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United Boss Responds to Clark Swiftly

United boss did not waste any time responding to Clark. "He can justify the trade to himself any way he likes, but it's clear as day that the best player in MLS now plays for San Jose while Brian Ching is at best a mediocre striker in this league."

Responding to Clark's comments regarding a proposed trade of Petke for Ching, United boss couldn't hide his amusement. "How on earth can you try and justify a trade for the best defender in the league when you have been rejected for a relativley less talented defender like Petke?" the United manager said. "As for Ricardo Clark, I would have liked to have seen him play for us alongside Kovalenko, but obviously the MetroStars manager preferred to pick up an over the hill Agoos, by trading away the future of his team. I have no regrets over Ricardo"

United boss also added that Clark was dreaming by trying to lure Spanish ex-international Josep Guardiola to MLS while he's still under contract at Al Ahli. He reminded to Clark that without a release from his club, Guardiola could not be signed and there was no need for shortlisting the player without having his scouts report on Guardiola's recent performances. Guardiola's contract is set to run out on June 30, 2004. :wink:

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COACH LUNG'S RESPOND ON COMMENTS BY UNITED AND SJ BOSS

After the recent comments by United and SJ boss, Metros head coach just cannot keep silent, this is his respond regarding the comments, "....I admit that I am a rookie manager in MLS, but I never fail when I was coaching elsewhere, or at least I never finish near the bottom of the table, and I am sure that this time there is no exception. Regarding the trade of Eddie Pope, I admit that he is an excellent defender, and no coach should trade him away without getting enough quality in return, but I still believe Brain Ching is the type of player that I am looking for after losing SGR to SJ in a blockbuster trade. I believe in the forward combo of Ching and Gaven, and the rest of the squad, it is just a matter of time before they bond together as a good....."

He also said,"....I will make the people, who are already ruled me out of competing the title, take back their word. There is still a long way to go, with 21 games remaining, anything can happen. Despite conceded 21 goals through 9 matches, I am still the top scoring team in the East. We will start winning game when the defending line of Agoos, Leitch, and Bonseu live up to their expectation; and Walker returns to form. I will not change to a defensive style of football just because we conceded 21 goals, I believe that attack is the best way of to denfense...."

So this is the respond of Metrostars head coach Lung, let see will United or SJ coach have some more comment on that.

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United Manager Questions Clark's Health

Following Clark's comments that he heared Josep Guardiola would be interested in a move to the MLS, Omer asked "I wonder if he's hearing voices in his head, because his scouts have certainly not gone out and watched Guardiola and said anything to Clark. I certainly hope Clark is healthy and fit to manage because I relish the competition :wink: " Omer also added that there were quite a few other names on the list that he would rather not disclose at this time.

These comments by the United boss have attracted interest from the commissioner's office as well. The commissioner reported that they would be watching Clark's transfer dealings very closely to ensure that the MLS is run on a level playing field for all managers.

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RE-FOCUS

The recent 4-game losing streak have seen the Metros down to the bottom of the East. Head coach Lung slots in an extra practice today and try to make every player focus again. He said to a reporter today,"We have some time before our next match, so I slot in an extra practice today and try to make the team re-focus. We reviewed some tactical info, it is great, all of them understand their role now, everyone is in good shape, we are ready to go." He then asked about all the comments that is going on off the field. He said,"All those comments are just pure talking, the bottom line is we have to go out and play hard as a team, everyone is on the same page, we are all focus again. I am looking forard to our next match."

[retired_mallory08]

A Solid Start

After winding his way through England, Belgium, France and Spain, new Galaxy manager Tom Yaglowski relishes the idea of now working in America. "Football, or as you say, 'soccer', is gaining popularity here in the States, and LA plays the type of exciting 'soccer' that will keep you coming back for more."

The Galaxy squad did start quite slow in the first month of the season, compiling a 2-1-2 record. But the first half of May saw a renaissance in the LA team as they took consecutive wins against the MetroStars and Colorado. The 5-1 thrashing against NY/NJ did wonders for the confidence of the whole team. And the 2-0 win against Colorado swelled the chests of the solid LA defensive line.

The big West Coast grudge match is between LA and San Jose. On May 15, the two sides played to a stalemate, 0-0. Either side, with one shot, could have come out victors. "I am looking forward to all that American soccer has to offer and also looking forward to a long, successful run here on the West Coast."

With that, Yaglowski ended the news conference, slid on his trademark Ray Ban sunglasses, and strode out of the room.

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Our last away game for a while was at Colorado. We came out we did not have a good game we could not finish well and that describe the game we pushed forward at the end and we ended up conceding a second goal we were playing a man down. We blew a golden opportunity hear. I was really disappointed with the way that the team came out.
“We came out flat and we paid dearly for it. We should have won they lost their best striker early and we just played poorly.”

We finally get home for a game against Chicago and we put our crowd to sleep. This was a very defensive game, Stephenson had 3 open shots at goal but could not convert so now he is in my dog house you get playing time in the Open cup and that is all. The game ended 0-0. “Russ is a good friend he had a great defensive tactic” “We screwed up right now Khari Stephensonis definitly in my dog house though we should have got 3 points out of that game.”

Another home game this time against San Jose this one was a one sided affair. In the ultimate irony Josh Wolff scored the first goal. Making Al wish he had not been so generous with the sign and trade. San Jose would score again it seemed destined for a draw until I turned up the heat and brought in Mr Clutch Davy Arnaud who scored in the 90th minute to put us ahead.
“Davy has a sense for the ball at the end this is the third time he has done this for me when the result looked like it was going be different.”
“San Jose played better for 80 minutes but we showed that we are a 90 minute team. That makes me feel very strongly that we will be contenders at the end”

Home at Dallas was next, once again Dallas was the better team though out most of the match. With Tony Meola out Will Hesmer was our hero making some near impossible saves against Dallas. They came out early and scored . Wolff tied it up it seemed destined for a draw but once again in the late stages of the game Nick Garcia out of no where gets the game winner to put us ahead 2-1 and give us the win.
Wolff, Nick Garcia game winner. We also brought in long time United States Defender Richie Williams. “ A player that has been capped a lot and can become a good presence that we need in the midfield or fullback positions” “We once again showed that we can play 90 minutes I am very proud of this team these are the kind of games that really build character I am proud and convinced we can win the west now.”

Home to Columbus, Preki scored on a free kick early and things looked bright. We were of good spirits until they score two in a row and I realized my mistake in starting Will Hesmer so I put Meola back in. I accidentally subbed in Khari Sanderson (wrong button click) and that cost me has he committed a penalty inside the box that put us down 3-1.
“This obviously was not the way I wanted to end the home stand it was a swift kick where I don’t want to be kicked, Hesmar prooved he was nothing more than a backup and I am glad I get Meola back next game”
“ As far as Khari goes , he is a nice kid I wish him luck in the future but he has screwed up to many times. If you do the team will I will reward you but he has hurt the team to much so I will release him”
“Tony and Preki have just took pay cuts to help us with our cap and to find some more sutiable defenseman. I am very grateful for this and as long as I am here these two players will retire Wizards if I have my wish.”

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GETTING A LITTLE BIT BETTER

After the recent losing streak and the poor display of defense, Metros' head coach Ricky Lung were looking to solidify his defense. He traded away John Wolyniec to DC United and got Brian Carroll, Eliseo Quintanilla, and a 5th round pick in return.

Things start to get a little bit better for the Metros after their 4-games losing streak, they manage a 1-1-2 record in their next four.

First, they host United at Giant Stadium, both team had a quite first half, neither team had any real chance, second half didn't get any better, the highlight of the game belongs to Thiago Martins of United, he scored on his debut at the 59th minute mark. DC hang on to win the game.

For the second game, the Metros went on the road against Columbus, they shot a little bit better, but still didn't have any real threat on scoring. Amado Guevara scored on a 30-yard free kick on the 58th minute, but Columbus struck right back on 62th minute by Marshall's header off a corner kick. The game ended with a 1-1 draw.

The Metros seems to return to the form that they had during their skid. They lost 4-0.

They finally went back to the win column when they face Kansas City at home. Ironically, their last win was also against Kansas at Giant Studium. This game was no where close to the last one as far as shooting effort was concern, it ended at 1-0, Eddie Gaven scored the only goal in hte 85th minute off the post.

Desipte their improved defense, the Metros still cannot find any ways to score some goals, their forward cannot even shot the ball on target, coach Lung has to address this during their next practice, they need to do some serious work on their shooting touch. Let see will their offense do better in the next few games.

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Momma Told Me There'd Be Days Like This.....

Clark was philisophical, "We'll play worse than those two games and get 3pts in each....but it just wasn't our day". "Hats off to the other managers, they did exactly what was needed to secure the wins".

Clark was referring to the two recent defeats - to high-flyers DC (2-0 at RFK) and a 2-1 reverse at the Cotton Bowl to a Dallas side hell bent on revenge after the 8-1 mauling the previous month. "The AssMan kicked some Ass, Man. I think Stu's best managerial decision so far was to start to delgate more tasks - like picking the 1st team squad and tactics to the AM. That AM has a real future in the game I'd say at the coaching level". "Of course, it didn't help that Int'l call-ups depleted our squad and robbed us of Eddie Pope and Dwight Pezzarossi amongst others. We also lost four players to the U20 US team. I guess that's one advantage to having no internationals on your side. Eddie Johnson should have been in the senior USMNT but was inexplicably overlooked. I wish he had been picked - it would have earned us at least a point. He's been on fire lately - 11 goals on a struggling team tells you everything you need to know. I'd be surprised if we see him in MLS for much longer - a big European club is gonna swoop in and take him to the Champions League....and as far as I'm concered, the sooner the better!"

The DC game had been hyped up and the Screaming Eagle's were ultimately the ones cheering after a couple of well taken goals handed SJ a 2-0 defeat and returned the favour on a similar scoreline when the two teams met at Spartan Stadium. "A goal of the season contender" said Clark of Oktay's long range strike which effectively killed the game off in the second half. "Their fans were amazing once again. They are the proverbial 12th man. Spartan Stadium has been just that lately - spartan. I hope our fans get behind us, particularly given our good standing. It's like they've forgotten about the fact we're candidates for relocation." Clark was referring in part to the disappoint average attendance at Spartan. The recent game against Dallas saw just 11,500 through the gates.

The other two games went a little better - a victory against Colorado and a 1-1 tie with Columbus. The Columbus game had threatened to get away from the 'Quakes early, but they came back strong and looked good for all three points by the end.

The last four game thus ended with a 1-2-1 record.

On a positive note, Sergio Galvan Rey got back to fitness and on the scoresheet a couple of times. He shares the goalscoring lead with 11 goals with EJ.

Clark was quiet on the transfer front for a change. He signed recently released Khari Stephenson (ex-KC) to a developmental contract whilst he takes a closer look at him. The young Jamaican winger has already received national team recognition and could be a useful squad player.

The search for a AML continues. Clark reportedly bid on an un-named Honduran to fill the void, but was turned down. We've heard on the grapevine that Pablo Brenes was offered as a makeweight to no avail. The scouts are scouring the lower leagues of South and Central America and Clark hopes they find a diamond in the rough soon. He's got only $230k to spend and is reluctant to use all of that in one go. He recently reassigned one of his scouts to Britain in order to try and find some young talent. Perhaps a Bosman deal is in the offing, the scouts need to do their jobs and earn their corn. Clark has also intimated that he is a little disappointed with the form down the right too, where Mulrooney, Klass, Brenes and Stephenson have all failed to make the position their own. Mulrooney - a key cog at Spartan Stadium - has split his time between MR, DR and the IR.

Clark will be looking for more consistency and more wins, after surrendering both the lead in the west (to LA) and the overall lead (to DC). Individually the team is playing well (SGR and Pezz are both in the top 5 in scoring, Ramirez leads in assists and SGR and Ramirez are top 5 average performers). What the team lacks is cohesion and familiarity, not too surprisng give it's rapid assembly in the offseason. Aussie netminder Bonsich's recent slump in form has also had a major part. He was rated #2 in the league average ratings but has recently fallen off the rader. Clark was quick to snuff out some negative speculation in the press "No, he's not been snorting anything he shouldn't."

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United Add Striker and Keep Rolling

United have continued their rebuilding by picking up a much needed target man to strengthen their attack. So far in the season, United's main area of concern was the strike force as players like Quintanilla, Quaranta and Eskandarian just did not have the strength to compete with the physical MLS defenders. When the MetroStars put up John Wolyniec up for trade, United jumped at the opportunity to add the seasoned striker to their books. Going the other way were Brian Carroll, Eliseo Quintanilla and a 5th round pick. When approached about allowing the young Carroll to leave, United manager commented "He's obviously a very good player at his young age and we are sorry to let him go. But Leonardo Gonzales has made the left back spot his own since the beginning of the season and Carroll was just not going to get playing time unless there was a major injury." The trade was completed while United were visiting the MetroStars but Wolyniec did not take part in the game as United boss preferred not to play him until he had a chance to train with the team.

The match against the MetroStars was another tough encounter for United. United played a cautious attacking formation against the MLS bottom dwellers and was able to scrape with a win thanks to a Thiago Martins goal. Martins joined United before the new manager's arrival and was not rated highly initially but the scoring start to his United career will surely get the manager to re-evaluate Martins' position in the squad.

Wolyniec had a scoring debut against Colorado and showed exactly why United obtained his services. Quick on the ground and strong in the air, Wolyniec appeared to have the element the United attack had despite making his first start with his new team. Colorado were not to be taken lightly though as they equalized in the second half to turn the contest into a goal to goal high paced thriller. However neither team managed to break the deadlock before the final whistle.

Next game against division rivals was a classic DC United match that we have grown accustomed to. Oktay Derelioglu opened his scoring account for United after 11 matches and looked to be a lot more lively than his previous matches. With Marko Dinjar and Dema Kovalenko controlling the midfield with percision, New England got few chances to equalize while United seemed happy to sit back and look for a counter attack opportunity. The opportunity never presented itself as United came out winners on the day.

Following their war of words of United manager and San Jose skipper Al Clark, the match between San Jose and United was a widely anticipated one. San Jose handed United their only loss of the season in a convincing 2-0 win on the west coast. With San Jose in town, United manager altered his tactics to create a barrier between the San Jose midfielders and their attackers. It was one of these United midfielders Marko Dinjar that opened the scoring with a long range shot that Bosnich just could not reach. After picking up the lead, United manager made sure not to give up a quick goal to San Jose by going to a more defensive formation. In the second half, as San Jose were pushing for the win, United brought in Freddy Adu to give problems to the San Jose defense as United went to a 3 man attack. This move set up the goal by Oktay towards the end of the match as the Turk scored his second goal in two matches after being silent for his first eleven. San Jose pushed forward but the United defense was precise time around leaving little space for forwards Mulrooney, Pezzarossi and Sergio Alejandro Galvan Rey.

So far United have managed to remain in the top part of the Eastern Conference. However, United boss reminds us that they are in a rebuilding year and it is unlikely that they will go all the way for the MLS title. "We don't have the kind of balanced squad that wins championships. We are not able to bring a lot of creativity into your game yet. I'll be looking to bring in some versatile players in the next year to give us a better chance of winning against any of our competitors, home or away. But this season we are a little far off that mark. But we will go as far as we can with what we have."