***Official Soccer Discussion Thread*** (5 Viewers)

[Ted Lange as your Bartender]

Well we knew that both NY and RSL were going to make big changes and Ives is reporting they are about to kick off a busy off season. *RSL will send Fabian Espindola and Jamison Olave to NY in exchange for a significant amount of allocation money. *RSL will trade Will Johnson to Portland for allocation money. That allocation money, which should be pretty big is going to give RSL some flexibility to retool their team. I am hopeful that NY getting Olave may mean they are going to finally get rid of Marquez.

(no offense flop)

 

[NewlyRetired]

Well we knew that both NY and RSL were going to make big changes and Ives is reporting they are about to kick off a busy off season. *RSL will send Fabian Espindola and Jamison Olave to NY in exchange for a significant amount of allocation money. *RSL will trade Will Johnson to Portland for allocation money. That allocation money, which should be pretty big is going to give RSL some flexibility to retool their team. I am hopeful that NY getting Olave may mean they are going to finally get rid of Marquez.

(no offense flop)

Ted, assume this goes through, NY is going to be way over the top heavy at FW with Henry, Le Toux, Espindola and Cooper. They are going to have to move one of the 4 IMO.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Roman is pissed he did not get to do this first

Grant Wahl (@GrantWahl)

12/2/12, 7:40 PM

Chivas de Guadalajara just fired Johan Cruyff during the middle of the Mexican league final. Classic.

 

[NewlyRetired]

The current group of U17's is considered to be our best offensive youth team ever and they continue to show it. In their current tournament they have tied 4-4 with Brazil, and crushed Turkey 4-1. Rubio Rubin continues to impress. Rubio won US Soccer's Young Male Athlete Of the Year over his more heralded teammate Junior Flores.Rubin looks to be on fire, with 2 goals and 2 assists against Brazil, going the full 90, and picking up another goal and assist against Turkey after coming on as a 62nd minute sub.US has one game left against Portugal, who also tied Brazil in this tournament.

US lost last game of tournament 4-3 to Portugal. US scored 11 goals in the three games scored but gave up 9. Should be exiting to watch them in qualifying next year

 

[jonessed]

ASN has updated their top 100 American players rankings. Our favorite bald cartoon character is the #1 ranked player. http://americansoccernow.com/asn_100

What a shame that Holden injury was. He was pulling all the strings for Bolton in the EPL and then, whammo, he's ranked lower than Beckerman.

 

[NewlyRetired]

ASN has updated their top 100 American players rankings. Our favorite bald cartoon character is the #1 ranked player. http://americansoccernow.com/asn_100

What a shame that Holden injury was. He was pulling all the strings for Bolton in the EPL and then, whammo, he's ranked lower than Beckerman.

He has not played a league game since March of 2011. It sucks. I am not even sure he should be on these type lists anymore until if and when he actually plays again. If he can some how get back on the field in early 2013, there is a chance he could recover in time to at least be considered for a roster spot if the US qualify. I figure an injury this severe and being out this long may take him many many months to get back to 100% (assuming that is even possible at this point).

 

[Ted Lange as your Bartender]

Well we knew that both NY and RSL were going to make big changes and Ives is reporting they are about to kick off a busy off season. *RSL will send Fabian Espindola and Jamison Olave to NY in exchange for a significant amount of allocation money. *RSL will trade Will Johnson to Portland for allocation money. That allocation money, which should be pretty big is going to give RSL some flexibility to retool their team. I am hopeful that NY getting Olave may mean they are going to finally get rid of Marquez.

(no offense flop)

Ted, assume this goes through, NY is going to be way over the top heavy at FW with Henry, Le Toux, Espindola and Cooper. They are going to have to move one of the 4 IMO.

True - I'm more upset about NY getting Olave. Like him a lotI think Le Toux and possibly Cooper are not retained

 

[NewlyRetired]

Well we knew that both NY and RSL were going to make big changes and Ives is reporting they are about to kick off a busy off season. *RSL will send Fabian Espindola and Jamison Olave to NY in exchange for a significant amount of allocation money. *RSL will trade Will Johnson to Portland for allocation money. That allocation money, which should be pretty big is going to give RSL some flexibility to retool their team. I am hopeful that NY getting Olave may mean they are going to finally get rid of Marquez.

(no offense flop)

Ted, assume this goes through, NY is going to be way over the top heavy at FW with Henry, Le Toux, Espindola and Cooper. They are going to have to move one of the 4 IMO.

True - I'm more upset about NY getting Olave. Like him a lotI think Le Toux and possibly Cooper are not retained

I could see Cooper being moved to Colorado. Olave was a great pickup. Silly rumor floating that Rafa is moving to Columbus. That makes such little sense it may happen

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

Is it me, or is there a pretty sudden dropoff in the US player pool after Altidore at #8?

Also, thanks for the info above on team salaries NR!

 

[NewlyRetired]

Is it me, or is there a pretty sudden dropoff in the US player pool after Altidore at #8?Also, thanks for the info above on team salaries NR!

No problem! Let me know if you have any other questions. As for the player pool, no matter what your point of cut off is, I think we can all agree it is not deep. Not that the US has been alone in this by any means but it has had some bad luck. In a perfect world, Subotinic and Rossi both choose the US and neither Davies or Holden get hurt. It is very hard for an average level soccer country like the US to replace that level of quality. It is what it is and we just need to wait out the academy process and hope that in 10 years, we have a bit better quality and a bit better depth. In any case it should be slow moving since we are certainly not going to be the only country improving.

 

[LHUCKS]

Is it me, or is there a pretty sudden dropoff in the US player pool after Altidore at #8?Also, thanks for the info above on team salaries NR!

No problem! Let me know if you have any other questions. As for the player pool, no matter what your point of cut off is, I think we can all agree it is not deep. Not that the US has been alone in this by any means but it has had some bad luck. In a perfect world, Subotinic and Rossi both choose the US and neither Davies or Holden get hurt. It is very hard for an average level soccer country like the US to replace that level of quality. It is what it is and we just need to wait out the academy process and hope that in 10 years, we have a bit better quality and a bit better depth. In any case it should be slow moving since we are certainly not going to be the only country improving.

"deep" is a relative term...one could argue we are 17ish players deep right now and as deep as we've ever been.I really like our depth heading into qualifying.

 

[LHUCKS]

Most overrated = Dolo at 6

Most underrated = Lichaj at 34

 

[NewlyRetired]

From Goff

ENGLAND

Premier League

Stoke City D Geoff Cameron: 90 in 1-0 victory at West Brom

Spurs MF Clint Dempsey: 90 (assist) in 3-0 victory at Fulham

Stoke City MF Maurice Edu: in 18, didn’t play in 1-0 victory at West Brom

Spurs GK Brad Friedel: in 18, didn’t play in 3-0 victory at Fulham

Aston Villa GK Brad Guzan: 90 in 1-1 draw at QPR

Everton GK Tim Howard: 90 in 1-1 draw at Manchester City

Aston Villa D Eric Lichaj: 90 in 1-1 draw at QPR

Championship

Derby F Conor Doyle: not in 18 (injured) for 4-1 loss at Leicester City

Middlesbrough D Seb Hines: 90 in 3-2 loss at Birmingham

Bolton MF Stuart Holden: not in 18 (injury rehab) for 2-1 loss to Ipswich Town

Birmingham MF Will Packwood: not in 18 for 3-2 victory over Middlesbrough

Bolton D Tim Ream: in 18, didn’t play in 2-1 loss to Ipswich Town

Birmingham MF-D Jonathan Spector: 90 in 3-2 victory over Middlesbrough

Leicester City D Zak Whitbread: 90 (goal in 7th) in 4-1 victory over Derby

GERMANY

Bundesliga

Nurnberg D Timothy Chandler: 90 in 1-0 loss at Bayer Leverkusen

Hanover D Steve Cherundolo: 90 in 2-1 loss at Mainz

Hoffenheim D Fabian Johnson: 90 in 4-1 loss to Werder Bremen

Schalke MF Jermaine Jones: 90 in 1-1 draw with Moenchengladbach

Mainz F Shawn Parker: 52 in 2-1 victory over Hanover

Hoffenheim MF Daniel Williams: 90 in 4-1 loss to Werder Bremen

Bayer Leverkusen GK David Yelldell: not in 18 for 1-0 victory over Nurnberg

2 Bundesliga

Hertha Berlin D John Brooks: at Energie Cottbus on Monday

St. Pauli MF Joseph Gyau: in 18, didn’t play in 1-0 victory over Kaiserslautern

Hertha Berlin D Alfredo Morales: at Energie Cottbus on Monday

1860 Munich F Bobby Wood: 90 (goal in 69th) in 1-1 draw at Aalen

Sandhausen F Andrew Wooten: 5 in 2-2 draw at Erzgebirge Aue

SPAIN

Primera Division

Malaga D Oguchi Onyewu: not in 18 for 1-0 loss at Getafe

Segunda Division

Racing Santander D Carlos Bocanegra: not in 18 (injured) for 4-3 loss to Almeria

ITALY

Serie A

Roma MF Michael Bradley: 90 in 3-1 victory at Siena

NETHERLANDS

Eredivisie

AZ Alkmaar F Jozy Altidore: 90 in 2-1 loss at Utrecht

AUSTRIA

Bundesliga

Rapid Vienna F Terrence Boyd: 90 (goal in 25th) in 4-3 victory over Ried

BELGIUM

Pro League

Anderlecht MF Sacha Kljestan: 90 in 2-1 victory over Cercle Brugge

DENMARK

Superliga

Randers F Charlie Davies: not in 18 (red card) for 2-0 loss at Copenhagen

Brondby D Clarence Goodson: not in 18 for 3-0 loss at Nordsjaelland

Sonderjyske F Conor O’Brien: 90 in 3-1 victory over Horsens

Nordsjaelland D Michael Parkhurst: 90 in 3-0 victory over Brondby

SWEDEN

Allsvenskan

Helsingborg MF Alejandro Bedoya: season completed (sixth place)

Djurgarden MF Brian Span: season completed (ninth place)

NORWAY

Eliteserien

Valerenga F Chad Barrett: season completed (eighth place)

Honefoss GK Steve Clark: season completed (13th place)

Rosenborg MF Mikkel Diskerud: season completed (third place)

Molde F Josh Gatt: season completed (first place)

PORTUGAL

Primeira Liga

Estoril F Tony Taylor: did not play

ISRAEL

Ligat Ha’al

Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona MF Bryan Gerzicich: not in 18 for 2-0 victory over Ironi Ramat Hasharon

RUSSIA

Premier League

Rostov F Eugene Starikov: in 18, didn’t play in 2-0 victory at Sovetov

MEXICO

Liga MX

Puebla MF DaMarcus Beasley: season completed

Tigres D Jonathan Bornstein: season completed

Tijuana D Edgar Castillo: 90 in 2-0 victory at Toluca (Wins Apertura championship on 4-1 aggregate)

Tijuana F Joe Corona: 67 in 2-0 victory at Toluca

Tijuana D Greg Garza: not in 18 for 2-0 victory at Toluca

Santos Laguna F Herculez Gomez: season completed

Santos Laguna MF Benji Joya: season completed

San Luis D Michael Orozco Fiscal: season completed

Pachuca MF Jose Torres: season completed (transferring to Tigres)

VENEZUELA

Primera Division

Tachira GK Diego Restrepo: 90 in 0-0 draw at Lara

EGYPT

Premier League

Haras El-Hodood GK Samir Badr: did not play. (Left Egypt after league delays. Free agent. Weighing options, including MLS.)

 

[Eephus]

Most overrated = Dolo at 6Most underrated = Lichaj at 34

Based on what? Cherundolo has been solid for the US and is captain of a Bundesliga team.Lichaj has been on the outs with Klinsmann and his irregular appearances with Villa have been more due to injury to others than his form.

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

Based on what? Cherundolo has been solid for the US and is captain of a Bundesliga team.

Will Dolo retire as the most beloved Yank Abroad in history by his own team and its supporters?McBride is well-regarded at Fulham, but his time there was pretty short. Friedel moved around quite a bit. Dempsey, uhh... probably not.Reina is remembered at Rangers, but hardly renowned.Who am I forgetting? Is there anyone that compares to Steve J's run at Hannover?

 

[The Z Machine]

I didn't know that Torres was transferring to Tigres. That's a good move for him. Bigger profile club.

 

[The Z Machine]

Based on what? Cherundolo has been solid for the US and is captain of a Bundesliga team.

Will Dolo retire as the most beloved Yank Abroad in history by his own team and its supporters?McBride is well-regarded at Fulham, but his time there was pretty short. Friedel moved around quite a bit. Dempsey, uhh... probably not.Reina is remembered at Rangers, but hardly renowned.Who am I forgetting? Is there anyone that compares to Steve J's run at Hannover?

If M Bradley continues to impress, I could see him becoming a favorite of the Roma faithful.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Based on what? Cherundolo has been solid for the US and is captain of a Bundesliga team.

Will Dolo retire as the most beloved Yank Abroad in history by his own team and its supporters?McBride is well-regarded at Fulham, but his time there was pretty short. Friedel moved around quite a bit. Dempsey, uhh... probably not.Reina is remembered at Rangers, but hardly renowned.Who am I forgetting? Is there anyone that compares to Steve J's run at Hannover?

Harkes is still thought well of at Wednesday. Some of that was due to good play and some due to just being exotic at the time when Americans were few and far between. It helps when you score the goal of the year as your very first goal against one of the all time greatshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_is9XU2yeAI think it would be between Cher and Bake. Didn't Fulhman name a pub after Bake inside of the stadium? That was pretty cool. I think Cher will have by far the longest tenure at any one Euro club. It may be a record that will be extremely hard to top.

 

[NewlyRetired]

This article on ESPN is pretty cool. 20 years ago was the first time an American scored at Wembley and most fans may never have heard his name. I think I played against him in College as we played Williams almost every year but I can't be sure.

May 10, 1992. Colchester United, a team in England's fifth division -- The Football Conference -- took the field at Wembley Stadium to play Witton Albion in the FA Trophy Final. It was the first time in the club's 55-year history that it was playing beneath the Twin Towers at England's -- and the world's -- most hallowed football grounds. United's home stadium, Layer Road, held just over 6,000 fans but when the club earned its spot in the FA Trophy Final, more than 30,000 Colchester supporters -- a third of the city's population -- bought tickets and filled Wembley on that spring day, singing and screaming and urging their hometown club to its greatest victory. At the midfield stripe towered one of United's most dangerous offensive threats: a 6-foot-4, 190 pound forward, a 24-year-old American named Mike Masters. A week before, Masters had scored a hat trick in a 5-0 win over Barrow, a victory that earned United its first ever Conference championship. Now this American kid -- only the third American to ever play at Wembley -- lined up on England's most storied pitch to try to help Colchester earn a non-league double. --- These days, turn on your TV any weekend from August to May and you'll see American players competing in the world's top leagues. Brad Friedel, Tim Howard, Geoff Cameron, Clint Dempsey and over half a dozen more in the English Premier League. Steve Cherundolo in the Bundesliga. Michael Bradley in Serie A. Scores of others in Holland, Denmark, Austria and other countries. This summer, Clint Dempsey's Premier League future -- would Liverpool sign him? Would Fulham keep him? -- and his eleventh-hour transfer to Tottenham Hotspur was one of the biggest stories of the annual transfer season. They're making waves on the field, too; Jozy Altidore has 11 goals in 16 games for AZ Alkmaar in Holland this season. Just a few weeks ago, Dempsey tapped in the game winner that gave Spurs its first victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford in 23 years. Of course, it's taken 20 years to get to this point. Cobi Jones, who played in three World Cups for the U.S. and holds the all-time record for national team appearances (164), once told me that "there was no respect for American players. During that time... for guys that wanted to be successful overseas, you were a journeyman. You had to go and fight and travel." Mike Masters was one of those journeymen. He was just two years out of college the day he walked onto the field at Wembley. He'd played college soccer, not at one of the traditional powerhouses -- Virginia or Indiana or UCLA -- but Division III soccer at Williams College, a liberal arts school with just 2,000 students in Williamston, Mass. He'd wanted to play both soccer and basketball in college -- which he could do at Williams -- and he liked the balance of athletics and academics he'd get at the college. Mike Russo, his college coach and still the head coach at Williams, remembers him well: "He was 6-4, about 185, 190. Very good technically and had a good tactical understanding. Very confident and composed. Natural finisher." Russo started Masters at left back his freshman year and he scored five goals, including a game winner against Division I Dartmouth. After that season, Russo moved him up to forward. Masters went on to earn the school's scoring record, was a first team All-American his junior and senior year and captained both the soccer and basketball teams. Prior to college, Masters had had no plans of playing professional soccer. "Certainly, going into college, I never thought it was something I would wind up doing," he says. But by his senior year, the Albany Capitals of the American Soccer League came calling. His first season with the Caps, Masters says he did "reasonably well." The next season he was the top scorer in the ASL and began to see an opportunity for himself. This was 1990. The World Cup had just ended. The Olympics were two years away. At the time, a FIFA regulation prevented any player who had competed in a World Cup from playing in the Olympics, which would have excluded that famous roster of college kids who represented the U.S. at Italia '90. Masters had never earned an international cap but figured he might be able to make the Olympic team. "In my mind, with all the U.S. players being ineligible to play in the Olympics, I thought I would have a shot." But he saw a problem: he didn't play enough. "Playing April to August and stopping for six months was not gonna do it." Eric Wynalda, also a veteran of three World Cups for the U.S. national team who competed in the German Bundesliga for four seasons, played with Masters at the San Francisco Bay Blackhawks of the American Professional Soccer League in 1992. He understood the dilemma. "There wasn’t even a league yet (in America) that simulated anything real. Because everything was so unprofessional, it was hard to decipher who could really play and who couldn't." But Wynalda remembers Masters' unique knack for scoring goals. "He had something, and it was deceiving. He always seemed to pop up in the right spot. Anything and everything I crossed he scored." One of Masters' teammates at Albany was Paul Mariner, currently the head coach at Toronto FC. Mariner had earned 35 caps for the English national team and spent the bulk of his career at Ipswich Town Football Club. "He was a striker like I was," Masters says. "He took me under his wing as a younger player." Mariner, Wynalda says, was one of the few people in the ASL or APSL who could really identify talent. "Paul was the one that saw through all of that and said, 'He can play. He can’t play.' I remember him doing it. He really liked Mike because Mike was the real deal." After the 1990 season with Albany, Masters headed over to England to visit Mariner, who got him a trial with Ipswich. This was his chance to advance his career, get out of the ASL and find a playing environment that would enable him to get good enough to earn his shot at the Olympic team. Ipswich wanted to sign him, but Masters hit a wall that had little to do with his playing ability. "This was the fall of 1990," he says, "and Europe was about to open up the free labor movement. The football union (The Professional Footballers Union, England’s football union) was particularly stringent around work permits." At the time, in order for a foreigner to play in any of England's top four leagues, "you had to be a national team player if you didn't have a parent or grandparent who was a citizen." In today's top leagues, teams are made up of players from all around the world. But that's a fairly recent change. During Masters' era, it was a different story. Most leagues placed restrictions on the number of foreign players clubs could field."People don't realize how difficult it was to play in Europe," Wynalda said. "I even had issues just after I joined the national team." When Wynalda joined German club FC Saarbrucken in 1992, "There were only three foreigners allowed on the field at one time." Those restrictions changed throughout the 1990's, particularly after the Bosman Ruling in 1995 that gave players at European clubs the freedom to move to any team in a European Union member country once their contracts ended. Masters had no British relatives. The requirement of being a "national team player" is a rather vague one since national team rosters are a bit like Heraclitus' saying about rivers: You can never step in the same one twice. Still, Masters hadn't earned a cap for the U.S. men's national team and so Ipswich couldn't sign him. Though something of an outcast when he first arrived at Colchester, his goalscoring knack soon endeared him to fans, some of whom would sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" to him during matches.But Masters didn't leave England. Another English club was interested in him: Colchester United, which had recently been relegated from the fourth division and was unencumbered by work permit requirements. In Colchester, a town of 100,000 people in Essex, Masters experienced a union between the fans and the team that he’d never seen in America. "It is a much more involved fan experience than what is typical in the U.S.," noted Masters. "For Colchester, that's the team. That's the team that everyone supports. It's great when you win, not so good when you don't." One memory that highlights that unique atmosphere stands out to Masters. During the 1991 FA Trophy competition, Colchester drew Reading for a home-and-away series. Reading played several divisions above Colchester but Colchester earned a draw at Reading. When they played at Layer Road, Colchester lost by a goal. "The grounds all have bars in them," Masters says. "And the players after showering, cleaning up, go into the bar. Some fans were allowed." After the Reading match, Masters was in the club bar with some teammates when a supporter approached them. "How can you guys lose?" the supporter said. "Don't you know how much it would have meant to the fans?" Early in his time at Colchester, Masters faced the same stigma that came with being an American footballer in a European country. Masters said his teammates' reaction to him was: "Why does this Yank think he can play our game?" He earned their respect by doing the thing he did best: score goals. "I went from being 'some Yank' to being 'our Yank.'" His teammates eventually called him "The Big Yank." He knew he'd won over the supporters when they started singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" during matches. Colchester finished the season in second place, but only the first-place team in The Conference earned promotion to The Football League. Because Masters hadn't signed a multi-year contract with Colchester, he went back to New York to play another season with the Capitals with no plans to return to England. In the off-season, the club promoted Roy McDonough, another of the team's forwards, to player/manager. McDonough was infamous for his tendency to get ejected from games. His nickname was "Red Card Roy" due to the 22 red cards he earned throughout his career, the most ever by an English player. McDonough wanted Masters back at Colchester, so he returned to the team. The '91-'92 season went well with United in contention for a "non-league double": The Football Conference championship and the FA Trophy. It headed into their final regular-season match against Barrow with The Conference championship in the balance; Masters scored his hat trick in the 5-0 victory and United took the title. A week later, Colchester was at Wembley, playing Witton Albion for the FA Trophy. --- "It was incredible," Masters says of playing at Wembley. "Wembley is the place where the English national team plays, where cup finals are played, and playoffs. No home team plays there. It's obviously a beautiful field, beautiful stadium. An exclusive group gets to play there. That was a big deal for all of my teammates. For me, I didn't really get it at the time." Ten minutes into the match, United earned a throw-in deep in Witton’s end. "We had a guy that could throw the ball far," Masters says. "We were setting up almost as if it was corner." The throw-in soared to McDonough at the near post, who flicked it on, and Masters headed the ball in for a 1-0 lead. With that goal, he made history: the first American to score at Wembley Stadium. Said Eric Wynalda of Masters and the era in which he tried to settle in English soccer, "A lot of guys fell through the cracks. Mike was one of the best of them."United scored two more goals and their defense held firm as they beat Witton 3-1, won the FA Trophy and earned the non-league double. It was the greatest achievement in the club's history. The city planned a celebration to unite the town's fans with their beloved team. Three days after the FA Trophy victory, the team paraded down Colchester High Street atop an open-roof double-decker bus, waving flags and showing off their hardware while crowds mobbed the bus. But Masters wasn't there. The day before the parade, he flew back to the U.S. as his other club, the San Francisco Bay Blackhawks, had a game that weekend that he didn't want to miss. That type of dedication, Wynalda says, is what made Masters such a special player. "I think the other part that gets (lost) in all this with Mike is he had the right personality. He was a great teammate, he was a great guy to have in the locker room, he kept things loose." But when he got on the field, he was all business. "That's why Paul Mariner was willing to stick his neck out for him." Masters was planning to return to Colchester, but the work visa problem reappeared: in winning the Football Conference, United earned a spot back in the Fourth Division. Yet that summer, Bora Milutinovic called Masters into the U.S. National Team residency in Mission Viejo, Calif. Masters knew that earning a spot on the national team -- and getting his permit -- was a long shot. "Frankly," he says, "If I'm honest, when I was at my best, I was competitive and deserved to be there. When I was average, I didn't." Masters wasn't called up to the '92 Olympic team but did earn his first cap for the U.S. on June 27, 1992 when he came on as a substitute in a draw against Uruguay. Ultimately, Milutinovic didn’t keep him in the team. Wynalda says the issue with Masters wasn’t his ability but that he didn’t fit into Milutinovic's style of play. "Bora just wanted a small, darty forward that was just gonna constantly be mobile, constantly be moving, didn't need to be particularly good in the air, didn't need to hold the ball up." Basically, the complete opposite of Mike Masters. "He could hold off anybody," says Wynalda. "A lot like Brian McBride." The single international cap that Masters earned wasn't enough to get him a work permit to play for Colchester. "The club clearly wanted me back. They said they were going to work with the Professional Footballer's Association." But in the fall, the PFA said they weren't going to grant Masters a permit. He played out the season with the San Francisco Bay Blackhawks and then returned to England to play for recently formed Newberry Town. Newberry won its division and moved up a division to the tier below The Football Conference. Masters continued to play on both sides of the ocean: in 1993, Masters played for the Boston Storm in the USISL, then was traded to the Long Island Rough Riders, a team that included Tony Meola. The Rough Riders won the '95 USISL Championship but Masters began to see the opportunities for his playing career diminish. "I was getting a little older, a little slower," Masters says. "There was not really the next step for me. Yeah, I could play Major League Soccer, but it was only going to be a couple of years." So while playing a few more seasons with the Rough Riders, Masters went and got his MBA from DePaul University in Chicago. He now works as a director for Barclays in New York City. "As far as that era goes," says Wynalda, "I think this happened a lot. A lot of guys fell through the cracks. Mike was one of the best of them. I have no doubt that in today's environment, a guy like Mike Masters would be playing somewhere in MLS and getting enough attention to get called into a national team." Masters might have slipped through the cracks, but his success in England with Colchester is yet another instance of an American carving a path for the players who came after him: all those guys you watch every weekend, playing for well-known teams, scoring goals, making a name for themselves and continuing to spread the quality of American soccer throughout Europe. Most of whom have probably never even heard of Mike Masters. Andrew Lewellen (@AndyHLew) is a freelance writer who has written about soccer for Grantland, The New York Times, and other publications. He writes the weekly "Hold The Line" column for American Soccer Now.

 

[NewlyRetired]

NCAA Men's Final Four is set.

Double header this Friday for the semi finals on ESPNU starting at 5:00pm

Georgetown vs Maryland in Game 1

Indiana vs Creighton in Game 2

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Acer/NR> PM box is clear. Sorry about that.

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

20 years ago was the first time an American scored at Wembley

There's some trivia around the second... In 1993 John Harkes scored at Wembley as part of a 2-1 loss to Arsenal in the League Cup final.

It was voted

. (7 second mark)

 

[NewlyRetired]

20 years ago was the first time an American scored at Wembley

There's some trivia around the second... In 1993 John Harkes scored at Wembley as part of a 2-1 loss to Arsenal in the League Cup final.

It was voted

He did score a few years later though in 1993 in the League Cup final at Wembley.

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

20 years ago was the first time an American scored at Wembley

There's some trivia around the second... In 1993 John Harkes scored at Wembley as part of a 2-1 loss to Arsenal in the League Cup final.

It was voted

Well, damn. What I get for starting at the end of a topic and working backwards I guess...

 

[El Floppo]

Well we knew that both NY and RSL were going to make big changes and Ives is reporting they are about to kick off a busy off season. *RSL will send Fabian Espindola and Jamison Olave to NY in exchange for a significant amount of allocation money. *RSL will trade Will Johnson to Portland for allocation money. That allocation money, which should be pretty big is going to give RSL some flexibility to retool their team. I am hopeful that NY getting Olave may mean they are going to finally get rid of Marquez.

(no offense flop)

whoa.BIG fan of both Espindola and Olave. RBNY still needs either a better coach, or a two-way guy in the MF who can pull the strings (if that KaKa rumor has some legs... hello... and lol at that article teaching us how to say his name "ka-KAW").oh man- Kaka instead of Marquez. Please, santa- pleasepleaseplease

 

[NewlyRetired]

Well we knew that both NY and RSL were going to make big changes and Ives is reporting they are about to kick off a busy off season. *RSL will send Fabian Espindola and Jamison Olave to NY in exchange for a significant amount of allocation money. *RSL will trade Will Johnson to Portland for allocation money. That allocation money, which should be pretty big is going to give RSL some flexibility to retool their team. I am hopeful that NY getting Olave may mean they are going to finally get rid of Marquez.

(no offense flop)

whoa.BIG fan of both Espindola and Olave. RBNY still needs either a better coach, or a two-way guy in the MF who can pull the strings (if that KaKa rumor has some legs... hello... and lol at that article teaching us how to say his name "ka-KAW").oh man- Kaka instead of Marquez. Please, santa- pleasepleaseplease

MLS does not allow its teams to bid against each other on the same foreign player. Going to be interesting to see who MLS allows to negotiate with Kaka with AEG front and center stating very publicly that they want him. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/grant_wahl/11/30/tim-leiweke-galaxy-kaka/index.html

 

[Sebowski]

Based on what? Cherundolo has been solid for the US and is captain of a Bundesliga team.

Will Dolo retire as the most beloved Yank Abroad in history by his own team and its supporters?McBride is well-regarded at Fulham, but his time there was pretty short. Friedel moved around quite a bit. Dempsey, uhh... probably not.Reina is remembered at Rangers, but hardly renowned.Who am I forgetting? Is there anyone that compares to Steve J's run at Hannover?

It is a shame what Dempsey did to Fulham just to go sit mid table at Spurs. I still can't make sense of it. Maybe he didn't realize Chelsea grabbed their CL spot by "winning"* it.

 

[El Floppo]

Based on what? Cherundolo has been solid for the US and is captain of a Bundesliga team.

Will Dolo retire as the most beloved Yank Abroad in history by his own team and its supporters?McBride is well-regarded at Fulham, but his time there was pretty short. Friedel moved around quite a bit. Dempsey, uhh... probably not.Reina is remembered at Rangers, but hardly renowned.Who am I forgetting? Is there anyone that compares to Steve J's run at Hannover?

Harkes is still thought well of at Wednesday. Some of that was due to good play and some due to just being exotic at the time when Americans were few and far between. It helps when you score the goal of the year as your very first goal against one of the all time greatshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_is9XU2yeAI think it would be between Cher and Bake. Didn't Fulhman name a pub after Bake inside of the stadium? That was pretty cool. I think Cher will have by far the longest tenure at any one Euro club. It may be a record that will be extremely hard to top.

Captain America was pretty well liked at City, IIRC.But yeah, has to be Cherundolo or McBride. If Dempsey had played things differently this summer, he'd be right up there too given the massive goals he's done for Fulham

 

[NewlyRetired]

This was a good tidbit I just read on Twitter.

Only three people have scored 18 or more goals in MLS since 2007. Cooper has done it twice and is on the trading block again this offseason.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Speaking of Captain America, I wonder if February is going to be the start of a long reign for Bradley? With Boca and Landon possibly out, it would make some sense unless Klinsmann puts it on Timmy (I would prefer a field player).

 

[El Floppo]

Speaking of Captain America, I wonder if February is going to be the start of a long reign for Bradley? With Boca and Landon possibly out, it would make some sense unless Klinsmann puts it on Timmy (I would prefer a field player).

Given that JK interview you (somebody) posted recently, I wouldn't be surprised if it was Germany Jones.But speaking of Capt America again... I've always wondered what he thinks of the new $ity. A far cry from his days there.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Big Soccer is running its normal choose your lineup thread for the Honduras game. It is interesting seeing so many people having Castillo bump Fabian out of the LB spot (lots of people on that site watch MFL it appears). And then Fab is moved up to LW with most comments being afraid that EJ will revert to zombie form.

 

[Eephus]

Speaking of Captain America, I wonder if February is going to be the start of a long reign for Bradley? With Boca and Landon possibly out, it would make some sense unless Klinsmann puts it on Timmy (I would prefer a field player).

Given that JK interview you (somebody) posted recently, I wouldn't be surprised if it was Germany Jones.But speaking of Capt America again... I've always wondered what he thinks of the new $ity. A far cry from his days there.

Wimbledon has a long heritage and here we honour five of the greatest players to play for Wimbledon’s football team:

George Armitage

Born in Stoke Newington on 17 January 1898, he was already gaining recognition in 1912/13 when he represented Hackney Schools.

He moved to Isleworth in 1913 and played for the Chelsea-based side St Saviours and in August 1919, as Wimbledon restarted after the War, he took part in a trial game. The following Saturday he was the club’s new centre forward. Soon among the goals, he finished his first season in senior football scoring around 20.

Moving to centre-half, Armitage helped Wimbledon to second place in the Athenian League and played regularly in the club’s first two seasons in the Isthmian League, pulling on the shirt some 150 times. He played alongside the legendary band leader Billy Cotton and represented both Surrey and London FA's.

In 1923, he signed for Charlton Athletic and soon became a regular and stayed until the end of 1929/30, after which he finished his career at Leyton.

George was selected for England and played in the 0-0 draw against Northern Ireland at Windsor Park in October 1925, becoming the first ex-Wimbledon player to appear in a full international.

After his early death in 1936, the following was one of many quotes in the press: "George Armitage will always be remembered as one of our great sportsmen. His remarkable ability as a footballer was there for all to see, but off the field as on, he scrupulously maintained the highest standards and truest traditions of British sportsmanship."

William ‘Doc’ Dowden

Doc Dowden’s Wimbledon career didn’t begin well. He was part of a Dons XI that were thumped 6-0 by a South African touring side in 1924, but by the end of the season he was top scorer with 19 goals from 33 matches. He was said to have all the attributes needed for Isthmian League football; good in the air and a powerful shot – which once knocked an HMS Victory defender out cold during an Amateur Cup tie at Plough Lane. But he was a gentleman on and off the field – where he worked in the same Putney sports shop for 40 years.

He still holds the individual record for the number of goals scored in a single FA Cup campaign – 19 in the 1929/30 season. That season ended with a fixture backlog resulting in the Dons playing their final seven league games in seven consecutive days. Wimbledon won the title the following year and after Dowden weighed in with 36 goals, he was invited to play for Fulham. But ‘Doc’ made just a single Football League appearance at Craven Cottage before returning home to SW19, where the goals continued to flow.

Three more championships and an Amateur Cup final appearance in five years followed, before he finally hung his boots up, with a remarkable record of 283 goals in 311 games. When Second World War hostilities ceased, he was appointed first XI coach – in an age where the team was still picked by committee. His reign lasted 10 years until 1955, when ill-health saw him replaced by the more modern-thinking Les Henley and he joined the committee himself.

Eddie Reynolds

In late 1957, Wimbledon were in a period of transition. It had been 21 years since the side had won the Isthmian title and the club’s last appearance in the FA Amateur Cup final – back in 1947 – had become a distant memory. The club’s management committee led by benefactor Sydney Black had already began the process of change, appointing Wimbledon’s first full-time coach Les Henley two years earlier.

The old guard was already on its way. Doug Munday had retired, Harry Stannard had gone. Next on the list of player departures were Harry Bull, Pat Field, Jock Woods and Arthur Maggs as Henley began to create a side in his own image.

The club began to take a more professional approach. It brought in a new training regime, purchased floodlights, and new gym equipment. But it was an influx of new players that would make the biggest difference. In came Roy Law, Les Brown, Geoff Hamm, John Martin, Brian Martin and Bobby Ardrey – all would represent England as amateur internationals. But it was the arrival of a 6ft 3in Ulsterman that would have the biggest impact.

Eddie Reynolds joined the Dons in November 1957 from neighbours Tooting & Mitcham. Reynolds scored four goals in his first game for the Dons – a 6-0 reserve match against Leytonstone – and was immediately called into the first team. He scored in each of his first five games.

Reynolds finished that season with 17 goals from 20 games. A year later he scored 40 times in 40 games as the Dons finally re-captured the Isthmian League title. Reynolds would score 47 times in the 1959/60 season. He scored 55 times in the next season. And in 1961/62 he matched that feat, his goals driving the Dons to another league title.

In November 1962, Wimbledon would beat Colchester 2-1. It was the club’s first success over Football League opposition in an FA Cup tie. Reynolds scored the decisive second, heading in an Ardrey cross. It was one of 53 goals he scored that season as the Dons retained their title. But that year will always be remembered for his heroics in the final of the FA Amateur Cup. Facing local rivals Sutton United at Wembley, Eddie scored four times with his head as the Dons ran out 4-2 winners.

The following season, Eddie suffered a number of injuries and managed only 33 appearances, scoring 33 times as the Dons won the title for the third year in a row.

Eddie was eventually selected for Northern Ireland and was among the first Wimbledon players to sign professional terms when the club moved into the Southern League in the summer of 1964. However, the move to semi-professionalism also marked the arrival of Ian Cooke. Cooke would eventually replace Reynolds in the starting line-up and would go on to play 615 times for the Dons, scoring 297 times. Ironically, Cooke’s career would end in 1977 when the club decided to go fully professional.

Reynolds scored in his final game a 2-0 win over Worcester City at Plough Lane on 15 January 1966. It was his 208th league game for the club, having scored 319 times in all competitions.

Reynolds died in 1993. In 2008, the new redevelopment on the site of Wimbledon’s old ground was named Reynolds Gate in his honour.

Alan Cork

There is little doubt that Alan Cork is a Wimbledon legend. The 6ft striker played 430 times for the Dons, scoring 145 times. Old before his time, at the age of 24 he was already greeted with the song: “He’s got no hair, but we don’t care.” But his career at Wimbledon so nearly didn’t even begin.

Cork was playing for Derby reserves in 1978, aged 19. Dario Gradi had just taken charge of Wimbledon, who were struggling in the Fourth Division at the time. Dario had replaced Wimbledon icon Allen Batsford at the helm. The new manager had been a coach at Derby before Ron Noades persuaded him to join Wimbledon as assistant manager in 1977, much to the annoyance of Batsford. The club, in short, were in turmoil and Dario needed fresh blood. He signed Glyn Hodges, Paul Fishenden and Steve Perkins from Chelsea. And then he went back to raid his old club Derby, he signed Fran Crowley and then turned his attention to Alan Cork. He was Derby through and through, he had ambitions of playing in the First Division for his home town club and was reluctant to make the move. He didn’t believe the South London club were top flight material, but Dario wouldn’t be denied and Cork signed in January 1978. He made his debut against S####horpe United on 11 February 1978. The side that day contained two future Wimbledon managers – Terry Eames and Dave Bassett. With the likes of Wally Downes, he would become a founder member of the club’s original Crazy Gang with regular antics on and off the pitch.

Cork scored four times in 17 games in that first season. His breakthrough season came the year after. He missed just one game and scored 25 times. He was named in the Fourth Division’s team of the season.

He scored 13 times in 1979/80 but couldn’t prevent the club being relegated. The following season, he was top scorer with 26 goals in 41 games as the Dons were promoted. However, he then broke his leg and missed most of the following two seasons, which had seen the club relegated once again.

By the time Cork returned on 5 April 1983, a gritty Yorkshireman called Stewart Evans, signed by new Wimbledon manager Dave Bassett as Cork’s replacement, had cemented his place in the team and Wimbledon were on course to securing the Fourth Division title. But instead of marginalising Cork, the two formed a formidable relationship that would see the Dons soar through the divisions.

In 1983/84, Cork scored 33 times and Evans 14 times as the Dons won promotion to the second division. The following season Evans scored 16 and Cork 11 as Wimbledon finished a respectable 12th. In 1985/86, Cork was then top scorer once again with 15 goals as the Dons secured a place in the top flight.

Evans would see his place go to record-signing John Fashanu in 1986, but Cork would remain a regular in the Dons line-up.

On 30 August 1986, he scored the winner at Leicester City. The goal would make Alan Cork, the second Wimbledon player to score in all top four divisions. Glyn Hodges had become the first, four days earlier in the 3-2 win over Aston Villa.

The season after would undoubtedly be Corky’s most memorable. It was his 10th season at the club and he would be part of the starting XI that would see Wimbledon win the FA Cup with a 1-0 win at Liverpool. Just 48 hours after the final and suffering a huge hangover, he held a testimonial at Plough Lane in front of nearly 8,000 fans.

Over the next couple of seasons Terry Gibson and Paul Miller restricted Cork’s appearance and he slowly began to fall out of favour.

Alan Cork scored his last goal for Wimbledon in the 5-3 home defeat to Tottenham on 21 September 1991. His last game for the Dons came two months later in a scoreless draw against Liverpool at Plough Lane. The side that day contained a future Wimbledon manager – Neal Ardley.

After his departure to Sheffield United, the Daily Mirror journalist Tony Stenson, who had coined the phrase the ‘Crazy Gang’, admitted to regularly describing Alan Cork as the ‘White Pele’. He also owned up to having voted for Cork every year at the Football Writers’ Player of the Year awards, including a few years after Cork retired. Sadly, not enough of Stenson’s colleagues supported his judgment and Corky would miss out on the ultimate accolade.

In 1996, he was voted Wimbledon’s most popular player of all time. And he would go on to play for AFC Wimbledon Masters.

Matt Everard

When Wimbledon signed Matt Everard from Ash United, there were hopes that he would add extra resolve to the club’s central defence.

Everard had impressed each time he had faced the Dons, but few would have expected that the Aldershot-born centre back would become an AFC Wimbledon legend.

During his 20 months at the club, Everard became the first name on the team sheet, first under Terry Eames, then caretaker manager Nicky English and finally under Dave Anderson. Everard’s aerial domination quickly earned him the nickname “the Caveman”.

He would play 88 times for the club, missing just nine league matches and scoring 28 times in the league. But his two most memorable goals would come in cup competitions – an injury-time winner against Herne Bay in the FA Vase, and the first in the 2004 Challenge Cup Final. He was named player of the year in 2004.

Everard made his home debut against Withdean 2000 on 27 February 2003. The Dons would lose the match to the eventual Combined Counties League champions 2-0. It was the only time Everard would taste defeat in a league match in the colours of Wimbledon.

His form would attract the attention of his home-town club Aldershot, who offered him an 18 month contract, but at the age of 30 he deemed it was too late to turn professional and opted to stay with the Dons.

His final game came away at Bashley in the Ryman First Division South. He jarred his knee early on, but carried on. The Dons went one down, but Everard, in typical style, levelled with a header from a corner. Eventually the pain got the better of him and Anderson took him off with 10 minutes to go. Martin Randall got the Dons winner, but for Everard it was cold comfort. The injury was far more serious than first thought. He would undergo 11 operations in the next two years and would never play again.

For the Dons the victory at Bashley sealed a British record of 78 league matches unbeaten. The next league game, away at Cray Wanderers, and without Everard in the starting XI for the first time in months, ended in defeat.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Looks like viewership for MLS Cup is going to come in at around 1 million viewers based on the overnights.

Pretty much the same as the last few years as TV continues to be the one mountain MLS can not yet climb.

 

[NewlyRetired]

NY's first of what is likely to be many deals and Ives reaction

Major League Soccer (@MLS)

12/3/12, 3:11 PM

TRADE: @NewYorkRedBulls acquire Kosuke Kimura from @TimbersFC for allocation money, Homegrown rights to Bryan Gallego ow.ly/fMSNX

Ives Galarcep (@SoccerByIves)

12/3/12, 3:05 PM

Calling it now. Red Bulls trading allocation money and homegrown rights to Bryan Gallego for Kosuke Kimura could be 1 of dumbest trades ever

Ives Galarcep (@SoccerByIves)

12/3/12, 3:07 PM

For one, don't think Kimura is better than either of the fullbacks RBNY just re-signed. Secondly, Gallego could wind up being a stud. #Dumb

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

MLS does not allow its teams to bid against each other on the same foreign player. Going to be interesting to see who MLS allows to negotiate with Kaka with AEG front and center stating very publicly that they want him.

This sort of thing (along with the cable/Internet explosion) is pretty much why I quit paying as much attention to MLS.I get the idea and the reasoning of the SEM, and even some of the necessity, but I still truly hate it when it comes to items like this.

 

[GoFishTN]

Based on what? Cherundolo has been solid for the US and is captain of a Bundesliga team.

Will Dolo retire as the most beloved Yank Abroad in history by his own team and its supporters?McBride is well-regarded at Fulham, but his time there was pretty short. Friedel moved around quite a bit. Dempsey, uhh... probably not.Reina is remembered at Rangers, but hardly renowned.Who am I forgetting? Is there anyone that compares to Steve J's run at Hannover?

It is a shame what Dempsey did to Fulham just to go sit mid table at Spurs. I still can't make sense of it. Maybe he didn't realize Chelsea grabbed their CL spot by "winning"* it.

Tied for 3rd is hardly mid-table.

 

[El Floppo]

NY's first of what is likely to be many deals and Ives reaction Major League Soccer (@MLS)12/3/12, 3:11 PMTRADE: @NewYorkRedBulls acquire Kosuke Kimura from @TimbersFC for allocation money, Homegrown rights to Bryan Gallego ow.ly/fMSNXIves Galarcep (@SoccerByIves)12/3/12, 3:05 PMCalling it now. Red Bulls trading allocation money and homegrown rights to Bryan Gallego for Kosuke Kimura could be 1 of dumbest trades everIves Galarcep (@SoccerByIves)12/3/12, 3:07 PMFor one, don't think Kimura is better than either of the fullbacks RBNY just re-signed. Secondly, Gallego could wind up being a stud. #Dumb

:CONFETTI:Is Kimura related Kai?

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Marca reporting that TSO is out as Real Madrid coach this summer.

 

[NewlyRetired]

NY's first of what is likely to be many deals and Ives reaction Major League Soccer (@MLS)12/3/12, 3:11 PMTRADE: @NewYorkRedBulls acquire Kosuke Kimura from @TimbersFC for allocation money, Homegrown rights to Bryan Gallego ow.ly/fMSNXIves Galarcep (@SoccerByIves)12/3/12, 3:05 PMCalling it now. Red Bulls trading allocation money and homegrown rights to Bryan Gallego for Kosuke Kimura could be 1 of dumbest trades everIves Galarcep (@SoccerByIves)12/3/12, 3:07 PMFor one, don't think Kimura is better than either of the fullbacks RBNY just re-signed. Secondly, Gallego could wind up being a stud. #Dumb

:CONFETTI:Is Kimura related Kai?

No, different last namesKosuke Kimura is from JapanKai Kamara is from Sierra Leone

 

[NewlyRetired]

Shawn Francis (@TheOffsideRules)

12/3/12, 11:49 AM

NY2 stadium plans to be unveiled in Queens tomorrow night at 7pm. That should be fun.

 

[NewlyRetired]

NY did get an early second round pick in the trade (that is the only pick they have in the Super Draft I think)

 

[El Floppo]

Shawn Francis (@TheOffsideRules)12/3/12, 11:49 AMNY2 stadium plans to be unveiled in Queens tomorrow night at 7pm. That should be fun.

I've said it before- for me, at least, it's quicker and easier to get to RBNY stadium than it will be to get to that part of Queens.

 

[NewlyRetired]

The NY-RSL trade for Espindola/Olave for allocation money was officially announced according Ives.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Shawn Francis (@TheOffsideRules)12/3/12, 11:49 AMNY2 stadium plans to be unveiled in Queens tomorrow night at 7pm. That should be fun.

I've said it before- for me, at least, it's quicker and easier to get to RBNY stadium than it will be to get to that part of Queens.

Is your point that this is a bad location for a majority of NYC people? I don't know the area at all.

 

[El Floppo]

Shawn Francis (@TheOffsideRules)12/3/12, 11:49 AMNY2 stadium plans to be unveiled in Queens tomorrow night at 7pm. That should be fun.

I've said it before- for me, at least, it's quicker and easier to get to RBNY stadium than it will be to get to that part of Queens.

Is your point that this is a bad location for a majority of NYC people? I don't know the area at all.

No- I'm just griping. It'll be decent to get there from midtown, but us downtown folks will have a hike. Plus, IIRC, it's not terribly close to the closest Subway stop.

 

[Tremendous Upside]

Shawn Francis (@TheOffsideRules)12/3/12, 11:49 AMNY2 stadium plans to be unveiled in Queens tomorrow night at 7pm. That should be fun.

I've said it before- for me, at least, it's quicker and easier to get to RBNY stadium than it will be to get to that part of Queens.

LIRR from Penn goes right there

 

[dparker713]

Shawn Francis (@TheOffsideRules)12/3/12, 11:49 AMNY2 stadium plans to be unveiled in Queens tomorrow night at 7pm. That should be fun.

I've said it before- for me, at least, it's quicker and easier to get to RBNY stadium than it will be to get to that part of Queens.

Is your point that this is a bad location for a majority of NYC people? I don't know the area at all.

No- I'm just griping. It'll be decent to get there from midtown, but us downtown folks will have a hike. Plus, IIRC, it's not terribly close to the closest Subway stop.

Its the same stop as the Mets and the US Open, though its further from the stop, about half a mile.

 

[Tremendous Upside]

As far as accessiblity, I just don't see the criticism at all...

Here's the location:

https://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF-8&q=flushing+meadows+corona+park&fb=1&gl=us&hq=flushing+meadows+corona+park&hnear=flushing+meadows+corona+park&cid=0,0,1386313089383820513&ei=CoTqT6C5Lqq36QH1j8HnBQ&ved=0CJMBEPwSMAM

The stadium would be where "Industry Pond" is

The blue train icon to the north west is the LIRR, accessible from Manhattan and Long Island

The blue M icon slighty further north than that is the 7 train stop

And it is nestled between 3 major highway arteries (LIE/Grand Central/Van Wyck) that will service LI fans

As far as being accesible to people from Manhattan through LI, it seems like a prime location

 

[dparker713]

Based on what? Cherundolo has been solid for the US and is captain of a Bundesliga team.

Will Dolo retire as the most beloved Yank Abroad in history by his own team and its supporters?McBride is well-regarded at Fulham, but his time there was pretty short. Friedel moved around quite a bit. Dempsey, uhh... probably not.Reina is remembered at Rangers, but hardly renowned.Who am I forgetting? Is there anyone that compares to Steve J's run at Hannover?

It is a shame what Dempsey did to Fulham just to go sit mid table at Spurs. I still can't make sense of it. Maybe he didn't realize Chelsea grabbed their CL spot by "winning"* it.

Tied for 3rd is hardly mid-table.

Plus, the details I've seen about that situation is pretty sketchy to be saying that Dempsey did something to Fulham.