Haven’t had much to report regarding Major League Soccer recently, primarily due to the lack of positive results in Kansas City. Mama taught me that if you don’t have something good to say, then shut up. Or something along those lines…
Regarding the Wizards, this is a pretty strong message from a major supporter, Down The Byline
Since scoring 3 goals in the first half against New England back on June 13th, the Wizards have scored 1 goal in the next 13 halves of soccer.
Soccer by Ives has the Wizards at 13th in the 15 team league although they’ll probably fall to 14th after losing to current #14 San Jose Earthquakes
The team at the bottom of the pile is Red Bull NY. You know their manager just resigned right? There are also rumors that Barcelona might be interested, the best answers offered on what will happen in the future come from GM Erik Stover who did a recent Q&A with Soccer by Ives.
Looking at some positive news, one of my new favorite soccer sites is Pitch Invasion. They did a recent story on building a soccer culture in America, using Seattle and Portland as recent examples.
Closer to home, the St Louis Soccer United group has been surprisingly quiet this summer. Part of that can be attributed to their efforts with the Athletica squad that played in the WPS. The one interesting bit of news that came out was a group that is proposing a soccer complex in Richmond Heights. Jeff Cooper has been quoted that they are not part of his effort to lure an MLS team to the St Louis metropolitan area.
Looking at the bigger picture here is Don Garber’s recent State of the League comments as well as Yank’s Abroad’s recent editorial on their concerns related to MLS and the marketing approach being taken in a story titled A Troubling Disconnect
Like everyone who wants to see MLS do well because of its vital role in the development of the American game, I am still trying to avoid coming to the conclusion that the level of play in MLS is a total embarrassment, and I’m still not quite there. About half the time I tune in, I see what could be described as an entertaining match with decent tactics and play.
Finally, Pitch Invasion takes a look at the possibility of the United Soccer League, home of the PDL and teams that include the Springfield Demize, becoming a part of Major League Soccer. It’s not necessarily a positive thing.
OK, that’s it for my ride around the world of American soccer, time to concentrate on Liverpool vs Aston Villa on ESPN2. W00t!
