There is a starting role up for grabs, at least in the early going, in the Right Midfield. Also, the Sounders have plenty of issues with their depth and cover, particularly at LM and RB, while it is likely that a Center back goes to the IL, or just gets cut, but this match is about more than mere roster space.

It is the continuation of a legacy of soccer in America that actually stetches back more than a single generation. It is a rivalry game, regardless of status as a pre-season tuneup, or as a friendly. The Portland Timbers faithful hate Seattle Sounders and the Seattle Sounders supporters laugh at a club that has struggled for trophies.

Tonight though, the MATCH is a bit secondary. First off all tickets sold are for charity. Secondly is the news that the Union is willing to strike.

But tonight, the Sounders look to pass average MLS attendance for a preseason match, when stars aren't likely to see more than a half. If you aren't there, you can catch glimpses on KONG 6/16, or on live blogs on Sounders FC.com, or Seattle Times, or at Prost Amerika.

Here today, we provide your place for instant analysis and dreams of when soccer in American isn't fliriting with Russian Roulette.

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Today's Inaugural Community Shield match ensures that the Seattle-Portland rivalry will continue its 35-year run in which the two teams played every season they both fielded teams. The rivalry has stretched across three leagues. 

Although it's being billed as a friendly, the 13,000-plus fans who will be in attendance may not feel the same way. The two teams have met 60 times, with the Sounders holding a 34-21-5 advantage, including wins in each of the past two meetings. 

There are reportedly four busloads of Timbers fans making the trip to Seattle. The game will kick off at 6 p.m. with plenty of tickets still available. Proceeds from ticket sales will go to the Boys and Girls Club of Washington State, Seattle SCORES, Soccer Saves and Washington Youth Soccer.

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Seattle fans got their first live look at a preseason match, but only if they traveled. Emerald City  Supporters had 2 busses, Gorilla FC got a van, and of course there were dozens that traveled on their own. Thursday Night ten thousand more will be able to see the action live as well. This will be your last shot to see some of the depth on the team until injuries or the US Open Cup, so if you are intrigued by guys like Fucito, Estrada, Scott, Nyassi, Levesque, Wahl, Parke, Ianni or Graham you may want to get those cheaper tickets. (Yeah, I just tried to sell tickets).

This match seemed to be like one of missed chances, too many offsides, and a wasted opportunity when Fucito passed instead of pulled the trigger;

"I thought in the first half, we put together a couple of good combinations. We got caught offside today, and more so in 20 minutes than we have been called offside in the last five games together. Either some of the runs were really off, some of them were really close, you couldn’t really tell. I thought we had a chance to win at the end of the game, Mike Fucito really should’ve pulled the trigger."

"I thought in the first half we had four or five really good chances. Overall, we’ve put a lot of emphasis on trying to play balls behind the defence. And I think we probably tried to overflow that hand a little bit by trying to do that too much. I think the combination play wasn’t as good as it has been in the past. We got to make sure that we still find the right balance in possession of the ball and get it behind the opposing defence. We just have to become better at our decision making process."

Off and on-ball movement continues to be the message, as the talent on this team is completely capable of having a top 5 offense in this league. Minor injuries continue to clutter the reading of tea leaves, but the image of player rotations continues to gain some clarity.

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There was a ton of transition in the lower levels of North American soccer this off-season, and keeping up was just a bit more difficult for me. So today, as a preview of the match against our Northern Cascadia rivals I decided to ask one of the experts on said team. The following post is written by Andrew Bucholtz of Sporting Madness. If its happening in sports in Western Canada Andrew knows. Here are his thoughts on the team in transition, and who to watch for on the other side of the ball. 

It's a season of transition for the Vancouver Whitecaps. For one thing, they're in a new league (the awkwardly-named USSF Division II, which is made even weirder by their team not technically falling under the jurisdiction of the USSF). The league isn't actually going to look that different in practice, though, as it still will contain most of the teams they competed against in the old USL Division I last season.

However, the organizational changes the Whitecaps have made are more likely to have a significant long-term impact. At the top, there's a new chief executive officer, former Tottenham Hotspur executive director Paul Barber. Barber (not the actorwho played Denzel in Only Fools and Horses) is a huge acquisition not just for the Whitecaps, but for the profile of North American soccer as a whole. He was Tottenham's executive director for four years and in charge of most of the key areas of the club; you don't see too many guys of that variety make the jump across the pond, particularly to a second-tier league.

Of course, the Whitecaps aren't going to be second-tier for long, as they're set to join MLS in 2011. Still, the organization isn't content to sit around until then. Last year saw a heavy focus on developing young talent, and coach Teitur Thordarsontold me early on that the team's goal was to try and prepare their young stars for MLS rather than focus on winning now. They were able to accomplish both goals, though, coming just short in CONCACAF Champions League qualification thanks to the Montreal Impact laying down in their final game against Toronto FC and then making it to the USL final against the Impact. They weren't able to come home with their second straight league championship, but they exceeded pretty much all expectations.

This year's Whitecaps will be very different, though.

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Yes, there is a "major announcement" tomorrow. No, I don't know what it is. The Sounder at Heart team is arranging coverage. Now, there is speculation that it may revolve around a possible announcement of a friendly, with Mayers linking an AP story.

Said AP story does focus on partnerships that  MLS is looking to develop with a few EPL clubs. Not necessarily friendlies, but it does mention three teams that will likely be in the USA this summer.

Some English clubs already play in the U.S. in the summer, with Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham possibly making the trip this July. Garber said helping to grow the sport is the next logical step for interested clubs.

"Whether it's an existing team or an expansion team is irrelevant to me," Garber said. "But I would see over the next number of years us continuing our connection with international football clubs, and having it go beyond representing them in the United States for brand development and fan opportunities."

Would those three be the right type of club for Seattle to host this summer? Absolutely, and there are numbers that prove it.

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The Sounders preseason actually features some rather tough opponents. While the most of MLS is beating on each other, college teams or the US U-17 squad the Sounders are facing the 7th in League, 2nd in Playoff Vancouver Whitecaps FC (one time still to come). They took on the most storied team in Norwegian history in Rosenborg BK (1st in League, quarterfinals in Cup).

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Zakuani scored with what reads like good interplay between he, Vagenas and Predido.  Here's the game report. For me it was more intriguing to see who played where.

That looks really familiar to the guess that I put out yesterday. The main difference being Nyassi's health and Neagle at Right Back. I like testing Wallace out as an Ianni like player, and it made sense for Zakuani and Estrada to get time.

What do you think of the "reserves" at this point?

Wednesday's match will not be live-blogged. Not here, not at Sounders FC. The 60 Minute scrimmage though will be a time for the Reserves (really, there are reserves already?) to get time. This will also be the return of a few players from hamstring injuries.

Today's double training session do give us an indication of Senior and Reserve players. Check out the rosters of the two games that were played. In the morning session it was a 9v9 game.

with three small goals on each end. The drill addressed changing the point of attack and, defensively, shifting quickly once the ball is switched. The session concluded with a shooting drill emphasizing playing balls into space, getting a quality first touch and shooting quickly.

Orange team: Gonzalez, Marshall, Hurtado, Riley, Ljungberg, Sturgis, Alonso, Estrada, Montero

Blue team: Wallace, Parke, Wahl, Scott, King, Perdido, Vagenas, Zakuani, Neagle

Do those teams look like a Senior and a Reserve side to you? The afternoon session also featured a game.

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