Is Blanco the best DP MLS has seen so far? (Getty Images)

I’ve had this thought for a little while, on the surface the Designated Player rule is good as it brings quality players into Major League Soccer that do help in more areas than just on the field itself. We know the cons against it like teams spending so much money on one player but I started looking at all the past and present DPs and started wondering if this rule really is worth it.

Now first of all I’m not going to advocate for or against this rule today. I just merely want to point out who’s done well with it and who’s not. We’ve seen this rule in place for a couple seasons now and so far only a few clubs have ventured out with this rule. Now it seems like most clubs are going away from the rule, currently only five clubs have a DP (Toronto, New York, LA, Seattle and Houston).

Also, so far five clubs (or six if you count Philly too) have yet to use their DP slot. RSL won MLS Cup 2009 without one so maybe they aren’t worth the money.

So let’s take a deeper look into each DP. What worked about it and what didn’t work on and off the field. We’ll go from worst to best in this instance. I’d also like to note that two fo the DPs on this list have only played a little under a half season with their clubs so grading and discussing them at length seemed unfair at this time. If you are wondering about who I am talking about here those two are Houston’s Luis Angel Landin and Toronto’s Julian De Guzman. (For the record I like De Guzman but don’t care of Landin…but saying that I am very curious about their upcoming seasons.) Continue Reading…

Piotr Nowak leads the troops. (Photo via Philadelphia Union)

By: Geoff Reid

I must admit, when Philadelphia officially got announced as the next expansion club added to the MLS brass for the 2010 season in March of 2008, I was very skeptical.  Of course at the time, I was still based in Massachusetts as an undergrad and my local side then essentially was the New England Revolution.  For a long time in the back of my mind I was always thinking it was a mistake that the league picked Philadelphia over St. Louis.  Now nearly two years later, my opinion is a complete 180 degrees from what it originally had been.

Since the last update in November, much more has developed: the expansion draft, MLS Superdraft, additional player signings, full fixture announcement for the whole season, date for when the stadium will officially open, additions to coaching staff, the hiring of JP Dellacamera as play by play commentator and local TV contract on 6abc to televise games that aren’t nationally televised, amongst a whole other bunch of information.

The media coverage has been particularly interesting.  It’s not been front page of the sports editions by any means, nor was the Union expecting that to happen. However, signs have been encouraging.  Tom Veit, President of the club told the local newspaper Philadelphia Inquirer that season ticket sales will still cap at 12,000 and that currently the number is closing on 10,000.  Veit pointed out that Toronto FC had as many season ticket holders at this point when they were approaching their 1st season in league play and used the TFC model as an example to prove why he believes all Union home matches will sell out the 18,500 seat stadium when completed. Continue Reading…

From time to time as you all know we like to post interviews done by former MLSer Jared Montz. If you haven’t gotten into his podcast yet I highly recommend you do so now.

Today he has added a new podcast…or videocast…or whatever they are called with Chicago Fire forward Calen Carr.

Enjoy.

I try sometimes to stay away from personal matters but today just isn’t one of those days. See today is a special day for me and this site because it is the three year anniversary!

I’ll cut to the chase and not bother you with loads of memories and wishes though. I would though like to thank you all who come here everyday, every week, once a month, once a year or how ever often you visit my little space on the internet. I know I have ruffled a few feathers and probably upset a few of you over time. I’d like to think that I am growing as a writer and a person here.

I’d also like to give a thanks to Geoff Reid and Brian Stevens, two people who have helped me out in different ways over the last year. Geoff with his interesting views on things and Brian with his amazing photography of the Kansas City Wizards.

I hope that moving forward this site continues to grow. Don’t worry I’m not going to bother you with my site stats, I believe in showing off how much or little you do is a little annoying. If you want to see them or know them just ask me or find a site that can look them up for you.

As for what the new year here at WVH will bring, I am hoping to grow the site with more writers (and photographers) if anyone is interested. Don’t worry I won’t force deadlines or anything like that. I would just like to add some people who enjoy writing about the beautiful game for the fun of it like I do. Hopefully this new year brings a lot of good from it.

Again, thanks for coming.

Cheers,

- Drew

DC United fans are hoping for a return to playoffs in 2010. (Getty Images)

I wasn’t entirely sure I’d get to this offseason look at DC United today but extra time this afternoon came out of no where. So far these last couple weeks we’ve looked at a handfull of teams including Philadelphia, Chicago, Chivas, Colorado and Columbus.

Today is all about the Black-and-Red who have seen a pretty big change this winter. From Curt Onalfo taking over for Tom Soehn to seeing Ben Olsen retiring to not offering Christian Gomez or Luciano Emilio a new contract, this is a whole new United.

Let’s see exactly what they’ve done and what they need to work on before the season starts. Continue Reading…

Crystal Palace Baltimore Stadium rendering. (Photo via CPUSA)

A little mid-day stadium porn for you. And believe me some MLS teams would love to have this stadium right now.

The Maryland Stadium Authority approved a $100,000 study on Tuesday to explore the viability of building a professional soccer stadium in Baltimore. Both DC United and the USSF Division II’s Crystal Palace Baltimore are being looked at in this study.

The renderings though are for CP Baltimore. A cozy little venue with a roof over all the seats with one end open for probably a party deck of some sorts. I like it…a lot.

Bob Bradley’s national team camp opens next week at Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., in preparation for the friendly against El Salvador at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on February 24.

No real major surprises for this camp as we figured it would be mostly all MLS based. This may be a first in a long time that the entire roster for a camp is all MLS based.

What do you make of this roster?

KEEPERS: Troy Perkins (D.C. United), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake), Zach Thornton (Chivas USA).

DEFENDERS: Kevin Alston (New England Revolution), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles Galaxy), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Michael Orozco (Philadelphia Union), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC).

MIDFIELDERS: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Eddie Gaven (Columbus Crew), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas), Chris Pontius (D.C. United), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew).

FORWARDS: Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Jeff Cunningham (FC Dallas), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake).