Foresight – MLS Round 29 Weekend Preview

Four questions to be answered in this weekend’s round of MLS:

MLS Weekly Review - Midweek Round 29 – Of Who’s Your Pappa, & a High-Octane Shootout in Chester.

    Three midweek fixtures in round twenty-nine; eleven goals, no draws, a big road win, and a head-butt duly red carded.

MLS Weekly Review - Weekend Round 28 – Of Goal-Scoring Feats, Wholesale Roster Change, the End of an Empire, & In or Out.

    A full slate of weekend action saw all eighteen clubs in action. Twenty-five goals, three away wins, two draws, and a single controversial dismissal.

Beyond POV-FS – MLS Scheduling at The Shin Guardian

    If you haven’t checked it out yet, I have a piece up at The Shin Guardian on the problem of travel in MLS.

    Be sure to have a look.

Foresight – MLS Round 28 Weekend Preview

Four questions to be answered in this weekend’s round of MLS:

MLS Weekly Review - Midweek Round 28 – Of Capital Collapse, Big Apple Meltdowns, & Marquez’ Mouth.

    Three midweek round twenty-eight fixtures took place as scheduled on Wednesday night. Ten goals, no red cards, and a single draw - threatened by a shocking dive and saved by a karmic penalty miss; these are the numbers, here are the stories.

Thoughts? - Are the big European clubs already feeling the pinch of financial fair play?

    A quick rundown of the early tables in the big leagues around Europe makes for a startling read.

Keith Law - On the Trouble of Getting Players to Play in Toronto.

    Speaking on his time in Toronto under JP Ricciardi the General Manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, he stated that Ricciardi believed strongly that the Blue Jays had to over pay to attract talent north of the border. Mr. Law himself believes that aside from tax consideration (an increase of 10% or so) there was very little evidence to back up that assertion. Though he admits it is something that would be impossible to quantify and thus prove.

MLS Weekly Review - Weekend Round 27 (Abridged) – Of Outsiders Rising, Youth in Motion for Philly, & Salt Lake Rounding into Form.

    Nine matches took place during the weekend of round twenty-seven; twenty-three goals, a lone red card, and not a draw in sight.

Foresight – MLS Round 27 Weekend Fixtures

Four questions to be answered in this weekend’s round of MLS

MLS Weekly Review - Midweek Round 27 – Of a Dour Affair, Concussion Concerns, & a Wild Final Half Hour.

    Only one midweek league fixture scheduled for round twenty-seven of MLS play. Four goals – two from penalty kicks, and a straight red card, made for an unpredictable, if dour, match in Columbus.
  

Sneak Peak - Behind the Cover at The Blizzard

    My Blizzard piece is up at the Shin Guardian as promotional material for the quarterly publication.

    Please follow the link to get your behind the cover look and then do yourself a favour and get a full copy of your very own.

Matt Spiro’s piece on Clairefontaine is a great read, as is Uli Hesse’s on his beloved Borussia Dortmund. Experience Gabriele Marcotti’s sentimental journey as a teenage Italian at the 1990 World Cup, and Jonathan Wilson himself tells us how Óscar Wáshington Tabárez led Uruguay to Copa América glory, the man was there, he knows.

    Basically, for as little as you care to pay, you can have either a digital download or a coffee-table masterpiece of your very own, featuring the best writers – and me – writing about what they want, not what their editor mandates.

Upon First Glance – CCL Edition: UNAM Pumas v Toronto FC

    Rather than share notes on such a depressing experience, this seemed an opportune moment to bust out the tactics hat and compare this woeful result with Toronto FC's successful trip down to Mexico a mere year plus a week ago as they drew 0-0 with Cruz Azul.

In Defence of MoJo

    Today marks the one-year anniversary of the firing of Mo Johnston as Director of Soccer at Toronto FC. While others will revel in the demise of the man, his tenure deserves a closer examination.

MLS Weekly Review - Weekend Round 26 – Of a Long Time Coming, The Davies-Pontius Complex, & Playoffs Bound?

    After a long break in play of various lengths, all eighteen teams were in action. Nine fixtures comprised the weekend action of round twenty-six; twenty-two goals, five red cards – four direct, two draws, and plenty of playoff implications.

MLS Weekly Review - Midweek Round 26 – Of Two Struggling Sides Proffering a Potential Match of the Season in a Fixture that was Never Meant to Be.

    A single midweek fixture dots the round twenty-six list, though it was originally scheduled for August 28th – having been cancelled due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Irene. An eight-goal thriller between home side Philadelphia and New England – two teams in the midst of six-match winless streaks – battled to an entertaining 4-4 draw.

MLS Weekly Review - Weekend Round 25 – Of a Faltering Union, the Dragon’s Finger, & a Two-Hundred Million Dollar Sandpit.

    Only two matches in an abbreviated international break fixture list. Seven goals, no ejections, a tasty draw on a terrible pitch, and Salt Lake rounding into form.

100th Post – The Blizzard

    The hundredth post, a necessary milestone. Having already collated a retrospective of some of the best and favourites this seemed an appropriate moment to pay homage to The Blizzard.

Upon First Glance – Columbus Crew v Toronto FC

    A night of firsts as Toronto FC picked up their first road win of the season, a first ever over Columbus, and clinched the Trillium Cup for the first time. An entertaining 2-4 win was nerve-wracking at times, but enjoyable in the end.

A few thoughts on the match:

Foresight – MLS Round 26 Weekend

Four questions to be answered this weekend in MLS

First Person View - Tragic News: The Passing of Bobby Rhine

    Tributes and grief have been pouring out from all corners of the MLS family with the tragic news of the sudden passing of former player and current FC Dallas broadcaster/manager of Community Development.

First Person View - Non-League Day

    Today is Non-League Day in England, a celebration of support for the tiers of clubs below the Football League coinciding with the break of action in the Premier League and Championship – the two highest levels of play – due to the international break.