One Strike and You're Out: The 2015 MLS In-Season Thread
- Thread starter Titans Bastard
- Start date
It seems likely that Preki will be the new manager of Leicester City. That could end quite badly but if he does well it will be a nice feather in the cap of American soccer.
Ugh. What's wrong with this team? At this point it's too easy to say they're simply missing Jones, they've been playing flat out bad for months now.
Revs notes:
-Will Packwood is reportedly trialing with the team again. At this point having been passed over by both NE and NY, I wouldn't look to him to be the saviour. That being said, the Revs' CB depth is so bad right now I still think they should sign him as depth. I've heard rumors that Goncalves wants to return to Switzerland, making signing a CB even more pressing.
-Fagundez and Rowe are rumored to be on the trade block. It makes sense, since the Revs have depth at attacking midfield and those guys have value, but it would suck to see either one of them go. Diego is probably more valuable, but my guess would be Rowe goes since Diego has stronger ties to the club. Matt Doyle was speculating about a possible Rowe-for-Okugo deal with Orlando- if they can make a trade like that, then as much as I would hate to lose Rowe, I think you probably have to pull the trigger.
-Will Packwood is reportedly trialing with the team again. At this point having been passed over by both NE and NY, I wouldn't look to him to be the saviour. That being said, the Revs' CB depth is so bad right now I still think they should sign him as depth. I've heard rumors that Goncalves wants to return to Switzerland, making signing a CB even more pressing.
-Fagundez and Rowe are rumored to be on the trade block. It makes sense, since the Revs have depth at attacking midfield and those guys have value, but it would suck to see either one of them go. Diego is probably more valuable, but my guess would be Rowe goes since Diego has stronger ties to the club. Matt Doyle was speculating about a possible Rowe-for-Okugo deal with Orlando- if they can make a trade like that, then as much as I would hate to lose Rowe, I think you probably have to pull the trigger.
Commissioner Garber's all-star picks are Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard. Good Christ. The only silver lining is the potential for "and Paul Scholes on the wing" jokes. Meanwhile, Sebastian Giovinco was was left out.
https://twitter.com/soccerinsider/status/620770403041058816
https://twitter.com/soccerinsider/status/620770403041058816
link to tweet
https://twitter.com/soccerinsider/status/620770403041058816
https://twitter.com/soccerinsider/status/620770403041058816
link to tweet
The Galaxy officially acquired Giovani Dos Santos tonight. Pretty big move.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/soccer/la-sp-giovani-dos-santos-galaxy-20150708-story.html
http://www.latimes.com/sports/soccer/la-sp-giovani-dos-santos-galaxy-20150708-story.html
All the goofy salary workarounds do a great job of making it clear to everyone watching that the MLS salary cap is designed to suppress salaries only and that any resultant competitive balance is just a happy accident.soxfan121 said:
- The Dynamo signed Nigerian midfielder Rasheed Olayibi from Enyimba. He was in the Best XI of the Nigerian league last year, for whatever that may be worth.
- Houston also dealt LB Corey Ashe to Orlando. Ashe is a decent left back, but lost his spot to DaMarcus Beasley. Orlando needs help at LB after injuries upfield induced them to push Brek Shea back into the midfield (and he's injured now, too). The Dynamo received a draft pick and some money.
- NYCFC signed 26 year old Colombian center back Jefferson Mena from Independiente Medellín.
- NYRB loaned Jamaican winger Dane Richards to Indy Eleven for the rest of the season. His return from Norway hasn't been very impressive and he's 31 now. Pure speed merchants don't age well.
- Toronto's former captain Steven Caldwell announced he's retiring and taking a job in Toronto's front office. He's 34 now and couldn't stay healthy.
- The USL announced a new franchise, Rio Grande Valley FC. This has been rumored to be in the works for a long time. It's a partnership between the NBA D-League ownership group there and the Houston Dynamo. It will serve as a reserve team for Houston. RGVFC will be the fifth pro team in Texas and I'm glad there will be a low-level team in that area, as it might help players avoid falling through the cracks. The Rio Grande Valley has always seemed to me like the perfect storm for players falling through the cracks.
https://twitter.com/ChrisCanetti/status/621406992725209088
- Houston also dealt LB Corey Ashe to Orlando. Ashe is a decent left back, but lost his spot to DaMarcus Beasley. Orlando needs help at LB after injuries upfield induced them to push Brek Shea back into the midfield (and he's injured now, too). The Dynamo received a draft pick and some money.
- NYCFC signed 26 year old Colombian center back Jefferson Mena from Independiente Medellín.
- NYRB loaned Jamaican winger Dane Richards to Indy Eleven for the rest of the season. His return from Norway hasn't been very impressive and he's 31 now. Pure speed merchants don't age well.
- Toronto's former captain Steven Caldwell announced he's retiring and taking a job in Toronto's front office. He's 34 now and couldn't stay healthy.
- The USL announced a new franchise, Rio Grande Valley FC. This has been rumored to be in the works for a long time. It's a partnership between the NBA D-League ownership group there and the Houston Dynamo. It will serve as a reserve team for Houston. RGVFC will be the fifth pro team in Texas and I'm glad there will be a low-level team in that area, as it might help players avoid falling through the cracks. The Rio Grande Valley has always seemed to me like the perfect storm for players falling through the cracks.
https://twitter.com/ChrisCanetti/status/621406992725209088
- RSL has traded Alvaro Saborio to DC in exchange for Luis Silva. Saborio was a core player in RSL's best years under Jason Kreis, but he's getting old and injury-prone, he's expensive, and his production is declining. Silva is much younger (26) and cheaper and was excellent down the stretch for DC last year, finishing with 11 goals. However, he has had injuries this year and hasn't gotten in form yet. He's a risk, particularly because he's out of contract at the end of the season and could have interest in Mexico, but it's an interesting deal for both teams.
- Dallas traded Canadian midfielder Kyle Bekker to Montreal for center back Bakary Soumare. Both are unexciting depth players.
- SJ acquired an 18 year old Brazilian midfielder who comes from a high school in Florida named Matheus Silva. A mystery player.
- The training compensation story continues.
- Dallas traded Canadian midfielder Kyle Bekker to Montreal for center back Bakary Soumare. Both are unexciting depth players.
- SJ acquired an 18 year old Brazilian midfielder who comes from a high school in Florida named Matheus Silva. A mystery player.
- The training compensation story continues.
- Portland signed Argentine forward Lucas Melano. It's reported that they paid $5m for him and that they used this new "targeted allocation money" to buy down Fanendo Adi's cap hit to the point where he didn't count as a DP. This is what LA did with Omar Gonzalez's contract, allowing them room to sign dos Santos.
- Miami Beckhams - alive?
- The MLSPU released their midseason salary numbers
https://twitter.com/JeffreyCarlisle/status/622083503123886080
- Miami Beckhams - alive?
- The MLSPU released their midseason salary numbers
https://twitter.com/JeffreyCarlisle/status/622083503123886080
Titans Bastard said:
Here's a long in-depth article on the tentative deal http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article27488947.html
tl;dr
- Location is the mayor's preferred spot, on city land next to Marlins Park. The mayor wants to lease the land to the club, and wants to put the usage and lease deal up for referendum (the article says similar referendums recently passed easily). Not sure when the referendum would be, I'm guessing 2016?
- Stadium construction would be completely privately financed by the club. Also, the city plot is a tight fit, Claure says they can "perfectly" fit a stadium on the plot without moving any existing roads. They may however have to procure private land that adjoins the city-owned land, and any private land purchases would be privately financed by the club. They could probably use Marlins parking facilities, but MLS might have to schedule around Marlins games.
- U. Miami not involved, probably because the site is too small for a 40k stadium, and their lease with the Dolphins is until 2031.
- TB's story above has a video that says the team could take the field by 2018. If the referendum is this year, maybe they could pull and Orlando and play at a temporary site in 2017. If the referendum is in 2016, 2018 is more likely for the team to start.
on the face of it, it looks like a win for the mayor, but details, details.
The Revs obviously have been really bad lately, and there's still a half hour to go tonight, but my god they can be really fucking fun to watch on offense.
Manager Landon Donovan names 22-man roster for the MLS Homegrown All-Star Game
Coaching in an all-star game seems like the kind of thing LD would be into.
Coaching in an all-star game seems like the kind of thing LD would be into.
- Breaking down the best and worst contracts on each team.
- More salary numbers fun:
https://twitter.com/thegoalkeeper/status/623204361733296128
https://twitter.com/thegoalkeeper/status/623204156090793984
- Orlando dealt defensive midfielder Amobi Okugo to KC in exchange for Servando Carrasco. Okugo was meant to be a big piece of the expansion season, but he lost his spot to the Ceren/Higuita combo. At his salary he was expensive for a bench player, so off he goes -- though Orlando are reportedly tossing in some money. Along with Feilhaber, Mustivar, Espinoza, and Nagamura, KC's midfield is pretty rock solid at this point. For Orlando's part, they get Mr. Alex Morgan, who is a serviceable backup at DM and is priced accordingly. They also get cap space.
- A couple of nice articles about the unheralded Dallas midfield triumvirate of Mauro Diaz, Victor Ulloa, and Kellyn Acosta. Ulloa is perhaps the best example in recent MLS history of what can happen if you have a little faith in unproven young players. He was never used by ex-Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman and basically run out of town, but then Dallas snagged Oscar Pareja (who ran the FCD academy before taking the Colorado job). Pareja brought him back for preseason in 2014, he won a contract, and a month later Ulloa was a fixture in the lineup and has been ever since.
- San Jose signed Marc Pelosi, the former US U17 midfielder who signed with Liverpool and then was derailed by a bad leg break. He's healthy now, but has been released after not showing much for Liverpool's U21s post-injury. He's from the Bay Area, hopefully signed with his hometown team can jumpstart his career. At the time, he was considered one of the most promising players on the 2011 U17 team.
- LA signed a pair of academy players, both 18, to USL contracts. Bennett Sneddon, a GK, and Adrian Vera, a forward, will be added to the LA Galaxy II roster, skipping out on college. These are the sorts of guys for whom it would have been dumb to go pro at this time because they aren't phenoms ready to play in MLS at age 18. But they have playing time in the USL waiting for them now, so it makes sense.
- More salary numbers fun:
https://twitter.com/thegoalkeeper/status/623204361733296128
https://twitter.com/thegoalkeeper/status/623204156090793984
- Orlando dealt defensive midfielder Amobi Okugo to KC in exchange for Servando Carrasco. Okugo was meant to be a big piece of the expansion season, but he lost his spot to the Ceren/Higuita combo. At his salary he was expensive for a bench player, so off he goes -- though Orlando are reportedly tossing in some money. Along with Feilhaber, Mustivar, Espinoza, and Nagamura, KC's midfield is pretty rock solid at this point. For Orlando's part, they get Mr. Alex Morgan, who is a serviceable backup at DM and is priced accordingly. They also get cap space.
- A couple of nice articles about the unheralded Dallas midfield triumvirate of Mauro Diaz, Victor Ulloa, and Kellyn Acosta. Ulloa is perhaps the best example in recent MLS history of what can happen if you have a little faith in unproven young players. He was never used by ex-Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman and basically run out of town, but then Dallas snagged Oscar Pareja (who ran the FCD academy before taking the Colorado job). Pareja brought him back for preseason in 2014, he won a contract, and a month later Ulloa was a fixture in the lineup and has been ever since.
- San Jose signed Marc Pelosi, the former US U17 midfielder who signed with Liverpool and then was derailed by a bad leg break. He's healthy now, but has been released after not showing much for Liverpool's U21s post-injury. He's from the Bay Area, hopefully signed with his hometown team can jumpstart his career. At the time, he was considered one of the most promising players on the 2011 U17 team.
- LA signed a pair of academy players, both 18, to USL contracts. Bennett Sneddon, a GK, and Adrian Vera, a forward, will be added to the LA Galaxy II roster, skipping out on college. These are the sorts of guys for whom it would have been dumb to go pro at this time because they aren't phenoms ready to play in MLS at age 18. But they have playing time in the USL waiting for them now, so it makes sense.
Sounders midfielder Marco Pappa was arrested for speeding and a suspicion of DUI on Sunday. He is now awaiting assessment from the league and could miss at least three games.
Here's the initial mock up of the Miami stadium. Tight squeeze is an understatement. looks like they'll have to eliminate the road between Marlins Park and the site, so Claure's comment about not making "any major movements of the streets" is already premature
They'll use the Marlins parking facilities. Since the city gets a portion of the parking, the city will more quickly pay off the bonds used to build the parking facilities. But after the city pays off the bonds, the Marlins get all of the parking revenue, so the Marlins come out even more ahead, with like zero skin in the game.
They'll use the Marlins parking facilities. Since the city gets a portion of the parking, the city will more quickly pay off the bonds used to build the parking facilities. But after the city pays off the bonds, the Marlins get all of the parking revenue, so the Marlins come out even more ahead, with like zero skin in the game.
- Orlando City is suing São Paulo over an unpaid $4.3m loan fee for Kaká's stint there in the second half of 2014. Apparently, they are willing to drop the lawsuit if São Paulo agrees to sell Orlando's transfer target Paulo Henrique Ganso to them for $1.5m.
- Dallas acquired central midfielder Ezequiel Cirigliano on loan from River Plate. It looks like he fell out of favor there in 2014 after trying to force a transfer to Hellas Verona. He's 23, and will join a young pair of homegrown defensive-minded midfielders in Victor Ulloa and Kellyn Acosta. Ulloa and Acosta have been a good pairing lately, but Dallas needs the depth. They don't have much behind them with Je-Vaughn Watson playing fullback and Ulloa/Acosta are inexperienced enough that despite some good performances you'd expect someone else will have to pick up slack at some point.
- All these Euro friendlies are more fun when it's the reserve teams playing. T2 (a.k.a. the Timbers USL team) beat Newcastle United 4-3 this week. Tonight, NYRB beat Chelsea 4-2 with a team that was mostly drawn from their USL regulars because their first team played 120 minutes in the USOC the previous day. Fun times for 16 year old NYRB academy product Tyler Adams, who scored. Adams was the youngest player on the U17 qualifying team and is a regular for NYRB II in the USL now. Fellow academy graduate Sean Davis scored a brace.
- Portland waived Schillo Tshuma, a Zimbabwean forward/winger who left Maryland early to go into the draft. It seems he never came to anything.
- Dallas acquired central midfielder Ezequiel Cirigliano on loan from River Plate. It looks like he fell out of favor there in 2014 after trying to force a transfer to Hellas Verona. He's 23, and will join a young pair of homegrown defensive-minded midfielders in Victor Ulloa and Kellyn Acosta. Ulloa and Acosta have been a good pairing lately, but Dallas needs the depth. They don't have much behind them with Je-Vaughn Watson playing fullback and Ulloa/Acosta are inexperienced enough that despite some good performances you'd expect someone else will have to pick up slack at some point.
- All these Euro friendlies are more fun when it's the reserve teams playing. T2 (a.k.a. the Timbers USL team) beat Newcastle United 4-3 this week. Tonight, NYRB beat Chelsea 4-2 with a team that was mostly drawn from their USL regulars because their first team played 120 minutes in the USOC the previous day. Fun times for 16 year old NYRB academy product Tyler Adams, who scored. Adams was the youngest player on the U17 qualifying team and is a regular for NYRB II in the USL now. Fellow academy graduate Sean Davis scored a brace.
- Portland waived Schillo Tshuma, a Zimbabwean forward/winger who left Maryland early to go into the draft. It seems he never came to anything.
He's 35 and in his ninth year in Salt Lake City, but Javier Morales still has it:
https://twitter.com/Ben_Jata/status/624787753792864256
Feilhaber has also been incredible for the last 18 months. His talent was always there, but he only raised his professionalism and commitment to fitness in KC.
https://twitter.com/AndyEdMLS/status/624795326935764994
https://twitter.com/Ben_Jata/status/624787753792864256
Feilhaber has also been incredible for the last 18 months. His talent was always there, but he only raised his professionalism and commitment to fitness in KC.
https://twitter.com/AndyEdMLS/status/624795326935764994
Dallas trounced Portland last night 4-1 and are the new Supporters Shield leaders -- for the moment anyway. There are six clubs within six points.
The Revs drew with the Fire on the road. Not a particularly good result against cellar dwellars, but anything is better than a loss at this point. Montreal, Orlando, and Philadelphia are behind them in the standings with lots of games in hand. Jermaine Jones was back on the bench, but didn't play.
NYCFC vs. Orlando about to kick off. Pirlo is on the bench and may make his debut. Lampard is dealing with an injury and still hasn't played. Big game for both teams.
The Revs drew with the Fire on the road. Not a particularly good result against cellar dwellars, but anything is better than a loss at this point. Montreal, Orlando, and Philadelphia are behind them in the standings with lots of games in hand. Jermaine Jones was back on the bench, but didn't play.
NYCFC vs. Orlando about to kick off. Pirlo is on the bench and may make his debut. Lampard is dealing with an injury and still hasn't played. Big game for both teams.
Watching NYC-Orlando now and... I dunno.
Excellent crowd and they are vocal.
I really wanted to like this.
But....
The pitch is really narrow
The sod laid over the baseball dirt looks like shit
Playing in a baseball stadium looks weird
The whiff of Man City Jr is unpleasant
The whiff of the Yankees is even more unpleasant
I've been a tepid NYRB supporter. Never been a fan of naming a team after a product.*
But having been to the Red Bulls excellent stadium on Harrison, RBs and their fandom seem much more organic. NYCFC seems like a Frankencreature of bad marketing ideas stitched together.
I will think on it.
Excellent crowd and they are vocal.
I really wanted to like this.
But....
The pitch is really narrow
The sod laid over the baseball dirt looks like shit
Playing in a baseball stadium looks weird
The whiff of Man City Jr is unpleasant
The whiff of the Yankees is even more unpleasant
I've been a tepid NYRB supporter. Never been a fan of naming a team after a product.*
But having been to the Red Bulls excellent stadium on Harrison, RBs and their fandom seem much more organic. NYCFC seems like a Frankencreature of bad marketing ideas stitched together.
I will think on it.
nycfc need to get the stadium sorted pronto. Yankee stadium is a disgraceOilCanShotTupac said:
NYCFC have some huge names at this point. It won't feel as organic as a result but seriously they're going to be fielding Lampard Pirlo and Villa
teddykgb said:
Well, that stadium is used to housing over-the-hill guys looking for one last big paycheck.
Montreal traded with Chicago for the rights to sign Didier Drogba. Chicago's getting allocation money significantly more than $100k.
Drogba hasn't signed yet but the contract is 18 months for $3m/yr, so I guess $4.5m.
Drogba hasn't signed yet but the contract is 18 months for $3m/yr, so I guess $4.5m.
OilCanShotTupac said:
From a neutral perspective, NYRB have been doing some interesting things lately with regards to development. They have traditionally been a splash-the-cash organization who went after big names, but didn't do it as well as LA and were never able to build enough depth to actually compete for championships. In the post-Henry era, they now have one of the lowest payrolls in the league, but are finally investing in their developmental pipeline. They've always had a good academy, but did a piss-poor job of getting players from U18 to useful MLS players. Now they have a USL reserve team and a manager who is willing to give youth a chance. Matt Miazga in particular looks like a guy who is on a USMNT track.
OilCanShotTupac said:
Orlando does have a more organic fanbase, objectively speaking, simply because they've been around since 2011 and were already well supported in the USL. That market had a lot of momentum coming into the year.
- NYRB signed Shaun Wright-Phillips. That's a lot of Wright-Phillipses. I'd imagine that SWP is old and creaky at this point, but I'm not sure the Red Bulls will rely on him too much. They have a solid central midfield triangle in the 4-2-3-1, but they need depth on the wings. Sam, Grella, and Zizzo aren't an elite group to begin with and a spate of injuries could put them in serious trouble. SWP doesn't have to be awesome to be useful here.
- The Union traded Dorchester's own Sheanon Williams and an international roster slot through 2016 to Houston in exchange for cash. Williams is the Union's all-time appearances leader, but lost his spot at RB to Ray Gaddis and was deemed expendable, I guess, although Philly now doesn't have much depth at fullback. For Houston, Williams will be handy after trading Corey Ashe to Orlando, since Williams can also fill in at LB in a pinch.
- Toronto signed Moroccan center back Ahmed Kantari. He's a 30 year old who was a regular for Lens in Ligue 1 last season. Their existing CBs (Perquis, Hagglund, Zavaleta) are adequate but nothing special, so TFC could use an upgrade.
- NYCFC waived Josh Williams. He looked good at RB for Columbus a few years ago, but his career has been derailed by some weird health issues -- blood clots, pericarditis.
- The Union traded Dorchester's own Sheanon Williams and an international roster slot through 2016 to Houston in exchange for cash. Williams is the Union's all-time appearances leader, but lost his spot at RB to Ray Gaddis and was deemed expendable, I guess, although Philly now doesn't have much depth at fullback. For Houston, Williams will be handy after trading Corey Ashe to Orlando, since Williams can also fill in at LB in a pinch.
- Toronto signed Moroccan center back Ahmed Kantari. He's a 30 year old who was a regular for Lens in Ligue 1 last season. Their existing CBs (Perquis, Hagglund, Zavaleta) are adequate but nothing special, so TFC could use an upgrade.
- NYCFC waived Josh Williams. He looked good at RB for Columbus a few years ago, but his career has been derailed by some weird health issues -- blood clots, pericarditis.
Now that Boston's Olympics bid is dead, where do things stand for a new Revolution stadium? Is that idea dead and they'll stay in Foxboro or could it happen sooner now that they won't have to wait until after the Olympics to use a modified Olympic stadium?
yeahlunchbox said:
The demise of the Olympic bid makes dealing with the Widett Circle location simpler. It's a smaller project, and you don't have to deal with downsizing an Olympic stadium afterward. Even if the idea is piggyback on the political clout of the Olympics, the Krafts weren't actually coordinating with the Boston 2024 people at all, according to Richard Davey.
But that doesn't mean a stadium there is likely. I remain very skeptical that anything will happen unless the city gives the Krafts a big chunk of change. That's never going to happen.
How many years in the future will the Pats feel the need to retire Gillette and build a new stadium? There's your new Revs stadium.
https://twitter.com/soccerinsider/status/620770403041058816Domer said:
link to tweet
Lampard and Gerrard have both withdrawn due to injury now.
Bradley, Keane, and Tierney are also out. Ethan Finlay, the biggest snub, is in. (Giovinco wasn't in the initial "Fan XI" but was one of Mastroeni's picks).
soxfan121 said:
Lampard is legitimately hurt; he hasn't played for NYCFC at all yet.
Gerrard (as well as Keane), I think, are "injuries" concocted because Arena doesn't want their old legs to suffer any unnecessary travel or heat.
- Chicago signed Gilberto, the Brazilian forward formerly of Toronto FC. He had been on loan with Vasco da Gama, but his loan ended and he was claimed off waivers. He is on a DP salary.
- Philadelphia signed Swiss international Tranquillo Barnetta.
- Orlando signed two players. David Mateos is a 27 year old Spanish center back who came through Real Madrid's system without ever playing for them and was most recently with Ferencvaros. Adrian Winter is a 29 year old Swiss attacking midfielder with a long history in the Swiss Super League with Luzern and St. Gallen.
- SJ made a couple of academy hires, including a former Brazilian international. The Quakes were one of the last teams to take their academy seriously and are still ramping up compared to some other clubs.
- The Birth of a League - long SI article with tons of quotes from just about everybody, focused on the beginnings of MLS.
- While other teams are making summer signings, we have some classic quotes from Mike Burns. The Revs have "come close" to a bunch of signings. They are "actively trying". They've admitted that the Sporting CP partnership "probably should have been utilized more". Standard transfer window fare from the Revs FO....
- Philadelphia signed Swiss international Tranquillo Barnetta.
- Orlando signed two players. David Mateos is a 27 year old Spanish center back who came through Real Madrid's system without ever playing for them and was most recently with Ferencvaros. Adrian Winter is a 29 year old Swiss attacking midfielder with a long history in the Swiss Super League with Luzern and St. Gallen.
- SJ made a couple of academy hires, including a former Brazilian international. The Quakes were one of the last teams to take their academy seriously and are still ramping up compared to some other clubs.
- The Birth of a League - long SI article with tons of quotes from just about everybody, focused on the beginnings of MLS.
- While other teams are making summer signings, we have some classic quotes from Mike Burns. The Revs have "come close" to a bunch of signings. They are "actively trying". They've admitted that the Sporting CP partnership "probably should have been utilized more". Standard transfer window fare from the Revs FO....
- Jaime Penedo is out in LA. He asked to be released from his contract; from what I can tell he wanted a raise that he wasn't going to get.
- LA dealt a 2016 second round draft pick to Orlando to (re-)acquire Donovan Ricketts to replace Penedo. I think the Timbers are still paying most of Ricketts' salary and he wasn't needed in Orlando once Tally Hall returned from his ACL injury. Ricketts will probably start for the Galaxy for now, but he's getting really old now and I wouldn't be surprised if backup Brian Rowe or even new & younger signing Andrew Wolverton take over at some point.
- Columbus signed Ghanaian defender Harrison Afful. From what I can tell he's primarily a right back, but has played in the midfield as well. He's 29 and was on Ghana's 2014 World Cup team and has played in four ACON tournaments as well. His club career has been entirely in Africa thus far, mostly with Espérance of Tunisia. They're a big deal in Africa; they made it to the African Champions League final three years in a row from 2010-2012 and won in 2011. Interesting signing.
- Orlando has loaned out most of their youngsters over the past week or two - Conor Donovan and Sidney Rivera head to Pittsburgh and Tommy Redding is going to Wilmington. Oddly, no one is going to their actual affiliate in Louisville. They will benefit from starting their own USL team in central Florida next year.
- LA dealt a 2016 second round draft pick to Orlando to (re-)acquire Donovan Ricketts to replace Penedo. I think the Timbers are still paying most of Ricketts' salary and he wasn't needed in Orlando once Tally Hall returned from his ACL injury. Ricketts will probably start for the Galaxy for now, but he's getting really old now and I wouldn't be surprised if backup Brian Rowe or even new & younger signing Andrew Wolverton take over at some point.
- Columbus signed Ghanaian defender Harrison Afful. From what I can tell he's primarily a right back, but has played in the midfield as well. He's 29 and was on Ghana's 2014 World Cup team and has played in four ACON tournaments as well. His club career has been entirely in Africa thus far, mostly with Espérance of Tunisia. They're a big deal in Africa; they made it to the African Champions League final three years in a row from 2010-2012 and won in 2011. Interesting signing.
- Orlando has loaned out most of their youngsters over the past week or two - Conor Donovan and Sidney Rivera head to Pittsburgh and Tommy Redding is going to Wilmington. Oddly, no one is going to their actual affiliate in Louisville. They will benefit from starting their own USL team in central Florida next year.
Terracing comes to MLS!
Orlando's original plans called for a 19,000 capacity stadium. They're going with a bare minimum of 25,000 now and I've seen 28,000 in some places. They're averaging 33,900 in the Citrus Bowl right now.
I hope the stadium ends up looking like the renderings. It looks and feels big time.
https://twitter.com/TheOffsideRules/status/627130172286894081
Orlando's original plans called for a 19,000 capacity stadium. They're going with a bare minimum of 25,000 now and I've seen 28,000 in some places. They're averaging 33,900 in the Citrus Bowl right now.
I hope the stadium ends up looking like the renderings. It looks and feels big time.
https://twitter.com/TheOffsideRules/status/627130172286894081
- The Revs seem to have snapped out of their midseason slump, with seven points from the last three games. They're back to fourth in the East, although everyone below them has multiple games in hand. Jermaine Jones is back.
- Crazy game in DC this weekend.....6-4 win over RSL.
- The Sounders are dropping like a stone, having lost seven of their last eight.
- Cyle Larin is hot and has scored five goals in his last two games for Orlando. That takes him to 11 on the season, which ties the rookie scoring record set by Damani Ralph in 2003. Only Kamara, Giovinco, and Villa have scored more this year.
- Orlando waived CB Sean St. Ledger for a "breach of club policy". Not sure what happened. St. Ledger was a mediocrity, but Orlando doesn't have a ton of depth.
- Toronto plucked Josh Williams off waivers from NYCFC. They are using left backs at both fullback positions, so clearly they need RB depth.
- The agony known as CONCACAF Champions League starts this week!
Municipal (GUA) vs. RSL
Vancouver vs. Seattle
LA vs. Central (TRI)
It's a bye week for DC. RSL is in the midst of a brutal road trip and aren't that good this year, so hopefully they don't fuck it up.
- Crazy game in DC this weekend.....6-4 win over RSL.
- The Sounders are dropping like a stone, having lost seven of their last eight.
- Cyle Larin is hot and has scored five goals in his last two games for Orlando. That takes him to 11 on the season, which ties the rookie scoring record set by Damani Ralph in 2003. Only Kamara, Giovinco, and Villa have scored more this year.
- Orlando waived CB Sean St. Ledger for a "breach of club policy". Not sure what happened. St. Ledger was a mediocrity, but Orlando doesn't have a ton of depth.
- Toronto plucked Josh Williams off waivers from NYCFC. They are using left backs at both fullback positions, so clearly they need RB depth.
- The agony known as CONCACAF Champions League starts this week!
Municipal (GUA) vs. RSL
Vancouver vs. Seattle
LA vs. Central (TRI)
It's a bye week for DC. RSL is in the midst of a brutal road trip and aren't that good this year, so hopefully they don't fuck it up.
The Timbers and Gaston Fernandez have mutually agreed to terminate his contract.
http://www.timbers.com/post/2015/08/03/portland-timbers-gast%C3%B3n-fern%C3%A1ndez-mutually-agree-part-ways
He wasn't going to playing much and had been rumored to be leaving after last season.
http://www.timbers.com/post/2015/08/03/portland-timbers-gast%C3%B3n-fern%C3%A1ndez-mutually-agree-part-ways
He wasn't going to playing much and had been rumored to be leaving after last season.
- Montreal bought 26 year old Costa Rican winger Johan Venegas from Alajuelense. Venegas scored 13 goals in the Costa Rican league last year and has moved into the Ticos NT since making his debut after the World Cup. He now has 15 caps and started for them in the Gold Cup. The Impact have been short on winger options since losing Justin Mapp to a long-term elbow injury early in the season.
- In order to make room for Venegas on the roster, they dealt Jack McInerney to Columbus. McInerney never quite seemed to settle in Montreal, probably because he's a poor fit for a one-forward formation. The Crew also play a one-forward formation, so we'll see how this goes.
- Seattle signed Austrian attacking midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz. He spent the last two seasons in La Liga with Levante and the previous four in the Bundesliga with Mainz. 31 years old, 69 caps for Austria - probably not a long-term building block but the Sounders are looking for help to turn around their massive slump this season and this guy has a solid resume, at least.
- In order to make room for Venegas on the roster, they dealt Jack McInerney to Columbus. McInerney never quite seemed to settle in Montreal, probably because he's a poor fit for a one-forward formation. The Crew also play a one-forward formation, so we'll see how this goes.
- Seattle signed Austrian attacking midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz. He spent the last two seasons in La Liga with Levante and the previous four in the Bundesliga with Mainz. 31 years old, 69 caps for Austria - probably not a long-term building block but the Sounders are looking for help to turn around their massive slump this season and this guy has a solid resume, at least.
Krafts are working with Goldman Sachs to finance new Soccer stadium for Revs, no closer to getting built but a step in the right direction.
Edit- eh, looks like their "source" article is from January, so it is just a rehash of everything that's happened.
http://www.boston.com/business/news/2015/08/05/the-krafts-have-brought-financial-heavy-hitter-for-soccer-stadium-plan/75FQsSLG5OJO8wCPgu8g7L/story.html
Edit- eh, looks like their "source" article is from January, so it is just a rehash of everything that's happened.
http://www.boston.com/business/news/2015/08/05/the-krafts-have-brought-financial-heavy-hitter-for-soccer-stadium-plan/75FQsSLG5OJO8wCPgu8g7L/story.html
nayrbrey said:
It's that time of year....season ticket renewals!
I do hope there's real progress, but there's plenty of reason to be cynical. The Revs have trumped up "meetings" with various officials in the past, only for the fans to learn some time later that they were very preliminary or didn't go anywhere.
The characterization of the Somerville progress was "if you (the city) pay for it I'd be happy to put the stadium there". I'd imagine the Suffolk Downs talks went about the same.