« June 2008 | Main | August 2008 »
Good evening folks. Tonight is the night the Houston Dynamo takes on Pachuca in the SuperLiga semifinals. Can the Dynamo finally beat their rivals from Mexico? Will Miguel Calero work his magic yet again?
If you will be watching tonight's match (10pm, Telefutura), please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below. I will try to do some running commentary on the match but can't promise it yet.
Enjoy the match.
Photo by ISIphotos.com
FC Dallas general manager Michael Hitchcock has confirmed SBI's report from earlier today that the club has decided to turn down all offers for all-star forward Kenny Cooper.
"We received offers from multiple international clubs for Kenny Cooper during this transfer window, but we elected to decline them all," Hitchcock said in a written statement released by FC Dallas. "The international interest is a credit to Kenny, FC Dallas and the ever increasing talent level in Major League Soccer.
"Winning championships is our priority, and we feel strongly that Kenny will continue to be an important part of our success as we compete for the MLS Cup this year and in the future."
Now that it is official, what do you think? Share your thoughts below.
What does a match between two last place teams look like? It looks like what we saw on Sunday in San Jose. The Earthquakes dominated play but couldn't finish while the Red Bulls looked absolutely awful in a 4-5-1 that set attacking soccer back about 10 years.
The performance would have been consider promising for San Jose if not for the huge mountain still to climb in the West standings. Playing well is all fine and dandy but every game San Jose failes to record three points is another shovel on the coffin of the Earthquakes' 2008 season.
The Red Bulls are still very much alive in the East, if by pure math only. The Red Bulls just had no attack as the absence of Dane Richards left Juan Pablo Angel begging for some offensive support. None came though, well unless you count Eric Denton's header own goal.
SBI correspondents Andrew Keh and Kevin Matthiessen took in the action and shared their thoughts with us.
Continue reading "Earthquakes 1, Red Bulls 1: A Supporter's View" »
Photo by ISIphotos.com
Long-time New England Revolution forward Pat Noonan has reached an agreement on a new contract with Major League Soccer in a deal expected to be finalized in the coming days, a source with knowledge of the deal told SBI on Tuesday.
Just which MLS team Noonan will play for remains to be seen.
New England holds Noonan's rights but several teams have expressed interest in the striker. The San Jose Earthquakes and Columbus Crew are the leading candidates though the Revs could choose to keep Noonan.
Photo by ISIphotos.com
After spending weeks clearly playing in pain, Red Bulls forward Oscar Echeverry's season is over.
The Colombian striker will have season-ending knee surgery, the team announced on Monday. Echeverry will go on season-ending injured reserve, which will create another available roster spot for the Red Bulls (the Red Bulls also announced the signing of Mexican defender Diego Jimenez).
Continue reading "Red Bulls' Echeverry out for the season (Jimenez signs)" »
Just when you thought the Kenny Cooper to Europe saga was coming to a close, now there is word out of Dallas that FC Dallas is set to keep Cooper and have rejected a $4 million offer from Cardiff City and $3 million offer from Rosenborg.
According to sources with knowledge of the discussions, FC Dallas ownership has decided to hold on to Cooper with the hopes of not only helping FC Dallas make a playoff push, but also with the hope being that he continues his torrid pace and draws an even bigger transfer offer this winter.
Photo by ISIphotos.com
Jozy Altidore left. So did Brad Guzan. Juan Toja could be leaving soon too, as could Kenny Cooper.
As the list of MLS players set to make moves to Europe continues to grow, one name not on that list is Taylor Twellman, the New England Revolution striker who had his bid for a multi-million dollar move to Preston North End rejected last winter.
Preston North End is still interested in Twellman, and sources tell me the English club would be willing to at the very least match the $3 million offer it made in the winter for Twellman. No offer is going to be made though as long as it looks like the Revs and MLS won't realistically consider a bid.
When New England turned down the offer for Twellman in the winter it was easy to understand. Twellman had been the focal point of the Revs offense for years, so replacing him seemed impossible. The only problem is New England has essentially done just that this season, posting the best record in MLS despite the fact that Twellman has played just three games this season (and started none) due to an assortment of injuries.
So the question is a simple one. Should New England let Twellman go and sell him to Preston?
Continue reading "Should New England sell Taylor Twellman?" »
The game that seemed like it would never be played finally was played last Wednesday and the result left you wondering whether D.C. United got tired of waiting.
Houston man-handled D.C., 2-0, at RFK Stadium in a game that had been postponed twice and was delayed for hours on the night it was finally completed. It proved to be worth the way for the Dynamo. For D.C. United? Not so much.
Houston's form in SuperLiga coupled with Wednesday's win has the champions thinking three-peat while D.C. is trying to figure out what happened to the killer form it rode up the Eastern Conference standings in recent weeks.
SBI correspondents Alex Swaim and Joel Sanderson took in the action and gave us their takes on the match:
Continue reading "Dynamo 2, D.C. United 0: A Supporter's View" »
Good morning all. The transfer and trade activity both in Europe and MLS is starting to pick up plenty of steam, giving us plenty to discuss. Let's get the day started with some of the deals of the past 24 hours.
FC Dallas deals Alvarez
Remember when FC Dallas started the season singing the praises of the attacking trio of Kenny Cooper, Juan Toja and Arturo Alvarez? Well, all three could be gone by the end of this week after the Hoops traded Alvarez to San Jose for an allocation and a first round draft pick in 2009.
Good evening folks. Toronto FC will take it's league-worst road record to Rice-Eccles Stadium to face a Real Salt Lake squad that is unbeaten at home this year (5-0-5).
Chad Barrett won't be in uniform for tonight's match so Toronto FC will have to count on usual suspects Amado Guevara and Rohan Ricketts to try and spark an offense that has been awful in recent weeks. It won't be easy against an RSL defense that is second in the league in goals allowed.
If you will be watching the match tonight please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.
Enjoy the match.
Photo by ISIphotos.com
(No, there are no updates on Kenny Cooper's transfer decision. It appears will be waiting at least one more day, if not longer for a final conclusion. If you are wondering what is taking so long, you may not realize everything involved in this big decision. With that in mind, consider the following:)
You are Kenny Cooper, a 23-year-old American striker with two transfer bids to consider. What do you do?
Yes, it may sound a bit like a bad impression of Dennis Hopper in Speed but the question is a good one. If you are Cooper do you go with the bid from Norwegian power Rosenborg or English First Division club Cardiff City? It is the question Cooper is in the midst of trying to answer as two European clubs and one league wait with baited breath to see if the big kid from Texas will stay or go.
Continue reading "What would you do if you were Kenny Cooper?" »
The dream reunion of Frank Lampard and ex-Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho just wasn't destined to be as Inter have ended their interest in Lampard after completing the purchase of Sulley Muntari. The on-again, off-again courtship of the England international has finally been put to rest as it appears that Lampard will stay at Stamford Bridge with no other legitimate suitor having come to the forefront.
In Lampard's stead Ghana international Sulley Muntari is heading back to Serie A, supposedly as Inter Milan's last major signing of the offseason. The 23-year-old moved from Udinese last summer for a cost of roughly $14 million, and Harry Redknapp found a good return on his investment with the fee believed to be a hefty $25 million. Despite the funds raised, it is a tiny bit surprising Portsmouth were willing to sell one of their difference-makers with a UEFA Cup run on the horizon.
So much for not having funds to throw around.
Today, Liverpool completed the £20.3 million ($40.5 million) transfer of Republic of Ireland captain Robbie Keane. The 28-year-old is Tottenham's first significant sale of the summer after the North London club splashed money on Luka Modric, Giovani Dos Santos and Heurelho Gomes.
Tottenham appears bitter over the sale of Keane, although they did drop the complaint they lodged over Liverpool's conduct in the transaction.
Continue reading "A closer look at the Robbie Keane transfer" »
Photo by ISIphotos.com
Just imagine it. A forward tandem of Fernando Torres and Robbie Keane. It's pretty scary, isn't it?
Liverpool fans are surely drooling at the news that Liverpool has signed Keane in a $40 million transfer from Tottenham.
What was that about Liverpool bargain shopping?
Apparently there was some money laying around at Anfield for Liverpool to make a quality off-season signing and it comes in the form of Keane, whose skill and finishing ability will be a welcome improvement on the Dirk Kuyt experiment.
What do you think about Keane moving to Liverpool? Are the Reds serious title contenders now? Will Rafa Benitez still find a way to squander points and ruin Liverpool's chances at a league title? Share your thoughts below.
Photo by ISIphotos.com
Those of you wondering just when the Chicago Fire-Toronto FC deal is going to be completed may not be waiting much longer.
Sources have told SBI that Chad Barrett is in Salt Lake City today with Toronto FC, which faces Real Salt Lake tonight (9pm). I haven't received confirmation that Barrett has been cleared to play, but Barrett is with TFC today and could be in uniform for tonight's match if the final details of the Toronto-Chicago trade can be hammered out before kickoff tonight.
Continue reading "Chad Barrett is in Salt Lake for tonight's Toronto-Real Salt Lake match" »
