2015 State of US Soccer Address

The state of the United States Soccer Federation is weak. There, I said it. Let's rip the band-aid off right now. This will read like a presidential State of the Union Address where I am going to continue to hammer home the problems US soccer is facing as a whole.

The first thing I will look at are the results from the international friendlies that have been played by the US this year. We started off the year with the January end-of-camp friendlies where we lost an away fixture in Chile 3-2, then followed that up with an underwhelming 2-0 victory against Panama at the StubHub Center. Next came the 2 March friendlies in Europe against Denmark and Switzerland., which resulted in a 3-2 loss and a 1-1 draw respectively. On April 15, the men's national team played Mexico and sold out the Alamodome with a 2-0 win. Following that was a trip to Europe for the June friendlies against Holland and Germany, 4-3 and 2-1 victories respectively. Granted, these were not against Germany or Holland's best, but these are good results with a decent performance. After those were the Gold Cup tune-up friendly which was a 4-0 win over Guatemala. After the Gold Cup (which will get its own section), the United States defeated Peru 2-1 at RFK, then lost comprehensively to Brazil 4-1 at Gillette. In the October window, the US had one friendly which they lost to Costa Rica 1-0. Overall, the friendlies were a mixed bag with some good and some bad thrown in there. Klinsmann experimented with a few tactical things that didn't seem to work, but that is his right in these friendlies to do so.

The CONCACAF Gold Cup was nothing short of an unmitigated disaster. It is a tournament the US should win every single time, and we have failed to even get 3rd place in this tournament. Granted, the referee was at fault, but that does not excuse the dismal performances of our national team, and I hope that woke everyone at Soccer House up to the dismal future prospects of this team. Everyone has been done a great disservice, and it starts at the bottom at the U-little level in terms of where US soccer scouts. They should be scouting all over the country, at least 10 scouts in every major metropolitian region, plus an additional several thousand for those hard-to-reach rural places in this country, like Appalachia, the Gulf Coast, the Big Sky, the Ozark region, I could go on and on.  I will never say that there is no place for "foreigners" on this team -- in fact, they are probably better equipped than our domestically-based players -- every single crack and crevice in this country needs to be scouted. Coaches should go visit academies such as the Ajax one or La Masia to see how their youth systems are run, and see if they can replicate that at their clubs to the best US law and culture will allow. If that fails, then work to change the culture.  This will not only help us get better as a nation, but it will also help us win more international competitions at the senior level.

And note that I said senior level, not the junior levels. Those should be about development only. I believe that the result of a match is the byproduct of how we play on the field, and if we continue to play bunker ball forever and ever, how are we going to develop players fit to play in Spain and France where they emphasize more open play on a general basis. Let's put this into perspective: because Barcelona did not follow the FIFA transfer rules, our greatest hope for the future is stagnating in Florida with the "world class" US Soccer Development Academy (a joke unto itself).As for the related issue of youth club compensation, those youth clubs should be given the right to receive their compensation for the players they develop, not to be gobbled away by MLS and SUM. I don't think there are any laws against a youth club that receives money for the benefit of a player.

Lastly, here are the champions of the leagues that constitute the first 4 "tiers" of US soccer in 2015:
MLS: New York Red Bulls (Portland Timbers won MLS Cup playoffs)
NASL: New York Cosmos
USL: Rochester Rhinos
PDL: Michigan Bucks (K-W United won playoffs)
NPSL: New York Cosmos B (34 points in 12 games for 2.8 PPG; some teams played 10, others played 14 depending on division)

To summarize, the state of US soccer is weak because of the lack of results at the national team senior level, and the lack of care or interest in getting coaches better equipped to handle developing players for Europe. A change in culture needs to happen, and some people who are better equipped than I in knowledge of soccer coaching can start that new revolution.

Scorpions Sell Toyota Field

The owner of the San Antonio Scorpions has sold Toyota Field to Boxer County and the City of San Antonio. He issued a statement claiming that he sold the field because the city was looking for an MLS bid. To think that a city does not have the gall to support what they have now is incontrovertible. The city should be ashamed for selling the Scorpions down the river in favor of a "franchise" that is probably not going to happen anytime soon... unless the Spurs get involved, which it looks like they will play in USL next year, according to the same statement.

In that regard, this is business as usual in American soccer, and it's long been time for a change. And shame on the owner for selling out to the city because the city rejected what they built in San Antonio. I'm not saying that the fans rejected them, I'm saying that the official people in the city rejected them, as can be evidenced by the purchase of the stadium and the marketing that they just got a brand new soccer facility. I think that the Scorpions' SGs should rise up in defiance of this USL team ad continue to support the Scorpions, should they play next season.

In other news, Bill Peterson is announcing another expansion side next week. Hopefully this is more like Indy and Ottawa and not like OKC and NoVA.

[UPDATE: The scheduled announcement has been called off.]

NASL Soccer Bowl Playoffs Set

The field for the 2015 NASL Soccer Bowl playoffs is set after the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers knocked out the Rowdies by defeating the Jacksonville Armada 1-0 today in Jacksonville. They now go up to Coney Island to take on the Cosmos next week at 2PM ET. The Cosmos and Strikers have formed a rivalry that extends even back to the original NASL, when they competed with some of the world's top players. Now, both teams sit in the playoffs for the Soccer Bowl, The Cosmos defeated the Strikers in their first match of the season way back in April 1-0 thanks to a goal from Leo Fernandes. In their second meeting of the season on August 2, the Cosmos defeated the Strikers 2-0 thanks to goals from Hunter Freeman and Leo Fernandes. Just 6 days later, however, the Strikers and Cosmos drew 3-3 at Lockhart Stadium with the Strikers leading 1-0 after halftime with a goal from Gabriel. After a Ramirez brace, the Cosmos struck back with a vengeance, ultimately with Guenzatti scoring the game-tying goal in the 90th minute.

Prediction: NY 2-1 FTL

The offering on Sunday is the Ottawa Fury hosting Minnesota United. For Minnesota, it was the case of no Ibarra, no problem. Ottawa was the surprise package this season, tying the Cosmos on points after the season was complete. The head-to-head matchups featuring Ottawa and Minnesota have been entertaining, with the April 18 match at TD Place finishing 1-0 to the Fury thanks to a goal from Tom Heinemann. In their second meeting, this tome in Minnesota, the Fury and United drew 1-1, thanks to goals from Christian Ramirez and Tom Heinemann. That game did get a little nasty at the end there as there were 2 yellow cards issued to Minnesota in the last few minutes. Their final regular season encounter took place at TD Place where this time it was Minnesota United taking the victory away from home 2-1, thanks to a 90th minute goal from Ramirez.

Prediction: OTT 1-1 MIN (2-4)

Final Prediction: NY 2-1 MIN aet

NASL Finally Rid of Traffic

Today, the Carolina Railhawks have announced a new owner to take them forward, a local technology mogul. With this announcement, the NASL is finally rid of a cancer that has helped the league in every way except for the field of public relations. Traffic has helped the NASL in the rebooting process, but Aaron Davidson's indictment put the league's involvememnt with Traffic at a standstill. While this has taken a long time to do, this is ultimately a good thing for the league's image, but this is also good for Carolina, now that they have local ownership ready to take the Hawks forward to become NC's premier soccer club.

Now, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the Atlanta Silverbacks are still without an owner. It has gotten to the point where I have seriously contemplated moving down there and taking out a massive loan on my non-existent credit to buy the team myself. This black eye must be dealt with immediately. Atlanta is a wonderful location, with tons of Fortune 500 companies based down there, the Silverbacks should have no trouble getting big-time money from big-time sponsors (I'm looking at you, Coke and Delta). From earlier conversations with a supporter, there seems to be interest in a suburban stadium north of Atlanta where affluent people have disposable incomes that they could spend on soccer, but that don't want to go downtown for a stadium. An argument can be made that those people could watch the Silverbacks on TV and help the TV numbers, but anyone with a TV and cable should be able to do that. These people have the money to go to the stadium week in, week out, then why are they not going? That's a question I can't answer, but a new owner who knows the city of Atlanta and its suburbs could. If the league (who is temporarily operating the club) can't find an owner soon, they will concede an important market to MLS, which I find disgraceful because that's not how this is supposed to work. In America, sure, you support your local "minor league" team and the local big league team. In the rest of the world (especially soccer), that does not happen at all. You support one team and that's it. While the Silverbacks and Atlanta FC can peacefully coexist now due to a lack of pro/rel, I'm sure a better solution can be found. I think the Silverbacks should copy the Braves's attitude as the South's soccer team and go on from there to become just as big of a name as the Cosmos.

Just my two cents for the day, enjoy the NASL Soccer Bowl playoffs. I'll have a preview up after the games this weekend.

2016 US Open Cup 1st and 2nd Qualifying Round Draw Made

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, US Soccer has already announced the matchups for the first 2 qualifying rounds of the 2016 US Open Cup, to be played in October and November of this year. According to US Soccer:

All 56 entries will participate in the first qualifying round, scheduled for Oct. 17-18 and Oct. 24-25, with the 28 winners playing each other in the second qualifying round, set for Nov. 14-15 and Nov. 21-22. Twelve of the 14 second qualifying round winners in closest proximity to each other will compete in the third qualifying round, to be held April 2-3, 2016. The remaining two winners will be awarded the first two slots into the 2016 U.S. Open Cup from the Open Division local qualifying track and will be joined by the six victors from the third qualifying round. The exact matchups for the third qualifying round will be determined once the 14 winners from the preceding round are known. The first round proper will be held May 11, 2016, with the remaining match dates set later this year.

The matches are as follows: (all times Eastern)

October 17

12 p.m. — Southie FC (Roxbury, MA) at Battery Park Gunners (Roxbury, MA)

2 p.m. — Salone FC (Philadelphia, PA) at Vereinigung Erzgebirge (Warminster, PA)

3 p.m. — Tartan Devils Oak Avalon (Pittsburgh, PA) at Aromas Café FC (Charlottesville, VA)

5 p.m. — Newport FC (Portsmouth, RI) at Worcester FC (Auburn, MA)

6:30 p.m. — West Chester United (Wayne, PA) at Junior Lone Star FC (Drexel Hill, PA)

7 p.m. — South Jersey Elite Barons (Hammonton, NJ) at Jersey Shore Boca (Bayville, NJ)

7:30 p.m. — Newtown Pride FC (Sandy Hook, CT) at Lansdowne Bhoys FC (Bronx, NY)

October 18

10 a.m. — Boston Olympiakos FC (Boston, MA) at Global Premier Soccer (GPS) Omens (Wayland, MA)

3 p.m. — Maryland Bays (Elkridge, MD) at Dulles Sportsplex Aegean Hawks FC (Boyds, MD)

6 p.m. — New York Pancyprian Freedoms (Jamaica, NY) at New York Greek American SC (Maspeth, NY)

OCT. 24

4 p.m. — NTX Rayados (Dallas, TX) at Austin Real Cuauhtemoc (Georgetown, TX)

6 p.m. — Red Force FC (Pembroke Pines, FL) at Uruguay Kendall FC (Pembroke Pines, FL)

7:30 p.m. — Colorado Rovers (Commerce City, CO) at Harpo’s FC (Commerce City, CO)

9 p.m. — La Maquina (Lake Forest, CA) at Strikers FC South Coast (Lake Forest, CA)

10 p.m. — Chula Vista FC (Chula Vista, CA) at Temecula Football Club (Temecula, CA)

10 p.m. — KC Athletics (Overland Park, KS) at I.P.S. (Portland, OR)

10 p.m. — San Nicolas FC (Chino, CA) at Corinthians USA (Rialto, CA)

10 p.m. — Footballers Academy (Irvine, CA) at San Pedro Monsters FC (San Pedro, CA)

10:30 p.m. — Del Rey City SC (Playa Del Rey, CA) at LA Wolves FC (Manhattan Beach, CA)

October 25

2 p.m. — Tobacco Road FC (Raleigh, NC) at CD Motagua (New Orleans, LA)

3 p.m. — Davis Legacy (Davis, CA) at International Fútbol X-Change (IFX) Ballistic (Livermore, CA)

3 p.m. — El Farolito (San Francisco, CA) at San Francisco City Football Club (San Francisco, California)

4:30 p.m. — Boca Raton Football Club (Boca Raton, FA) at Real Miami Club of Football (North Miami, FL)

5 p.m. — Valley United SC (North Hills, CA) at Cal FC (Agoura Hills, CA)

6 p.m. — Outbreak FC (Long Beach, CA) at Buena Park FC (La Palma, California)

7 p.m. — Charlotte Sporting Soccer Academy FC (Charlotte, NC) at Queen City United FC (Charlotte, NC)

7 p.m. — Colorado Rush (Wheat Ridge, CO) at FC Boulder (Boulder, CO)

7 p.m. — Real Sociedad (Bellflower, CA) vs. Ozzy’s Laguna FC (Monterey Park, CA)

The only problem I can see is the KC Athletics match because they are the only team that has to travel more than 100 miles for their game. To me, that is unconscionable. At this early stage, how has no other Oregon team given them any competition? I understand there is a tournament up there in Cascadia that takes precedence in that area over the US Open Cup, but where else can any amateur team in Washington and Oregon get to play against the big boys of the US? Anyways, get out to your local US Open Cup game.

I will announce the 2nd qualifying round pairings after the completion of the 1st qualifying round.

The Kenwright Protests From an American Perspective

As some of you who are reading this know, I am an Everton supporter who lives in Baltimore, MD. In Baltimore, we have a football (NFL) team and a baseball team. The two teams and their ownership groups could not be more different in their commitment to the teams. The one I will discuss here is Mr. Peter Angelos, the owner of the Baltimore Orioles, and compare him to Mr. Kenwright. You may think this is absolutely ludicrous, but let me explain. Angelos took over the Orioles in 1993 after previous owner Eli Jacobs declared bankruptcy and was forced to sell the team, putting the Orioles back into local hands for the first time since 1979. During Angelos's tenure as Orioles owner (slightly longer than Kenwright's at Everton, but we'll let that go), the Orioles had just moved into their home, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, and it hosted the 1993 All-Star Game (a contest between the best players from the American League and those of the National League -- the rules of baseball are for a different article). In 1995, the Orioles finished 2 games below a .500 record (equal wins to losses). In 1996, Angelos proved that he had money and was willing to spend it, giving the then-general manager the resources needed to win the division and make the playoffs. Since the late 1990s, Angelos has ated a lot like Kenwright, refusing to continue to spend money in order to make the team better. The Orioles failed to make the playoffs from 1998-2012, when they finally made it back in after a rule change allowed for a play-in game between the first and second placed teams in the wild card standings.

However, this is where the comparison ceases to be fair n the success side, as in baseball, you do not need to spend premium money to win every year (though Angelos has traded away top stars for prospects even this year). In (real) football, that money needs to be spent in order to acquire and keep top talent. Kenwright has failed to spend the adequate money to keep talent around, selling Wayne Rooney to Manchester United for a pittance in 2004 while the Orioles let local boy Mark Teixeira walk to the hated New York Yankees without even giving him a fair (according to him) offer for his services. Teixiera rubbed salt in the wounds as he declared in his opening press conference that his best memories as a kid who grew up in Baltimore were when his dad would take him to Yankee Stadium to watch baseball. (Imagine the fume had Rooney said something similar to that!)

Now, this is where I get to talk about fan culture. In America, fan culture is generally unified to support the team, no matter the circumstances. There are always divisions (and some radicals), but generally everyone is there to support the team, no matter what. From what I've seen of UK-based Evertonians, they may feel similarly, but there comes a point when there are drastic differences. Some years ago, a sports talk DJ in Baltimore who has been harping on the subject of Angelos for years orchestrated a full walkout of Oriole Park at Camden Yards for a home game. now imagine if one of the BBC Radio Merseyside presenters even attempted to something like that. AC Milan fans took it upon themselves to do it without that need. Americans generally like things organized for them rather than doing it themselves when it comes to sports fandom. I understand that it is wrong to speak in generalizations, but I feel that it is appropriate to single out the (real) football fans in America for being the antithesis of the generalization. For example, the people at OTF Soccer, a Chicago Fire website and podcast, are doing a #90MinuteTailgate to oppose their owners. No other sport in America gets people to do those things. There is a certain sense of apathy among Americans, and most see it as nothing they can do to change, so support must be given. To the few that are actively doing something about terrible owners, I applaud your zeal and wish my fellow Americans would do the same if that is their view. So, to all of the people reading this from the Blue Union and other groups that are campaigning to rid Everton of Kenwright, keep going, hold strong, and never give up. Oh, and also ask Americans who travel to Goodison their opinion about Kenwright and change some minds about apathy. I think the best solution to this is to start an Everton Supporters' Trust and emulate what Swansea did to Petty (with the exception of threats to break his legs) This trust is to be unified with as many Evertonians as can muster, and will hopefully span the globe with blues from different countries and with different perspectives. If one exists already, this is my callout to you to make yourselves better known.

Bohs Postseason Report

It's been about a month since my last blog entry, but I wanted to wait until the dust settled in the PDL and NPSL playoffs before I reported this. Here is my report of the Baltimore Bohemians 2015 season.

First off, here's where we rank against other PDL teams. We are 3rd in average attendance of all teams that reported all of their home games. Among all teams, we are 22nd out of 64 officially in average attendance (though I question that claim). I think that playing at Bonvegna Field has done wonders for the club for this year, but the myriad of other lines on the field sort of ruined the fan experience for me. I understand that the club operates on a shoestring budget and the rent was probably dirt cheap, but the club has to take fan experience into account more going forward. I personally think the Bohs' Supporters deserve better than to stand behind 2 chain-linked fences in order to have their own section. On opening night, the Reading United coaches actually enjoyed their presence right behind their bench on the turf. I still don't know for certain why the supporters were relegated to the basketball court, but I could tell that it was not a club decision. They are somewhat to blame for this as well, because for the second game of the season, one person brought a smoke bomb and lit it off when the Bohs scored. To this day, I don't know who brought it, and I wasn't looking when it was lit.

Fan culture aside, the club's off-season stuff must be classed as nothing short of unprofessional. I get it; it's a volunteer staff, and the front office have other jobs that they do that make them money. I fully understand that. However, when fans go to opening night and you're going to send the team in a new kit and the fans want to purchase said kit and it's not available, that's on you. I still have not seen an explanation as to why it was not available (or I just haven't been looking hard enough). If an explanation was made, please link me, and I'll edit this part accordingly. The other major incident was whenpeople could not park on the side of Du Burns Arena that faced the field due to a competing event that was taking place nowhere near Bonvegna. From speaking to club officials at that game, I know that they were asured of parking at the arena, but they were not gien it. They should have kept calling and calling to ensure the parking spaces, not just accept a blind spot and no one else gets informed. Once again, communication is key, and the Bohs have not exactly communicated that well with us fans with the exception of trying to get butts in seats. Now, they have turned the corner in August with trying to offload tons of merchandise by marketing their postseason sale as a back-to-school sale, but where was that all season?

With all of the off-the-field stuff taken care of, let's talk about the on-field play. The Bohs did very poorly at home, only winning 1 home match in the entire season. It's a shame that all of the road trips are at least 3 hours away (except for DC United U-23s) so I could see this team for what it truly was: road warriors who didn't play as well at home. I think the players were poorly selected, and they did not play well at all at home. I especially was not a big fan of the defense and goalkeeping (it should be noted here that the captain was injured partway through the season, and sometimes some people had to play out of position to make up the numbers on defense). For a team that was plagued with injuries, I don't think the goalkeeping was up to snuff, and I don't think Billy Heavner can win you ballgames by himself. I think if Billy is to succeed in soccer, he needs a good defense to back him up, because he proved this season that he can't put the team on his back. Jordan Bekker must have done a whole lot at those road games to make the All-Conference Team of the Season because when he played at home, I didn't see anything truly special.

Going forward, here are my goals for the Baltimore Bohemians for next season:

1. Communication - Never underestimate the value of communication. Even if something last-minute happens right before a game, report it on the Facebook and Twitter accounts. Don't leave the fans in the dark as much as you did this season.
2. Address the Bonvegna situation - While Bonvegna was a hit for attendance, the fan experience was lacking. Either get the field to get rid of some of the lines so as not to detract from the soccer, or at least try to find another solution until you can build your own stadium.
3. Recruit better players - Baltimore is one of the biggest, most important cities in America, and the club can only recruit from UMBC and Loyola? I know that the players are there already for their college careers, but several teams had players from overseas clubs and much bigger colleges than those two are. Broaden the scope of recruitment, and more people may come.

So, that is my long-awaited review of the Baltimore Bohemians 2015 season, and hopefully I'll continue on for the 2016 season.

Bohs Lose Last Game of Season 1-0 to FA Euro

The Baltimore Bohemians actually played pretty well tonight. I think that was the performance of the season, and they left it to too late to do anything in the hunt for a playoff spot. FA Euro scored in the middle of the first half when the Bohs defense, as usual, left goalkeeper Billy Heavner out to dry. They played well for the remainder of the game, with Tommy Quaranta blowing a quality scoring chance at the death when he attempted to chip the keeper from just outside the penalty area. He beat the keeper, but he shot it wide right by a couple yards. Another player had a golden chance to score, but he failed to convert. The team let the supporters onto the field after the game for a photo with the whole team that showed up to play tonight, which I thought was very nice. The supporters group was the loudest they've been all season. I could hear them from the other side of the field, which is where I was for the majority of the game.

I will have a full season recap, complete with all results, position grades, and my expectations for net season. That will be out sometime Monday.

Explosive Hearing Attacks US Soccer, Blazer, Etc.

Senator Blumenthal said it best: "US soccer either knew or should have known about the FIFA corruption." The only speaker that I did not trust in this was Mr. Flynn, the CEO of US Soccer, and he kept dodging questions left and right. Mr. Jennings gave the suggestion that US Soccer leave FIFA, and that I can't endorse. However, the most shocking statement of all in this hearing was that Flynn knew that voting for Prince Ali in the last FIFA presidential election meant suicide for USSF's efforts to host the 2026 World Cup in this bidding process. That to me is not shocking as much as the assertion that the senators did not administer the hearing under oath. This hearing should have been under oath and records should have been subpoenaed for the committee's review. The senator that asked the line of questioning about equal pay for women is just covering herself politically; she should have asked Mr. Flynn about SUM and their involvement in the TV rights and the other World Cup things to which they are related. I say that Mr. Gulati should be charged with contempt for not appearing himself, rather instead sending a proxy to attend the hearing on his behalf. Had this been a subpoenaed hearing, this would not have happened, and we would have been treated to Gulati's dance show around the questions.  However, this is not the end of the road with these hearings, and long may they continue, until the truth is found.

This Day in Soccer History: The Goal that Shocked the World

Today is the 65th anniversary of perhaps the biggest goal in US soccer history: an amateur United States team, full of part-time players, defeating the English powerhouse 1-0 in an upset worthy of it's own movie. It is reported that some newspapers though it was a typo and reported the score as 10-0 to England, so reports are hard to find. What is a little easier to find is a video produced by FIFA. It tells the story in a way only it can tell. What is most striking about the game, however, is the belie in the US players that they could do it, because, in Harry Keough's words, "We scared the living hell out of [Spain]."The rest of the world, and the nation, did not.

This day is remembered by Joe Gaetjens's famous goal; however, he was imprisoned by the late Haitian dictator Devalier in 1969 and never seen again. Of all the great goals in US soccer history, this is only comparable to Paul Caliguri's goal against Trinidad to qualify for the 1990 World Cup, to usher in a new modern era for US soccer's success. Because I don't like to dwell on what-ifs, I'm not going to speculate how important Wondolowski's goal could have been if he made it in 2014 in Brazil. However, it would have been nice to have had a World Cup game in Belo Horizonte, because these US players in 2014 would have had a chance to play on holy ground, even if they couldn't play in that very stadium.

Bohs Lose Yet Again

In the same old song and dance now, the Baltimore Bohemians lost to the New York Red Bull U23s 2-1, with every goal coming in the second half. The defense was as porous as Swiss cheese tonight, and despite the referee not doing us any favors, that certainly would not have been worthy of a result otherwise.


The last home game is on July 17th against F.A. Euro. With this result, the Bohs are out of playoff contention mathematically.

The Review of PDL.... and Why the Bohs Need to Leave or Push for Change

The Professional Development League (PDL) is, according to its Twitter bio, it is "The top U23 men's league in North America". It also boasts 64 teams in 4 conferences. Here are the divisions and alignment. Obviously, something is deadly wrong here. The Bohs play in a 10-team division, the highest-numbered division in the entire league. The PDL season lasts from mid-May to mid-July, which is not nearly enough time for an 11-team division to play every team once home and away. So, teams don't play some opponents twice, which is not necessarily a problem, but it does cause the league's legitimacy to be questioned. No team should ever play a game on back-to-back days (exception being condensed tournaments), especially with travel involved. The next-closest PDL division to the Bohs is the Northeast Division, which has 5 teams. That division size may be too small for a 12-week league (estimating for the sake of simplicity), but the average division size is 7-8 teams, which is easily doable. Out of the 10 teams in the Bohs' division, 6 are in NY/NJ.

So, assuming that the LI Rough Riders go to the Northeast Division, here's an appropriate realignment:

Mid-Atlantic Divison:
Bohs
Lehigh Valley
Northern Virginia
DC United U23s
Reading

Tri-State Division:
FA Euro
Jersey Express
New York Red Bull U23s
Ocean City
Westchester


This would ameliorate schedule-makers' efforts to make it so that teams could play each other twice, while still allowing them free weeks to schedule friendlies etc.

If the PDL does not do anything about the ridiculous scheduling efforts, the Bohs need to find a league that will address those concerns. The other concern is that players do not get better simply by playing a half of soccer to determine a game. The league's weather policy needs updating to better reflect MLS rules (after all, it claims to be the "#Path2Pro"). There is no excuse for events such as Saturday night to happen again to the Bohs, so I hope the PDL at least reads this and gives it some consideration as they discuss the future of their league.

Bohs Game Canceled at Halftime Due to Lightning

The Baltimore Bohemians and Jersey Express could not finish their game tonight due to lightning strikes in the Baltimore area. The game was abandoned at halftime 3-1 in favor of Jersey Express, but they could not play on due to a Baltimore City ordinance that prohibits the lights at Bonvegna Field to be on after 10PM due to the field's location in a residential zoning area. The club have not yet announced when the game will be made up [UPDATE: The club have tweeted that this counts as a win for Jersey Express.], but the next scheduled home game is next Saturday. I may not get the time to blog about the game because my cousin's coming up that day to play a baseball doubleheader for his summer team. The defense, as per usual, played poorly, but Ryan Tuck, the captain, was injured so they played someone out-of-position at CB.

Midweek Result: Bohs 2-1 Lehigh

U.S. Open Cup Sweet 16 Preview

After dispatching Manchester City NY last night, the New York Cosmos have learned their fate for the next round of the 102nd edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. They will go to Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ to face the New York Red Bulls in a rematch of last year's Open Cup clash in which the Cosmos defeated them at Hofstra 3-0. Should they win, they will face the winner of D.C. United and the Philadelphia Union in the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, another California Classico is scheduled for the Sweet 16 with the winner taking on the winner of the match between the Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake, with either the Timbers or RSL hosting.

In the completely misnomer "South" region (don't ask), the Columbus Crew will take on Orlando City while the Charlotte Independence, the only USL side left, will take on the Chicago Fire for the right to host the winner of Orlando-Columbus.

Finally, in the other region, the Colorado Rapids will play the Houston Dynamo in Houston for the right to travel to the winner of the Sweet 16 match between FC Dallas and Sporting Kansas City.

Here is the Sweet 16 match schedule: (all times Eastern)

Tuesday, June 30

Orlando City v Columbus Crew -- 7:30 PM
Philadelphia Union v D.C. United -- 7:30 PM
Chicago Fire v Charlotte Independence -- 8:30 PM
Houston Dynamo v Colorado Rapids -- 9:00 PM

Wednesday, July 1

New York Red Bulls v New York Cosmos -- 7:30 PM
Sporting KC v FC Dallas -- 8:30 PM
Real Salt Lake v Portland Timbers -- 10:00 PM
San Jose Earthquakes v LA Galaxy -- 10:30 PM

And Then There Was One -- US Open Cup 4th Round Recap

The Atlanta Silverbacks lost to the New York Red Bulls 3-0 last night with goals coming from Lloyd Sam, Zubar, and Davies. However, all was restored tonight as the New York Cosmos defeated "New York City FC" 2-2 (4-3) after Lucky Mkosana etched his name into Cosmos history by scoring the game-tying goal in extra time to send this into penalties.

Orlando City and Charleston Battery needed penalties to decide their match tonight; however, there is a police investigation forcing Orlando to stay in Charleston for the time being due to a shooting and a bomb threat.

Controversy at Starfire led to the Sounders losing to the Timbers while down to 7 men (1 injury).

Meanwhile, LA Galaxy and PSA Elite, the only amateur team left in the competition, finished 6-1 in the MLS side's favor.

Here are the results of all the 4th Round games:
Tuesday
Philadelphia Union 0-0 (3-1) Rochester Rhinos
New York Red Bulls 3-0 Atlanta Silverbacks
Sporting KC 1-0 St. Louis FC
Chicago Fire 1-0 aet Louisville City FC
FC Dallas 4-1 Oklahoma City Energy
Colorado Rapids 4-1 Colorado Springs Switchbacks
Real Salt Lake 2-1 Seattle Sounders 2
San Jose Earthquakes 2-2 (6-5) Sacramento Republic
Seattle Sounders 1-3 Portland Timbers
Wednesday
Richmond Kickers 1-3 Columbus Crew
Pittsburgh Riverhouds 1-3 aet DC United
New York Cosmos 2-2 (4-3) Manchester City NY
Charleston Battery 4-4 (7-8) Orlando City
New England Revolution 0-1 Charlotte Independence
Houston Dynamo 2-0 Austin Aztex
LA Galaxy 6-1 PSA Elite

Bohs Come Up Short Again; Lose to United 4-3

The Baltimore Bohemians played the DC United U23s tonight and lost 4-3, despite an early goal 50 seconds into the game. Once the game settled down, United had dominance in the midfield with excellent play from Dario Redondo, who dominated the Bohs right back all game long. In the end, however, the entire defense struggled to ind their feet tonight, as Ryan Tuck picked up an unusual yellow card, given how he plays normally for the Bohs and for Loyola. Super sub Shawn Geary picked up a goal on his first touch of the game after coming on during the 2nd half to level the game 3-3. However, United would have the last laugh as they scored in the 73rd minute (estimating; couldn't see the scoreboard and the club didn't announce the minute of the goal). All in all, it is a game that Billy Heavner will want to forget i goal, as he let in a couple soft ones. One was definitely no one's fault, as it went in off 2 deflections: off a defender and off the post and in.

The next home game for the Bohs will be next Saturday against Jersey Express.

Thoughts on US Provisional Gold Cup Roster

First, here is the full roster:

Goalkeepers
Brad Guzan
Bill hamid
Nick Rimando
Will Yarbrough

Defenders
Ventura Alvarado
DaMarcus Beasley [not a typo]
Matt Besler
John Brooks
Timmy Chandler
Brad Evans
Greg Garza
Omar Gonzalez
Michael Orozco
Tim Ream
Brek Shea
DeAndre Yedlin

Midfielders
Kyle Beckerman
Alejandro Bedoya
Michael Bradley
Joe Corona
Brad Davis
Mix Diskerud
Fabian Johnson
Perry Kitchen
Alfredo Morales
Lee Nguyen
Gyassi Zardes
Graham Zusi

Forwards
Juan Agudelo
Jozy Altidore
Clint Dempsey
Alan Gordon
Aron Johannsson
Jordan Morris
Chris Wondolowski


My biggest surprise call-up is Alan Gordon. Despite his lack of call-ups, Klinsmann feels that he has the potential to play in the Gold Cup. Some head-scratching snubs were Eric Lichaj, Bobby Wood, and Sean Johnson. Why is he still calling Nick Rimando up when there are younger goalies that he could be calling up? Overall, this roster is looking decent, but it's not the best US team that could be put out there for the Gold Cup. I understand some of the decisions made to rest some people that I felt deserved a chance, but there are people who, over the body of work, deserve a chance. No offense to RSL fans, but Rimando is old, and there are younger goalies that could benefit from some of these callups better than him.

Defense Costs Bohs in 3-1 Loss to Ocean City (NJ)

The Baltimore Bohemians defense had a really bad night tonight by failing to stop Ryan Manga from putting 2 past the goalkeeper. The game started with a very quick goal for the Bohs... but then it went downhill from there. By the end of the game, it felt like to me that no one wanted to be there. In fact, the goalkeeper told me that he was less than pleased with the effort pu in by his teammates, but the fact remains that he couldn't keep 3 shots out of the net. I think Ocean City had about 5 shots total (from what I could see, at least). The referee was a factor in this game, as the Bohs were on the attack, but he did not call a foul that he called later in the game on the other side in a similar fashion (except it was not nearly as close to the goal). There were really no positives to take from that effort, as the overall play of the Bohs was just terrible.

Next home game: 6/13/2015 v DC United U23s
Midweek result: Bohs 2-1 NY Red Bull U23s (A)

Bohs Win 3-1 Against Lehigh Valley

The Baltimore Bohemians won 3-1 tonight against Lehigh Valley. The less said about the first half performance, the better, as the Bohs couldn't finish, and Lehigh Valley was addicted to going beyond the line of defenders. The scoring opened, thankfully, with a penalty kick which was an obvious denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity as the Lehigh Valley defender pushed the Bohs attacker to the turf from behind in front of the goal. The penalty was converted, and the Bohs scored another goal within a minute of the first. Then, the Bohs scored another goal, then Lehigh Valley got a questionable penalty call and converted in the 90th minute to make it 3-1. Overall, it was a good game, but the Bohs still have a lot to work on, namely finishing chances and some of the midfield passing was sloppy at times. Good goalkeeping, with the only goal let up being a penalty, which is a guessing game anyway.

The other interesting thing of note was that the supporters' section was sent to the basketball court due to some complaints filed, but I don't know much more than that. When the Bohs scored the penalty, a supporter decided to light 2 yellow smoke bombs. They were very tame and well-contained. The property manager was very confrontational and wanted someone to "man up", but the club owner calmed him down and told hi that there was no need to be confrontational about it. I was in the supporters' section when it happened, and I was afraid that all of us would be banned from the field for life. However, we shall see next week, as the Bohs host the Ocean City Nor'easters from Ocean City, NJ. They are one of the two elite teams in the division, so the Bohs had better be ready for a fight. However, before that, they play a midweek game against the New York Red Bull U23s away. I will not have coverage of that game, as I don't have a means to get there, especially on a Wednesday night.

Things Just Went from Bad to Worse.. AKA my USOC 3rd Round Recap

9 NASL teams entered tonight, 2 are moving on.

All 7 NASL teams that were paired with USL sides lost to those sides, with only 2 of those needing extra time. This comes on the same day as the Chairman of the NASL Board of Governors was arrested as part of the FIFA corruption stuff from this morning. This not only is an embarrassment for the league, but it's an embarrassment for all those who believe that NASL is the rightful potential D1, even though they can't even beat D3.

Of note, the 2 sides that won (Cosmos and Atlanta) played against non-league sides, and Atlanta barely beat Chattanooga, and both go on to take on Manchester City New York and Red Bull's NY team respectively.

Here's a solution that can get NASL teams to stop choking against USL: Fine every team that loses, and give the proceeds to a charity of the team's choice. Not only does it foster goodwill between each NASL team and their communities, it also gives them a chance to make amends for losing to those teams.

Another, more radical solution: Have the league take the 2 weekends surrounding USOC week off to focus on the competition, making the teams field their strongest available XIs. For the teams that end up losing, their game on the Saturday following Cup day is still on, as long as their scheduled opponent is also eliminated. All moved fixtures would be made up later in the season. To be fair to Ottawa and Edmonton, I'd advocate doing the same for them while they're in the Canadian Championship.

Also, as another reward for any NASL team that wins, I would give a NASL side that wins US Open Cup $3 million, and schedule modifications for CONCACAF Champions League group stage.

FIFA Officials and Sports Marketing Execs Charged with Corruption

According to a NYT article released this morning, 14 people, including 10 current and former FIFA officials, have been arrested in Zurich, Switzerland, and extradited to the United States to face those charges. Some bad news out of the gate: Sepp Blatter is not one of those charged, and Aaron Davidson, one of the heads of Traffic Sports, and, consequently, of the Carolina Railhawks of the NASL, is one of those charged. Firstly, this is not the FBI's jurisdiction, this would be the CIA's jurisdiction as this is a foreign investigation (but those lines have been blurred so many times I don't even know where to begin). Secondly, the FBI has really messed up here by not getting Blatter when they had the chance to do so with these investigations. I'm not going to sit here and say that Traffic is completely 100% ethical (they are not), but they haven't done what another famous soccer marketing company has done with US soccer.  What I will say is that organization is very important to the growth of the NASL, and taking out one of their most important players smells like a conspiracy to me. For the world, this is a good day as many people have been charged with racketeering, money laundering, and various other corruption-like charges, but this is a bad day for those of us that want the NASL to be in a position to challenge MLS at some point. Hopefully, the NASL can find someone to replace Davidson with as much clout in the sports marketing world as him, and I hope they do it quickly and wipe their hands of him ASAP.


I am also saddened to report this morning that former Everton player Andy King has passed away. In 2 stints with the Blues, he made 195 appearances and scored 49 goals.

Bohs Fall Flat Against Reading in Home Opener

The Baltimore Bohemians lost to Reading united 4-0 in the home opener at Bonavegna Field in Canton today. This is their 4th home in 4 years, previously playing in Bel Air, then at Ridley Athletic Complex (part of Loyola University MD) then at Calvert Hall. Aesthetically, I like the field location because you see the big Natty Boh sign overlooking the field. Unfortunately, you either had to sit on concrete slabs, the new turf, or bring your own chair. That was a bit concerning, but it just felt nicer because there seemed to be a lot of people there... I doubt most of them would come back.

Anyways, on to the game. The Bohs looked a step behind Reading all night long, letting in 4 particularly soft goals, all of which were caused by a defensive mistake somewhere. The Bohs, despite being at home, lost the possession battle and every possible other head-to-head battle. For a team that beat the Westchester Flames last week 5-0 in Westchester, I expected a lot better out of this Bohemians side. They must improve in training this week in anticipation of the next game against Lehigh Valley next Saturday at home. Lehigh Valley comes over from the NPSL, and stats are very hard to find. Let's hope the Bohs fix their defensive errors, and come out next week with a point to prove.

A Thoughtful NASL Expansion Plan

Well, first off, I would like to apologize to all of you for the lack of weekly recaps as promised. I have been going through a lot of personal sacrifice this whole month, including the absence of an Internet connection sans my phone's 3G data (and try typing a full-length blog on a phone and see how long it takes you)

Well, we have some big news coming out of Miami, and that is Miami FC is coming to the NASL in 2016, a full 2 years before Miami Beckham Spice Franchise makes its debut. Congratulations to Miami FC for the acceptance, but even though I like their plan better than MBSF, I don't think it was wise for the league to award a second team to the Miami market. From a purely soccer perspective, I love it because Beckham is quaking in his boots, but from a league survival perspective, this is bad... really bad.

Here is my expansion plan for the NASL in stages*:

1. Get west coast teams. This is an absolute must for NASL to retain D2 status (but you already know how I feel about that status) So, markets like San Diego, LA, Phoenix, and Vegas should all be considered first before markets like Miami. Accepting all 4 would bring the number of teams to 15.
2. Find a Canadian city to pair with Edmonton for road trips. This can be done along with step 1, but I'm writing this as a separate step for convenience sake. The perfect city to do this in would be Calgary because of the built-in Flames-Oilers hockey rivalry (but we can't force-feed rivalries down people's throats,... let it happen organically) Number of teams: 16
3. Fill out the east of the Mississippi with markets MLS rejected, like Baltimore and Detroit especially. I think it is a crime that pro soccer does not currently exist in those two citie, especially because Baltimore topped NBC's Premier League ratings last year, and the Northern Guard deserves something better than the NPSL, and, quite frankly, Detroit deserves better than a semi-pro soccer team being their best one.

Here is how my NASL would look by 2024:
Atlanta Silverbacks
Baltimore Bohemians
Calgary Foothills FC
Carolina RailHawks
Chicago Sting
CD Phoenix
Detroit City FC
FC Edmonton
Ft. Lauderdale Strikers
Hartford Whalers
Indy Eleven
Jacksonville Armada
Las Vegas Mobsters
Los Angeles Aztecs
Miami FC
New York Cosmos
Ottawa Fury FC
San Antonio Scorpions
San Diego Sockers
Tampa Bay Rowdies

* This plan assumes the Minn United MLS move takes place and allows for the Miami FC expansion, so I only counted 11 original NASL teams. Also, I did not take into account owners putting plans together to submit to the NASL for expansion by themselves.

A Defense of the LA Aztecs:

The LA Aztecs were an original NASL team, and I have seen some support for the Aztecs to return to LA at a given point. That's why I allowed a 3rd team in LA. Ditto with the Sting.

No NASL Week 2 Recap coming; Will Have Week 3, and more

I think this will be obvious to anyone who has been looking for it, there will be no NASL Week 2 recap post as I was extremely busy this past weekend (more on where I was on Sunday later). I plan on doing a recap for week 3, and probably a preview if time permits.

Now, I was at Ridley Athletic Complex to watch a spring soccer game on Sunday, where Loyola played Penn State, a game in which the Nittany Lions were heavily favored to win, even though it doesn't matter. The game contained very ugly soccer and lots of referee mistakes, but Loyola scored a goal in the second half (can't clearly remember the minute) and never looked back from there. There were lots of defensive frailties on both sides and some miscommunication between Loyola's midfielders when one took the ball off the other after he won the ball, then proceeded to lose the ball almost immediately.

The Hounds have 2 more spring games, both on Friday; a doubleheader, first against Howard University at 5PM followed by the alumni game. I was going to live tweet the game on Sunday, but Ridley does not have a WiFi connection to which I have access.

So, that's what I was doing, and I hope you can forgive me for not providing some promised content.

U.S. Open Cup First and Second Rounds Drawn

Here are the results of the draw of the First and Second Rounds of the 2015 U.S. Open Cup:

First Round (all fixtures to be played May 13)

West Virginia Chaos (PDL) vs. Fort Pitt Regiment (NPSL)

Western Mass. Pioneers (PDL) vs. Greater Binghamton FC Thunder (NPSL)

Lansing United (NPSL) vs. RWB Adria (USASA)

Miami United (NPSL) vs. SW Flordia Adrenaline (PDL)

Upward Star (NPSL) vs. Triangle Bridgade (USASA)

AC Connecticut (PDL) vs. Virginia Beach City FC (NPSL)

Long Island Rough Riders (PDL) vs. Brooklyn Italians (NPSL)

Michigan Bucks (PDL) vs. Detroit City FC (NPSL)

Chattanooga FC (NPSL) vs. Ocala Stampede (PDL)

Jersey Express (PDL) vs. New York Greek American Atlas (USASA)

Maryland Bays (USASA) vs. Reading United A.C. (PDL)

Global Premier Soccer (USASA) vs. Seacoast United Phantoms (PDL)

Des Moines Menace (PDL) vs. Madison Fire (USASA)

Midland/Odessa Sockers (PDL) vs. Tulsa Athletics (NPSL)

Laredo Heat (PDL) vs. NTX Rayados (USASA)

BYU Cougars (PDL) vs. KC Athletics/Harpo’s FC

FC Tucson (PDL) vs. Chula Vista FC (USASA)

FC Tacoma 253 (NPSL) vs. Kitsap Pumas (PDL)

Sonoma County Sol (NPSL) vs. Burlingame Dragons (PDL)

Ventura County Fusion (PDL) vs. Cal FC/San Francisco City FC

PSA Elite (USASA) vs. Golden State Misioneros FC (PDL)

Second Round (All fixtures to be played May 20)

Pittsburgh Riverhounds (USL) vs. Fort Pitt Regiment/West Virginia Chaos

Wilmington Hammerheads (USL) vs. Ocala Stampede/Chattanooga FC

Richmond Kickers (USL) vs. AC Connecticut/Virginia Beach FC

Rochester Rhinos (USL) vs. Greater Binghamton FC Thunder/Western Mass. Pioneers

RWB Adria/Lansing United vs. Louisville City FC (USL)

Reading United A.C./Maryland Bays vs. Harrisburg City Islanders (USL)

Charleston Battery (USL) vs. SW Florida Adrenaline/Miami United

Charlotte Independence (USL) vs. Triangle Brigade/Upward Star

Michigan Bucks/Detroit City FC vs. Portland Timbers 2 (USL)

Long Island Rough Riders vs. Real Monarchs SLC (USL) OR Real Monarchs SLC vs. Brooklyn Italians

Jersey Express vs. New York Red Bulls II (USL) OR New York Red Bulls II vs. New York Greek American Atlas

Global Premier Soccer vs. Tulsa Roughnecks (USL) OR Tulsa Roughnecks vs. Seacoast United Phantoms

Saint Louis FC (USL) vs. Madison Fire/Des Moines Menace

Midland/Odessa Sockers vs. OKC Energy FC (USL) OR Tulsa Athletics vs. OKC Energy FC

Austin Aztex (USL) vs. NTX Rayados/Laredo Heat

Colorado Springs Switchbacks (USL) vs. KC Athletics/Harpo’s FC/BYU Cougars

PSA Elite/Golden State Misioneros FC vs. Orange County Blues (USL)

Arizona United SC (USL) vs. Chula Vista FC/FC Tucson

LA Galaxy II (USL) vs. Cal FC/San Francisco City FC/Ventura County Fusion

Sacramento Republic FC (USL) vs. Burlingame Dragons/Sonoma County Sol

Seattle Sounders 2 (USL) vs. Kitsap Pumas/FC Tacoma 253

My analysis: Why?

Why do you "reward" a team that has won your tournament multiple times with a trip to Salt Lake City if they beat Long Island? How does the Jersey Express get a home game against an MLS reserve side -- better question, why are the MLS reserve sides in it at all? And why are you making some teams travel further to their First Round game than to their Second Round game? Some of this draw makes no sense, and why isn't US Soccer covering the Open Cup with as much vigor and enthusiasm as the FA does with the FA Cup? This tournament needs to be bigger than what it currently is, but it can't get there without more promotion by the US Soccer Federation. They will argue that not enough money is being raised, but they could have used some of that $90M from the MLS TV deal to financially back the tournament. I think there will be some exciting games, and I can't wait to see if any of those games will be made available either on YouTube or other forms of Internet access.

NASL Week 1 Recap

FINAL SCORES
CAR 3-1 OTT
ATL 1-1 IND
FTL 0-1 NY
JAX 3-1 EDM
SA 1-3 TB

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Tough call this week, but I'd say that Novo gets it due to his effective play earlier in the day.

MAJOR TAKEAWAYS
1. Quality of play is improving little by little.
2. NASL had to set up a separate live stream for the beginning of the 2nd half between San Antonio and Tampa Bay due to problems with ESPN3. Hopefully this isn't a sign of things to come.
3. Jacksonville Armada are definitely proving me wrong about where I placed them in my predicted end-of-season standings. They played very well in front of....
4. Record crowds showed up in bunches this week. The Armada have a modern era record of 16,164 at  evening with a foghorn goal celebration. The Strikers also have a modern era record of just north of 11,000.
5. The production quality is improving overall, but there are a few strugglers still. Atlanta didn't have a scoreboard for 20 minutes, and San Antonio's production quality has not improved over the offseason.
6. Feel very bad for the Silverbacks fans who went out to the game. Indy's goal was a last-minute penalty. Stone cold penalty, but what a way to end your night.
7. The officiating was very trigger-happy when it came to cards this week. Watch this to see if the referees change as the season progresses.

Lots of Drama in NASL Curtain Raiser

Note: This is a special blog post recapping the opening game of the NASL season. Do NOT expect this type of coverage every week after every game. This is only being done because this is the first game of the season.

SCORING SUMMARY

1-0 (Shipilane) - well-worked team goal that set the Hawks up for success.
2-0 (Novo) - Incredible finish; the interplay around the box was fantastic, but the finish. I can't say anything bad about the finish -- definitely an early candidate for Goal of the Week.
2-1 (Poltronieri) - This is why Ottawa was so bad; they like to play hoofball, and that won't work most of the time. This goal was created using mainly hoofball techniques.
3-1 (Bracalello) - The goal didn't mean much in the end, but it made the result match the performance on the field.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Novo: Nacho Novo is like a fine wine... he ages very well. At 36 years old, the way he tore through Ottawa's defense was incredible... what a shame that he had to come off early due to injury.

MAJOR TAKEAWAYS

1. Expect better streams from ESPN3 for all of the NASL matches.
2. Ottawa's defense was absolutely horrible. There is a reason why I have them where I have them... if they can't defend, they won't go very far in the league. Let's hope they can turn that around very quickly so they can start to help everything else out.
3. Carolina's doing something right with their commentary. I don't know what it is, but the color analyst is very knowledgeable and informative throughout the day on tactics and player awareness.
4. Some of the midfield play by Carolina was superb. Watch the passing and the movement again, and you'll see tons of fluidity in the play. This is nowhere near the quality of Barcelona, but it's as close as I've seen an American professional team come to emulating that style... which is, not really, if in comparison with other sides that try to play that way in Europe.
5. The officiating quality was poor. I remember that Novo's penalty was outside of the penalty area, but no one in the Carolina dressing room was complaining about that, but fair is fair, and Ottawa got what they deserved in my opinion. Also, note the large number of yellow cards issued in the match, and keep track of this referee's assignments in the future to see how consistent he is, and his willingness to give a card against other NASL referees.

Once again, this is a special blog, but this follows the pattern I want to follow for the remainder of the weekend's action, replacing the Scoring summary with a list of final scores. Man of the Match will be replaced by Man of the Week. Midweek games may get this match's treatment, but that's still to be decided.

NASL 2015 Season Predictions

Here is my predicted standings and Soccer Bowl prediction for the NASL 2015 season.

Assume that I show combined standings, and that the winner of the Spring Season is the same as the winner of the Fall Season for simplicity's sake.

Qualify for NASL playoffs
Carolina RailHawks
New York Cosmos
Ft. Lauderdale Strikers
Minnesota United

5. Tampa Bay Rowdies
6. FC Edmonton
7. San Antonio Scorpions
8. Indy Eleven
9. Jacksonville Armada
10. Ottawa Fury
11. Atlanta Silverbacks

NASL Playoff Predictions:
(1) CAR 0-1 (4) MIN
(2) NY 3-2 (3) FTL

NASL Soccer Bowl 2015
NY 2-1 MIN aet

I strongly hope that the Silverbacks prove me wrong, but it seems that the ownership group has given up, but the fans are very strong. Please prove me wrong, Atlanta, for your fans don't deserve to finish last for their efforts.

American Outlaws Reaction

I'm sure all of you have seen the fusion.net article that broke this story, but if you haven't seen it, go look at it now, then continue reading.

Now, for my reaction. AO Phoenix should be ashamed of themselves for not only the incidents described in the article, but for their response was even more disrespectful. I think AO national needs to expel their Phoenix chapter or put them on probation for a long time for them to get themselves sorted out.

However, they, thank God, do not represent all of AO. AO Seattle's response to this was full of class and respect. They gave an e-mail and a phone number for members to call about their negative experiences. If that does not show proper leadership of a chapter, I don't know what else would. I am proud of AO Seattle for their response, and I think AO Phoenix should be either done or on probation for a really long time. Racism and sexism is uncalled for in those settings, and there needs to be steps taken, especially in light of the SAE controversy at the University of Oklahoma, and the new controversy surrounding another fraternity at the University of Maryland.

Women Win Against Norway... and #MartinezOUT

The United States women's team defeated Norway 2-1 today in the Algarve Cup. Hope Solo came straight back into the first team after her suspension, and the effort shown was poor. The only thing I can praise the women for was their determination not to lose.


Then, the "main event" at the Brittania: Stoke-Everton. That was about as enjoyable to watch as tennis. Roberto Martinez went out there with a so-called 4-3-3 formation with 1 winger and 4 center midfielders. And that's not even the worst part. He never put a second winger on throughout the game. (He did put Mirallas on, but only after taking Lennon off) He has been doing this for far too long, and everyone knows the team set to play week in, week out, which is depressing. So, I think there has to be a change at Everton manager immediately. Roberto Martinez should not be allowed to ride the bus back with the lads back to Liverpool. Even though Robles played magnificently in Howard's absence, he puts him straight back in after injury. That's not being a manager, that's playing favorites. I could go on and on with all of this, not to mention Lukaku's shot that he should've scored. The only player that I can genuinely say cared was John Stones. He has played very well, and also Garbutt with his corner delivery. Those two should be in the starting XI every week, if fit, on merit.

And now, my message to all Evertonians in Britain: do whatever you have to do to get Martinez out.

The Future of American Goalkeeping in the Premier League

Today, Tim Howard bottled it. No ifs, ands, or buts, he bottled it. No excuse for his poor performance today for the Toffees. Yes, Lukaku missed chances, but that shouldn't have mattered. We should be talking about a pretty drab, routine 2-0 win today over bottom of the table Leicester at home, but we're not. Over in Birmingham, it doesn't seem like Brad Guzan's doing that well, either for Villa.

So, that got me to thinking about the state of American goalkeeping in the Premier League, and the future of it. I feel that as Howard and Guzan eventually retire, there will be less Americans between the sticks overall after they retire in due course. That may be because the Bundesliga is becoming more trusting of American signings (example is former UMD goalkeeper Zach Steffen signing for Freiburg). The only other American goalkeeper in the Premier League is Cody Cropper, and, according to his player profile on the Southampton web site, "He has established himself as one of the regular goalkeepers in the Under-21 side during his time with Saints, as well as being involved with the first-team on matchdays and away trips." In the 2014-15 U21 Premier League season, he has not appeared in their last 3 games, and he has not even been included in their bench. So, without too much to go off of, I think he needs to leave and get some first-team football to further his development. I don't care if he goes to a club that's worse at developing players through a youth system, if he plays first-team football, that's better than most youth academies the world over.

So, I ask you: are American goalkeepers in the Premier League doomed, or are they just on hiatus? For me, it's not looking too good right now.

The Possibility of Replacement Players in MLS

The MLS labor negotiations are at a fever pitch as the MLS season is slated to begin on March 6. Unfortunately, the CBA has not yet been signed, so that got me thinking about the potential use of replacement players in MLS, and my opinion on the topic. The few uses of replacement players that I could find were as follows: MLB in 1995 after the 1994 season was effectively canceled. They had to use them for a few weeks, but only for spring training. The US national soccer team has used replacement players before in 2005, but no games were played with the lower-tier players. In more recent times, the trend has been to lock out all of the personnel and cancel games and/or entire seasons in order to proceed with negotiations. For example, there was no 2006-07 NHL season, and part of a recent NBA season was also canceled, leading to dramatic shifts in the value of the leagues.

It is for that reason that I think MLS should get their labor house in order before playing any games. It would greatly hurt teams such as the Cosmos and other NASL teams as their players would be pressured to play in MLS and forego their NASL commitments, and I would like to see those NASL players play in the NASL, as per their contracts with the NASL teams. However, if a lockout were to happen, it would be a grand revolution for the NASL as more eyes will be glued to that league, using the potential MLS lockout to their advantage. However, only one league would benefit from this, and the rest of them would suffer greatly with a lockout. Well, if those leagues would like to be at the mercy of MLS, let them. They will suffer all the same.

Thoughts on the Derby and Wednesday, and Some Personal News

If anyone's paid any attention to my Twitter account recently, you'll have seen a period of inactivity in the past week. That is because I have moved this past weekend, and it took that long to get the Internet in. So, without further ado, here are my thoughts on the two games Everton played this week, plus my belated thoughts on US-Chile. (I forgot about the US-Panama game on Sunday.)

US-Chile

I thought we played very well against Chile, considering most of our players weren't yet match fit, and we were facing a team from the Chilean Premier League, who were match fit after playing 4 league games. As much as I can say well done, I feel that we could have won that game. I remember our defense playing poorly, making too many mental mistakes, even for not being match fit.

Merseyside Derby

Every derby, no matter the fixture list, fixture congestion, injuries, etc., I expect, nay, demand that Everton win, no matter the circumstances. (I'm sure Jon Townsend would say the same thing on the other side.) For me, in this game, anything less than a win is unacceptable, and to say that we couldn't even get a goal past a converted midfielder who played CB is beyond me, no matter how good Can is at that role. We can't blame the referee here, we can only blame ourselves for this 0-0 draw that feels like  loss.

Everton-Chelsea

All through that game, I was screaming at my television. Lee Dixon was right when he pointed out that Everton showed no purpose in possession. while playing like Barcelona is ideal most of the time, if you can't win playing that style, then it's time for a change. Now, let me talk about the uncalled handball on Naismith for a few minutes. I wasn't on Twitter, so I didn't see the reaction to the non-call, but from where I was watching the game, and the replays shown on the TV, that was a handball as it touched his upper arm. The game should have finished worse than 1-0, maybe 2-0 or 2-1, depending on how you feel about Lukaku's shot that got saved by Cech's legs.

The Immigration Issue, starring Diego Fagundez

All we know currently is that Diego Fagundez received permanent resident status in 2013, and he is currently 19 years old, playing for the Uruguay U-20s. His parents emigrated from Montevideo, Uruguay, when Diego was 5 years old. Under federal law, this begins a 5-year (3-year if he marries an American citizen) wait for citizenship, time a soccer player does not have if he wishes to represent his adopted home at international competition. The worst part is that Fagundez cannot leave the Revolution to develop as a player even further due to a residency requirement as part of his citizenship application. A citizenship application takes months to complete, and some people (clearly not Diego) can fail the English test as part of the exam.

So, for the purposes of this blog, let us assume that Diego's parents did everything they were supposed to do to get citizenship. Even with the 5-year wait period, Diego would have become a citizen at age 10, and we wouldn't even be discussing this issue. Now, we have to assume that his parents faltered somewhere along that line of citizenship application or were not interested in becoming citizens themselves. If that is the case, they (and Diego) should have been deported once it was discovered that they had either overstayed their visa or, even worse, arrived illegally. Now, if I am missing key facts of the case, please let me know so I can correct this blog at a later date with the facts of the case.

In both scenarios I just described, we should not be having this discussion, but we are. This is a subject of President Obama's amnesty proposal that was declined by Congress, providing relief to those people who have stayed a considerable amount of time in America after being brought over by their parents at a young age. Amnesty would definitely help Diego out, but there is no guarantee that he would even become a US citizen even with Obama's amnesty. So, let us propose a new, radical solution to the problem: change US soccer policy to match the policy of FIFA for their international eligibility requirements. According to the nationality requirements, Diego would fit letter d because he has lived continuously in the United States since the age of 5. That is plenty of time for Diego to get scouted by the US national team and to receive US call-ups. Now, he could have rejected those call-ups in order to wait on Uruguay, but that would have been his decision, not our government's. I can fully understand him not wanting to wait 5 years to play for the country he's lived in for most of his life. Bottom line: we need immigration reform, and we need it now!

(Most of the info in this blog is taken from this article. Now, am I a proponent of amnesty? No, but that is a solution to Diego's issue.)

What the Cosmos Give NY Right Now... and What Other NASL Clubs Could Offer

Stability.

That's it. Stability.

The Red Bulls have just fired the heart and soul of their team Mike Petke after 2 pretty successful seasons with the MLS outlet as manager. New York City FC has what is being called "Lampardgate", the Frank Lampard situation. In contrast, the Cosmos give New York stability in time of chaos. They have just signed Giovanni Savarese and his assistants to contract extensions. They have recently signed former MLS player Adam Moffat to a deal, but, due to club policy, the terms were undisclosed. If undisclosed deals are the only thing holding the Cosmos (and the NASL) back from as much transparency as can be allowed, I think we're in for a revolution.

Oh, and go check out Chris Kessell's pro/rel blog for more pro pro/rel articles in this US soccer offseason.

One more thing: Fox Sports 2 is not available on Comcast... at all. So, for those of us that can't get
FS2 on their TVs, I'm not sure that there is an online option for viewing the US-Chile game later this month.