[Remy]

99 years of The Cup. No top-tier club, since the modern era, has lost to a 5th-tier club

Not to rain on your Portland hate, but Chivas USA lost to USASA side Dallas Roma in 2006 on PKs.

Five MLS teams have been eliminated by amateur teams: Timbers (2012), Chicago (2012), Chivas (2006), New England (2000), Kansas City (2000).

[Rafa=FedKilla]

I cried in laughter last night. No, really. My gf has a pic, I think. 99 years of The Cup. No top-tier club, since the modern era, has lost to a 5th-tier club. They don't even practice weekly. They don't get paid. They're owned by Eric Wynalda. ... ........ BWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA AAAA!!!!

To give credit, Cal FC isn't your typical PDL club. Just a bunch of older players that have had relative success and are just having fun. Not like they lost to the NPSL's Phoenix Monsoon that only has six players and had to forfeit games.

[elsk]

Boniek García (Olimpia, Honduras) is going to Houston Dynamo.

[added_time]

TFC fired Aron Winter and named Paul Mariner as the new head coach. I think everyone saw this coming for a long time.

[Brinbe]

Ha, that revolving door at manager continues perpetually onward. Oh, TFC...

[Hieberrr]

TFC fired Aron Winter and named Paul Mariner as the new head coach. I think everyone saw this coming for a long time.

CEO needs to be fired. This guy has no knowledge about the game or how to manage a football club.

And Paul Mariner... what a joke. He has 28 games under his belt. He was promoted to manager for another club when his team was facing relegation.... and they were still relegated. Why he was hired is beyond me. His answers during the presser today made him seem like he's a smug ass that doesn't know what the fuck he's doing. And holy shit... if you're gonna hire someone new, then hire someone new. Don't promote from within... especially not in this situation. Of course there are times when promoting from within work, but this (in my opinion) is not one of them.

I'd love to eat crow, but I can't see this team being successful with the way upper management is making decisions about management.

It also pisses me off that ticket prices continue to increase despite having a shitty product on the pitch.

[sazabirules]

Get rid of MLSE. They treat the fans like crap and continue to raise ticket prices while increasing the amount of mediocrity on the field.

[Rafa=FedKilla]

That's not right to fire Winter, I heard he has tons of dirt on MLSE on acccount of the writings in his notepad.

[Askani]

The voting page for the All Stars is up:

http://www.mlssoccer.com/all-star/2012/vote

It's not working for me though. When I hit the Vote button, it points to my Zip Code and says "Please enter a number within range" and won't take my vote. I'm like, dead center of the U.S. in a suburb of Kansas City. Pretty sure I shouldn't have any international issues if that's even what's going on.

Anyway, cast your votes!

EDIT :::::

FYI, I tried first in Chrome. I just tried in IE and the "enter your name" boxes don't show up. I can "tab" back to where there are supposed to be and enter my name. Then I had to tab down to find the vote button which had disappeared. After that, I get the same "Please enter a number within range" for the zip. Whole page must be borked. Would recommend waiting to cast votes.

[Pkm]

So MLS fans, Portland fans, Philly fans..



The Mwanga/Pelaza trade..opinions?

I talked with a Union community rep today at my sons game and we both kinda agreed both players need a "new" start, a place to maybe re-find thier form.
Mwanga back "home" and Perlaza in a new environment surrounded by a team who has a considerable amount of fellow Columbians (Torres, Valdes, Pajoy)

To be honest Portland, you guys could have Mwanga. Nice kid, good player, but the last two seasons when Danny was on the pitch...you didnt notice.

I'm hoping the Columbian connection upfront with Pajoy and Perlaza finally sparks some Philly offense.
Think we finally had the speed we lacked for the last two seasons.

But besides that I will admit I'm still a bit in the dark about Perlaza and how he plays. Ive just heard "Hes fast but is in a slump and gets a caugh offsides EVERYTIME"
I'd like to hear from you guys in the Pacific NW that have seen the guy play alot your opinions on what to expect.

[sazabirules]

PKM did you see the link about Nowak possibly trying to apply for the Hearts manager job in Scotland?

[Pkm]

PKM did you see the link about Nowak possibly trying to apply for the Hearts manager job in Scotland?

Yeah, local blogs have been running the story all weekend.

He said its false but Peter has lied many times before to the media and fans.
Makes me wonder tho if its even a possible thing, he's currently set to coach the MLS All-Stars in Philly this summer.
Maybe after the break? Would be a classic Nowak dick move to do that and leave the U at the bottom of the table and coach an All-Star team we all kinda agree he shouldnt.

[xbhaskarx]

Nowak is like a movie villain at this point

[Rafa=FedKilla]

This lull is killing me....

[TheVisualizer]

So MLS fans, Portland fans, Philly fans.. The Mwanga/Pelaza trade..opinions? I talked with a Union community rep today at my sons game and we both kinda agreed both players need a "new" start, a place to maybe re-find thier form. Mwanga back "home" and Perlaza in a new environment surrounded by a team who has a considerable amount of fellow Columbians (Torres, Valdes, Pajoy) To be honest Portland, you guys could have Mwanga. Nice kid, good player, but the last two seasons when Danny was on the pitch...you didnt notice. I'm hoping the Columbian connection upfront with Pajoy and Perlaza finally sparks some Philly offense. Think we finally had the speed we lacked for the last two seasons. But besides that I will admit I'm still a bit in the dark about Perlaza and how he plays. Ive just heard "Hes fast but is in a slump and gets a caugh offsides EVERYTIME" I'd like to hear from you guys in the Pacific NW that have seen the guy play alot your opinions on what to expect.

I'm OK with the deal, even though as a Union fan we probably got fleeced.
Danny Mwanga's development as a young talent was terribly handled, as pretty much all of our young players except the Farfans and Sheanon Williams have been, so I'm glad he's prob gonna get a chance to develop and show what can do somewhere else.

I don't think he's ever gonna live up to the hype of being #1 pick as for a big body hes weak on and off the ball and would rather dive then make tough plays, but I hope he proves me wrong. I've seen Perlaza on a few occasions and think he's a decent to good player. Our club as far from one guy away, so I can only hope he exceeds expectations and can score some goals sooner than later.

PKM did you see the link about Nowak possibly trying to apply for the Hearts manager job in Scotland?

Yeah, local blogs have been running the story all weekend. He said its false but Peter has lied many times before to the media and fans. Makes me wonder tho if its even a possible thing, he's currently set to coach the MLS All-Stars in Philly this summer. Maybe after the break? Would be a classic Nowak dick move to do that and leave the U at the bottom of the table and coach an All-Star team we all kinda agree he shouldnt.

Nowak is like a movie villain at this point

Hearts wouldn't be that stupid to make my dream come true and hire Piotr. I'd love for it the happen since he's singlehandledly run the Union into the ground after such a promising start to our existence.

I'll continue going to the stadium to support the team all while booing Nowak at the top of my lungs when he is introduced. He's a piss poor manager as far as tactics are concerned as whoever we have thrown out there in this 2 1/2 years have all looked like they don't practice together at all. His lineup choices are borderline insane as vets on their last legs or unproven young guys got the nod over proven players who are in-form and the lineup changes every week so no chemistry ever builds.

He's been a colossal failure here IMO, and the sad part is I don't believe the FO has the balls to sack him as they have given him too much power (he's not just the Manager, he's the EVP of Soccer Operations too) and he's built up a supporting cast of cronies/best buds (Gutierrez, Eskandarian, Hackworth) around him that would cripple the franchise's international scouting and youth development systems if he gets ousted and his pals decide to leave with him.

At this point I'm just hoping we can pull some kind of miracle and win the US Open Cup as the MLS season is over for us from where I'm sitting...

[Amibguous Cad]

Saw this on Stumptown Footy earlier today



Portland's hipsterdom applies to video games, too, apparently.

[Pkm]

looks like Nowak might have been ran out of town!

Nick Sack has called an "important" presser at 2pm, cancelling Petes usually one he does...
hmmm....

[blurrygil]

Saw this on Stumptown Footy earlier today [IMG]awfulpic.jpg[/IMG] Portland's hipsterdom applies to video games, too, apparently.

I just threw up a little in my mouth...

[gutshot]

Nowak is fired. Let the celebration begin!

The Union is expected to announce that Peter Nowak is out as manager and vice president of soccer operations with the club at a news conference later today, the Daily News has learned. The news conference features only CEO and managing director Nick Sakiewicz on the podium to discuss a “sports-related matter,” a Union spokesperson told the Daily News. Nowak’s weekly press conference scheduled for this afternoon was canceled and he was not at the team’s practice this morning, according to a team source. Attempts to reach Nowak and other members of the club’s coaching staff were unsuccessful. In addition, members of the Union’s front office offered no official comment, but the decision comes on the heels of a report release Saturday by the Edinburgh Evening News that claims Nowak has applied for a vacant position with Scottish Premier League club Hearts. Nowak denied the claim telling the Daily News the report was “absolute false,” but the writer confirmed via Twitter that he has knowledge that Nowak applied. If true -- whether approved or not by Union ownership -- this decision certainly strikes a chord given the Union’s current 2-7-2 status in the bottom of MLS Eastern Conference in addition to the revolving door of players since the Union wrapped an 11-8-15 campaign last season that resulted in a trip to the playoffs in only the organization’s second season. Nowak, brought in as team manager in 2009, was given his VP title late last season. Under Nowak the Union is 21-30-24 in MLS competition. The club resumes MLS play on Saturday against Eastern Conference rival D.C. United.

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/...n_manager.html

[TheVisualizer]

looks like Nowak might have been ran out of town! Nick Sack has called an "important" presser at 2pm, cancelling Petes usually one he does... hmmm....

Nowak is fired. Let the celebration begin! http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/...n_manager.html

great news

hopefully Hack can right the ship and help us shock the field and bring home the Open Cup hardware as well as get us ready to contend next year

[xbhaskarx]

Did the Canadians here see this:

Jonathan de Guzman remains committed to the Netherlands
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-5RqPNjAtU

What a douchebag...

[zedge]

Did the Canadians here see this: Jonathan de Guzman remains committed to the Netherlands http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-5RqPNjAtU What a douchebag...

Yea, not good. We need guys like this to break out of our mediocrity.

[Akim]

poor estrada :(

[added_time]

Did the Canadians here see this: Jonathan de Guzman remains committed to the Netherlands http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-5RqPNjAtU What a douchebag...

He will never be good enough for the Netherlands team... he just didn't want to compromise his Dutch Citizenship. He would have apparently have to give it up to switch to Canada. Oh well. We are used to this shit by now. It happens over and over.

[sazabirules]

Is Montreal's stadium opening today just their old one from the 2nd division with renovations and more seats added? I've been waiting for another MLS match for awhile now. It'll be interesting to see our team play against the post-Nowak Union.

[zedge]

Is Montreal's stadium opening today just their old one from the 2nd division with renovations and more seats added? I've been waiting for another MLS match for awhile now. It'll be interesting to see our team play against the post-Nowak Union.

It is the old stadium expanded and completely renovated. Looking forward to it. My two fav teams!

http://montrealimpact.io-media.com/

[Rafa=FedKilla]

Glad the Impact's stadium is opening today.


Since Nowak is fired, are the Union going to start adding more seats for the next season? I know there are several phases they have in place to add on.

[Amibguous Cad]

Such a shame this one didn't happen in MLS play. Goal of the year for sure if it does.

[sazabirules]

Those jerseys are horrendous. nice goal.

[Rafa=FedKilla]

i think that jersey looks chill. I'm thinking of either getting that, a Montreal Impact jersey or a Victoria Highlanders hoodie.

[Amibguous Cad]

Those jerseys are horrendous. nice goal.

I love 'em, but I have an irrational love of garish jerseys. I really want an MLS team to do a throwback night one of these days



I miss the 90s.

[Mindlog]

Tampa Bay Mutiny Sounders

No one is probably watching, but this Dynamo/Dallas game is pretty funny.

[sazabirules]

We did not play well at all but I'm glad we earned the three points. Are the Sounders losing due to the new stadium effect? Bernie's has had quite a big. I assume Wenger has been playing forward all year?

Tampa Bay Mutiny Sounders No one is probably watching, but this Dynamo/Dallas game is pretty funny.

Was the red card deserved?

[Mindlog]

Clark probably sold it a bit, but Benitez is an idiot.

Highlight: http://www.mlssoccer.com/video/2012/...enitez-ejected

[Nesotenso]

SKC with a win over TFC after a long break.

[SuperSonic1305]

Time for a new manager!

[Pkm]

Since Nowak is fired, are the Union going to start adding more seats for the next season? I know there are several phases they have in place to add on.

I'm not so sure.

Even tho I dont know the full story and just what has transpired since reading some of the articles/news theres been rumblings between the Union ownership group and the city of Chester were the stadium is based.

Heres an article I was just reading that sums it up., article is 5 days old so please excuse if any of this has been cleared up. It all sounds bad for the U, I think..

But the stadium was only one element of the plan. It was supposed to be part of a $500 million development — one that included town houses and apartments, a 200,000 square-foot convention center, retail. office space and a supermarket. At the time, officials said it would generate an estimated $19 million in annual tax revenue. It hasn't exactly happened that way. When the economy tanked, it took the ambitious plans for "Rivertown" with it. Today, it consists of a gleaming soccer stadium and parking lots — some unpaved.

New taxes are on the table. The team is freaking out. And residents of Delaware County's impoverished city are tired of seeing dozens of police officers provide game-day security for well-heeled soccer fans while Chester's neighborhoods are crumbling and its school district is nearly broke.

As you might expect, this development doesn't sit well with Union officials. Team CEO Nick Sakiewicz warns that such taxes would be "catastrophic" for the team, costing it $2 million a year, or about 10 percent of its gross revenue. "That would effectively put us out of business," said Sakiewicz, adding that the proposal has halted the team's plan to build a practice facility and office building. Regardless of whether these new taxes will really put the Union "out of business," as Sakiewicz says, the team has good reason to be livid. They are getting screwed. None of this was part of the deal they agreed to, and changing the terms now is unfair. And it could easily backfire on the city. .]

Linder points out that, under the deal that brought the Union here, the team is supposed to pay the city $500,000 a year in lieu of property taxes. But, he said, the team had fallen behind by $750,000 at one point and still hasn't made the $500,000 payment for 2010. The $500,000 payment for 2012 is due at the end of this month, according to Linder. The team did not respond when asked to confirm the figures.

Plus...even the residents arent the happiest bunch anyway about the Union even being in Chester..

An out-of-control crime doesn't exactly inspire new businesses to invest in Chester. The city was forced to declare a "state of emergency" days before the Union's home opener in 2010.

"At night, I'm scared to walk six blocks to get a bag of chips. I gotta wait 'til morning. But during a game, I'm as safe as can be," said Jesse Berry, 36, a laborer who lives about a half-mile from the stadium. "It's like the police officers are giving them security, but once the game's over, for the people that live here, you gotta play at your own risk."

Chester residents are still grumbling about the Union's deal, and they're the ones that elected him, not soccer fans. When the city's Mother's Day parade was moved due to the Union-New York Red Bulls match on the same day, a commenter on The Chester City Blog called Linder a "fraud" for failing to stand up to the soccer team. "It's a soccer stadium in Chester," Linder said, "not necessarily for Chester."

But I also wanted to hear what Chester residents thought, a group that didn't include many soccer diehards. At the time, Sessoms summed it up: "The kids that get off my buses have basketballs in their arms," she said. Chester's a basketball town, one that has produced NBA talent like Jameer Nelson and Tyreke Evans. The Chester High Clippers are on a 58-game winning streak and just won back-to-back state basketball championships. The city is 75 percent black, and more than a third of its residents live below the poverty line. "We don't have no soccer fans," Berry chuckled.

So maybe all the "allocation" sales made sense?
I dont know, think the U are in a tough spot finacially that nobody is aware of. And this losing coupled with the loss of team "faces" is hurting them finacially Im sure.

[TheVisualizer]

Pkm I wouldn't read into too much into all that stuff about Chester. I actually grew up there, moved out of that shithole about 10 years ago and still have connections in the city. All this drama bubbling up right now is strictly political posturing by the mayor who is falling out of favor because the city is out of money.

He does makes a good point about the "promised" development, and I personally don't quite like that the Union ownership bailed on this and seemingly have no plans on following thru, but the rest of the mayor's points are just spin. He is just turning over stones desperately looking for money because the city's administration and school district have been so incompetent and corrupt for so long that they have bled an already rundown city dry.



As far as how it has affected the gutting of our roster, despite the timing, I don't think it had much to do with it. Those moves reeked of Peter's ego and not being able to co-exist with certain players. I know someone who told me the "facts" about the Union owing money are completely fabricated. The Union will be fine, this tax thing will get worked out, I imagine some kind of compromise will take place and things will be fine going forward.

Good effort by the boys tonight against DC, we didn't capitalize on several great chances and our lack of size in the backline killed us on the goal. Looked like a more cohesive unit for the 1st 60 minutes or so and defense snuffed everything out all night long. Just looking forward to the US Open Cup though at this point, we are too far back in the standing to make a run this year...

[Akim]

>SOUNDERS
>SOUNDERS
>SOUNDERS

[Nesotenso]

lots of games on today. KC at Seattle

[Nesotenso]

Great goal by Patrick Ianni

[criesofthepast]

Toronto fc fucking suck.

[Parham]

Really poor showing by RSL during the second half.

[Nesotenso]

KC- Sounders ends 1-1. Will take it with a makeshift lineup in the first.

LA comes back against RSL to win 3-2

[devilhawk]

How to get a straight red? Slide tackle a guy who doesn't have the ball right in front of the ref.

[Nesotenso]

How to get a straight red? Slide tackle a guy who doesn't have the ball right in front of the ref.

he was fouled first but the retaliation could have done serious damage to Espinoza. SKC second in the East but we have games in hand.

[Askani]

Man...what a rough second half that was in the SKC vs. Seattle game. It was almost out of hand. Good thing it was all right before the final whistle or it could have gotten worse.

This has to certainly almost cement these teams as a true rivals. Every game between them is hard fought with lots of hard plays. Seattle has had our number lately but it's always stoppage time garbage where they get us or when we get lax. I think we're something like 1-5-1 against them recently, but if you take away the extra time goals we're something like 2-2-3.

[platypotamus]

That Ianni goal was a thing of beauty. Defenders don't score goals like that. So great.

[Askani]

Ok. Let's get this SKC vs. Union game going. Hopefully SKC has a good sta...

Jesus. Fucking Christ.

The first minute guys? Really?

[Askani]

It's just...bleh...fine.