Not a bad showing by the US against Holland. (Getty Images)

I won’t go too into the match just yet, I have a plan on re-watching some of it later on today but I did want to give my initial player ratings from this afternoon’s 2-1 loss to the Dutch in Amsterdam.

WVH USMNT Player Ratings:

Tim Howard – 7
Jonathan Spector – 5
Carlos Bocanegra – 7
Jay DeMerit – 5
Jonathan Bornstein – 2
Stuart Holden – 5
Michael Bradley – 5
Jose Francisco Torres – 5
Landon Donovan – 4
Jozy Altidore – 6
Robbie Findley – 4

Subs:
Maurice Edu – 4
DeMarcus Beasley – 7
Alejandro Bedoya – 6
Heath Pearce – 4
Eddie Johnson – 4
Clarence Goodson – 5

Top Three Players for US:

1. DeMarcus Beasley – Off the bench he was very good today, probably much better than he’s been in recent games that I’ve seen him in. I like the idea of him still coming off the bench though instead of starting for the US.
2. Tim Howard – He made his usual few big saves but got unlucky with the PK and the other goal. Still can’t blame this loss at all on Timmy, he worked his ass off as usual.
3. Carlos Bocanegra – Got the lone goal on a great free kick by Beasley. He was so freakin’ open on that play it was ridiculous. He also did well in the back today for the US.

Overall it wasn’t a terrible game by the US. I thought Donovan was a ghost most of the game but that could be due to poor service from out of the back for him. Early on the US was too predictable in the midfield and in the final third. Robbie Findley was okay but really showed he has no shot at a roster spot in South Africa after getting over powered in this game by the Dutch defense. He has the speed to beat them but never really took people on like we would have liked.

Bad day for Bornstein though. First the penalty late in the first half and then the deflection for the second Dutch goal in the second half. I thought Bob Bradley should have subbed him at half for someone like Pearce but he’s got too much of a love fest for Bornstein.

Again, I hope to have more later on this game.

Bob Bradley has some tough choices to make for tomorrow's friendly against Holland (Getty Images)

Honestly I need to amp up my USMNT cover on here. I’ll admit I don’t get to see every game like I would like and I honestly nearly forgot the El Salvador game last week. In fact I didn’t even get to watch all of it but what I did see what the final 20 minutes or so which were fun to view since it was a nice comeback for the US.

What we know is this Holland game tomorrow is a biggie. Its in Holland and the Dutch are easily one of the best squads in the World right now. But this is more than a high profile friendly for Bob Bradley it is a chance to really finish filling out his roster for June at the World Cup in South Africa.

A good chunk of the roster is probably set but for those bubble players this is a big test. The two friendlies so far this year were definitely for the MLS talent to show their stuff and while they did a decent job only a couple of that B or C bunch will make an sort of dent in this roster come June.

Bradley has a couple areas to hammer out before June. The nearly all his defense needs to be figured out, his defensive midfield spot, and a striker. Continue Reading…

US midfielder Maurice Edu agreed to a five-year deal with Glasgow Rangers on Scotland’s Premier League. The transfer fee for Edu was right around the $5 million mark for MLS and Toronto FC.

Edu joins fellow US National team member DeMarcus Beasley on the Rangers roster. Edu must still secure a UK work permit, but if and when he does, he is expected to challenge for a starting role with Rangers immediately.

The 22-year old, was in Glascow to watch Rangers beat Hearts 2-0 on Saturday before returning to the States with Beasley ahead of Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier in Guatemala.

No word yet out of Toronto though. They’ve been very quiet on this deal from the start. Then again losing one of the faces of the club is tough to do. They should bounce back but how they replace Edu will be the biggest question on my mind. They haven’t looked good in his absence for the most part. His presence on the field allows the defense a bit of a break and he also helps contribute on the offensive side of the ball.

TFC does have some allocation now with this deal so they could still go after someone who is a free agent at this point. My feelings they will wait for the MLS SuperDraft, where they have plenty of picks to find a replacement.

Again, its tough to see another young star leave MLS but in all honesty Edu was one of those guys that could have probably gone right out of college to Europe had he wanted to.

It sounds as though Maurice Edu will be heading to Europe after all.

According to Ives Galarcep, MLS and Toronto FC have accepted a $5 million transfer fee for Edu from Glasgow Rangers. Edu is still finalizing personal terms with Rangers, but a deal is expected to be completed soon. All this comes just in time for the summer transfer window to close at the end of the day.

Tough break really for Toronto but in all honesty they will bounce back from losing one of their best players. Over this past season they’ve gotten quite accustom to not having Edu in the line up for various international call-ups. It never helps losing a player like Edu but gaining that kind of transfer fee can surely help soften the blow.

I think both MLS and Toronto knew that that transfer fee mark was about as high as they would be able to get for Edu. A defensive midfielder is a tough position to gauge in terms of pay in my opinion. It isn’t a flashy position and it doesn’t always come with a lot of goals. I would argue though that it is one of the toughest positions to play on the field and probably one of the most underrated positions (yes I spent time in the defensive part of the midfield in my playing days so I have a bit of a biased opinion on the spot).

Edu joins Jozy Altidore ($10 million move to Villarreal) and Brad Guzan ($1.5 million move to Aston Villa) on the list of MLS standouts to make moves to Europe this summer.

I guess the next guy in line for a move over across the pond would have to be Chivas USA midfielder Sasha Kljestan or maybe even a guy like Houston Dynamo midfielder Stuart Holden. Both have had solid campaigns on the international stage at the Olympics here recently.

What do you all move of this move? And who do you see leaving MLS next in the winter?

We’ve all seen the rumors for a while now with Toronto midfielder Maurice Edu being linked to various clubs overseas. Well the big news this morning is a new club wanting Edu’s services.

Thanks to Steve Goff, Scottish power Glasgow Rangers are said to be interested in the former number one overall pick by Toronto. The transfer fee would approach $5 million. It’s not a done deal, but the sides are apparently nearing an agreement.

Edu is scheduled to be with the US National team in Miami this weekend to prepare for the World Cup qualifier with Guatemala next week.

If a deal is to go through it has to be done by the end of the day today. The international transfer window closes today so the clock is ticking very quickly for Rangers and very slowly for Toronto.

This is one of those deals that as a fan of Edu you hate to see him leave MLS but you’re happy to hear a big club is interested in him like Rangers. I like that transfer fee number too because that may be as high as he will go.

I will try to keep a tab on this all day to see if anything goes down. If you hear nothing by the end of the day then Edu is staying with the league, but if you do hear something then it probably means he will be sold to Rangers.

Just a crazy schedule it is. A Monday night game in July. Then again the league’s All-Star game is on a Thursday night and games are played in 100 degree weather in Texas. But anyways, tonight we get a rare treat as Real Salt Lake puts their unbeated home record on the line against visiting Toronto FC.

Should be a good game tonight though for those who want to get their soccer fix early this week. You get one of the best home clubs (I’m sure Toronto fans would say they have the best home team) against one of the worst road clubs. Could it sound like draw city? Maybe, we’ve had a bunch of them lately (12 of 21 games in July have been draws) so let’s hope not.

Toronto will be without a few too many key players (Edu, Wynne and Dichio all out for Olympics or injuries) and RSL is as solid as it comes on the turf at Rice-Eccles. The thing that worries me for RSL is Toronto is not like most clubs in this league, they know how to handle the turf and how to win on it. They proved it last year in Salt Lake city with their first ever road win there.

RSL has to get on the board early with guys like Javier Morales leading the charge and Kyle Beckerman finding gaps in the defense. Should those two have a good game you can bet RSL will walk with three points tonight. If they are stopped by Toronto, I wouldn’t expect more than a draw then.

So what will happen tonight? I think it will be similar to their last meeting in Toronto. It was a tight game that saw Toronto escape with a 1-0 win. RSL had some decent chances that day at BMO Field but it was their lack of attack in the first half that really did them in. I sort of see that kind of thing happening tonight. Defensively these two can shut one another down. Its just a matter of who makes that mental error in the final third.

I think RSL will win tonight though, Toronto has just been unimpressive lately and that should carry over tonight. RSL has done well enough in recent games to get themselves in position to win the west this season. It may not be pretty but whatever Jason Kreis is doing is working.

It will be another close one though, RSL sneaks by and moves up the standings in the process.

WVH Prediction: RSL 1, Toronto 0

Happy Monday to all here as we are a hours away from the international summer transfer window opening back up for all clubs to trade parts, find new and exciting and whatever else those clubs do with the transfer window.

But before an influx of new talent comes into Major League Soccer I wanted to spend a little time looking back at the homegrown stuff here in the States. More importantly the homegrown talent that comes out of the college ranks and what not through the league’s SuperDraft.

I am mainly looking at old drafts and thought it was worth a mention to take a look back at the last few drafts to see not only how clubs did but the players that have moved on to bigger and better things through the league. Also to talk about the players who were picked high and ended up as duds (there are more than you’d think).

For the most part the MLS SuperDraft finds us about 10 good players and about 30 or so not-so-good players. Some last in the league, others don’t make it, and some head for Europe before the first kick of their rookie season. I think the draft will continue to go on in the future but with fewer rounds before long. Once the homegrown talent from youth academies kick in we will mainly see college players go through this process. And most of those won’t come with a high profile either in my best estimate.

I’m only taking us as far back as the 2005 MLS SuperDraft. I feel like in this now-expansion era of MLS soccer, that’s a solid starting point for discussions like these. Not to mention most of those players by now are either hits or misses.

As always feel free to pipe in your own thoughts about these past drafts below.

Continue Reading…