Of Numbers and Men

Yeah, Right, MLS Attendance Stinks

Yep, you're right, MLS attendance is only up from last year because of Freddy Adu. And next year, it will only be up because of Chivas. And the year after that, it will only be up because… Well, just because.

Here are some facts. Average attendance in MLS in 2003 was 14,898. That was down from the 15,822 of 2002. But so far this year the average attendance is 15,191. That figure could climb a little with important playoff position games coming as the season winds down.

Sure, that can't compare with the EPL, which averaged 35,019 league wide in 2003.

But let's make a comparison that is possibly more fair. According to sportsbusiness.com the MLS average attendance is better than that of leagues in both Argentina and Holland. Apparently Agentina's clubs average about 10,000 per game while the Dutch Eredivisie draws about 12,500 per game.

So, though MLS doesn't draw like the NFL or MLB, you could say MLS attendance is just about right. Nothing smelly about that.


Cleaning the Sheets Over the Weekend and Beyond

It started on Friday, August 20, continued through the weekend on hasn't stop as of this writing. All A-League matches during that time ended with shutouts, including the double clean sheet between Minnesota and Calgary on Sunday.

The most notable shutouts were the Montreal Impact's 1-0 victory Sunday over Atlanta and their 2-0 victory over Edmonton FC on Wednesday. The Impact have set a new league record for team shutouts in a season with 19. In the Sunday match, Greg Sutton tied Pat Onsted's 1998 clean sheet record of 16 in one season.

Should we look to see Mr. Sutton minding some nets somewhere in MLS next season? I certainly hope so.

We might also want to keep our eye on Minnesota goalkeeper Joe Warren. On Monday, Warren picked up clean sheet number 14 in helping the Thunder to their first road victory of the season over Edmonton 2-0.


Man of the Match -- Twice -- And He Doesn't Even Get on the Field

His team had lost three matches in a row. He had lost his top assist man this year to a season-ending injury. Then his starting goalkeeper comes up lame as well. Something had to change, but good.

So, Bob Gansler made changes to his lineup. Twice.

And now he's got two consecutive wins. First, a league victory against New England in Gilette. And second, a U.S. Open Cup semifinal victory over San Jose at the Blue Valley District Activities Center in Overland Park, Kansas.

Gansler, with Chris Klein out for the season, has pushed Alex Zotinca forward from his usual left back slot into the left midfield position. And Zotinca has shown. Second-year defender Taylor Graham has done more than an adequate job in his two starts at right back. Igor Simutenkov had added more to the attack with his speed and creativity and Jack Jewsbury has proven a timely super sub. And though not match fit, Preki is, well, Preki.

Mr. Gansler now has his team tied with L.A. for the best record in MLS as the Wizards prepare to host Chicago for the Open Cup final.

It's unlikely Sigi can now win the honor. Only one other name should come to mind. From Man of the Match to
Coach of the Year.


Debut -- Taunt

Debut.
Francis Jeffers got his first start for new club Charlton Athletic on Wednesday and netted a brace before a home crowd at the Valley. The Addicks went on to defeat Aston Villa 3-0. The Fox in the Box came out full of fire and scored on his first two chances. Jeffers looks to continue his form all season and be the 20-goal scorer Charlton has never had.

Taunt.
Carlton Cole, now on loan to Aston Villa, marks his return to the Valley with a disappointing performance as the Red Robin crowd boos his every touch. While displaying speed and hustle he rarely showed last year for the Addicks, Cole was left with only one consolation. At least at the end of this match, Alan Curbishley actually shook his hand.

From Low Energy to Go Energy

From First to Worst

Okay, at the moment, they are no longer the worst team in the A-League. But the Charleston Battery are no longer energized. They have stopped going and going and going.

In a quick look at the history of last year's A-League champs, this club has never finished at the bottom of the league or even its division. In fact, the Battery have reached the playoffs in every season of its 11-year existence. Not this year.

Right now they are at the bottom of almost everything. Yes, it's true that Edmonton FC and Calgary are either tied or below them, but those two teams are new to the league this year and should be at the bottom.

And yes, the Battery have picked things up a bit lately by thrashing the Rhinos 5-1 last Friday. Still…

The Battery do have a shot at redeeming their season and possibly picking up some hardware. If Charleston can overcome the cooling embers in Chicago on August 25th, they can get to the U.S. Open Cup finals. Winning the Cup probably wouldn't cure all the club's ills, but would put it back on track for a return to greater things next year.


Who Will Coach Whom?

Who will coach in Salt Lake City? Who will be the new coach in LA? Well, we know Steve Sampson is coaching the Galaxy now, so the other LA.

Several names are have been mentioned for either one of the current MLS openings. John Ellinger. Thomas Rongen. Glenn Myernick. Dave Dir. Octavio Zambrano. Mo Johnston. Sigi Schmid. A. Guimaraes [?]. Yayo De LaTorre [former Chivas coach]. Argie Romano [now with Morelia]. Cuellar [Mexico's Nats woman coach].

One name not rolling off everyone's tongue but probably should be is that of Juan Carlos Osorio. Osorio is a native of Colombia who played college soccer at Southern Connecticut State and later in the A-League. He was a former assistant for the Metrostars and is now the fitness coach at Manchester City of the EPL. And he has recently earned his A coaching license from the English FA.

He is not just a fitness coach. And he would be an especially good fit for Chivas USA. He speaks Spanish and knows the latin styles of play as well as MLS and its players. He also knows what is beyond Mexico and America. Most importantly, this is a man who says he wants to do it all. He wants to be in charge and he wants to win.


Brazil's Good Deed for a Day

In an effort to promote peace in worn-torn Haiti, Brazil played the Haitians in an exhibition match on Wednesday in Port-au-Prince's renovated 15,000-seat Sylvio Cator Stadium. Both Brazil's and Uruguay's presidents will attend with plenty of U.N. troops in force.

It is reported that event organizers originally considered inviting fans to turn in guns for admission to the match. But since it would be seen as rewarding criminals, that plan was shot down.

Most folks would say that this was just going to be another friendly soccer game between the World's number one team and a lowly opponent that is ranked 95th. But it is much more to the people of Haiti.

To quote Djari Theophilo, a Brazilian native living in Haiti, "In Brazil, we have a party when our team plays, but in Haiti it is insanity. The Haitians are bigger fans of Brazil than we Brazilians."

Brazil won the game going away, 6-0. And it seems everyone had fun. What a win-win. Here's hoping that the match truly lifted the spirits of a very depressed nation and helps the people not only hope but reach for their dreams.


Oh, Canada!

When was the last time you saw such excitement out of our northern neighbor when it came to soccer? Has there ever been this much excitement? Frank Yallop hasn't recharged his nation's program, he has truly energized the program and all its players.

And already Yallop is helping his young players climb the ladder. The coach brought up left winger Josh Simpson and defender Adrian Serioux for matches with Millwall and Hearts this past July, When given the chance, these two players excelled against the highest competition they have yet faced. And now both have been signed by Millwall of the English Championship Division.

It could be that Yallop just stepped in at the right time. But this is the same coach that won two MLS Cups in three years. Maybe his countrymen and soccer fans around the world will be singing, Go Canada!

Unfortunately the Canadians are off to a bumpy start in WC play as Guatemala wins last night 2-0. Yallop is still having trouble with the little fish as Carlos Ruiz scored both goals for the Guatemalans.

Eight Eleven Oh Four

Colorado's Carrierror?

Looking at some A-League stats for this season, I found a very telling one. Chris Carrieri is tied for second in the league in assists with 7 in 23 games played.

And Colorado is not very rapid when it comes to scoring this season -- an MLS low of 0.80 goals per game.

Could it be that no one is passing the ball? Well, let's put it this way. The Rapids leading assist man this season is defender Antonio de la Torre. He has four assists in 19 games played. Last season it was, who else, Carrieri with eight in 30 games played.

Someone pass the Hanki, please.


It's August, but I don't know about April.

Heinrichs that is.

I would really like to see the last five of the old ladies take the gold in Athens. That would be a great way for those that are retiring from international play to say goodbye to that part of their careers. Mia Hamm will be missed on the big stage. Here's hoping the WUSA gets back up and running and starts to build a little success so we can see Mia play some more. Maybe Chicago should have a team now since Nomar is a Cub.

But at the same time, I would like to see April Heinrichs fail again and get terminated from her post as coach of the US Women's National Team. And it's not just that she has lost a World Cup and an Olympic already.

It has to do with the style of play. We no longer take advantage of each player's strengths to attack the other team's weaknesses. It's all power and set pieces. As we saw in the last World Cup, you can't score everything on set pieces. And we were not prepared to play Germany.

Heinrichs is a great trainer. Those ladies will be in great shape. But she is not a great manager or tactician.

It's August. April has come and should be gone in my opinion.


What's going on in the EPL?

The campaign starts Saturday and it seems players are still going here, there and yon before the transfer window closes. Fans of every club should be abuzz.

Will Vieira go to Real? Will Owen go to Real or Barcelona? Will Fergie get some money and buy Fernando Morientes or Wayne Rooney for Man U? And will Spurs, who are desperately trying to sign just about anyone they can get their hands on, actually sign Owen Hargreaves away from Bayern Munich?

I must say I am excites as my club, Charlton Athletic, have acquired Danny Murphy from Liverpool and Francis Jeffers from Arsenal. And Alan Curbishley has plans to get at least one more -- maybe two. Go Addicks!


Seismic activity detected in the Houston area.

Though it's only about a 2 on the richter scale at this time, the rumbles are growing that Club American is going to purchase the Earthquakes and will most likely move the team to Houston. If a Houston accommodation cannot be acquired, the team may shake down in San Antonio.

In a related rumor, MLS is supposed to be working on a lucrative deal to keep Landon Donovan in the league. If the Quakes are moving to Texas, will Landon don a ten-gallon hat or a European jersey?


And from the substitutes bench -- Are you sure that attendance figure is right?

Being kinda goofy, I sometimes check the attendance figures for certain games. So, after the Dallas-Colorado match, I took the time to look up the box score. There was no attendance figure listed.

My first thought was -- was attendance so bad the stats guys didn't want to list it? With Dallas only averaging over 9,000 per game at the Cotton Bowl, this certainly seemed a possibility.

But on Monday I checked again. Then I stared and stared hard. Can that be right? The box score lists 17,792. Wow! Over 17k and this wasn't even an Adu match. In fact, when Freddy and United played in Dallas on July 24, the attendance was only 11,088.

So, what gives?

Yep. Chivas played Santos following the MLS match.

August Fourth

#1 -- Beautiful AND Simple?

I was amazed as I walked the dogs around the park last night during my son's first premier team practice. There were at least four or five other teams practicing at this park.

Coaches and players running through drills and participating in scrimmages. I even saw a U16 girls team scrimmaging against a U14 boys team. I would hate to be one of those boys -- those girls are tough.

It was wonderful to see how beautiful and simple play and practice was going.

Then I noticed one boys team over to south side of the park. This group of boys had to be first or second graders. There were seven adults helping coach this team. Seven! Why so many coaches? Oh, yeah, it was a baseball team.


#2 -- This is a Great Month to be an American Soccer Fan.

The dictionary says August, the adjective, means inspiring awe or admiration. And this month promises to bring us some August play on pitches around the world. Think of it…

The local recreational and premier leagues are ramping up. So are high schools and colleges.

There's U.S. Open Cup play. More of the MLS season. The finish to the A-League regular season.

And then there's the PDL Championship [ this Saturday night on FSW]. The W-League Championship [this Sunday afternoon of FSW]. And don't forget Olympic play.

French League 1, the Bundesliga, and the SPL start this weekend. The EPL starts the following weekend. La Liga and Serie A should be getting started soon also.

My wife says I'm obsessed. I say passionate. What do you think?


# 3 -- MLS Parity? What Parity? Certainly Not Viewing Parity?

Okay, so if you look at MLS as a single table, the most points separating any two team's positions is three. A win or two by this team and a loss or a tie by that team and the whole table could change.

But ask yourself, if you are really a soccer fan, which MLS teams do you want to watch?

Here's one quick way to identify those teams. Check the goal differential stat. +10, +7, and +2. That equals KC, LA, and San Jose. Add in the -1 Metrostars because you never know what they're going to do, and you have the four most entertaining teams for 2004.


# 4 -- Burpo -- Excuse Me

Seattle Sounders keeper Preston Burpo, in his eighth season, could surpass the 500 career saves mark as early as this Saturday in a match against the Minnesota Thunder. Only five other A-League goalkeepers have reached the milestone. Unfortunately, my source didn't name those five. Anyone know where a guy can find A-League statistical history?

[Note: Tony Meola in his eight plus seasons in MLS has 956 saves.]