The Opener - Philly Union suck balls that are smooth as eggs

"So it begins, the great battle of our time."
              Gandalf - Return of the King

So here we are. Match 1 of Season 2 of SSFC. And our opponent is almost a complete unknown. Who knows what the hell to expect from Philly. A glance at their roster (and reading what others are saying) suggests that Philly will be a hard-working, defensive minded squad. If you're starting guys like Le Toux, I have to believe that's the truth. There are no real scary attacking players on their roster, just a bunch of annoying pests and guys who are really too inconsistent to be much of a legitimate scoring threat.

Which leaves me with only one option - to write an entire post about what I hope to see from the game. To start with, ball control. We struggled with it at times last year. The roster hasn't turned over, and the guys should be better able to link up and play as a team. I want to see us dominate possession against the Union, who are likely to pack it in and hope for a counter attack goal.

I also want to see us score the chances we get. If Montero gets a wide open look in the opening 20 minutes and blows it, I think you're going to hear a lot of moans and groans from the crowd, who will feel like we're picking things up right where they left off last year. If we can get an early goal, then the crowd will go nuts, and I think the Union will have to come out of their shell, making for a much more entertaining game. My guess is we create a few good chances in the opening 20 - I want to see one go in.

Additionally, I do not want to see the defensive flukes that plagued us at times last year. They always seemed to involve Tyrone Marshall. Whether it's whiffing on a clearance, or clearing a ball off a teammate, or not expecting a crazy bounce, SSFC defenders need to make sure that Philly gets no cheap and easy goals. If we can make them earn their goals, I think we handle them easily.

My prediction for the game:
      4-0 Sounders

Make it happen boys.

Crisis Averted- Now it's up to the fans

MLS owners and the players union finally came to terms yesterday, signing a new 5 year collective bargaining agreement. Sounders will kick off this Thursday against Philadelphia at 630pm.

So here is a brief recap of what they were arguing about. Players were looking for a higher league minimum wage, a greater ability to switch from club to club, and guaranteed contracts. Ownership wanted to maintain control over player movement, length of contracts, and a lower overall salary cap.

MLS players wanted the same rights players receive abroad, while the owners (who have lost millions since MLS inception) wanted to be more conservative. Toronto FC and SOUNDERS FC are the only two profitable teams in MLS.

But why were the players and owners put in this position? It all comes down to certain markets not giving their club enough support. I have proposed on various soccer blogs that if a club can not average 15,000 fans this year then they should be relocated.

COLUMBUS CREW- 14,175 might sound pretty close to the mark, but keep in mind they were the returning MLS Champions from 2008. Not good enough.

COLORADO RAPIDS- 13,018. They had a competitive team, a soccer specific stadium (SSS), and are in a major metro area.

NEW YORK RED BULLS- 12,744. Pretty sad for the second biggest market in America. The good news here is they are opening a new SSS this season, which should significantly increase their numbers.

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION- 12,427 fans a game. Absolutely terrible. Boston is a great sports town, and a lot of fans attend US National Team games. They will never get a SSS until they can boost their fan base.

SAN JOSE- 10,329, yuk. They have been relocated once before (Houston Dynamo), and I would hate to see this team go again. But the truth is, they are holding the league back.

KANSAS CITY WIZARDS- 10,053 fans a game. This one I understand, the only people who cheer for wizards don't have an athletic bone in their body. THey are a money pit to begin with, but allowing them to build a SSS only makes it worse. Give them one more year and relocate them to Montreal.

FC DALLAS- 9,883. This only fuels my hatred for all things Texas (sorry Andy). Dallas has a major metro area, a SSS, a local rivalry, a large latino market, and a team that was one game away from making the playoffs.

CONGRATS to our SOUNDERS averaging 31,203. LA GALAXY with 20,827. TORONTO FC with 20,344.

So what do you think? Is 15,000 fans for each team realistic? Would a different city be more deserving?

Sounders sign Blaise N'Kufo

"Johnny Inkslinger found a dog lying in the street dead
He was shot with a BB gun
He was BB'ed to death
Good news
Good news
Good news
Good news is rock 'n' roll"


             Wesley Willis - Good News is Rock & Roll
      (Pictured at Right - If that's N'Kufo we're all screwed)


I do not believe Wesley Willis knew it at the time, but when he penned these auspicious words several years ago, he was portending the ultimate destruction of MLS by SSFC in 2010.  I only wish I could find the words to effectively convey the magnitude of the signing of Swiss National Team target man Blaise N'Kufo.


Before we move on, let's be clear. It's spelled "N K U F O." Not Nfuko. I've seen that mistake all over the place, and quite frankly I'm tired of lazy journalists taking stabs at the proper spelling of the man's name. If there's one thing a journalist should get right, it's the spelling of a person's name. So I checked it on Wikipedia, and of course, they say his name is spelled differently. What the hell do I know. Who really cares, we all know who we're talking about here. Moving on...


I love this move. People will criticize it because they don't know much about this guy, or because he's old (34). But when you look at what he does well (or I should say when you read about what he does well, because, let's be honest, none of us have ever seen him play), this move makes a lot of sense for Seattle. N'Kufo is a target man. He's 6'2 and strong. He wins headers, he maintains possession, and he scores goals. To me, that sounds like a lot of the stuff we wanted Fredy Montero to do last year. And some of it he did do. He just wasn't very consistent about it. Which is fine, he's 21 years old. We can't expect Montero to be Pele yet. Which is why N'Kufo's size and consistency will make a tremendous impact. The man scored consistently for the last five years in Holland. If he can finish half the chances that Montero wasted last year, he'll end the season with 10 goals.

N'Kufo won't be amazing us with his speed or incredible technical ability. Honestly, I'm fine with that. In MLS, technical ability gets you fouled repeatedly, and it all amounts to nothing more than a lot of bruises unless there's somebody on your team that can take advantage of your skills. And now SSFC has that. Now, when Freddie Ljungberg cuts through the defense with a great pass, or when he creates some space with the ball at his feet and creates a scoring opportunity in the box, N'Kufo AND Montero will be there to finish it. I think we're going to see a marked increase in the number of goals SSFC scores once N'Kufo joins the team in July. Let's just hope they are well position by that point in the season to take advantage of N'Kufo's skills.


And one last thing. With the rumors that Thierry Henry is coming to the league this year after the World Cup (mostly unsubstantiated, but I would not be surprised to see it happen), SSFC had a legitimate risk of losing one of their grumpiest, drunkest, and least rational fans. Our friend Dan would have no choice but to become a fan of whatever team Henry joined, since he's had an uncontrollable crush on the man for some time. Now, with a guy like N'Kufo, Dan should be able to easily transfer his crush to a SSFC player, and thereby guarantee that his allegiance does not stray.


In October of 2010, when SSFC is 8 points clear of the 2nd place team in the Western Conference, we'll look back on this signing and praise the all-knowing SSFC front office. Until then, somebody start emailing Dan pictures of this guy.

Away Games Worth Attending

I just read Grant Wahl's CNN.SI piece on the new Red Bull Stadium in New York. You can find that here. I read the article and it's forcing me to seriously consider if I decide to head out east to watch the Sounders play this year.

One of my biggest regrets about last year was that I did not attend a road game. Perhaps it was for the best as Seattle tended to perform poorly on the road. However, MLS has a number of soccer specific stadiums (SSS, for the uninitiated) that would be fun to see. I'm thinking mostly of The Home Depot Center, where LA and Chivas play. With Scott and Sam and a few other friends living in the LA area, I figured that the trip to SoCal would have been a fun one. But as you can see from the picture, there isn't really anything around the Home Depot Center. It's not located in a major downtown area and it's not near any bars. There appears to be ample room for tailgating, so I can't complain much. But I would like to have the option of hitting up a few bars after the game, especially if Sounders managed to win the game. So while the HDC is a great stadium for soccer, I think some of the peripherals may be lacking.

I've only been impressed by one other SSS and that's Toronto's BMO Field. Unfortunately, Sounders played Toronto in April last year, when I believe, accounting for wind chill, it was -262 degrees during the game. Toronto's stadium and atmosphere seem incredible, and the stadium is located in the downtown area. Toronto is on the map. Throw in the fact that I've never been there, and it's supposedly the home of the best nightlife in Canada - oh, and that we should beat them easily - and I think a trip up north may be in the cards in the coming seasons. I suppose I'll just have to wait and look at the schedules and see when we play at BMO Field during the summer. We play them on April 25th, so I don't think I'll be making the trip this year.

Which leads me to the linked article. Red Bull Arena may have gone to the top of my list for away games. The article does a great job of explaining things, but I'll summarize. It's a grass field, in a part of town with several bars and restaurants, and is (taking into consideration that it's NY) pretty accessible via mass transit. I know people in NY, but I don't think any of them live in the city, and I don't know that any of them want to put me up for three days while I'm in town. The game is May 15th, so perhaps the weather will be nice but not too humid. And unless NYRB makes an incredible turn-around this year after their nearly historic poor season (which is possible - I don't really know anything about their new coach or their new players), we should be able to go to NY and see a Sounders victory. I don't know if they'll fill the stadium with energetic and rabid supporters, but that will leave better seats for me to choose from. The stadium design sounds amazing and very un-MLS in that the club chose to optimize the stadium for soccer and not for other things (like concerts - many MLS SSS have stages at one end to improve their quality as a concert venue).

Hopefully I make some money this year, because the away game at NYRB is one I really want to see this year.

Everybody Hates Portland

Or at least they should. Our neighbor to the south is the meth capital of the US, and will always be our less successful older brother. Portland was an established US city before Seattle made a name for itself. But Portland rested on its early successes, and Seattle quickly passed it by in both economic and international significance.

So it should come as no surprise that our bitter neighbors to the south hate us. They hate us with a passion that can only be likened to an older brother who is forced to watch a younger sibling become bigger, stronger, faster, better looking, thinner, and more successful. The spite and bitterness generated in Portland could provide enough energy to power Wichita, if only somebody knew how to harness them. Somebody from Seattle will probably figure it out soon.

I think this sibling rivalry is going to play out very well in MLS. Seattle already looks down on Portland the way UW looks down on The University of Oregon (despite Oregon's recent dominance over UW, we UW fans remain well aware of Oregon's proper place in the world - underneath it). Already there were crowd issues at the Portland-Seattle US Open Cup match last year, with a Seattle supporter apparently being escorted out of the stadium (and apparently being hog-tied? Dan, Kelly, you were there, can you confirm that?). And we'll get an early chance to revisit this rivalry in early March, when Seattle hosts Portland in a Community Shield match with all proceeds going to charity.

So what can we expect from this game? I hear that the seating will be entirely GA, so a $10 ticket can buy you a front row seat if you get there early enough. But this also means (potentially) no enforced separation of Portland and Seattle fans. Could this lead to violence in the stands? Personally, I don't think so, but who knows. People may be very drunk by kick off, increasing the odds of violence quite a bit.

This all leads me to wonder - is Portland the better rival for Seattle? Should it be Vancouver? Personally, I think Portland is the better rival, mostly because I've learned to hate Oregon for it's ugly college football uniforms, stupid speed limits, and an unreasonable desire to declare itself the official capital of ____ in the US (Soccer Town USA, Microbrew Capital of the USA, you name it). Vancouver is way too concerned with breaking into people's cars to name itself much of anything. So that's my vote. Let's all join together and hate Portland. Who's with me?

The 2010 Schedule - Sort of In Depth Review

The schedule is out. I looked at it more closely.

First, I am overjoyed that most of the home games have start times in the late afternoon or evening. Only 4 of 15 home games start at 1pm or 12pm. The rest kick off at 4pm at the earliest. This means lots of time to tailgate. I don't have to get up at 7am to set up by 8am, in order to have food ready to eat by 10am, and time to consume the proper amount of alcohol. Assuming the weather cooperates, we are going to have a lot of fun, long, leisurely tailgates this summer. Love it.

Second, toss in the two week break in June to make space for the World Cup. Perfect. I don't have to split my allegiances or viewing time. I can do both. I love that MLS now takes a break, instead of the stupid approach they took before of playing right through the World Cup. Maybe the soccer specific stadiums have a lot to do with that, but I don't care. They have it right now, so I'm happy.

Third, I'm not sure how I feel about the gaps between home games. The biggest gap between home games is June 10th to July 11th (btw, SSFC plays on the Fourth of July this year, but it's away from home). That's a full month between home games. The only other break that approaches this is from September 9th to October 2nd. Those are long gaps, but I think they might be welcome respites from all the "supporting" I do during the summer.

Fourth, and this is related to Third, I love that the SSFC schedule is front-loaded for home games. The last 8 games of the year are played in September and October, and 5 of them are on the road. That means more games in the summer, when the weather is nice and tailgating/being at the stadium is much more pleasant.

Fifth, the schedule is balanced this year. Finally. That means we play everybody twice, home and away. I think this is helpful, although SSFC will still probably travel more than any other team in the league because of our location in the country.

2010 Schedule is Out

The biggest thing I like, just glancing, is that there are lots of home games that start in the evening. That means great tail gating during the summer.

Here's the link:
2010 SSFC MLS Schedule

Season 2 Getting Underway

Freddie Ljungberg reported to camp today. To me that means we can finally start talking about the 2010 MLS season.

Expectations 

Making the playoffs. That's what I feel I can EXPECT from this team. However, based on last year's performance, I think it's reasonable to believe that the Sounders can win a playoff series and maybe even advance to a conference final.

Additions and Subtractions 

Count me as one of the few Seattle fans that is happy to see Le Toux go. I don't think he really added anything to the table beyond hustle. Dogs hustle. Soccer players should be smarter than just chasing a ball around a park. Unfortunately, this is MLS, and it's hard to find serviceable replacements. David Estrada and some of the other draft picks may step in and contribute as much if not more than Le Toux did. But as of right now, the biggest improvement this team is going to see in 2010 will come from continuity and the increased familiarity that comes with it.

Off-Season Disappointments

To date, Seattle hasn't picked up any players of significance. I saw a rumor months ago that Seattle had signed a Moroccan player, but that hasn't come to pass. If I'm being an impatient fan, I want to see Seattle sign a central midfielder with some serious talent. Somebody who can play 360 degrees, hold and distribute the ball, and also be a strong tackler. That may be a lot to ask, but I think we can find somebody abroad that can be a playmaker. Somebody with the technical and tactical ability to make a big impact on the offense. That we haven't picked up anybody like this, or for that matter, anybody at all, is disappointing.

The pre-season lasts for a long time, nearly 7 weeks, so we still have a long way to go before the season starts. In that time, Seattle could easily sign one or two foreign players.

The Playoff Push

So Nate brought up the question of how many points Sounders need to reach the playoffs at the end of the year. That got me to wondering what the rest of the schedule looked like. I know we don't have a lot of home games left. So let's see what games are on tap, where, and see what our chances are of taking points.

But first, Nate's conclusion that we need 40 points to be guaranteed a playoff spot. Agreed. My only caveat is that it seems like the last team in always has 39 points (even in seasons where they played 32 games). So maybe if we stink it up going forward, we can sneak in with 39 points. That being said, I'll go along with you Nate and see whether I think 43 points is achievable.

Here are the seven games left on the schedule:

Toronto (H)

DC (A)

Chivas (H)

New England (A)

Columbus (A)

Kansas City (A)

Dallas (H)

Toronto at Home 8.29 - 3 points

Their form is off and they are terrible away from home. In all competitions they have only won twice since the beginning of July. We should have all our attacking options available and we are at home. If we can't win this game, we don't deserve to make the playoffs.

DC Away 9.12 - 3 points

Since winning at home against Colorado on July 18th, DC has struggled. STRUGGLED. They have a murderous stretch of games coming up. They play 8 games in the next 4 weeks, and their game against us will be their 4th game in 10 days. I'm going out on a limb here. We win this game. DC will be exhausted and some of their key guys will probably be hurt or missing due to fatigue. In that same span? Sounders play once, against DC, in DC, on the first of the ten days. If there's a better scenario for us to take all the points on the road, I don't know what it is.

Chivas at Home 9.19 - 3 points

Chivas has been getting absolutely DESTROYED since beating Seattle in early June. I mean TAKEN TO THE WOODSHED. That being said, most teams in the league (not Seattle, unfortunately) get back on winning streaks when they play NYRB, and Chivas did that two weeks ago. They are now on a two-match streak. But they play AWAY to RSL, then they play LA in the Clasico, and then across the country to New England. They could conceivably lose all three games. If they take three points in that stretch, I'll be surprised. If they come in having been spanked in that stretch, I think Sounders will continue the beating. We finally get Chivas at home with a chance to get them back for some crappy results at the HDC. We win this game.

New England Away 9.26 - 0 points

At this point in my (unexpectedly) super-optimistic predictions, Sounders fly as far as they ever have to in order to play an MLS match. The stupid Revs are 4-1-1 in their last 6, winning on the road twice in that stretch. They get San Jose and KC at home, and then Chivas and NY on the road. I think they'll come through that stretch with 3 wins and a tie, and I feel like I'm selling them short in suggesting that they might tie Chivas. No scheduling grind to speak of either, as all these games are spaced out pretty well. I think our streak ends here, and NE gets the points despite a good effort from Sounders.

Columbus Crew Away 10.3 - 1 point

Columbus has gone mad. They have 6 wins in their last six matches. 6. They are destroying people. Their schedule isn't that easy before this game, playing Houston, Chicago and LA in September. Couple that with a CONCACAF Champions League slate that includes going to Costa Rica, and the Crew are in for a rough patch in September. They play six tough matches before they play Seattle, and only have three days to recover for this match after hosting Saprissa (no slouches) on Sept. 29th. I think we catch them at a great time. Injuries and cards and fatigue all play a role here. Sounders have a full week to prepare and no such grind in the month prior. We should manage a road draw. Maybe even a win with some luck.

Kansas City Wizards Away 10.17 - 1 point

No scheduling advantage for either team as neither has more than a game a week in the month leading up. KC is TURRUBLE right now. They have lost 3 straight, including losses to FC Dallas and SJ. They play at Houston and at Chivas in the two weeks prior, so they might be riding a losing streak. I think this is a road game we can poach. But in true Seattle fashion, I think the field conditions and some poor finishing will doom us to a tie.

FC Dallas Home 10.24 - 3 points?

If we've collected 11 points in the prior 6 matches, does this match even matter? We may have already secured a playoff spot. It may affect playoff POSITION, or it may not. If it doesn't, we may play subs and who knows. If it does mean something... FC Dallas plays at SJ and gets the Rapids at home in the two weeks before this. The schedule doesn't betray either team. The question here is if Sounders can stop Jeff Cunningham. The guy went insane for awhile (scoring 4 against KC on 8.1), but hasn't done much in the past few games. FC Dallas just lost to NYRB, but that will be ancient history by the time this game takes place. There might even be snow on the ground. That being said, on talent alone Seattle should handle this game. If it matters? 3 points. If not, 1 point.

And Wow. Somehow I've managed to predict a super-optimistic 14 points from the remaining 7 games. Is this even remotely reasonable? I would, and do (see above...) argue that this is reasonable. I must keep in mind Sounders' penchant for picking up stupid red cards, which will probably show up again at some point and result in us losing points to somebody when we probably would have earned something from the match playing with 11. Also, we have a lot of guys with yellow card accumulation problems. Marshall is on 4, with 2 games before the reduction to 3. Ljungberg is on 4, with no reduction possible. At some point he's going to get a stupid yellow. Let's hope he chooses wisely.

All things considered though, I see a strong and optimistic end to the season, and a solid playoff position. 47 points should get us a solid spot in the top 4 or 5.

Playoff Picture

With the hope of winning the league title all but gone, it is time to look forward to the playoffs. A playoff birth is far from guaranteed, but with the ridiculous MLS format we are still in the running. Here's how it works...

The top two teams from both the East and West qualify automatically. After that, the next best six teams go through, no matter what conference they are in. Last year Red Bull New York played in the West, playing in the final against a second Eastern team, Columbus.

To increase the confusion, many teams have not played the same amount of games. Sounders are currently in 5th, but once everyone has played an equal 23 games we could fall as far as 8th. Here is a link to the table:

Current MLS Standings

If the playoffs started today, here is what it would look like..

1. Columbus
2. Chicago

1. Houston
2. LA Galaxy

5. Sounders
6. Chivas USA
7. Colorado
8. New England

So how many more points do we need to secure a playoff birth? Was a good result in Houston the beginning of a strong push for the post season?