Meet all 3 of the very classy Rochester Stampede supporters group...

(click on pic to enlarge)

Note the fat guy drinking a canadian beer! LOL....

Live blog: A big night for the Canadian teams

Tonight's going to be very important for both Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps. First, at 8:30, Toronto take on the Houston Dynamo at Robertson Park. Both teams will be eager to pick up full points, as they both sit in third place in their respective conferences. TFC have a 4-3-4 record and 16 points, five behind the Eastern Conference-leading Chicago Fire, while Houston are 4-2-3 and have 15 points, nine behind Western Conference leaders Chivas USA.

The big story in this one is the return of former Dynamo players Dwayne De Rosario and Adrian Serioux. Both were key parts of Houston's 2006 MLS Cup title campaign. Serioux was selected by Toronto FC in the MLS expansion draft, but dealt to FC Dallas for Ronnie O'Brien, while De Rosario stayed in Houston until this season. They were expensive acquisitions for TFC, with Serioux traded for a first-round pick and allocation money and De Rosario picked up for Julius James and allocation money, but both have come through so far and been two of Toronto FC's top performers to date.

At 10 p.m. Eastern, the Vancouver Whitecaps take on the Portland Timbers down in Oregon. There's a lot on the line here as well, as both clubs are jockeying for position in the USL table. Portland are 3-1-3 through seven games for 12 points, good enough for fourth place at the moment, while the Whitecaps are in fifth with a 3-2-2 record for 11 points. Both have games in hand on the sides above them, so a win for either could put them in position to challenge for the league lead. The Cascadia Cup, traditionally given to the winner of the season series between Portland, Seattle and Vancouver, is also at stake tonight [Simon Fudge, whitecapsfc.com]; with Seattle moving up to MLS this season, the cup will be awarded to whoever takes the best-of-three regular-season series between
Portland and Vancouver. The Whitecaps are in good position to defend the trophy, as they claimed the first match 1-0 at home. With a win tonight, they'll be taking the Cascadia Cup back north to their trophy case.

However, the Whitecaps may be somewhat distracted by the Voyageurs Cup. After knocking off Montreal on Wednesday, they'll face Toronto FC at home on Tuesday in their final match of the competition. A victory there would put them in excellent shape to go through, as they already have an edge in goal differential and the Montreal Impact will be eager to avenge themselves on rivals Toronto FC in the final match of the competition. Thus, we may see head coach Teitur Thordarson rest some players tonight in anticipation of Tuesday's match [Ian Walker, The Vancouver Sun].

Portland's on-field play may also be overshadowed by distractions. They're having difficulties getting their soccer-specific stadium plan passed, and MLS commissioner Don Garber recently wrote a letter to city commissioner Dan Saltzman to inform him that a shared stadium for baseball and soccer will not pass muster [Jason Davis, Match Fit USA]. Moreover, Montreal and Joey Saputo are lurking around the edges of the league, just waiting for Portland to slip up [Ben Knight, Onward Soccer]. You wouldn't blame their fans and players if they had more on their mind than just tonight's match as well.

Both games should be great, and they'll both be covered in tonight's live blog. Join in after the jump!

Detailed report from the Cyprus game.

Canada won 1-0. Simeon Jackson scored.





















Since no one here could see the game, that's all I got. Welcome to the life of a Canada fan.

Me to the glory hunters: When it comes to the FA Cup...Stuff it!

We exist in a football fandom world where the big four of England rule the day. Sure, there are always some throwbacks – a few Spurs guys here and there, the Old Firm support, and the lower league weirdoes diehards – but walk into any pub on a Saturday morning in North America and you are bound to find a mix of Liverpool, United, Chelsea and Arsenal scarves.

Most of those people came to the game late-ish in life and hold the feeling that there simply isn’t any other teams worth supporting.

When I’m feeling less charitable I call them glory hunters. But, when I really think about it, I’m happy to have them around because it is their increasing numbers that is making the sport more and more relevant here.

But there are moments when you want to shake them. For instance, take the typical attitude regarding the FA Cup. For most of the nouveau big four fans, the FA Cup is an afterthought. Winning the Champions League or the Premiership are the real prizes. Who cares about the silly open cup they will tell you.

Now, I’m not going to wax poetically about the history of the FA Cup, or the simple beauty of a competition where a beer league team could technically draw Manchester United in the third round. I’m sure you can find a British blog out there that could do that a hell of a lot better than I can. But, what I will say is this: You can’t ignore history and you can’t ignore the fact that a great deal of fans still care about the competition.

And that’s just it. What the typical fan fails to realize is just how much power he or she has. If the fan cares about something, it matters. Period. When the fan stops caring, it doesn’t.

As much as it can often seem like you are surrounded by big four fans, the truth is they still make up the minority of fans of this great game. And although increasingly the big four fans are tuning out the FA Cup (especially the newbies), their are a lot of long-time fans of other teams that would kill to see their club have a shot at raising it. The FA Cup still matters, no matter what the 19-year-old nitwit wearing the Man U jersey tries to tell you.

So I’ll be up at 8 a.m. tomorrow watching. And I’ll be cheering for Everton. Their fans deserve it more.

Two more get the call for Canada

Two players have been added to Canada's roster for tomorrow's friendly in Cyprus. Daniel Imhof Dominic Imhof and Eddy Sidra, both based in Germany, got the call.

Imhof isn't a surprise as many thought he'd be included on the original roster. Even long-time Voyageurs are scratching their head at Imhof's call-up. Few have even heard of him. Sidra, too, is a bit of a shock. He's a borderline international at this point in his development.

Regardless, head coach Stephen Hart seems to be taking it all in stride.

""This is a good opportunity to see some players we have not seen before. If they prove themselves well, they might get the call for the Gold Cup," he said.

The additions came after it was learned that Marcel de Jong would not be available.

So far there is no word of this game being streamed, but I will provide a link if one is found.

In other shocking news...

It looks like John Carver is set to return to Newcastle as the No. 2.

Good luck to him. Seriously.

More on the schedule change

A short post to tell you to go read Squizz of Some Guys take on the whole re-schedule gate issue. Beyond being well thought out and remarkably reasoned, it might mark the first time he's written more than two paragraphs without cracking a joke.

I know...





(We love you Mel. well, love might be strong, but, yeah, well...AKWARD)

It's never as bad as you think

MLS attendance talk has largely been all doom and gloom through the first third of the season. A feeling that the league couldn’t draw flies has caused otherwise (assumedly) rational people to ask insanely stupid questions like ‘Is the league going to go (boobs) up by the end of the year?’
Portland’s city council, Ottawa politicians, Joey Saputo, you name it. Basing MLS based on attendance has been the thing to do in 2009.

And the actual numbers...aren’t nearly as bad as you would think.

Andy_B, a poster on BigSoccer, has been tracking attendance numbers all year in the MLS News and Analysis board. According to his numbers, the current season ranks as the fourth best of all-time in median attendance (it’s 10th best in the less useful average attendance figure). As of last weekend the median crowd has been 14,225 (average 14,740). Keep in mind that it isn’t summer yet and that the return of a British midfielder to LA is going to bump the number ever so slightly.

There also hasn’t been any of those big come watch Club América play Club Deportivo Guadalajara* (*FC Dallas v Colorado Rapids game to follow) double headers to inflate things so far.

The bottom line is that it could be a hell of a lot worse and although I’m preaching to the choir...the damn league is in no danger of folding.

It's Called Football weekly: It's all about the women

Sorry for the delay in posting. We talk WPS along with the weekly MLS round-up.

And I win penalties in a controversial fashion.

A Real pain in the you know what

The Globe and Mail is reporting that it's Real Madrid for the August friendly. As I reported yesterday, the Aug. 8 MLS game between TFC and New York had to be re-scheduled to accommodate the Real Madrid game, which will take place on Friday, Aug. 7.

The New York game has been moved way up to June 13.

Fans are upset for a couple different reasons. First of all, many had already made plans for the June 13 weekend and now face the prospect of having to miss a game. Secondly, we are learning that the Real Madrid game will not be included in the season ticket package and instead sold as a premium. Many of the most dedicated fans say they feel gouged by that.

Another factor that is to be considered is that New York fans were planning to travel to the Aug 8 game. Hopefully any deposit that was placed on their bus(es) is refundable.

Lost in the outrage is an interesting possibility. A throwaway line in the Globe story:

Toronto FC will also be installing a temporary grass surface on top of the artificial turf at BMO Field to accommodate the 31-time Spanish league champions, although whether that surface will remain in place for the remainder of TFC's MLS schedule is not known.

So, it's a possibility. I'd suggest that if this move means that grass will be at BMO for the second half of the season that it will be worth the inconvenience.

An official announcement is expected Monday.

Related: I have a brief report up at Ives

Irresponsible speculation about Frank Yallop

MLS Daily asks an interesting question about the future of Frank Yallop today. Namely, how long can he live off of the reputation of his success with Earthquakes 2.0? The 3.0 'Quakes, after all, are stinking the joint out. They are on pace to easily be the worst second year team in MLS expansion history.

It's suggested that Yallop might be out of a job by the all-star break if things aren't turned around quickly.

The one question that isn't asked is what would happen to Yallop if he was canned. It seems unlikely that he would be out of work long with his past success in MLS. Immediately some will jump at the possibility of him coming to Toronto, but that's being a bit passport blind. Yallop's more of a west coast guy and the T.O. job is Chris Cummins to lose anyway.

But there is another Canadian team coming into the league in a couple years...

Would Yallop be a good fit in Van City? Perhaps his greatest strength is his knowledge of the Canadian talent pool. That's something that Vancouver is going to need once it joins MLS. And, as mentioned, Frank likes the left coast.

Yallop to the 'Caps? It wouldn't exactly be a shocker, would it? Even if San Jose doesn't fire him.

About that Aug 8 game...

Announcing a game start time change tomorrow. From august 9 to june 13. Ok. That's more than start time... Sked conflict at Bmo field

From Twitter, what else?

TFC big cheese Paul Beirne dropped that bomb on Twitter about 30 minutes ago (at the time of this posting, not when you read it. Just to be clear). The change now means that there will only be two MLS games at BMO during the traditional summer months.

Of course that Aug. 8 date is likely going to get used as well, probably for the international friendly. The latest rumour there has a little Italian team that wears black and white strips and plays in Turin coming in. I won't say who because I don't want to excite the College Street crowd too much. It could also be a Spanish team that wears white.

The fans are reacting with typical grace and perspective to the change.

Chicago v Chivas LIVE! blog

Join us at 10:30 for some live bloggin' of the clash of the conference leaders - Chicago and the Goats.

Vancouver Whitecaps - Montreal Impact live blog

It's time for the crucial fourth game of the Voyageurs' Cup, featuring the Vancouver Whitecaps against the Montreal Impact. If Vancouver wins, they're in good position to challenge Toronto FC; any other result and TFC looks good to go through. Join in the live blog below!

Be back tonight...

Sorry for the lack of posts the last two days - it's a paid work thing. I'll try and get some stuff up tonight (and my Ives column should be up today). I also want to watch the Champions League final.

But, it's back to normal tonight.

In the meantime there are lots of great blogs in my roll that deserve your attention. If you are a Canadian looking for a fix go to Out of Touch, he's underappreciated. Americans should go over to Match Fit USA.

Andrew live blogs all the 'Caps games, so you know where to find him at 10:30 p.m.

Go Barcalona. I guess.

Smith linked to TFC

"It's (Toronto) an option. I'm going to go out and take my family and have a look at the place see how things go. I will do what is best for my wife and kids.

"There are choices in Scotland and England. Nothing concrete but there is interest."

That's former Celtic midfielder Jamie Smith, who has been linked to Toronto for a little while now. He's currently with Aberdeen.

Smith is a winger, which might really spell the end of Rohan Ricketts time in Toronto (maybe the Twitter...nah, never mind...). He's been with The Dons since 2005 scoring 12 goals in 85 appearances.

It's hard to judge, but...another SPL player? It seems like Mo Johnston is a bit of a one track pony. Plus, does Smith's resume look any better than Ricketts before he came over? It's hard to say. I suppose he did play 42 Old Firm games. So, that's something.

I guess.

Like I said...we’ll see.

Canada - USA live blog

It's going to be an epic clash of countries at Toronto's BMO Field tonight as the Canadian women take on the top-ranked Americans in head coach Carolina Morace's home debut. It's the 44th match between the sides (the U.S. is 37-3-4 against Canada), but only the fifth match between them on Canadian soil. Canada has never beaten the American senior team at home, losing three times and pulling off one draw. We'll find out if that will change tonight. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Eastern, and the game will be televised live on all four regions of Rogers Sportsnet. Come join me here then for the live blog! You can also check out my full match preview here.

On Twitter? Really?

I'm learning that Ricketts Twitter was hacked. I'm leaving the post up, because it speaks to the danger of athletes on Twitter...And the underlining message remains the same. Is it worth having a guy on the bench that doesn't have a role? Maybe.

rohanricketts - What do u do when your not wanted and someone wants u leave but they wanna try and trade u behind your back then ask u to walk 4 free.. Nuts

(sigh)

And there is more. Rohan has been having quite the day on the interweb today. According to another tweet he sent he's done “nothing wrong but play subpar football.”

Um, Ok...

If the tweeting is for real -- and we have no reason to believe that it isn't -- it's too bad. He always seemed like a good guy that enjoyed his time here in Toronto. But, pro sports is cruel and the reality is that Ricketts has been "subpar" most of the year. And although he makes less than many think (He's at $165k) it's still a lot of money sitting on the bench in a cap league. Ricketts doesn't really have a role. They've been bringing him in late but he's a pure winger, not a stopper that can tighten a team up defensively (which they kind of need coming off the bench). If he were that type of player I'd be perfectly happy with keeping him around - I'm not sure why he'd want to stick around in that role, but that's a choice that an athlete has to make.

You can understand Ricketts frustration. But, Twitter? There has to be a better way to express his side of the story than on a social networking site. I doubt it will help him land his next gig.

Regardless, good luck to him. With him going public you have to think this is the end of his time in T.O. He’ll be rollin’ on somewhere else...(Prediction – lower table SPL).

New era dawns for Canadian women

Tomorrow evening, a new era will fully dawn at BMO Field as the Canadian women's national soccer team plays their first home match under new head coach Carolina Morace. It's going to be a baptism by fire for Morace, though. The Canadian women are currently ranked 11th in the world by FIFA. They were initially supposed to face seventh-ranked Japan, but the Japanese team canceled their North American exhibition tour because of swine flu concerns. Replacing them will be the top-ranked Americans, a tough test for any team at the best of times but an especially difficult opponent for a new coach still adjusting to her lineup. Early results under Morace have been promising, including a second-place finish at the Cyprus Cup in March, but this match will be a challenge of a different order.

The U.S. has been much stronger over the history of their women's program, boasting a stellar all-time record of 37-3-4 against Canada. Canada's narrowly come out on the wrong side of some of the most important clashes lately, though, including 2-1 losses in extra time in both the 2006 Gold Cup final and the Beijing Olympics, the last clash between the two countries. One player to watch on the American side is striker Abby Wambach, who's always found a lot of success against Canada. She currently plays for the Washington Freedom in the new Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league and has 99 career goals for the U.S, but hasn't played an international match since breaking her leg in their last tune-up before the Olympics last summer. She's back in the American lineup and will be eager to hit the century club.

On the Canadian side, famed striker and captain Christine Sinclair is also stuck on 99 goals. She already holds national team records in career goals, single-season goals, goal-scoring streaks, minutes played, and Women's World Cup goals, and she'll come closer to yet another record tomorrow with her 130th appearance for Canada. That ties her with famed striker/defender Charmaine Hooper for second on the list and puts her only two matches back of former midfielder Andrea Neil, who's now an assistant coach with the national team. Sinclair also plays in WPS with California's FC Gold Pride.

Another Canadian to watch is goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc. LeBlanc shone in the Olympics last summer and was a big reason why the Canadians made it to extra time against the U.S. She's also done well in WPS so far with the Los Angeles Sol, including posting a shutout over Wambach and the Freedom in the league's first match. LeBlanc is the longest-serving player currently with the national team and has spent 12 seasons suiting up for Canada. She holds team goalkeeping records for both appearances (69) and shutouts (29).

One other item of note is how many players on both rosters come from the WPS. Almost all of the American players selected play in the league, which is perhaps to be expected, as domestic leagues tend to focus heavily on developing talent for their own national team. Several Canadians have also proven their talent and earned spots in the new league alongside the best players from the U.S., Brazil and Europe, though. Five of the 22 players on the Canadian roster currently ply their trade in WPS (Sinclair, LeBlanc, Kelly Parker, Candace Chapman and Martina Franko), and there's a good chance that many more of the younger players currently starring for college or USL teams could make their way to the WPS eventually. It's good for the national team to have such a high-quality league close to home, as it allows for easier trips for those players than those who play overseas.

Interestingly enough, this match is also a clash of not only female head coaches, but foreign female head coaches. Morace is famous for her work with her native Italy, while American coach Pia Sundhage has spent most of her coaching career in the U.S. but was a legendary player for the Swedish national team. She has a ridiculous record of 36-1-3 since taking the reins of the U.S. team in 2007 and led them to a gold medal in Beijing last year. She'll be looking to continue America's dominance against their northern neighbours.

The match is at 7 p.m. tomorrow night. It will be broadcast live on Sportsnet (and I'll be live-blogging it here and at Sporting Madness), but there are also apparently plenty of tickets still available if you happen to be in Toronto. This could be a great chance to get to see some of Canada's top soccer talent at home against some of the best players in the world, and it's not a frequent opportunity; the U.S. women's team has only played four of their 44 matches against Canada on northern soil. Twenty-five have been played in the U.S. and another 15 took place at neutral venues. That may change now that Canada has a great stadium at BMO Field, and a good turnout would go a long way to help that cause. Famed Canadian soccer fan Dino Rossi still has a few unsold tickets from the batch he bought in advance, and tickets are also still available through Ticketmaster. Check it out if you happen to be in the area, or stop by the live blog if you're not! It should be a great match.

[Cross-posted to Out of Left Field]

Toronto FC - New England Revolution live blog

Toronto FC return to action today at BMO Field against the New England Revolution. The teams are only one spot apart in the Eastern Conference table; Toronto's fourth with 13 points, while New England sit in fifth with 10. The logjam at the top means TFC could take the conference lead with a win and some favourable results in other matches, though. Kickoff is at 4 p.m. The game will be televised on CBC and streamed at cbc.ca. Come join in the live blog below!

CSA makes roster official

As it turned out, the Cyprus leak was incorrect. The CSA's roster below (HT to Full Time Vancouver)

1- G- Lars Hirschfeld CFR Cluj
18- G- Kenny Stamatopoulos FC Lyn Oslo
(on loan from / emprunt de Tromsø I.L.)
2- D/M- Nik Ledgerwood TSV 1860 München
3- D/M- Chris Pozniak Dundee FC
4- D- Adrian Cann Esbjerg fB
5- D- Kevin McKenna 1. FC Köln
6- M- Julian de Guzman Deportivo La Coruna
7- D/M- Paul Stalteri Borussia Mönchengladbach
8- M- Tyler Hemming Charleston Battery
10- F- Tosaint Ricketts Myllykosken Pallo –47
11- D- Richard Hastings Inverness CT
12- M- Issey Nakajima-Farran FC Nordsjælland
13- M- Jaime Peters Ipswich Town FC
14- M- Marcel de Jong Roda JC
15- M- Josh Simpson FC Kaiserslautern
16- F- Andrzej Ornoch Esbjerg fB
17- F- Simeon Jackson Gillingham FC

I like this roster. It’s a bit experimental with a few old standbys thrown in (you need a few vets to stabilize things – plus Stalteri is nine caps away from the all-time lead and I want to see him grab it...).

Tyler Hemming may surprise a few, but he’s a player that looked OK at the MLS level at times, but struggled for time. The game is against Cyprus, you might as well experiment.

Super Keeper!

Not that he needs the traffic, but Ives has a brief item up on Super Stefan Frei (when he's in the net, nothing gets by...)


He says he's having a "rookie of the year type season." I agree.

Hirschfeld news (if only I could read it)

It's like a sign of where Lars Hirschfeld's career is that I'm not even entirely sure what language this article is in.

However, it seems that Canada's No. 1 might be headed back to Scandinavia, where he had his biggest success with Rosenborg.

This time Swedish side Elfsborg seems to be the likely destination. That seems about right.

A reasoned commentary on the CBA

Major League Soccer and its players union have begun talking about a labor deal to replace the one that expires Jan. 31. MLS officials told Sports Business Journal that they were "sharing financial information" with the union, which they had resisted doing in the past.

But a players' source told The Dispatch that the information the league shared wasn't much, and that the players are "preparing for the worst." The two sides met yesterday in Washington, where the union has its headquarters.

The source said players weren't likely to extend the current collective bargaining agreement -- the original one -- another season to avoid a work stoppage.

That's from the Columbus Dispatch.

Jason over at Match Fit USA (the best MLS blog not enough people are reading) is taking a calm approach to reading the words "work stoppage" and MLS in the same sentence.

It's likely the best approach. I, however, am in favour of

P A N I C K I N G

Ok...calm down Duane...deep breath

Look, here's the thing. MLS can't afford a strike/lock-out. It just can't. Baseball came back, sure, but it took a few juiced-up bombers (and '94 killed at least one franchise, not that most Yanks noticed) to make it happen. MLS simply isn't strong enough to withstand the initial backlash that would occur with a work stoppage. If you've been to a NHL game in Phoenix (you're alone), you've seen firsthand what happens to a fringe sport when it disappears for too long.

So, to MLS and its players I have this to say:

G E T I T D O N E

I've yet to meet a microphone I don't like.

Thanks to Hank over at New England focused blog The Midnight Ride for having me on as a guest on his weekly podcast.

Go have a listen.

We preview this weekend's clash between the Revs and the Reds. If it seems like I was rambling it was because I did the hit from a barstool at The Football Factory, proud sponsor of It's Called Football!

Canada staying the course in Cyprus?

A Cyprus-based web site has leaked the Canadian line-up for the upcoming friendly there (which you just know Canada will somehow lose because that's just how it goes here in the Great White North).

Whether the site is full of it no one is sure. The CSA does not typically announce a line-up until a few days before the match.

So...for what it's worth here it is:
Patrice Bernier (FC Nordsjælland)
Adrian Cann (Esbjerg fB)
Julian de Guzman (Deportivo La Coruna)
Marcel de Jong (Roda JC)
Rob Friend (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
Richard Hastings (Inverness CT)
Lars Hirschfeld (CFR Cluj)
Simeon Jackson (Gillingham FC)
Nikolas Ledgerwood (TSV 1860 München)
Kevin McKenna (FC Köln)
Farran Issey Nakajima- (FC Nordsjælland)
Andrzej Ornoch (Esbjerg fB)
Jaime Peters (Ipswich Town FC)
Chris Pozniak (Dundee FC)
Tomasz Radzinski (FK. Lierse S.K.)
Josh Simpson (FC Kaiserslautern)
Paul Stalteri (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
Kenny Stamatopoulos (Tromsø)

Entirely Euro based, which is good, but most people would like to see a few of the kids getting a run out. That said, some of those kids might be better suited fighting for first team minutes at their clubs this pre-season.

But Radz? Really?

As stated, this could be a pre-emptive leak. But, it’s worth considering.

Vancouver Whitecaps - Montreal Impact live blog

It's the third game of the Voyageurs Cup, with the Montreal Impact hosting the Vancouver Whitecaps. Kickoff is at 8 p.m. Both sides really need to go for the win here, as they each lost their first match against Toronto FC. English audio can be found here, and there's a French video webcast here. For match previews, check out this one from Duane and this one from Simon Fudge of whitecapsfc.com. Come join me in the live blog below!

SBI - Canadian Corner

As I alluded to on Twitter yesterday I’ve re-joined Soccer by Ives to provide a weekly Canadian column. Called Canadian Corner it will appear each Wednesday.

The first is up now.

This is unique content to SBI, written with a mostly U.S. audience in mind. It would impact what I do here at The 24th Minute.

I will also be doing two TFC notebooks a week plus reporting on any breaking news in Canada.

Win, lose but for the love of God don't draw

It seems awfully early in the season to be playing elimination games, but such is the case with tonight’s V-Cup clash in Montreal between the Impact and the Whitecaps. If either team wins, the other is eliminated. And if it’s a tie, then they are both in a whole lot of trouble.

TFC leads the standings with six points after two games. Neither of the USL teams have a point.

On the surface it would seem like Vancouver is in the better form. They are once again near the top of the USL standings and looked the far better of the sides against T.O. Montreal lost its first five games, fired its coach and has looked more or less awful since about the 50th minute against Santos Laguna.

But the Impact did manage to finally get a win on the weekend against expansion side Austin and the ‘Caps were unable to take advantage of a massive territorial dominance against Rochester losing 2-1. So who knows?
What does seem likely, however, is a wide open game played positively. As mentioned, the draw all but eliminates both teams. No one should be playing this one conservatively.

There is no TV for the game, but it will be webcast. Additionally Andrew will be, as always, live blogging the game here.

Tweet a Twitter about a friendly

Paul Beirne on Twitter a few minutes ago:

So that euro club we had fell through. But the new alternative is actually way more preferable. One door closes another opens!

Speculate away...

It's about the money, but so what?

I'm a bit late with this, but it would be wrong not to mention news that the French Football League is kicking off its season in Montreal next year by playing the Trophee des Champions there.

The game features the French Cup winner, in this case League 2 outfit Guingamp, against the French champions (looking more and more like Bordeaux). So, it's essentially the Charity Shield (not to get all English-centric, but, well, I am...).

Clearly this is an attempt by the French federation to make a few loonies in New France, but as a fan of the game...who cares? The French league is just a very small cut below the traditional big four and to get a relatively competitive fixture in Canada is pretty cool. I'm not so cynical yet not to appreciate the chance to see this.

The game goes July 26. I'll post ticket info when I know more.

Also, TFC hasn't booked that friendly opponent yet, has it...just sayin'

Ali Gerba. WTF?

Canadian enigma international Ali Gerba has been released by MK Dons. Already the speculation is that he will return to North America and play out the USL season in Montreal (although no one actually connected to Gerba or the Impact have suggested this).

Of course there will be those that will call for him to be signed by TFC. His passport and strike rate would seem like a good fit.

Gerba is a strange one. He’s looked to be Canada’s best striker at times in his career (although that’s more a product of Canada not having a proper clue how to use Rob Friend than anything Gerba does in particular). But, he’s never stuck on at the club level. Some suggest that he’s not a great Monday to Friday player – he doesn’t work hard in training – but he does find the net. So, what’s the problem?

Gerba would likely still be employed if he wasn’t an international. His skill is good enough to play, just not good enough to justify an international’s wages. Is his ego small enough to come home and really work on his game? MLS might be a good option for him, but not before he proves himself to be ready to work.

Let’s hope the Impact really are on the phone, 'cause Gerba's running out of options.

It's Called Football weekly

This is one that the pure Canadian soccer geeks are going to love. We talk to CSL commissioner Cary Kaplan about the future of the third tier of Canadian football.

But fear not MLS fans, there is still lots of banter about our favourite little soccer league:

Finally some good news for a Canuck keeper

Yesterday was a good day for Canadian football. First Paul Peschisolido gets his shot as a manager and then Asmir Begovic, he of impossible is nothing fame, made his EPL debut at Fratton Park. Filling in for injured David James, Begovic helped Pompey get by Sunderland 3-1.

It's expected that Begovic will also play the final game of the season next weekend against Wigan.

Oh, and James is 38 with, evidently, a bum shoulder. So you'd have to say that Begovic's future looks pretty good. They seem pretty happy with him in Portsmouth.

Hopefully Stephan Hart will do the right thing and call Begovic for this summer's Gold Cup. Results matter little in the tournament. Getting the young kids caps is more important. And, it's clear that the keeper most likely to be playing at a world class level in three years time is Begovic. Forget Lars Hirschfeld. Canada's No. 1 has to be the kid.

Pesch makes history

If you've followed the Canadian national team for years you had to be a little pleased at the news today that Paul Peschisolido was taking over as manager of newly promoted to the Football League Burton Albion.

He's the first Canadian to manage in the league. And although Pesch doesn't really hold onto much of his Canuck heritage anymore, it's still a nice milestone to see broken down. He always was a player that punched above his weight class. Hopefully he continues to do so as a manager.

An interview:

DeRo: The turf is killing our game

...This turf’s got to go. I’m sick of it. It’s killing our game...”



It’s not news that TFC players, and MLS players in general, are not fans of the FieldTurf at BMO Field. It took all of about two games for the complaints to start coming in. And now, as we are about half way through year three (insanely that’s the case with TFC’s screwed up home schedule) things are getting even worse.

But still it comes as a surprise to hear Dwayne DeRosario speak so candidly about the issue in such a public way. The above interview takes place on CBC – likely the biggest reaching format you can have a as a soccer player in this country.

The truth is the turf is an embarrassment. It’s lumpy and over used and no one says they feel safe playing on it. Yet it’s supposed to be the national soccer stadium for Canada. Clearly we can do better.

The problem, of course, is that the government money that went into the stadium had a string attached. Namely that BMO had to be available year round for community use. Since you can’t grow grass in Canada in February that creates a problem.

But still. This needs to be dealt with. You can’t have your most visible player ripping on your stadium on the CBC. That’s just bad PR. MLSE has said that they want grass in the stadium. Speaking on Prime Time Sports last August 12, executive vice-president and COO of MLSE Tom Anselmi was clear about that.

"Long term we'd like to consider going to natural grass,” he told Bob McCown. “That is what authentic soccer is all about."

It’s time T.O. got real.

Sober Second Thoughts: Having a little perspective with your loss

An hour after the game had ended there were a surprisingly large amount of U-Sector faithful still at The Gate. In the past the place would be dead after a loss – boisterous cheer replaced by sombre, serious drinking prior to a dreary trip back to the mundane existence of the rest of the week.

But Saturday was hopping. Maybe the Celtic fans were sticking around for their weekly rendition of The Fields Of Athenry as lead by the Dufferin Gate house band. Perhaps we were all getting a kick out of Bobby charming the old ladies. It could have had something to do with the presence of two, far-too-beautiful-for-us-sorry-bastards, young ladies at the end of the bar.

Who knows? Maybe we just didn’t want to give up on another TFC day. Win, lose or draw we come to this far away and otherwise dreary part of town to celebrate that we have something to celebrate. And as the days and years go by and we start to take all that we have for granted. The incredible friendships that no one predicted possible three years ago, the weekly ability to embrace our Id at the stadium and, of course, our wonderfully imperfect football team, and maybe some perspective starts to creep in. Chicago claiming three points sucks, but, in the end, it’s only a small part of what TFC means to us.

Earlier that day I, along with Ben Knight, had an opportunity to talk to several long-time fans of Toronto football, along with some newer followers of the sport. We asked these fans what the team meant to them. Although the answers varied, they all spoke to the same thing. It’s about feeling connected – to our city and to each other. Speaking personally for a moment, I can’t think of another aspect of my life where I am as accepted -- in all my flawed ways – as I am by those that I stand beside each Saturday. I always knew that I’d love the football. I never knew how strongly I’d feel about my fellow supporters. It’s sobering and it’s refreshing.

And it helps ease the pain of a disappointing loss. Which Saturday was. Chicago played a near perfect road game and took advantage of a clearly dead tired Toronto team. The Reds generated nothing in the first half and outside of a 15 minute spell after the Fire’s first goal Toronto was never dangerous. Chicago’s a good team. There is no shame in losing to them. That doesn’t make it any less frustrating to see.

But we – the team and the fans -- move on. There is another game in six days. It’s another chance to stand with friends and soak life in. We’re lucky we have this team.

Even when it loses.

Vancouver Whitecaps - Rochester Rhinos live blog

It's time for some USL action with the Vancouver Whitecaps taking on the Rochester Rhinos. Join me in the live blog below!

Toronto FC - Chicago Fire live blog

Come join me in the live blog below! Match preview is here; also remember that I'll be live-blogging the Vancouver - Rochester game tonight at 10 p.m. as well.

Toronto FC - Chicago Fire preview (plus notes on tonight's Vancouver live blog)

It's going to be a battle at BMO Field this afternoon as Toronto FC take on the Chicago Fire at 4 p.m. Only one point separates the teams in the table; TFC are second in the Eastern Conference with a 3-2-4 record for 13 points, while the Fire are undefeated so far this year with a 2-0-6 record for 12 points and currently hold third place in the conference. Eastern leaders D.C. United are only one point ahead of Toronto and face the top team so far this season in Chivas USA on the road this evening, so either TFC or Chicago could conceivably vault their way into the top spot with a win.

One of the key battles to watch will be Chicago star Cuauhtemoc Blanco against Toronto's skillful holding midfielders. Toronto's been very successful at minimizing other teams' scoring opportunities lately, but they haven't faced an offensive threat of Blanco's calibre for quite some time. There's a great profile on him here from Jose Romero of the Seattle Times.

Another interesting note comes from the injury to Marvell Wynne midway through last game. Wynne's normally a starting wingback, but was playing as a striker when he was hurt. Nana Attakora, the young Canadian defender who's excelled so far this season, will likely move to the wingback slot and Marco Velez may return alongside Adrian Serioux in central defence.

It should certainly be a good match. I'll be live-blogging it both here and at Sporting Madness. I'll also have a live blog of tonight's Vancouver Whitecaps - Rochester Rhinos match, which starts at 10 p.m. Eastern. Come join in one or both live blogs with your thoughts and comments!

Montreal in MLS: Joey Saputo met with Don Garber on May 7th

Joey Saputo had a meeting with Don Garber and other MLS officials in New York on May 7th to discuss Montreal's bid to join MLS as early as 2011. So I guess it was no coincidence that Garber wrote about his enthousiasm for Montreal as a future MLS franchise on his blog "the commissioner speaks" the day after that meeting. According to Saputo, discussions are rapidly moving forward and the club expects to join MLS very shortly.

"We are aiming for 2011 or 2012. Since Vancouver is in for 2011, I believe we should be there as well. The Impact has never been this close to joining MLS" says Joey Saputo. He has also received Garber's blessing, to publicly discuss Montreal's status as a probable future MLS franchise.

Montreal Impact officials are confident to the point that they have already met with the architects who have been selected to expand Stade Saputo. It will be done in two stages, with 3000 to 4000 seats being added this fall and another 4000 to 5000 in the fall of 2010, to bring the total capacity to 21 000 in time for 2011.

Saputo expects an answer from MLS within the next 2 to 4 weeks. Vice-president Richard Legendre adds that he feels the team could even be ready for 2010 if a franchise were to go under, but the league would have to accept that the team would play in a 16 000-17 000 seat stadium for the first year.

Is some sort of deal already in place?

Seems like the TFC supporters brought out their "USL 4 Ever" banner just in time.....

links:
http://www.ruefrontenac.com/sports/38-soccer/5398-martin-smith-saputo
http://www.radio-canada.ca/sports/soccer/2009/05/15/002-saputo-mls-vendredi.shtml
http://www.corussports.com/impact/impact_rapproche_mls-20090515-1562821.html

GOOOOOOLLLLL!!! Placentino!!!

Here is the video of the botched offside call on Rocco Placentino's goal from the Impact-TFC game on May 13th. He is very clearly onside:


Draw your own conclusions...

Blaming the victim

This is a bit of a head scratcher. Ginge Talks the Footy has published an e-mail that was sent by a FC Dallas ticket rep. In it, the staffer essentially throws that Dallas soccer community under the bus.

...As you can tell we have a major lack of support from local soccer fans...

Ok...way to deflect blame. Maybe if you didn’t have a giant bouncy castle behind the goal you might be taken more seriously. It’s a thought.

The impetus to the e-mail was a question about why Dallas would hold a promotion that is geared towards the opponent. The opponent’s minority owner actually. Dallas is giving out Drew Carey glasses prior to this weekend’s game. Oh my.

That might be another reason that the soccer community in Dallas isn’t supporting the product.

Yes, every market is different and some need to be more “family friendly,” whatever the hell that means (families don’t like to have fun?). But the bottom line is still the bottom line. It’s a soccer game. If Dallas wants to be supported by the local soccer community it needs to convince them that the soccer is worthwhile.

No amount of novelty glasses or bouncy castles will do that.

SELL THE GAME NOT THE CIRCUS.

Wynne out for 7-10 days

The Marvell Wynne at forward experiment (he started up front against Montreal) will have to be shelved for a while as it's just been announced that he will be out for seven to 10 days. He picked up a deep bruise just 15 minutes into the game Wednesday.

Nana Attakora will likely take over at right fullback. Many TFC fans have been hoping to see that anyway.

Red Patch Boys TV: Montreal v Toronto

"Parkdale" has posted a documentary of the TFC - Montreal game from the perspective of the Red Patch. I make a brief cameo. He's also got the best view of the straight red that I've seen at about 8:14.

Sober Second Thoughts: It's not over until it's over (unless it really is)

Six points in two games. Two clean sheets. A strangle hold on the competition.

Things went about as well as anyone could have hoped as TFC kicked off the 2009 Nutrilite Canadian Championships, in search for its first Voyageurs’ Cup. Sure the Reds could have scored more – that’s the story of the year at home so far – but six points is six points.

The math is really in T.O.’s favour. Any split of the points between Montreal and Vancouver could put TFC a draw away from the title. Two draws by the USL teams and it’s all over. And in case you haven’t noticed, Toronto is actually playing as well as anyone in MLS on the road.

From the beginning, I’ve been beating the drum of the superior MLS. As a result I’ve likely lost a few supporters in other parts of the country. But, the games support the theory. Dwayne DeRosario had more shots Wednesday than the Impact did. In total Toronto has outshot its USL opponents 28 to 10 this season and has put 17 of those on net as compared to three combined by the ‘Caps and Impact. These games have not been close (Vancouver was a little more competitive than Montreal, but the games are still very much a lower league versus bigger league kind of fixture – bunker and hope).

So now we wait to see how the two all-USL games play out. If, like last year, one of the two teams can manage a sweep this thing is back on. If not, the Reds will be in full squad rotation mode the next time they take the pitch. Prediction? The final game in Montreal won’t mean anything (except to see if Toronto can go a perfect 12).

It’s been mentioned elsewhere that Toronto fans can’t win in this competition. If the Reds lose, they never hear the end of it by fans of the smaller clubs. If they win, well, that’s what was supposed to happen. How can you cheer when the big bully takes the geek’s lunch money? You are supposed to hope for the bully to get its comeuppance.

To a point it’s true. But, what such thoughts fail to realize is that for a lot of T.O. fans they’ve never seen their team win anything. And not just the Reds. Any team. It’s been a long time since Toronto’s had anything positive to support. And when you also consider that a lot of the TFC south end faithful are also strong supporters of the Canadian national teams...well, it’s been bleak. The bottom line is that it doesn’t feel like Toronto is a big, bad bully. Rather it feels like there is a great deal of diehard fans – fans that have been there supporting the domestic game for a lot longer than TFC’s been around – that kind of deserve something to celebrate.

So far so good. Now, it’s time to forget about the V-Cup for a couple weeks to try and finish out this key stretch of MLS play. Chicago and New England at home to finish out the month. The Reds needed to take advantage of the home games in April and May. If they take six points over the next two weekends they have. It will be tough. These aren’t USL teams. One goal might not be enough and so far this year Toronto has failed to get a second at home.

Since Toronto fans – football fans, really – are prone to find the negative, that’s what is preoccupying the thoughts now. Now that the possibility of another embarrassing upset in the V-Cup seems to be off table.

Barrett's blast

Since most U.S. based readers won't get a chance to see Chad Barrett's goal from last night's game, I'm going to show it to you now.



Pretty, eh? That would be goal of the week stuff (by the way how in hell did DeRo's second goal not get GotW last week?) if it was in MLS play.

To keep it positive I won't include highlights of Barrett's 30-yard breakaway attempt.

As many know, I have made a very public bet that will result in me wearing a dress on air if Barrett doesn't score 10 goals. I get beer if he does. I wouldn't have made the bet if I didn't think he'd get there. Barrett's a streaky scorer. Hopefully his goal Wednesday will help him get going. I'm sure he'd love to notch a few this weekend against his former team.

The hard Impact of the loss

Although you never can really tell what happens behind the dressing room doors, news today that John Limniatis is out as coach of the Impact comes as an incredible shock.

Limniatis was widely viewed as being behind Montreal’s great turn around last year that lead to a Voyageurs’ Cup and long CONCACAF Champions League run. Early in 2008, the team was struggling under then coach Nick De Santis before Limniatis was brought in. Maybe the Impact are looking to repeat the experiment.

Marc Dos Santos takes over the role.

Some fans in Toronto anecdotally reported that there was some tension on the sidelines yesterday in the V-Cup match at BMO. Maybe it’s hindsight, but something had to be up. It’s unclear what this move says about Montreal. Actually, you can spin it two different ways. Either the Impact are refreshingly demanding of excellence (not something you often see in Canadian football), or they are dysfunctional. You pick.

Things will be tough right away for Dos Santos. Not only will the Impact be looking to get on the board in USL, but they also face a must-win Nutrilite Canadian Championship game in six days.

MediocreLiga

All you need to know about Superliga can be understood by realizing that several Mexican teams declined the “opportunity” to participate. This is not a truly competitive tournament and it likely never will be -- especially with the expanded CONCACAF Champions League competing for attention.

The quicker they shoot this dog the better.

ANYWAY...

For what it’s worth, the line-up is as follows:

MLS: Chicago, New England, Chivas USA, Kansas City.
Mexico: San Luis, Santos Laguna, Tigres, Atlas.

SCHEDULE
June 20: San Luis at Chicago, Tigres at Chivas USA
June 21: Atlas-Kansas City (in St. Louis), Santos at New England
June 23: Chivas USA at Chicago, Tigres vs. San Luis (at Chicago)
June 24: Kansas City at New England, Laguna vs. Atlas (at New England)
June 27: Tigres at Chicago, San Luis at Chivas USA
June 28: Atlas at New England, Santos at Kansas City
July 15: Semifinals, TBA
Aug. 5: Final, TBA

Toronto FC - Montreal Impact live blog

I'll be live-blogging tonight's match between Toronto FC and the Montreal Impact here and at Sporting Madness. It's the second clash of the Voyageurs Cup; Toronto pulled off a 1-0 home win against the Vancouver Whitecaps in the first match, so they'll be in very good shape if they win this one. Montreal enters the tournament as defending champions, but they're probably underdogs heading into this one given their USL struggles so far this year and the intimidating atmosphere of BMO Field won't make it any easier. You can check out Duane's preview here, and for any of the Impact fans looking for bulletin board material, you can't do much better than this piece he reposted from February. The game isn't on television thanks to Rogers Sportsnet deciding to place a baseball game on all four of their channels, but it will be streamed live at Toronto FC's website. Come join me at 8 for the live blog!

24th minute rewind: USL vs MLS

This originally was posted in February. It's been hit a few times today through Google searches -- and it's relevant with the USL's Impact coming into town -- so I'm re-posting it now for the benefit of my newer readers:

A couple days ago, as I'm apt to do, I got in a little argument over at the Voyageur's about the relative quality of MLS versus USL-1. Since last summer's V-Cup there has been a growing belief by supporters of the USL that the difference between the two leagues is not as big as it is sometimes advertised. Those fans are basing this on the fact that Toronto FC, one of MLS's worst teams in 2008, went 1-2-1 against Montreal and Vancouver last year.

(deep breath)

It's difficult to make this argument without coming off as a bitter TFC fan, but for the sake of the game I'm willing to take that risk. Arguing that USL-1 is an equal league to MLS is insane. It ignores empirical evidence that goes back years, instead choosing to focus on four games in 2008 involving a non MLS playoff team. Beyond that, from a Canadian perspective, it's dangerous. The USL can provide a decent level of soccer to a certain type of player, but it is not a place where true prospects stay for long nor is it a league that has much chance of attracting high end imports. The league struggles for attention and does nothing to raise the profile of the game. Although MLS has its faults, it is the best club league in Canada and the United States. The future of the game in Canada relies on getting more teams into MLS.

The whole "it's not any better anyway" argument has already lead to one bonehead decision by Canadian soccer officials -- Joey Saputo's ill advised game of chicken with MLS. Montreal was as good as in until Saputo decided he had more leverage than he actually did. If Suputo thinks he can build his own little super team away from MLS restrictions, well, good luck to him. I can anticipate the "going to play in front of 50,000 next week in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals" arguments from Montreal supporters now. Whereas that's true, the evidence strongly suggests that it will not be a common occurrence.

That evidence is the US Open Cup, which historically has provided the only competitive fixtures between the two leagues. Out of Touch broke down the all-time head to head numbers here. His data shows MLS holding a 72-32 all-time record against the lower league for a winning percentage of .686. That's pretty good. It's even better when you realize that 30 of the USL's 32 wins came in the early stage of the tournament. MLS teams typically dress the scrubs before the semis in the USOC. With the exception of Rochester’s magical run in 1999 MLS has never lost to USL in the semi-finals and above at the US Open Cup.

Out of Touch concluded that MLS was clearly the better league, but that USL's best teams are better than the worst teams in MLS. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but I'm not sure what he is basing that on. The top USL teams still have a total salary that is less than half of MLS and that gap is probably going to get wider after 2010. You maybe can argue that USL is equal from 12-20 on the roster, but there is no reasonable argument that finds equality in the 1-11 slots. Can anyone really make the argument that a USL team would ever have Darren Huckerby on its roster? Huckerby played for the last overall ‘Quakes in 2008.

As far as Canadian numbers go...one year is not enough for anyone to draw conclusions from.

All this is not to say that USL doesn't have a future in Canada. It does. In Victoria, Winnipeg, Calgary...it's a minor league that mid-sized Canadian cities should aspire to. Major Canadian cities should have eyes only for MLS.

It's Called Football Match Day Tactics - TFC/Impact

Rycroft has clearly lost his mind:

Ibby to the all-stars.

MLS opened up its useless All-Star game voting today. As with past years, the control obsessed league won’t actually let the fans pick the players. Instead it allows you to pretend to matter, by giving you “25 per cent" of the vote, whatever the hell that means.

Anyway, if they aren’t going to trust me I might as well prove them right. So, allow me to start the official Ibby to the All-Stars campaign. I am calling on all MLS fans to vote Fuad Ibrahim as a starting midfielder for the mid-season waste of time. I wanted to go with Marco Velez, but he’s not on the ballet (the bastards).

Vote early and often (10 votes a day). Let’s put Ibby to the top!

TFC - Montreal live blog

Andrew is going to try his very best to live blog tonight's TFC - Montreal game in this very space. Join him or die (sorry, that's Philly's line, isn't it?)!

It's an 8 p.m. start.

If you are headed down to the game and are interested in taking part in the supporter's march to the stadium it will be leaving the Lamport Stadium parking lot at 7:15 sharp. This is a united supporter's march with Red Patch, U-Sector and North End Elite all working together to make it happen. All TFC fans, regardless of whether they associate with the groups, are welcome. Just bring your voice (and flags and wear red!).

Derby Day!

One day someone is going to win a bar bet by correctly naming Marco Velez as the first ever goal scorer in the first officially sanctioned Voyageurs’ Cup. It’s one of those great little tidbits that will cause most people to say ‘who?’ and one old guy at the back of the bar to shake his head and mutter at the reminder of the Puerto Rican wonder’s time in T.O.

What won’t be talked about is the other six V-Cup competitions that took place prior to the CSA getting involved. That’s a bit sad, but understandable. The truth is that the V-Cup wasn’t much more than a glorified Trillium Cup prior to it gaining official status as Canada’s entry into CONCACAF club football (congratulations Atlante, by the way). So, with all due respect to those that like to continually point out that Montreal has won all seven editions of this competition...well, that’s not possible. Montreal hasn’t won seven in a row. It’s won one in a row (which is an accomplishment into itself).

Pre-MLS the V-Cup was a nice recognition of the Canadian-ness of certain teams, but it wasn’t a competition that was taken at all seriously. No one in Montreal was plotting how to win a Voyageurs’ Cup in training camp. Sure, they would accept the thing and smile and even appreciate the gesture, but it was forgotten about two seconds after they posed for the mandatory grin and grip photo.

In those days the V-Cup represented hope – hope that it might one day really matter – not an end game.

Well, it does matter now. It is the ticket into CONCACAF and it is at least a partial priority to the country’s biggest team. It’s more than a partial priority to Montreal, who, if you read between the lines, is focusing a great deal of energy on repeating.

And that’s why, despite the talent gap on the rosters (Montreal has NO ONE that can even remotely line-up with a Amado Guevara or Dwayne DeRosario) and the fact that Toronto is near the top of the MLS standings today and the Impact are at the bottom of the USLs, this will very likely be a close game tonight.

Montreal will bunker. And it, to a point, is the right way to approach it. Toronto’s biggest weakness at home so far this year has been its finishing. The longer Montreal can hold off at 0-0 the more likely things will start to break down for the Reds.

Complicating things is the fact that Carl Robinson and Danny Dichio both appear to still be sick (although Robbo did practice yesterday). It’s likely that Chris Cummins will sit the two vets. With Dichio on the bench and unavailable, it’s pretty clear that whipping boy Chad Barrett will get another run out, likely with Pablo Vitti beside him and DeRo in a supporting forward role. If Barrett continues to be snake bitten (remembering also that Vitti, for all the nice things he does, has yet to actually score), it might be a long night.

Longer if Eddy Sebrango can find the net on one of his trademark counters.

All this is to say that this won’t be a walkover for TFC (something any thinking TFC fan has known for some time).

But the Reds are still the far away favourite. If I was laying odds I’d put a Toronto win at about 1.50. The draw at about 3.00 and a Montreal win would pay off big time at about 7.00 (if you don’t know what those numbers mean, good for you. You’re less wasteful than I).

Barnsley beat Liverpool and Chelsea. Stuff happens. But, I wouldn’t risk too much on thinking it’s going to consistently happen. The better teams usually win in sports. Toronto is the better team.

Regardless, it should be a fun time down at the park tonight. It’s the (fill in name here) Derby. Toronto fans have been waiting a looooong time for it.

What's in a name?

Everything is just bigger in Canada . Bigger snow banks, bigger Stanley Cup droughts, bigger giant novelty apples on the side of the highway...bigger.

The obsession with size likely comes from the vast amount of space that we have to fill. Since Canada is roughly the size of the moon (I think. I’m a writer. How do you think I did in my astronaut classes?), there is just a klot of empty that needs filling and there are only so many Tim Horton’s we can put up. Go big or go home, that’s our motto. It’s on our loonie (or it should be, anyway).

So, it stands to reason that this country would have the biggest derby game as well. And by biggest I mean longest distance between competing teams. The Montreal Impact - TFC match-up might require a few more years before it matches, say, the Manchester Derby or Merseyside Derby. Hell, it has a few years to go before it reaches the Essex Derby, but still. It’s all got to start somewhere and this is the real deal to the fans of both teams (and, really, it’s fans that make a game a derby game. Players come and go, but supporters are forever. They are the ones that really care).

The cities are more than 500 kilometres apart. I dare you to find me another game in the world between such far-flung cities that has the characteristics of a derby game. I double dare you. For comparison sake, the distance is roughly the same as it is between London and Glasgow – and those two cities don’t even play in the same league.

Yet Montreal and Toronto are obvious rivals. For one, the distance, by Canadian standards, is nothing. We Canucks drive 70 miles to go to the mall.* There is that whole French – English thing, the Leafs and the Habs, the business centre of the country versus the party centre, it goes on and on...

Not to mention that the two cities football fans want to strangle one another half the time.

There is one thing missing however. This game needs a name. All great derby games have one. You could go with something obvious like the Canadian Derby, but that is a bit too simple (and with Vancouver coming into MLS it doesn’t really fit). The Dominion Derby has a ring to it and it speaks to the historical factor. Geographically, you could go with the 401 Derby, named after the highway that mostly connects the two cities. The St. Lawrence Derby, for the waterway, is an option as well.

What do you think? Give me your suggestions in the comments. I’m going to post a vote on both the U-Sector and Red Patch board, if you are registered on either tell me what you think.

Let’s name this puppy!

*If you live in the middle of the arctic maybe

Japan out, U.S.A. in for Canadian women thanks to swine flu concerns

The CSA announced today that Canada's women's team will now face the U.S. in their May 25th match at BMO Field. Previously issued tickets are still good. The official press release only mentions that Japan "has cancelled its May trip to USA and Canada," but a little further digging revealed that soccer's most famous current scourge, swine flu, is in face to blame. Prost Amerika is reporting that "The first two domestic matches of 2009 for the USA Women’s National Team have been cancelled after Japan decided not to travel to the United States or Canada, citing concerns with the H1N1 virus, known colloquially as the Mexican Swine Flu." Of course, the disease has already cancelled some games in Mexico and caused others to be played behind closed doors, but this will be one of the first sporting events in the U.S. or Canada affected by it despite over 350 cases in Canada and over 2,600 in the States.

This will be an interesting test for Canada and new head coach Carolina Morace, who's making her home debut with this one. Canada's currently 11th in the FIFA World Rankings while Japan is seventh, so they would have been a formidable opponent. However, taking on the still top-seeded U.S. will be even more difficult. Canada's got a lot of history against the Americans, but most of the recent battles haven't gone their way, including a 2-1 loss in the 2006 Gold Cup final and a 2-1 extra-time loss in the Olympics this past summer. They can play with the Americans, but pulling out a victory over the top side in the world in their first home match under a new coach is a lot to ask.

It's not like Canada was avoiding the U.S., either. The Canadian team was already set to face the Americans twice in July, which would have allowed Morace time to settle in and adjust to the squad first. However, this should be a spectacular match at least, and it certainly will be a baptism of fire for Morace. We'll see how she handles the heat in just a couple of weeks.

Montreal - Toronto pre-game

Join us at 2:30 EDT for the TFC - Montreal pre-game show at Thatchannel.com.

Rycroft is going to argue that the Impact are favourite. Uh-huh...

I'll post the archive here when it becomes available.

MLS slowly works towards sane player development strategy

The New York Post (of all places) is reporting that MLS has loosened its academy signing rules. The move came as a reaction to pressure put on the league by Red Bulls, some are suggesting.

It hardly matters why the league is making the changes. It's just good that it is. MLS needs to encourage the further development of young domestic players -- be they American or Canadian -- and the academies are the way to do it. NCAA players should be used to supplement rosters, not as the primary pool of players entering the league.

The new academy rules will allow each MLS team to sign two players to a Generation Adidas (no hit to the cap; doesn't take up a senior roster spot) contract (previously only one was allowed) and they can sign up to four players per year to standard contracts (previously it was only two).

Additionally teams are now prevented from raiding other team's academies of their players.

There is still lots of room for MLS to loosen these rules (like putting no limitations at all on the amount of players hat a team can sign), but this is a good start.

It's also, hopefully, a sign that the league might be willing to work with Vancouver to accommodate the great Whitecaps program once Van City (39 years without a Stanley Cup, by the way. It's a good thing you western boys didn't get your team prior to 1967 or you wouldn't have anything over T.O., would ya?) joins in 2011.

Best. Rumour. Ever

(Sort of) according to J at Out of Touch there is a rumour floating about that has linked Andrea Lombardo! to Kilmarnock.

LOMBARDO!!

Now, he's basing this on a single search referral to his site and an update to Lombardo's Wikipedia page, but still.

LOMBARDO!!

Some things are just too good to even try and make up.


(And, seriously, good luck to the kid if it's true. He was put in an impossible situation in Toronto and was WAY too much made into a scapegoat)

Sober Second Thoughts: Wynne lose (or draw)

No, I’m not dead. I’ll return to posting 400 times a day now. More if more start to support the Toonie Project...just sayin’

As soon as you saw it you knew. Someone needs to buy Marvell some damn duct tape. A remarkably athletic player. Runs with his arms flappin’ like a chicken.

Do’h!

But, it was quite a game though. Three second half goals, including two by DeRo that were decidedly un-TFC like. The three points – and first place – were right there for the taking until...

Until Wynne got his God-forsaken hands on the ball again. Let’s hope TFC doesn’t miss the playoffs by four points because that’s how many it’s down because of Mr. Wynne’s extremities.

Still, you can’t blame the man too much. It’s more than a tad bit frustrating that ball-to-hand doesn’t seem to get called in MLS, but it doesn’t. As much as it kills the TFC faithful to admit it was the right call, if a little harsh. And a lot unlucky.

So we move on. The bottom line is that a point out of DC – a stadium that has been a horror show in TFC’s brief existence – would have been an exciting proposition for most Reds’ fans prior to kick off. And if you had suggested that Toronto was going to get a result at half-time, a TFC fan may have been tempted to dance a jig (such was the way DC was outplaying TFC). But, three minutes after DeRo scores the prettiest (or second prettiest. Jimmy B’s free-kick in Columbus is still awfully nice) goal in history...well, that’s a bit harder to take.

So instead we shall focus on the game that is next. Montreal at BMO. That’s the real deal. TFC fans have been waiting since last July to shut the Impact fans up. There really isn’t much love lost. This is derby stuff with all that entails. The banners will be rude, the chants will make you blush and if TFC doesn’t win the fans will want blood. Not to be too dramatic about it.

Yes, it took all of about 20 minutes Saturday for Reds’ fans to forget the night’s draw. After all, there were more important things to focus on. All is pretty much forgotten now.

Well, maybe not everything?

Do you think it’s possible to play right-back with both arms amputated?

It's Called Football weekly

The boys and I talk to Steve Goff and breakdown the week past in MLS. I was robbed in the penalties by Knight.

Joey Saputo: " Montreal's entry into MLS is no longer a question of if but of when"

According to an exclusive interview with Joey Saputo obtained by ruefrontenac.com, the relationship between MLS and the Impact organization has improved to the point where Saputo seems convinced that Montreal will obtain an MLS franchise.

"I would be most shocked if we do not get a franchise" says Joey Saputo. This seems pretty much in line with what Don Garber wrote on his blog "the commissioner speaks" on May 8th.

"The commissioner now knows that the government is ready to help us, and he really appreciates this major change in our bid. We are also really pushing the fact that MLS marketing in Canada, would be most improved if the league could count on Montreal to go along with Vancouver and Toronto" mentions Saputo.

I'm guessing that the change in the bid that Garber appreciates the most is the fact that if the government pays for the expansion of Stade Saputo, he will be able to pony up the required expansion fee. Also getting Montreal in the league, will help the MLS secure a Canadian national TV contract.

What i also find interesting is that Joey mentions "the government is ready to help us"?? Does this mean he has got the "OK" for the 25$ million he requested for stadium expansion?

All in all, this is great news for Montreal footy fans..

A Real friendly

Steve Goff is reporting that Toronto is one of two teams involved in discussions with Spanish power Real Madrid to host a in-season friendly later this summer.

Obviously this would be of interest to a lot of casual fans. Real Madrid. I've heard of them. The question is, are these friendlies worth it?

It's questionable, especially in a city, like Toronto, where selling tickets to MLS games isn't really a problem. Toronto fans will remember that faithful night in 2007 when Ronnie O'Brien went down for the year during the Villa game at BMO (which was as entertaining as all hell, but...)

Then again, coming off of a game at BMO that clearly wasn't sold out (regardless of whether you want to believe the announced attendance or the "adjusted one"), maybe there is still work to do here. Who knows, maybe watching the real Real run around for 90 minutes might convince some to try and get back later in the year to watch the fake one.

We’ll try to dig more info on this out of Goff when he appears on It’s Called Football this afternoon.

More from DC...

Here is some video (thanks again to DC United for the footage) of the supporter's march Saturday. As it has been said many times before it would be a shame if DC were to be forced out of the capital. But, make no mistake -- MLS will move this team if a stadium can't be found.

Is it fair? Hell, no. But, it's reality.

DC United/TFC post game

Ben, Ben and I break down the DC United/TFC game.

Click To Play

Whitecaps - Islanders live blog

I'll be live-blogging tonight's match between the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Puerto Rico Islanders. Kickoff is at 10 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Pacific, and the game will be webcast on USL Live. It should be a good one; these are two of the top USL teams, and they met in the USL final last year, so there's a great rivalry there. The Islanders took the last meeting 2-1 at home, so Vancouver will also be out for revenge.

Both of these teams are coming off busy and somewhat disappointing weeks as well; Vancouver lost 1-0 to Toronto FC in the first match of the Voyageurs Cup on the road on Wednesday, while the Islanders tied the Austin Aztex 1-1 in Texas on Friday. Neither side's had the start to the year they envisioned, either; Vancouver's 2-1-2 through five games and in fifth place, while Puerto Rico's 2-0-2 in four games and in fourth. There's lots of time left in the USL season, but tonight's match could mark a big turnaround in the fortunes of either side. Come join in the live blog tonight to see what happens!

In support of DC United

I'll have more later, but for now a quick look at the Toronto support at the DC United stadium march today. United says that as many as 1,000 people took to the streets to call for DC area politicians to help find the team a home. Several Toronto supporters, mostly Red Patch, joined in.

Thanks to DC United for the photo.

Whether a march like this does anything is up for speculation, but when you get right down to it MLS fans have to stick together. This league is only as strong as its weakest link (a cliché, I realize, but true). Seeing DC United move would be a sad, sad day -- and a PR disaster for a league that struggles to be taken seriously at the best of times.

Connie Zimmer was one of about 10 TFC fans that took part in the march. She said it was a no-brainer to take part.

"The United supporters are all class and I am glad we did what we could to support them in their battle for a stadium," she said in an e-mail. "I can't imagine a league without them. They bring it to the table every time and understand fully what it means to be the 12th man. We need more teams and supporters like DC United in this league."

Toronto FC - D.C. United live blog

I'll be live-blogging tonight's Toronto FC match against D.C. United (7:30 p.m. Eastern/4:30 p.m. Pacific, Rogers Sportsnet). It should be a good one; D.C. leads the East with 13 points from a 3-1-4 record, while TFC is in second with 12 points from a 3-2-3 record. Thus, the winner of this one will take over or hold on to first place. One question for Toronto is if defender Adrian Serioux will be fit to play; he suffered a neck injury against Columbus last week and missed the midweek clash against Vancouver. Sam Cronin also missed the Whitecaps game, but is expected to return to face D.C. tonight.

Another interesting element is what's going on off the pitch. Everyone knows about D.C. United's stadium struggles, and they've led to threats of relocation if they can't find a new stadium. The D.C. United supporters are going to be marching to the match [Jason Davis, MLS Daily] to show their passion for keeping the team in D.C.; Jason's also encouraging MLS fans from across the league to join the cause with banners and such today. It's a great idea in my mind. Yes, D.C. is facing difficulties, but they're one of the league's signature franchises; I remember watching them play Beckham and Real Madrid in Seattle in an exhibition game several years ago, and at that time (with Freddy Adu), that match made more sense than it would have with any other MLS team. To be taken seriously as a league, you have to have substantial franchise stability and you need a couple of flagship franchises that casual fans have heard of. D.C. United is one, and in my mind, their fans deserve all the support they can get.

Come join me for the live blog at 7:30!

Preview: Impact-Rochester Rhinos

The Impact will kickoff its home season today against their longtime western New York rivals, the Rochester Rhinos at 3h30pm ET (radio-canada, usllive.com). The Impact has had a disapointing start to the season, and are still looking to pick up their first win heading into next weeks crucial Voyageurs Cup game against Toronto FC at BMO Field. Expect a full house and the smell of fresh grass this afternoon at Saputo Stadium.

The Rhinos are off to a great start with 2 wins, a loss and a tie in its first four games of an eight game road trip before their home opener on May 30th. The Impact will have to watch out for Liberian international forward Johnny Menyongar, who has scored 3 goals in 4 games. Rochester made one notable off-season addition, picking up English forward Taiwo Atieno who scored 12 goals in 39 appearances with the Puerto Rico Islanders.

The Impact will not be fielding their top 11 due to Sandro Grande's 1 game club imposed suspension and Leo Di Lorenzo's slight hip injury. Expect the starting lineup to look something like this:

Brown-Sebrango
Placentino-Donatelli-Testo-Sakuda
Zanzan-Pizzolito-Joqueviel-Braz
Jordan

Forward Peter Byers will be making a comeback and might see some minutes as a sub, after a brief stint with the reserve team in Trois-Rivières. Also note that midfielder Patrick Leduc will be undergoing surgery on his right foot on Wednesday, which will probably keep him out of the lineup until late in the season. The Impact has a 10-1-4 record in home openers since 1993.

“Playing in front of our fans, in our stadium, is always special,” said Impact head coach John Limniatis. “But in the end, it’s like any other game because we have to get the three points. As a team, our objective is to get a maximum of points at home. We want to get back in the championship as soon as possible.” See pre-game video: http://www.montrealimpact.com/Multimedia/Videos.aspx?language=EN

As for myself I will be taking in the game standing with UM02 in section 114 and looking forward to getting an in person look at our new terrace, after Impact management agreed to remove the first few rows of seats in the supporters section.

More later.