Shaun Maloney to Hull City.  Maloney wasn't the biggest DP bust ever (especially not by Chicago's sad, sad standard) but he was more or less just a decent player.  Offloading his salary and recouping the transfer fee isn't a bad thing for the Fire.  They can give the reins of the midfield to Harry Shipp now, a better long-term move.
 
- Sporting KC is the latest to announce some form of residential academy.  I imagine it will be semi-residential like LA and a few others.  KC has affiliates in areas unserved by MLS academies like Tennessee, Arkansas, Indiana.  No word yet on where kids brought in from affiliates would go to school, a key logistical detail.

 

[MetSox1]

- Philadelphia, rejoice!  Raïs M'Bolhi is officially gone!  His contract has been mutually terminated now that he's finally found a new club -- Antalyaspor in Turkey.
 

I called my season ticket rep and wished him a happy M'Bohli day - not kidding.

 

[Titans Bastard]

SJ is on a rampage!  1-0 win over the Galaxy, their fourth in a row.  And not over a particularly easy stretch of games, either.  Seattle is now three points out of the playoffs, so Sunday's game against Portland is huge for them.
 
Fabian Castillo was called up by Colombia.  If MLS clubs can do more of this - signing an 18 year old prospect from a good CONMEBOL country and turning him into an NT player - it will have a significant effect on the caliber of young player teams in this league can get from Latin America.

 

[Titans Bastard]

Finally, a manager has gotten canned!  It's Frank Klopas in Montreal, who gets the sack after three straight league losses capped by yesterday's game against Toronto + losing the two-legged Canadian Championship final to Vancouver.  Assistant coach Mauro Biello is taking over on an interim basis.  Biello is a club legend with nearly 400 appearances for Montreal in their minor league days stretching from 1993 to 2009.
 
Montreal is still in good position to make the playoffs in the weak East with all their games in hand, but at some point they have to start converting these extra games into wins.
 
Pablo Mastroeni deserves to be shown the door even more, but his continued employment is just another symptom of Colorado's dysfunction and incompetence.  Frank Yallop (Chicago), Sigi Schmid (Seattle), and Jason Kreis (NYC) are probably on the hot seat, also.  Maybe Jeff Cassar (RSL) as well.
 
 
 
Speaking of Kreis, he seems to be at wits' end:
 
https://twitter.com/SoccerByIves/status/637758041560084480
 
I can't imagine he doesn't regret his career choices a bit.

 

[Titans Bastard]

Seattle stayed alive with a somewhat unconvincing win over Portland.
 
NYRB is putting DC to the sword right now, 2-0 and would be much worse if not for St. Hamid.  DC really seems to be crashing back to earth now.

 

[DJnVa]

I did not agree with the PK awarded to Seattle. He got the shot off then ran into the keeper who's allowed to be standing there. And if you do call that a PK, why was keeper not carded?

 

[Titans Bastard]

I did not agree with the PK awarded to Seattle. He got the shot off then ran into the keeper who's allowed to be standing there. And if you do call that a PK, why was keeper not carded?

 
Agree on the PK call.  Regarding the lack of DOGSO...  not sure what I think of this, but here's the ref's explanation:
 
https://twitter.com/thegoalkeeper/status/638145500315799552

 

[dirtynine]

The NASL is coming after US Soccer's perceived protection of MLS and it's Division 1 status... and not to cross the streams, but they've got some noteworthy legal representation. 
 

 
 
"Doubling the population criteria now is an anti-competitive bait and switch, with the purpose of entrenching MLS's monopoly position at the very time when the NASL is threatening to become a significant competitor," NASL attorney Jeffrey Kessler wrote in a letter to U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati, according to the reports.

Not sure how more than one league at a time could qualify for such a status, but regardless I like that people are poking MLS and (by extension) single entity. The idea that Kessler is involved leads me to think whatever's being done is for more than PR. 

 

[Titans Bastard]

 
 
at the very time when the NASL is threatening to become a significant competitor

 
I'll call this characterization of the NASL "charitable".

 

[Titans Bastard]

- NYCFC has terminated the contract of Adam Nemec.  The Slovakian NT forward was a disappointment and never clicked; now he departs after nine appearances and zero goals.  He's leaving for a contract with Willem II in the Eredivisie and NYCFC is only too happy to be rid of his $332k salary.
 
- Alessandro Nesta has been appointed manager of Miami FC, who are scheduled to begin play in the NASL next season
 
- Former US U-20 and FC Dallas prospect Josh Lambo, who was a bust as a goalkeeping prospect, has just won the starting job as kicker for the San Diego Chargers.  He was cut after the 2011 season and eventually made his way to Texas A&M's football team.  Sons of Chris Bahr.
 
- FC Cincinnati's ownership is talking MLS already.  They certainly have the capital, but they'll need to turn out a good fanbase in USL and come up with a stadium plan to be considered.
 
- After Minnesota United had some early troubles in stadium negotiations with Minneapolis, St. Paul stepped in and now both cities are interested again.  However, St. Paul is still the favorite.  The club is in a good position either way.
 
- A "state of the game" moment of reflection - Maryland drew just shy of 8,500 (a school record) to see an early season win over #1 ranked UCLA.  Seems like fun (plus awesome marking!):
 
https://twitter.com/marylandmsoccer/status/639970231134240768