Relegation Fighters MLS : Super Sized Soccer

[perpetua]

Lions Still Underachieving

Demoralizing losses to Marquette and Rochester early in the season forced coach Saint-Vil to make some fundamental changes. Rather than relying on the inconsistent backline, Vancouver have taken a free scoring approach aided by the improving form of Atiba Hutchinson and Nene.

Despite suffering a heartbreaking loss to Toronto and an unlucky tie to Rochester, Vancouver have now lost one in the last six matches grabbing four wins after managing only one win in seven matches to start the season.

A road trip awaits Vancouver, with trips to Nerdington, Kentucky and Alaska coming up in the near future, Vancouver's high powered offense will be given an appripriate test to determine whether Vancouver has what it takes to make a push higher up the table. Being only three points away from first place is encouraging as Vancouver, despite their terrible start to the season, don't appear to have lost much ground on their competitors.

[Ricky Lung]

Kentucky Update:

It's been a hit or miss start to the season for the biggest underachievers in MLS. KK have scored 8 victories in the opening 13 rounds - as high as anyone, whilst blasting a respectable 28 goals. Unfortunately, sitting at just +2 on GD tells the other half of the story as they've been hit up badly a couple of times already in 2008.

After recording 5 defeats in their opening 12 games, Kentucky still sat atop of the East/South with the resurgent Marquette Iron Rangers. MLS seems to be very even this year so points are hard to come by and a result can go either way in most every game.

Commonwealth Stadium hasn't been the happiest place of late - Kai, Biglia, Cameron, DMB and even rookie Dan Williams have grumbled about playing time, moving on or their poor contract.

Kai, the biggest offseason headache with his contract coming to an end this year, is currently injured and still holding out on signing a new deal. Just before his injury he indicated he would resign at the league max $300k, but before he could put pen to paper he had changed his mind. That's the 3rd time now the fickle Brazilian starlet has teased the KK faithful, and Coach Clark is sick of it.

"I would sell him in a heartbeat were it not for the fact that next year he will have earned his greencard. He'll also be cap-exmpt for a while so the big wages aren;'t so important. Either way, we've offered him to increase from $40k to $300k a year and if that doens't make him happy then he's a gold-digging mercenary. I think he's forgotten how humble his roots were. He was in the Sao Paolo ghetto towns not that long ago. Ingrateful SOB."

Whether Clark's outburst will shame Kai into a deal, or make him more resolute on leaving remains to be seen. "The fact that he's injured for a month, and yet is still intent on leaving bugs me. We've invested 4 years in him, and this is our return..." Rumour has it that when Kai returns he will be riding the pine until the Summer and will then be sold to a European club. That is, if the time warming the bench doesn't make him more open to a deal "I'd like to see his market value after we sit him for the next 6 months."

Clark can be a spiteful bastard.

Other whiners in the camp are DMB, who is having an excellent year but is clearly after a gig at a bigger club. If only Kentucky could have won some silverware rather than crashing out, perhaps DMB might have been willing to stay. "He's got 18 months left on his deal. He's here for another 6 months, and maybe 6 more after than. But we're not going to let him leave for free, not a chance....."

Lucas Biglia, the young Argentine DM, has begun to flourish. Having ousted former club captain and US Nats legend Claudio Reyna, Biglia has established himself as one of MLS's premier talents. His abilty to control the play from deep, dead ball skills and long range shooting are lethal and he leads the club in goals so far this term with 6. Unfortunately, it's all gone to his head; in a little under a year at the club he's already demanding a move despite regular starts. "He's going nowhere" said a defiant Clark, "Unless he stops performing on the field, and no manager will want him if he turns out to be a quitter."

Injuries have plagued the campaign so far, no less than 7 first team players have been out recently - at one time! And all for the wrong side of 4 weeks. Key players, Kai, Leozinho, Clark, Soho and the rest have been sorely missed. Some are coming back now and Clark will need them to help combat the Iron Rangers who look to be in good form this season.

One person who did step up in their absence was Francismar, he'd been a bit pants since his arrival, but has looked more the part this term and seemed to enjoy playing in Leozinho's AMC role. He also did a decent job when he had to cover up front and scored a couple of beauties in this period.

The Key performers in 2008 have been : Leo, Soho, Kai, Biglia, DMB and Luca has exploded into the first team recently too, with his first senior hattrick.

No, not all bad for KK, but defitely some kinks to be ironed out. The Kai contract continues to be a priority, almost more than the season itself "he's so integral to the future that if I have to bench him to make this work I will. Even if it costs us the season. I don't think it will, we're pretty deep up front when healthy, but noone is bigger than this team...."

[Ricky Lung]

June 01, 2008

HEADING THE WRONG WAY?

The Toronto Syclones started the 2008 season very strong, especially on the road, noting four wins and one draw in their first five games away from home. After 11 games, they had a 6-3-2 record with 21 points, they were leading the east/ north at that point. Perhaps they may feel they should have a couple of more win. A fairly even game with the Kings in April, only ended as a draw with the Syclones had a man advantage. Then in the very next game, rookie keeper Tom Smith, gave up three goals in the first 15 minutes, only seeing the outfield fight bravely after that to pull out a 4-4 tie.

In the last two games, the Syclones took a 180 turn, not only they got shut out in both contest, they gave up a total of eight goals. The team has already given up 27 goals so far this season, they are on pace to set the franchise record in goal against. They really have to tighten up their defence if they want to contend for the title. No teams can win a championship with offence. It comes down to who can stop the other team’s play.

“…I have noticed an interesting thing after all these games, I think I know where the problem is, and I have a solution to it already. It comes down to the same old line – ‘if we can play defence’…†- Coach Lung

â€â€¦What did I say about them (Boston) at the beginning. Sure, they had a wonderful start this season, but they are now moving towards their old spot. They two internationals that they picked are still not good picks in my eyes…†- Coach Lung

The Syclones will have two more home games before hitting the road for four. They will make stops in Boston, Vancouver, New Liskeard, and Kentucky. It will be a tough test for Toronto, it is sort of a make or break situation for them.

[perpetua]

Strange Brew

Strange things are happening in Marquette, there is a form of a new hope has heading to the turn the Iron Rangers are leading the south. Many people are puzzled at the new face of the team. Who had to restructure the team? They lost a majority of their old stars including Edgar Davids and Oliver Kahn. But now they look like a completely different team. The interesting part seems to be the change in philosophy now they are a open fast and young team that has a fast pace attack.

Even though one of their top scorers Nunes has been out for the past couple games Marquette managed to not lose both of them.

“To be honest I was afraid when the Mismatch had us down 2-0. But the team showed us great heart and young Christopher Greer put a goal in extra time. Unfortunately Chris will have to spend some time away from the team. But he played a huge part in not letting us think about life with out Nunesâ€

Besides the play of the Muti Million dollar signing another player that has been turning heads is Matías Córdoba who was picked up for a measly 180 k has paid back the team in dividends in the way he has played. Also Damian Ledesma has been a great influence in the back line and young Chris Jackson has not been showing his youth at the left field position. But its been the strikers that have been carrying it, Nunes has brought out the form in Emad that he has not had in a couple of years.

Right now we have to worry about the youth of the team and if we can keep up this pace and if we don’t get over inflated egos. Right now there is a lot of worry about the Goalkeeping while neither one of them has been consistently solid both have their moments of greatness.

[perpetua]

This goal only happens once in a million years.

vs

See the goal that tied it at the game at the end of the match here.

[Al Clark]

KAI RE-SIGNS!

Breaking news out of Commonwealth Stadium indicates contract rebel Pedro Junior aka Kai has agreed to a new long term deal with the Kaisers. Terms leaked to MLSnet.com suggest the deal is through 2011 and for $250,000 a year - ironically it was below what had been offered repeatedly over the past 12 months.

Official word soon followed, with a beaming Coach Clark happy to have his man..."We're extatic to have kept him...he's due a Green Card next year hopefully and so his value to us is greatly increased. Also, due to his age [and the currently incorrectly coded cap rules!] he will also get a couple of seasons of cap-exemption which is priceless."

It took some tough love to convince the Brazilian starlet - two injuries, and finally being transfer listed. It was the lack of approaches - just one, that caused Kai to realise what was good for him.

"I'll let by-gones be by-gones. To me it's all about the fact that he signed. Now both he and Leozinho are signed long-term and we have a great foundation on which to build.".

In other news, unhappy with his playing time, Knox Cameron has agreed to retrain as a DC. "He's got USMNT potential at DC. I'm ashamed to say I didn't recognize it earlier. He's strong, fast, tatcically-astute and his heading and tackling are superb for a front man. I don't want to count my eggs....but it seems like a perfect fit.".

Clark has also recently retrained Lucas Biglia to a DC/DMC, 'Lucas is now the most complete player in MLS - bar none. If he was America....well, I think I might spadge myself. Hopefully he hangs around a long time, but I get the feeling that if I can't get some trophies back to Kentucky this year we will lose him along with DMB. It's essential we make it into the MLS Cup Final this year. I think texas have rode the new manager lift into the playoffs each of the past three seasons and all our good work has gone unrewarded. I've got my sights firmly fixed on the Final this year. I want the CONCACAF Cup and I want a shot at getting into the World Club Championships. Some of my players are superb, and they deserve a bigger stage. If I can't offer it to them with KY then they'll leave and it will be my fault as a manager for not delivering."

Kentucky currently sit 6 points clear atop the East/South, with 9 games remaining. The division has been tight and injuries have really hampered the Kaiser's in 2008. Over the last two months every single player in the starting 11 has gone down with an injury, and several of the stand-ins too. "Our injury trials have been well documented. I took a long hard look at the coaching staff and regimens to see if there was cause for concern and there really wasn't. It's been some freak stuff, some bad challenges and surely we'll have a dry spell soon. I've not had a chance to field a full strength team in 3 months."

KK's have been particularly hard hit between the posts....first Daniel went down for a month, then Doug Warren. Then they signed Gerry Argento and he got cropped. It's all been a bit of a mess. But the regular keepers are returning to fitness now and just in time.

"I want to single out Francismar, who has had a great season stepping in for Leozinho, amongst others, during injuries. He's been awesome in every position. I also wanted to make a point of thanking Chris Klein; signed as a back up he's been a regualr for us because of injuries; his great versatility has found him in the team week in, week out; he's also bagged 7 goals so far this campaign, in limited duty, from right midfield. That's probably the highest goal scoring total of any midfielder in the league." CK was rewarded with a contract extension and is the favorite for bargain of the season.

Goalscoring has been something of an issue for Kentucky, not overall, but none of the strikers has really stepped up this term to lead the team in goals. "In a lot of ways it s a good thing we're able to find goals from all over the team, but I'd like a couple of the striekrs in our pool to step up and lead from the front. Kai's injuries have kept him to just 5 goals, but Luca and Soho have been in better form. Gordon too has around a half dozen goals. Knox Cameron has weighed in with two. I'm looking for someone to push for that 20 goal plateau. That's what we're going to need if we're to win the title.

[perpetua]

For full stats see the latest edition of MLS Gazette.

MLS Gazette - Tables, Rosters and Stats

[perpetua]

Four Teams Still in the Playoff Race as the East Heats Up

Nine matches remaining in the season and Vancouver are in the midst of a battle for a playoff spot once again. With few easy matches remaining in the season, Vancouver are within striking distance of first place but could also find themselves out of the playoffs for the first time in their history. The team has been performing well recently and putting up a good fight in every single match. While the defense still looks leaky, the goalscorers have come out firing recently giving the fans some memorable high scoring matches.

Roger Saint-Vil has been under fire recently with the board less than pleased with the on pitch results but the coach doesn't appear to be worried with the speculation surrounding his job, continuing to analize transfer targets. Scouts in Brazil have reported on some possible targets before the transfer window and we could very well see some additions to the Vancouver squad in mid August.

[Ricky Lung]

August 12, 2008

WHAT A RACE IN THE EAST/NORTH CONFERENCE

A few weeks ago, just when the Toronto Syclones were free falling, many people thought the playoff teams for the east/north are set. The Syclones' head coach Ricky Lung seems to choose the right time to give up on his '6-men in the box' formation, which he has used since the inaugural season of this franchise. The Syclones have won five in a row, four straight in league games. The chase for a playoff spot in the east/north conference is on again.

During the five-game winning streak, the Syclones have showed they are still a very capable team. They first beat the Kings and the Mismatch 5-0 and 3-1 respectively. Then they went on the road and beat two very tough teams, the Rangers and the Wolves. They have also won the 3rd round match of the NA Cup against the United, a team that seems to give them a lot of trouble this year. Maybe the United players are all fired up when playing the Syclones due to the comments that Coach Lung had made during the draft. Occean and Jarvis are playing very well as of late, they are a major part during the streak. They both now have 11 goals and 9 assists apiece for the season.

With nine games remaining, only five points between first and fifth place. Toronto has a four game homestand coming up, they did not play well at home comparing to last season, so they need to be extremely careful, they cannot let their guard down, they cannot let the recent performances or the home field advantage bother them. They have to play every game like it is last the game of the season.

[ryanmt]

Texas Survives the Playoffs

For the third consecutive season, the Texas Longhorns prevailed to win the US Open Cup. Texas then immediately had to defend their MLS crown in the 2008 Playoffs. In the second leg of the opening round, Texas saw themselves down by three goals against a dangerous Marquette side, but somehow came alive offensively and actually ended up winning by a comfortable margin. The next round pitted Texas against Nashville in hard fought, close encounter that could've easily gone either way, even if it was Texas that won 1-0. In the Final, it was once again Texas vs. Rochester for the title. Rochester took an early lead, but the Texas offense took off once again and the Longhorns were repeat champions. Looking back, having faced deficits and worthy opponents, Texas were very fortunate to come out on top.

This was not the end of the success, as during and after the playoffs Texas had been involved in the Copa Sudamericana. Taking on teams from Bolivia, Mexico, and Argentina, the Longhorns were astonishingly able to push them all aside and be the first American team to ever win the competition.