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Sometimes Friendly is the Wrong Word - Sounders hosting Portland in Charity Match
by Sounder At Heart on Feb 8, 2010 5:42 PM PST
in Friendlies
14 comments
Who: Sounders v Timbers
What: Charity Match, preseason friendly
Where: Qwest Field
When: 3/11 6PM
How Much: 10$ for Adults, 6$ for Children (U-6 free)
Yep, read that how much again. General admission for the whole dang thing, or however much they decide to open. I'm certain something will be worked out as I don't forsee the ECS/GFC/NES and Timber's Army sitting in the same sections.
But overall this is a great idea. It offers a sampler for many of those people who can't get season tix, and it raises money for a few good causes.
14 comments | 0 recs |
Two Off Season Votes this Season for Sounders FC
by Sounder At Heart on Feb 5, 2010 4:50 PM PST
in Democracy in Sports
20 comments
As the whole concept behind Democracy in Sports continues to be refined there are currently two ongoing votes for Sounders FC Alliance members.
The first is a continuation of the Alliance Council. Four more just recently reached the 25 vote minimum and 15 now serve. Eleven of us wil be ending our term at the end of this season, while those elected this year will be done in 2011. We advised the club for longer terms because we had trouble learning the system and extent of influence. They agreed. All Alliance Members can vote this year, click here to do so.
When you visit there you will also be asked to vote on the future of the Golden Scarf ceremony. The three options are to give it only to fans of the team, only community icons or a mix of the two. Now, it isn't my job to tell you how to vote, but I think that this tradition will only be relevant if the people who get it are significant to a large segment of the fanbase. Yes, I got one, but I didn't get one because of who I am. Instead I was part of a group that got one to represent YOU. But a Scarf before each match to a fan, for just being a fan doesn't seem right.
It is notable that of the 15 people on the Council they break into following groups (some members of multiple groups)
Emerald City Supporters - 6
Gorilla FC - 4
Bloggers - 3
Women - 3
Both Supporter Groups are organizing to get more on the Council, and probably will. If you are a member of another Group it might be a good idea to get someone on the Council. If you feel that the SGs have too much representation you need to find someone who represents you.
If you are running and need more support, feel free to campaign in this thread or by using the FanShots/FanPosts.
20 comments | 0 recs |
SBNation welcomes a ManCity Blog
Now at 3 MLS team sites (SSFC, RSL, DCU), a US/MLS site, a World competitions site, a Euro overview site and our first EPL site. All lthis in a just a few months.
3 days ago
Sounder At Heart
0 comments
0 recs
"But the real exciting time for all of us is in 2011, when you join with Vancouver (B.C.) and match up with Seattle and I think give us what this country has never had, which is a true epicenter of passion for the sport," Garber said.
"Seattle is continuing to surprise us all. They haven’t announced it yet, but they’ve sold out their available season tickets (for 2010). They’re now at 32,000 and expect to go well north of 40,000 for their attendance."
The MLS Commissioner expects Seattle to average more thank 40k.
That's a FOUR followed by four ZEROES.
4 days ago
Sounder At Heart
9 comments
0 recs
Is Standing Pat really that Risky?
by Sounder At Heart on Feb 4, 2010 4:20 PM PST
in Major League Soccer
25 comments
Falk sounded off, and has really represented what a majority of fans are thinking. The Sounders haven't done enough in the off-season. They haven't added any names. And yet, is that an indication that they have wasted an opporutnity?
Are we really going to think that a surprise draft pick (David Estrada), a resurgent former 2nd Team All-American (Mike Fucito) and a precisely tuned offense are going to get this team to be the offensive power that we once that it should be?
I actually think so. There are some numbers to back it up, but they lack significant size.
25 comments | 1 recs |
MLS Regular Season Schedule is Out
by Sounder At Heart on Feb 3, 2010 12:19 PM PST
in Major League Soccer
17 comments
This is not the complete schedule for Sounders FC. Most of you know that, but I should remind you that there will be the US Open Cup, the CONCACAF Champions League as well as 3 friendlies tagged onto the following schedule.
It is notable to me that though 1/3 of all league matches are on TV this year, only 9 will be of Sounders. A "balanced" TV schedule would have been 10. A schedule that would have featured the team and city with the best MLS TV ratings should have had more. This is an MLS miss.
MLS added the Philly SSS Opener to the ESPN2 schedule. Seattle now is evenly represented on National TV.
Also notable are the reduction in weeknight games, this year down to 15%. This is due to a bit less crowding from FIFA dates, and just a wise move to get more people inside the stadiums. You should expect a bump in attendence overall from this alone.
Philly has the anti-Sounders schedule due to their stadium issue. Their 3rd Home Game is against the Sounders on June 27th, a Sunday (MLS still fixing their online version of schedule).
Also notable is that the Sounders/Seahawks conflict lead to only a tiny weighting towards road games. In September/October there will be only 3 home games and 5 away. It could have been worse. Throw in August and its only a 5/6 split in favor of traveling.
Sounders have a double week early, and both matches are roadtrips. Kind of long ones at that. At Dallas on a Thursday followed up by at Toronto. At the end of that first 6 matches of March/April Sounders need to be at 10+ points. They are facing clubs that are generally lower to mid-level teams, with the at Salt Lake being the only one where I expect a poor result. Also, several teams historically start slow as they don't bring in their full squad until the end of the Primary Transfer Window. It is great that one of the shortest/cheapest roadtrips is the first one of the year.
The Second Six gets more difficult with only the loans of Donovan and Beckham making it a bit easier. By the time the World Cup starts Seattle fans should have a good picture of what kind of team has come back to defend their single trophy and effort towards a multi-Cup year.
Full Regular Season Schedule after the jump. I have included the date change that MLS has indicated will be made to the @Philly match.
17 comments | 0 recs |
Sigi to improve Sounders game through improved technique
by Sounder At Heart on Feb 2, 2010 7:30 PM PST
in Major League Soccer
6 comments
Many fans have pointed out that the lack of signings is an indication that the Sounders offense will struggle again. I think this is a simplistic look at the coaching process, particularly with a coach who is accomplished at developing talent. It also ignores the trials and tribulations of expansion. From today's quotes from the coach we see that Sigi sees the same issues that we all see, and he is setting the team up to improve by improving their technique. He also sees one key player who could take a few steps forward.
We want to improve certain aspects of our game. We want to be able to play a little quicker. Not to play in a hurry, but to play quicker. We want to be able to be more aggressive in the box. So we want to gear our game towards that. So a lot of what we did yesterday in terms of making them get a shot off at a certain time. Today we were working on good diagonal runs, getting points for playing balls to be people in the end zone. It’s all about, can we play a little quicker? Can we get behind defenses? Can we be more aggressive in the final third of the field? Because obviously defensively last year we were amongst the best in the league. Offensively we can add another five, six, seven goals to our offensive production. That makes all the difference between finishing where we did and maybe finishing as Supporters’ Shield winners
Even the minor improvement he sees in five goals likely puts Seattle into first. Just 1 win is all it would have taken, and if those 5 goals are randomly distrubeted the chances that they hit the more than 1/3 of matches that ended in a draw would have been enough.
But what excites me more is that there is a focus on getting off more shots, getting faster, being more aggressive. I enjoy that game, not because it leads to more goals, but because it requires more skill and more tactical knowledge and it forces the opponent to react to you; because you have defined the game.
That's what I called Sigi's Game.
6 comments | 0 recs |
Estrada Signs with Sounders - What is Impact on Remaining Trialists
by Sounder At Heart on Feb 2, 2010 9:09 AM PST
in Major League Soccer
9 comments
This according to Goff at the Wa Post.
Forward David Estrada, Seattle's first-round draft pick from UCLA, has signed with the Sounders.
And so now the roster is starting to get full without players getting cut to make room. Here's the current training list with only the guys under contract listed
Goalkeepers (3): Terry Boss, Chris Eylander, Kasey Keller
Defenders (8): Taylor Graham, Leo Gonzalez, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Patrick Ianni, Tyrone Marshall, James Riley, Zach Scott, Nathan Sturgis
Midfielders (6): Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Stephen King, Freddie Ljungberg, Sanna Nyassi, Peter Vagenas
Forwards (5): David Estrada, Nate Jaqua, Roger Levesque, Fredy Montero, Steve Zakuani.
Players there are classified by the team as reported to MLS (eg Zakuani as Forward). Now you long time MLS fans will note that only Nyassi is sure to be a Developmental Player (if that still exists in the new CBA), and it is possible that Estrada is as well.
That's 22 of 24 slots filled. I have heard no reports yet of Tyson Wahl being resigned yet (he was a Free at the end of year). So things are getting a bit dicey for the remaining trialists and Wahl. Either 1 senior and 1 developmental or 2 developmental slots are all that are open. For more than two on the following list to make the squad they are going to have to bump a Senior player from last year.
Keeper: Patrick Lane
Defender: Lamar Neagle, Tyson Wahl (Senior only), Jamel Wallace
Midfielder: Mike Fucito, Josh Gardner (Senior only), Jakob Yakir Lusky, Michael Seamon
Forwards: Tye Predido, Jarrod Smith (Senior only)
Now with Seamon and Predido going back to school that does mean that the other guys get a slightly larger window of opportunity. February 15th we will probably see a set of cut-downs, as that is the day before they fly to Spain.
Of course I'm assuming a 24 man roster with the 20+4 format of last year. That could change, or player could get a long-term injury forcing them on the Injured List (max 4 players) for the first six matches allowing another player to make the roster.
9 comments | 0 recs |
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Most Commented
Is Standing Pat really that Risky?
by Sounder At Heart 4 days ago
25 comments | 1 recs
Two Off Season Votes this Season for Sounders FC
by Sounder At Heart 3 days ago
20 comments | 0 recs
MLS Regular Season Schedule is Out
by Sounder At Heart 5 days ago
17 comments | 0 recs
If MLS wants another Seattle, look at Austin
by BayAreaRefugee 5 days ago
15 comments | 0 recs
Sometimes Friendly is the Wrong Word - Sounders hosting Portland in Charity Match
by Sounder At Heart about 14 hours ago
13 comments | 0 recs