Relegation Fighters - MLS Game Progress Thread. [*Established Clan*]

[Al Clark]

5 Defeats on the Trot

SJ's form couldn't be worse in the final weeks leading up to the playoffs. 4 regular season defeats augmented by their departure from the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup has put Clark under some pressure.

Long gone is their comfortable lead at the top of the West (LA are running away with it now). Infact, Clark is in danger of missing the playoffs altogether.

Perhaps it was inevitable; so many trades; so many new players. Whatever the reason, Al has to stops the haemorraghing (sp.?) and fast before he loses this team.

Defeats to...well, everyone, included NE, Colorado, Kansas and LA in both the league and cup.

The problem? Clark isn't sure? "Some of the lads have lost their confidence a bit". Some? Half the team is demoralized it would appear. SGR lost his golden touch at entirely the wrong time - scoring just once in the last 7 games. The new men between the sticks have not played to the standard of Bosnich, though previously maligned keeper Johnny Walker has looked the better of the two since starting the last 2 games.

Brad Davis, Richard Mulrooney and Cannon all are suffering a crisis of confidence.

"All we need is one win. Once we get that we'll be back on track"

Better make it soon Al.....I hear the blade is already out and being sharpened.

[Al Clark]

NE clinch playoff spot; Board still want Boss's head

Despite a league performance outpacing what the board could reasonably have expected going into this season, recent press conferences with New England boss Nick Gutierrez have him dangling above the scrapheap that is soon to be MLS management, and it seems to be only a matter of time before he is dropped in along with several others.

After the side's 2-1 loss to Colorado, the manager responded to a question about his side 'backing into the playoffs' with a string of words that we, as a family publication, cannot reproduce. Suffice it to say that he was not happy with both the question and his team's performance in that game, singling out his strike force.

"Once we get ourselves in a hole," said the boss in one of his more clean press conferences following a 1-0 home loss to Chicago, "we can't seem to dig ourselves out. This time around, Ralph scored 13 minutes in, and if you listen closely, you could almost hear the sound of a deflated balloon, flying around the stadium."

Following this match was a solid performance against the Metros, with Steve Ralston playing a fantastic match on the right wing. "Ralston was a @!#$%^& 10 today. He had more space than Mel Gibson on his new island, and he took full advantage. And if it wasn't for Henry Ring, it would have been a lot worse than 1-0, and I'm (more than a bit disappointed) that it wasn't."

Then, a trip to DC, in a match that had a promising beginning and then little to sustain it. Pat Noonan scored in the first minute, on a flick-on off of a free kick, and the rest of the game didn't really have much action. Another 1-0 win for the least goal-prolific team in MLS, and don't think the manager hasn't noticed. "Getting into the playoffs is one thing, but if we're going to beat the best teams out there, we've got to score a goal now and then."

After this two match winning streak, followed by a rather impressive 3-0 win in the cup, the board inexplicably announced that they have given the manager the dreaded vote of confidence. This move baffled many of the club's supporters, and the boss himself, who replied to the announcement with a brief statement outlining his dismay, which, again, we cannot reproduce except for the following segment: "This team (isn't a great one, by any means), but nobody expected us to be in the playoffs this year."

[Al Clark]

United boss on the hotseat

United started out having more problems as they dropped another 3 points to New England in a 2-0 away loss. Facing Colorado next, United escaped with a 0-0 draw as Mark Chung failed to convert from the spot shooting wide despite sending Rimando the wrong way.

A cup match against Charleston saw United defeat their weaker opponents easily by a score of 4-0 to advance to the Quarter finals against Dallas.

The league match against Dallas was another heartbreaker for United as they lost yet another away game 1-0 thanks to a Troy Perkins blunder late in the match. Rimando was red carded earlier in the match due to a foul right outside of the box.

Coming back home, United faced Columbus and despite snatching the first goal, were unable to hold on to the lead with backup keeper Troy Perkins the culprit. The match ended as a 2-1 loss for United despite dominating the match and Columbus manging only 1 shot on target but scoring two goals :roll: Oktay Derelioglu snatched United's only goal right before half time.

Next United had Chicago in town with Freddy Adu making his first start in the MLS. His start was shortlived as a broken jaw sidelined him only 5 minutes after the start. Ironically, his replacement Carlos Fernando Figueroa was the scorer from a free kick in the 64th minute as Chicago's hard tacking came back to haunt them. An even match otherwise ended with a 1-0 victory for United.

United's match against FC Dallas in the US Cup saw United mount a late comeback despite falling down 1-0 in the middle of the first half. A 90th minute goal by none other than Carlos Fernando Figueroa sent the match to extra time. Little happened in extra time and the match was taken to penalty kicks. Despite missing their first three tries United, got goals from Oktay, Hendrickson, Namoff, Dinjar to tie the pnealties at 4-4. Carey Talley's shot was saved by Rimando and he later stepped up to convert the penalty and send United to the Semi Finals. Despite his stellar display, Rimando was edged out by Pat Onstad for the Man of the Match honours. Dema Kovalenko picked up an injury during extra time and had to miss United's next two matches.

Next, United travelled to Giant Stadium to meet the strugging MetroStars. John Wolyniec was injured in the first half and once again it was a replacement to an injured player that determined the score. Alecko Eskandarian grabbed the winner with 7 minutes from time.

Home game against New England saw United concede a goal in the first minute and they were never able to rebound. Strong defensively, New England did not give up much and United just did not have the creativity to open up the defense.

Against San Jose, the home fans got to see an exciting match as United saw an attacking style of play from both sides. Alecko Eskandarian grabbed the winner 5 minutes after the half thanks to a deflection that fooled johnny Walker. Marko Dinjar grabbed the seocnd goal from a corner kick late in the half as United were able to send San Jose away empty handed in a match that could have gone either way.

Tahnks to the poor form of MetroStars, United have easily managed to qualify for the playoffs with several matches remaining in the season. United will close out the regular season with an away match against FC Dallas followed by the cup semi final at Kansas City. The two teams will travel back to D.C. for a back to back two match affair and United will travel to Columbus to close out the season.

Despite being second in the standings, the board has indicated their displeasure with the United manager. In a comment to the media United manager said "Well I imagine they are unhappy because of my criticism of Gakhokidze. I may have been a bit harsh on the lad but I was frustraded with his lack of productivity all season. He is the second highest earner on the squad yet he can't seem to make a single assist or score a goal. I want him to play to his potential. That's all."

It seems the days of either the manager of Gakhokidze are numbered in D.C. Time will tell who stays and who leaves.

[Al Clark]

Smith-Bryan and Columbus 'Crewsing' On Up

**********

DC United (A)

2-1 (WIN)

**********

Chicago (A)

1-0 (WIN)

**********

MetroStars (H)

4-0 (WIN)

**********

FC Dallas (A)

0-0 TIE

**********

Currently sitting top of the Eastern Conference ahead by six points and with a game to play on second place DC United, Smith-Bryan looked understandably pleased and in jovial mood.

He fielded a few questions from the press:

"What's the reason for you sitting top of the league coach?"

"Well, the guys are working hard in training and we've avoided long term injuries to key players. Overall, we're working as a unit and defending from the front."

"Some of your opponents are under pressure to get results - what's your advice to them?"

"Keep on working hard, the results will come..."

"After the first few games you were sitting second bottom with barely a win to your name, what's changed?"

"The attitude of the players. After they got their first couple of wins they were full of confidence, and confidence breeds a winning attitude. I single out our captain, Elliott, he's been the driving force of this team. He may be injured right now, but the impression he brings to the dressing room is infectious. He's a winner."

"You're top of the league and have already qualified for the play-offs handily, do you sit back and play easy now?"

"No, never. We go out wanting to win every game. It would be an injustice to the crew fans and staff if these players didn't give 100% from now 'til the final game of the season."

"When you're playing like this coach, you don't need to bring in any other players, right?

"Wrong. We're always on the lookout for talented youngsters and players who we think can come in and do a job here. Our scouts are currently out searching as we speak."

Question fielded to GM Lamarr Hunt:

"Mr Hunt - could you have perceived being in this position at the start of the season?"

"No, never, the coach has done a fantastic job. He gets the best out of the players and I don't think anyone could have imagined that with five games remaining, we'd be sitting top of the league. I'm really proud of our team."

[Al Clark]

LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT SEASON

With the end of the first season just few games away, the performance of the Metrostars this year is terrible. The are last in the league in standing, goal for and against. What do they have to do to turn things around next season?

Coach Lung still finding a tactical formation that will work in the US. He need to tie up the team's defense. His strikers need to provide so shooting touches. There is a lot that Lung has to do in the off-season. He definitely has to shake up his squad up and bring in some quality players to make the team better.

We will keep an eye on what will develop at Giant Stadium.

[Al Clark]

Breaking News!

It looks like Colorado's media ban is over. Rapids manager Greg B. will be holding a conferece later today.

It appears that the team's recent run has caused the ban to lift, but we will know more later today.

[Al Clark]

Dallas in Vicious Dogfight for Final Playoff Places

As the season winds down, Dallas finds themselves in a perilous fight for playoff survival. The sitiuation has become so dire, that frequent absentee manager Stu has confirmed that he will be leaving his seaside villa immediatley to resume the reins of the club until the closure of the season.

"Time was a manager could leave his squad for five to six weeks in the heart of the season and expect his assistant to do a reasonable job. I guess in the modern world of football there's no room for a laissez-faire attitude anymore."

Manager Stu went on to complain bitterly.

"The guy substituted Bobby Rhine for Mathis! For six weeks! Who the hell is Bobby Rhine? I'll tell you who he isn't, he bloody sure isn't Clint Mathis. I'm not paying Mathis a fortune to watch football, I'm paying him to play it. Mark my words, heads will roll."

Stu hoped his wouldn't be the first.

"He even cost me Chris Gbandi on a free transfer! Who lets a starter go on a free? Once I figure out which one of my two assistants I left in charge, they're gonna get canned straight off!"

The Dallas players were immediatley encouraged upon hearing the news of their cherished manager's return. As MLS Canadian superstar goalkeeper Pat Onstad put it,

"Who?"

[Al Clark]

Someone in Colorado spoke to us!

An attitude reminiscent of a time when Jesse Ventura was governor took over the Rapids media relations several months ago. The press was banned from all practices and post game discussions and players were told not to talk to the press. Just as the press was beginning to call for the ouster of the manager once again, things changed. Luckily for the manager Greg B they changed for the better.

The news come on the tail of a 4 game win streak and a 5 game unbeaten streak. The first question on everyone’s mind is: Is the sole reason for this the streak?

“No, not really… well ok mostly. The team has turn their fortunes around and I feel that we are in a much better position that we were over a month ago.â€

What brought about the silence?

“A combination of things really. There was the poor performance and our rapidly decreasing performance in games. I was so frustrated at the team for keeping things close till the 75th min and then losing it in the final 15 minutes. There were 2 occasions where we were up by 2 with less than 15 to go and we lost one and tied the other. Heck we had a game where we were up by 1 with 1 minute to play and lost. Josh Wolff killed us that night. The real kicker was losing to Richmond in the Lamar Hunt Open Cup. No reason for that to happen no reason at all. “

What has made the club turn around?

“Well I finally took a long look at myself and the team. I decided that there were things that needed drastic change. The team was just falling apart at the end of games and after one of the last blown games we had, I was…well mad is the nicest way to put it. I put on quite a tirade. When I was done I just didn’t see anything from my players... they weren’t mad at me ort themselves, they weren’t fired up, they weren’t determined to do better. They just sat there totally exhausted. That is when I knew I was way off target in my training and tactics.

“On top of that, we traded away Pablo [Mastroeni] and Joe [Cannon]. We brought in Mark Bosnich and Eddie Pope. Very lucky to pull the deal off and it was helped by the fact SJ wanted to free up a SI slot on their roster. I hated to part with those guys, but I think maybe we are a little better for it.â€

What are the changes?

“I hate to give away secrets and this will come back to haunt me, but mainly I clamped down on the creativity. I was telling them to work almost independently. Be as creative as you like. That just had some people passing when they should dribble. Dribble when they had an open shot, and take some wild long-range chances. On top of that we were just trying to do it all too fast. There were times when they looked liked they were doing 30 yard sprints back and forth, back and forth.â€

Sounds strictly tactical

“No, there were some tweaks in training as well. Getting the defense to step up all game long was a big concern. I hope we have addressed this issue. On top of that I have found a few good coaches that are fitness based and can train outfielders, so I think things are going to be good for us this year, and next year we will be fighting for the best record in the MLS.â€

How are your chances for the playoffs?

“Great. Just great. We turned it around in time to catch KC, and we are only a point behind Dallas while they have a game on us. LA seems untouchable right now, but I think we are ready for them even if we get the #4 seed out of the west.â€

[Al Clark]

[Al Clark]

United to take on Chicago

Regular season has come to an end and D.C. United have qualified to the Eastern conference semi finals after finishing third in their conference. Their opponents Chicago finished second picking up three more points than United in during the regular season. United's bad patch in the middle of the season is not completely over as United still look uncomfortable often finding it difficult to close out matches.

They couldn't have wished for a better opponent however, as in the four beetings between these clubs this season, two matches ended in a draw and two matches were won by United. The goal tally for United is three while Chicago has managed to score only once. It is expected that Fire coach Johan Grommen will come up with a new twist to his long ball style for the semi final match and it is widely speculated how the United boss will repond. The matches between these two managers have always been defensively tight contests and we have no reason to believe the situation will be different when they face each other for two matches to decide who faces the winner of the Columbus and New England pairing in the other Eastern Conference Semi Final.

[Al Clark]

2004 Supporters Shield: LA GALAXY (Tom Yaglowski)

First Silverware of the 2004 season goes to LA

Sporting a record of P30 W13 D13 L4 PTS52 20+ GD LA led the way in both the West and MLS as a whole. Four defeats in the entire season was an awesome defensive effort and the team conceded a mere 15 goals through the course of the regular season, a 0.50 GGPA average.

The team was helped by stellar performances between the posts from Kevin Hartman who excelled all season long. He finished top amongst MLS goalkeepers with an average of 7.50 Although the Galaxy were not big scorers, most of their good work came via Cobi Jones. The veteran put up a team leading 9 assists.

So congrats to manager Tom Yaglowski on taking the Supporters Shield back to the Home Depot.

Tom will be facing off against Stu's Dallas in the opening round of the playoffs and appears to be most pundit's favourite for the MLS Cup.

[Al Clark]

Playoff Conference Semi-finals Announced

Vs

#1 Columbus Crew #4 NE Revs

Vs

#2 Chicago Fire #3 DC United

Vs

#1 LA Galaxy #4 FC Dallas

Vs

#2 SJ Earthquakes #3 Colorado Rapids

[Al Clark]

SJ Claim Homefield Advantage for the Western Semi-Finals

Coach Clark successfully turned around his flagging SJ team and put together a respectable W2 D2 L1 finish to the season. "I think the boys are re-focused and ready for the playoffs. We can't wait to get started".

SGR is still struggling up front, but Dwight Pezzarossi has really stepped up of late and finished out the regular season in 3rd place in the Golden Boot Race. SGR despite his troubles finished the league's top marksman with 18 goals in 27 games....despite adding just 2 tallies in the final 9 games.

Clark's boys had to endure a pretty torrid time playing out 8 games on the road of their final 10. "Kinda explains our rough run there for a while". "We twice played 4 straight road games. It's nice that we're at home for the first round of the playoffs, but of course, the first leg will be at Colorado".

"I want to publically recognise Ramon Ramirez for his outstanding play of late. He's lived up to all his billing and has garnered the MOM plaudits in most of the last 5 weeks. He's been a quality pro, a credit to the game. I hope he can continue this good form into the playoffs. So much will depend on him creating chances for our boys up front. I don't think it's any coincedence that we were the top scoring team in MLS and had 2 of the top 3 marksmen."

Clark seems happy then, but the series against the Rapids will be tough. Local bookies have Clark at 7-5 to get a win over the two legs. Clark would take that.....

[Al Clark]

Dallas backs into Playoffs...

Disgusted

Is the word that Dallas manager Stu used to describe his thoughts on his squad's performance at the end of the season. Despite clinching a playoff spot by winning their last two games, the manager was far from happy.

Going into the session Dallas seemed poised to go on a good run of results enabling them to capture second place in the group. Three home games, including a home and away series v NE, seemed to be just the right opportunity to capitalize on. Sadly, it was not to be...

Dallas started brightly enough, with a full healthy squad at their disposal and a home game v DC United.

"*%$##@&@ Oktay,"manager Stu muttered after the Turkish star netted his hattrick. DC managed a fourth to round off the mauling, 4-0. Stu was understandably distraught.

"This was a massive game for us, it really was. To come out of it with absolutley nothing is just unacceptable. A decent result here could have propelled us to second place! It's just tremendously disapointing."

Dallas seemed to catch a lucky break for their next game. A home fixture against a NE side that had just 3 days prior come off of an extra-time penalty kick cup game. Knowing NE would be exhausted, Dallas played a high tempo, high pressure game...to no avail.

"There goes my job,"Stu told the media after the game,"To lose to an exhausted side 0-1, at home, is just unacceptable. I really thought the boys would show some pride after their last effort and come out blazing, but..."

Dallas had gone from a position of strength to one of dire necessity. If the results didn't come soon, they were in real peril of missing the playoffs altogether. The next match, the return against NE away, became vital.

"Thank God for Talley,"Stu said after the defender notched in his sixth minute winner off of a cross from Quill."At least someone showed up..."

Dallas now had a three point bulge on last place KC, but KC had a game in hand. The season closer v old nemesis San Jose now became a matter of survival. To make matters worse, int'l commitments took away most of Dallas regulars including keeper Onstad. It was time for old inconsistent Cassar to atone.

But the star of the match turned out to be Chris Gbandi. The player who is moving to San Jose in the off-season surely impressed his new boss with a well-taken goal. Then disaster struck with the first half sending-off of stalwart Dc Jolley; reduced to ten men Dallas battled bravely. FC held on to the death, earning themselves a first round draw against mighty, (boring), LA.

Stu was still unsatisfied. "Unacceptable,"he said. "I expect more. The fans can expect sweeping changes this offseason, no matter what happens in the playoffs."

[Al Clark]

GIANTS STADIUM UPDATE

The 2004 MLS regular season has come to an end, the Metros finished the last session of the season with a 0 and 4 record. They are last in the league in points (16), goal scored (18 ) and against (64), they set a MLS record for goal difference with -46.

"I am sure this is a season that everyone from the organization and everyone from NY/NJ area want to forget. Coach Lung appologized to the organization and all the fans in a news conference saying that he will take all the blame for such a disappointing season. He said he will try to make this team go the other way next season."

With post-season action just a few days away, Lung's Metros season is done, they can start recapping their disappointing season, figure out what they should address during the off-season.

"Coach Lung started his off-season action shortly after the end of the regular season. He is actively talking trades with different teams, exploring different options, his phone rings all day long. He is very cautious this time since he doesn't want the SGR trade to repeat again. From what we know at this point, he had agreed to 4 trades."

Trade Details:

Metrostars - LA Galaxy (Finalized)

To Metros:

Arturo Torres (S C)

To LA:

3th round pick

4th round pick

Metrostars - DC United (Finalized)

To Metros:

Joshua Gros (AM L)

6th round pick

To DC:

4th round pick (from SJ)

Metrostars - FC Dallas (Finalized)

To Metros:

Phil Salyer (D/DM RL)

Carey Talley(D/DM RLC)

To Dallas:

Eddie Gaven (AM/F RC)

Metrostars - Chicago Fire (Verbally agreed, go through during off-season)

To Metros:

Logan Pause (D/DM LC)

Craig Capano (AM RLC)

Jean-Phillipe Peguero (F RC)

To Chicago:

Amado Guevara (AM/F RC)

5th round pick

Lung had also signed Dwayne De Rosario (S C) and Oleg Luzhnyi (D RC) to a contract.

After putting several picks in some of the trades, Lung is now hoping to get a few picks back before the draft begins.

Lung had put the following players on the block:

Craig Ziadie (D/DM RL)

Joselito Vaca (AM RC)

Eliseo Quintanilla (F C)

Cornell Glen (S C)

Roger Levesque (S C)

[Al Clark]

FIRE SALE BEGINS IN METROTOWN

It seems Ricky's desire to keep his job and improve on his dismal 2004 campaign have spawned some more ugly deals.

The departure of Gaven and Guevara follow hot on the heels of the departure of Ricardo Clark, Eddie Pope, Johnny Walker, Pablo Brenes and Sergio Galvan Rey.

Instead of cutting out the deadwood, Ricky seems to be selling his most valuable assets. But I guess he feels it's time to start from scratch. No one is safe on Ricky's team after a horrible season. Gaven and Guevara will move in return for players who can perhapos move the team forward.

I hope there's some quality in depth at the draft, because the metros will have parted with 7 international players. Rookies Torres and Gros hold real potential, but one must ask if they are going to help in the short and medium terms? But there's plenty of traffic and Ricky is bringing in some numbers so he can start again. Hopefully Peguero can fire some goals for the flagging attck.

Who knows how much more of this the Metro's board can take?!

[Al Clark]

Fire to Maul DC

Grom is set to make some tactical changes for the Fire's away leg against DC United. He's being coy about whether it's personel or formation positional changes. However, one aspect remains certain and that's the Fire's dirty play, persistent fouling and over aggressive tackles have become trademarks for their style of football. This is relected not only by the yellow and red cards but the players that they have injured.

Whatever the outcome is, DC will know that they've played a game. Grom is reported to have instituted a bonus of 5k for any player than injures a DC United player, a bonus that can increase if the injury is severe. It is reported that Carlos Fernando Figueroa is the player with the biggest bounty on his head, but as this is all speculation nothing can be confirmed.

[Al Clark]

United Manager Not Amused

"The more the hard tackles the more the free kicks. More of those means more scoring chances for us" United manager said in reponse to Grom's comments. "I am pleased we have made it this far and I am not under any illusions that the Chicago match will be easy." he added.

Answering questions from the media, United boss also said:

"They should remember that United are not exactly an easy tacking team and Dema Kovalenko's numerous cards of various colours are a testament to that." "As long as the refrees call the game fairly, I have no worries about their tackling."

"I am more worried about the condition of the pich in Chicago since we have picked up several injuries there already and Razov's injury and his missed penalty kick against us were both because of the condition of their pitch. But, before we travel there, we will try to get a good result at home first."

"Sure Chicago are favorites going into the game. They have earned to be the favorites with their play this season. I just hope my players will go into the matches relaxed and looking to play good football against Chicago's star studded squad. Chicago are the ones that will be labelled as failures if they don't win the cup this year. We are still trying to rebuild our squad here in D.C."

[Al Clark]

Grom Speaks in English

Grom answered the media:

"We're hardly favorites for the series as both teams are evenly matched the regular season standings are a testament to that."

"Well we had a great season. We beat the pundit's prediction of finishing last in the East and are just happy in be in the position we're in, since it's a rebuilding year for us."

"We also don't have the star studded line up like they do, we lost are only star player earlier in the season and since then it's been a combined team effort. The lads have given 110% to the cause and can be chuffed with their success."

"It would be a failure if LA didn't win the cup this year, but I'd be lying if I said we didn't have ambitions on the trophy. But for now we are focused on DC, and the boys are relaxing and anticipating a fiercely contested and well refereed match. May the best team win"

[Marlow]

What the hell, are you going for a record?

[Al Clark]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Marlow:

What the hell, are you going for a record? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well, we debated all sitting here and copying and pasting in turn as it was on our board and decided it was too much bother!

So, as I had editing privileges I said I'd do it all. It's about time we started posting on here again, but we've been kinda pre-occupied with our own boards for a while.

I keep setting off the flood alerts!! (Sorry). I'm about half way through, then it'll be done and we can post individually from then on.

[Al Clark]

OFF-SEASON

The first MLS season finally came to an end after the mass managerial changes took place at the beginning of the season. Tom's LA Galaxy took away the MLS Cup and Nick's New England Revolution won the US Cup.

Amado Guevara, a Metros last season, now in Fire uniform took the broze in Goal of the Year with a spectacular 40-yard free kick.

After a very disappointing rookie campaign, Coach Lung of the Metrostars enters his first off-season in North America. As an update a while ago mentioned, the 4 trades have become official. He also sign Fire's goalkeeper Pickens for a fee of 170K UK pounds, he is so frustrated about this. He did not know that if a player's contract is unprotected, but is not expiring, he needs to pay a fee for the signning. Now he has half of his transfer budget gone on the signning of Pickens, his hope of chasing after a very promising Chinese porspect (name undisclosed) is gone.

Coach Lung certainly is looking forward to the draft as he will pick #1 overall. He also has a 5th and 6th round pick from DC and a 6th round pick of his own. He has verbally agreed with coach Clark of DC that he will send the 2nd round pick of next year's draft for this year 2nd round pick.

Coach Lung has 26 players in the camp right now with the draft coming up. He will have to trim his squad when the roster cut-off day comes.

Coach Lung's roster looks like this right now:

Goalkeeper

Henry Ring

Matt Pickens

Zach Wells

Defender

Kenny Arena

Oleg Luzhnyi

Carey Talley

Logan Pause

Phil Salyer

David Régis

Brian Carroll

Chris Leitch

Craig Ziadie

Jeff Parke

Tim Regan

Midfieder

Bobby Thompson

Mark Lisi

Craig Capano

Joselito Vaca

Joshua Gros

Forward

Brian Ching

Jean-Phillipe Peguero

Arturo Torres

Cornell Glen

Dwayne De Rosario

Mike Magee

Roger Levesque

We will know who will make it to the final 25-man roster in a month.

[Al Clark]

2004 US OPEN CUP: N.E. REVOLUTION (Nick Guttierez)[i/]

Rev's Triumph in Cup Tourney

Nick G's NE Revolution came out triumphant over KC Wizards in a battle of the AssMen.

In Et's absence, Nick opted to let the AM fight it out and the Boston Boys came out on top.

More details to follow, but please accept our congratulations on the Open Cup victory from all of us here at MLSNET.com

[Al Clark]

2004 MLS CUP: LA GALAXY (Tom Yaglowski)

LA Completes the Double

Tom sealed a famous double for the California boys after a come from behind 3-1 victory over Russ' (Grom's) Chicago Fire.

After dominating the regular season, Tom and his Galaxy players proved the form guide right, dispatching with Dallas, SJ in the West before moving on to the final.

Few could argue about the result and over all champion as coaches, players and pundit's alike all agreed that LA were worthy winners.

More details and individual team reports and awards to follow.

Stay tuned to mlsnet.com for all your MLS news!

[Al Clark]

An Era of Change Begins...

After faltering early and often in the two game debacle against eventual MLS champions LA, Dallas manager Stu began his offseason clearance...

"Just not good enough,"fumed Stu,"This team is simply not good enough."

The retooling of the inconsistent side began with the much anticipated acquisition of young US star Eddie Gaven. Big things are expected of the youngster who has just reached his 18th birthday. Going to the Metrostars were two young regular defensive midfielders, Talley and Salyer.

"I hated to let those two go,"said Stu,"They were a big part of our team last year, they gave us quite a bit of width on the pitch, and they played with a lot of heart. They're already proving difficult to replace."

"Gaven'll be a big plus for us. He gives us an extra attacking option and can play the wing, he should help take some of the pressure off of EJ, who wilted somewhat down the stretch. We expect great things from the lad down the road. But, I will caution the home fans to be patient, he is still a boy.

Stu also found time for some words of support for embattled Metrostars manager Ricky...

"I don't care what the pundits are saying...I think he's doing a stellar job of making sure his squad is more competitive for next season. I think you will see a big turn around with the Metros performance in the coming year.'

Stu next pulled the trigger on the long rumored deal with New England. The blockbuster saw Mathis going to NE, for younger striker Twellman.

"It's a good deal for both teams and players, I think,"said Stu,"To my mind, both players underachieved last year, and new surroundings should do them both a world of good."

"I've liked Twellman for a long time, and I feel he's just starting to really come on...he lasts much later in matches than Mathis did for us last year, and he has a real eye for the goal."

Stu continued his raid on the New England squad, acquiring long coveted Cdn player Felix Brilliant for young DC Clarence Goodson and a third rd pick in the college draft.

"I had had my fill of Goodson this year, and I just didn't feel he was up to the task,"confirmed Stu,"He was probably on his way out on a free anyway. A third rd pick for a versatile depth midfielder like Felix seemed like a good trade off to me. I had traded two starters from last years squad already, and I felt I needed established talent over a unpolished yngstr."

An unattached young striker was found and signed by Stu after the season end too. A young US 18 yr old.

"My scouts say Smith is the real deal, I guess we'll find out soon enough..."

In a last bit of player related transfers, Stu reacquired defender Gbandi from San Jose manager Al for striker Toni Nhleko.

"It's a bit of a fix from a dodgy transfer situation,"Stu confirmed,"It will be a classic catch and release exercise for Al with Nhleko, and we'll get our (stolen), player back. I don't like to accuse other managers of shady dealings...but...here we are. I'm sure it was an honest mistake, and its all getting fixed now, so...all's forgiven."

Stu then released several players from their contracts.

"Not up to snuff."he sniffed.

Stu even cleared house with his scouts and coaches,letting go long serving coach Morrow and obtaining the services of former, (briefly), Cdn Olympic gold medal sprinter Ben Johnson.

"He's a class act,"said Stu.

Stu wrecked havoc on his scouts too, inking a German scout to an obscene amount of money; while releasing some poor Yank..

"He's my eyes and ears, and I felt I needed the best,"explained Stu.

Stu confirmed his shopping was far from over.

"We still need a young keeper who can take over from Onstad, a young DC I can trust, (or a crusty veteran for that matter), and some width. If we can attain these before the season, I think you will see a much improved Dallas team next year."

"I'd like to close with congratulating all of the MLS managers on their fine seasons, and wish them all the luck in the future; (we're all in the same union, you know.)"

[Al Clark]

Most Valuable Player

Rookie of The Year

Scoring Champion

Goalkeeper of The Year

Defender of The Year

All Pro Team

Goal of The Season

Manager of The Year

[Al Clark]

Quakes Fall To Eventual Champs LA

San Jose fell a little short in MLS Cup 2004 but most agreed it was a solid season for the Cali club and that many improvements had been made in terms of the playing personnel.

The playoffs started with SJ taking on the surging Rapids. Greg's team had hit form right on schedule and had powered up the standings, nearly stealing the #2 seed from SJ.

The Quakes went down 2-0 on the road, but courtesy in no small part to SGR's second leg hatrick proceeded to the Western Conference Final, against LA. The Galaxy had been near invincible on home soil at the HDC so when Clark's men fell 1-0 in a tight game the SJ boss had this to say "LA will go all the way. The double is there's". Prophetic words indeed....

The 2nd round departure did nothing to calm the sense of a successful season at Spartan Stadium. Off the field concerns did not unlduly affect play and many individuals performed exceptionally throughout the season. This success was reflected in the end of season awards, the highlights being:

MLS MVP: #1 Ramon Ramirez

Rookie OTY:#1 Ricardo Clark

Golden Boot:#1 Sergio Galvan Rey, #3 Dwight Pezzarossi

Goal OTY:#1 Dwight Pezzarossi

as well as 3 players in the All-MLS squad - Clark, Ramirez and SGR.

Even Coach Clark was recognised for his efforts, polling second in the Manager of the Year award behind Russ(Grom) at Chicago.

Clark has added some new, and some familiar faces to the squad for 2005. Out went Pablo Brenes who did not do enough to justify his TI slot. Chris Roner left for DC as a free agent and in came old boy Jeff Agoos, Uruguay international Polonnini (?) and Belgian sensation Vandenborre. The young European picked SJ despite overtures from super clubs from Italy and Spain after he walked away from his club Anderlecht as a free agent. Tne 17 y/o seems to have the footballing world at his feet and it will be interesting to see how he progresses this year and next.

Clark still has a bag load of picks in next months Superdraft and is expected to look for a young striker and a help all across the back when he makes his 4 picks in the first 2 rounds.

Money is still tight at Spartan and Clark confirmed that two big names had been tentatively placed on the transfer block in order to try and raise some funds. "It's true, if we get a good cash offer for Pablo or Dwight [from abroad] we will not stand in their way. They're both big earners eating up a lot of cap space and their transfer fees could keep this club aflot for years to come. I'd also have some money to play wih in the transfer market - I still need an AML after all."

Dwight Pezzarossi will be taking up an SI spot this season after turning 25 last season. The arrival of the 22y/o Uruguay phenom makes him surplus to requirements, a little harsh some would say on the 14 goal (#3 in MLS) scorer, who also notched the Goal of the Season against DC. "If he doesn't leave I wont be unhappy, but he has aspirations to return to Europe and prove some doubters wrong. We wont hold him back if the deal works for us".

So, all is rosey in the SJ camp but defence and wingers remain Clark's top priority for the off-season.

On the Block:

The following players, though considered valuable to the 1st team are not untouchable should the right deal come alonghe Block:

Todd Dunivant

Craig Waibel

Richard Mulrooney

Dwight Pezzarossi (75% cash only)

Pablo Mastroeni (99% cash only)

Ali Curtis

Open to Deals:

Drew Moor

Khari Stephenson

C.J Klass

Wolde Harris

Tighe Dombrowski

[Al Clark]

Boss to Press: Nobody is untouchable

A remarkably mild-tempered apparently sedated Nick Gutierrez stood before the Gillette Stadium crowd and, talking about his offseason, said simply that nobody is untouchable. "Naturally, there are a couple of players that I'm planning to base my season around, but there is nobody that I wouldn't trade should the right offer come our way."

He's already come a long way towards reshaping an anemic attacking corps, trading talented but struggling Taylor Twellman along with a 4th round pick in the next draft to Dallas for Clint Mathis and a 5th rounder, and bringing in Andy Herrón from Chicago for Shalrie Joseph. "I don't put much stock in experience, usually, but there's something to be said for having a player good enough to rack up double-digit appearances for the US National Team. Clint has done that, and he's a clinical finisher who maybe just needed a change, and I think he'll thrive next season."

These moves, of course, leave the future of Pat Noonan up for speculation, but Gutierrez will say only that Noonan's spot in the first team has not necessarily been lost. "Pat is a talented player, and when you have a player like him, you find a position for him. If you can't find one, you create one, and if that's... what... we have to do... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz... huh? Oh, right... then that's what we'll do. Now if you'll excuse me," he said with a yawn, "I need to take a nap."

After the nap, he was asked his thoughts on his side's victory in the US Open Cup. "It's not the trophy we wanted, but we'll take it. Any winning experience is a good one, and hopefully it won't be anywhere near the last for this club under my control."

[Al Clark]

Huh no away goals rule!! :shock:

The Fire vs. DC was an epic series. In the first leg Chicago used a newly devised defensive counter attacking system, which worked like a charm. Peguero converted a dubious penalty and Boucicaut converted a free kick from 25 yards out. At the halftime interval we were 2-0 up, but that success came with the loss of rookie of the candidate Justin Mapp but Ralph replaced him. The physio sent Justin to hospital because it was a severe injury, it was later revealed that it was a torn groin and he was lost for the playoffs. DC finally adjusted to us in the last 10 minutes and earned a vital goal. The second leg was different at Soldier Field, DC got off to an early lead from Figueroa. I thought Armas was tightly marking him hmmmm…..DC really controlled the second leg and the second half, but we were happy defend since we had them on the away goals rule. The match ended 0-1 and 2-2 on aggregate and we started to celebrate but the ref had other ideas. So it went to extra time and both sides had chances to win it. Ralph got sent off for dissent 2 yellow cards in a minute at the 118 mark. So it went to spot kicks, and both teams found it difficult to beat Rimando and Thornton. The first six were saved and both managers were feeling uneasy and stressed. Yet, when our vets stepped up they came through Armas and Dayak and we won the shootout 2-1.

At Crew Stadium we decided to use the same tactic sit back and counter, and it worked. Jim Curtin rose and headed us in front off a corner after 7 minutes. Then on 18 minutes Andrew Williams finished off a well worked move down the right, and we were 2 goals to the good. The Crew couldn’t over come the deficit and the Fire were heading to the Final.

The Final was going to be very tough against LA, in their own back yard at the Home Depot Centre. We started well; Peguero beat the offside trap and latch on to an AFC Wimbledon style long ball and fired us ahead. After that brief moment of glory LA took over and we struggled. The better team won, and congrats to Tom.

We moved in for the Metro’s star playmaker Amado Guevara and we gave up Logan Pause, Peguero, and Campano and we also their 5fth rd pick. A nice deal for us but I hated to part with Pause since he’s a Vinnie Jones in the making.

Then we moved Andy Herron to New England for Shalrie Joseph and we swapped 5fth and 4th rd picks. We added another D/DM C which is a versatile in our formation and gives us depth at DC and DM.

We weren’t finished their. We traded our #1 defender (CJ Brown) to arch rival DC along with Marsch for AML Gakhokidze and DMC Suarez. A deal that was done to accommodate the young Norse centre half coming in.

Grom was the manager year an award that was graciously accepted and dedicated to Dr. Preen. Thx J!!

[Al Clark]

DC United get knocked out and look forward to next season

United faced Chicago Fire in for the two legged Eastern Conference semi final. The matchup was decided virtually within 9 minutes as a very questionable penalty call was awarded to Andrew Williams after Hashim Suarez was judged to have pushed Williams in the box. Replays of the incident showed that there was minimal contact and despite the United players' discontent, the refree had already made up his mind. Raph converted and put the Fire ahead by one.

While United pushed forward , Chicago chose to sit back. United defense was able to contain the sparse Chicago attacks but three minutes after the half, yet another questionable call by the refree awarded a free kick 25 yards from goal. The kick taken by Alexandre Boucicaut curled around the wall and found its way into the net and put Chicago up by two at RFK stadium.

United pushed to get a goal, but were able to find very few chances until a Chicago corner was skilfully cleared by Hashim Suarez towards Carlos Fernando Figueroa on the right who caught the defense napping with a 55 glorious yard pass to Freddy Adu who managed to get past the last defender. His shot was parried by Zach Thornton but the ball fell in front of substitute Alecko Eskandarian who did not miss the wide open net.

More than the score, United were sad to lose Marco Dinjar as he went down injured 7 minutes before time after colliding with Andrew Williams and he would miss the return leg in Chicago.

On the return leg, Chicago employed a similar defensive tactic looking to hit United on the counter. This time United were prepared and got the goal they needed to tie the affair 15 minutes after the start. A neat passing move by Joshua Gros and Ben Olsen, Fernando Carlos Figueroa received the ball unmarked and one on one with Zach Thornton and did not miss.

For the rest of the match Chicago kept defending and United attacked persistently outshooting and outplaying the Fire in their own stadium. Without Marco Dinjar, United found it difficult to clinch the winner in regular or extra time which sent the match into penalties. Just what the Fire had been hoping for since the 15th minute of the match.

Despite extra penalty taking training in the days prior to the match, United were able to convert only one of 5 tries and Chicago edged United in the penalty shootout by one goal.

With the season over and Los Angeles crowned MLS champions. United continued their rebuilding effort. Several players left the team to pursue their careers elsewhere in the MLS. Joshua Gros, Oktay Derelioglu, Georgi Gakhokidze, Hashim Suarez, Brandon Prideaux, Ezra Hendrickson and Jamil Walker were released or traded in the offseason, to acquire the services of Chicago Fire defender C.J. Brown and defensive midfielder Jesse Marsch, Chris Roner from San Jose, young defender Matt Denecour, speed merchant Jeremiah White, strikers Stoyko Sakaliev of Bulgaria and Pietro Alva of Peru, and 21 year old flamboyant left winger Ivan Robelto from Colombia.

The MLS superdraft was also fruitful for DC United as they made good use of their two first round picks to snap up 16 year old right winger Tom Keevan, talented defender Mike Jackson, and hardworking midfielder Mike Schimdt. United also added full back Mike Davis in the supplementary draft who was suprisingly left unprotected by Los Angeles after being picked in the third round of the MLS superdraft only a few weeks before. It is still unknown how much first team action these players will see this year, but United manager is confident that they will prove to be useful players to the team in the years to come.

The United squad now has 27 players on the books and the manager faces a tough decision who to leave out of the 24 man roster for the season. It is rumored that underachieving Santino Quaranta and Bryan Namoff will not make the 24 man squad.

United appear to finally have squad depth in all areas especially up front after adding much needed pace to the strikeforce. Returning midfielders Carlos Fernando Figueroa and Marko Dinjar are likely to feature in heavily with fan favorites Dema Kovalenko and Ben Olsen also set to have another season at D.C. Ivan Robelto comes highly recommended and should see some action on the left wing with the departure of the disappointing Georgi Gakhokidze. In defense, Russell Hutchinson is set to move to the right side and C.J. Brown will pair up with Mike Petke in the centre. Leonardo Gonzalez will have another season at left back after impressing in his first season in the MLS. Goalkeeper of the year Runner up Nick Rimando will once again stand between the posts. Squad players Troy Perkins, Chris Roner, David Stokes, Matt Denecour, Jesse Marsch, Alecko Eskandarian, Jeremiah White and John Wolyniec will compete for places in the first eleven with prospects Mike Jackson, Mike Schmidt, Tom Keevan and Freddy Adu.

With the board once again pleased with the manager's performance, United fans are eagerly looking forward to the start of the season and watch a much stronger team.

[Al Clark]

The final pieces to the jigsaw??

Clark continued to shuffle his pack in the hope of the perfect hand. "I think we're close" said Clark, beaming ear-to-ear.

A few slick deals have seen Clark address some of the key weaknesses at Spartan.

Eddie Pope returnd after finishing the season at the Rapids. He didn't come cheap as the Quakes coughed up Dwight Pezzarossi for the USMNT stalwart. Clark immediately signed Pope to a cheaper, longer deal. "We needed Eddie to drop his wages a little. He can see the big picture and that money will help us sign a few more quality players."

Clark followed up the EP deal by trading for Clint Dempsey. The young M LC was traded stright out for Arturo Alvarez, who despite enormous promise and coach hype, had not fulfilled his potential last year. "Clint will be an MLS MVP someday, soon. The USMNT beckons......"

The final piece of the jigsaw could be the signing of Dallas' Eric Quill. The AML really had a break out year in 2004 and finished joint third in the MVP race with a 7.52 average. Not a great scorer or provider at FC Dallas, Clark hopes the end product can be enhanced at a free-scoring team like SJ. "Just what the doctor ordered. I'd been drying to get my hands on a left winger, one who could step in now. Quill was the top winger in the league last year so his arrival only makes us a better team. " Clark lost patience with another youngster, Brad Davis who was shipped out in a straight swap deal with Quill.

Ezra Hendricksen was picked up in the Supplemental draft. "To pick up a player who was both the top defender in MLS last year in terms of consistency (7.48) but to a $750/wk contract is an abosulte steal. Omer was crazy to let him go."

Clark also parted with a few players. Jeff Agoos didn't make the cut and departed along with Craig Waibel. Drew Moor was released after it was decided he'd never make the grade. C.J Klass was shipped to Dallas with a 3rd rounder in return for a 2nd in next years draft. Jamaica int'ls Khari Stephenson and Wolde Harris were axed to make room for someof the draft picks - including Greer, who has considerable talent for his age.

The SJ team now looks formidable, and sports several internationals.

GK:

Starter: Joe Cannon

Backup:Johnny Walker

[What a battle between two MVP candidates, both whom have been recognised at the international level for USA]

Fullback:

Ezra Henricksen

Todd Dunnivant

Center Half:

Eddie Pope

Jimmy Conrad

Wingers:

Richard Mulrooney

Eric Quill

Centre Mids (from):

Ricardo Clark

Ramon Ramirez

Clint Dempsey

Pablo Mastroeni

Strikers:

Sergio Galvan Rey

Fabian Estoyanoff

The bench is deep too with Ali Curtis, Wes Hart, Ryan Cochrane, Tighe Dowmbrowski and more.

It's way too early to be calling SJ champions, but they look well poised. The Quakes board wont buy into any plea of team building this season.

[Al Clark]

FUTURE BIG TIME STAR?

We have entered the new calendar year, as every team is preparing for yet another MLS season, the 10th in MLS history.

With the first kick just about a month away; and the superdraft and the supplemental draft have taken place, coach Lung of the Metrostars said his roster is set for the new season, and any deals that may happen in the near future will not be any major one.

During the Combine, coach Lung had looked at a lot of talents that were available at the draft. At the actual draft, Lung had come up with his final 3 of Hauser, Keevan, Greer. Lung decide to go with Paul Hauser, the other two were drafted later in the first round by DC and SJ respectively. Paul Hauser, a 21 years old striker, scored 3 times in the 3-game Combine tournament, he will add depth to the front line, he definitely will get some playing time throughout the season.

We will see if Lung had made the right choice of picking Paul Hauser as the number one overall pick in the draft.

[Al Clark]

Dallas manager nervous about season ahead...

Dallas manager Stu has completed a massive overhaul of the roster, bringing in no fewer than eleven new faces to last year's seasons end squad of 24. Gone are such illustriuous and familiar faces like Milton Reyes, Jason Kreis, and Eric Quill; among the new arrivals are Brad Davis, (shipped to SJ for a year and has now returned), Eddie Gaven and Taylor Twellman.

"We wanted to address several needs this offseason,"Stu said,"And...I think we may well have ended up raising more question marks than we answered."

"We desperatley wanted to add young talent in goal, (Onstad won't go on forever), and only succeeded in bringing in a young second round draft choice, Todd Taylor. He may well turn out in the future, but this year...it may be asking a little much."

Todd Taylor will start the year as third choice keeper behind incumbent Onstad and the maddeningly inconsistent Jeff Cassar. Onstad has somewhat alleviated management's worries about his age with several strong performances for the Cdn national team during the MLS offseason.

"I felt we needed at least one more strong central defender to help the club, and so we signed two young players from the English lower leagues John Burwood and Hall from Oldham. Now that they are here, the consensus among the assmen and me, is that they might still be a little green for the rigours of MLS soccer."

The two English youngsters will more than likely provide cover for the three incumbernt starters from the Dallas backline. MLS Allstar Eddie Robinson, rock Steve Jolley, and dependable Matt Behnke.

"We were toying with the idea of changing our traditional formation and going with two at the centre half position, (instead of three), but we had concerns that while Robinson was an Allstar with extra support...how good would he prove to be with none? The tactical questions soon became moot as I proceeded to trade away most of our width players."

Eric Quill went to San Jose in a questionable trade by the Dallas manager. In return, Stu received young struggling midfielder Brad Davis.

"Al thinks he's getting an all-star winger,"said Stu,"I didn't have the heart to tell him that Quill operated in the centre for us most of last season. Can Quill reproduce his form of last year? I'm obviously betting no. I think he'll quickly become lost in the quality of that side. I wouldn't be surprised if he finds his way back to us after Al has destroyed all his confidence...just like Davis."

The supplemental draft proved fruitful for the Dallas side as they gained the services of Kiwi Duncan Oughton. The arrival of the New Zealand player made the services of former squad member Milton Reyes, redundant.

"I wasn't that sad to see Milton go,"confirmed Stu,"We don't play with true fullbacks, and it seemed difficult for him to adjust to our playing style."

The changes indeed made Dallas threadbare at the outside positions. Only David Wagenfuhr, (a yngstr who will be given every chance to impress this year), Oughton, Davis, and first rd draft choice Ashe are true width players. But, there is cover from the likes of indispensable Ronnie O'Brein, Felix Brilliant, and Eddie Gaven.

The center of the park includes a nice mix of young and old. Reliable Finn Valakari and young superstar in the making Jordan Stone will hold down the ball-winning positions, and age-less wonder Pareja will continue to boss the park. Joining the mix are talented youngster Todd Maurin, Brilliant and O'Brein.

"I love the potential of Jordan Stone,"Stu confessed,"I had him playing centre half, (out of his preferred position), for most of last season and he played spectacularly without complaint. This year he will get every chance to make a midfield slot his own."

The most change was seen at forward, where everyone departed except for superstar Eddie Johnson. Joining the star is Taylor Twellman, (star in his own right), Joe Max Moore, Eddie Gaven, and young rookie Smith. Bobby Rhine continues to stay at the club for the time being...

"We feel we have a lot more depth at forward than last season, and we will start using the talents of EJ a little more judiciously."confirmed Stu,"We're hoping to avoid the second half wilting that EJ displayed last season."

"We've gotten a lot younger this year, and with youth comes question marks...our potential is obviously a lot higher than it was last year, but so is our potential for failure."

The opening day roster looks like this:

GK

Pat Onstad - Agelesss Cdn great

Jeff Cassar - Inconsistent keeper that drives manager Stu bonkers

Todd Taylor - Young punk kid, 2d rd draft pick

DC

Eddie Robinson - MLS Allstar after coming over from SJ

Steve Jolley - Highly valued DC

Matt Behnke - Useful defender

John Burwood - Young DC from England

Hall - plucked from Oldham

Width players

Felix Brilliant - probably starter on the L side

Duncan Oughton - recently acquired Kiwi will be given shot at R side

Ashe - first rd pick, will play some on R

David Wagenfuhr - will battle Brilliant

Brad Davis - will get his minutes...somewhere...

Center Mids

Valakari - heart of team, owns holding role

O'Brein - always starts when healthy

Pareja - still a starter at 36

Stone - will be given every opp at mid or dc, future star

Maurin - will play some...future star...unsure if future is now...

Forwards

EJ - most valuable Dallas player

Twellwood - should be effective partner

JM Moore - first off the bench

Gaven - will get minutes all over the offensive end of park

Smith - shouldn't play much, short of team plane crashing...

Rhine - from EJ's partner at opening day last year to last on team depth chart...

[Al Clark]

Commissioner Helps Out San Jose Manager

The MLS commissioner reminded Al Clark, the San Jose boss, that his newly signed forward is Fabian Estoyanoff. The 22 year old Uruguayan was signed by San Jose as a Transitional International. So far in his career, Estoyanoff has won 10 caps and managed to score 2 goals. The MLS commissioner expressed that he is hopeful Estoyanoff will be able to settle to life in San Jose and become an exciting new addition to the league.

[Al Clark]

SJ Boss Speaks with the Media

"Thanks Don", said Clark. "It's embarrasing that I can't remember the name of arguably this side's greatest signing, but there's bee so much traffic through the door this offseason I just couldn't pull it out. No offense to the youngster, he can rest assured that he's firmly in my plans. I didn't ship the leagues #3 scorer out for no reason."

In response to FC Dallas boss Stu's remarks about Eric Quill..."Yeah, I confess, Stu might have pulled the wool over my eyes on that trade but I'm still happy. Either way we have another quality left foot in the mix. I think he will succeed, and frankly, Brad Davis wasn't cutting it. He has all the potential in the world but at pushing 23, he needs to get his game in order or he's going to find things passing him by."

"The Conference looks awesome, every team has a legitimate chance to win it all, and I don't think I'm sticking my neck out too far by saying the MLS Cup 2005 Champion will come from our conference. May the best man win....."

Asked to comment on the salary cap debacle at LA, Clark had this to say..."Well, Tom brought in some talent, lost some talent and got the wages thing all wrong. Easily done in MLS for a rookie. We've all had cap mishaps in our time. Let's not forget how strong LA were last season and most of that core is still around. This is Tom's league right now, if we want to change that we're going to have to see if we can wrestle it away from him. They'll challenge all the way, if you think different you're on smack!"

[Al Clark]

[Al Clark]

Dallas Coach loses plot...

Dallas coach Stu suffered from a spell of insanity yesterday, unloading his top three draft picks in a brief period spanning twenty minutes.

The top pick arrived in Chicago along with keeper Jeff Cassar in return for in-form keeper Zack Thornton.

"It might look a little one-sided, I admit. But with one fell swoop I've solved our goaltending duties for the next five years, and unloaded that headache Cassar."Stu admitted,"That pick may turn out to be number one overall, but with the arrival of Thornton we're obviously hoping to avoid that."

Stu then sent his number two pick to the Metrostars for US U21 starlet Mike Magee.

"Mike's got 5 goals in 8 int'l matches, I think he's the real deal...and he'll only get better. Besides, it gave me an excuse to release Bobby Rhine."

Pundits could be excused for pointing out that perhaps if Stu had waited a little longer, Magee might have been available on a free. It was common knowledge around the MLS that coach Ricky had too many players for slots.

Stu completed his madness by shipping his third pick to frequent trading partner Al of San Jose. In return, Dallas received solid if unremarkable defender Craig Waibel. Again a player that may have been had on a free...

The arrrival of Waibel signaled the departure of prospect striker Smith.

"There's just not enough room on an MLS roster for developing players,"Stu sighed,"The youngsters you carry have to be capable of stepping in and playing right now...we'll keep an eye on Smith though, and when he looks closer to filling his potential he'll be hearing from us."

The moves overall slightly address the Dallas lack of depth. But for a side rebuilding with youth, trading valuable picks for squad players seems a little insane.

[Al Clark]

A Session To Forget....

'********" said a fired up SJ boss. "I've crapped better performances than those games".

This crude assessment followed a run of 3 defeats and a 0-0 tie which saw Bookies (joint) favourites SJ notch one point from six and get uncerimoniously dumped out of the CONCACAF Cup 4-1 on aggregate to Mexican powerhouse America.

Clark was once again busy in the transfer market. More fine tuning was required than wholesale changes yet Al still found time to assemble a blockbuster. Out went top prospect and all-round quality player Ricardo Clark....in came teenage Phenom Freddy Adu. The deal was made even sweeter by the inclusion of Santino Quaranta and a 4th.

"Losing Ricardo is tough, but, when we looked at the roster we had Pablo Mastroeni and new recruit Anthony Vandenborre who were both capable of taking his place. Let's not forget what we got in return - Freddy is the future of the US game and arguably a top 3 prospect inall of world soccer".

Clark was clearly upset that the fans had not taken the time to acknowledge the magnitude of the signing, yet again, yet the did find time to bitch about the signing of Dunseth from NE. The veteran was only ever a make-weight in a deal and was soon released, yet the fans we're out in force questioning the coach's ambitions. "This is why I'm the manager and they're not. They're quick to criticise and slow to priase....and they call themselves fans. Bah."

Clark made a couple more changes, adding versatile D-man Brian Namoff after he was released from DC and signing Pete Vagenas (a 2 time US MNT player) to take the starting DL role. Tighe Dombrowski was released as a consequence. Young GK Bucchanan, taken in the middle rounds of the last draft was also cut.

So far the changes have not worked out well, but Clark predicts that things will turn around soon. "Look at the quality through our side, we'll find our rhythm soon, we've had a lot of changes and it will take some time. I expect us to be right up there and soon."

The bookies had made LA, Chicago and SJ joint 7-4 favourites but the three big guns mustered only 4 points between them out of the opening 18 on offer. But, it's early doors, and although the East has started strongly, Clark still expects a Western Conference team to be triumphant. "Personally, I see it is between LA, SJ, DC and Chicago. Colorado or Dallas could be a dark horse, but I'd say one of those big four will walk away with the plaudits."

Finally, in an apparent reaction to Clark's forgetting his name, new Uruguayan striker Estoyanoff has declared he's finding it hard to settle in the area. "Touche" said Clark, "the boy will be fine. He's going to be a great signing for us".

[Al Clark]

SOLID START FOR METROSTARS

Metrostars head coach Ricky Lung jammed in 3 friendlies at the end of March after he realized he had to arrange friendly matches himself. He ended up with 3 victories in those 3 matches.

"Just before we move along in yesterday's session, coach Clark of DC United approached me and offers his number one pick Tom Keevan, he wants my first rounder in next year's draft. I have already expressed interest on Tom at the draft, so I am willing to take him, but since I have a full squad of 24 players, I shipped Mike Magee to Dallas for a 2nd round pick to make room for Tom. The deal of Tom Keevan is cancelled at the end due to the fact that the transfer will not go through until the next year's draft takes place. So I end up losing Magee and will not have the service of Tom this season. But this is still a reasonable move since I have a bunch of forwards on my team, and now I have a spot open on my squad, I will have some flexibility in the future to make some moves."

"Two weeks ago when the opener of the season was getting closer, coach Lung told a reporter that he felt a lot of pressure, since the board and the fans certainly will not accept another last place finish."

The result of the first game turns out to be a dominating fashion by the Metros, with Brian Ching headed in the first goal of the season for the Metros, Jean-Phillipe Peguero scored on a penalty kick after Meola was sent off mid-way through the second half, he missed a penalty kick during the closing seconds of the game.

The home opener at Giant Stadium is a tough one, they had the defending champion LA in town. Coach Tom of LA was not on the sideline for the game, so the assistant manager of LA took over. Joselito Vaca scored a spectacular free kick in the first half, the ball bounced off the post and went in. Coach Lung made a few defensive move in the second half to defence the one goal lead, LA came very close during the last ten minutes of the team when they kept firing shots, but Henry Ring kept the lead and Jean-Phillipe Peguero scored at the spot again during the dying seconds to seal the victory.

After two games, the Metros and DC United both has 6 points, they are leading the East and the league for now. They will square off at the beginning of next session.

[Al Clark]

Promising start to the new campaign

As the new season approached, D.C. United Chairman and the fans were eager to improve on the prior season. Just before the squad selection deadline, in a suprising move, United shipped off the future of the US national team Freddy Adu to San Jose along with Santino Quaranta and a 4th round pick to acquire Ricardo Clark. United manager was keen to acquire Clark even last season and had been willing to give up Adu to the MetroStars but the trade never went through as San Jose came in to snap up the promising holding midfielder.

"Adu will be good, there is no question about that. But Clark is good and will be better. We made a decision that we really didn't need Adu while players like Robelto, Figueroa, Dinjar, Alva and Sakaliev were in the squad. The holding midfielder role was occupied by Kovalenko but I would prefer to give him a more attacking role so Clark is a great acquisition for us this season and for many more to come." United manager said.

As for adding Quaranta to the deal United manager said "He simply hasn't progressed in the manner we had hoped and was going to be released in a matter of days. I am a firm believer that if a club can't or doesn't use a player, they should step aside and let another club have the player. There is no point to letting these youngsters rot on the sidelines."

For the first match of the season, United travelled south to face Dallas and Eddie Johnson. An early injury to Fernando Carlos Figueroa saw the young Colombian step in on the left wing and make his mark for the rest of the match. Everything went according to plan for DC as their pressure paid off in the middle of the first half. Piero Alva was brought down in the box and Marko Dinjar stepped up to convert the penalty. Dallas pushed forward but generally had trouble breaking down the United defense. An 89th minute counter attack extended United's lead as Piero Alva found Jeremiah White in the box for an easy finish.

Hosting Colorado's much strengthened team, United started playing cautiously as both teams stacked up chance after chance. United were lucky not to go down in the second half after Colorado defended a corner superbly to catch United on the counter. Despite rounding Rimando, Byron Carmichael shot the ball to the side netting as United faithful breathed a great sigh of relief. Only a few minutes later, substitute Jeremiah White saved the day for United by grabbing the goal that won the three points. In a most match interview, United manager indicated how impressed he was with the new look Colorado team that could have won the match with a little bit of luck. "I wouldn't put it past them to compete for first place in the West this season against the seemingly weakened San Jose and Los Angeles teams. They have a good squad, and their manager is a class act." United manager said.

United sit at the top of the Eastern conference after two matches, joint leaders with the suprising MetroStars. The two teams are set to face eachother in the next match as the MetroStars will look to emulate their performance against Los Angeles and United will look to further their promising start to the season.

[Al Clark]

Dallas starts season with new exciting attacking style...

Dallas kicked off the 2005 season with two home games versus Eastern opponents DC United and Columbus. In acknowlegment of the exciting young players now at his disposal, manager Stu unveiled a new fluid attacking tactic on the MLS. A tactic that would be sure to show off his side's attacking flair...

(1)The DC debacle

Dallas kicked off the season amongst much pomp and ceremony at the Cotton Bowl playing host to Omer's United. Several new players made their debuts for the home side including new keeper Zack Thornton, DC Craig Waibel (filling in for the injured Jolley), attacking midfielder Felix Brillant, (occupying the leftside channel), and Taylor Twellman, (partnering the precocious EJ upfront).

Dallas seemed to have the upper hand in the beginning stages of the game, until it all fell apart...Craig Waibel was having a bit of a 'mare, being asked to shadow a far more fleeter of foot attacker than he could possibly handle. Wrongfooted, he hopelessly flailed at the maurading United player in the box, rewarding the visitors with an unearned penalty. The penalty was duly dispatched by Dinjar and the visitors found themselves up 1-0 at the twenty five minute mark.

Unpreturbed, Stu kept steady with his exciting new tactics, knowing it was only a matter of time until his tactical masterstrokes reaped their rewards. But, by the half it was clear youngster Stone was having trouble coming to grips with his on-field role and so the Kiwi Oughton was brought on to make his Dallas debut.

The game dragged on, with Dallas making little headway braeaking down the United defence and DC having the (slight) upperhand in chances. At the 64 minute mark Stu rang the changes, handing Eddie Gaven his Dallas debut, (for Pareja), and Corey Ashe made his first appearance in front of the home crowd, (for the tired OBrein). Surely the young guns could conjure something up...

The young guns surely could as DC United youngster White broke the offside trap at the 89 minute mark to run half the pitch unmolested before slotting the ball past the despairing Thornton. 2-0 final, DC.

The torment was not over for Dallas, as after the game Stu was informed that EJ would miss the next two weeks with a groin strain...

The Columbus Goalfest

Next up for Dallas was the stout defending Columbus side. Luckily, (for Dallas), the Columbus manager was absent from the match, seeking treatment for his Easter chocolate addictions...

In reward for his fine performance as a substitute against DC, Oughton found himself starting in Stone's place. Recent callback Brad Davis made his first start, (for Brillant), Mike Magee was handed his debut, (slotting in for Pareja), and Joe Max Moore got his first action for Dallas, covering for the injured EJ.

The first half droned by quickly, with only an injury to a Columbus player breaking the tedium. At the half OBrein was taken off due to picking up a knock; allowing Gaven to make his 2nd substitute appearance. At the 55 min mark Magee ended his dour debut, coming off injured. On came Pareja, and the beginning of the Dallas onslaught.

Shots rained down on MOM Busch, but the Columbus keeper kept them all out, even the astute subbing of Ashe in for JM Moore (79 min), had no effect on the keeper. Gaven was turned away twice on the line with Busch beaten in the last 5 minutes, but Dallas ended the game as they had begun, 0-0.

After two home games Dallas find themselves with no goals and no wins. A sorry start to the season indeed. The only redeeming factors have been back to back strong performances from AllStars Robinson and Thornton.

Stu defended his tactical nous...

"The goals will come, the goals will come, the goals will come,"

Stu repeated over and over, eventually ending with the screaming query,

"EJ! Why have you forsaken me?"

Stu then collapsed into the fetal position, shaking uncontrollably, on the press conference floor...

[Al Clark]

Is this Any Way to Run a Team?

Well the 2005 campaign looked to be starting much like 2004. Manager Greg Broz had to step away from the draft due to family issues. He could only hope that his assman would get the contracts done with the handful of players they would be able to acquire through the draft. Key to their plans was a young keeper that they could work into the system. While their first choice was snapped up, their second was still there when Colorado had their choice.

“Going with Eric Magee was a no-brainer. I mean at 17, he was already plying his trade in Utah. I am just glad we were able to pick up such a talented young man.â€

That being said, all the draft picks quickly signed except for the last pick who held out for more money. The assist. manager of Colorado finally closed that deal as well and notified Greg of the problems. Greg looked over the players numbers and watched closely at practice for a few days, then dropped the player like a bad habit.

“If the guy was our first pick, I could see his demand to get a few more dollars from us, but come on, we were about last in order and he was in the last round. The guy needs to learn some humility. To top it off he was showing me nothing in practice. I had to let him go early.â€

The next order of business was the preseason game schedule. THERE WERE NO GAMES SCHEDULED! Luckily the ass man had ramped up training.. NO WAIT… THEY WERE STILL ON RESTING! The season was about a month away and the squad was doing nothing and had nothing planned!

“Paul Bravo… bless him… he is on his last straw as my ass man. I won’t tolerate and more F%$#$#@$ from the *@&%^$^. I mean, we have missed out on the Champ cup, we barely made it into the playoffs, and we have many new players who need time to get familiar with each other’s style, and more importantly, my style. The only reason he is here right now is because the fans loved him as a player and want that kind of familiarity. I am not sure if he will last the season to be honest.â€

News that will shock the Rapids community for sure. Well what came of this impending disaster?

“Well I quickly threw together a schedule against some A-league teams, scheduling on odd days and a few were just days apart. I forgot I was not at home in Chicago so I ended up scheduling Minnesota, Milwaukee, and Indiana pretty close together before I remembered that it was not easy to get there from Colorado. So I ended with Portland and Vancouver. On top of that I threw a hard preseason work out at my players and even made them train on match days. I even forced them to practice the day after the match to keep them moving. All was going better than hoped until we lost to Vancouver in our last preseason game.â€

Indeed, a team that had been winning handily finally lost 1-0. But all was not lost as a young Kyle Beckerman emerged and surprised everyone, including the Colorado staff.

“I know Kyle was working hard in the off season on his own, but I had no idea he would come back like this. I mean he scored in just about every preseason game for us, and he was scoring on headers, mid range shots, he even netted one on a free kick from 20 yards out! He is proving to me he wants to stay here and he wants to be a starter.â€

There were rumors circulating that you were in talks to get another high caliber goalkeeper in Colorado. What happened?

“I was in some minor discussion to get Zach Thornton, but that Chicago manager is a tough guy to bargain with. He wanted too much for him, I guess he figured that my sentimentality for my hometown squad might sway me to make a deal, and I have to admit he almost had me ready to commit. “

Really? That is not what we were hearing, you were looking at a SI..

“Fine, fine... yes we were also looking at Oman’s national team keeper. The scout I sent out gave a raving review of him and after seeing the report and the scout’s estimate of his skills, I figured it would be with a shot. I tried to get a structured deal, but to no avail as his club side just wanted more money upfront than I had.â€

Enough of the preseason, care to discuss your first 2 games of the season?

“Well we went to New England to start the season, and I was hoping for the best, the team had just enough time to recover, and my hectic preseason schedule hopefully prepared them for the early weeks of the season.

We started out cautiously against NE, wary of what had happed to us on the road last year. By halftime we were thrilled. Up 2-0, and time to relax. My biggest idea was to bring in Byron Carmichael for Zizi. While some may question my sanity, I felt it would be better to rest him for our next match against DC.

Now Byron was a bit of a whim of mine. Again, one of my scouts was praising the ability of this kid, and even though his numbers were not stellar, the potential was there. He didn’t see but a few minutes of action last year, and this year he had a fire in him. After subbing out Zizi in the 61st minute Byron ripped apart the NE defense. He was exploiting all the gaps and created 3 breakaway chances. Sadly, he could not convert, but I think that his nerves will calm in time and we will see great things from him. The game’s only blemish came late when Pezzarossi’s countryman, Mario Rodriguez, netted an own goal while trying to keep the ball away from Pat Noonan.â€

“Now DC was a different story. Just days after being in NE we had to play DC in DC. Not the kind of trip I like to make. Most of my starters had recovered in time, but some were still a little tired from the win in NE. It was a tight game as Omer has said, what he failed to mention was that I had to use my 3 subs earlier than I had wanted. Then in roughly the 70th min, one of his player’s injured Kyle badly enough that he had to be taken from the game. That left us with 10 men on the pitch. Less than 5 minutes later DC scored the only goal of the game after a barrage of shots to finish out the game.â€

“Now maybe I am too nice a guy, but this is the second tie I have been burned by teams taking out my players. I don’t know what the other managers are teaching over at their training grounds, but man this is nuts. If you can’t beat my team in a fair, even match then deal with it, don’t start taking my players out.â€

“Oh… before I forget…we’re coming for your team Al. don’ think these guys have forgotten what you did to usâ€

[Al Clark]

One Dimentional

In Zack Kingsley 25 FRC

Julian Edgar Chacon DMLRC 22 Guatemalan International (not a Ti since he has an American passport :wink: )

Michael Mack SC, our first pick in the draft looks like a useful target man

Chris Hall Gk, picked to add depth since we lost Pickens to the Metro's

North American Champions Cup

Fire 1-0 W. Connection

Guevara was the differnce as he scored a belter of a freekick after 21 minutes.

W. Connection 0-1 Fire

Guevara, again, scored following in a rebound from an Ante Razov blast that the keeper spilled.

The next round has us drawn against Pumas the perrienial tournament Champions.

Fire announce a trade:

To Dallas Zack Thornton

To the Fire Jeff Cassar and thier 1st round pick in the MLS Superdraft.

This trade was dictated by money, we weren't going to able to keep Big Zack next season since his contract is coming to an end and we are too close to the salary cap to offer him the money he deserves. DJ will be the number 1 for the approaching season.

Pumas 5-1 Fire

This was a case of being played off the park by a superior team, Hugo Sanchez Jr. looks the business.

Fire 1-0 Pumas

We crash out of the tournament, as expected. 2-5 on aggregate.

The season started with us visiting Los Angeles in a repeat of last season's title game. Cobi Jones scored after 32 minutes, he headed home after we failed to properly clear a corner the forthcoming cross found his head at the far post. The points looked like they were going to the home side, as we were unable to take any of our chances. However, in the 90th mintue Ralph was played in by the much maligned Gakhokidze and he slotted it into the far post. 1-1 a fair result.

We welcomed Al Clark's SJ squad for the home opener. This really was a dreadful game neither side was able to string any quality passing movements together. SJ's opportunities came from free kicks both well off target, but Perez was lucky to stay on the pitch after he was the last man on the second occasion escaping with a yellow card. Our best chance belonged to Justin Mapp he stepped up, ahead of Guevara and Razov, to take the pk just after halftime; he missed. The match ended goalless.

San Jose did injure Norweigan International Brede Paulsen Hangeland for 2 weeks as he picked up a calf strain.

"I'm not pleased by this at all, next time they better watch young Adu carefully because he'll be lucky to end up with a broken jaw!!! And if the boys feeling like giving any other SJ player a bit of kickin' that's fine in all."

[Al Clark]

A season of the unknown

After last seasons disappointment of missing the playoffs Kansas Citys offseason hope was to look more towards the future with the departures of Diego Walsh, Igor Simutenkov and the retirement of Pretki a sign of the future was needed.

In retaliation to that I traded away to get Thiago Martians and Brandon Prideaux.

The draft the first round we needed a keeper and with the second pick in the draft we chose Alex Gray. A promising Goal keeper with a good work rate. The second pick we got Mike Burke a promising defender with 2 under 21 caps. We went Defense again with our next pick and picked David Edwards. I picked Chris Longnecker (just for the name really) and a determined player named Kevin Crawford for my last one.

Our Biggest and only free market signing was South African Manqoba Ngwenya. Who instantly becomes our highest valued player at 1.85 million?

Our first game was a disappointing affair as we faced the metrostars and were defeated by 2 goals it included a red card given to Tony Meola. We than faced off against New England in our second game to my surprise we came out early and got a goal thanks to Josh Wolff. We would finish things off with a goal from none other than our last round draft pick Kevin Crawford. In his first game Alex Gray go a clean slate.

Next up was a home game against FC Dallas we came out early and we came out strong with Giovanni Savarese and Josh Wolff getting early goals then Manqoba was able to light it up and get his first ever as a Wizard. Alex Gray would let in his first ever goal.

Colorado was a boring 0-0 draw Alex gets his second clean slate in 3 starts. We lost 1-3 to DC united showing the lack of pure talent on the team. We had another draw with L.A. Right now I am tied for the lead in the West I believe that shows the weakness. Right now I think the best thing about our team has been the emergency of a steady goal keeper but if I can’t find good talent to help the attack I cannot see this team doing to much. I only have confidence in one or two players on the team.

[Al Clark]

GETTING ALONG

After winning the first 2 games of the season. The Metros slow down a bit, they lost 5-0 to DC at home with a wrong player wearing the captain badge in the second half.

They then won NE with a socre of 2-0, Peguero and Glen scored for the Metros.

They then went all the way to the west coast for a game against SJ, they tied at the half, SJ got on top at the 63-minute mark, Peguero tied the game at the dying seconds with a stunning long range shot.

They hosted Chicago for the final game of the session. Henry Ring did a very poor job during the first half, he conceded 3 goals on 4 shot on target. He then came back with a strong second half, but the Metros lost 3-0.

The Metros have a 1-1-2 record during the past 4 games. They are currently standing at the 3rd place in the East with 10 points.

[Al Clark]

Not A Happy Chappie

SJ boss Al had this to say after another frustrating session, "well, we're clearly not firing on all cyclinders. 4 goals in 6 games is unacceptable, and we have SGR's 'trick against FC Dallas to thank for 75% of those. On the plus side, the Defence has been air tight - we've conceded just three goals so far and are one of only three teams with positive GD. Still, it's not even nearly enough and if it wasn't for fan favourite Joe Cannon playing sensationally, well, then we'd be rock bottom."

The recent run of results saw another 0-0 tie with LA (under the guidance of the AssMan), a narrow 1-0 defeat to Columbus, a 3-0 win over Dallas, a 1-1 tie with the Metros (including an agonizing last minute wonder goal to deny us the win and a much needed 3pts) and a 1-0 loss to Colorado.

"Only thing I can say is we've had four of our games on the road, but, we've really not managed to get going against some of the weaker teams in the league. Heaven knows what will happen when we go to DC. If we don't pull our fingers out of our collective asses we'll be in trouble."

"Some of the new players haven't settled yet, Fabian Estoyanoff is suffering a little, confidence wise, due to being a little homesick. Pablo Mastroeni, well, he seems to have his mind elsewhere, perhaps this is a result of being placed on the list over the summer but he should realise he's back in our plans. Everyone else is playing ok. I'd like more goals from SGR, for sure, but 4 in 6 games is as good as anyone in the league....it's just down by his standards."

"On the positive side, SGR has agreed to extend his contract past this season and thus not force us to sell/trade him. He's being reasonable, and has dropped his wage demands to roughly where he is now (a very reasonable $1200/wk). I'm also considering tabling a deal for Ramon Ramirez. He's getting on a bit, but he's the reigning MVP and is still playing well for us (7.20 average). His production has dropped off a bit, but so has everyone else's and I'm not about to blame the Captain for everything."

In other news, Adu is recovering well after being injured in the early part of the session "he'll be back soon, no big deal. I hear there's bounty on his head from more than one club. To be picking on a 15 year old boy is deplorable. I hope we show the teams in question that football is just a game and that is what we will be focusing on - and getting the win against them".

The board are still happy with Clark, but if his position doesn't improve soon I'm sure that wont last. The West is looking weak, but it could be nothing more than parity - 4/5 very even teams cancelling themselves out. "DC look awesome. They've been fastest out of the blocks again this year.....but I'm not sure they can be caught this time. Still, only 6 games in and plenty of football still to be played......"

[Al Clark]

The East is Stronger than the Wild West

Fire 1-0 Colombus Crew

In a largely even match, the deciding goal came late in 77 minute. Ante Razov pounced upon a bizarre goalkeeping error and he punished the mistake.

DC 0-0 Fire

Chicago became the first team this season to stop the DC free-scoring attack from netting any goals. The game was far from boring, as both sides had chances to score. Dema Kovalenko picked up an ankle knock in the first half and late on, in the 89th minute, Jim Curtin saw red for his second bookable offense.

Fire 1-0 New England Revolution

This encounter was decided by Shalrie Joseph, he headed in a corner after only 8 minutes. The Revs rarely threatened our goal, and they were under the kosh for most of the match as we unveiled a 2 striker formation.

FC Dallas 1-1 Fire

EJ’s return from injury was short lived as Suarez injured him after 35 minutes. Razov picked up his second goal of the season when he finished off a move created by Guevara and Gakhokidze. In the second half the unthinkable happened, Dallas equalized. Ashe nestled the ball in the back of our goal, Magge’s shot could only be parried by Countess and Ashe was there in the midst of the mad scramble to score.

Metrostars 0-3 Fire

The Metrostars were on the backfoot early on and they were caught out by a quick counter attack. Mapp put Ralph clean in on Ring and it was there after only 6 minutes. Just before the half hour mark it was Ralph again to finish and put us 2 goals to the good, after a well built move from the back. Guevara converted a penalty and the Metrostars were in a huge 3 goal hole before halftime. The second half saw the referee hand the Metro’s a life line and a way back in the match. Kelley Gray backed in and fouled Carroll in the box, a dubious decision. When Peguero stepped up, Countess knew exactly where his former teammate was going; he saved it and it just wasn’t going to be the Metro’s day.

“Mapp and Razov picked up knocks in the second half. Justin is going to miss the next 2 weeks with a twisted knee and Ante’s sprained wrist will keep him out a week.â€

“The West….hahahahahaah you’re joking right the conference is weak. The Wizards are top and they missed the playoffs last year. SJ made too many changes and they have no team chemistry and LA’s aging stars are another year older. I guess this makes for a well balanced conference. (Grom holds up his glass of water at the press conference table.)…HERE’S TO PARITY!!â€

[Al Clark]

The Dallas onslaught continues...

Dallas continued to steamroll through the rest of the MLS, with an impressive 4 game run of one win, two losses, and a tie.

Dallas manager Stu was taking all credit for his team's continued fine run...

"Its not easy starting 21 different players over four games and still coming up with such impressive results, but somehow I've managed it."

Such a high rate of player turnover would seem to indicate a tremendously long injury list, but it's not the case in Dallas...manager whimsy seems to be the compelling reason for the frequent changes.

"I'll keep changing 'til I find the right blend,"Stu said imperiously,"And then...watch out KC!"

FC Dallas started the session with a visit to divisional rival Kansas City...

Kansas City Heartbreak

It was always destined to be a close affair when Dallas visited KC, with not much to chose between the two resurgent sides. Manager Stu took the opportunity to grant young DC Burwood his Dallas debut...

Burwood immediately made his presence felt with a hard foul on Ngweyna outside the Dallas area on the ten minute mark. The Gomez freekick drifted to Ngweyna who nodded the ball down to an unmarked Josh Wolff, who turned and fired an unstoppable bullet into the top corner. 1-0 KC.

The game was taken to Dallas from there-in as the KC side seeemed to take confidence from the stunning strike. The inevitable 2nd goal came from a well-worked play involving Klein to Gomez to a streaking Saverse on the 55th minute. The goal signalled the changing of personnel for the visitors as Eddie Gaven and Oscar Pareja came on for the tiring Moore, (already!), and the ineffectual Brillant.

The changes immediatly had effect as Ngweyna snatched KC's third as the subs were still getting their bearings. 3-0, 58 minutes gone.

Manager Stu could have been forgiven for leaving right then, as it seemed he was the only Dallas employee who had bothered to show up in KC. But, ever the consumate leader, he stayed on, weaving his tactical magic...

At the 67 min mark, it happened! Dallas first goal of the year! After only 247 minutes! But the goal was well worth the wait. A stunning strike from young Gaven off of a 45 yard defence splitting pass from wily Valakari. The amazing comeback was surely on! To aid his proteges,Stu brought on Brad Davis for Oughton in the 83rd. Dallas was spurred on to even greater initiative...

Luckily the game ended before KC was able to pile on any more goals. Recepients of a 3-1 drubbing, Dallas headed home.

Entertaining LA

FC headed home with the prospect of a mouth-watering engagement with last year's MLS champs LA. Manager Stu showed off his tactical prowess by devising yet another masterplan and granting David Wagenfuhr, young Corey Ashe, and the surging Eddie Gaven their first starts of the year.

The game started quickly with Dallas adding another tally to their impressive goals record. This time Valakri knocked in a pass from Gaven, returning the favor from the previous match, at the 14 min mark.

LA quickly spoiled the party by controling the play for much of the game, and the equalizer was not far in coming. Moreeno headed in the 18th minute cornerkick, to see the visitors to half with a well-deserved share of the goals.

LA continued to bombard the hapless Dallas D and future MOM Thornton had to be at his best to keep the score level. Stu continued to work his tactical magic, bringing in Oughton and Joe Max for the tiring kids Ashe and Gaven; and Magee for Brillant.

The winner came against the run of play as substitutes Magee and Moore teamed up to see the visitors off. Magee broke free of the defense and lashed a grasscutter that Hartman could only parry to the waiting feet of Joe Max Moore. The US legend made no mistake, 2-1 in the 87th minute, and LA had no answer. Dallas had their first win of the season.

On the heels of such a masterful display by his young charges, manager Stu was confident going into the next game, against Al and his hated San Jose squad.

San Jose Squeaker

It was always going to be an easy time of it for Dallas against an anemic SJ offence that had only mustered one goal in its previous four games. SJ cohesion was falling apart with unhappy players and the tyrannical Al lashing out at his players in the press. The poor player bearing the brunt of much of Al's criticism was the much maligned SGR, last years golden boot winner. San Jose was ripe for the picking...

The game started brightly enough for Dallas as former SJ player Waibel almost broke young Adu in half. It was a harbringer of things to come however as the youngster was able to hobble off under his own power.

As he had so many times before, Galvan Rey broke Dallas hearts with a stunning set of goals, earning his natural hattrick. Dallas manger Stu tried his usual array of tactical tricks and switches to turn the tide, but to no avail. Dallas were run off 3-0 and were happy it wasn't more.

The usual suspects came on as subs: Moore, Magee, and Pareja, for Oughton, Brillant and Gaven. But for once, Magee didn't have the answers.

Despite guiding his squad to a masterful win and two narrow losses, manager Stu's heart was filled with some trepidation as he prepared his side for a challenging home date versus Grom's tough defensive nut, the Chicago Fire.

Beating the hell out out of Chicago, and losing EJ...again...

The Chicago game saw the return of two key Dallas players, EJ and Steve Jolley as both were suddenly fit again after suffering injury. Joining the duo was superstar Canadian goalie Pat Onstad who was given the nod over the exhausted Zach Thornton.

Dallas started the game in their usual fashion, dropping a goal down before half. Razov was the culprit this time, as he beat the in-form Onstad with a flukey goal.

Dallas also lost the services of superstar EJ as he went down injured in the 33rd minute due to an over enthusiastic challenge from a Chicago player. Joe Max came on and proceeded to terrorize the beleagured Fire defence.

The break that was so desperatley needed, (and deserved), came on the 68th minute as subs Ashe and Magee combined for the equalizer. Magee again lined a laser at the bottom corner only to be palmed away by MOM DJ Countess...straight to the alert Ashe, who recorded his first ever MLS goal.

Despite Grom's extensive tactical tinkering, the Fire found themselves under pressure for the rest of the match. Only Countess prevented the visitors from a emphatic defeat. The Fire were ran out of town, clutching their stolen point tightly.

Perhaps Dallas' manager Stu had finally found the elusive combination of players and tactics that would lead Dallas to glory?

Only the next session held the answers...

[Al Clark]

Fane Rejoice in DC

A string of good results have put United fans in a good mood. More than the wins, the quality of attacking football has impressed the entire league and has left DC with 16 points after 6 games scoring 15 goals while conceding only one.

The 5-0 trashing of the Metrostars was suprising given the start that the Metrostars had this season. The match was a no contest though. Every long ball that the Metrostars defense hit forward was intercepted, directed to the forwards and ended up in the back of the net. Figueroa, Alva, Sakiev (2), and White scored at Giant stadium to give somthing to think about for the Metrostars manager.

Next match against Chicago, was a thriller with both teams missing good chances to go ahead. The scored reflected a typical United-Fire matchup but fans were certainly entertained in a match that produced many chances yet little goals.

At Columbus, United didn't skip a beat and picked up their 4th vicotry of the season. The final score of 4-0 suprised even the United manager since Columbus had perfected their defensive style in the previous season. Sakaliev picked up another two goals with Jeremiah White and Marko Dinjar finished the scoring late in the second half.

Next, United travelled to Kansas City. On fire striker Stoyko Sakaliev scored three goals in the match that saw United defensce concede their first goal, coming at the death of the first half from a corner kick.

[Al Clark]

GETTING THROUGH SLOWLY

"Last night session was a 'so-so' one for my Metrostars. We managed to get five games in, my team had a 2-0-3 record during the span. I am still trying to find a better defensive strategy."

The first game of the session was against Stu's Dallas. It was an entertaining one. Peguero opened the score a quarter into the game. He added another one 12 minutes after the break. Just as the Metros thought they will come up with an easy one, Twellman came up with a goal for Dallas mid-way through the second half, but De Rosario made sure that the Metros got the 3 points. He scored at the 89th minute on a team attack. Behncke pulled the visitor within one again, but it was too later, Metrostars won 3-2.

The second game was up against Greg's Colorado. The forward combination of Pezzarossi and Robert was too much for the Metros' defense. They lost on a team record defeat of 6-0.

The Metros seems to tie the defense up a bit the next game when they face the Columbus, but they still same up on the lost column. Jamal Sutton scored the only goal of the game for Columbus.

After 2 games on the road, the Metros returned home to face Kansas. Gros scored from long range and that turned out to be the difference of the game. The Metros seems have the way against Et's Kansas since the beginning of last season. Half of the wins they had last year were against Kansas. This year, the trend continues, they are two for two against Kansas.

Last game of the session was against Stu's Dallas again. The Metros had a poor shooting performance in this one. They shot 17 times and only had 3 of them on target. Dallas did not do any better, they shot 8 with 3 on target, but they were able to capitalize on one of them. Eddie Johnson socred the only goal of the game. The Metros came up with a lost when they thought they have a very high chance to getting all 3 points before the game.

After 11 games, the Metros have a 5-1-5 record. They currently rank 2nd in the East with 16 points, 7 points behind the undefeat DC United. Chicago and Columbus are right behind at 3rd and 4th. But they have to find a way to stop letting people score, they are leading the league in goal against with 17 goals.