MLS Week 5 Predictions

I had a rough week in my predicting last week, 4-5.  However, there were some shock results that i am sure most people got wrong.  Who thought that Chivas would beat RSL?  Who thought that Toronoto would get crushed by San Jose?  Tough week.

Here goes week 4

Remarkable!

Great news!

Now or never

The US U23 team has one last chance.. they have put themselves in a put up or shut up scenario.  Under Caleb Porter the group has bad nothing but positive results.  Their style of play has been encouraging from the beginning.

Yet, one ugly result has US fans in a place they are very familiar... disappointment.

There is only one acceptable result for today.  A win.

Nothing else is good enough.  Let's go USA.  Give us something to hope for.

Draper is Back

Draper is back. Discuss.

Week 3, predictions

Week three is upon us.  There are some great story lines to follow.  A few teams are trying to avoid the awful 0-3 start.  Some other teams are trying to establish themselves as the cream of the crop in MLS early season.  The teams will be trying to deal with missing U23 players.  With all this in mind, this is how i see the games playing out. 

Fabrice Muamba

Pretty chilling video of the broadcast of the Bolton v. Spur's match during Muamba's collapse. Pretty incredible.

Read this

A breif look at week two

Here is a quick sentence or two regarding this weeks MLS match-ups.

Montreal v Chicago Buoyed by a raucous home crowd, the Impact will find their first home win. I don't think it will be pretty, but they should get it done in front of home support.
Montreal 2 - Chicago 0

LA Story

Well done, prepare to sit and watch for the next 47 minutes.

Theo, Do You Read FC Woof?

Thanks for making me look bad all over the intergooglez Theo!  Seriously.  Thank You.  After your 4  month dip in form you had Gooners all over the world calling for your removal from the starting XI.  I thought that after Gervinho's return and The Ox's rise that you would go the way of Arshavin and be sent to the bench.  Or Russia even.  But you have been electric these past few weeks!  You touch looks, well, decent enough.  But you're playing with passion, running at defenders, and serving up Van Persie some service that he can work with.

The question is, because we've seen this before, is how long can you keep this up for?  It seems whenever you get into the fans' good graces after a torrid run of form, you fall off the face of the earth for a couple months.  What is it going to take to keep you playing this way?  Do I need to bash you all over cyber space again?  You certainly don't want that.  Either way, third place is in sight.  You center forward is in the form of his life, he needs you.  And I would love nothing more than to finish ahead of The Scum after one of our worst seasons in what seems like decades.  Let's keep this up...or else.

Red Bulls Anticipation

Once again, all of the thoughts associated with being a fan are bombarding me. There is the idea of blind hope. Seven short days ago, I really thought that this might be the year of the Red Bulls. Titi was fresh from a rejuvenating loan deal with Arsenal. A couple of new foreign players that seemed to be authentic. There was also a position battle in the goal. After one discouraging week, I am not ready to give up, but I am scared. It seems the Red Bulls need some big talent.

Greatest GK ever...?

Yup, that's Leo Messi going for it in a manner I have never seen from him before. You have to love the commitment shown here. Is there anything the dude can't do?

MLS Week 1 Thoughts

By the end of this weekend, 16 teams will have played in their first MLS games of the 2012 season.  There are abundant story lines that i will be keeping an eye on.  There are plenty of off the field stories that will provide plenty of discussion points, but obviously, the on field action will make all of the headlines.  After the jump, look at the games, leave your predictions in the comments or tell me any story lines that i may have missed..

MLS Thoughts; I am a Fan

All the anticipation of a new season is about to pay off.  Over the next three days, 19 teams will begin their 2012 MLS campaigns.  For some of us, this is a difficult and amazing thing to understand.  I can recall a day when the possibility of a top flight soccer league in the United States seemed impossible.  Even when the league was announced, and the original garish jerseys were debuted, it seemed destined to fail.

MLS Preview, 3 of 3

Today is the final day of our MLS preview.  I hope that you have read these and compared and contrasted opinions.  It has been interesting putting these together and comparing what we think.

Without further adieu... Day 3

MLS Preview, Part 2

Our team of experts answer a few more of the questions we know you want the answers to...

  What team will be the biggest surprise (positive):
Jon: Portland Timbers will make the leap this year to one of the teams people hate to play.
Dig: Vancouver..have arguably had the most active offseason of any team. Bulked up their porous defense with some quality defenders, and added some serious firepower. Don't know if they can hold it together for the entire season, but should be entertaining.
Roc: Vancouver... goals, goals, goals. Camilo, Hassli, Chiumiento, LeToux... maybe Omar Salgado and Darren Mattocks will contribute. DeMerit looking like the Boss of all Bearded Bosses in the Back (that's called alliteration, Biotch). Should be a fun team to watch.
Joe: Vancouver
Dylan:  Timbers - growing pains over, top 5 finish

MLS Preview, Part 1

I asked our crew of soccer wizards a few key questions leading up to this MLS season.  Look below at the answers to the first bunch.

Supporters Sheild Winner:
The Brit:  LA Galaxy
Roc:  LA Galaxy
Dig:  LA Galaxy- They have mastered the financial aspect of the league and returned the strongest squad in the league. They have one more year until this team will be blown up, expecting big things.
Joe:  Galaxy
Jon:  RSL.  I think that the obvious choice (Galaxy) will be able to get past the injury of Omar Gonzales, but the loss of Beckham (and possibly Landon) to the Olympics, and Keane to the Euros will make it too difficult to capture the supporters sheild.  

A few thoughts on Arsenal v Milan

Tuesday, March 6 offered some of the most exciting soccer i have watched on television in years. We all know the story. Arsenal went to Milan two weeks ago and laid an egg. A completely overpowering Milan team finished half their chances and still had a 4-0 lead heading to London... Simple task, don't allow four goals. I am not a huge fan of either. I like Serie A so would not mind seeing Milan advance. I like Arsenal's commitment to wide open, intricate attacking play, so would not mind seeing them win. The match that resulted had me on the edge of my seat. By twenty minutes in, i found myself backing Arsenal.

Here is 9 minutes of proof that you are not as good as you think you are.

MLS on NBC