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NYCFC announcement leaves more questions than answers — and that’s good for MLS

By
Steven Sandor
– 05/22/2013

MLS-logoMLS showed some media mastery in announcing the new New York City FC franchise Tuesday. By leaving us with as more questions than could possibly be answered in a conference call, the league has ensured that columnists and bloggers — even ones that don’t regularly cover soccer — will write the kind of speculative articles that every league PR person publicly berates but secretly loves.

That’s because these sort of speculative articles keep the new franchise in the hearts and minds of New Yorkers — and that’s important, because the new team will start play in 2015 in a temporary venue, while it searches for a home.

So many questions:

What will NYCFC mean for the Red Bulls? Commissioner Don Garber said he hoped it would stoke a fierce rivalry in a city of 19 million. But it’s not like NYCFC is coming in as an upstart, looking to knock off a team with lots of history and trophies. What NYCFC is competing with is a team that doesn’t sell out its soccer palace that you’ll find out on the train to Newark Airport, a team that’s name is a brand, a team that’s devoid of championships.
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No contest: Johnson is MLS Player of the Week

By
Steven Sandor
– 05/21/2013

Eddie Johnson

Eddie Johnson

Sometimes, you are so sure of the Player of the Week outcome, you almost forget to fill in your ballot and have it to the head office in time.

Sorta like an Alberta election: Voter turnout suffers because it’s assumed that the election is a done deal before the writ is signed by the lieutenant-governor.

This was one of those weeks. With two goals and an assist against FC Dallas, the team with the league’s best record, Seattle Sounders forward Eddie Johnson ticked off all the boxes when it comes to Player of the Week-worthiness. So, it wasn’t a surprise that he got the most checkmarks on the ballots from the members of the North American Soccer Reporters.
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Ref takes centre stage in Portland-Vancouver clash

By
Martin MacMahon
– 05/19/2013

Camilo

Camilo

The Vancouver Whitecaps conceded late to Jose Valencia in controversial circumstances on Saturday, as they drew 2-2 with the 10-man Portland Timbers in front of 19,823 at BC Place.

On the game-tying play, in the 84th minute, the substitute appeared to bring a long ball from Will Johnson down with his hands – match officials were asked by a pool reporter what they saw on the play, and responded that from their view Valencia brought the ball down with his chest.

Replays proved otherwise, but Whitecaps head coach Martin Rennie seemed dissatisfied with the officiating both ways.

“I thought it was a hand ball,” Rennie remarked when asked about Valencia’s equalizing goal, before later addressing Portland’s red card, in which Futty Danso collided with Camilo as last man back. “Whether it was a red card or not – I don’t necessarily think it was – both players were running together so that was a little harsh.

“Sometimes when a team goes down a man, it doesn’t necessarily help you.”
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TFC: New players, same results in loss to the Crew

By
Mark Polishuk
– 05/19/2013

Dominic Oduro

Dominic Oduro

Toronto FC’s new additions couldn’t prevent an old result. Steven Caldwell, Jeremy Brockie and Bobby Convey were hardly the culprits behind TFC’s 1-0 loss to the Columbus Crew on Saturday (Brockie and Convey were second-half substitutes) and yet the result seemed almost like a foregone conclusion given the Reds’ history of in-season roster shakeups and sacrificing valuable points in the name of giving a new lineup time to gel.

With just one win and seven overall points from their first 11 matches, the hope is that this latest amalgamation of talent can finally get the team on track in the short term, and more changes are still to come.

“We knew the level of the job we had ahead of us.. The quality sides in this league are constructed over a period of time. We’re still at the early stages,” said TFC assistant head coach Fran O’Leary, addressing the media since head coach Ryan Nelsen had lost his voice. “I know there’s no panic in our dressing room, in our group. We’re going to construct this team over a period of time, over several [transfer] windows.”

With the three newcomers arriving within the last 11 days, Toronto’s lineup had just one change from their previous match on May 8. Caldwell stepped in at centre back though his partner in the middle was Doneil Henry rather than Darren O’Dea. The team captain moved from his regular CB spot to left back to help cover TFC’s injury problems on the flank.
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Whitecaps recall Mitchell from FC Edmonton for Portland match

By
Steven Sandor
– 05/16/2013

Carlyle Mitchell

Carlyle Mitchell

The Vancouver Whitecaps have issued a one-game recall for defender Carlyle Mitchell.

The Trinidad and Tobago central defender has been a regular starter for FC Edmonton this season. He is on loan to the Eddies for the 2013 campaign. But, with the Whitecaps in roster difficulty with the suspension of Johnny Leveron for this Saturday’s match against Portland, and the Eddies being on a bye weekend in NASL, the conditions were perfect for a Mitchell recall.

FCE confirmed that Mitchell is scheduled to return to the Eddies on Sunday.
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Expensive Convey brought into the TFC fold

By
Steven Sandor
– 05/16/2013

Bobby Convey

Bobby Convey

Toronto FC acquired veteran midfielder Bobby Convey on Thursday.

In exchange, Sporting Kansas City gets a first-round pick in the 2014 Supplemental Draft. For SKC, it’s the chance to offload Convey’s salary-cap hit. According to the MLS Players’ Union, Convey’s base salary is US$200,000, with guaranteed compensation totaling US$215,000 in 2013.

That was a lot of money for SKC to pay a guy who turns 30 next week — and has played just 122 minutes of soccer so far this season.

Convey has a history of MLS brilliance. He was an All-Star with D.C. United in 2001; when he returned to MLS in 2010 after a five-year spell at Reading, he was the comeback player of the year. He was an All-Star in 2010 and again in 2011 as a member of the San Jose Earthquakes.
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Whitecaps lose Leveron to suspension: San Jose’s Chavez has ban reduced

By
Steven Sandor
– 05/15/2013

Johnny Leveron

Johnny Leveron

We love to complain about how referees continually sabotage the efforts of our favourite teams, and then look away when they make calls in our teams’ favours.

So, Whitecaps fans have something to chew on Wednesday morning. Would the Caps have been able to overcome the Galaxy by a 3-1 count Saturday had Johnny Leveron been sent off for his early two-footed scissor challenge on the Galaxy’s Jose Villarreal?

Leveron was given a yellow for the sliding foul he committed early in that match. But the MLS Disciplinary Committee ruled on it Wednesday, and deemed that it should have been red. Leveron has been suspended one game for a reckless challenge that endangered his opponent, and will miss the May 18 match against the Timbers.
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TFC waives little-used forwards Morgan and Bennett

By
Steven Sandor
– 05/14/2013

AshtonBennett_0Toronto FC needed to make roster changes in order to be compliant with the MLS rulebook ahead of this weekend’s match against Columbus.

And for little-used forwards Ashton Bennett and Taylor Morgan, the writing was on the wall. Both were released by the Reds Tuesday. Both will be used as further evidence of just how much of a crapshoot the Supplemental Draft is for MLS clubs.

Bennett, who has his Canadian residency and played his NCAA soccer for Coastal Carolina, fell into the Supplemental Draft after being projected as a SuperDraft proper selection. Morgan had an impressive camp after being selected later in the Supplemental Draft, and won himself a job.
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Bruin named MLS Player of the Week: The 11′s nod went to Teibert

By
Steven Sandor
– 05/13/2013

Russell Teibert

Russell Teibert

Most of the time, the bodies of work we look at are fairly consistent when voting for an MLS Player of the Week.

Most of the time, we judge players on the basis that they each play a single match on the weekend.

But in the odd weeks where some teams play two games because of the midweek schedule and others play one — that makes it difficult.

This week, Houston Dynamo forward Will Bruin won the Player of the Week vote. He scored twice and added two assists in a midweek 4-0 win over D.C. United, but didn’t do much in a 1-0 loss at home Sunday to Sporting Kansas City. And that brings up an uncomfortable question: Does a “meh” game on Sunday weigh down what was a spectacular midweek effort?
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Russell to the rescue: Canadian has game to remember for the Whitecaps

By
Martin MacMahon
– 05/12/2013

Russell Teibert

Russell Teibert

The seven-game MLS winless streak is finally over for the Vancouver Whitecaps, thanks to a two-goal performance from Canadian youngster Russell Teibert, who scored his first professional goals.

And the Whitecaps did it against the defending MLS Cup champion Los Angelees Galaxy, a team they had previously failed to beat in five prior matchups, defeating the visitors 3-1 at BC Place in front of 21,000 fans.

The Niagara Falls, Ont. native hit a cracking left-footed effort in the 63rd minute after a nice set-up from Nigel Reo-Coker, curling his shot from outside the area past a sprawling Carlo Cudicini.

The 20 year old then followed that up by bursting through into the area 13 minutes later, to finish a play set up by Gershon Koffie, who cut back near the endline before passing into the path of Teibert.

“It’s a blur,” Teibert said of scoring his first goal. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I was just overwhelmed.”
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