retired_mallory08

Kentucky Kaisers : Supporter's Shield Winners 2007

Kentucky started 2007 on fire and it was the only reason they lifted the Supporter's Shield. They faded badly in the second half of the season and only the indifferent form of some of the other contenders in the final weeks gifted the Shield to Kentucky.

It was the first silverware of Coach Clark's MLS managerial career, after finishing the regular season top of the West/South three seasons in a row, hopefully he will convert this form into some playoff success.

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2007 Supporter's Shield Winners: Kentucky Kaisers [Al]

retired_mallory08

MLS CUP 2007 CHAMPIONS : TEXAS LONGHORNS [RYAN]


Ryan Thompson, Thompson II and Thompson III can all take credit for the success seen by Texas over the last 18 months. Four trophys, 7 Final appearances and I think the tag 'Dynasty' is almost earned.

2007 finally saw Texas come good on an MLS Cup Championship. This was their third final in a row, and having lost to Alaska and Vancouver in the previous two finals there was going to be no denying them this time.

Even the Texas board (widely acknowledged as the most fickle in history) was jubilant after Thompson II wrapped up a League and Cup double.

Great work Ryan! et's try and not get sacked in 2008 eh?!

Official Result:

Texas Longhorns 3 :

Rochester Kings 1

HT 0:0

Scoring Summary:
1:0 Stephen Ademolu (26) - Texas
2:0 Juan Pablo Garcia (33) - Texas
3:0 Will John (70) - Texas
3:1 Nate Jacqua (90) - Rochester

Man of Match - Juan Pablo Garcia - Texas
Venue: Gillette Stadium, Foxboro (MA)
Attendance: 45,784
Referee: Kevin Scott

retired_hellokity111

Our expert analysts have worked around the clock to sort all the available players and provide for us a mock draft for the 2008 MLS Superdraft complete with the profiles of the players expected to be picked in the first and second rounds. Many high quality international players have declared for the draft but it remains unkown whether these players will actually strike the fancy of MLS managers.


1-Nashville Guitar Slingers-Paolo De Ceglie
2-United of Boston-Paul Smith
3-Marquette Iron Rangers-Mauricio Quintanilla
4-New Liskeard North FC-Claudio Maccarone
5-Toronto Syclones-Greg Munoz
6-Vancouver Lions-John Kraft
7-New Liskeard North FC-Michael Miller
8-Kentucky Kaisers-Joao
9-Nerdington Express-Matthew Rodriguez
10-Alaska Arctic Wolves-John Johnson
11-Rochester Kings-Greg Vanney
12-Texas Longhorns-Eric Sims
13-Nashville Guitar Slingers-Carlos Eduardo Martinez
14-United of Boston-Brian Freeman
15-Marquette Iron Rangers-Brett Roberts
16-New Liskeard North FC-Steve Casey
17-Toronto Syclones-David Scott
18-Vancouver Lions-Mark Thompson
19-New Liskeard North FC-Joe Allen
20-Kentucky Kaisers-Paul Schweitzer
21-Nerdington Express-Chris Simpson
22-Alaska Arctic Wolves-Keith Heasley
23-Rochester Kings-Andrew Checketts
24-Texas Longhorns-David Jones

retired_hellokity111

The changing face of Vancouver

The offseason saw many changes for the Lions as Roger Saint-Vil looked to improve upon last season's performances. The Vancouver squad will feature 9 newcomers in the new season. Here is the 28-man squad.

Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan, Troy Perkins and Steve Cronin
Goalkeeper is a position that Vancouver has had little troubles and as such few changes are made in this area. Coach Saint-Vil has decided to go with three keepers this year in order to find room for draft picks.

Full Backs: Greg Victor, Ricardinho, Nick Garcia, Juilian De Guzman
Steven Cherundolo departed in the trade for Atiba Hutchinson with Muskegon as his performances for Vancouver had deteriorated recently and Greg Victor provides a better attacking option than Cherundolo. Newcomer Ricardinho will hopefully provide more attacking options from the left side. Nick Garcia and Julian De Guzman are talented and versatile players who could help out in the centre of defense or midfield respectively.

Centre Backs: Vagner Leonardelli, Clarence Goodson, Jason Di Tullio, Brad Jones, Steve Jordan
Leonardelli and Goodson had a rough first year playing together but one year under their belt, the centre of defense should be better for Vancouver. Di Tullio and Jones will get rotated from time to time while Steve Jordan is a project player who will see much time in the reserves.

Defensive Midfielders: Emanuel Sarki, Tomasz Sokolowski, Steve Perez, Brett Roberts
Sokolowski was acquired from Alaska for Kalle Ljungberg in a deal from which both managers hope big things. Sarki and Sokolowski are both hard working defensive midfielders with the ability to direct play from deep. Steve Perez has shown significant improvements over the last season and is a very capable backup. Brett Roberts is another project player who will mostly be in the reserves.

Attacking Midfielders: Eddie Gaven, Eduardo, Felix Alexander Borja, Atiba Hutchinson, Chris Barrett, Tim Bradley, Greg Robinson, Eric Sims.
A large core of players here with varying skills. With Okocha's departure in the offseason, the Brazilian Eduardo will take over the midfield general's role. His hard working attitude is something the Vancouver fans will like. Atiba Hutchinson is another newcomer and he will add creativity with work rate to the midfield position. Greg Robinson and Eric Sims are newcomers and the coaches expect much from these youngsters.

Forwards: Taylor Twellman, Jorge Daniel Achucarro, Conor Casey
Perhaps the weakest area in the Vancouver team despite having former scoring champions Twellman and Achucarro on the squad. Casey has not been as effective as desired and both the fans and coaches will be hoping that he improves his performances in his final contract year.

retired_hellokity111

January 20, 2008

AN INTERVIEW WITH COACH

Good evening everyone! Today, we have Ricky Lung here, the head coach of the Toronto Syclones, we will have a chat with him about the upcoming 08 season.

Interviewer: Good evening Ricky.

Lung: Good evening.

Interviewer: Last year, your team made the playoff for the second straight year, the defense had improved, the offense was much more organized. Are you satisfy with the performance of the team last year?

Lung: Well, I am happy that we made the playoff again last year, it is not an easy task in this league, all the teams are very competitive. Also, as you said, our defense is improving, our offense is running some organized plays, so yes, I am satisfied with the overall performance. But of cause we will not stop here, we will keep improving, our goal is to build a championship empire here in Toronto.

Interviewer: Leal and Lysyts’kyi had a solid debut season last year, what they have brought to the team?

Lung: I mean, they were amazing last year, they adjusted to the style of play here very quickly, they both are very versatile players, give us more options on both ends of the field. Francisco got the rookie of the year honour, it is the first individual award in our team history. He was on loan last year and we signed him to a permanent contract near the end of the season. I expect them to bring the same intensity and have a even better season this year.

Interviewer: How about Aaron Provan, he made a major jump last year.

Lung: Yes, he saw a lot of action in the second half of the season. He is a very good young kid. Coming out as the projected first overall pick in the 06 draft, Muskegon ended up passed on him, and we were more than happy to have him. He demands a lot from himself, he is always among the first to come to training every day, and his hard work pays off, his skills are sky rocking. Last year, he had a few games that he just put on a show, shutting down the opponent despite being pressured throughout the game, and gave us a few 1-0 wins.

Interviewer: There are many rumours surrounding the future of Donovan and Occean, your comment?

Lung: I know they want to play for a bigger club, we have talked about that, I really want them to stay and help this team to become a champion. And I said that I will watch very closely, if there is a deal that benefit both sides, I will consider it. They are very professional, though they are a bit upset not having a chance to play for a bigger club at this moment, as long as they are still a member of the Syclones, they give their 100% effort, not like some players that will stop coming to training.

Interviewer: You have brought in a couple of players, and selected 5 youngsters from the draft, are you going to make any more moves?

Lung: It really depends, we want to improve our team all the time, but you don’t want to make changes just for the sake of pleasing the fans, or bringing in top quality players to boast the look of the team. We have a system that we want to implement here, you don’t want to fill all 28 spots with above average players, you want a handful and guys who can play regularly, but on the other hand, you shouldn’t forget the young guys, we want to train our youngsters, they are they future of the country, that’s why I have more draft picks on my team than players that I have brought in from abroad over the past 3 seasons. So it is highly unlikely that we will have major changes before the season begins.

Interviewer: During the draft, you had a lot of negative comments on Coach Gower’s selections. Comments?

Lung: He is the one who tries to improve his ball club, it was his choice to pick those players, but honestly I won’t make those picks if I were in his position, those players will not bring him anywhere, and I think he will soon realise that, I am sure I won’t be wrong on that. He is going to have a huge test this season, although he did win all 3 games since he took over, but we cannot judge based on that, we will know this season what he is capable of.

Interviewer: Last question, what is your expectation this year?

Lung: I think we will be contending, I am sure we will improve our away record, we are going to make some slight adjustment when playing away for home. We will continue our form at home like we did last season. We are aiming for the Supporter Shield this season.

Interviewer: Thank you very much Coach Lung, we appreciate your time, we will talk again later in the season.

Lung: Alright, thanks for having me.

Ricky Lung is very optimistic about their chances this year, we are all looking forward to the first kick of the season. We will have the breakdown of their roster next time. Goodbye and have a good evening everyone.

retired_hellokity111

FC United prove critic's wrong in draft selections, but will it last?


Much speculation and criticism went into Nathan Gower's draft selections in the Superdraft, but after the 4-0 win on opening day, much of the speculation subsided.

The boss chose a relatively unknown and old (or at least by draft standards) first pick, which was viewed as a wasted pick by many, in Quantanilla. After his rock solid performance in center back, many people see why he made the choice he did.

Another solid performer was a young Brailian midfielder, which was more or less an unknown in the draft, which caused many to scramble for any information they could on him. After being named Man of the Match and assisting on a goal, wowing the Boston fans in the process, the criticism stopped.

In a brief interview with Nathan Gower, he had the following to say, "I never doubted my picks, and that is why I made them. It will be interesting to see how they fit in during the duration of the season. My biggest concern is Vancouver at the moment. Facing such a strong team with a nearly revamped squad will be tough, but I think we'll know in the first 15 minuites how the game will go."

A true test for the veteran center back Quantanilla will be given in the form of Quavas Kirk during the Vancouver match. Though we couldn't get an interview with him directly, some of his teammates have noticed his efforts to improve team chemistry, including a friendly match in the park after practice.

Though he has won his first four games in charge, managing an impressive goal scoring record, Coach Gower is only worried about the results through the rest of the season. "I don't care about last season, this is the season that matters. I believe a playoff spot is very likely, and I am aiming for 3rd place at the least. With Rossi's call ups and alack of a 3rd strikers, my biggest concern is on the bench and reserve squad. If we can stay healthy and the reserves can step up, then I think the Boston fans will finally see some success with their club."

retired_hellokity111

Vancouver boss comes to his senses

Carrying four defensive midfielders when only one is used is a luxury coach Saint-Vil realized quickly and he was also quick to do something about it. The three year MLS and Vancouver Lions veteran was cut prior to the season to make room for a creative attacker, something Vancouver missed sorely last season. Sarki had started every match he was available for Vancouver in last three years but the acquisition of a more defensively capable Tomasz Sokolowski from Alaska encouraged the Vancouver boss to chase down a long time target from Brazil.

The new Brazilian on the block, Nene comes in from Paulista after trying his luck briefly in Spain then returning to Brazil earlier in his career. He certainly looked difficult to contain in the season opener against Kentucky Kaisers as he managed to score on his debut to put Vancouver up 1-0. Vancouver stole the victory in the dying seconds of the match after Nene had departed for Jorge Daniel Achucarro.

There is also plenty of rumour coming out of Vancouver as USMNT striker Conor Casey has become surplus to requirements. Coach Saint-Vil is reported to be interested in a prospect or a draft pick for Casey.

retired_hellokity111

For full stats see the latest edition of MLS Gazette.

MLS Gazette - Tables, Rosters and Stats

retired_hellokity111

Lions Still Underachieving

Demoralizing losses to Marquette and Rochester early in the season forced coach Saint-Vil to make some fundamental changes. Rather than relying on the inconsistent backline, Vancouver have taken a free scoring approach aided by the improving form of Atiba Hutchinson and Nene.

Despite suffering a heartbreaking loss to Toronto and an unlucky tie to Rochester, Vancouver have now lost one in the last six matches grabbing four wins after managing only one win in seven matches to start the season.

A road trip awaits Vancouver, with trips to Nerdington, Kentucky and Alaska coming up in the near future, Vancouver's high powered offense will be given an appripriate test to determine whether Vancouver has what it takes to make a push higher up the table. Being only three points away from first place is encouraging as Vancouver, despite their terrible start to the season, don't appear to have lost much ground on their competitors.

retired_kcnoodle@cox.ne

Kentucky Update:

It's been a hit or miss start to the season for the biggest underachievers in MLS. KK have scored 8 victories in the opening 13 rounds - as high as anyone, whilst blasting a respectable 28 goals. Unfortunately, sitting at just +2 on GD tells the other half of the story as they've been hit up badly a couple of times already in 2008.

After recording 5 defeats in their opening 12 games, Kentucky still sat atop of the East/South with the resurgent Marquette Iron Rangers. MLS seems to be very even this year so points are hard to come by and a result can go either way in most every game.

Commonwealth Stadium hasn't been the happiest place of late - Kai, Biglia, Cameron, DMB and even rookie Dan Williams have grumbled about playing time, moving on or their poor contract.

Kai, the biggest offseason headache with his contract coming to an end this year, is currently injured and still holding out on signing a new deal. Just before his injury he indicated he would resign at the league max $300k, but before he could put pen to paper he had changed his mind. That's the 3rd time now the fickle Brazilian starlet has teased the KK faithful, and Coach Clark is sick of it.

"I would sell him in a heartbeat were it not for the fact that next year he will have earned his greencard. He'll also be cap-exmpt for a while so the big wages aren;'t so important. Either way, we've offered him to increase from $40k to $300k a year and if that doens't make him happy then he's a gold-digging mercenary. I think he's forgotten how humble his roots were. He was in the Sao Paolo ghetto towns not that long ago. Ingrateful SOB."

Whether Clark's outburst will shame Kai into a deal, or make him more resolute on leaving remains to be seen. "The fact that he's injured for a month, and yet is still intent on leaving bugs me. We've invested 4 years in him, and this is our return..." Rumour has it that when Kai returns he will be riding the pine until the Summer and will then be sold to a European club. That is, if the time warming the bench doesn't make him more open to a deal "I'd like to see his market value after we sit him for the next 6 months."

Clark can be a spiteful bastard.

Other whiners in the camp are DMB, who is having an excellent year but is clearly after a gig at a bigger club. If only Kentucky could have won some silverware rather than crashing out, perhaps DMB might have been willing to stay. "He's got 18 months left on his deal. He's here for another 6 months, and maybe 6 more after than. But we're not going to let him leave for free, not a chance....."

Lucas Biglia, the young Argentine DM, has begun to flourish. Having ousted former club captain and US Nats legend Claudio Reyna, Biglia has established himself as one of MLS's premier talents. His abilty to control the play from deep, dead ball skills and long range shooting are lethal and he leads the club in goals so far this term with 6. Unfortunately, it's all gone to his head; in a little under a year at the club he's already demanding a move despite regular starts. "He's going nowhere" said a defiant Clark, "Unless he stops performing on the field, and no manager will want him if he turns out to be a quitter."

Injuries have plagued the campaign so far, no less than 7 first team players have been out recently - at one time! And all for the wrong side of 4 weeks. Key players, Kai, Leozinho, Clark, Soho and the rest have been sorely missed. Some are coming back now and Clark will need them to help combat the Iron Rangers who look to be in good form this season.

One person who did step up in their absence was Francismar, he'd been a bit pants since his arrival, but has looked more the part this term and seemed to enjoy playing in Leozinho's AMC role. He also did a decent job when he had to cover up front and scored a couple of beauties in this period.

The Key performers in 2008 have been : Leo, Soho, Kai, Biglia, DMB and Luca has exploded into the first team recently too, with his first senior hattrick.

No, not all bad for KK, but defitely some kinks to be ironed out. The Kai contract continues to be a priority, almost more than the season itself "he's so integral to the future that if I have to bench him to make this work I will. Even if it costs us the season. I don't think it will, we're pretty deep up front when healthy, but noone is bigger than this team...."