El Mundo reporting that banks may force Liverpool to sell Torres...

Through four games last year - we had one point. This year we are two points better. We've played two of the better teams (at least given the current form early in the year) so far. Face it - Columbus and the Wizards are better clubs than they have been in the past and could make noise as they go on.

We've played one game on narrow and miserable turf right after a gut wrenching exit from the CCC. We've only won their once ever as well (IIRC).

We gutted our team from last year and our out of the three big leaders (Moreno, Gomez, Olsen) - We only have one.

While you can nit-pick form and speed and touches and other things - this team is lacking a heart and a soul right now. It lacks imagination and it's lacking creativity that can only come from a stronger cohesion.

While I was so disappointed in the form of the team last night that I left with 3 minutes left, I will not give up on this side. If others want to, that's their choice but there's good talent in this team and the movement at times shows what it's capable of. It's timing. It's organization and direction from the keeper. It's language issues. And it's time for this club to use the next 9 days to get healthy and not wallow in these first four games.

There are 26 more rounds to go and a team really only needs 16-20 wins to be "dominant" in the league. There are still 3 trophies out there for us to win and while I hope the results turn around sooner rather than later - Chicago showed us last year and the Galaxy showed everyone in 2005 that you can miss 1/2 - 2/3 of the season and almost/lift the cup.

There is no Gomez and Ben's hurt. There's no use in creating the "What if's" and "Regret" situations. This team needs to come together and drive itself and not wait on production that is on the sidelines in a walking boot. To use that second DP slot we're talking about a transfer fee and likely seeing a pair of our higher paid boys leave only to be replaced by a seasoned player and 2-3 reserves who likely will be out of the league before they're ever in it.

C'mon United - 26 Matches and 3 More Trophies - Go out and Take Them.

Thanks for the Federici clip, Steve.

Melanoma kills, but it doesn't have to. To all of my Soccer Insider colleagues, please make sure your doctor gives you a head-to-toe skin checkup every year. I had my skin-cancer scare, and it ain't fun. Please, do it.

RIP Danny. You will never walk alone.

"The Commish's blog debuts on the MLS Web site."

More press releases.

I read the best, don't need the rest.

Nothing like 3 pm on a Friday if you want "news" to be buried...

There will be no news in Garber's blog, I can assure you.

1,200 or 12,000...I would think arg would draw more than 1,200 diehards out

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There will be no news in Garber's blog, I can assure you.
-------

Blog-smack delivered by the Insider. Is he making enemies with MLS? Will BehindTheBadge retaliate in kind?

E Street Band? Is that like NSYNC for old people?

I have been reading Soccer Insider for the last 6 months or so and am astonished at the support and passion surrounding soccer culture DC and DC United. After being exposed to this enthusiasm I felt compelled to watch DC United vs. Columbus last night. curious about the Argentines (Gallardo and Schelotto) and also Santino Quaranta (not impressive). Over all it was an exciting game but Columbus looked great really polished but DC United, while on occasion looked dangerous, were mostly sloppy. They let in bad goals and missed some sitters. They should really do more for their fans.

http://futbolinks.blogspot.com

Kudos to the AU players organizing the 4 on 4 tournament to support AIDS education in Tanzania. A similar local link involves a former Bethesda Soccer Club and Walter Johnson player, who is organizing a similar event at Macalester College in chilly Saint Paul, where he plays. It's for Grassroots Soccer, and is called "lose the shoes."

"The Commish's blog debuts on the MLS Web site."

I can't wait to see if he has anything more to say about the situation in Houston!!!

/punches himself

Ok peeps, waaaaaay off topic here. Forgive me, but I'm planning on heading down to the bay(?) to purchase some hard shell crabs for a little MLS get together I am planning for tomorrow (I'm coming from PA). Any recommendations?

Oh yeah, back to the soccer stuff, DC sucked last night.

Skyler - that's 1,200 Americans flying to England to watch the England-USA friendly at Wembley. Not sure what the USA-Argentina game has to do with it.

Alan - how about some respect for Danny Federici, please. Comparing NSYNC to the E Street Band is not respectful.

Interesting. I didn't know that Nils Lofgren and Little Steven were in the band at the same time - or was that clip from a special peformance?

I can understand Anguilla-El Salvador at RFK, and Belize-Mexico in Houston, but Brazil-Ghana in Beijing??? Were both teams going to be in the neighborhood anyway? If not, couldn't they have found a neutral site a bit closer?

Goff: Does the order of finish within the region affect how the draw is conducted? In other words, did the USA sides gain any advantage in terms of seeding by finishing first, rather than second, in the men's and women's qualifiers?

That really is a stunning number. 1200 people flying to London for a friendly. Big ups to Sam's Army.

Oops! Honduras finished first on the men's side, didn't it?

I-270 -- Little Steven came back to his Miami Steve roots. In truth, he wasn't away from the band all that long. Nils has hung around, so they've played together for years...

It's kind of silly to say that all the Americans are flying to England to see the match, considering my sister and her boyfriend (both Yanks) live in London and will be at Wembley in red (to clarify - Sam's Army red, not the English kind).

I thought about flying over myself to visit, but alas, work.

That really is a stunning number. 1200 people flying to London for a friendly.
========================================

They could be mostly expats in the UK, or flying shorter distances from the continent.

I thought about flying over myself to visit, but alas, work.

Posted by: KLB | April 18, 2008 11:19 AM

===================================

I could substitute "the weak dollar" for "work". I have a feeling one of the two kept a lot of folks from going.

Actually, Goff did say 1,200 U.S.-based fans, but I wonder whether they can tell, as expats would presumably go through the same channels that U.S.-based fans would go through, if they want to sit in that zone in Wembley.

Just out of curiosity, I know that Wembley is designated the national stadium, and that England is geographically compact, but do they ever play friendlies elsewhere, for the benefit of people for whom travel to London would be inconvenient, or for any other reason?

(to clarify - Sam's Army red, not the English kind)
==========================================

How different are the shades of red? Would the contrast be readily apparent on TV?

Tri-village,

I think the official USSF ticket sales to U.S.-based fans are kept separate from the tickets that U.S. expats can buy in England.

When Wembley was undergoing reconstruction (2001-07), the England team toured the country for friendlies and competitive matches alike. The tour was generally well-received. However, now that Wembley 2.0 is online, I'm guessing that the FA needs to recoup the investment costs by hosting as many national team games and other events at Wembley as possible.

Finally, England will probably wear white shirts and black shorts. The U.S. will probably wear blue. The England red uniforms are occasionally brought out, but not very often. England in red is mostly a throwback to the World Cup winners from 1966.

"How different are the shades of red?"

Red is red! Unless you're repainting the dining room, per the wife's instructions. Burgundy or garnet?

Finally, England will probably wear white shirts and black shorts. The U.S. will probably wear blue.
==========================================

KLB was actually referring to the contrast (or lack thereof) between shades of red in the stands, not on the pitch.

And as to what the U.S. side will be wearing, it seems that they've worn all kinds of weird designs recently. If they come out in a simple blue, that would be nice.

The USSF tickets for the England game can only be ordered by people with US addresses, but obviously an expat living in Europe could order the tickets to be sent to friends/family in the US who will then forward them on.

what is wrong w/ emilio? Moreno doesnt look like a striker anymore. He plays like Q.Blanco but slower. If we have a 2nd DP we could drop one of those guys and open up cap room so that there wouldnt be a drastic shake up.

"The U.S. will probably wear blue."

Really? Do you have inside info on this? Blue would be much more pleasant than that ugly dark gray, excuse me, Anthracite away kit. Of course, leave it to the USSF to return to the baby blue jerseys or something equally difficult on the eyes.

Perhaps they will come out in a bituminous away kit. That would be their idea of variety.

I know its talked about almost every week but with Fulhamerica really on the verge of relegation this weekend are any MLS clubs in talks with their US players?

McBride already said he would finish his career in MLS is this the end of the PL for him?

How about Boca and Keller? Can any team afford Dempsey?

How about Roy Hogson in Philly or Seattle?

Whoops! I read Argentina instead of England apparently because I'm excited to go to that game...

Considering that it's England though, that number IS fairly impressive...although from living in Europe I can attest that that is mostly made up of Americans living here, there are way more over here than I would have ever known - especially in England.

At least the DCU reserves managed a last minute 3-2 win despite being outplayed for most of the game. Apparently Ryan Cordiero scored the game winner (sorry, I don't know who most of those guys are). Poor little Frank O'Niell was marked by Ezra who seems to be at least a foot and a half taller. Frank spent a lot of time on the ground as always.

Zaher did pretty well. Columbus seemed to have more first team type players in their reserve side.

Carvallo made a few nice saves and was very vocal.

This was my first reserve game. That field is pretty sweet.

@More Gringos

-I've read that Keller is in for more talks to remain with Fulham in London. McBride would probably take this as his chance to come back. The question is which team would he go to. The allocation list has the Crew at the top but I wonder if they have the Cap room to put him on their roster (they'd be incredibly strong at that point). It also lists the allocations as expiring on the 15th of May.

Bocanegra will likely stay over there and float around to either another Championship team or perhaps serve as depth for another PL team. His starting days appear to be over. In terms of coming back to MLS - at 28 he would command a sure premium over what teams are willing/capable of paying right now unless he were headed to a team like San Jose who clearly has some room to make big moves.

Dempsey is likely to stay up in the Premiership. Someone will likely buy him off of Fulham as he played fairly well all year long and has only seen some lag in playing time due to the length of the season.

Eddie Johnson is wedded to Fulham and will be down in the Championship. Now, while it does take a forward some time to adjust to England - he didn't show enough in his brief stints over there to garner anything else. And given how much Fulham had to pay MLS to finally land this guy - their unlikely to let him go for anything that wouldn't give them any return for their investment to bring him over.

And Roy Hodgson is terrible. He had his time as a manager but those days do appear to be behind him. And, here's a guy that's used to being able to go out and buy his guys to play for a club. Seattle or Philly will not have those capabilities and as tricky as it is for an expansion team, the worst thing would be to have a Euro coach try to navigate the intricacies of MLS. Ask Ruud Gullit how he likes the structure.

The USSF tickets for the England game can only be ordered by people with US addresses, but obviously an expat living in Europe could order the tickets to be sent to friends/family in the US who will then forward them on.

Posted by: dwbpnm | April 18, 2008 12:08 PM
===========================================

Presumably U.S. Soccer has a monopoly on that block of seats. If expats don't use U.S.-based confederates to get tickets from U.S. Soccer, is there another way to ensure that they can get seats near that zone, or will they be scattered throughout the stadium?

E Street Band? Is that like NSYNC for old people?

Posted by: Alan | April 18, 2008 10:28 AM
------------

Of the 53,000-plus comments we've received since this blog started, this has got to be the dumbest.

E Street Band? Is that like NSYNC for old people?

Posted by: Alan | April 18, 2008 10:28 AM
------------

Of the 53,000-plus comments we've received since this blog started, this has got to be the dumbest.

Posted by: Goff | April 18, 2008 1:45 PM

Undoubtedly...
I'll always remember Danny playing the accordion (yes, the accordion) with Bruce during 4th of July Asbury Park. The lyrics "Sandy, the aurora's risin' behind us tonight" seem particularly appropos today. Goff - thanks for posting the video clip.

When you post musically themed stuff, expect people with different tastes than yours will naturally disagree and think you are an idiot. That said, someone's recent passing is not an appropriate place for humor or bad attempts at it. As Abraham Lincoln once said, "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."

Unfortunately, the inmates are running the asylum on this board more and more lately.

Unfortunately, the inmates are running the asylum on this board more and more lately.

Posted by: LeesburgSoccerFan

I am not so sure they are inmates. They have the feel of uninvited, unwelcome intruders. Redundant, I know....but pay those types no mind. Imagine if everyone ignored the whole anthem discussion??

E Street Band? Is that like NSYNC for old people?

Posted by: Alan | April 18, 2008 10:28 AM
------------

No, you're thinking of the Rolling Stones.

=O

There are going to be U.S. supporter's at an away match??!!!

=D

I'm stoked. Anyone want to shell out a few hundred bucks, a passport, and adult supervision for me to hit up Wembley on May 28th?
God I hate being underage and poor.

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