Major League Soccer

It's an awful scenario all the way around. NYC claims it's 70 yards wide by 110 yards long (the minimum requirements per FIFA), but it looks much shorter and narrower than that.

5 a side would be crowded on that thing.

MLS Week 10

Houston 0-1 San Jose
Bleh. Boring game. The build-up was about the San Jose manager, Dominic Kinnear, being the manager at Houston for a bunch of years, including winning their only 2 league titles. Nothing much to write about the match itself other than Houston had an equalizing penalty saved.

Salt Lake 0-0 Los Angeles
Nick Rimando came up with a big penalty save in stoppage time to keep it scoreless. Jaime Penedo had a good game in goal too. 9 saves between the two of them.

Orlando 2-2 New England
Thriller! New England saw a 2-goal lead erased late. Great result for Orlando -- and their fans, who deserved to see a positive result at home. Good to see Charlie Davies on the scoresheet again for NE.

Colorado 1-1 San Jose
Bleh, again. Seems like that's a weekly thing involving Colorado and/or San Jose. Colorado extended its home winless streak to an MLS-record 11 games.

Chicago 1-2 Salt Lake
Man, Chicago are a black hole at striker, and it doesn't matter who they chuck up there. Much-needed win for RSL who break their winless and scoreless streak.

Montreal 1-2 Portland
Welcome back, Diego Valeri! Scored what turned out to be the winning goal in his first start back from an ACL injury. Good stuff, for Portland. As for Montreal, they're probably the worst team in the league.

DC 1-1 Kansas City
Bad finishing from both teams aside, this was a decent match that resulted in a good point for both teams, all things told.

Vancouver 3-0 Philadelphia
Woof! Pedro Morales, Octavio Rivero and Darren Mattocks all on the scoresheet. Vancouver ain't gonna lose when that happens. Philly, meanwhile, is still a mess.

Columbus 3-2 Seattle
Big, big win for the Crew with lots of goals in this one. Kei Kamara and Clint Dempsey each scored twice, both tied at the top of the scoring charts.

Dallas 2-1 Los Angeles
Good come-from-behind win for Dallas. LA trotted out something of a side to get a draw and damn near got 3 points, but Dallas really picked it up to grab 2 goals in the last 13 minutes.

Toronto 1-2 Houston
Toronto's long-awaited season home opener -- yikes. Great win for Houston, but Toronto, Toronto, Toronto. So schizo.

New York Red Bulls 2-1 New York City
The first New York derby of the year, and it was pretty much all Red Bulls. NYCFC were poor despite being a man up for about 50 minutes. So poor, in fact, Kreis dragged off Villa and Diskerud at 2-0.

MLS Week 11

DC 2-1 Orlando
Chris Rolfe with a late-winner. Good comeback win by DC against an Orlando side that seems to be getting better each week.

New York City 2-2 Chicago
The Fire had a 2-goal and a man advantage and still blew it. Sometimes, I just want to give up haha On a related note, I never realized how much of a whiner David Villa. Good God, man, chill.

Dallas 0-0 New York Red Bulls
This will be exciting, they said. There will be goals, they said. A potential MLS Cup matchup, they said. It was two sides that defended well to stifle opposition chances.

Montreal 4-1 Salt Lake
Oh, Salt Lake. Losing to Montreal is bad, but giving up 4 goals? Yikes. To be fair to the Impact, they do look better than last season, but I still can't see them being any higher than in the bottom 2-3 of the East.

Vancouver 0-2 Seattle
Chad Barrett scored twice. No matter how you slice it, Vancouver should be embarrassed by that. Nice 25-pass sequence on one of the goals, though. Seattle showing how to play on the road in MLS.

New England 1-1 Toronto
Good match. Loving what Giovinco brings to Toronto, while Bradley scored a sublime solo effort. Only downer for TFC is Altidore suffered another hamstring injury.

Houston 3-1 Portland
Dayum, Houston! What a solid victory at home. Bruin and Barnes both on the scoresheet just to give Owen Coyle a bit to think about once Cubo comes straight into the team. As for Portland, some weeks they look ace, other weeks not so much. Wildly inconsistent.

San Jose 2-0 Columbus
Ditto for Columbus, although they're a much better team than their record indicates. Couple of nice second half goals from San Jose.

Orlando 4-0 Los Angeles
Orlando's first home -- and it comes with a demolition of the defending champs! Wonderful to watch. Kaka is brilliant, and 20-year-old Cyle Larin is starting to impress up top. 4 goals in 8 appearances as a rookie is damn good. Canada might have found their No. 9 to build around (and Dallas' Tesho Akindele in a WF role if he opts to play for CAN).

Philadelphia 1-0 DC
The fans deserved this one. They've had to put up with a lot of crap in the City of Brotherly Love and had a pre-match protest. Local kid Zach Pfeffer scores the late winner. Nice to see.

MLS Week 12

Kansas City 4-2 New England
A few questionable refereeing decisions, but those calls aside, KC looked pretty good in this one despite going 1-0 down. Dom Dwyer had a sick finish to equalize at 1-1.

Columbus 2-2 Chicago
Chicago picked up its first road point of the season. Down 2-0, they come back and get the equalizer in stoppage time. Great point on the road for the Fire.

Los Angeles 1-0 Houston
Alan Gordon with a winning header in stoppage. I swear the dude is not that talented, but he just always seems to pop up with these clutch headers when you need a goal at the end of the game. It's been that way for most of his career too.

Toronto 1-0 Portland
Some might say Giovinco is overpaid -- he makes about $7m a season which is way more than 95 percent of the league -- but when you watch him take over matches 5-6 times a game, is he not worth it? Great goal for the winner.

New England 1-1 DC
Battle for the top of the East. New England took a 1-0 lead at halftime, then had two guys sent off early in the second half. DC equalized in the 80th minute, so all things considered, this was a decent point for New England given the circumstance.

Montreal 2-1 Dallas
MLS is so unpredictable, man haha. Dallas had some good chances to equalize at the end, but Evan Bush was brilliant in goal.

Colorado 1-0 Vancouver
Again, MLS is so unpredictable. The set-up on Colorado's goal was sweeeet though.

Seattle 0-0 Kansas City
Bleh, boring match. Gotta give credit to KC, though. 4 points in the same week against New England and at Seattle are fantastic points to pick up.

Salt Lake 2-0 New York City
Simple enough for RSL, who looks like they've finally shifted back to the 4-4-2 diamond that worked so well for them for a number of years.

New York Red Bulls 0-2 Philadelphia
Shocking result this one, but superb 3 points for Philly.

San Jose 1-1 Orlando
Kaka penalty cancelled out by a Wondolowski penalty, with the latter scoring his 100th MLS goal.

I watched the Toronto vs Portland game, I fell asleep Never been so bored watching footy in my life.

I watched the Toronto vs Portland game, I fell asleep Never been so bored watching footy in my life.

So you didn't watch any of our matches this season I take it.

MLS Week 13

Seattle 1-0 Colorado
Nice bending effort by Marco Pappa in the 16th minute gave Seattle the winner. This was all Seattle -- they had 76 percent possession in the first half!

Portland 1-0 DC
This was DC's 3rd match in 10 days, and they looked pretty leggy, so this wasn't a huge surprise, especially at Portland. Best news for the Timbers though is the return of Will Johnson from a broken leg. With him and Valerie now back in the lineup, things might be looking up for them.

Los Angeles 1-0 Salt Lake
Early penalty for LA. Both teams were a bit off and coming off a bunch of injuries, so credit to LA for holding on. Great to see Joao Plata back for RSL too after missing the first 11 games.

Kansas City 4-0 Dallas
F***ing hell! What a blowout. Krisztian Nemeth looks boss in MLS/for SKC. Shame he wasn't good enough for the Prem though.

Toronto 3-1 San Jose
Giovinco was at the center of EVERYTHING good for Toronto. Man, what a player. And a good win for TFC to boot.

Vancouver 2-1 Salt Lake
Good match. Goal in the 79th minute for Vancouver, who maybe are just starting to stop their recent slide.

New York City 1-1 Houston
I hate that Yankee Stadium pitch so much. Will Bruin scored a well-worked goal on a corner; Villa cancelled it out with a PK.

DC 2-1 Philadelphia
Chris Rolfe with a late penalty to give DC 3 points. Philly a bit unfortunate throughout the whole match with some odd decisions made by the referee. But when you're in poor form, you don't even get lucky calls either.

Orlando 2-2 Columbus
Another late equalizer for Orlando City at home haha. Columbus played down a man for most of the match and we're nearly through with 3 points. Good goal from Pedro Ribeiro to equalize for OCSC.

Chicago 3-0 Montreal
Easy breezy for the Fire. So easy, in fact, that even Kennedy Igboanike got his first goal.

Colorado 1-2 Portland
Colorado equalized late, only for Jack Jewsbury to grab the winner even later. Portland with 6 much needed points in a short turnaround.

Seattle 2-1 New York Red Bulls
Personally thought this was a bit of bullshit officiating, but credit to Seattle for battling back and getting a winner in stoppage time. Can't really see any side being better then Seattle on its day.

New England 2-2 Los Angeles
GREAT game. Back-and-forth, pouring rain, some sick goals too. Villarreal's back heel to Zardes -- mwa! Fagundez's free kick to equalize -- also mwa!

MLS Week 13

Seattle 1-0 Colorado
Nice bending effort by Marco Pappa in the 16th minute gave Seattle the winner. This was all Seattle -- they had 76 percent possession in the first half!

Portland 1-0 DC
This was DC's 3rd match in 10 days, and they looked pretty leggy, so this wasn't a huge surprise, especially at Portland. Best news for the Timbers though is the return of Will Johnson from a broken leg. With him and Valerie now back in the lineup, things might be looking up for them.

Los Angeles 1-0 Salt Lake
Early penalty for LA. Both teams were a bit off and coming off a bunch of injuries, so credit to LA for holding on. Great to see Joao Plata back for RSL too after missing the first 11 games.

Kansas City 4-0 Dallas
F***ing hell! What a blowout. Krisztian Nemeth looks boss in MLS/for SKC. Shame he wasn't good enough for the Prem though.

Toronto 3-1 San Jose
Giovinco was at the center of EVERYTHING good for Toronto. Man, what a player. And a good win for TFC to boot.

Vancouver 2-1 Salt Lake
Good match. Goal in the 79th minute for Vancouver, who maybe are just starting to stop their recent slide.

New York City 1-1 Houston
I hate that Yankee Stadium pitch so much. Will Bruin scored a well-worked goal on a corner; Villa cancelled it out with a PK.

DC 2-1 Philadelphia
Chris Rolfe with a late penalty to give DC 3 points. Philly a bit unfortunate throughout the whole match with some odd decisions made by the referee. But when you're in poor form, you don't even get lucky calls either.

Orlando 2-2 Columbus
Another late equalizer for Orlando City at home haha. Columbus played down a man for most of the match and we're nearly through with 3 points. Good goal from Pedro Ribeiro to equalize for OCSC.

Chicago 3-0 Montreal
Easy breezy for the Fire. So easy, in fact, that even Kennedy Igboanike got his first goal.

Colorado 1-2 Portland
Colorado equalized late, only for Jack Jewsbury to grab the winner even later. Portland with 6 much needed points in a short turnaround.

Seattle 2-1 New York Red Bulls
Personally thought this was a bit of bullshit officiating, but credit to Seattle for battling back and getting a winner in stoppage time. Can't really see any side being better then Seattle on its day.

New England 2-2 Los Angeles
GREAT game. Back-and-forth, pouring rain, some sick goals too. Villarreal's back heel to Zardes -- mwa! Fagundez's free kick to equalize -- also mwa!

How important is a player like Giovinco to the MLS compared to the likes of Henry and Beckham who used the league as an autumnal stroll in their career (as Lampard and Gerrard are doing)?

Still on the right side of 30, it seems that Giovinco is one of the first genuinely serious talents the MLS has had and seems important for the development of the league away from it being a retirement home for ex world beaters.

But I suppose increasing revenue and wages in the league will help attract bigger players. I'm not sure of the finance in MLS - perhaps you probably know this Red Mosquito but how much more money is there in MLS now than say 10 years ago?

How important is a player like Giovinco to the MLS compared to the likes of Henry and Beckham who used the league as an autumnal stroll in their career (as Lampard and Gerrard are doing)?

Still on the right side of 30, it seems that Giovinco is one of the first genuinely serious talents the MLS has had and seems important for the development of the league away from it being a retirement home for ex world beaters.

But I suppose increasing revenue and wages in the league will help attract bigger players. I'm not sure of the finance in MLS - perhaps you probably know this Red Mosquito but how much more money is there in MLS now than say 10 years ago?

Giovinco is getting paid a ridiculous amount -- about $7 million a season. He makes more in a week than half the players in the league will in a year.

BUT, he's exactly the type of player MLS needs to start attracting. He's 28, hugely talented, still in his prime, etc. I really can't stress how important it is for MLS to start landing more guys like him. Ideally, every team in the league would have 1 Giovinco-like signing to show attractiveness to players in Europe and 1 Gerrard-like signing to get butts in the seats. (MLS simply isn't at a point yet where every team has a packed stadium no matter what.)

The increase in revenue in the past 5 years has been immense, let alone in the last 10. The league is for sure growing and the new TV deal they're on has been excellent. It still has a long way to go, however, and it still has a number of financial restrictions in place to prevent teams folding like back in the old NASL days of the 70s and early 80s. There's a fairly low salary cap, no true free agency, etc.

The potential for growth is there, but much like changing a country's youth development policy, it's going to take a generation. There are a lot more teenagers getting into MLS, and football in general, now than when I was growing up, but American sports still clog up media attention. I always tell people you basically need every person in the sports departments of every major media outlet to retire.

Looks like Pirlo is joining Lampard and Villa at New York City according to AS via Sky Sports.

Looks like Pirlo is joining Lampard and Villa at New York City according to AS via Sky Sports.

That would be pretty interesting. They'd basically have the midfield and strikers looking like this if this story is legit:

Pirlo
Diskerud      Grabavoy
Lampard
Nemec*     Villa

Nemec has been very poor for NYCFC.

I keep forgetting to watch MLS matches, I loved the games last season though, Seattle were on fire. Now that more quality midfielders and attackers are being brought into the MLS it'd be great if some high profile defenders made the switch. Of course there were/are a few average/OK ones like Bradley Orr, Steven Caldwell, Liam Ridgewell etc. but some quality ones could help take the league to the next level.

Thanks for the continued updates on this mossie I like to read through this every week

Could I be a cheeky bugger and ask all you american based Reds what your local MLS sides are? Just interested

Thanks for the continued updates on this mossie I like to read through this every week

Could I be a cheeky bugger and ask all you american based Reds what your local MLS sides are? Just interested

My local MLS side is the Chicago Fire. I watch the games on tv and once in a while go to the stadium.

Thanks for the continued updates on this mossie I like to read through this every week

Could I be a cheeky bugger and ask all you american based Reds what your local MLS sides are? Just interested

Sure thing dude!

My local MLS side is the Chicago Fire. I watch the games on tv and once in a while go to the stadium.

Chicago is also my local side. Couldn't you tell by the cynicism in each line about their matches?

Chicago is also my local side. Couldn't you tell by the cynicism in each line about their matches?

I definitely could tell that you are a Chicago Fire. They are not for the faint at heart to support.

Sorry dudes/dudettes, no update this week. I was working all weekend. The only match I caught was Chicago 2-3 Orlando. The Fire took the lead twice and still lost at home. Cyle Larin scored another goal for Orlando, so he's looking like quite the rookie.

MLS Week 15 (not many fixtures!)

New York City 3-1 Montreal
Very good win for NYCFC. Villa and Diskerud on the scoresheet. Still hate that Yankee Stadium pitch and will continue to say so until NYCFC are in their own stadium

New England 2-0 Chicago
Chicago played fairly decent for a road match. BUT, Diego Fagundez scored a sick volley and then Davies follows it up a minute later. Two awful minutes from the Fire and there's the game. Side note: Fagundez became the youngest player in MLS history to hit 100 appearances. Not bad for a kid that's still 20 years old.

Columbus 1-1 Los Angeles
Another weird weather delay. I think that's the second or third time that's happened to LA this season alone hah. LA out to an early lead, then weather delay, then Higuain equalizes in the second half. Weird game.

Seattle 3-0 Dallas
Dallas jumped out on the attack early, but Seattle weathered the storm and ended up on the winning side of a lopsided scoreline. That's the mark of a good team.

Orlando 1-0 DC
Kaka penalty. Great win for Orlando City. They've now leveled their record to 5-5-5, which, for an expansion team, is very good. Not to mention they beat the team at the top of the Eastern Conference.

I've just read that Clint Dempsey could be banned for 3-4 months for ripping up a referee's notebook

According to the the laws of the U.S. Soccer Federation, Dempsey will face a three-month ban after “damaging the referee’s uniform or personal property” which is basically classed as assaulting a referee.

A three-month ban would rule Dempsey out until mid-September, meaning he will not be available to the U.S. national team for their crucial Gold Cup campaign this summer as Jürgen Klinsmann’s side look to seal a spot in the 2017 Confederations Cup tournament by defending their title on home soil.

Just a snippet from: http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2015/06/18/how-long-should-clint-dempsey-be-banned-after-ripping-up-refs-notebook/

I've just read that Clint Dempsey could be banned for 3-4 months for ripping up a referee's notebook


Just a snippet from: http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2015/06/18/how-long-should-clint-dempsey-be-banned-after-ripping-up-refs-notebook/

Yeah this happened in US Open Cup play. (Basically our FA Cup)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgSeuptey24

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA6Wmht8KmI

Dempsey. So petulant.

MLS ended up going very light on Dempsey. Only a 3 match ban, so that means he's still eligible for the Gold Cup. Bit of a bullshit that. I guess it's nice being a big name in the league.

Thanks for the continued updates on this mossie I like to read through this every week

Could I be a cheeky bugger and ask all you american based Reds what your local MLS sides are? Just interested

Orlando City, closest team to me (3 hour drive). Still trying to make it up there for a game, no luck yet though. I would say I'm a VERY casual supporter though.

3 games?! Dempsey comes across as such a childish person. Seattle are the team I usually watch in the MLS but haven't done so for a few weeks. Think I'll watch quite a bit of LA Galaxy too when Gerrard joins.