...off the post!

Apologies for the lack of posting of late. I've been busy and, well, not much has happened in the footballing world. Except, of course, the manic transfer speculation, which I try to avoid as much as possible.

Be forewarned that posting will continue to be sporadic for the near future. Below is some of the news from the past week.

• The MLS All Star game quickly approaches on July 30. Here's Marc Connolly's ballot.


• Whither the goal, Cletus?


• Here are the Week 13 reports from MLS play.


• Grupo Televisa, the conglomerate that owns Mexico's Club America, is reportedly close to sealing a deal to buy the San Jose Earthquakes and move them to Houston.


• "How does the Bank of Bridgeview Stadium sound?" asks the Daily Southtown. That's likely to be the name of the Chicago Fire's new digs, with a reported deal "worth somewhere between $1 million and $2.4 million a year for 10 to 15 years" close to complete.


• In addition to a match against the LA Galaxy at the HDC on July 18, Real Madrid is set to line up against Chivas Guadalajara in Chicago on July 16.


• Bruce Arena's named his roster for the Gold Cup, which starts on July 7. Santino Quaranta (?!) has since replaced EJ on the roster.


• The U-20s World Cup Final is on Saturday, pitting Argentina vs. Nigeria. Here's a preview.


• Freddy Adu's eatin' some humble pie after his performance in the U-20s World Cup, say Christian Swezey of the Washington Post and Neal Thurman of ITV.


• One American that did impress at the youth tournament is Marvell Wynne. Here's a profile of him.


• Brazil crushed Argentina in the Confederations Cup Final, 4-1.


• The Copa Libertadores final will be an all-Brazilian affair, with Atletico Paranaense set to meet Sao Paulo in the two legs on July 6 and 13.


• The fixture list for British football next season has been released.

Marc Connolly and Andrew Winner dissect the US loss to Italy yesterday at the U-20s World Cup, while this AP piece addresses Freddy Adu's disappointing tournament.

West Bromwich Albion will be joining the European invasion of the US this summer, as they have scheduled matches against the Galaxy at the HDC on July 20 and Chivas USA in Santa Barbara on the 26th.

Summaries of Week 12 MLS action are available here. Jeff Cunningham of the Rapids was named Player of the Week after scoring four goals in two games.

The LA Times' Grahame Jones follows up on the Anschutz ranch discussions from a few weeks back:

Somewhere between Major League Soccer as it is today and Tim Leiweke's vision of David Beckham in a Galaxy or MetroStar jersey lies reality.

It is Don Garber's job to find it.

Garber, commissioner of MLS for the past six years, has been entrusted with devising a plan to improve the quality of play in the 10-year-old league — while at the same time not breaking the bank.

...The consensus among the owners was that more money needs to be invested in MLS, particularly in player acquisition, so that the standard of play continues to rise.

In addition, they agreed large markets such as Los Angeles and New York need more marquee players if they are to reach their potential.

If that means bending salary cap rules so that, say, Juan Pablo Garcia can be brought to Jorge Vergara's Chivas USA, or Beckham can be brought to AEG's MetroStars, so be it.

...Garber is supposed to come up with some hard numbers and ideas by the time the MLS board of governors meets at the All-Star game in Columbus, Ohio, on July 30.

Elsewhere in the article, Jones notes that there is a slight concern that AEG is looking to set things up so that it can dominate the league, since it has by far the greatest purse strings.

With DC United close to being sold off, perhaps we shouldn't be surprised, then, that Tim Leiweke is most enthusiastic about what seems to be a modified NASL development philosophy for the league. I remain skeptical.

The FIFA Confederations Cup continues to mosey along, as well, with the major upset thus far being Mexico over Brazil.

Germany, Argentina, and Mexico have booked their places for the semifinals. Brazil is going to be fighting it out with Japan for the last spot tomorrow.

The U-20s World Cup continues, with group play now giving way to the knockout round.

The US squad wound up winning the so-called "Group of Death" and advanced to face Italy today. The Americans were sent packing, 3-1. I didn't see the game, but most reports indicate that it was disappointing.

And, via Du Nord, here's a list of notable players from the group stages. There's one American in there, midfielder Benny Feilhaber. The player that seems to have raised the most eyebrows, though, is the Netherlands' Quincy Owusu Abeyie. Check out some highlights of Arsenal's hot, young prodigy, here.

Writing in the Guardian, Steven Wells looks across the pond and sees worrying racial disparities embedded in American soccer. He warns:

soccer has become - in the words of Tom Simpson, president of the A-League's San Francisco Bay Seals - the "dream alternate sport for the white suburbs". A safe place where the grandchildren of the "white flight" generation can play in monocultural safety.

Yes, there is still somewhat of a stigma attached to soccer in many regions of the country, but these stereotypes are slowly receding to the extent that I don't think they're worth worrying about as a whole. Things have been and will continue to improve.

With US Soccer investing wisely and looking to attract youngsters who might not have previously considered playing soccer and MLS providing a stable platform for young talent, the infrastructure for youth development is growing rapidly in the US, for all sorts of children.

Demographic changes, notably the growing Hispanic influence in the US, will also mean that American culture will become much more receptive to "futbol." This will probably have a spillover effect across the social spectrum.

And, to throw in some anecdotal evidence, just look at players like Gooch, DMB, and EJ. These are the types of black players that you never would have seen in the US national team pool ten years ago. Now they're thriving in each of their respective environments, with Gooch and DMB overseas, soon to be joined by EJ.

As a whole, racial and class disparities are growing in the US, and they do deserve a great deal of concern. Soccer, however, is one realm of society which will likely become more egalitarian as time goes by.

If Wells had written this piece 7 or 8 years ago, I likely would have agreed with him. Now, I think he's behind the curve.

The London Times reports that the EPL is getting more roadrunner-ish, according to a recent study:

Data gathered by ProZone, which assesses a majority of Premiership clubs, reveals that the average number of sprints by these teams in league matches has increased by almost a half during the past two years, the figure of 1,699 last season comparing with 1,156 in 2002-03. The total distance covered by a team’s players has risen by an average of more than two miles per game in that period, from 67.5 miles to 69.8 miles.

The result is that players probably have less time on the ball and, perhaps in consequence, they are becoming more prone to giving away possession. While teams showed a slight improvement in this regard last season compared with two years earlier, the average tally of 190 successfully completed passes was well down from 226 in the 2003-04 campaign. Given the apparent greater urgency shown by teams, it is no surprise that they are entering the opposition’s third of the pitch more frequently. They achieved this an average of 55 times per match in 2002-03 but 73 times last season.

Take this or leave it. This seems terribly wonkish to me, but fanatical football observers might find this stuff interesting.

FSC's Bobby McMahon previews the seminfinals of the Copa Libertadores. Chivas takes on Atletico Paranaense in one bracket beginning on Thursday, while Sao Paulo will be lining up against River Plate. The winners will meet in a two-leg final on July 6 and 13.

Also notable is that the FIFA World Club Championship starts up this December with a new format, so whichever club lifts the cup will secure a place in a tournament later on in the year already featuring the likes of Liverpool (Europe), Deportivo Saprissa (CONCACAF), and Sydney F.C. (Oceania).

Germany won the Euro 2005 Women's tournament on Sunday, beating Norway 3-1.

The BBC's Mark Ashenden offers a post-mortem of sorts on the competition, as well as the state of women's football generally.

Aaron Marcus: "Poor Old Ronaldo Or Lazy Ronaldough?"

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has a good article today on why the licensing agreement for Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas works out for everyone involved:

According to Dallas Business Journal and an MLS source, the deal calls for a 20-year partnership worth about $30 million, or an average of about $1.2 million to $1.5 million per year.

Why, when soccer is still working to find its place in the American sports landscape, would Pizza Hut pay that much?

Simply, the stadium provides more than the 25 or so FC Dallas home games per year. With 17 amateur fields surrounding the stadium, the facility essentially will enjoy usage on a daily basis with soccer practices, international youth tournaments, concerts, high school football and international soccer exhibitions.

For FC Dallas' part, the $1.5 million per year will take a major dent out of the organization's payroll. The player salary cap runs about $1.7 million. In 2002 the club reported in public documents to the City of McKinney that it carried $4 million in player and front-office salaries.

Note this last paragraph especially, and then throw in the knowledge that the new Adidas sponsorship agreement signed this year breaks down to $1.25M/team annually. That means a very significant percentage of operating expenses, at least for FC Dallas, are covered without even factoring in other ancillary revenues, merchandising deals, gate receipts, etc.

That's pretty remarkable. I recognize MLS has been in the red for some time, and will be for at least a few more years, but these deals are a major reason why the league's front office in NYC beams with confidence.

The AC Milan and Chelsea tour of the US in July has been finalized. They'll each play three matches total, two against each other and a third against a respective MLS side. Here are the games and dates:

• Sunday, July 24
  AC Milan vs. Chelsea FC
  Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA - Time is TBD


• Wednesday, July 27
  AC Milan vs. Chicago Fire
  Soldier Field, Chicago, at 9 pm ET


• Thursday, July 28
  Chelsea vs. D.C. United
  FedEx Field, Washington D.C. at 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN2


• Sunday, July 31
  AC Milan vs. Chelsea FC
  Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ - Time is TBD

To top things off, the LA Times' Grahame Jones is reporting that, around the same time, "Real Madrid will play the Galaxy at the Home Depot Center and possibly one other game against a Mexican club, at a site to be determined."

Don't forget that Fulham is set to line up against the MLS All Stars on July 30 in Columbus, as well.

Diego Forlan shared this season's ESM Golden Shoe award, which goes to the top scorer in Europe, with Thierry Henry.

I know. That just doesn't sound right, does it?

Buzz Carrick, who runs the excellent FC Dallas fan site 3rd Degree, was privy to some interesting remarks by Doug Garber at a media luncheon today. Here are his notes.

I started excerpting the important parts, but there's just too much good information in there. Be sure to read the whole thing.

Yes, that's Inter raising silverware. Your eyes aren't deceiving you. They beat Roma in the Coppa Italia final, 3-0 on aggregate.

If I supported FC Dallas, I'd be worried about this:

Here's a nightmare scenario developing for FC Dallas: Carlos Ruiz, the league's leading goal scorer, is one of the reasons the club likes its chances of landing in the Nov. 13 MLS Cup final.

But that date conflicts with a playoff for one of the final World Cup 2006 berths. The CONCACAF fourth-place finisher plays a home-and-away series against the fifth-place Asian finisher.

Your current fourth-place team in CONCACAF? That would be Ruiz's Guatemala. And the chance to lift the modest Central American nation, with roughly the population of Illinois, into a World Cup would probably be a pull too strong for Ruiz to resist.

Although it's a bit far down the road, I could easily see this conflict rearing its head.

Meet Drew Carey, unlikely posterboy for American soccer.

Chivas players getting pelted with debris leaving the field

Disgraceful behavior down in Buenos Aires last night, where Boca players and fans decided to throw a hissy-fit since they couldn't overtake Chivas on the pitch in their second leg Copa Libertadores quarterfinal.

The scoreless match was abandoned in the 79th minute with Chivas up 4-0 on aggregate. The club from Guadalajara will await three other semifinalists, which will be decided in the next two days.

Good stuff from the Guardian, as usual: James Richardson and Sid Lowe are handing out their awards of the season for Seria A and La Liga, respectively.

The US played out a scoreless tie with Germany in their second U-20s World Cup match yesterday. Freddy Adu reportedly had a good game.

The Americans face Egypt in their last group match on Saturday. They can advance to the knockout round with at least a tie.

The KC Star is reporting that Andrew Murstein might have a little competition from a local ownership group in his bid to buy the Wizards.

Presuming they can muster a credible bid, Lamar Hunt would probably give them the nod over the NY businessman if it meant the team wouldn't relocate. Good news if you're a Wizards fan.

For all the huffing and puffing over Glazer's buyout, Man U has sold a record number of season tickets for next year's campaign.

The mass-boycott threatened by supporters doesn't seem to have materialized, for whatever reason. Glazer is pretty close to asserting total ownership of the club, too.

Yesterday's other major MLS news came from Texas, where Pizza Hut has acquired the naming rights to FC Dallas' new stadium complex in Frisco.

The actual dollar figure wasn't named, but Steve Davis of the Dallas Morning News provides a bit of speculation and context:

Although FC Dallas officials have revealed little about the naming rights negotiations, business analysts and other soccer officials have assessed the value at somewhere between $1.2 and $1.5 million annually.

That seems to compare favorably to the Rangers' deal for Ameriquest Field in Arlington. The baseball team's 30-year agreement with Ameriquest Mortgage Company averages $2.5 million annually.

American Airlines' deal for naming rights to the American Airlines Center is $6.5 million annually over 30 years.

"Pizza Hut Park" doesn't roll off the tongue, but I'm sure the folks in Dallas will adapt it somehow. This looks like a good deal, financially, for the team and league.

Michael Lewis over at Big Apple Soccer has a nice rundown of the teleconference yesterday announcing Alexi Lalas' appointment as Metrostars GM and President.

There was a lot of strong language thrown around that reflected disappointment with the current situation in Metro land and a strong intent to right the ship as soon as possible, if not before. The aggressiveness of the remarks coming from Tim Leiweke, in particular, makes me think that he got approval to start moving on some of those bold initiatives reportedly discussed at Anschutz's ranch last week.

It's also worth noting that there are a lot of people happy to see Nick Sakiewicz kicked out the door. Well, actually, he was kicked up the AEG foodchain a wee bit, and it appears that he'll handle the stadium project from here on out. I wish him all the best on his new endeavors as Anschutz's point man in the NYC area. He is still probably the best person to walk the Harrison project through to completion, something that -- brace yourself -- looks finally like it's going to happen. No more "60-90 days" smoke-and-mirrors!

Despite the ire most hardcore Metro supporters have for Nick, he has done a decent job on the business side of things. It's just, well, he's been horrible with player management (he's had help on this front, obviously) and community relations. As long as he's kept away from these two aspects of the franchise, which seems to be the case, then all's well.

I think this is going to be a very positive move, and this isn't just the hopeful Metro fan in me speaking. Lalas has ties to the area, and an enthusiasm that will help the team rebrand itself over the next two seasons. It's unclear what precise changes will come about in the short term (I wouldn't predict too many), but by next season you will probably see a different attitude on the pitch, in the executive boxes, and in the stands. Something, of course, which is direly needed.

• Here are Week 11 reports from MLS play on Saturday and Sunday.


• Ives Galarcep reports that Nick Sakiewicz is out as President and GM of the Metrostars, to be replaced by Alexi Lalas. Galarcep adds that this could "signal a conclusion to the team's hunt for a soccer-specific stadium. Sources say that AEG has finalized a funding agreement with the state of New Jersey, paving the way for the construction of a stadium in the town of Harrison." It also could be a hint that San Jose has been sold by AEG, possibly to Club America.


• DC United may be playing Chelsea in a July 28 exhibition at RFK. Chelsea will likely face AC Milan in two other games elsewhere in the US around the same time.


• The US beat Argentina 1-0 in its first U-20s World Cup game. Andrew Winner reports from the Netherlands.


• Soccernet's Steve Wilson and Uli Hesse-Lichtenberger preview WC06's dress rehearsal, the FIFA Confederations Cup, which is set to kick off in Germany on Wednesday.


• Liverpool's into next season's UEFA Champions League, formally. They will have a huge mountain to climb if they wish to successfully defend their trophy.


• Inter beat Roma 2-0 in the first leg of the Coppa Italia final. The second leg is on Wednesday in Milan. Additionally, here's a preview of the Parma vs. Bologna Serie A Playoff, with legs scheduled for June 14 and 18.


• Real Betis won the King's Cup in Spain over the weekend, beating Osasuna 2-1.

The London Times got a hold of documents that purport to detail Malcolm Glazer's business plan for Manchester United. The main details:

Manchester United ticket prices are to rise by 54 per cent within five years, under plans by Malcolm Glazer, the club’s new owner, to boost club revenues to £246 million by 2010.

Previously unseen documents shown to The Times indicate that the American tycoon is also planning to increase the cost of attending Champions League matches by as much as 25 per cent from next year.

The plans are likely to fuel fears that United ticket prices will move beyond the reach of ordinary fans, and come as the Office of Fair Trading considers intervening in Mr Glazer’s £790 million takeover to protect United followers from what might be soaring prices.

...The documents also indicate that Mr Glazer is likely to have agreed a deal with the bankers that could make it difficult for United to sign more top stars such as Wayne Rooney, who cost them £27 million. Under the terms of the debt contract, the amount of money United have to spend on transfers has been set at £25 million a year, excluding receipts from player sales, over the next five years, although a further £25 million in total can be spent over that period.

Further analysis from the Times, here and here.

On a side note, this story broke on Friday. I headed over to the Times' football section, but it was nowhere to be found. Instead, it was deemed page one material. Football sure is important over in merry ol' England.

The US squad is gearing up for the U-20 World Cup, which starts this weekend in the Netherlands.

USA Today profiles star players Freddy and Eddie, and throws in a handy reference sheet for American viewing audiences:

The World Youth Championships for under-20 teams take place Friday through July 5 in the Netherlands. The USA is among the field of 24 and is in what many consider the most difficult group.

Saturday: vs. Argentina, 11:30 a.m. ET, Fox Soccer Channel and Telefutura. The match replays on FSC at 8 p.m. Argentina has won three of the last five world championships and four overall.

June 14: vs. Germany, 2:30 p.m. ET, FSC and Galavision. The match replays on FSC at 11 p.m. The youth team has filled the full German national team with stars, who eliminated from the USA in the 2002 World Cup.

June 18: vs. Egypt, 7:30 a.m. ET, FSC and Galavision. The match replays on FSC at noon and 4 p.m. Egypt finished third in this tournament in 2001.

After group play is completed among the six, four-team groups, 16 teams will advance to the second round that will be followed by knockout play (one-game elimination). The Americans had their best finish, fourth place, in 1989.

Chalk up another sale for Mr. Anschutz:

A local group that includes D.C. United President Kevin Payne is close to a deal to purchase the Major League Soccer team's operating rights from Colorado billionaire Philip F. Anschutz, soccer officials said yesterday.

Details of the negotiations have been kept quiet as talks intensified in recent weeks. But those close to the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said plans are in place to announce the sale within the month.

...according to representatives from other Anschutz-run teams, AEG officials have told them that the United deal is all but done and would be announced shortly. The price is estimated at around $20 million. Investors who operate MLS's expansion teams, Dave Checketts of Real Salt Lake and Jorge Vergara of Los Angeles-based Chivas USA, paid a $10 million fee last year.

And on a related front, the San Antonio autopsy has begun.

I thought this was a pretty cool story.

NYT: "U.S. Makes Reservations for Germany." They made it look easy last night.

Other WCQs summarized, here.

While MLS looks dead in San Antonio, it may have new life in formerly "slam dunk" Toronto.

If you're looking to check out what the new Striker Magazine is like, test the waters with these profiles of Clint Mathis and Eddie Johnson.

Here's Marc Connolly's preview of today's US vs. Panama qualifier.

As far as I know, the game is not being broadcast on English language TV in the US. It's supposed to be tape-delayed on Telemundo at 11:30pm EST, though.

From the London Times:

The true inflationary impact on English football of Roman Abramovich’s takeover of Chelsea is revealed today by a benchmark study that shows player costs in the professional leagues rising past the £1 billion mark in the Russian billionaire’s first full season of ownership.

Wages and net transfers in the 2003-04 season across the four divisions were £1.049 billion compared with £852 million the previous season, according to Deloitte and Touche’s annual review of football finance. It is the first time that player costs have exceeded £1 billion and is a phenomenon caused by Chelsea’s record spending spree in pursuit of the Barclays Premiership title.

To put the sum into context, it eclipses the gross domestic products, on an exchange rate basis, of Lesotho and Mauritania, the African countries that together comprise about five million people. The £786 million in wages alone paid to 2,347 professional footballers is roughly equivalent to the estimated GDP this year of Mongolia. Of that sum, £583 million went to Premiership players.

Here are some graphics on how the figures break down in England per club and over time.

This doesn't come as much of a surprise, but I still find it disturbing. I'm not sure how people can justify the absurd amounts of money thrown around in European football, particularly in England. A certain portion of this can be attributed to the "Ambramovich effect," but the expenditures seem to be growing across the board at the top tier clubs.

MLS in San Antonio looks more unlikely as time goes by. From the SA Express-News:

A New York financier [Andrew Murstein] interested in moving a Major League Soccer franchise to San Antonio said Monday he would look elsewhere if the city asks the team to pay rent for home games at the Alamodome.

[...]

"If I owned the team and the package is what was discussed originally, I would try to move the team to San Antonio," Murstein said. "But if a lot of the concessions are taken back, there is just too much interest from other cities to continue" to look at San Antonio.

Murstein suggested his stance is shared by MLS, which has promised the city a franchise if it produces a local ownership group and sells 5,000 season tickets by Aug. 17.

Mayoral candidate Julian Castro said last month he wants the team to pay rent. His opponent in today's runoff election, Phil Hardberger, has said the city should "scrap completely" its plan to join the MLS.

The Metrostars finally pulled the trigger on a deal for Ante Razov. In exchange, they sent John Wolyniec the other way to the Crew (along with parts of an allocation).

This was a slight surprise -- not the deal for Razov, which was forecasted for weeks, but the fact that Woly was the makeweight. The rumor was that Mike Magee was going to be involved at first, then Mark Lisi's name popped up in the discussions. I consider both of them to be better players, overall, but Woly probably was more valuable to Bradley because of the comparative lack of talent he has at forward.

I support the Metros, and am happy with this deal. While Woly's improved over the past two seasons and deserves credit for transforming himself into an MLS starter, I never rated him highly. Notwithstanding his work rate, I couldn't quite understand why Bradley was infatuated with him.

Ideally, Razov will provide the spark needed up top and remain healthy while playing on the dreaded Giants Stadium turf. The Metros have gotten some wind underneath their wings of late, and hopefully they can continue to build on their success in the weeks ahead.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Steven Goff on the mystery that is Bobby Convey: "How can you be good enough to play against England but not play for us?"

The "us" being, of course, Reading FC.

According to the Guardian, Liverpool's probably going to be given a chance to qualify for next season's Champions League:

Liverpool appear to be winning their battle to play in next season's Champions League, albeit starting off in the qualifying rounds. The idea of fast-tracking them into the group stages was described last night as "remote" but Uefa is looking at other ways of bending the rules and an announcement may be made as early as tomorrow.

A decision was not originally expected for another 10 days but Uefa's president Lennart Johansson has indicated he wants to bring forward the talks. He plans to canvass Uefa's executive committee members today and will ask what they think of Liverpool joining Manchester United and Everton in the qualifiers.

Some people advocated putting 'Pool into the group stages directly, but I don't think that's prudent. UEFA would be going a few extra miles simply by giving them an opportunity in the qualifiers. Hopefully some scheme can be devised whereby the Reds' inclusion doesn't unfairly punish other clubs vying for a spot among the final 32.

Check out Goal.com's "Teams of the Season" from England, Germany, and Spain.

Bruce Arena often hits the mark with his comments to the press. In this NY Times profile of Landon Donovan, he does it again:

"Consistency is the key for Landon," Arena said. "I hold him to a higher standard than he holds himself, sometimes. Each and every game, he doesn't need to score goals, but he's got to have a major influence on our team. That's not asking too much of him."

What did he mean about holding Donovan to a higher standard than he held himself? Arena was asked.

"When the games are tough, we need to see Landon," Arena said. "He can't be hiding. I think this year's been up and down. He's either been very good or just O.K. And I'd like him to be good every game."

In just a few short words, Bruce captures the two most worrying aspects of Landon's play: his seeming complacency and his frequent disappearances on the field.

Donovan needs to rid himself of these traits if the US is going to have much success in Germany next year. Not to beat a dead horse, but I don't know if playing in MLS is going to do him much good in this quest.

Three years ago, yesterday: "Mine eyes have seen the glory!"

Jack Edwards will never, ever live that down.

Two good articles from Soccernet today:

• Ernst Bouwes on the Koreans' travails in the Netherlands.


• Derek Rae recounts some of the WCQs from this past weekend.

Today, the LA Times has an interesting article that suggests AEG is getting antsy and looking to move MLS away from an operating plan that emphasizes gradual growth and towards a more competitive, risky one.

Apparently, there's a meeting at Hank Scorpio's lair Philip Anschutz's ranch this week to discuss the future of the league. Tim Leiweke, the second in charge at AEG, is set to make a presentation to fellow investors that outlines dramatic changes. The LA Times describes Leiweke's scheme this way:

On the agenda is a plan to pursue big-name European players, such as Beckham, which would involve substantial new money investments by the owners. MLS leadership has resisted such a strategy to this point, citing the tactic as one of the reasons the North American Soccer League, overloaded with over-the-hill European stars, collapsed in the mid-1980s.

Other points in the plan:

• Expanding rosters to accommodate the influx of these international players.

• Forming working relationships with European clubs that would enable MLS teams to cross-market with these clubs, play exhibition matches against them and borrow players on an on-loan basis.

• Allowing teams more local control over marketing and advertising.

"We're talking about how to make the sport better, how to make the league better," Leiweke said. "We'll throw some ideas out there for everybody to consider.

"It's revolutionary thinking on how to continue to grow the league. The league is doing well. We see it out here. The Galaxy, even before Landon [Donovan's signing] but certainly with Landon, we've become a very important part of the fixture in L.A. After 10 years, that team is one of the top teams in the marketplace now. And we're proud of that.

"But we're not going to rest until the league and the sport are top two [in America]. That's what we've got to do. That's our goal. Top two."

I have no problem with looking to grow the league and get more foreign talent in the States, but Garber & Co. need to be very careful about not biting off more than they can chew. MLS could do with a bit more flash on the field, but this shouldn't come at the expense of the league's (fragile) stability or the emphasis on developing a platform for American talent.

My message to Leiweke's audience: tread with extreme caution.

• Man U has signed Fulham's Dutch 'keeper, Edwin van der Sar. A good move for the Red Devils and pretty much what I expected them to do: quality, short term cover in goal until Howard matures.


• The US trounced Costa Rica in their WCQ match, 3-0. Here's a round-up of other qualifiers around the globe from Saturday and Sunday.


• "What is it about Chelsea?" asks John Rawling in The Guardian. "If they are not yet the most loathed football club in British football, they pretty soon will be the way things are going." First there was the Ashley Cole "tapping up"; now the Blues have moved for Spurs' director of football, Frank Arnesen.


• Check out this interview with Ronaldinho from the OSM. Good read.


• I haven't been able to catch much MLS action this weekend, as usual. Here's what went down.


• ESPN has reportedly struck a new deal to air US national team matches.

New Jersey's acting Governor, Richard J. Codey, is all upset that the US National Anthem wasn't played before the England-Colombia match on Tuesday.

Somebody please buy this guy a clue. Or, better yet, tell him to concentrate on other stuff, like getting that Harrison stadium built.

The Independent's Jason Burt previews the EPL's summer transfer season.

Marc Connolly looks forward to the US-Costa Rica qualifier on Saturday.

Regarding England's much-maligned tour of the US, I don't have too much to say that you can't find expressed elsewhere. Choice remarks come from Marc Connolly, Jen Chang, and the BBC's John May.

The US-England match was mediocre, but nonetheless provided a few bright rays of sunshine. For England, Kieran Richardson got two nice goals for the Three Lions and looks to be worth a run out for Manchester United next season every once in a while to spell Giggs. If he was a right footed player, I'd tell you not to expect to see him in an England shirt too much in the future. But with England's notorious problems on the left, it makes for an entirely different situation.

The only other English players that I thought performed well against the Yanks were Michael Carrick and Joe Cole. The former made no mistakes on the ball and showed great positioning throughout the match; the latter showcased his exceptional ability to dribble at people and create all sorts of problems for defenses. Of all the youngsters who appeared in Chicago, they're the ones I would say best improved their chances for making the WC06 squad (Cole's pretty much a lock anyway).

For the US, Clint Dempsey had a good second half, topped off by his goal. His first half was full of deer in the headlights moments. Cory Gibbs went toe-to-toe with the English lads and didn't back down. He was probably the strongest player on the field for the US, both tactically and physically. Eddie Pope, on the other hand, looked to be well on the downward slope of his international career. I noticed one poster on Big Soccer labelled the RSL defender, "WC06's Jeff Agoos." Let's hope not, but Saturday's performance doesn't instill confidence.

Up front, Landon Donovan needs to work on his finishing. It looked like he was pressing too much during the match. Josh Wolff looked dangerous going forward on the left a number of times, but his inability to get off any quality shots or passes once he pierced the 18 was embarrassing.

I also got a chance to catch the England-Colombia match in person at Giants Stadium. England played better overall, and was clearly boosted by the likes of Beckham and Owen. Colombia looked disorganized, particularly at the back (it's worth noting that Ivan Cordoba didn't play and Yepes was caught going forward quite a bit). All three English goals came about because of ridiculously poor marking. Props to Owen, though, whose finishing was clinical on each service.

All in all, I don't think much was gained out of the English tour for any of the competing sides. The US got a runabout before this weekend's qualifiers, which I guess is a good thing. But Arena doesn't have much to show for the game, except perhaps providing Dempsey with some top flight experience. In England's case, Eriksson learned that he needs to pay attention to Crouch, Jenas, Zat Knight, Richardson, and Carrick some more. I don't think he needed to come across the pond to do that, though. As for Colombia, I doubt they got much out of their lone game, either. I am admittedly less fluent in their squad that showed up at Giants Stadium, but I don't think the game will do much to improve their confidence ahead of the upcoming CONMEBOL matches.

So, my conclusion is that England's tour was a wash. It probably made sponsors happy and netted some revenue for the participating sides, but it did little to boost their prospects on the field. At a personal level, I enjoyed the one game I was able to see live. My evening was even topped off by an amazing, last-gasp Amado Guevara goal against the Fire, so I can't complain.

I was away from the internet for a bit, so that explains the lack of posting. Here's some of the goings-on from the last few days.

• To my slight surprise, Totti's pledged his future to Roma for what looks like the rest of his career.
• Ashley Cole's taken a significant rap on the knuckles for his "tapping up" by Chelsea. Steve Wilson again speculates that this could have Bosman-like implications.
• James Richardson closes out Serie A. Fiorentina survived, while Brescia and Atalanta go down. Parma is set to play Bologna in a June two-leg tie to determine the third squad to be relegated.
• Likewise, Phil Ball drops the curtain on La Liga. And, yes, you read that right. Diego Forlan ends the season ahead of Eto'o as top scorer in Spain.
  
• Some Liverpool supporters recount their magic night in Istanbul last week for the Observer.
• Soccernet's Dan Brennan: "The Russians are coming..."
• The Inter-Zapatista romance continues. Here's the latest exchange of letters.
• Man U currently has only one GK on its roster following the release of Carroll and Ricardo. Good news or bad news for Timmy? Recall what I had to say last month (as if it matters).
• Munich's Allianz Arena made its debut over the weekend. Check out some pics via the official website.
• The FIFA U-20 World Youth Championship will soon be underway. Some of the games will be broadcast on Spanish language TV in the US, so check your listings.
  
• Freddy Adu just turned 16.
• The KC Star reports that the "Wizards' only known bidder remains in a holding pattern." Andrew Murstein is yet to receive word from Lamar Hunt about his $15M bid for the franchise.
• Rongen out, Westerhof in for head coach of Chivas USA.