[ryanmt]

Quakes looking to add more pieces towards completing the puzzle.

San Jose manager Ryan Thompson has expressed regret at the first round exit from the MLS Playoffs. Said Thompson, "It's always disappointing to lose, but Colorado played well. Still, I felt the two games to be fairly even, as evidenced by the fact that only one goal was scored."

Getting immediately to work after DC United took home the MLS Cup, the Earthquakes annouced the signings of American youngsters Nick Walker, David Lagos, and Chris Levesque. "They're kids with some talent, but we'll have to wait and see how they do. They're all midfielders, but with varying characteristics and roles, and they'll need to work hard to earn their place," said Thompson of his new signings. Thompson hinted that he especially felt that Lagos had a good chance at successfully competing for a first team spot alongside defensive midfielder Brian Williams. "I realize that none of these players are exactly household names, but we're a small-budget team. Our financial means are more limited than those of other teams. It's more essential for us to make good use of the funds that are available," admitted Thompson.

Finally, Andre Muri continues to be a candidate to leave the team. Muri has made public his desire to leave San Jose, and is rumored to not be the most popular player in the Earthquakes' locker room. Still, he has always been an automatic selection under Thompson and the team insists that no official enquiries have been made about Muri's services.

[Ricky Lung]

Another Season Down the Tubes with a Thriller in the Depot

In a game that seemed to go in every direction as possible ended up being probably the most exciting game of the year and had to be a top 5 in MLS history. Both Colorado and LA fought fiercly, but only one could prevail. Going 2-2 at the end of regulation to 3-3 at the end of extra time. The game went into PKs seeing Colorado up 2-0 and watch themselves lose 3-2 in PKs. Neil Winstanley playing his last game with Colorado ended his MLS career by missing the last PK of the match. He is now moving to the EPL and joining Norwich. Colorado can only wonder what the outcome might have been with league leader in goals Matias Fernandez didnt get injuried but his replacement Thomas scored a goal to give Colorado the lead.

Moving forward... while everyone seemed focused on dismantling the freenzy in DC, Colorado stayed focused overseas in Africa and may have brought over one of the best players in the world. As news was being heard that SJ had made an offer for him, a day later the star signed with the Rapids. This produces a very strong attacking front in the Mile High city. Zizi Roberts and Dayro Moreno with US U-20 striker Foster, with Matias Fernandez at attacking midfield, can leave a very dangerous on the pitch. So one South African out a new one in.

The question on everyones mind is the defense. Silva has been the all-star goalie for a few years now, but Garner made 1 appearance and has stuck between the post for the rest of the season and the playoffs. With Winstanley leaving... it could give Shellenberg the starting defensive back role to start the season moving Borchers to center and having Lewis and Kotchacsu fighting for the right back.

Needs this offseason....
LMF... has been open all year with just plantoon plays moving around.
DC... looking for an experienced back to hold the defense together.
Bench.... depth was a major concern last year, only being able to contain a 22 man roster and 4 of those spots were GKs.

On the trading block...
Roberts and Moreno are definately tradeable if anyone is interested.
Sliva the all-star goal and only 25 yrs old is on the block.

[Ricky Lung]

METROS 2009 WRAP UP

Another year has passed by, the DC United, leads by Tom II's assistant manager has successfully defend their title, but this will probably be their last year, since some of the major pieces on the team is heading elsewhere to seek for some new challenges.

Since the start of the 2009 campaign, the management team of the Metrostars has not seen the media a lot, they fired head coach Ng mid-way through the season and hired Lung V as their new head coach. Coach Lung V made a decent run at the end of the season and manage to tie Columbus at the final standing with 27 points, but was forced to sit out the playoff because of the head to head matchup. Columbus won their last game thanks to a dying second goal and gave them the needed win at the end since the Metros also won their last game against Kansas 2-0.

Despite finish last again in the East, the Metros have built a core group of players, and there are some very talented youngsters who may emerge as one of the top stars in the league. Meyer, who picked up in the first round of last year's draft has already collected a few caps for the national team. K. Flores, who is the second overall pick in the 2005 draft has not seen a lot of improvement after the injury he picked up after his first season, which sidelined him for 8 months. But he is still a very solid starter on the team. T. Flores, Metros' second round pick in the last draft is a surprise, he leads the team with 7 goals after the season. He also dished out 5 assists. Cummins, Smith, Jackson are all solid backups behind the established players like Gonzalez, Lizarazo, and Mulrooney.

So far in this off-season, the scouting staffs of the Metros have gone everywhere and hope to pick up a few more foreigners since they have a SI and a TI slot open. But at the end, they came back and pick up Alva from DC as their 3rd SI. Alva has proved himself in the past few years, can he provide a spark for the Metros' offense? We will have to see when the new season unfold.

The Metros still have a TI slot open and they need some depth at the goal and up front. They will have to fill those holes through the TI slot and the upcoming draft.

[ryanmt]

San Jose showing promise

The 2010 MLS season is well underway and the San Jose Earthquakes find themselves situated at the top of the Western Conference and in a strong position to compete with the L.A. Galaxy and other Western rivals. Los Angeles has played one game fewer however, and could easily overtake San Jose. The Quakes' victories have not been of the most convincing variety, but the results have been positive and the standings indicate this. Whether or not San Jose can maintain this good form remains to be seen.

In transfer news, the Earthquakes released veteran Bulgarian forward Svetoslav Todorov. His roster spot was then given to another Bulgarian attacker, Vladislav Zlatinov. Zlatinov's arrival is rumored to have cost San Jose roughly $500,000, though no official details were released regarding the transfer fee.

[Orksrule40k]

New Beginings

It's a new season at Arrowhead and changes have been enforced. In from perenial champions DC United is willy olde CJ Brown, to marshall the backline and teach the youngsters how to win. Danny Califf also joined from the LA Galaxy after coach Omer exposed him in the supplemental draft. Former first round pick, David Cota, left the Fire's moody lockeroom after being told that his contract won't be renewed. To bolster the attack, we traded our upcomming second round draft pick to LA for promising USMNT player Greg Campbell. Then we had a major free agent signing, Canadian International Julian De Guzman left his Spanish club, Valencia, and was persuaded to come and ply his trade in the MLS. In a bit of sad news, Peguero was released to make for De Guzman and he ended up back on the Dallas roster. You see, since we ended the career Preciado by Shalrie Joesph badly breaking his legs they needed a striker, and it's so ironic since before last season we traded Preciado for Peguero.

In the draft we picked up a young defender with our first pick, Steve Payne and we hope to turn him into a rugged centre half. Our second pick was used to snag young Canadian DM C Kevin Dugas. He had been previously drafted by San Jose in 2008 but was later cut, by reliable source says he's potentially the best player in the draft.

So as the season begins we are looking to improve our defensive record and firmly establish either Alex Gray or Sean Kouzmanis in goal. Goals will be hard to come by as we lack talent but hopefully we can sneak a playoff berth.

[Orksrule40k]

KC Open Cup Hope

The Kansas City Wizards cruised into the Semi's of the US Open Cup. They hosted the enigmatic MetroStars at Arrowhead stadium in the Quarters. Coach Lung V is a brilliant spotter of talent, he has found a few great prospects from Asia Ryan Ng, Chen Tao, Hang Xie ect...However, when it comes to tactics he's really ineffective this is evident by his teams having no clue on that big green thing out there. Just look at his poor history against the Fire and DC United.

This tactical ineptitude was on display as his side failed to create chances against inferior opposition. The Wizards don't have the talent to change a game with one kick, but they make up for that with spirit and by being 110% committed to the cause, which are areas the Metrostars are left wanting in. KC were playing their typical defensive 4-5-1 formation and were quite happy with 0-0 at halftime with neither side managing a shot on goal. In second half, Adam Rodriguez scored. It was a beautiful freekick and the lackuster Metros didn't manage any response before the final whistle blew. If I was the Metro's manager the team would have much to answer for after a display like that.

[ryanmt]

Quakes Anxious for Postseason

The San Jose Earthquakes wrapped up their 2010 MLS regular season campaign with a victory over the Columbus Crew. The season thus far will likely be seen by most as successful, with the Quakes headed to the MLS playoffs and also set to participate in the U.S. Open Cup final against the Kansas City Wizards. A place in the Cup final was achieved only after prevailing in a tight contest in the semifinals, again against the Columbus Crew. The Quakes had actually found themselves trailing in the game, but recent South African signing Gift Leremi leveled it up with a goal later described by Crew manager Lee Smith-Bryan as "scrappy". After both 90 and 120 minutes, the score still read 1-1, leading to the penalty kick lottery where San Jose prevailed 4-2.

In the MLS Western Conference, the Earthquakes battled it out down the strech against rivals L.A. Galaxy. The two teams' point totals were comfortably higher than any other MLS squad and the race for the Western Conference was close till the last moment. In the end, Los Angeles narrowly won the conference and the top Western seed in the playoffs. As for San Jose, their second place finish means they'll meet third place finishers FC Dallas in the playoffs first round.

Between the pipes, San Jose goalkeeper Steve Henderson seems to have been able to wrestle away the starting position back from teammate Brian Brown. Both keepers had their moments, but Henderson seems to be manager Ryan Thompson's first choice headed into the playoffs. The three defenders in front of Henderson continues to usually be John Joy, Andre Muri, and Anthony Vanden Borre.

In midfield, both defensive midfielders David Lagos and Brian Williams have been regular starters. Out wide, first round draft pick Joe Davis has surprisingly become first choice over Steve Tucker on the right flank. The rookie took advantage of his opportunities and early season struggles by Tucker. On the left wing, Zenia Sankovich remains the regular, but Chris Levesque has provided creativity from the position when called upon. Earlier in the season, veteran Hungarian midfielder Zoltan Boor was released to clear a roster spot for the South African Gift Leremi. Said Thompson on Boor's release, "We hated to have to do it, but Leremi was out of contract from his previous club and a decision had to be made quickly. We had had our eyes on Leremi for some time now, and Zoltan's SI roster spot was needed to bring him in. It didn't help Zoltan's case that he had started the season very slowly, and we just felt that the younger Leremi would be a better option for us. Leremi is probably not as creative or as natural a playmaker as Zoltan, but he is a good athlete with a fine passing touch and is a threat to score from any range with either foot."

Finally, enough cannot be said about the attacking tandem of Bulgarian Vladislav Zlatinov and Guatemalan Jose Manuel Mendoza. The two have been the most prolific partnership in MLS this year, which is remarkable when considering that Zlatinov only joined in midseason. Both forwards have to be considered amongst the elite goal-scorers of MLS.

[perpetua5099]

A return home in the books for De Paula?

LA have finished the regular season at the top of the MLS standings and secured home field advantage for the Western Conference Playoffs en route to another possible visit to the MLS cup. With De Paula proving to be a hit in America, he is rumored to have attracted interest from several Brazilian clubs who are aiming to secure his services. A cup winning season would be a great way for De Paula to finish his tenure in the MLS and certainly the LA fans would be delighted to become the team that ends D.C. United's dominance of the MLS.

[perpetua5099]

Saga Coming to an End?

The Relegation Fighters have taken the MLS to new levels in the past six seasons, producing a champions cup trophy for the league. With the relegation fighters pulling out of the MLS after this season let's recap on some of the highlights of the previous 6 seasons. The MLS Cup has been won by 4 different teams. Let's recap the winners:

2004 - Los Angeles (Tom)
2005 - Colorado (Greg)
2006 - DC United (Omer)
2007 - Columbus (Lee)
2008 - DC United (Tom / A.I.)
2009 - DC United (Tom / A.I.)
2010 - ?

Going into the 2010 playoffs, the teams still in contention are: Columbus, Chicago, DC United and MetroStars from the Eastern Conference and Los Angeles, San Jose, Dallas and Colorado from the Western Conference. It remains to be seen who will become victorious in this final season

Certain players have also made a mark on the MLS following the arrival of the Relegation Fighters.

Who can forget the unstoppable Carlos Fernando Figueroa as he led DC United to MLS cup and CONCACAF Champions Cup glories.

Sergio Alejandro Galvan Rey scored goal after goal for the San Jose team that unfortunately became competitive only after his retirement.

Brian West of Columbus came out to play in important matches and scored the goals that led the underdogs Columbus to the MLS cup.

U.S. born Brede Paulsen Hangeland was a rock in the Chicago defense that has been difficult to penetrate all these years despite failing to secure an MLS title in his tenure.

Dwight Pezzarossi will mainly be remembered for his MLS cup winning performance with Colorado but the prolific goalscorer also excelled with San Jose and New England, despite making it a habit to miss penalties.

The only light at the end of the Metrostars tunnel of horror was a young goalkeeper by the name of Libis Andres Arenas, who pulled off some amazing saves to keep the Metrostars in contention for the elusive final playoff spot for several years.

It takes more than words to describe someone like Ronnie O'Brien who has remained a consistent performer in the MLS for almost a decade. Despite missing out on major trophies with FC Dallas, Ronnie has been the envy of many managers in the MLS.

Daniel Montenegro also brought much flair to the New England side becomeing a key contributor. Despite the drastic dip in form for the New England side, Montenegro has remained lethal and still posesses the ability to change the score instantly.

The skilled keeper of Kansas City, Alex Gray has managed to win the hearts of fans of any team with his exemplary attitude as well as amazing the entire league by winning the goalkeeper of the year award in his rookie season. He fell short of adding a trophy to his cabinet however as the Wizards fell to DC United in the MLS Cup final despite Gray's seemingly superhuman efforts.

The Galaxy of Los Angeles have seen some big name players in the past, but a recent addition to the club has perhaps made the biggest impact. Dan Richards, the determined playmaker who led LA to the MLS Cup final and won the Rookie of the Year award and came in second in the MVP voting. With European clubs knocking on his door, his stay in the MLS probably would not have been much longer.

I am sure the MLS will miss the Relegation Fighters and the 7 years of memories that have been left behind. But a new challenge awaits and the Relegation Fighters are yet to shy away from a challenge.

[ryanmt]

Thompson to Resign?

The San Jose Earthquakes triumphed in the U.S. Open Cup, holding off a late chage by the Kansas City Wizards to win 4-3. San Jose had never lifted the Open Cup before.

In the MLS playoffs, the Quakes prevailed in the two-legged tie with FC Dallas, then slipped by LA Galaxy thanks to two great Mendoza goals in a highly anticipated Western matchup. In the MLS final, however, Ricky Lung V's Metrostars continued to send shockwaves throughout the league by finishing off their cinderella playoff run with a 3-0 victory to win the 2010 MLS Playoffs.

Said Thompson, "I'm very happy for my players that we won the U.S. Open Cup and had a nice run in the playoffs. But I must admit that I'm bitterly disappointed to not have finished what we started. The pain is unbearable and I do not think I can face my players or the San Jose fans any longer, whom I feel as if I have failed. I therefore am resigning from my position immediately and will probably leave the country."