Has San Jose done enough to improve on their dismal 2009 campaign? (Getty Images)

Forgive me for a second for this coming out as late as it did. I had every intentions earlier in the week to get this one out on Wednesday but a certain clash in Holland kept me from finishing it until yesterday.

Anyways, we continue on with out look at each Major League Soccer club’s preseason happenings here. We’re in the final stretch with just San Jose, Seattle and Toronto to go. Up first today is San Jose, a club that is hoping to rebound after a dismal effort in 2009. Frank Yallop has made some moves this winter to shake things up by the Bay but will it pay off is the key question.

I thought going into the winter that Yallop and GM Frank Doyle would do a lot of work on this roster that only won seven games in 2009. Reshaping an offense that only scored 36 goals was also another issue but the biggest may be redoing a defense that gave up a league-high 50 goals.

So let us dive into the Earthquakes to see who they have going into the new campaign and where else they need to go to get back into the playoffs. Continue Reading…

Could Bobby Convey be headed home to Philly? (Getty Images)

The speculation has begun for the Philadelphia Union and their expansion draft that takes place tomorrow afternoon. The 15 clubs released their protected list last night and now the Union have a full list of guys that they can get 10 players from. And the talent is there for Union to get off on a good foot here.

I do have a feeling a deal or two will be worked out tomorrow but that is just a hunch.

Below are the ten I believe the Union could go for tomorrow. I went fairly defensive minded as I think that may be the way Philly goes since they haven’t made any moves yet like Seattle had already done by this time last year. Defense is always a good place to start with a roster and they can fill in the holes offensively this winter. Some of these I may be off on but we’ll see. Continue Reading…

Ryan Johnson was one of the few bright spots for San Jose in 2009. (Getty Images)

It’s hard to decline as a club after being an expansion team in 2008 but the 2009 version of the San Jose Earthquakes did just that. They became the first team to lose more in their second season than in their expansion season.

The only difference is this version of the Quakes are actually improving. After a load of failed mistakes in player pickups over the offseason manager Frank Yallop and GM John Doyle bucked the criticism and did start to bring in talent that not only produced but was able show that this club has the potential to actually contend in 2010 if the chips fall in the right order.  Continue Reading…

Time to round out the end of the work week with some links and thoughts. I have a couple MLS thoughts and one US national team item to discuss tonight.

DC Plays For Trophies

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I love DC United and how they market their club. They’ve put little stickers on newspapers throughout DC with the date of the US Open Cup final against Seattle. Peal off the sticker and it gives you this address.

Chivas Still Struggling For An ID

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Interesting write up here by Kevin Baxter over at the LA Times about how Chivas USA is still struggling to find themselves in MLS after five years. Couldn’t agree more with some of the points made. A lot of it comes down to what is written here is about is Chivas USA a farm team for the Mexican club? No one really knows though I would say they are definitely not.

The main thing they have to focus on is being relevant in a heavy sports market.

Tough Season For Bobby Convey

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A lot of folks, including myself thought Bobby Convey would be a great addition to Frank Yallop’s San Jose Earthquakes at the start of this season. Turns out he’s been nothing special. Still Convey has a lot of growing to do and I kind of see him going home to play with the new Philadelphia side after this season. He’s done nothing but eat up salary in San Jose. But as the article suggests if he could get the proper rest in the off-season he could be able to come back and be better next season. I just think he’d be better off playing in Philadelphia instead of San Jose. Think Peter Nowak agrees?

MLS Holding Strong In Tough Economic Times

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I probably could have spent more time with this one than here but since it is Friday I don’t feel like going all into this article. Good stuff by SI’s Ridge Mahoney. Lots in this from DP talk to Labor issues, to Beckham to Latinos and soccer. I think I will have more next week on my thoughts with the DP rule. I think it’s good but it definitely needs some work for most clubs to want to use it.

Beckham Still Wants To Own A MLS Club?

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Kind of more of the same out of GoldenBalls. He still wants to be an ambassador to the league, even when he is out of here after this season. We knew about the option in his contract last year but it sounds like he wants to use it down the road. I doubt he will be apart of any 2012 expansion bid for the league but maybe one down the road, if not buying an existing club.

US National Team Not Taking Altitude Serious?

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I think Grant Wahl hits this one on the head, the US players need more than 24 hours to get use to Mexico City’s smog and high altitude for next week’s World Cup qualifier. I know what it is like to play at high altitudes and Mexico City is up there in at 7,200 feet above sea level. The air will be thin but more importantly it will be tough to breathe because of the smog and pollution levels in Mexico City. That’s the biggie if you ask me. Something you can’t prepare your lungs for just 24 hours before a big match. I hate to make excuses but this is one that has to be looked at.

While yesterday I was writing about the problems here in Dallas with Schellas Hyndman’s club, out west there is another club that is facing similar issues. The San Jose Earthquakes are off to one of their worst starts in club history (the 1999 club had 6 points through 10 games…this club has five through eight).

Over at Soccernet, Jeff Carlisle highlights a few problems with the Quakes.

I was one of those few that Carlisle mentions that picked this  club to be a playoff contender this season. I wasn’t quite out on the limb for picking them to reach a MLS Cup this year but the playoffs definitely sounded possible with this bunch. Turns out after a 1-5-1 start the playoffs look less likely by the week.

Defensively the club has a lost a step due to injuries and age. Offensively the new parts haven’t found their scoring ways while key players like Darren Huckerby have been out for a good part of the season so far.

What exactly has happened in San Jose? Carlisle is quick to mention and righfully so, that the offense’s inexperience and Bobby Convey’s unfamiliarity in the attacking midfield role has put more pressure on a defense that is missing a key player (Jason Hernandez) and is getting older by the game.

From what it sounds like San Jose has plenty of work to do this summer in getting the ball back in motion to go forward for this club. I know Frank Yallop and GM John Doyle have the smarts to get the job done but time is already against them here this season. Few clubs if any have started this way (5 points after eight games) and made the playoffs.

Now I’m not as close to this club as Carlisle is but I would imagine things can get turned around with the right amount of luck and patience. It may just not be until next year however.

Jimmy Conrad and Josh Wolff will try to keep Columbus winless. (Brian Stevens, WVH Photo Correspondent)

Week eight has already kicked off with a bit of a bang with two draws on Wednesday night in Kansas City and in Salt Lake City. The RSL-LA draw was something to talk about for sure while the DC-KC draw was pretty much expected.

Time to shift focus to the weekend however as we have plenty of games on the menu to keep us going. Seven games this week, on three straight days. We have all conference battles except for one match tonight in New York with San Jose and the Red Bulls. Also this weekend we have a couple rivalry games like in Texas between Houston and Dallas. And in the east we get to see a lovely battle with Chicago and New England, two clubs that really don’t like one another.

As always feel free to post your score predictions for this weekend’s action below. Continue Reading…

Kind of hard to believe we are already five weekends into the new season. For those keeping score at home after this week we will be a sixth of the way through the season…well for most clubs at least.

Another six game weekend slate for us, with four on Saturday and two for Sunday kicks. Every club is in action this week (including tonight’s game) except for Columbus, and let’s face it they need the week off to figure out things here.

As always feel free to post your game predictions below.

Real Salt Lake – at – New York Red Bulls

1. Will we finally see the reinforcements for New York? Continue Reading…