Landon Donovan has seen plenty of success in England, but should he come home now? (Getty Images)

Part of me wants Landon Donovan to stay in England. The other part of me wants him back here in the US with the LA Galaxy. Thing is I cannot for the life of me decide which is the right one to go with.

Its a rough dilemma to be in for Donovan. He wants to stay on with Everton just a little bit longer but we know LA manager Bruce Arena has said no a few times to the press recently.

“It was kind of like in that movie ‘Dumb and Dumber’, where the man says that there is a chance, it’s just one in a million,” said Arena. The Galaxy coach, who has remained in frequent contact with the midfielder throughout his loan, did not appear concerned about the comments.

“There is always a chance, it may be one in a million, but there is always a chance.”

Yeah a chance, a very small one but one nonetheless. Continue Reading…

Real Salt Lake took home their first hardware. (Getty Images)

I decided not to write a recap last night after the game finished up. Mainly I was exhausted from watching the game that went into penalties. MLS Cup 2009 wasn’t the very best game of the year but it definitely provided plenty of drama. From key injuries to key goals the game was compelling and exciting.

The PKs were kind of expected of this game after things were tied up going into overtime. Both teams were totally gassed on the field and just looked like they’d rather get it to the penalties rather than make something happen in the extra frames.

Injuries played a huge part in this game. Javier Morales’s knee injury really hurt RSL’s momentum in the first half, which the Galaxy did an excellent job of taking advantage of. The Galaxy found great space with Landon Donovan and David Beckham which lead to Mike Magee’s goal late in the half. The first half really was controlled by Bruce Arena’s squad.

But some halftime switches by Jason Kreis really turned things in RSL’s favor. Either it was the right halftime speech or the move to get the sick Will Johnson out that paid off but whatever was said or done by Kreis fueled his club. RSL came out with more energy than before and really caught the Galaxy off guard with Yura Movsisyan and Robbie Findley. Once the attack got going for RSL it was only a matter of time before Findley put away a goal. Continue Reading…

Will David Beckham and Landon Donovan be celebrating on Sunday? (Getty Images)

This is a game I’ve gone back and forth with all week. Two western conference squads meeting in the league final is going to be interesting. Not many had picked both the LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake to make it this far back at the start of the season. I know some had RSL going far in the playoffs but not the Galaxy. Then again I knew some who had an idea that LA could be good this year as well.

But a RSL-LA matchup was not expected yet I do think the league is welcoming it a bit. It’s not quite a David vs. Goliath type of match but its close to some degree. But these two squads weren’t separated by much in the points column this season. Just eight points was the difference between the top seed in the west from the bottom seed in the east (or eighth seed in this year’s case).

I do see this game going either way though here. In one regard LA looks like they should easily win it but you can’t count out Jason Kreis’ club right now with the way they’ve been playing lately. Both are hot going into this game which should yield a good match.

I have a few points in my preview to go over then I will give you all my score prediction for the final time this season. Hard to believe that this season has blown by so quickly here. Continue Reading…

No a real shocker for most folks out there, Major League Soccer has announced the 2009 Coach of the Year is LA Galaxy front man Bruce Arena.

The turnaround in LA this year has been nothing short of remarkable. Arena found a way to get everything on board with stars like Landon Donovan and David Beckham by plugging in solid veterans and excellent young stars like Omar Gonzalez and Sean Franklin.

Remember that 8-13-9 that gave up a league-high 62 goals in a season last year? This year’s Galaxy went a nice 12-6-12, good enough for top dog in the Western Conference.

This was easily one of his best works as head coach of any club he’s been apart of. While I didn’t give him my top vote he was a very close number two for me. I have no problem with Arena getting the honor here as it is certainly well deserved.

For most folks out there the Coach of the Year debate is a three person race. Depending on the how the final week goes we could include one or two others into the discussion.

Some coaches have lead their clubs from loads of draws early to the top of their conferences, one has lead an expansion club to the playoffs for the second time in league history, while others have just done what they always do.

As mentioned the final week will go a long way in determining this awards’ race as it will with a couple others. Below is the list of guys in the running in no real order. That’s where you all come in, who deserves this award? And who doesn’t?

Sigi Schmid (Seattle): Leading an expansion club to a respectable record is never easy but leading an expansion club to the playoffs rarely happens. Say what you will about Schmid and the team that was built up there in Seattle, I believe they wouldn’t be in the playoffs without him leading the way.

Bruce Arena (LA): The early part of the season the Galaxy weren’t losing but then again they weren’t winning either. But a funny thing happened, the roster that Arena tore apart last winter got a couple other additions that made the Galaxy into what they are today. Now some are saying this is his best work yet. I agree with that.

Dominic Kinnear (Houston): Another season, and another year at the top of the western conference for Kinnear and the Dynamo. While I don’t see Kinnear winning this award this year I do think he does deserve a decent amount of consideration for it.

Robert Warzycha (Columbus): Some won’t want him on this list since he basically took over where Sigi Schmid left off but you can’t deny the job that he has done by keeping things moving forward with this bunch.

Preki (Chivas): Its been an up and down season for Preki and Chivas USA but overall the Goats are a couple games away from a possibly Supporter’s Shield. Should Chivas USA win out this week and Columbus lose we could see Preki gain a bunch of votes for this award. A lot of ifs but it is possible.

Anyone else you think should be in the running? Steve Nicol for his work with New England this year? Schellas Hyndman for his late turn around in Dallas? Anyone else?

Editor’s Note: Geoff Reid appears on WVHooligan.com each week. Today he returns to the defense of American managers high and low. Feel free to give him your thoughts below.

In 2009, there has been pieces written on certain web sites and podcasts hosts on shows have said the American player is hurting because coaches within MLS are not up to standard. The big evidence is not one has gone overseas and been successful.

This analogy is completely wrong and I will speak out in Defense of American Coaches.

It took a long time for an American player to play in a top league in Europe and eventually Paul Caligiuri became the first to earn a contract in the Bundesliga in the 1980’s with Hamburg firstly, then Meppen and later Hansa Rostock and finally Freiburg before leaving to help kick start MLS in 1996. It was a milestone for American soccer and so were that generation of players. Now to compare that with American managers it is a completely different kettle of fish in that there are much more player opportunities then head coaching ones. The one similarity is that it’s a major stepping stone once the first coach can do it.

The next big argument that’s been vented against this subject is with the National Team in that some folks think that the USSF should hire a foreign coach instead of an American one. Why? They won’t know the system unless they’ve been in this country a number of years. Steve Nicol would be a perfect example of a foreign coach to take the National Team job because he’s been in the country since 1999 and clearly by looking back at his draft pick choices down the years he understands the American player. However, looking at current American coaches that could take the job there is plenty out there and once Bob Bradley’s reign comes to an end for one reason or another when it does, the top two choices are simple: Dominic Kinnear and Sigi Schmid. Continue Reading…

Freddie Ljungberg and Seattle are inching their way to the top. (Photo via Prost Amerika Soccer/Point Taken Photos)

Ah it was good to have a full day of soccer on Saturday (and parts of Sunday). Plenty of items to discuss today with the All-Star roster being anounced this afternoon. Until then it is time to wade through the week that was week 17 in Major League Soccer.

This was certainly a moving week for a lot of clubs. The eastern conference got just a little tighter with Chicago and Toronto inching up to the top while DC United was off this past week. Columbus isn’t too far behind either making the four team race a very interesting thing to watch as we move on towards the ladder part of the summer. Can we already say that it will be these four clubs from the east in the playoffs? I know KC and New England would love to have something to say about that but it is starting to look more and more like those two will be on the outside looking in this time around.

Out west things are even tighter with Seattle’s win over top dog Hosuton on Saturday and with LA’s win over HDC rival Chivas USA. Right now we are seeing as many as five clubs in the race out west with clubs like RSL starting to come around a little more here. Thing is I am wondering if RSL has enough to get back into the mix with the way LA has been playing recently. Continue Reading…