Juan Pablo Angel will lead the Red Bulls again, who else will step up? (Getty Images)

Its been a little while since we did a preseason look in on a MLS club. We hammered out about half of the league already but with the on-going CBA issue things like this had to take a backseat for a little while. Well today we’re back on the horse and continue on our preseason coverage here.

Today we have the New York Red Bulls. A lot of talk always surrounds this club each year and 2010 will be no different as the club has a new arena (finally) and a new direction in terms of management (yet again). Hans Backe is now the manager with Eric Solar leading the charge in the front office when it comes to player moves. No longer is it Juan Carlos Osorio making ill-advised moves with Jeff Agoos.

The thing is will it actually matter? Will the Solar/Backe move actually pay off and New York shines in their first season in the mecca that will be Red Bull Arena? Time will tell but we can say that anything should be an improvement on last year’s product.

So let’s see where New York is with each part of their roster and what further moves are needed to be made before the season kicks off.

Continue Reading…

Nick Garcia heads north to Toronto. (Brian Stevens, WVH Photo Correspondent)

San Jose Earthquakes continue their roster revamp here with another trade today.

They have sent veteran defender Nick Garcia and the discovery rights to Canadian national team forward Ali Gerba to Toronto FC for a 2010 third-round draft choice. TFC also waives keeper Greg Sutton in the process to make room for this deal.

I think not having a lot of picks over the last couple years has caught up with San Jose as they are starting to deal players for picks here. Garcia is still a quality player that will definitely help Toronto’s defensive issues here. He has shown some decline in this play this season but a change of venue could help him out a bit.

The 27-year-old Gerba was born in Cameroon and has played for more than 10 clubs, most recently MK Dons in England. Honestly I am not sure what to make of his potential signing with the club at this point.

With only a couple weeks left to vote, fans are starting to pile on the votes for their favorite players in Major League Soccer for this summer’s All-Star game in Toronto.

Not a lot of changes at the top of the overall voting list.In fact that top three remain:

1. David Beckham
2. Landon Donovan
3. Cuauhtemoc Blanco

Once you get by the top three the positions break down pretty easily. You can also tell which fan groups are voting like crazy here for this game. Mostly the home fans in Toronto wanting their own in the line up as the All-Stars take on West Ham United. Its also interesting to see Toronto’s main rival Columbus have a few players on this list. The Crew are having a solid season so far and their players deserve the nod in my book. Continue Reading…

There’s really no drama in this news or any surprise for that matter but David Beckham leads the way in the MLS All-Star voting after two short weeks. Landon Donovan was second and Cuauhtemoc Blanco was third.

Again, shocker, I know.

Here is a look at the top 10 after two weeks of voting:

1. David Beckham, Los Angeles Galaxy
2. Landon Donovan, Los Angeles Galaxy
3. Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Fire
4. Amado Guevara, Toronto FC
5. Frankie Hejduk, Columbus Crew
6. Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Columbus Crew
7. Dwayne De Rosario, Houston Dynamo
8. Greg Sutton, Toronto FC
9. Robbie Rogers, Columbus Crew
10. Maurice Edu, Toronto FC

Okay I kind of lied about the no surprises. One could easily consider Greg Sutton or Amado Guevara a surprise but we all know the Toronto fans enjoy stuffing any ballots that come their way when they have a player or two on it.

Other than that there really isn’t a shocker on this list. A few players that need your votes are guys like Jon Busch (Chicago), Gonzalo Segares (Chicago), Sasha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Jesse Marsch (Chivas USA), Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Andra Rocha (FC Dallas), and Matt Reis (New England) just to name a few.

Fans, Players, Coaches/GMs and media each make up 25 percent of the vote. Fan voting concludes July 2. The first XI will be announced on July 10. The commissioner’s selection will be announced on July 15. The MLS All-Stars take on West Ham United on July 24 at BMO Field.

I haven’t done my ballot but once I do I will be sure to pass it along to you all.

Feel free to post your All-Star selections at anytime here

A very interesting week in Major League Soccer. While the goal of the week was easy to figure out after reviewing the week’s 19 goals, the player of the week winner is a little tougher to decide.

A few guys had quality a quality game over the weekend or Thursday night for some Rapids fans. But shifting through the mess were a couple guys. Edson Buddle’s hat trick was nice but was it really good enough for player of the week? Both David Beckham and Landon Donovan had good afternoons in Dallas. Both Greg Sutton and William Hesmer recorded a shutout in the 0-0 draw in Toronto, but both were also helped by solid defense and their goal-posts. I thought Christian Gomez and Sasha Kljestan both had solid games in week eight.

But in the end I am going old school here. It took 80 minutes for New York to finally get by him and his defense but in the end this player and his club walked out of New York with a solid 1-1 tie. Yes, that man I am talking about is Kansas City Wizard goalkeeper Kevin Hartman.

I know I’ve been rough on Hartman over the last year or so for showing his age and all but Saturday I got a glimpse of the past out of him. His defense cleared a couple off the line for him but shot after shot Hartman answered the call. Seven saves on the evening, all were big for the most part. Sure the one goal let in cost his club two points on the road, but I really doubt many keepers in the league would have stopped that rocket of a shot from New York’s Danleigh Boreman.

Like I said, old school. Probably Hartman’s best effort in a couple years. For me it was his best so far in his time in KC. Congrats, Hartman, I’m probably the only one talking about you outside of KC this week for this honor. Continue Reading…