i have seen a lot of soccer matches. internationals. friendlies. EPL. La liga. SPL. MSL. USL. world cup. euro cup. champions league and FA cup. and i have to say this one was right up there on entertainment value.
there was the brazlian flare. there was the canadian come backs. there was great defending. poor defending. very little long ball. and all in all a close game that to be fair, canada, had their finishing been better on 2-3 clear chances, they could have won the game.
ok, maybe the fact that i was a little on the tipsy side coupled that we had some fantastic seats.... i just had a great great time.
still a little surprised that there were not more seats sold, but like i said earlier, prices were too high.
a special "sorry" to gosounders.com for keeping up with all my updates during the game. he did a great job of keeping up with my silly small posts. cheers friend.
great night for the beautiful game and another great night for seattle footy.
cheers.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
2 -1
Brazil is honestly lucky to not be down 3 to 1. But just on the stroke of half Brazil scores a great header (number 9) with the defender hanging all over him.
Half time now.
1 - 1
Couldn't hear the goal scorer. But some poor defending let the big forward beat the keeper to the ball via a huge header.
First goal.
Only took four minutes for Diego to score with an assist and some swwet foot work from robhino (I think)
gilberto forgot his visa, left in london
secret source number 2 (oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah) told me last night that gilberto went to the airport and forgot his visa... they obviously wouldn't let him on the plane. apparantly he was to catch the next flight, but that only put him into seattle today. if it is one of the direct flights (which is only british airways), then that has him landing at 4pm.
if you have done that london to seattle jaunt, you know that it is exhausting any way you slice it. landing at 4 and playing at 7:30, that has to be brutal. it is essentially 3:30 in the morning for gilberto. but then again, he is brazilian and those guys all stay up and party with the sambas until 7am every morning right?
well anywho, maybe he landed early and will be more ready for the game, but i wanted to be the FIRST to break this late breaking key piece ofsounders soccer to be played at qwest field news.
if you have done that london to seattle jaunt, you know that it is exhausting any way you slice it. landing at 4 and playing at 7:30, that has to be brutal. it is essentially 3:30 in the morning for gilberto. but then again, he is brazilian and those guys all stay up and party with the sambas until 7am every morning right?
well anywho, maybe he landed early and will be more ready for the game, but i wanted to be the FIRST to break this late breaking key piece of
sounders grab a point
short one this morning, i have a family filled day before i head of to drink a few pints and watch the beautiful game.
sounders grabbed a point in the 80th minute via a graham equalizer to end the game 1-1 in puerto rico. again it sounded like we pressed well without the end product. this was happening a lot at the beginning of the season. it was then when i called out the players of caring too much about next season and not this season. as they all ready my blog... no really, they do.... ahem....things started going right and we were finding the back of the net.
so here is the call out................. CAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL OUT.
that should do it.
given puerto rico's position in the table, not a great result if you ask me, but it is what it is... if there is one thing we seem to really be lacking so far it is consistancy. not sure what it is down to, but if we find it, we surely have the quality to start climbing back up the table. GO CONSISTENCY.
enjoy your weekend then.
sounders grabbed a point in the 80th minute via a graham equalizer to end the game 1-1 in puerto rico. again it sounded like we pressed well without the end product. this was happening a lot at the beginning of the season. it was then when i called out the players of caring too much about next season and not this season. as they all ready my blog... no really, they do.... ahem....things started going right and we were finding the back of the net.
so here is the call out................. CAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL OUT.
that should do it.
given puerto rico's position in the table, not a great result if you ask me, but it is what it is... if there is one thing we seem to really be lacking so far it is consistancy. not sure what it is down to, but if we find it, we surely have the quality to start climbing back up the table. GO CONSISTENCY.
enjoy your weekend then.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
great visual of stadium from news tribune
looking around the blogosphere tonight, there was a great post by don at the news tribune regarding an artists conception of the stadium with the top level covered up with advertising etc.
i must say, it is pretty freaking sweet. it has a touch of over advertising, but hell, you can't have it all right? we live in a world of advertising. it pays for a lot. it pays for the internet. it helps bring an MLS team so seattle. so you may hate advertising, and heck, who really loves it, but you must also realize that it does have its advantages... in this case, xbox is helping to pay for our team salary/operations etc, as well as the preseason tour.
good stuff don.
i must say, it is pretty freaking sweet. it has a touch of over advertising, but hell, you can't have it all right? we live in a world of advertising. it pays for a lot. it pays for the internet. it helps bring an MLS team so seattle. so you may hate advertising, and heck, who really loves it, but you must also realize that it does have its advantages... in this case, xbox is helping to pay for our team salary/operations etc, as well as the preseason tour.
good stuff don.
shorthanded sounders, poor US mens team both lose
any time you lose a man 16 minutes into the game, you are in trouble, especially playing away from home.
in a action packed first half we saw le toux equalize ok a PK 5 minutes after carolina opened. 2 minutes after that, scott got sent off for what sounds like a rather straigh forward, studs up, two footed challenge. any time you go down a man, defending tends to be a little more nervous, so it is only fitting that a miscommunication between the keeper and merl sent a header just out of the reach of eylander, and into the back of the net to finish off the half.
the second half was mostly dominated by the sounders in possession, but with nothing to show for it.
all in all, a disappointing result. a draw away from home is the minimum you want to walk away from... but a draw away from home while playing a man down most of the match would be a good result... but we fell just short of that.
the silver lining of this all this is that nobody seems to want to run away with the league. portland lost to miami on monday and we are only 1 point behind them with 2 games in hand... and in another great result for us, vancouver beat league leading charleston 2-0 away from home. that leaves us only 5 behind the leaders with still a game in hand. Of course, you can't say all of this without also seeing the obvious, had we won last night, we would be in second place with a chance to take top spot if we won our game in hand... but you can't think that way. or so i tell myself.
in other news, the US lost at wembley to england. didn't see the match, but the consensus was that the US were outclassed. i did see the highlights and that gareth barry pass that lead to gerrards goal was CLASS.
final thought.... i am surprised that only 37,000 tickets have been sold for the brazil/canada game. I am sure there will be a lot of walk ups... but with almost 30,000 tickets to go, that is a lot of walk ups. in my opinion, the people in charge of this match did this to themselves, the lowest ticket price of $35 is pretty much silly. and who are the people paying $150? at this time of high gas prices, high food prices, economic fear and all that jazz, a finding 60,000 people to spend a lot of their dispensable income on a soccer match was risky.. and i think it is showing in the sales.
anyway that is it for now
will do my best to keep it to one post today ;-)
in a action packed first half we saw le toux equalize ok a PK 5 minutes after carolina opened. 2 minutes after that, scott got sent off for what sounds like a rather straigh forward, studs up, two footed challenge. any time you go down a man, defending tends to be a little more nervous, so it is only fitting that a miscommunication between the keeper and merl sent a header just out of the reach of eylander, and into the back of the net to finish off the half.
the second half was mostly dominated by the sounders in possession, but with nothing to show for it.
all in all, a disappointing result. a draw away from home is the minimum you want to walk away from... but a draw away from home while playing a man down most of the match would be a good result... but we fell just short of that.
the silver lining of this all this is that nobody seems to want to run away with the league. portland lost to miami on monday and we are only 1 point behind them with 2 games in hand... and in another great result for us, vancouver beat league leading charleston 2-0 away from home. that leaves us only 5 behind the leaders with still a game in hand. Of course, you can't say all of this without also seeing the obvious, had we won last night, we would be in second place with a chance to take top spot if we won our game in hand... but you can't think that way. or so i tell myself.
in other news, the US lost at wembley to england. didn't see the match, but the consensus was that the US were outclassed. i did see the highlights and that gareth barry pass that lead to gerrards goal was CLASS.
final thought.... i am surprised that only 37,000 tickets have been sold for the brazil/canada game. I am sure there will be a lot of walk ups... but with almost 30,000 tickets to go, that is a lot of walk ups. in my opinion, the people in charge of this match did this to themselves, the lowest ticket price of $35 is pretty much silly. and who are the people paying $150? at this time of high gas prices, high food prices, economic fear and all that jazz, a finding 60,000 people to spend a lot of their dispensable income on a soccer match was risky.. and i think it is showing in the sales.
anyway that is it for now
will do my best to keep it to one post today ;-)
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
qwest turf cost $100,000 to install, and radio deal coming soon
just a few things that i picked up at the sounders fc jersey enveiling while talking to my "inside source" oooh. so mysterious.
while talking about the turf put down for the Brazil Canada game, it came out that it cost $100,000 to install. HOLY F. all i can say is that it better be worth it. i want to see lots of stepovers/pullbacks/backheels and the like.
another thing that will be announced soon is a radio deal with a local station to broadcast all the soundersFC games. this is great. while i plan on being at all games or watching on TV, there is something nostalgic about listening to a game on the radio. in fact, i prefer listening to the mariners on the radio than watching them on TV. you are asking yourself right now... why do you even listen to them? you are right, i am an idiot and i have no idea. but you get the point.
ok, how many posts was that today? 19? well there you go, i am good for the next 19 days.
while talking about the turf put down for the Brazil Canada game, it came out that it cost $100,000 to install. HOLY F. all i can say is that it better be worth it. i want to see lots of stepovers/pullbacks/backheels and the like.
another thing that will be announced soon is a radio deal with a local station to broadcast all the soundersFC games. this is great. while i plan on being at all games or watching on TV, there is something nostalgic about listening to a game on the radio. in fact, i prefer listening to the mariners on the radio than watching them on TV. you are asking yourself right now... why do you even listen to them? you are right, i am an idiot and i have no idea. but you get the point.
ok, how many posts was that today? 19? well there you go, i am good for the next 19 days.
ok, i will start the rumour mill, brian mcbride?
i suppose for the next 10 months, when any player of a high caliber says anything about playing in the US, we are going to wonder is seattle is in the cards... 99% of it will not pan out....
there, that is my disclaimer...
having said all that, brian mcbride has quit fulham and wants to return to the US. i don't know if he has anywhere that he considers home, but on behalf of all the fans in seattle, "BRIAN, BE A SOUNDER"
I have always LOVED mcbride. he is the most professional hard working player around. not to mention he scores quite a lot of goals with a crap midfield behind him at fulham. i think he has 2-3 very good years left in him and i would welcome him to the sounders FC. Fulham Fans have consistently voted him player of the year. now don't let that pass you by. a group of englishman voting for an american for their favorite player says A LOT.
rumour mill..... start..... NOW
there, that is my disclaimer...
having said all that, brian mcbride has quit fulham and wants to return to the US. i don't know if he has anywhere that he considers home, but on behalf of all the fans in seattle, "BRIAN, BE A SOUNDER"
I have always LOVED mcbride. he is the most professional hard working player around. not to mention he scores quite a lot of goals with a crap midfield behind him at fulham. i think he has 2-3 very good years left in him and i would welcome him to the sounders FC. Fulham Fans have consistently voted him player of the year. now don't let that pass you by. a group of englishman voting for an american for their favorite player says A LOT.
rumour mill..... start..... NOW
Waiting for the announcment
Not sure if you can see it but the jersey is in the hawks nest pulled up. Indeed the color looks green.
xbox 360 live to be the shirt sponsor
published my previous post without a full scan of the news/blogosphere... don't know how i missed this... even when gosounders posted a comment about it on my blog this morning. HA.
according to the wall street journal, xbox 360 live will be the shirt sponsor...
it makes sense i guess.
they have money, we need money. (4mill/year for five years, that is a lot of cash)
microsoft is in the PNW, we are in the PNW.
re. the term global... well, i guess you can play someone in istanbul over the 'live' game. so sure, it is global.
anyway, i don't hate it, but i am indifferent to be honest. i am not a big video gamer, but i won't care if it is on the front of my jersey... better than a poke in the eye to be sure.
according to the wall street journal, xbox 360 live will be the shirt sponsor...
it makes sense i guess.
they have money, we need money. (4mill/year for five years, that is a lot of cash)
microsoft is in the PNW, we are in the PNW.
re. the term global... well, i guess you can play someone in istanbul over the 'live' game. so sure, it is global.
anyway, i don't hate it, but i am indifferent to be honest. i am not a big video gamer, but i won't care if it is on the front of my jersey... better than a poke in the eye to be sure.
lots to talk about, ugly jersey, game at carolina, US team in action
looks like i am not the only one that hates this "leaked" jersey. Steve from theoffside.com pretty much shares my mentality. and reading the comments it appears that goalseattle.com confirms it. pretty much everything that goalseattle says is true... so this really bums me out.
the jones soda thing is still a little rumorish for me though, especially when you read this. "global impact" seems to be rather emphasized... and jones soda really doesn't have global impact. it sounds more like an airline or something. we will see in just a few hours.
easily lost in all of this is that the sounders are playing today in north carolina. it is a replay of last years first round playoff match where we stuffed em 3-0. they won't forget and will look forward to paying us back... a win today would finish off a great recovery from a poor start no doubt. 5 points from the first 15, was poor to be sure, but 9 from the next 9 would do quite nicely. caronlina has not lost a game yet this season, but they have drawn their last 3 at home. let's help them buck that trend and give 'em their first loss of the season. more on this game at seattlesounders.com
in other kinda but not really related news, two teams that won't be playing in the Euro 2008 tourney this summer will be squaring off. The US has a good reason, being that they are not in europe... england, what is your excuse again? oh yeah, you were crap in qualifying and rolled over to let the other teams smell your bum when you forgot you should have been scoring goals. ANY who. this is just a friendly, but it does have interest for me given that i am english living in the US. so the two national teams that i support is newsworthy to me. a lot of these players know each other given the rather large US contingent playing in the EPL these days. Howard (everton), Bocanegra/Dempsey/Lewis (fulham), spector, the man with the golden hair(west ham) and feilhaber (derby) are names i can think off. i am sure i am missing someone though. no doubt the commentaters will be getting each other off over the battle between "ONCE TEAM MATES, BUT NOW, ON THIS PITCH, ENEMIES" of donavon and beckham, should they both play. god what a non event that would be.
anywho. that is that. i will try to blog (that sounds so dumb) from qwest with a picture, but my phone is crap for pictures so it might just look like a little 1 inch by 1 inch piece of green poo.
until then.
the jones soda thing is still a little rumorish for me though, especially when you read this. "global impact" seems to be rather emphasized... and jones soda really doesn't have global impact. it sounds more like an airline or something. we will see in just a few hours.
easily lost in all of this is that the sounders are playing today in north carolina. it is a replay of last years first round playoff match where we stuffed em 3-0. they won't forget and will look forward to paying us back... a win today would finish off a great recovery from a poor start no doubt. 5 points from the first 15, was poor to be sure, but 9 from the next 9 would do quite nicely. caronlina has not lost a game yet this season, but they have drawn their last 3 at home. let's help them buck that trend and give 'em their first loss of the season. more on this game at seattlesounders.com
in other kinda but not really related news, two teams that won't be playing in the Euro 2008 tourney this summer will be squaring off. The US has a good reason, being that they are not in europe... england, what is your excuse again? oh yeah, you were crap in qualifying and rolled over to let the other teams smell your bum when you forgot you should have been scoring goals. ANY who. this is just a friendly, but it does have interest for me given that i am english living in the US. so the two national teams that i support is newsworthy to me. a lot of these players know each other given the rather large US contingent playing in the EPL these days. Howard (everton), Bocanegra/Dempsey/Lewis (fulham), spector, the man with the golden hair(west ham) and feilhaber (derby) are names i can think off. i am sure i am missing someone though. no doubt the commentaters will be getting each other off over the battle between "ONCE TEAM MATES, BUT NOW, ON THIS PITCH, ENEMIES" of donavon and beckham, should they both play. god what a non event that would be.
anywho. that is that. i will try to blog (that sounds so dumb) from qwest with a picture, but my phone is crap for pictures so it might just look like a little 1 inch by 1 inch piece of green poo.
until then.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
ok, i hate the green, but what is on the shirt
i have always been of the opinion that what is on the front of the jersey i.e. the sponsor, has a HUGE effect on shirt sales... now i don't actually think that it will increases sales (other than newcastle beer sponsoring newcastle FC... that is just perfect), but rather it can hinder sales greatly. i am sure the powers that be know this and while you may get $1-2 million in shirt sponsorship, that can seem like a small figure if you chose poorly and half of your supporters don't want to buy the shirt b/c of what is on the front.
even a die hard fan wouldn't want to walk around with a company or brand name that they hate, or is too polarizing in one way or another. i think a good example of this would be starbucks. no, i don't think that would be our sponsor first of all, but they are a brand that some people just hate whether it be their aggressive strategy that puts the smaller guys out of business, or their cookie cutter stores etc etc etc. walking around with that on your chest would be too much for some people to swallow. in a way, you have to have something that people don't care too much about.
xbox and jones soda, which are the leading guesses according to goalseattle do tend to fit that bill. if someone gets too worked up about soda, or a video game company, then well.... let them.or, in the case of this juve sponsor, it just looks plain dumb.
so anyway, i do care less about the sponsor than the color of our jersey, and you know how i feel about that....
even a die hard fan wouldn't want to walk around with a company or brand name that they hate, or is too polarizing in one way or another. i think a good example of this would be starbucks. no, i don't think that would be our sponsor first of all, but they are a brand that some people just hate whether it be their aggressive strategy that puts the smaller guys out of business, or their cookie cutter stores etc etc etc. walking around with that on your chest would be too much for some people to swallow. in a way, you have to have something that people don't care too much about.
xbox and jones soda, which are the leading guesses according to goalseattle do tend to fit that bill. if someone gets too worked up about soda, or a video game company, then well.... let them.or, in the case of this juve sponsor, it just looks plain dumb.so anyway, i do care less about the sponsor than the color of our jersey, and you know how i feel about that....
Monday, May 26, 2008
new jersey... not a fan
if the reports are true, it looks like the colors and style of the new jersey were revealed. you can see stories on it here and to the left is a pic from gosounders blog.
so my biggest complaint is that i HATE that color green. it isn't really green. it is a kind of 'teal' that we have all seen and hated in previous mariners and seahawks uniforms. granted it isn't quite as hideous as that mid 90's mariners teal, but it is still terrible.
and now, the jersey is going to be covered in it? argh. i hate it. i hate it.
i can only sit back and hope that the second jersey is white or something much less horrific.
i am going to love these sounders, but that doesn't mean i have to love these jerseys.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
back from vacation, sounders win again
sounders beat vancouver last night with le toux and gardner getting the goals. again, no coincidance that i was the catalyst a few days ago just telling the boys to settle. he he. anywho.
puts us up to 3rd in the table which is quite a nice jump.... the other thing worth noting, that should not be overlooked is that we have drawn 3 while playing poorly... that is key. while wins are always the goal, picking up points when you aren't on your game can be the difference between finishing in the playoffs or not.
so who is going to see the sounders vs the pasta boys then?
puts us up to 3rd in the table which is quite a nice jump.... the other thing worth noting, that should not be overlooked is that we have drawn 3 while playing poorly... that is key. while wins are always the goal, picking up points when you aren't on your game can be the difference between finishing in the playoffs or not.
so who is going to see the sounders vs the pasta boys then?
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Sounders FC to unveil jersey
Most people got this email or have heard this news by now, but from their email.....
Please join us for the unveiling of your Seattle Sounders FC Jersey
"Date: Wednesday, May 28thTime: 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Location: South Endzone at Qwest Field
PARKING/ENTRANCE:Please park in the Qwest Field Parking Garage.Enter the stadium through Qwest Field Event Center via the 2nd floor entranceand proceed to the main concourse level.
Open seating for the event will be located in sections 121, 122 & 123 and additional guests are welcome."
I will be there and hopefully get a good pic of it to put up on this site right away. it will be from my camera as i have a way to post it immediately via a MMS, but if i am not close enough, it is going to look too small.
Please join us for the unveiling of your Seattle Sounders FC Jersey
"Date: Wednesday, May 28thTime: 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Location: South Endzone at Qwest Field
PARKING/ENTRANCE:Please park in the Qwest Field Parking Garage.Enter the stadium through Qwest Field Event Center via the 2nd floor entranceand proceed to the main concourse level.
Open seating for the event will be located in sections 121, 122 & 123 and additional guests are welcome."
I will be there and hopefully get a good pic of it to put up on this site right away. it will be from my camera as i have a way to post it immediately via a MMS, but if i am not close enough, it is going to look too small.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
sounders thrash atlanta and look to play Juve B team
Yes i am way late, but i am on vacation ok? come on... gimme a break. anyway, old news but good news is that the sounders offense came alive. no doubt they read my blog and all said "Right, Footblogger says we are all a bit too nervous, he is right. Let's settle down and just play for this year, next year will take care of itself". Well, it worked 4 goals will win you 99% of all games. Glad to see the lads reading my blog and glad i could help.
In other quick news, it looks like we are set to play Juventus Primavera on June 12th. Tickets go on sale this thursday. Coincidentally, I just ordered a big plate of Juve Primavera (no mushrooms) last night at an italian joint, it was yummy. Anywho. This is essentially a Juve feeder team that will forever live in the second division of the italian league structure... it is the closest thing to a farm system that club football has. I suspect they are quite good and our boys are going to have their hands full with the step over, pull back, long haired, diving italians. yeah yeah, i know, that is a load of stereo types.... but i am not a big fan of the italian game. and it is my blog so there.
ok, back to vacation.
In other quick news, it looks like we are set to play Juventus Primavera on June 12th. Tickets go on sale this thursday. Coincidentally, I just ordered a big plate of Juve Primavera (no mushrooms) last night at an italian joint, it was yummy. Anywho. This is essentially a Juve feeder team that will forever live in the second division of the italian league structure... it is the closest thing to a farm system that club football has. I suspect they are quite good and our boys are going to have their hands full with the step over, pull back, long haired, diving italians. yeah yeah, i know, that is a load of stereo types.... but i am not a big fan of the italian game. and it is my blog so there.
ok, back to vacation.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
sounders play atlanta tonight.... and i am on vacation
my updates will be fewer over the next week as i am on vacation, however, i will be keeping tabs on the team and update when i can.
raise your hand if you are sun burnt.....
raise your hand if you are sun burnt.....
Friday, May 16, 2008
left kells with mixed feelings
so i went to the drew carey membership thing today at kells. it was informative, but as i mentioned below i did have some issues, i think i was the only one however.
so to cut to the chase, it was in the upstairs of kells which was hot as a mutha futha. drew showed up right on time. i heard that they stopped people coming in at 100. not sure if that is true, but it wasn't packed out...
drew immediately started talking about his barcelona trip and gave the details of the membership.
if you are a season ticket holder, you are a member. otherwise, you can pay $125 to become one. I can't see many people doing that from the beginning, but he was talking about discounts to the team store and pubs about town... it may be worth it to some people.
the main purpose of being a member, or at least the most important decision is that of the GM like i said previously. the rules will be, every four years there will be an automatic vote if we want to keep the GM. 50% plus 1 means that he is out. anything less, then he is in for another four years.... UNLESS. every year, the fans have a chance to collect 20% petition of members to vote out the GM. if they do that, then indeed there will be another vote.
so techincally, this can happen every year..., the vote that is.
when drew took questions, i brought up my point about the political battle nature of the barca and real presidents every four years and how it was distracting and counter productive in my opinion. he acknowledged my concern and noted that in the sounders situation, we could vote out the GM, but it was the board (owners) that appointed the new one, so no politics in vying for position. to be honest, i find that a good response. it does take away the politics.... i can't say i am 100% happy but i am a lot happier. i mean 50% of the people can get it wrong still. (uh, george bush)... but it is a lot of votes.... and if the gm is doing a decent job, that is likely not going to happen. so all in all i feel much better about this.
now onto something i really like. drew talked about a membership voted fan base thing (for lack of a better official term). if you get 25 other members to 'sponsor' you, then you get will attend 3-4 meetings a year to discuss team issues. things like logos, cheerleaders (whether to have them or not), players, team direction etc etc. basically anything is up for discussion. it is a way for the owners to listen to the fans... not the papers as drew put it.
i REALLY like this idea. and you can bet i will be one of those people.
ok, too much wine, too much beer... lets see where this blog gets me.
cheers to the weekend.
so to cut to the chase, it was in the upstairs of kells which was hot as a mutha futha. drew showed up right on time. i heard that they stopped people coming in at 100. not sure if that is true, but it wasn't packed out...
drew immediately started talking about his barcelona trip and gave the details of the membership.
if you are a season ticket holder, you are a member. otherwise, you can pay $125 to become one. I can't see many people doing that from the beginning, but he was talking about discounts to the team store and pubs about town... it may be worth it to some people.
the main purpose of being a member, or at least the most important decision is that of the GM like i said previously. the rules will be, every four years there will be an automatic vote if we want to keep the GM. 50% plus 1 means that he is out. anything less, then he is in for another four years.... UNLESS. every year, the fans have a chance to collect 20% petition of members to vote out the GM. if they do that, then indeed there will be another vote.
so techincally, this can happen every year..., the vote that is.
when drew took questions, i brought up my point about the political battle nature of the barca and real presidents every four years and how it was distracting and counter productive in my opinion. he acknowledged my concern and noted that in the sounders situation, we could vote out the GM, but it was the board (owners) that appointed the new one, so no politics in vying for position. to be honest, i find that a good response. it does take away the politics.... i can't say i am 100% happy but i am a lot happier. i mean 50% of the people can get it wrong still. (uh, george bush)... but it is a lot of votes.... and if the gm is doing a decent job, that is likely not going to happen. so all in all i feel much better about this.
now onto something i really like. drew talked about a membership voted fan base thing (for lack of a better official term). if you get 25 other members to 'sponsor' you, then you get will attend 3-4 meetings a year to discuss team issues. things like logos, cheerleaders (whether to have them or not), players, team direction etc etc. basically anything is up for discussion. it is a way for the owners to listen to the fans... not the papers as drew put it.
i REALLY like this idea. and you can bet i will be one of those people.
ok, too much wine, too much beer... lets see where this blog gets me.
cheers to the weekend.
mr carey in the house
as you probably have all read by now, drew carey will be at kells today to talk about the membership program, benifits, rules etc etc.
i am very opinionated about this membership program that seems to be more drew careys idea and baby than any of the other owners. as the story goes, a few years back, drew found football and considers himself a fanatic. i am happy for him, but in his world travels and desire to find the best football games to attend he came accross this membership system from barcelona.
now i have to say first and formost, i am not a big fan of this system. at first it seems great i agree. having the fans help run the club is a great way to be sure that the masses are heard etc. in fact, i will admit, we would very likely not be named the seattle sounders fc. i still shudder to think about supporting the alledience or republic......
anyway, so like i said, it has some very good outcomes no doubt. but here is my problem with it. as i understand it (and someone correct me if i am wrong), every four years, the club elects a president. pretty much the same thing as the GM. a very very important role indeed to be sure. you can see the good in this. if the GM sucks and makes bad move after bad move, he should be gone. oh how would the mariners fans love to vote out bill bavasi? but the problem is this.... fans are fickle, passionate, often short sighted and lets face it, some are rather dumb. not me or you for sure, but you know many dumb fans lets face it. imagine if the sounders are going through a rough few years, heck, it could be reality starting next year, and we have to endur a terrible season back to back to back... now up on the horizon is the end of mr hanauers 4 year reign at GM. fans are tired of losing. many of the loudest ones blame hanauer (rightly or wrongly). since this is an election you have hanauer lobbying for his job, some new guy saying that he can make this a winning team and namedropping who he will sign and that we will play winning pretty attractive footy and adrian hasn't done his job etc etc etc.
what this is creating is a massive political vote for me system every four years. it creates instability, it creates a system where we are always looking for short term answers, it creats an atmosphere of internal politics and competition. there is nothing good about any of that. anyone that follows any of the european leagues knows all about this. you can tell when the barca gm job is up for election b/c there are ridiculous rumors, heresay and speculation coming out of the mouths of the prospective gm's/politicians about who they will sign etc etc. it is bad for barca, it is bad for the other clubs.... not to mention it is bad for the players who feel like they must be best friends with the old/new gm since you know the new guy is going to mix things up.
ok, i think i have made my point (are you still reading this?) he he.
now, having said all of that... having the fans have some power wouldn't be a bad idea. if there was a system where a fan vote would mandate the owners to consider and comment on the GM's job and justify his position and/or replace him... that i could go for. or some sort of inbetween like that.
i will be at kells today at 4 and if given the chance, i will say my piece to mr carey.
ok, that is all, enjoy the sun.
i am very opinionated about this membership program that seems to be more drew careys idea and baby than any of the other owners. as the story goes, a few years back, drew found football and considers himself a fanatic. i am happy for him, but in his world travels and desire to find the best football games to attend he came accross this membership system from barcelona.
now i have to say first and formost, i am not a big fan of this system. at first it seems great i agree. having the fans help run the club is a great way to be sure that the masses are heard etc. in fact, i will admit, we would very likely not be named the seattle sounders fc. i still shudder to think about supporting the alledience or republic......
anyway, so like i said, it has some very good outcomes no doubt. but here is my problem with it. as i understand it (and someone correct me if i am wrong), every four years, the club elects a president. pretty much the same thing as the GM. a very very important role indeed to be sure. you can see the good in this. if the GM sucks and makes bad move after bad move, he should be gone. oh how would the mariners fans love to vote out bill bavasi? but the problem is this.... fans are fickle, passionate, often short sighted and lets face it, some are rather dumb. not me or you for sure, but you know many dumb fans lets face it. imagine if the sounders are going through a rough few years, heck, it could be reality starting next year, and we have to endur a terrible season back to back to back... now up on the horizon is the end of mr hanauers 4 year reign at GM. fans are tired of losing. many of the loudest ones blame hanauer (rightly or wrongly). since this is an election you have hanauer lobbying for his job, some new guy saying that he can make this a winning team and namedropping who he will sign and that we will play winning pretty attractive footy and adrian hasn't done his job etc etc etc.
what this is creating is a massive political vote for me system every four years. it creates instability, it creates a system where we are always looking for short term answers, it creats an atmosphere of internal politics and competition. there is nothing good about any of that. anyone that follows any of the european leagues knows all about this. you can tell when the barca gm job is up for election b/c there are ridiculous rumors, heresay and speculation coming out of the mouths of the prospective gm's/politicians about who they will sign etc etc. it is bad for barca, it is bad for the other clubs.... not to mention it is bad for the players who feel like they must be best friends with the old/new gm since you know the new guy is going to mix things up.
ok, i think i have made my point (are you still reading this?) he he.
now, having said all of that... having the fans have some power wouldn't be a bad idea. if there was a system where a fan vote would mandate the owners to consider and comment on the GM's job and justify his position and/or replace him... that i could go for. or some sort of inbetween like that.
i will be at kells today at 4 and if given the chance, i will say my piece to mr carey.
ok, that is all, enjoy the sun.
i'm back, strikers are thinking about next year
old news now i know, but the sounders continue their poor start with a 1-1 draw against the rhinos a couple days back. the theme so far for the team has been missed opportunities. the defense has more than done its job. the midfield has been doing theirs for the most part, but the strikers (and certain midfielders as well) have just been aweful in front of goal. why? hell i don't know for sure, but is it possible that every player on this team feels like they are playing for a job next year? whether they think they have what it takes to make the sounders FC next year or whether they are trying to impress other USL team, it wouldn't be hard to imagine that this is in the back of their minds. even le toux who "has a job" has not got to be thinking that he needs to impress. "i am the first mls sounder" comes with some pressure no doubt.
having played striker most of my soccer career (career being used very losely here as nobody has ever paid me for my lazy cherry picking ass) it isvery easy to suck when you feel like the pressure is on you. for the current team, sure the pressure is always on to some degree, but to play for your team this year and essentially your job next year as well, that is more pressure than they are used to.
they just need to settle down and do their job... next year will take care of itself and they keep up this form, well, that surely won't help their cause.
having played striker most of my soccer career (career being used very losely here as nobody has ever paid me for my lazy cherry picking ass) it isvery easy to suck when you feel like the pressure is on you. for the current team, sure the pressure is always on to some degree, but to play for your team this year and essentially your job next year as well, that is more pressure than they are used to.
they just need to settle down and do their job... next year will take care of itself and they keep up this form, well, that surely won't help their cause.
Monday, May 12, 2008
the alcohol hangover is gone, now it is just the missed chances hangover that remains
after reading many of the other blogs and reviews of saturday nights game, the general feeling is that the sounders did only about 75% of the job. the sounders maintained posession and kept the timbers from scoring, but that only gets you so far. you have to finish your chances. whether you get 4 or 24 a game, you have to put them away. we weren't able to do that and the draw left us with only 5 points from the first 12 possible. clearly we have to do better. nothing short of 6 points from the next two home matches would be acceptable to the team, coach and fans i think.
overall though i don't mean to be too harsh. i think i just read too much english press and sometimes the now or never attitude tends to creep out in my opinions... but clearly, we would rather have 9 points at this time no?
finally, a big middle finger to the group of drunks in front of me for not knowing anything about football.
a few leasons to you.
- "getting the ball" on a tackle does not necessarily mean it was a legal tackle.
- no, you can't be offsides on a throw in
- no it is not going to be "so awesome" when beckham comes to town.
travelling for the next 4 days. i will update when i can, but that may be not at all.
The next game is this wednesday vs the Retardely named Rochester Raging Rhinos.
overall though i don't mean to be too harsh. i think i just read too much english press and sometimes the now or never attitude tends to creep out in my opinions... but clearly, we would rather have 9 points at this time no?
finally, a big middle finger to the group of drunks in front of me for not knowing anything about football.
a few leasons to you.
- "getting the ball" on a tackle does not necessarily mean it was a legal tackle.
- no, you can't be offsides on a throw in
- no it is not going to be "so awesome" when beckham comes to town.
travelling for the next 4 days. i will update when i can, but that may be not at all.
The next game is this wednesday vs the Retardely named Rochester Raging Rhinos.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
nil-nil and i feel terrible
was it the frustrating 0-0 game that i watched, or the umpteen pints of beer that did it.
both.
and that is all i have to say.
i will give my post match analysis tomorrow when i can type withouth having to squint my eyes.
back to the couch.
both.
and that is all i have to say.
i will give my post match analysis tomorrow when i can type withouth having to squint my eyes.
back to the couch.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
really looking forward tonight
really looking forward to tonight for multiple reasons.
- first home game of the year
- against the timbers
- at qwest (closer to me)
- and finally, i hate to admit, i won't make many games this year.
as a new dad and one that travles a lot with work, i will not find myself in seattle for a lot of the games this year, and when i am, it is tough to get out of the house with a very young kid.
i do miss the days where i could do anything i wanted and there was no question that i could get to every single game without question... these days i have this damn thing called responsibility. alas i still watch on the USL site and can at least watch the games if not add to the atmosphere.
this espcially pains me when i read the aggressive nature of many of the portland timber blogs. they pride theirselves on there attendance, as they should i might add, especially given that they usually have much higher attendance than the sounders.
why is that do you think? i have always thought about this, but i don't really know. of course your timbers fan would say "well, we are just more loyal" and with all due respect to that opinion, it is wrong. my own opinion is that you have very few sporting teams to support. the jail blazers being the only professional sport in the city. as a result, you have a fine city (and yes, i love portland as a city) starving for sport. other than the minor league baseball that is there, the timbers is really the only other game in town. if they had professional baseball, football, even hockey, i do think the timbers attendance would not be what it is. what do you think? if you are a timbers fan, no doubt you disagree, but fair enough.
well off for a drink with my wife, and then off to meet some friends for a few beers before we head to the game.
COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE OOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU SOUNDERSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
- first home game of the year
- against the timbers
- at qwest (closer to me)
- and finally, i hate to admit, i won't make many games this year.
as a new dad and one that travles a lot with work, i will not find myself in seattle for a lot of the games this year, and when i am, it is tough to get out of the house with a very young kid.
i do miss the days where i could do anything i wanted and there was no question that i could get to every single game without question... these days i have this damn thing called responsibility. alas i still watch on the USL site and can at least watch the games if not add to the atmosphere.
this espcially pains me when i read the aggressive nature of many of the portland timber blogs. they pride theirselves on there attendance, as they should i might add, especially given that they usually have much higher attendance than the sounders.
why is that do you think? i have always thought about this, but i don't really know. of course your timbers fan would say "well, we are just more loyal" and with all due respect to that opinion, it is wrong. my own opinion is that you have very few sporting teams to support. the jail blazers being the only professional sport in the city. as a result, you have a fine city (and yes, i love portland as a city) starving for sport. other than the minor league baseball that is there, the timbers is really the only other game in town. if they had professional baseball, football, even hockey, i do think the timbers attendance would not be what it is. what do you think? if you are a timbers fan, no doubt you disagree, but fair enough.
well off for a drink with my wife, and then off to meet some friends for a few beers before we head to the game.
COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE OOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU SOUNDERSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Thursday, May 8, 2008
some must reads from goalseattle.com blog
GoalSeattle has a series of fantastic articles about the history of the rivalry between Portland and Seattle and i highly recommend, reading them. Print them off and take them with you while you go about your afternoon bathroom break
Mr. Sounder scored first goal against Portland
Sounders - Timbers: Get in your car
Seattle-Portland Derby: The FC '80's
New Cascadian Century
Mr. Sounder scored first goal against Portland
Sounders - Timbers: Get in your car
Seattle-Portland Derby: The FC '80's
New Cascadian Century
buzz and media lead up to big game on saturday
still a few days out, but the buzz is already starting to happen. just a few bits and pieces of what noted on the sounders site
•Leighton O’Brien and Taylor Graham were named to the USL team of the week after Friday’s game in Atlanta. O’Brien scored the first goal of the game with a corner kick that bent directly in and Graham led the backline to their fourth consecutive shutout against Atlanta.
•Roger Levesque is still recovering from an ankle sprain and is considered “possible” for Saturday’s game.
•Youssouf Kante, Seattle’s newly acquired midfielder, is expected to be available for Saturday having spent the week in France completing his final visa.
•Portland play tonight against the Minnesota Thunder at PGE Park.
•In order to be consistent for all major sporting events at Qwest Field, as well as offer the best security and comfort for fans, all attendees for Seattle Sounders home games will be subject to pat down searches. This policy will also be in effect for all international soccer matches played at Qwest Field, as well as the Major League Soccer when the Seattle Sounder FC season begins in 2009. Fans are encouraged to arrive early at stadium gates to help facilitate this additional security measure.
•Leighton O’Brien and Taylor Graham were named to the USL team of the week after Friday’s game in Atlanta. O’Brien scored the first goal of the game with a corner kick that bent directly in and Graham led the backline to their fourth consecutive shutout against Atlanta.
•Roger Levesque is still recovering from an ankle sprain and is considered “possible” for Saturday’s game.
•Youssouf Kante, Seattle’s newly acquired midfielder, is expected to be available for Saturday having spent the week in France completing his final visa.
•Portland play tonight against the Minnesota Thunder at PGE Park.
•In order to be consistent for all major sporting events at Qwest Field, as well as offer the best security and comfort for fans, all attendees for Seattle Sounders home games will be subject to pat down searches. This policy will also be in effect for all international soccer matches played at Qwest Field, as well as the Major League Soccer when the Seattle Sounder FC season begins in 2009. Fans are encouraged to arrive early at stadium gates to help facilitate this additional security measure.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Sounders Sign First Player - Le Toux
according to the times, the seattle sounders fc have signed their first player, none other than the sounders own sebastian le toux.
there has been no doubt of his worth at the USL level, but he has yet to prove himself at the MLS level. having said that, i like that the team is serious about including the current sounders as part of their consideration set. there is no doubt that 2, 3 or 4 players from this current team have the talent and having a small core of current players to be the glue during the first few seasons while we are 'finding' ourselves as a team will be invaluable to the team spirit.
welcome le toux, you are the very first Seattle Sounder FC player. put this one down in the trivia section of your brains.
there has been no doubt of his worth at the USL level, but he has yet to prove himself at the MLS level. having said that, i like that the team is serious about including the current sounders as part of their consideration set. there is no doubt that 2, 3 or 4 players from this current team have the talent and having a small core of current players to be the glue during the first few seasons while we are 'finding' ourselves as a team will be invaluable to the team spirit.
welcome le toux, you are the very first Seattle Sounder FC player. put this one down in the trivia section of your brains.
congrats to o'brien and graham; team of the week honors
a quick congratulations to Leighton O'Brien and Taylor Graham on being named to the USL team of the week. I still feel that O'Briens goal was a bit of a cross gone lucky, but I don't mean to take away that it is still a fantastic type of goal to score. Official announcement here.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
i am not the biggest beckham fan... but
a pretty good/interesting article in the PI about beckham .
i guess that my biggest complaints about beckham is that he is a pretty boy that gets much of his attention b/c of his looks, his wife, his kids names etc etc etc. he has always been a very good footballer, who can make a difference in a game for sure... but my problem with him mostly lies with the fact that he is annonymous for much of most games. his defense is suspect for sure, and he rarely gets stuck in.
having said all that however, i really enjoyed reading this article and I am impressed with beckhams attitude. he did get a lot of stick from an uneducated US press corps about him being a flop. he was hurt for goodness sake. and there is no denying the effect that he has had on the MLS. I may not like the fact that most of the fans that come to see him don't know much about football, well, how else will they learn by coming, if even to see "golden balls".
so mr david. i will cut you some slack as you have helped the game in the US... but if someone is willing to pay $150 for my ticket when we pay you. i may indeed take it ;-)
i guess that my biggest complaints about beckham is that he is a pretty boy that gets much of his attention b/c of his looks, his wife, his kids names etc etc etc. he has always been a very good footballer, who can make a difference in a game for sure... but my problem with him mostly lies with the fact that he is annonymous for much of most games. his defense is suspect for sure, and he rarely gets stuck in.
having said all that however, i really enjoyed reading this article and I am impressed with beckhams attitude. he did get a lot of stick from an uneducated US press corps about him being a flop. he was hurt for goodness sake. and there is no denying the effect that he has had on the MLS. I may not like the fact that most of the fans that come to see him don't know much about football, well, how else will they learn by coming, if even to see "golden balls".
so mr david. i will cut you some slack as you have helped the game in the US... but if someone is willing to pay $150 for my ticket when we pay you. i may indeed take it ;-)
gate receipt estimates for the sounders
so i have been getting under many of my seahawk friends skin lately telling them that it will be nice for qwest field to get a real money making team playing there instead of the seachickens. many of my friends loathe soccer. they just don't get it. in fact, let me go out on a tangent here and say this once and for all. i GENUINELY believe, that sports fans that don't like soccer, in fact do not understand it. and they either do not understand it b/c they a) are too dumb or b) just haven't given it a chance. most people that take a few months to follow the sport end up loving it.
but i digress. back to my seahawks thingy.
so i was getting under his skin so much that i decided to do a little math. surely the seahawks brought in more per game b/c they will sell out the whole stadium, but the sounders will play more games. so who in fact will bring in more revenue.
unfortunately i was dead wrong about the sounders bringing in more. it isn't that i really believed it, but i had hoped i was right.
it was a little tricky to sort this out, but here is my back of the envelope logic.
according to forbes magazine, who rates value of teams, in 2006, the seahawks had $36mm in gate receipts. i took out 1/9th of that for the playoff game so we could just look at regular season comparison ( i have no idea if it counted preseason. probably did, but oh well).
by my best calculations, the average ticket price for the sounders is $27.38. IF we sell out each game, and i realize that is a big if, then that looks like about $12mm in revenue for gate receipts for 18 games.
SOOOO it looks like i was about $20mm off on sounders bringing in more revenue that the hawks. ha. oh well. i won't tell him that.
all we need to do is purchase $20mm worth of beer to make up for it. if some of the lads i see down at the george and dragon show up on a regular basis, this actually won't be a problem.
having said all that, $12mm in gate receipts is nothing to turn your nose up at. i bet it would rival a few NFL clubs at this time as well.
how are your ticket purchases going?
happy tuesday to ya.
but i digress. back to my seahawks thingy.
so i was getting under his skin so much that i decided to do a little math. surely the seahawks brought in more per game b/c they will sell out the whole stadium, but the sounders will play more games. so who in fact will bring in more revenue.
unfortunately i was dead wrong about the sounders bringing in more. it isn't that i really believed it, but i had hoped i was right.
it was a little tricky to sort this out, but here is my back of the envelope logic.
according to forbes magazine, who rates value of teams, in 2006, the seahawks had $36mm in gate receipts. i took out 1/9th of that for the playoff game so we could just look at regular season comparison ( i have no idea if it counted preseason. probably did, but oh well).
by my best calculations, the average ticket price for the sounders is $27.38. IF we sell out each game, and i realize that is a big if, then that looks like about $12mm in revenue for gate receipts for 18 games.
SOOOO it looks like i was about $20mm off on sounders bringing in more revenue that the hawks. ha. oh well. i won't tell him that.
all we need to do is purchase $20mm worth of beer to make up for it. if some of the lads i see down at the george and dragon show up on a regular basis, this actually won't be a problem.
having said all that, $12mm in gate receipts is nothing to turn your nose up at. i bet it would rival a few NFL clubs at this time as well.
how are your ticket purchases going?
happy tuesday to ya.
Monday, May 5, 2008
pleased with the news of no lines
one of the more annoying things in this world is watching a soccer match on a field with NFL line (or any other sport for that matter). to me, it isn't just that it can cause confusion in some cases of where the sidelines are, 18 yard box etc etc, but to me it is subconsciously degrades soccer to a second tier sport. it says that we will play on any field that we can. it says we can't afford our own pitch. it says that we aren't serious... all those things take away from the game and perpetuate all the misinformed opinions out there of those americans that just don't get the sport.
so while i have actually known for some time that the sounders were planning on NOT playing on NFL lines (conversation with some qwest peeps that are in the know), it is nice to see an official comment from ruskell this morning saying the same thing. the only thing that i heard is every once in a while, if the scheduling makes it so that a Sounders and a Seahawks game are very close together (although i am not sure what that means, 1 day? 2 days?) you may get some lines on the pitch.... it sounded to me that it would only be 1 or 2 times the whole season if at all. i can live with that for sure.
how was your sunday then? do you have half of your face burned fromt his thing called the sun? and the other half not b/c you didn't move your seat for 2 hours and it was in the shade?
i do. and it looks glorious. in no way stupid.
so while i have actually known for some time that the sounders were planning on NOT playing on NFL lines (conversation with some qwest peeps that are in the know), it is nice to see an official comment from ruskell this morning saying the same thing. the only thing that i heard is every once in a while, if the scheduling makes it so that a Sounders and a Seahawks game are very close together (although i am not sure what that means, 1 day? 2 days?) you may get some lines on the pitch.... it sounded to me that it would only be 1 or 2 times the whole season if at all. i can live with that for sure.
how was your sunday then? do you have half of your face burned fromt his thing called the sun? and the other half not b/c you didn't move your seat for 2 hours and it was in the shade?
i do. and it looks glorious. in no way stupid.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
great result for sounders
was able to watch the game yesterday and accomplish my usual goal for watching footy, drink more beers than goals scored.... this is a problem if one of the sides is andora or scunthorpe united, but in general i seem to survive.
the scoring was opened in the 8th with the unlikeliest of goals. o'brien took the corner, and whether he was trying to get the cross on goal, we will never know, but indeed he put it in the top corner. to be honest, the keeper really should have dealt with it. there wasn't really anyone coming in for the header that could have distracted him. but for whatever reason, the cross fooled him, he didn't come for it, jumped late and by that time it was in the back of the goal.
the second goal was quite ugly. danny jackson put through a long ball to letoux. the keeper came out and was caught in no mans land. letoux tried to get a foot on it which was enough to confuse the keeper and it then just rolled past into the goal. letoux was credited with the goal, but after watching the replay quite a few times, i am not 100%w convinced he actually touched it. none the less, it still counted and that sealed the game.
all in all seattle looked very good moving forward but also a little suspect at the back. the passing and creativity surprised me a little to be honest this early in the season, but i liked what i saw. there were a few too many easy give away, but that can be forgiven for how the majority of the game was played.
to me, this game came down to the keepers. McIntosh for atlanta looked shaky all game and his two gaffs allowed us to score two soft goals you have to say. Eylander had a couple shaky moments of his own, but also had some FANTASTIC saves... that, for me was the difference. If we can iron out a bit of our passing and be more solid in defence such that Eylander doesn't have to make so many 'fantastic' saves, I see no reason for us to not be able to creep back up to the top of the table again very soon. portland has started really well, but they are going to hit a flat spot for sure and lets be ready to take advantage of that.
here is to a good weekend for you.
the scoring was opened in the 8th with the unlikeliest of goals. o'brien took the corner, and whether he was trying to get the cross on goal, we will never know, but indeed he put it in the top corner. to be honest, the keeper really should have dealt with it. there wasn't really anyone coming in for the header that could have distracted him. but for whatever reason, the cross fooled him, he didn't come for it, jumped late and by that time it was in the back of the goal.
the second goal was quite ugly. danny jackson put through a long ball to letoux. the keeper came out and was caught in no mans land. letoux tried to get a foot on it which was enough to confuse the keeper and it then just rolled past into the goal. letoux was credited with the goal, but after watching the replay quite a few times, i am not 100%w convinced he actually touched it. none the less, it still counted and that sealed the game.
all in all seattle looked very good moving forward but also a little suspect at the back. the passing and creativity surprised me a little to be honest this early in the season, but i liked what i saw. there were a few too many easy give away, but that can be forgiven for how the majority of the game was played.
to me, this game came down to the keepers. McIntosh for atlanta looked shaky all game and his two gaffs allowed us to score two soft goals you have to say. Eylander had a couple shaky moments of his own, but also had some FANTASTIC saves... that, for me was the difference. If we can iron out a bit of our passing and be more solid in defence such that Eylander doesn't have to make so many 'fantastic' saves, I see no reason for us to not be able to creep back up to the top of the table again very soon. portland has started really well, but they are going to hit a flat spot for sure and lets be ready to take advantage of that.
here is to a good weekend for you.
Friday, May 2, 2008
seattle v atlanta today at 5
- your dog is sick
- your wife/husband/sig other/partner/ needs to be picked up
- your kid has a tball game
- you are planning on working over the weekend so you are going to cut out early to beat traffic
any of these are good excuses to give the man to get out of work early and catch the sounders game on the telly at 5. i, in fact, opted for the best of them all. "i am working from home today". "working from home" has got to be the best invention of the last 40 years.
not much team news ahead of the game other than Levesque not traveling due to still being hurt from the timbers game. other than that, while we demolished atlanta in the championship game last year, that means little. they have got off to a good start, and we haven't, so lets end this early skid with a win on the road. 4 points from 9 isn't fantastic, but it isn't the end of the world either and then we have the next 3 at home if i am not mistaken.
here is to friday, here is to a sounders win.
lets talk tomorrow
- your wife/husband/sig other/partner/ needs to be picked up
- your kid has a tball game
- you are planning on working over the weekend so you are going to cut out early to beat traffic
any of these are good excuses to give the man to get out of work early and catch the sounders game on the telly at 5. i, in fact, opted for the best of them all. "i am working from home today". "working from home" has got to be the best invention of the last 40 years.
not much team news ahead of the game other than Levesque not traveling due to still being hurt from the timbers game. other than that, while we demolished atlanta in the championship game last year, that means little. they have got off to a good start, and we haven't, so lets end this early skid with a win on the road. 4 points from 9 isn't fantastic, but it isn't the end of the world either and then we have the next 3 at home if i am not mistaken.
here is to friday, here is to a sounders win.
lets talk tomorrow
Thursday, May 1, 2008
section 134
just got my tickets. section 134. behind the visitors.
that makes my tickets very valuable when beckham comes to town and i want to sell my tickets for $13,403 a piece to those rich 14 year old girls out there.
that makes my tickets very valuable when beckham comes to town and i want to sell my tickets for $13,403 a piece to those rich 14 year old girls out there.
do i really love football?
i love football right? then why is it that i find myself saying "CRAP $35 for a friendly, i don't know if i want to pay that."
this really bothers me. i have dropped $250 for one ticket to go watch my epl team before so that is giving me comfort that yes, i do love football, but i really am not that excited about spending $35 to sit in the hawks nest to watch two teams i am not crazy about.
don't get me wrong, brazil is crazy talented, but i don't know if i want to sit in the endzone for $35 (and lets face it, it will be $100 after a few pints before/after/during etc) and miss most of the action when i can watch it on tv (i think).
alas, i will still cough it up, but this was an unexpected feeling that i didn't like.
sigh
oh, allen, i did get the email, but not sure if i really should post the "secret code" on the internet for anyone to grab.
are you a sounders (mls) season ticket holder? you should have just got the email, along with seahawks season ticket holders. i am sure a buddy will give it to you.
this really bothers me. i have dropped $250 for one ticket to go watch my epl team before so that is giving me comfort that yes, i do love football, but i really am not that excited about spending $35 to sit in the hawks nest to watch two teams i am not crazy about.
don't get me wrong, brazil is crazy talented, but i don't know if i want to sit in the endzone for $35 (and lets face it, it will be $100 after a few pints before/after/during etc) and miss most of the action when i can watch it on tv (i think).
alas, i will still cough it up, but this was an unexpected feeling that i didn't like.
sigh
oh, allen, i did get the email, but not sure if i really should post the "secret code" on the internet for anyone to grab.
are you a sounders (mls) season ticket holder? you should have just got the email, along with seahawks season ticket holders. i am sure a buddy will give it to you.
day before playing atlanta, not much going on
not much news to report on this morning. no team selection/injury news that i can find either.
i used up all my knowledge, which is not much, posting 3 times yesterday and today i got NOTHING. and when i got nothing, i like to talk about anything... so here goes.
manU and chelsea in the european champions league final hosted in moscow. i am sure that the russians feel like they just lost a game of their namesake roulette. they could have had barcelona or real madrid, or AC milan or a whole heck of other teams, instead they get to deal with the YOBS from Manchester and London. What is the over/under of arrests before the match then? 158?
oh and for those that work downtown, there is a may day rally/protest/march whatever from 4-5:30 which is going to hose traffic. lovely. just another excuse for me to leave work early. i look for any excuse i can to leave work early these days... it is getting to the point that i may need an excuse to stay late. but that isn't going to happen.
ok, that is all i have. sorry for boring the heck out of you. i am pretty much asleep at my desk as is.
here is to more sounders related news tomorrow.
i used up all my knowledge, which is not much, posting 3 times yesterday and today i got NOTHING. and when i got nothing, i like to talk about anything... so here goes.
manU and chelsea in the european champions league final hosted in moscow. i am sure that the russians feel like they just lost a game of their namesake roulette. they could have had barcelona or real madrid, or AC milan or a whole heck of other teams, instead they get to deal with the YOBS from Manchester and London. What is the over/under of arrests before the match then? 158?
oh and for those that work downtown, there is a may day rally/protest/march whatever from 4-5:30 which is going to hose traffic. lovely. just another excuse for me to leave work early. i look for any excuse i can to leave work early these days... it is getting to the point that i may need an excuse to stay late. but that isn't going to happen.
ok, that is all i have. sorry for boring the heck out of you. i am pretty much asleep at my desk as is.
here is to more sounders related news tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
