2013 Major League Soccer Thread (aka The Ancient Mystical Society of No Timbers)

[HailtotheYo]

OBA ! put his first one in this weekend ... and TFC is linked to 36yr old Kevin Davies ... sheesh

[Sweet Holy Moses]

The more things change, the more things stay the same with TFC. Sigh.

[HailtotheYo]

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/sports/56198971-77/rsl-league-lagerwey-lake.html.csp - RSL looking into forming their own USLPro squad.

http://goalwa.wordpress.com/2013/04/18/pro-soccer-in-tacoma-may-12-sounders-reserves-match-could-kick-start-the-dream/ - SEA is also.

[GoGo Yubari]

Oh right, my unofficial vow of silence is over now. I forgot.

Yeah, it'll be interesting to see where our USL team lands. From a selfish perspective I'd like Tacoma or Bellevue because then I can go to matches. But a very good case can be made for Eastern Washington too. Maybe I could use it as an excuse to finally go to Spokane.

[HailtotheYo]

Meetings scheduled by South America’s CONMEBOL officers during the upcoming Confederations Cup in June to discuss the possibility of including MLS teams in the Copa Libertadores beginning with the 2015 tournament. (from Lancet in Brazil).

Oh dear .... while I wish we were at that point, we're absolutely not.

[HailtotheYo]

.. and now Davies to TFC is off: http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/10376522.Davies_pulls_out_of_Toronto_deal_to_stick_with_Wanderers/ ... as a professional I love the guy, but I'm glad this isn't happening. I'd be all right if he'd want to come coach or something of that nature.

[HailtotheYo]

CCL Final first leg was 0-0

Canadian Championship first matches 2-0 TFC over MTL and 3-2 VAN over FC Edmonton.

Garber is hoping to announce Team #20 in the next 4-6 weeks. (Has to be Orlando, unless there's a huge surprise out of somewhere. NY2 doesn't seem to be at the point it can be announced, here in SA there's had to be some huge behind the scenes development I'm completely unaware of).

EDIT - ... or maybe it will be NY2: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/thegoalkeeper/Manchester-City-takes-lead-to-buy-New-York-MLS-expansion-team-but-theres-no-deal-yet.html

Klinsmann has stated that the Gold Cup roster will be heavy with MLS guys due to the Euromericans being on their break and needing them for the WCQ.

[Szumi]

It makes total sense, in a way. This Gold Cup means nothing. I'd be using this for MLS players, youngsters trying to break through (Gatt, Corona, et. Al), and veterans looking to try and get back in (HOLDEN<3). Why bother playing Howard, Bradley, Jones, Dempsey and co. on such a pointless tournament?

[SeanDMan]

I watched the TFC/Impact match and it was so annoying having both teams with BMO as their sponsor.

[HailtotheYo]

I just think it's funny that TFC's stadium, shirt, and main sponsor are the Bank of Montreal. If they were the biggest in Canada that'd be one thing, but they aren't AND there's a Toronto bank that's bigger ... so it amuses me.

I disagree that this Gold Cup means nothing but that's just my personal assessment of the national team right now.

[Szumi]

I really only value the Gold Cup that has a Confederations Cup spot on the line. A tournament in the middle of World Cup qualifiers against essentially all the teams you're competing in the Hex against... what's the point? The one nice bit of news is that USA should be the hands on favorite with El Tri off to Brazil as well.

[HailtotheYo]

Carlton Cole's name being tossed around again.

TFC has inked Matias Laba as a young DP. He's a youth international (captained Argentina's U20 at the 2011 WC), and captained Argentina Juniors. Again, regardless of how it pans out this is a great signing and the move towards the types of players this league needs continues.

[Sweet Holy Moses]

TFC has inked Matias Laba as a young DP. He's a youth international (captained Argentina's U20 at the 2011 WC), and captained Argentina Juniors. Again, regardless of how it pans out this is a great signing and the move towards the types of players this league needs continues.

Him and Silva together feeding Earnshaw and Koevermans (when he's healthy) should be fun to watch. I'm not saying they're going to lead the league in goals, but still. Unfortunately, I think this means less development time for Bekker and Osorio, which is bad long-term for Canadian soccer. It's tough. Do you cheer for a better club team now or a potentially better national team five or six years from now? The MLS-USL integration plan can't come soon enough.

[HailtotheYo]

Yeah, Bekker's situation got worse ... he was looking really good.

I'm wondering though if he's going to just be box to box or if they're going to try and push him forward more. He's suited more for a roaming CM with less offensive responsibility which would help Bekker and Osorio still find minutes.

[Sweet Holy Moses]

The guy that really stands out as box-to-box is Dunfield. That guy's workrate is really only understood by seeing him live. He doesn't stop moving. That's mostly because he's nearly always out of position, but at least he's trying to get back into position, right?

As for the rest of the midfield, I haven't seen much of Bostock or Ephraim yet (it seems I always have other plans during TFC matches. Weird. To be fair, many of the players appear to be in the same boat as me.) Russel and Lambe, while having a bit of potential, just turn the ball over way too much for my tastes.

I wish TFC had a 4-2-3-1 setup right now. Earnshaw up front. Silva-Laba-Ephraim and Dunfield-Bekker (or something) in the middle. Our forwards strike me (no pun intended) as mostly meh. Let Morgan and Eckersley/Richter bomb up from wingback, with Califf/O'Dea/Henry/Boss in CB rotation. Maybe move one up to replace Ephraim in DM. Once we get Koef healthy, then maybe move to a 4-4-2 with Earnshaw/Koevermans up top. But for now, Earnshaw's our only real scoring threat. Putting Wiedeman or Braun up besides Earnshaw just seems a waste of a spot in the XI.

But that's just my opinion. Nelson seems to be getting the results with his strategy. If the result is a truckload of 1-point games.

[HailtotheYo]

[HailtotheYo]

Sooooo Hercules Gomez is being linked to the MLS once again. SEA/TOR the two teams that Grant Wahl specifically named as showing interest. Two problems. ONE, SKC still hold his rights. Herc got into it over Twitter with Don Garber about this recently. SEA interested ? Uh, you've got 3DP's guys ... so the joke will be on Shalrie ? Also, I don't see him going to Toronto, at all.

Porter has the Timbers playing freaking well right now. Unbeaten in six and came back on the road to beat SKC. Loving it.

[HailtotheYo]

Ji-Sung Park on the radar for Vancouver and Toronto. They're also apparently the front runners for Jermaine Pennant.

With Ottawa joining the NASL next season, the Canadian Championship will be including them (likely play in game between them and Edmonton) but further expansion of the tournament is being discussed (finally).

[Szumi]

MLS teams should get in on him. I signed him on a free from Santos Laguna with New England in FM12, and he won the Golden Boot 3 years in a row!

[GoGo Yubari]

Uh, you've got 3DP's guys ... so the joke will be on Shalrie

I would cut Mauro before Shalrie, which is something I would not have expected to say months ago. Shalrie is doing his job fairly well, and Mauro has been relatively ineffective in a position with huge depth for us. Brad Evans or Mario Martinez wouldn't really be a huge step down.

Either way, we're going to have at bare minimum one DP spot open at the end of this season because there's no way either Mauro or Shalrie will be back in that capacity next year (I could see Shalrie coming back if he's willing to go down to a non-DP contract), and that's assuming Montero comes back.

Also, some of the Columbus Crew's players were on WWE Active last night. They "wooooo" a lot. It's pretty rad.