After The Weekend

Title and Champions League Races in Europe

	GP	W	D	L	GD	Pts
EPL
Chelsea	23	17	3	3	38	54
Manchester Utd	24	17	2	5	36	53
Arsenal	23	15	4	5	32	49
Tottenham	24	12	6	6	20	42
Bundesliga
Bayer Leverkusen	20	12	8	0	29	44
Bayern Munich	20	12	6	2	25	42
Schalke 04	20	12	5	3	16	41
Bor Dortmund	20	10	6	4	5	36
Ligue 1
Bordeaux	22	15	3	4	22	48
Montpellier	22	13	3	6	5	42
Lille	22	12	4	6	20	40
Lyon	22	11	6	5	10	39
Serie A
Internazionale	21	15	4	2	26	49
AC Milan	21	12	5	4	14	41
AS Roma	22	12	5	5	11	41
Napoli	22	10	8	4	7	38
La Liga
Barcelona	20	16	4	0	40	52
Real Madrid	20	15	2	3	32	47
Valencia	20	11	6	3	16	39
Sevilla	20	11	3	6	9	36

Player Moves

• Hernan Crespo has rejoined his first Serie A club, Parma, from Genoa.
• Midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger has joined Italian club Lazio, leaving VfB Stuttgart.

MLS Preseason

• Kansas City preseason news.
• Houston Dynamo preseason.

The Business of Soccer
The Independent is reporting the the UEFA Champions League final has surpassed the NFL Super Bowl as the most watched sporting event.

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The US U-20 Women win the CONCACAF title and qualifies for the U-20 Women's World Cup.

Salvador Cabanas, the Paraguayan striker that was shot in the head in a Mexican bar last week has regained consciousness.

Egypt retains African title, defeating Ghana.

USMNT defender Steve Cherundolo will be out for four weeks with a shoulder injury suffered during practice with his club team Hannover of the Bundesliga. This is the latest in a series of injuries that has prevented Cherundolo from getting a sustained period of playing time.

The Collective Bargaining Agreement(CBA) between MLS and the MLS Players Union has expired. As reported earlier this past week, the two sides agreed to extend the negotiations. I've not added to the churn on the subject as nothing of note has been released to the public. For all the rumors, you don't have to look far in the soccer blogosphere.

News and Views from Friday

Player Moves

• Michael Orozco joined the Philadelphia Union on loan from Mexican club San Luis.
• Kyle McCarthy's report on Steve Ralston leaving the New England Revolution. 
• The Kenny Cooper loan to Plymouth Argyle has been confirmed.

Interesting Reads

• A good read on Danny Califf and his role with the Philadelphia Union.
• Drew Epperly begins his preseason MLS series with the Chicago Fire.
• The updated MLS allocation order.
• Fake Sigi on the demise of the LA Sol of Women's Professional Soccer
• Brian Quarstad on the name change of the Tampa Bay Rowdies to FC Tampa Bay

MLS News

• The Chicago Fire announced their preseason schedule.
• Fake Sigi on the Collective Bargaining Agreement between MLS and the MLS Players Union. Don't skip reading the articles he references.

News and Views from Thursday

Player Moves

• Manchester City of the EPL is loaning out its record signing player Robinho to Brasilian club Santos.
• Former Chelsea player and Iceland international Eidur Gudjohnsen will go on loan from French club Monaco to EPL club Tottenham.
• Greg Seltzer of No Short Corners is reporting that Kenny Cooper, formerly of FC Dallas is going on loan from HSV 1860 Munich to Plymouth of the Coca Cola Championship in England. Former MLS coach Paul Mariner is the Plymouth manager. Note this deal has not yet been confirmed by all parties.
• Chivas USA has waived defender Jim Curtin and midfielder Bojan Stepanovic.

The Business of Soccer

• The Philadelphia Union scored a huge coup today regarding its television broadcast rights, announcing a multi-year agreement to air its games on WPVI 6.
• Women's Professional Soccer franchise Los Angeles Sol is no more. The players will be will be dispersed to the remaining clubs via a draft.
  

MLS News

• CBA negotiations extended until Feb 12.
  
• MLS Cup champs Real Salt Lake has announced its preseason schedule.
• Toronto FC have announced February 1 as the start date for its preseason camp.

Interesting Reads

• J.R. Eskilson with a piece on youth soccer in the US. It evoked some interesting comments. Worth the read.
• A little piece on the NPSL, the nationwide amateur league in the US.
• Beau Dure chimes in on the loss of the Sol in WPS and the CBA in MLS.
  

Other Stuff

• Egypt and Ghana will play for the African Cup of Nations title.
  

News and Views from Wednesday

Player Moves

• Dave Martinez is reporting that Estonia midfielder Joel Lindpere from Norwegian side Tromsø has signed with RBNY.
• With the loss of Gonazalo Segares, the Chicago Fire have signed Polish youth national defender Krzysztof Krol.
• Buzz Carrick on FC Dallas' release of keeper Ray Burse.
• EPL club Blackburn have signed Turkish international Yildiray Basturk from Stuttgart for the rest of the season.
• Tottenham appears to have signed Eidur Gudjohnsen despite all earlier indications that he would sign with West Ham United.

The Business of Soccer

• Soccer in Seattle is continuing on an upward trajectory. The Sounders bumped total season tickets from 22,000 in 2009 to 32,000 in 2010. Qwest Field will hold around 35,500 for Sounder matches.
• Tom Dunmore with a good piece on the restrictions that will be in place for UEFA clubs beginning in the 2013-14 season. Remember I noted the report that has 50% of the clubs losing money.

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• I normally don't cover USL/NASL/USSF-D2, but Kenn Tomasch always does such a good job, I thought I'd point to his piece on the plan of the Tampa Bay Rowdies to play in Steinbrenner Field.
• Kenn also chimes in on the CBA and the potential for a lockout. There has been a raft of articles popping up on the web with the contract expiring on January 31, but I like Kenn's work, so here you are.
• On a cheerier note, Chivas USA has opened it's preseason camp.
• Setanta USA will end its operations on Feb 28 and Fox Soccer Plus will pick up most of its programming beginning March 1.
• ESPN and ABC announce expanded coverage of the 2010 World Cup.
  

MLS Stepping Up to Help Haiti

• The Colorado Rapids will host the Seattle Sounders at 7 p.m. March 19 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park to raise money for earthquake relief efforts in Haiti.
• RBNY is holding an online auction to support the relief effort in Haiti. The auction has begun and will run until March 15.
  

News and Views from Tuesday

Totally Insane
Paraguay Soccer Star Shot in Mexico City Bar

Player Moves
It's official. Houston Dynamo midfielder Stuart Holden has signed with EPL club Bolton for the rest of the season.
Tottenham Hotspur forward Giovani dos Santos has joined Turkish club Galatasaray on loan until the end of the season. 

The Business of Soccer
A report is out that says that half of the clubs in UEFA are losing money.
Fabled English club Crystal Palace is in administration. 

MLS Training camps open nationwide
Colorado
Columbus
Kansas City
Los Angeles 
Philadelphia
San Jose 

Young US Teams Not Faring Well
The US Mens U-19 team and academy teams from Chivas USA and Houston are participating in the 18 team Copa Chivas. So far the three US based teams have taken 6 points from 36.

News and Views From Monday

Player Moves
Sky Sports is reporting that Houston Dynamo player Stuart Holden's loan to Bolton has been finalized.

Interesting Reads
Portland Timbers community bloggers on MLS in Portland.
Early feedback on Philadelphia ticket sales.
A post on why MLS's SuperDraft should be scrapped.
A USA match reaction from the Fullback Files. I don't always agree with their posts, but I usually find them fun to read.
Update on the Red Bulls, currently in Spain playing in the La Manga tourney, in which they drew UEFA Champions League team CSKA Moscow.

After the Weekend

Title and Champions League Races in Europe

	GP	W	D	L	GD	Pts
EPL
Manchester Utd	23	16	2	5	34	50
Arsenal	22	15	3	4	34	48
Chelsea	21	15	3	3	34	48
Tottenham	22	11	5	6	18	38
Bundesliga
Bayer Leverkusen	19	11	8	0	27	41
Bayern Munich	19	11	6	2	22	39
Schalke 04	19	11	5	3	14	38
Bor Dortmund	19	10	6	3	8	36
Ligue 1
Bordeaux	21	15	2	4	22	47
Montpellier	21	12	3	6	3	39
Lille	21	11	4	6	19	37
Marseille	20	10	6	4	11	36
Serie A
Internazionale	21	15	4	2	26	49
AC Milan	20	12	4	4	14	40
AS Roma	21	11	5	5	10	38
Napoli	21	10	7	4	7	37
La Liga
Barcelona	19	15	4	0	39	49
Real Madrid	19	14	2	3	30	44
Valencia	19	11	6	2	17	39
Mallorca	19	10	4	5	12	34

Jeff Carlisle takes a look at Houston's prospects without Rico Clark and Stuart Holden.

US Youth teams coming up short in the Copa Chivas.

On the other hand, the Seattle Sounders can be happy that one of their youth partners did very well in the Region IV ODP championships in Phoenix.

I leave it to the gazillions of other sites to discuss the USA/Honduras match. Suffice it to say, no new shining stars jumped up and screamed 'take me to South Africa', although Alejandro Bedoya did show enough to warrant another runout. 

Footie Notes, Ruud Move

WVHooligan's look at MLS's newest team, the Philadelphia Union. 

The Business of Soccer
Tom Dunmore strikes again with a piece on the increasingly precarious nature of the business of soccer.

Player Moves

• Ruud Van Nistelrooy will join Hamburg on an 18 month contract.
  
• Swiss defender Philippe Senderos will finish the EPL season on loan at Everton from Arsenal.
• Greg Seltzer with a good post on forward Preston Zimmerman's move from Austrian club Kapfenberg to the Mainz 05 organization of the Bundesliga.

Friday Footie Notes

From Deseret News, key dates in the 2010 MLS season. 

Player Moves

• The long rumored move by Stuart Holden to Bolton Wanderers appears to be confirmed.
• Keeper David James, subject to a physical, will be loaned to Stoke City from Portsmouth for the rest of the season.

The Business of Soccer

• Tom Dunmore with an update on UEFA's plan to force teams to operate at a break even level to be eligible for Euro club tournaments. The interesting part of this read is that 14 of the 20 EPL teams lost money.
• And just to complicate the matter for EPL clubs is the plan by OFCAM to reign in spiraling broadcast fees.
• The new owner of West Ham United chimes in on OFCAM's plans.

MLS Youth
There has been a lot of whining over the development of young players in the US. I think fans have been too impatient with MLS, especially since the mandate that all clubs have their own academy or a direct affiliation with a local club or academy is fairly recent. Granted it took the league a while to issue the mandate, and the desertion of the reserve league has been a big mistake, but I believe the league is moving in the right direction. Over 200 college and pro scouts were in attendance at the Development Academy Winter Showcase in Phoenix. In fact I found myself sitting between the scouts from Mexican club UANL Tigres and Manchester United. They wouldn't be there if they thought it was a waste of time. That all being said, Houston's academy team will be joining Chivas USA's academy team in the Copa Chivas in Guadalajara, Mexico.

And speaking of MLS youth, RBNY announced that it will field a U-23 team in the NPSL.

Player Moves and News Briefs

Buzz Carrick with his view on the Lee Nguyen deal that didn't happen.

The MLS players' union has advised its members to report to preseason camp. Many see this as a good sign as the CBA expires soon.

Freddie Ljungberg has rejected advances from Italian club Livorno.

US U-20 International Vincenzo Bernardo is on trial with the Kansas City Wizards.

Four MLS clubs will participate in the 1st Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic. The event kicks off on February 25.

Red Bull Arena will be inaugurated with a visit from fabled Brasilian club Santos on March 20.

Player Moves
Brasilian striker Jo has joined Galatasaray on loan from Manchester City.
The Chicago Fire have signed El Salvadoran international, Julio Martinez, a midfielder.
DC United has signed 22 year old defender/midfielder Floribert N'Galula. 
The 4 player deal between the Revs and Rapids originally announced on draft day has been officially completed. 
The Houston Dynamo have acquired the rights to Canadian international midfielder Kevin Harmse from Chivas USA for a conditional draft pick. 
In addition to signing midfielder Stéphane Auvray, reported in an earlier post, the Kansas City Wizards have signed defender Pablo Escobar of Deportivo Cali in Colombia.  

Interesting Read
The third installment of Richard Farley's series on citizen journalism in US soccer.

Footie News Brief

A website called IMScouting is reporting that Seattle Sounders midfielder Freddie Ljungberg is being courted by Italian club Livorno. 

The Business of Soccer
The new owners of EPL team West Ham United report that the club is 110 million pounds in debt.
Ben Berger at Footiebusiness discusses 3rd party online merchandising of MLS.  

Player Moves
According to MLS Daily, San Jose has signed Montreal Impact midfielder Joey Gjertsen.
Yanks Abroad is reporting that Stuart Holden is not going to Portuguese leaders Sporting Braga.
24th minute reports that Toronto FC have acquired midfielder Jacob Peterson from the Colorado Rapids in exchange for allocation money.

News and Views - Wednesday

Once again, Baltimore has slipped into the discussion as a potential home for DC United. The Maryland Stadium Authority has approved a feasibility study for a professional soccer stadium. DCU has encountered innumerable problems attempting to get a new stadium in DC. Even if they don't move, the folks in Maryland are looking at both Crystal Palace, newly self promoting to USSF-D2 from USL-2 as well as having made the first venue cut for a potential World Cup in 2018 or 2022.

Former DCU coach Tom Soehn, was named Director of Soccer Operations for the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Steve Davis speculates on Houston's future if Stuart Holden follows Ricardo Clark to Europe.

Inside Minnesota Soccer is reporting that Kartik Krishnaiyer will be appointed PR Director of NASL.

Player Moves
Based on his tweets, looks like Lee Nguyen(@Nguyen24) is headed back to Vietnam.

Interesting Reads
Peter Wilt's posts are always entertaining and informative.
I'm a little late with this one, but nevertheless, I present Bill Archer's latest.
Part Two of Richard Farley's series on citizen journalism in US Soccer.

The Business of Soccer
The story of Manchester United's debt just keeps coming.

MLS and Young Players
J.R. Eskilson seems to have tweaked commenters into some strong opinions over the best way to develop young talent in the US.

News and Views Found on Tuesday

Interesting Stuff
Pro soccer starved Phoenix may at least see some preseason action. The nation's 14th largest media market has no team above the USASA level, and that team has been on hiatus because of a lack of teams in the American Southwest.
The long road to the Kansas City Wizards playing in a soccer specific stadium took a big step forward.
Jason Davis at MatchFitUSA fills in the blanks on Landon Donovan's new Galaxy contract and what it means for a potential permanent move to Europe.
Richard Farley's latest Inside the Six podcast is the first in a three part series on citizen journalism and the US soccer media.
Fulham FC is reporting that Clint Dempsey's knee injury will not need surgery. He is expected to see action for the club before season's end. Great news for Fulham and the US Men, who are already wondering if two other World Cup starters, Charlie Davies and Oguchi Onyewu will be able to take to the pitch.

Player Moves
USMNT midfielder Ricardo Clark has signed with Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt on a free transfer until the end of the season.
Former LA Galaxy player Josh Tudela signed a three-year deal at Steaua Bucharest.
Chris Albright's trade to RBNY on draft day has a caveat. His contract is not guaranteed due to the uncertainty over his recovery from what amounted to a season ending injury to his torn left lateral meniscus last April.
Down the Byline pointed me to this post on the KC Wizards signing of Guadelupe native Stephane Auvray. Auvray is a defensive midfielder who has been playing in the second division in France.
Jemal Johnson is moving from MK Dons to Stockport County on a 6 month loan.
Chivas USA midfielder Paulo Nagamura had signed to play with UANL Tigres of the Mexican League. 

CBA Notes
Greg Seltzer reports on player plans in case of a lockout.

MLS Team Update
Brian Lewis' RBNY update.

Haitian Football Devastated
Howard Hamilton's report on the effects of the earthquake on Haitian football.

Soccer Bits, Player Moves, Tracking Your Team

Lower Division in the USA

• Wanna keep track of your favorite USSF D2 team? atlanticTFCfan has posted the Twitter and Facebook url's.
• OurSportsCentral's franchise report lays out the USL-2 and PDL landscape for 2011.

Young Yanks
The new USMNT U-17 residency class for the Bradenton Academy has been been selected.

For Your Viewing Pleasure
Johnathan Starling at Set Piece Analysts reports that mun2, an NBC Universal property, will broadcast Mexican First Division matches in English.

MLS Biz
Fake Sigi on the limitations of MLS's single entity structure.

More Post MLS SuperDraft Analysis
This time it comes from Ives.
And this one about the NE Revs defense.


MLS Pre-Season
RBNY will head to La Manga, Spain for two weeks from Wednesday, Jan. 20 to Feb. 4. After returning, the club will go to Florida to complete its pre-season.

Rumored Moves
Lee Nguyen is assessing the possibility of playing in MLS. Nguyen currently plays for Vietnamese team Hoàng Anh Gia La.
Reports from France has USMNT Defender Carlos Bocanegra moving from Renne to St. Etienne.
After Bolton passed, Ives is reporting that Dynamo midfielder Stuart Holden may be headed to Portugal to sign with 1st place Sporting Braga.

Confirmed Moves
DC United signs Aussie forward Danny Allsopp.

Good Reads
After a couple of good showings for Everton, Andrea Canales of Goal.com offers up her opinion on the likelihood that Landon Donovan's loan will be extended, or more.
Grant Wahl on his journey to cover the African Cup of Nations.

More Help for Haiti from the Soccer Community
Kaka, Zidane to Play in Game for Haiti Relief.
RBNY, SCF to benefit Haiti through RBA tours.

After the Weekend

Clint Dempsey of Fulham and the USMNT injured his knee this weekend. The prospect for his return to action will depend on medical test results.

Rumored Moves

• Here's more on the report that Michael Orozco is headed to MLS, in particular how the allocation rules will play a role.
• Whispers that Portuguese icon Raul, is unhappy and may make the move to MLS when his contract expires in June.
• Can you really compare leagues? Sounder at Heart gives it a shot.
  

Interesting Reads

• Jere Longman of the NY Times with a piece on Colorado Rapids owner Stan Kroenke.
• Grahame Jones of the LA Times writes about the coaching changes in MLS.
• Pitch Invasion's Richard Whittall on Euro club debt.
  

Rants
Mike Martin at UnitedMania on DC United's SuperDraft history.

More Post SuperDraft Posts
New England Revolution Draft Review

Title and Champions League Races in Europe

	GP	W	D	L	GD	Pts
EPL
Chelsea	21	15	3	3	34	48
Manchester Utd	22	15	2	5	30	47
Arsenal	21	14	3	4	32	45
Tottenham	21	11	5	5	20	38
Bundesliga
Bayer Leverkusen	18	10	8	0	24	38
Schalke 04	18	11	4	3	14	37
Bayern Munich	18	10	6	2	21	36
Hamburg SV	18	9	7	2	17	34
Ligue 1
Bordeaux	20	14	2	4	20	44
Lille	20	11	4	5	20	37
Montpellier	20	11	3	6	2	36
Marseille	19	9	6	4	10	33
Serie A
Internazionale	20	14	4	2	24	46
AC Milan	19	12	4	3	12	40
AS Roma	20	10	5	5	9	35
Napoli	20	9	7	4	5	34
La Liga
Barcelona	18	14	4	0	36	46
Real Madrid	18	13	2	3	28	41
Valencia	18	11	5	2	14	38
Mallorca	18	10	3	5	12	33

Soccer's Continuing Role in Haiti 
Jeff Rusnak of the Sun Sentinal reports on the Haitian National Stadium serving as a hospital in the ravaged country(link found on Howard Hamilton's Hexagonal Blog).

MLS Post SuperDraft

Recent MLS Player Moves
Midfielder Fred goes to the Union as part of the deal that brought GK Perkins to DC United.
Defender Chris Albright is now a member of RBNY.
Clint Mathis has rejoined coach Bruce Arena in Los Angeles.
The Rapids swapped Corey Gibbs and Preston Burpo to New England for Wells Thompson and the rights to Jeff Larentowicz.

Rumors
Ives is reporting that former US youth international defender Micheal Orozco, currently with San Luis of the FMF, might be headed to MLS.

MLS SuperDraft Assessment
I don't what what they are thinking over at Pro Player Pipeline, but their assessment of the Philadelphia Union's draft selections are baffling. I think the Union did a fantastic job.

Greg Seltzer at Soccer365 has a far better review(IMO) of the recent SuperDraft.

WV Hooligan gives us the current MLS Allocation order.

And After the SuperDraft the Locals Say ...

• Jack McCarthy, writing for the Chicago Tribune on GK Jovan Bubonja, who went undrafted after being on nearly everyone's prediction list of the top 64 eligible players
• Zach Johnson at ASN/DCU reflects on DC United.
  

And Now on to the Collective Bargaining Agreement(CBA)
With the SuperDraft over, it's time to turn attention to the impending walk-out/strike/lockout as the current CBA expires at the end of January. Should make for a fun couple of months. To get you caught up, here's Jason Davis' Super Fun Guide to the MLS CBA.


Money, Money, Money
The Daily Mail is reporting that Manchester City's annual payroll for the year ending on May 31, '09, was 82.6M pounds.


Soccer Rises to the Occasion in Haiti
Sites around the world are linking to aide organizations. I'll point you to MLSTalk.com.