Dave's random mumblings…

I missed Saturdays win over Chicago, but it sounded like a fun game with Montero scoring the winner in injury time.

This was a huge game for both sides, and not because of Freddie’s return, but because of the points on the table and the two sides battling out for the final playoff places.

This is the combined MLS table, if the season were to finish today Seattle would be in as 4^th seed in the west and would get a first round game against the fading LA Galaxy. Recent form shows LA are not nearly as fearsome as they were in July when they took Seattle apart at the HDC.

However this only shows part of the story and can be safely ignored for now as there are a lot of teams with games in hand (GIH) over Seattle. If these teams win out (impossible I know as they play each other, but it’s worst case we are looking at here) the picture for the Sounders is a little less cut and dried.

Today Seattle has 32 points and Chicago has 24 points, at first glance a healthy lead for Seattle. However Chicago have played three games less than Seattle. This means 9 points to Chicago if they win those games.

That would move Chicago to 33 points, one ahead of Seattle and drop Seattle to 9^th in the second combined table that assumes teams win those games in hand (GIH). This pushes Seattle out of the play-offs by one point.

To give the short version of events, the game in Chicago on September 26^th has become a very important game. Win there and Seattle controls their own destiny into the post season. Loose and the road to the play offs requires the Sounder Nation to concern ourselves with other peoples results.

The momentum is building and with 10 points out of the last 12 available in the league this looks a lot like the team we expected to see at the beginning of the year.

First there was Sundays great performance at San Jose, and it really was a great performance from Seattle. Unquestionably the better side throughout the game, the first 20 minutes were some of the best end-to-end team football they’ve played this year. The effort shown in the second half when San Jose threw caution to the wind in the effort to get a point at home was very solid.

I think the biggest difference between today and a couple of months ago is the workrate and effort from the entire team. Having Osvaldo Alonso back made a huge difference to Seattle’s second effort, he played a very physical game and really controlled the midfield.

The passing was crisp, possession was controlled, and when the ball was lost a lot of effort was put into getting it back. In the past it’s not been quite as hard fought in the middle of the field.

Montero looks so good right now, the more I see him play the more I’m convinced hes going to be a very, very good player. He’s maturing and with players like Sanna Nyassi and Fernandez feeding him he’s got a chance to keep the scoring streak going.

Tonight was the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League preliminary round game. Seattle led 1-0 from the first leg in El Salvador was all they needed to go through to the group stage. The pitch looked marginal and the rain never let up for the entire game, but once again we saw a solid team performance that got the result they needed.

This turned out to be a very entertaining game, both teams played decent football. Metaplan went ahead before half time with a well-taken goal that gave Keller no chance.

From then on Seattle clearly had a majority of the possession and were playing well enough that they were going to score sooner or later. There were a couple of close off side calls, one of which had Levesque through on goal, but Seattle looked comfortable and patient looking for the opening.

The chance fell to substitute Alvaro Fernandez. He scored his first goal in a Seattle shirt with about 15 minutes left to play. With away goals counting double Metapan needed to score twice to go through. It was not happening tonight, Seattle looked to competent to allow that to happen again this year.

So another six games this year, including with games in Mexico, Honduras and Panama over the next three months. That sounds like a fun way to spend a few days vacation this fall.

Sounders are now 7 games undefeated in all competitions (league, Open cup and Champions League), the team have moved into play off contention and seem to be hitting form at the right time.

Sunday is Houston at Quest, a team we are building a very nice rivalry and the first meeting since Seattle were bumped out of the play offs by Houston last year. Another win and three points would go a long way to securing that play off place. Going to be a fun night under the lights.

Ljungberg has moved to Chicago, with what’s happened over the last few weeks it is clearly a move that makes sense for Seattle. I don’t know if what went wrong will ever fully come out, rumours are there was a significant rift within the club. Schmidt, Hanauer and most vocally team captain Keller all questioning Freddie Ljungbergs commitment to the team. I’m sure over the next month or two we’ll learn more and more about what actually happened.

Freddie before the DCU game in June

Ljungberg was the second player signed by the team, Sebastian Le Toux was the first, and this signing did a lot for the franchise. It gave the entire organization an instant level of credibility months before the first ball was kicked and that they were willing to spend the money to attract top level talent. In short it made the football world take a little notice of this new club in the MLS.

In return Ljungberg has been a great ambassador for the league and club. He’s been very generous to the fans and has been clear that overall he’s enjoyed his time both at the club and living in the Pacific Northwest.

On the flip side he has occasionally held himself to a slightly different standard than the rest of the side with occasional weekends off and reporting late to training camp with no consequences because of a “misunderstanding”. To be fair to Freddie, the management has allowed it to happen.

Being late to the pre-season camp in Seattle earlier this year does seem to have particularly upset some of his teammates, most vocal was Casey Keller. But it started an undercurrent of discontent that may have led to his leaving the club with only a couple of months left on his contract. Additionally he’s had a somewhat public falling out with Sigi Schmidt over his discipline and attitude towards referees during games.

There is no question the Freddie has been on the receiving end of some vicious tackles, it seems to be a tactic that a number of teams employ against the more skillful players. It’s one of the things the MLS needs to take care of if they want to see the game played the way it can be.

Once he was dropped from games and was training alone it was just a matter of where he would go, rather than if he would go. His agent said a number of English and Italian clubs were interested in signing Ljungberg. The fact he ended up at Chicago rather than an ambitious European club looking for leadership shows that the interest never went much beyond a quick phone call to his agent.

From section 130 watching Freddie on the ball over the last 18 months was a treat. Clearly he was one of the most creative players in the league. The league never really suited his style fully, but when ever he was on the ball there was a chance that something interesting was going to happen. He did occasionally let his frustration that his team mates were not always at his level show, but generally he played his role as a leader well on the pitch.

I’m looking forward to welcoming Freddie back to Seattle on August 28^th when the Fire comes to RBP.

Thanks Freddie.

The move of Ljungberg to Chicago coincides with the arrival of Uruguayan international Alvaro Fernandez from Nacional.

This is the sort of player the league needs to attract. Signing big names like Beckham, Blanco, Henry and Ljungberg make a big splash in the sports pages and get people looking in the leagues direction. However it does not do much for the credibility of the league as a whole. Football in America and MLS (rightly or wrongly) has a reputation as a bit of a retirement home for big names.

Some of this is the legacy of the NASL where huge names like Pele, Beckenbauer, Alberto, Cruff, Moore and so on came to the league for a last big pay cheque before easing into retirement. This gave the league huge interest around the world and in some markets put bums on seats, but did nothing to add credibility that the NASL was a good or stable league.

If you have any interest in what led to the excesses of the NASL it’s worth looking for “Once in a Lifetime: The Incredible Story of the New York Cosmos” written by Gavin Newsham. It goes into this in some detail and is a good read. In short the lunatics were running the asylum, and in the case of the NY Cosmos running it with other people’s money with little accountability.

Back to Seattle’s new signing Alvaro Fernandez and why I think this could be more important the New York signing Thierry Henry.

Today Fernandez is not going to sell as many Seattle shirts as Henry will in New York, but I hope that’s not how the league defines success.

He’s clearly a very skillful player. He was part of a Uruguay side that played some attractive football and made the semifinals of the World Cup. He is only 24 and has shown the ability to be successful at the top level, his signing has a massive upside, is only going to develop and get better over the next couple of years.

To be realistic the MLS is not a league that talented players around the world aspire too. The complex contract structure, single entity ownership, salary cap and relative popularity in a packed sports market place ensure that the MLS is never going to be“destination league” for the world’s best players.

However there are still a couple of roles it could take going forward, namely either a place to send promising players for a few seasons and see what they have, or a retirement home for big names. Given the choice I’d far rather the MLS be seen as a top level development league and finishing school for players like Montero (who is a potential superstar) and Fernandez.

Seattle had what was best called a functional performance in the 2-1 win over Western conference side Colorado. This continued the run of good results over the last couple of weeks and is threatening to turn into an actual run up the table. Seven points from the last 9 on offer, and a semi-final place in the Open cup and there are reasons for this emerging confidence from what’s been a poor year up to now.

New signing Blaise Nkufo warming up

Seattle played a solid game on Sunday against Colorado. The defence was faced with a very physical attack led by Conner Casey, Pat Iaani and Jeff Parke responded in kind and with the exception of the goal did a good job at the back.

The Colorado was well taken; Casey sent Parke the wrong way and finished with a shot that gave Keller no chance. During the second half Seattle soaked up a lot of pressure and a couple of great saves from Keller preserved the win for Seattle. This was another step in the correct direction, Seattle has been in this position before, defending a late lead, and given the game away in the last few minutes of the game.

Another big night under the lights

It’s difficult to say Seattle is a better team with out Ljungberg in the line up, especially on the form he showed last season, but they seem somehow to be a more complete team.

There are a few positive signs and the team seems to be heading into the correct direction.

Sounders 2, Rapids 1

Wednesday night and it’s time for the first CONCACAF Champions League game. The sounders have been pushing the Wednesday night game with the slogan “There are times for friendlies, this is not one of them”. Most football fans know of the European Champions League, the best clubs in Europe battle it out for glory (a considerable pot of money) and a place in the World Club Championship.

This is north and Central America’s version, the winner goes to the World Club Championship for a go at the ultimate club title.

Seattle plays it’s first leg against Metapan, the El Salvadorian champions, the winner of this tie goes into the group stage for another 6 games against Central American sides.

It will be a chance to have a look at a different style of football, in places like El Salvador the passion for the game runs deep, but the money to develop and compete is scarce.

Metapan are no easy win, especially as Seattle has to travel to El Salvador next week for the second leg of the tie. They have won the local league four times in the last 7 years, have a number of players with international experience in the squad and have played on this stage before.

Last year they made it to the group stages of the champion’s league and posted a win over Houston during the competition. I don’t think this is a team the Sounders can take lightly. The big player is midfielder Paolo Suarez. The name may be familiar as he’s the elder brother of Luis Suarez, who stopped a certain goal with his hand during the Uruguay – Ghana game at the World Cup Finals.

Ultimately I think Seattle should be able to use their speed, fitness (Metapan are about to start their season) and tactical discipline to move into the knock out stages where some big games await. This is when the real fun should begin.

Big day for live sport yesterday. It started with the first real, all day long Alpine stage on the Tour De France. There is something just awe inspiring about cyclists doing 20KPH along steep alpine roads, and I mean inspiring in a “WTF, are you serious” kinda way.

The end of the live coverage of Le Tour dovetailed nicely into the start of the live coverage of the British GP. A very interesting race that Mark Weber led from lights to flag, the first corner saw the two Red Bull cars going at each and giving no quarter. Vettel came off the worst, but clearly not all is happy between the two Red Bull drivers (and both are under contract for next year at the same team).

Weber won, Ferrari had a disaster, Vettel drove from the back of the field to finish 7th and Rosberg beat Schumacher once again. Hamilton finished second and is still the championship leader, 12 points ahead of his McLaren team-mate Jenson Button, had a great drive to finish fourth after driving through the field after qualifying a disappointing 14th.

As the champagne spraying slowed down the pre-game for the World Cup Final was just starting up. A lot has been written elsewhere about this game, the best team won. Not sure if Holland’s coach, Bert van Marwijk, took inspiration from the way Inter Milan beat Barcelona in the Champions League final, but the Dutch went out to throw Spain off their game and get something. They came close, going forward the Holland looked good at times. Ultimately Spain was too good, the goal superbly taken, a tough chance made to look easy.

One story that’s got more press than it probably should have done was Paul the physic octopus. He continued his perfect record at picking the results of World Cup games involving Germany, and after Germany was eliminated, the final.

After Paul predicted an Argentine loss in the quarterfinals, Paul got death threats and recipes for braised octopus sent to him. German fans repeated this over reaction after he called the semi-final, correctly once again.

At this point I went into work for a couple of hours to finish a couple of things for meetings today. Nothing interesting, but to round off the day of sport was Seattle hosting Dallas at Quest Field. Seattle needs to the points, is yet to beat a team in their conference (home or away) this year. Dallas is one of the teams that are fighting for a play off place and need the points as much as Seattle does.

There were a number of changes, both forced and unforced. Ljungberg was out with an ankle problem (hopefully real, not a “transfer window is almost here” ankle problem), Noonan, Marshall and Vagenas were dropped. Seamon, Sturgis, replaced them and Jaqua got his first start of the year after his return from injury.

These changes along with the inclusion of Montano provided a very different look, and they played with a lot of energy and for the first half played some of the best football I’ve seen all year from Seattle. They played far better as a team that last weeks big loss to LA (a very good team by the way).

Seattle went in at half time 1-0 up, good possession and some nice passing meant the lead was well deserved. Riley connected with Seamon, who swung in a cross into the box for Montero to head past Hartman. It was a well-worked and finished goal. Seattle looked comfortable coming in at half time.

Things changed shortly after the restart when Montaro was sent off, there was a hard tackle by Dallas’ Shea, and the two players had a big coming together. The ref said Montaro threw an elbow and he was sent off for retaliation. I was in the bathroom and caught the replay on the TV’s and did not see a sending off offence on the replay.

The call seemed very harsh, especially after watching the Dutch play earlier. Had there been a MLS referee in charge of the World Cup final there would have been 7 or 8 players left on the pitch.

Seattle 1 - 1 Dallas

Seattle played down a player for close to 35 minutes, the team defended well, defended in depth and worked very had to keep the lead. It took a very well taken goal in the 87th minute to equalize.

Another result they probably should have had, the defending was good enough that I had some confidence they were going to hold onto the lead despite being down a man. Keller made a couple of good saves and it took a very good header to beat him.

There are a lot of positives to take from the game, the improvement over the LA game was clear. The younger players did themselves no harm and hopefully gave Sigi something to think about for the game at DC United on Thursday.

I worked late yesterday, I was not having a great day and did not go into the office until after watching Spain beat Paraguay. It’s been a rough couple of weeks, I was working deep into the evening and I wanted to do something fun for July-4.

I had a couple of offers for BBQ’s in Seattle today. Nothing says July in Seattle like a BBQ in the rain. As tempting as that was, I decided I needed sun and found the perfect excuse.

Sounders are playing in LA, it’s going to be sunny and 25 degrees warmer than Seattle. Late last night I made an impulse decision, traded in a wedge of Delta skymiles for an early morning flight, brought a match ticket and will be joining the other Sounders fans BBQing in the Home Depot Centre car park.

Sounders media guy Matt Gaschk

This was my first proper tail gate party and glad I took the chance to have some fun in LA on July 4^th. They never had those before an Aldershot or Coventry City game.

I was surprised to see 7 or 8 other sounders jerseys on the flight this morning, I figured most people would have made a weekend of it and already been there.

Left on time, and as a bonus even got an exit row. Arrived at LAX a little ahead of schedule. I get they are trying to do something with the place and that it was largely built in the 70’s, but can anyone think of a place that looks more like a 70’s dystopian science fiction film set than the bowels of LAX?

It’s full of tiles featureless walls, unnecessary escalators and long blank corridors. Add a few flex ducts and find the torture chamber you know they have hidden somewhere and you are living in Terry Gillians movie Brazil.

The pre-game party was fun, there was about 120 Seattle fans (and one lonely LA supporter, dragged there by his girlfriend) in the car park drinking beer and eating BBQ. It was a lot of fun, this would not be allowed in Seattle in the same way.

ECS Capo leading the chants, he does not get to see much of the game

To the game… A 3-1 Seattle loss, not many positives as Seattle were clearly outplayed. Montero looked frustrated, Ljungberg was ineffective and despite scoring the only Seattle goal Zakuani seemed unable to time his runs and not for the first game this year did not look sharp. There was a decent amount of Seattle possession in and around the LA box, but no one seems to be willing to take the shot.

Lots of little balls between players, but ultimately someone has to stand up and take responsibility to turn the half chance into a goal rather than loose possession. It’s just so frustrating to watch. Especially during the first half the movement from midfield forward looked slow and uninspired. Unfortunately that’s the role usually played by Alonso or occasionally Evans, who are both injured. Pete Vagenas tried today, but his distribution and creativity was not good enough against a quick, pressing midfield like LA.

Landycakes first game back after the World Cup

Sigi has some young players with a little creativity and imagination on the bench; it maybe time to start some of them rather than waiting until 75 minutes into the game.

To be clear LA are a good side, they’ve scored 7 goals against Seattle in two games. The home team played some very simple but effective football, lots of short passing and actually able to hit the runners with the ball. LA plays an attractive passing game and seems very well drilled in what’s expected.

The second LA goal was as good a strike as I’ve seen in this league. 30+ yards out and Brazilian midfielder Juninho struck the ball sweetly, there was nothing Keller could have done about that one.

Away section at Home Depot Center

There were just over 300 seats in the away fans section and they sold out. There were a smattering of rave green jerseys elsewhere in the ground. I was in the 5^th or 6^th row of the Sounders section with the hardcore ECS chanting group. A lot of fun was had, bouncing around, singing and yelling for the entire 90 minutes. My first away game, my throat is shot, however it’s not going to be my last away trip.

Nate Jaqua acknowledges the traveling supporters

Seattle hosts LA on Wednesday at Starfire in the Open Cup quarter final, if Seattle plays like this then the holders will not make it to the semi-finals.

Another big night at Quest field. Once again not the result I had hoped for, coming away with a 3-2 loss.

Pre-game entertainment this time included the worlds biggest grill! Its not going to fit on my deck, or even the driveway.

The BIG grill

Onto the game… DC have the worst record in the league, but after a horrendous start have picked up 13 out of a possible 15 points coming into the game tonight and were on something of a hot streak. Seattle was also looking good and had a lot of momentum after dominating New England Saturday. It looked like a good match up, and other than the score line it was an entertaining game to watch.

The ECS unveiled a huge and very impressive banner of Keller holding up the US Open cup prior to the game. This was the trophy Seattle won last year by beating DC United at RFK. Best titfo so far this year, nice job by the Emerald City Supporters.

Nothing like a big game under the lights

The game started out at quite the pace, both teams came out to play good football, the ref was quick to throw a couple of yellow cards and did a good job at keeping control. Seattle certainly had the best of the first half hour, they had long periods in control when they played some very entertaining passing football.A couple of shots on goal, one header from Noonan that went very close, but few other really good chances continue the theme we’ve seen a lot this year.

Unfortunately and not for the first time this year the opponents first goal came against the run of play. I was in the bathroom and missed it, but the noise left no doubt about what had happened.

A few minutes later the second DC goal came via an uncharacteristic fumble by Keller shortly before half time.

Even though they went in at half times 2-0 down, it felt like they had the best of the first half and there seemed to be some optimism for pulling it out in the second half.

This was extinguished when Chris Pontius completed his hat trick with a very pretty lofted header to the far post with about 15 minutes left to play.

Seattle Sounders 2 - DC United 3

Seattle made it exciting by scoring twice in injury time, James Riley got a lucky deflection that gave DCU keeper Troy Perkins no chance. A minute later Fredy Montero added a second. Seattle had one more chance but it was not enough to pull out the win. Troy Perkins had a good game, he made a couple of good saves to keep Seattle scoreless until late in the game.

Seattle had plenty of play and lots of chances, but once again was struggling to actually get shots on goal. The passing was typically good, but following the usual story broke down in the last quarter of the field.

There were exceptions, Ljungberg especially seemed to relish having the ball at his feet and had one of his best individual games. He got into it somewhat with the ref during the second half and collected another booking, but I find it difficult to find fault with his play. Most of the good chances came through him at some point in their build up.

Ljungberg having a slight difference of opinion with the Ref

Seattle is off for a couple of weeks now and hopefully once we get back from the World Cup break Nate Jaqua and Osvaldo Alonso will hopefully be back from injury. The addition of Swiss forward Blaise Nkufo sometime after the Swiss are eliminated from the World Cup could be huge.

The other thing to remember is the interest in Montero and Ljungberg shown by European clubs during the last transfer window. The next chance for European clubs to sign players starts in early July. CSKA Moscow were supposed to be interested in Montero, I’ll be interested to see if he’s in green for Seattle’s next home game on July 11^th.

While the Daily Mail is not my first choice of paper in the morning they did run a nice interview with Freddie Ljungberg today.

There is the mandatory underwear shot, but he also talks about living in Seattle, the team, his role and hints at what’s next. Freddie feels there are another couple of years of football in him, but I get the feeling that his future may involve a return to Europe at the end of the year.