PLASTIC PITCH 4 is out today! 17 Dec 2014 Issue 4 of Plastic Pitch is out today! What will you find inside?
Saputo sees role for Bologna in developing Impact youth 17 Dec 2014 Certainly, improving the Impact’s young prospects wasn’t the prime motivation for Saputo to join a consortium that purchased Italian Serie B side, Bologna. But he knows an improvement to the Impact’s youth development stream is a byproduct of the deal.
Have clipboard, will travel 17 Dec 2014 He’s advised soccer programs throughout Quebec. He’s worked with youth national teams. Former Montreal Impact coach Valerio Gazzola has quietly made a massive mark on the game in Canada...
On-the-job experience 17 Dec 2014 The Vancouver Whitecaps got to the playoffs in Carl Robinson’s first season as head coach. But, to do better than another first-round playoff exit in 2015, the team needs more scoring and defensive depth. And the team needs to address its needs while only being able to guesstimate what the salary cap will be after a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is signed...
Contest of champions 17 Dec 2014 In 2009, the Montreal Impact gave up two stoppage-time goals to Santos Laguna, and fell at the CONCACAF Champions League’s quarter-final stage. In 2015, the Impact is set to meet Pachuca in the quarter-finals — and the Canadian side is carefully preparating for its Mexican opponent. Can the Impact exorcise the demons of 2009?
Without a CBA in place, there’s a “possibility” union action could see Montreal, DCU forfeit CCL matches 6 Dec 2014 “The Collective Bargaining Agreement is scheduled to expire on January 31, 2015,” Foose wrote in an e-mail. “When it expires, the obligation not to engage in a work stoppage also expires. I do not want to comment on when or if there would be a work stoppage. All I can say is that unless there is a Collective Bargaining Agreement in place, there is always the possibility of a work stoppage.”
State of the MLS roundtable: Since there’s no movement on roster equality, now is the time for Canada to get tough 2 Dec 2014 Well, at Tuesday’s roundtable, Garber confirmed that there isn’t going to be a new approach. When pressed by Leduc, Garber retreated back to the argument that U.S. labour law prevents Canadians from being domestics on American soil. He said a Canadians can’t be treated any differently than a Mexican, a Honduran or a Brit. So, Garber made it clear that the status quo will remain — and that roster equality will not become reality in MLS.
Canadians need to applaud Akindele for his rookie-of-the-year award 24 Nov 2014 Since he has only turned down a Canadian national team invite — and has yet to turn down the Canadian program entirely, it’s OK to applaud Tesho Akindele’s major MLS award win as a victory for soccer in this country.
Dear MLS, please kill the No. 4 vs No. 5 playoff game dead 30 Oct 2014 And, if Major League Soccer cared about the integrity of its playoff system, it would do the world a favour and jettison the No. 4 vs. No. 5 conference playoff games.
How Leiweke’s successor can deal with TFC’s culture of failure 13 Oct 2014 The Defoe/Gilberto/Michael Bradley Designated-Player push was Toronto FC’s final chance to convince the season-ticket base that things had changed. So, no matter what TFC does this off-season, the theme song for fans will be the Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”