Epic game today between Liverpool and Man C in the Carling Cup. Probably the best I've seen LFC play all year and they actually put the ball in the net this time as opposed to onto the post or having the opposing goal keeper go all Peter Shilton on them. Although Joe Hart did his best. V impressed to see them come back against Man C twice when they needed it. Onto the final now at Wembley vs Cardiff City. Hard to follow up this performance with an FA Cup match on Saturday vs Man U. I reckon Bellamy won't be able to move for at least two days. What an effort. Helps to have Taure and Kompany not there though... **** it, I'll take. I'll never say anything bad about Glen Johnson again, until he ****s up...
Goal total can be deceiving because the SPL isn't exactly the tougest league to score in. He also will disappear for stretches, then score in bunches.
Thierry Henry has two goals, Robbie Keane has four, and Donovan has five assists...... Yep, I'd say the MLS is sufficiently strong enough to keep players sharp.
Was kind of hoping Man City would have dropped points, but Villa didn't really look interested in possession. Good for the Gunners. Not an Arsenal fan, but love the Henry return story... Also McCarthy was sacked I heard. And Capello stepping down? Busy week in soccer.
I've done some research and it sounds like he is exactly what the Timbers were looking for to run the scheme (not sure if that is the right word) that they want, that being a 4 4 2. They've got a lot of fast Colombians and Africans and the best set piece kicker guy in MLS (I'm new to soccer) to give service, but were missing someone to bang them in from inside the box. I predict the first undefeated MLS season for the Timbers next year. To save time they should probably just give us the cup now, but I guess we can go ahead and play the games. **edit** Oh and on a personal note: Admit it, your jealous that the Timbers get a cool *** AXE on our crest, while the sounders have a spinning 2 star restaurant on yours... Lets get this Cascadia cup smack talk fired up!
Natural goalscorer with a lot of talent, if he applies himseslf he will be one of the best strikers you could have. However, laziest player I have ever seen though and more likely to hide for a large % of the game.
I like the Cascadia smack talk idea. We need to breathe some life into this thread! Best MLS set piece takers though, I'll disagree that Jewsbury is the best. I have David Beckham and Brad Davis in front of Jewsbury at the very least, and I think even your coach would agree with me on Davis I like the talent you added in the offseason, but Valencia probably wasn't a good buy given his injury, that will be a "wait and see" thing. You also had to work on your defense and I'm not sure that your #1 draft pick is enough to shore up that situation. The Sounders led the league in goals scored last year. You'll have to beat that if you want to win Cascadia
Last I heard Valencia wasn't purchased yet becuase of the injury, he like a cheaper loan until/if the injury heals. Like a lease with the option to buy. We'll see about Jack, if Boyd does what I hope he does, he makes Jack that much better. Our coach also thinks that Nagbe can become the best player in MLS. Speaking of Spencer, have you seen his Alaska Air Lines video? [video=youtube;dhlhV0iCsgM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhlhV0iCsgM[/video]
I love that commercial. I have to hate the Timbers, but I like your coach. I thought Valencia was originally a purchase, but due to the injury it kicked in a clause that turned it into a lease w/option to buy? Either way that sucks, he's out for most of your year. We still don't have the services of O'brian White or Steve Zakuani either, two bigger playmakers for us that we'll have to deal with. Sounders just beat the Crew, 2-0 in preseason action. Two more red cards in this match, yikes. They are really calling matches conservative in the preseason. So far the Sounders pre-season matches have seen five red cards in 3 games. In UEFA action, today Arsenal takes on Milan. Will Arsenal be able to break the Milan back line?
Cheating? How about that result yesterday, Gunners? Did I say yikes already? Because.... well... yikes. Is Wenger losing the lockerroom?
welp, that was ugly. Don't mind Wenger calling them slamming them rubbish because they were. It just would've been cooler if he used the word trash. The Ox Cart should start over theo every game now
Eddie Johnson to Sounders for Lamar Neagle and Mike Fucito, Timbers sign Songo, the Couve adds Robson. Knowing little to nothing about those players I say clear advantage Timbers.
and what a way to make a statement! Eddie Johnson, assuming he regains his old form, is a top-tier MLS striking talent. Fucito is fast but doesn't score MLS goals, Neagle will be missed as a person but he was fourth string left winger for us, so he wouldn't get much playing time. In the process we added an A-list strike partner for Montero addressing a vital team need (much like you guys did with Boyd). Color me excited, although I'm trying to temper it. Fucito isn't much of a loss since he didn't score many goals; his asset was his speed, which Eddie Johnson has in droves. Boyd scored in his first training session with Portland, by the way. So did Eddie Johnson, in his first training with Seattle. Can we start the season already??
Looks like I'm going to have to scalp tickets to see the timbers this year. Unless, they are holding some back for the general public sale on the 28th. Single game seasonticket holder presale sold out fast apparantly. We already need a bigger stadium. 97% season ticket renewal rate, and over 6k on the wait list for season tickets, with a cap of 14750. Oh well, it'll be worth it. That is one thing the sounders have on us, a nice big stadium. (we're still louder though )
debatable. I do love your tetris chant & pogo-ing, however. The Portlandia bit you guys did was lame though. Probably doesn't help that the show sucks, although it is cool to have your own show. Boyd being kept out of preseason action until he gets "match fit." Same with Eddie Johnson. Who scores more goals this year? Sucks to hear about your season ticket situation. Good for you guys that there is a waiting list, but man - that sucks. I guess I take the C-link for granted sometimes. We are lucky to have a larger stadium.
Had no idea you were looking! Would have scored you some! The day I heard that I got a job in Portland I got on the wait list for tickets. Didn't get them this year (probably wont for awhile), but I got tickets to KC, Utah, San Jose, Chicago, and Colorado during the pre-sale, and waited in line tonight to get tix to the opener and Flounders game on the 24th. The pre-sale was kind of a cluster, with Ticketmaster crashing, and the limited tickets selling out FAST. I know they held some for the public release, not sure of they're holding them specifically for the Internet sale tho. As of when I left, Galaxy and both flounders games were almost sold out ( only obstructed view left). Might be worth a trip to the box office to see if you can get a jump on the Internet sales. We need to coordinate in the future. I'll pick you up tickets whenever I can. I'd even add seats to my wait Los season tickets (if they ever came through) if you were interested...
[video=youtube;g2lQJiB4Bws]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2lQJiB4Bws[/video] The first rated comment on youtube is gold. EDIT: The first rated comment isn't what I was referring to, instead of the Chuck Norris one, it read something like; "Even the wind is scoring more goals than Fernando Torres". Lol.
^^^ poor Torres. It's almost not even funny anymore. How about that USMNT win against Italy, eh? What a day for US soccer. The USMNT beats Italy 1-0, the USWNT beats Denmark 5-0, and the US U-23's beat Mexico U-23's 2-0. 3 clean sheets! The U.S. had never beaten Italy before, and Italy had not lost at home in Genoa. Italy wasn't playing their full strength squad (neither was the U.S. for that matter) and it was just a friendly, but still monumental for us. As if the day for me couldn't have gotten any better, I went to Century Link to catch the first (and only) preseason home game against the FMF Mexican team Jaguares de Chiapas. The Sounders won 2-0 on some beautiful Montero goals (brace), including a chip from the top of the box over the keeper. World class stuff. It was 38 degrees though, froze my butt off.
Definitely good for US Soccer to beat Italy at home, that is for sure, regardless of the circumstances. If you take a look at the stat sheets though, Italy had 64% possession and 13(8) shots compared to USA's 4(2). Not taking anything away from the win though! Just rationalizing for my own sake. LOL.
I didn't get a chance to watch the game, but my dad said we missed 3-4 goals in the opening 30 mins. Either way, USA packing it in after a goal? You have a German coach, not an Italian one. WTF?
yeah...they dropped their possession game to get peppered by shots from everywhere. the US had a rough first 8 minutes...then played great till they got their goal. Then packed it in.
seriously. I was SO frustrated watching it. The game was a lot more even before the US scored. They clearly put 10 guys behind the ball after the goal and weren't even pressing Italy. F@#k, they were giving Pirlo 10 yards in every direction to send in his surgical crosses. I kept yelling "CLOSE THEM DOWN!" at the TV. I won't lie, feel lucky to get out of there with a win - the Azzuri were pressing and probably deserved a goal with all the pressure they brought. Still, I'll take it. I very much respect Italy and given that, this was big.
what a rollercoaster ride for my Liverpool FC... That was some kind of game last week vs Cardiff in the Carling Cup. And then there was today's match vs Arsenal. If they let RVP leave, that will be the last time they see the top 4 for a while. LFC should have won that game... what an amazingly dejecting defeat in the end. Welp... there's still the FA Cup.
I can see RVP and Dempsey as being two of the bigger moves in the next window. To which teams though? Man City, Man U, Chelsea, Liverpool - they could all use Dempsey. All but Man City could use RVP. Still a large shot that RVP stays with Arsenal though. No chance Dempsey stays at Fulham. How about that Ibra, eh? Anyone watch the Milan game? His foot is ridiculous.
Well at least the first half was filled with excitement How about that Messi? This guy is from another planet. 5 goals in one game? He's got more chips than Tollhouse.
So last night the Sounders beat Santos Laguna in some Champions League action, 2-1. They debuted their new "Super Cyan" jerseys. I'd never buy one, but they look good on TV. It's always a good thing when MLS teams beat Mexican teams. Progress.