Talking is fun.

Wednesday was MLS night, so the free for all (or JD Lounge as someone dubbed it) is happening on a Thursday. Join me as I fumble with Skype, talk about soccer, and play music not everyone likes. Start time moved back a half hour to 9 ET.


9 PM ET
Skype: americansoccershow
Twitter: MFUSA

In the continual saga of American Soccer's inferiority complex, comparing attendance sizes with other sports is our equivalent of whipping it out on the playground to see who's got the biggest one. Discarding that metaphor before it gets weird, at the top end of the asses-in-seats table, teams like Seattle, Philadelphia, Toronto, and Los Angeles are tickling Major League Baseball numbers. Around the rest of the league, most teams put up numbers that wouldn't be out of place in the NBA or NHL. Sure, there are always some laggards, but for the most part, Major League Soccer has done pretty well in justifying the "major" part of its name.


Then we get turnouts like last night's debacle in New England. The Revolution drew a paltry 5,990 people to Gillette Stadium, where they were hosed 4-0 by Chivas USA. That's closer to Major League Lacrosse than Major League Baseball. For all the good signs we've seen, and all the huge steps our sport has taken in the past two decades, an attendance figure like that paints an alarming picture of continued fragility for one of the league's original clubs.


The Revolution's problems are myriad. Foremost, perhaps, is the fact that Gillette Stadium is terrible for this level of soccer. Even a good crowd of fifteen or sixteen thousand gets swallowed up in a vast sea of empty seats. It's also notoriously difficult to get to. Thirty miles of claustrophobic highway separate the stadium from Boston, and in fact, it's closer to Providence, Rhode Island, than it is to downtown Boston. To make matters worse, there isn't a normal public transit stop within miles of the stadium. The special train that runs for NFL games isn't used for MLS matches.


Then there's the product on the field. In the past, Steve Nicol has done admirably with limited resources, taking the Revs to four MLS Cup finals, two US Open Cup finals (winning one), winning the 2008 SuperLiga, and finishing as MLS Supporters' Shield runner-up in 2005, but the ultimate prize, an MLS Cup title, has eluded them. This season, they've managed just two wins in their first seven matches, overcoming only a poor Toronto FC side and a DC United squad in the middle of its worst ever start to a season.


Additionally, there are few big names on this Revolution roster with the clout to bring out the unwashed masses. Of the club's two most marketable names, Revolution legend and all-time leading scorer Taylor Twellman is battling career-threatening injury, while captain Shalrie Joseph is on indefinite leave of absence while he is seeking treatment for substance abuse.


The lack of star players is just another accusation leveled at the Revolution's owners, Kraft Sports Group, by concerned and fed-up Revs fans. Some of the supports feel like KSG is using them to add a few extra zeros at the end of a balance sheet for a facility they've already paid for. They also contend that the Front office has done a poor job of marketing the team, and too often has made questionable personnel decisions. In recent seasons, talented young players like Clint Dempsey, Michael Parkhurst, and Jeff Larentowicz have left the club, and although of those three, only Larentowicz was traded, the fans are disappointed that issues of quality and long-term development haven't been addressed.


Now, the sub six-thousand attendance is more of an aberration than a rule, but it highlights the problems New England is facing. Boston is an important market for MLS, and solutions must be sought. The vast majority of the public would like to see a smaller facility close to the heart of the city; Harvard Stadium has been mooted as a potential option, while another proposal would see a stadium built in the much closer suburb of Somerville.


Whatever happens, the most important thing is that something does happen. MLS has grown beyond what the Revolution management are currently able of accomplishing, and stagnating in the current situation will have detrimental impact on the league's development and credibility.

by John Carlton


In terms of quality of play, one aspect of Major League Soccer that has certainly evolved and improved over the years is raw speed. These days, a typical observation made by international players who sign for MLS teams is that the speed of play in the league and among individual players is very fast. What speed existed in the past was often misused by managers who used their speedy forwards to play a dump-and-chase strategy. While that strategy still exists, the speed is now all over the field, with several teams bringing the speed from the wings. Today, MLS center backs need to be athletic and possess good recovery speed, ideally with the ability to turn their hips like NFL cornerbacks.


So who are the fastest players in Major League Soccer? That's the question I put to front office personnel and trainers around the league. Some answered readily, a few were reticent, and a handful cited the league's single-entity structure as a good reason to not openly evaluate guys who might one day be traded or, may be acquired via trade. For the most part, the answers provided a solid consensus among MLS front office folks which players are the league's speed merchants.


Up in New England, the staff is quite comfortable with their team's speed. Said one member of the front office, "Kevin Alston and Sainey Nyassi are not only the two fastest players on the Revs, but probably the fastest in all of MLS." The blazing speed of Nyassi is part of a recent trend in MLS: pacy, mercurial forwards of African lineage poised to become stars if and when they compliment their physical ability with technical prowess and consistently good decision-making.



Kansas City Wizards PR Director Dave Borchardt readily came up with two names synonymous with speed, Michael Harrington and Ryan Smith. Harrington in particular displays tremendous recovery speed at full back and gets up and down the line with alacrity.



Out in the thin air of the Rocky Mountains, the Colorado Rapids have continued to add speed to their roster, most recently the ultra-swift defender, Marvell Wynne. Is Wynne the most rapid Rapid? Colorado's Media Director Jason Gilham sees it this way: "If you went around the locker room and asked all the players, coaches and even fans, their answers would probably split right down the middle between Omar Cummings and Marvell Wynne." Interesting. To my eye, Wynne is the faster straight-line runner, but Cummings certainly runs fluidly and has deceptive speed.



Chivas USA, on the other hand, has no such controversy. "Maykel Galindo is accepted as the fastest guy on our team when he turns on the burners," says Dave Lindholm. Then, almost as an afterthought he adds, "Bornstein has wheels, too."



Dan Barlow, Real Salt Lake's Strength and Conditioning Coach, offered some metrics. According to Barlow, RSL's two fastest players are Robbie Findley and Jamison Olave. Both were timed running 40-yard dashes in the 4.50 range during spring training. I expressed surprise at Olave's speed. John Koluder of RSL's front office countered with this tidbit: "(Olave's) incredibly fast when he wants to be. Our analyst Brian Dunseth interestingly pointed out that you can actually see him find another gear, as he'll do a kind of 'turtle head' movement, sticking his head out before hitting his burst of speed to beat an attacker...quite entertaining to watch. He's one of the top five athletes in our league, hands down."



Down in Texas, where games played in the searing heat of summer calls more for stamina than for speed, there are several very fast players to choose from. At FC Dallas, you have Jeff Cunningham. Te Jamaican-born Cunningham shares his country of origin with current fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt. In Jamaica, competitive running is a national past-time, and is seen as an inexpensive ticket out of poverty. Cunningham's life trajectory was a little different, moving to Florida at the age of fourteen, but it's hard not to see Jamaica's culture of sprinters influencing Cunningham on some level.

Another speedster for FC Dallas is Honduran international Marvin Chavez. Chavez is so fast he is nicknamed "El hijo del viento", or, "Son of the Wind". Chavez has battled injuries in 2010, but is poised to return to the lineup and blow past defenders from either the flank or in an attacking midfield role.



In Houston, there is no question that Dominic Oduro is the fastest player for the Dynamo. Despite his oft-criticized problems with finishing chances, Oduro has made a career in MLS by dint of his sheer sprinter speed. Long, powerful strides take Oduro behind defenders with alarming regularity, even as his touch on the ball continues to improve. Colorado Rapids defender Drew Moor, when he was teammates with Oduro at FC Dallas, related an anecdote about the Ghanaian-born striker. "He asked me if I knew how he got so fast," remembered Moor. "I said I didn't know. He said 'growing up in my country, we had to run from lions'."

In spring 2008, FC Dallas went to the Michael Johnson Performance Center in McKinney, Texas, for speed training. Johnson, an Olympic gold-medal sprinter and current World Record holder in the 400 meter, talks technique with Oduro and critiques the way Oduro uses his arms when running:



Obviously in Los Angeles, you have Landon Donovan. Donovan's speed and stamina are as much a result of hard work and intensive training as they are a product of his physical gifts. On more than one occasion, Donovan has discussed his Kenya theory. "The Kenya runners who always win marathons never jog," he told Outside Magazine in 2006. "They always run at ninety per cent of capacity, teaching their heart and body to endure."



Steve Zakuani plays on the left wing for Seattle Sounders FC, using his speed to sprint toward the byline, or cut inside and race toward the box. He's as tough as any winger in the league to defend, but he could just as easily be terrorizing defenses in a more forward position. "He's almost more dangerous sometimes to run off the ball and get into space," said Freddie Ljungberg, acknowledging the danger presented by Zakuani's raw speed.



Part of the New York Red Bulls early success in 2010 can be attributed to Dane Richards, the diminutive Jamaican-born winger with bags of pace. At only 5'5", Richards routinely torches defenders down the wings. Richards impact as a rookie in 2008 may have spurred Technical Directors and scouts across the league to emphasize looking for pure speed to add to their rosters.



There are many speed merchants making an impact around the league. Patrick Nyarko in Chicago, Boyzzz Khumalo in D.C., Corey Ashe in Houston, Sean Franklin in Los Angeles, Ryan Johnson in San Jose (another Jamaican), and Danny Mwanga in Philadelphia. The influx of speed into the league has created a kind of arms race. As teams stockpile raw speed, they're hoping to train the speedsters into technically sound players whose pace is but one weapon in their arsenal. If the trend continues, Major League Soccer will build a lasting reputation as a "fast league", and that can only help raise its profile further in the coming years.

We're on the verge of a flurry of USMNT activity as the real preparations for the World Cup begin.


It seems the perfect time for me to take a short break.


If you're a regular here, you might have noticed that there was no new content yesterday. That wasn't necessarily a planned thing, I just didn't find myself with the itch to get something out, nor did inspiration strike me. I've decided that I'm going to turn that natural break into a more calculated one, and wanted to let everyone know that while there may be nothing from me (this does not preclude our other writers from posting, by the way) in the next few days, I will be back in short order. Probably no more than a few days.


There's also a chance I'll do the UStream get together tonight, so it's worth stopping by later to check on the status of that.


Talk at ya later.

Your fearless P-League host is lower-middle of the pack, so it's time for a different approach. Lady Archtype will be guest picking for me this week. Nothing can go wrong with that, can it?

D.C. United - 1
Kansas City Wizards - 3

New England Revolution - 1
Chivas USA - 2

Houston Dynamo - 2
FC Dallas - 3

Colorado Rapids - 1
Los Angeles Galaxy - 2

Seattle Sounders FC - 3
Los Angeles Galaxy - 3

Toronto FC - 2
Chicago Fire - 2

Real Salt Lake - 4
Philadelphia Union - 1

Columbus Crew - 2
New England Revolution - 0

FC Dallas - 2
D.C. United - 1

San Jose Earthquakes - 2
New York Red Bulls - 2

Chivas USA - 2
Houston Dynamo - 1

Swept up by my entirely-too-cluttered newsreader yesterday was a blog post out of Australia entitled "A-League has much to learn from football in America". Much of my daily news consumption outside of the usual suspect sites is dependent on my reader finding off-the-beaten-path or American soccer-related items from places I would not normally visit. This post was a perfect example, and the titled intrigued me; as the writer points out, the A-League and MLS have much in common on the surface, and it's always interesting when observers of our "contemporary" league cast their eye to the US.


Much of it is what the title led me to expect; mentions of areas where MLS is stronger than the A-League, what Australian soccer can learn from the US efforts, etc. But the real gem of the post, the bit that caught my eye and the interest of some who read the piece when I tweeted the link, was in regards to the United States National Team, the amount of support it receives here, and how Mexico fills stadiums from coast to coast. Why, the writer wondered, don't the powers-that-be in American soccer do something to change the situation?


The writer, Davidde Corran, says he heard directly from people inside MLS/SUM headquarters that the plan is to wait for the next generation of Mexican and Central Americans to come through; at that point, they expect many of these children of immigrants to be USA fans even if they still carry allegiance to the nation of their heritage.


In a supremely practical way, I can understand the approach. The pure numbers of the situation, meaning those of Mexican and Central American descent living in the United States with the impetus to buy tickets to support their teams when they play here, make it a difficult task for US Soccer. How would one go about turning fans of those teams into US supporters, and is that even justifiable from a sport-morality standpoint?


There is, naturally, a club/country split; while MLS works to convert fans of Mexican clubs into fans of American ones, the job of converting fans of national teams is often much stickier. Fans of Club America will rarely have to choose between the Eagles and say, the LA Galaxy if they decide to support the latter. Not true in international competition, where deep-rooted rivalry with the US might keep even the children of immigrants from accepting the USMNT as their own.


It literally pains me every time I see the US playing on American soil in front of a crowd that is seventy, eighty, or ninety percent behind the visitors. But you can't force people to become USA fans, at least not without a comprehensive re-education program ala the Ministry of Love; not something we'll be seeing, I don't think.


So wait. Throw out a little "propaganda" from time to time, build the ranks of USA fans from the portions of the population that don't have Latin American ties, and do the more important work of improving the team itself. If the US every wins anything, or progress deep into the World Cup tournament, they'll gain more fans then they likely ever could from any identifiable action or program run by US Soccer/SUM/MLS/whomever.


The attitude isn't one of acceptance, necessarily, it's simply a practical appreciation of what is and is not possible within the current American soccer environment.

Despite all the progress made, the stories of small steps and large improvements, there's still a very real chance that Charlie Davies won't be sufficiently healthy enough to play in the World Cup next month.


But until you hear that Charlie's comeback has come up short from US Soccer or Charlie himself, don't believe anything you read.


That's today's lesson, painfully taught by a short with an inflammatory headline. The story appeared at FIFA.com (which also posted what Jozy Altidore says was a faked interview) and is the work of AFP (a French news agency).


A story today also appeared on the website of French sports daily L'Equipe, though that particular item does not say Davies has been "ruled out" of the World Cup. It merely states (I think; the French is rusty) that Charlie's progress is a little bumpy. Even if that represents a "setback" (which is arguable), it's not completely unexpected. Davies was never going to go through this struggle without any complicating developments.


So is this a calculated move on the part of Sochaux to send a message to Bradley and US Soccer that they'd prefer their investment not be risked too soon? Perhaps, but the club is refuting the L'Equipe report according to the Shin Guardian, leaving open the question of just who the unnamed sources might be. US Soccer has also denied the report according to Grant Wahl on Twitter, so this telephone game of a story appears to have absolutely no legs.


I would expect Charlie himself to respond via Twitter at any moment, which will put this whole thing to rest once and for all.


Who knows how these things start. Just remember to view every new story with a skeptical eye.


It's a good thing we won't have to wait much longer until the 30-man roster is named, the camp roster is announced, and we have confirmation either way that Davies as least has a shot at the World Cup team.

Congratulations to B-Mac on a big 30 points this week. That is the single biggest one-week haul so far. There are 4 games on Wednesday night, and a total of 11 games this week, so I'll be back later today with the Week Seven Predictions League page.

B-Mac 57
Ben Aranda 51
Jason Davis 43
Jason Kuenle 43
Alex Will 34
Julius 31
Matt (NES) 31
thedoe 29
Wes Mills 28
mrburito2 26
Ross Hopper 26
John Carlton 22
CVO 21
WV Hooligan 18
amerisnob 16
patrickmkennedy 15
Martek 10
hazemeyer 10
Ted Meyer 6
J6pini 5
crocken 4

Another big week to cover via podcast, and it's an on-remote Ginge and I to do so. MLS, Dempsey and Fulham, USA jerseys, American Outlaws president Korey Donahoo, Bradley on Davies, 30-man roster, and Ginge on Wynalda. Packed. Visit the AmSoc site to check it out.

You can also download it, subscribe in iTunes (and leave a rating and review, please), or get the regular old RSS feed.

Via Twitter, Jason Gatties (do yourself a favor and follow him) wondered if there was one place to find the important dates for the US National Team leading up to the World Cup; since I was unable to find one, here's a quick reference of notable dates.


May 11

-30 man preliminary roster due to FIFA. This is the player pool from which Bob Bradly can name his final 23-man roster for South Africa


May 15

-Players begin to arrive for pre-World Cup camp, taking place at Princeton in New Jersey. Bradley is on record saying that "26 to 28 guys" will be called into camp.


May 17

-Camp officially begins with first training session.


May 25

-First of the send off friendlies, against the Czech Republic at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, CT.


May 29

-Friendly against Turkey at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.


June 1

-Final World Cup roster of 23 is due to FIFA.


June 5

-Final World Cup tuneup against Australia in Roodepoort, South Africa.


Google Calendar with dates and info-



This is a quickly done reference, so if you find mistakes or missing details, let me know.

Despite the amount of time that has passed, there remains a Giuseppe Rossi-sized wound in the psyche of American soccer fans. The New Jersey-born Rossi, son of Italian immigrants and an immense talent by every American standard, chose to play for the country of his heritage rather than the nation of his birth.


For Rossi, the decision likely had as much to do with self-identification as it did with soccer pedigree. Italy are multiple world champions, a historical powerhouse, and playing for the national team is an honor of almost mythical soccer proportions; so if Rossi thought of himself as Italian, was good enough to have a shot at glory with Italy, and chose the prestige of the Azurri over the new relevance of the Yanks, who are we to blame him?


Yet some still have, and Rossi has been labelled a "traitor" by American soccer fans who let passion blind their appreciation of the young striker's choice. Hate the situation, not the player; the day will come, and has in lesser profile cases, where the United States will secure the services of young stars facing the same decision. Until then, the rightful direction for disdain is coaches and administrators who fail in their jobs (a la Neven Subotic), not players who are well within their rights to follow a non-American path.


For those that still despise Rossi for "turning his back" on the US National Team, perhaps the news that he failed to make Italy pre-World Cup squad released on the weekend seems like a bit of karmic retribution. It's not a binding list, and Rossi could still very well be in the final World Cup roster for Italy; but that's not a slam dunk by any means, and the Azurri tends to lean heavily on domestically-based stars. Rossi, of course, plays his club soccer in Spain.


Whether Rossi does or does not end up in South Africa, the point remains that his decision to play for Italy is beyond reproach. If you found yourself chuckling with the news that a roster omitted him, or hoped that it meant he wouldn't be in South Africa, you should be ashamed. Focus your energy on cheering for the men that do play for the United States rather than hating on those that chose not to.


If you're not guilty of any of that, forget I said anything. Let's just move on...