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    San Jose Earthquakes v Vancouver Whitecaps gave us some entertaining Saturday night television viewing, especially in the second half.
    But in another reality, the whole game played out on Facebook....
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    Guest
    According to TSN's Luke Wileman, the other Argentine set to join Toronto FC is Matias Laba.
    The 21-year-old midfielder, who is currently plying his trade for Argentinos Juniors and has experience as a U20 international and in Copa Libertadores, is said to be joining fellow countryman Maximiliano Urruti, of Argentina’s Newell Old Boys, in Toronto by the end of the month.
    The move by Toronto hopes to jump-start a midfield that has struggled to find any creativity from the likes of Terry Dunfield and Jeremy Hall over the first five games and on paper, looks to improve the linkage from front to back considerably.
    There has been no indication of what Toronto is intending to pay these players but it is believed that team president Kevin Payne has been working to ensure Urruti gains young designated player status, which would keep his salary under $200,000.
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    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np8LzNkUmKs
    Guest

    MLS Week in Review – Round 6

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    The sixth round of MLS play concluded with a lone Sunday evening fixture in Chicago.
    It ended a weekend that featured three of the remaining four winless sides finally finding that elusive victory, Chicago unlocking their faltering attack, late-drama from Friday on, serious equipment malfunctions, and cards; lots and lots of cards.
    Through the seven matches, sixteen goals were scored – and two penalty attempts missed; a whopping thirty yellow cards were shown – an average of over four per match and a high of seven in the Toronto-Dallas affair - but oddly, no reds; one bone crunching tackle that both delighted and horrified as it sparked debate and may have caught the attention of the disciplinary committee – much to the chagrin of old-school enthusiasts - as the home sides went undefeated with three draws dotting the fixture list.
    Before the results, Goal of the Round honours must be awarded.
    What the weekend lacked in volume, it made up with quality.
    Darel Russell’s stoppage-time equalizing frozen rope was lovely, Blas Perez’ strike in the same match was as clinical as they come, Dominic Oduro’s tight-angled blast was a sight to see, and Edson Buddle’s hold-up play to set up Atiba Harris was an impressive feat of strength, while Ryan Johnson and Maicon Santos’ braces were each eye-catching in their own right.
    But the goal of the round has to go to Chris Wondolowski’s top-shelf rocket past Vancouver’s Joe Cannon.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The sequence began when an errant Ramiro Corrales cross produced a goal-kick for the Whitecaps; goalkeeper Joe Cannon opted to go short up the left flank, building out of the back, rather than booting it up-field.
    Daigo Kobayashi, pressured by Dan Gargan, played back to Alain Rochat.
    Shea Salinas continued the pressing forcing the left-back into a risky attempt to Jun Marques Davidson, which Wondolowski duly intercepted, poking it back to Salinas nearer the touch-line.
    The tricky winger opted to play in-field rather than go wide, sending a testing ball towards Alan Gordon inside the arc. Brad Rusin just missed cutting out the pass and Andy O’Brien was caught wrong side of the big striker. Gordon touched it first time back into the path of the untracked Wondo down the right-side of the penalty area.
    The striker settled it with a left-footed touch, simultaneously pushing the ball into space away from the incoming pressure – whether by design or accident matters not, to set up a right-footed blast. Timing his shot to the near-upper corner perfectly, both evaded the sliding Cannon and placing the shot to the only part of the net readily available.
    A striker’s finish; one Martin Rennie will be devastated that his side conceded so easily, having wasted possession and not bothered to track the most dangerous goal-scorer in the league.
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kxsw38sVQRE?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    Results in Brief
    Kansas City 1 – DC 0
    In the first Friday night fixture of the young season, Kansas City and DC looked destined for a hard-fought scoreless draw until the KC pressure and substitute, Soony Saad, took matters into his own hands.
    Saad and fellow sub, Peterson Joseph, combined to force a weak back-pass out of Panamanian Marcos Sanchez, in for the injured Nick DeLeon, deep in the attacking left-corner. Saad poked the loose ball past Marcelo Saragosa along the end-line before cutting back to Claudio Bieler patiently waiting to pounce above the near-post.
    The Argentine hit-man struck his fourth goal through six matches, sweetly stroking the pass first-time to the far-side of the goal past a helpless Bill Hamid in the final minutes of regulation.
    For Ben Olsen’s DC it was a second straight loss – now winless in three – and their scoring troubles – only two goals through five matches – continue to haunt the club that was thought to have turned a corner with last season’s deep run. Recent USSF National Hall of Fame Inductee Peter Vermes saw his side keep a fourth consecutive clean sheet – a run of 429 minutes, with their fifth straight win over Eastern Conference rivals, United.
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    Toronto 2 – Dallas 2
    The late drama continued come the end of Saturday’s early kickoff.
    Dallas took a two-goal lead, tallying either side of half-time through Andrew Jacobson and Blas Perez – firstly, through a sneaky run to the back-post to smack home a flicked Michel free-kick, then forcing a midfield turnover and catching the TFC back-line out of sorts with a raking diagonal ball from Jackson allowing Perez time and space to finish clinically past Joe Bendik in goal.
    But Toronto showed previously unseen fight with Justin Braun and Darel Russell, the scapegoat of last weekend’s late-Los Angeles equalizer, scoring in the final five minutes of play.
    Braun muscled in a miscued Matt Hedges defensive header from the goal-line before Russell struck as sweet a hit as one is likely to see, in off the inside of the far-post from outside the box after Braun had picked him out on the right.
    Ryan Nelsen’s Toronto maintained their unbeaten form at home with a second-straight draw, while Schellas Hyndman’s Dallas saw their three-match winning streak crumble and will fret over last season’s complications – failing to win eleven of the seventeen matches in which they scored first – resurfacing with a second such occurrence.
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    Columbus 1 – Philadelphia 1
    Columbus maintained some home form of their own when a relatively late Dominic Oduro strike gave them a share of the points after Jack McInerney had taken the lead for Philadelphia with his third of the season.
    The twenty-year old Chattanooga Choo-choo put his side in front with a simple finish, tapping a squared Danny Cruz ball into the unguarded net after an Amobi Okugo through-ball down the right shredded the Columbus defense.
    Oduro blasted his equalizer, picking out the far-netting from an impossible angle on the right end-line, after latching onto an Eddie Gaven ball, and catching Philly keeper Zac MacMath expectant of a goal-mouth cross rather than a high shot.
    The draw extends Robert Warzycha’s Crew’s unbeaten home run to eleven matches and prevented John Hackworth’s Union from recording their first win at Columbus, though they did take their first point from four visits.
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    Colorado 1 – Salt Lake 0
    Colorado, still hampered by an injury list too lengthy to recount, rose to the occasion to earn their first win of the season, against Rocky Mountain Cup rivals, Salt Lake, no less.
    Atiba Harris, fresh off the birth of his second child, scored the lone goal, stroking the ball into the left-side of the goal after Edson Buddle had done all the heavy lifting.
    Hendry Thomas found Nick LaBrocca in space on the left with a cross-field ball, the midfielder played in to Buddle, who manfully held off the attentions of Nat Borchers before poking the loose ball over to the awaiting Harris a mere five minutes into the match.
    Alvaro Saborio had a glorious chance to level the score minutes later from the spot, after Dillon Powers was adjudged to have restrained Kyle Beckerman on a corner kick, but Clint Irwin denied the chance with a fine stop.
    Rapids’ boss Oscar Pareja will be proud of the efforts his stricken side have put in; Jason Kreis’ Salt Lake are at risk of losing their first interclub cup in seven season, as a single point in their third and final meeting - also in Colorado - will see the Rapids take home the trophy they last held in 2006.
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    San Jose 1 – Vancouver 1
    The theme of late drama, though this time of the goal-less variety, continued in San Jose as the two played out one of the more fascinating second halves of the 2013 season.
    Chris Wondolowski nabbed his third goal - and first ‘of the round’ honours - with his high, near-post finish past former teammate, Joe Cannon, in the first half, before one of the more bizarre sequences one is ever likely to witness unfolded.
    Two Earthquakes, Alan Gordon and Victor Bernardez, simultaneously left the pitch to change their footwear, leaving their side reduced to nine-men, and were not allowed to return until the next stoppage in play, as per a little-known sub-section of Law 4.
    That next stoppage would come as Vancouver celebrated an equalizer after Daigo Kobayashi’s shot, skimmed off Sam Cronin and fell kindly to Corey Hertzog, who did well to corral and finish the chance with his right-foot.
    The final twenty-odd minutes descended into entertaining anarchy as the Earthquakes pushed and the Whitecaps replied staunchly. A gloriously heavy-tackle from Nigel Reo-Coker upended Cronin and heightened the emotion, before goal-mouth blocks from YP Lee and Cannon, and perhaps a Tommy Heinemann hand-ball, saw out the road result for Vancouver.
    San Jose’s Frank Yallop will lament the moment of madness – and his side’s ignorance of the fine print; while Martin Rennie and his Vancouver side will enjoy a quiet chuckle and take their first road point of the year back home.
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    Portland 2 – Houston 0
    If the West Coast had not atmosphere enough with one storming fixture, the rain in Portland and the subsequent soaked-action, provided more, as Caleb Porter’s charges picked up his first win as an MLS coach.
    Winless through four and having witnessed two key players – David Horst and Diego Valeri – forced off through injury in the first half - ankle and head knocks, respectively – the Timbers returned to the field after half-time on a mission.
    Ten minutes in, Ryan Johnson capped off some wonderful passing work – a Diego Chara and Darlington Nagbe one-two sent the defensive-minded Colombian midfielder into space beyond the Dynamo fortifications - down the right, where he delivered a devastating curling cross behind the back-line.
    Houston centre-back Bobby Boswell wanted to cut it out, but such was its perfection, that had he tried, it would have surely been an own-goal. Johnson ghosted in off the defender’s back shoulder, stretched out his left-leg to touch the attempt goal-ward. It struck the leg of the retreating Tally Hall, but spilled over the line at the back-post.
    Johnson added a second in the final twenty minutes, breaking the Dynamo offside trap, sprung by Nagbe down the left, to calmly stroke a left-footer over the collapsing Hall.
    Porter’s Portland will celebrate the win in front of a raucous Saturday night crowd, while Houston’s Dominic Kinnear must ponder his side’s poor road form after their second loss in two attempts.
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    Chicago 3 – New York 1
    And finally, the Sunday fixture saw Frank Klopas’ Chicago nab their first win of 2013, end their worst start in club history, and their woeful scoring jinx, quadrupling their season output in the process.
    The elusive win was not at first evident, with New York taking the lead after twenty minutes when Jamison Olave gracefully swept a loose ball in from a Juninho left-sided corner kick. The service looked too deep, but Tim Cahill won the header back into the middle, where Brandon Barklage flicked on to the patiently-ready dexterous defender.
    Chicago were offered a life-line minutes later, when Jonny Steele handled a Jeff Larentowicz shot, but Chris Rolfe missed the target, wide left, having sent the keeper the other way.
    With half-time looming, the Fire capitalized on their next chance in the forty-fourth, when a hanging Hunter Jumper cross from the left was caught floating in the wind, delaying its arrival into the arms of Red Bull keeper, Luis Robles, by a fraction of a second, thereby allowing Daniel Paladini to steal in and intercept, heading in an equalizer.
    Point in hand, Chicago nervously saw through the introduction of Thierry Henry, who struck the post sweetly, before Maicon Santos tallied his brace to secure the points and then ensure their destination.
    Paladini turned provider on the first, laying the Brazilian down the left where he devastatingly cut in, leaving Olave in his dust, before poking a cheeky left-footer across Robles. Santos’ second came in the final minute of regulation, when New York defended a Paladini free-kick far too casually, allowing Larentowicz to win a header down and across to the right-post, where Maicon touched it home, again with the left boot.
    New York coach Mike Petke will lament his side’s collapse as their winless run in Chicago, having never won at Toyota Park, dates back to 2005.
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    Canadian Content
    Dejan Jakovic put in another solid ninety for DC United, nearly seeing his side through to a tough point in Kansas City, before faltering in the final minutes. He had this to say after the match: “It was a heartbreaking loss. I thought there were stretches where we played really well and moved the ball. We created a really good chance in the first half and should have been ahead. This one definitely stings.”
    In response to giving up the late winner, he added: “It’s frustrating. We played well defensively and were compact, and they never really broke us down. They tried long balls and playing it short. For a long time we were in great shape, so it’s really tough. Everyone played their guts out – I don’t know what else to say. It’s a tough one to swallow.”
    Jakovic was tidy in possession, misplacing only three of twenty-six passes, while making nine interceptions and five clearances. He was shown a yellow card for a foul on Claudio Bieler, going heavily through the attacker, clipping the back of his ankle in the process.
    Russell Teibert saw his first MLS minutes of 2013 as he started on the left-side of the midfield for Vancouver in San Jose, as Martin Rennie rewarded the youngster’s hard work in training and non-league matches.
    He was very tidy in possession – completing twenty-three of twenty-seven passes – and showed the confidence that has some thinking so highly of him. He wasn’t afraid to have a lash from distance, taking an early left-footed crack from nearly thirty yards that strayed over the bar and displayed a bit of nifty footwork at the top of the box, dummying a ball from Alain Rochat before dragging it towards the end-line with a heel-drag in an attempt to beat the imposing Victor Bernardez, who bit and then recovered to usher the ball out for a corner.
    Teibert picked up a yellow for a professional foul, tripping up Sam Cronin and was substituted for Gershon Koffie after sixty-eight minutes.
    Will Johnson was again excellent in his fifth-straight complete game for Portland – having played every minute thus far - sporting his fancy newly-designed captain’s armband.
    He kept the ball moving all night – completing fifty-one of sixty-two passes – and made nine recoveries and four clearances, mostly in the second half, as the Timbers put Houston to the sword and saw out the result.
    Jonathan Osorio of Toronto FC, too made his first MLS start after a scintillating cameo last weekend against LA – in which he scored – but failed to show the same verve when tasked with a more-defensive minded role against Dallas, replacing Terry Dunfield in the two-man midfield shield in front of the back-line.
    He completely slightly more than half of his passes – thirteen of twenty-two – but was caught in possession ten times, likely more a function of a sluggish first half for the entire side, rather than his own failing. He made way at half-time for Luis Silva, having shown he has a defensive side to his game as well, though it may need some work.
    Ashtone Morgan made a brief substitute’s appearance for Toronto, replacing the injured Richard Eckersley in the eighty-ninth minute. He got involved immediately as TFC pressed for a winner with Dallas reeling, but looked rusty as a poor cross was easily handled.
    Kyle Porter, Doneil Henry, and Kyle Bekker were all on the bench for their respective sides, DC United and Toronto FC.
    DC's Dwayne De Rosario, TFC’s Terry Dunfield and San Jose’s Nana Attakora were unavailable due to an adductor strain, a knee sprain – suffered last match – and a right groin strain, respectively.
    Overheard
    The pitch-side microphones in the Colorado-Salt Lake match were on high, transmitting a few choice words from the stands and a nice conversation between the referee, Chris Penso, and Brian Mullan, who was lying on the ground after a hard tackle, as well as the protestations of Marvell Wynne, who swears he was elbowed.
    “Alan Gordon, key contributor with a league-leading seventy-two goals on the season for San Jose” – what? Sentence phrasing is important.
    See it Live (We’re Seeing It Live)
    Colorado’s stand-in goalkeeper Clint Irwin let loose a celebratory howl upon saving Salt Lake’s Alvaro Saborio’s penalty kick, a display worthy of the moment. The save ended Saborio’s perfect record – twelve goals from twelve attempts – at the penalty spot.
    The bizarre shoe-change situation in San Jose was almost unbelievable.
    Post-match Frank Yallop had this to say: “It was really poor on our behalf of not realizing that the rule is you can’t go back on the field [during the run of play]. There has to be a stoppage in play... It’s just one of those nights that frustrates the team and frustrates me as a head coach.” Alan Gordon added: “I have never heard of that [rule].”
    Joe Cannon summed it up nicely: “I think every year in MLS, you probably see something you’ve never seen before in your life; that might be the moment for this year. Overall, I don’t know what to think of that situation. It’s just something that happened and it helped us out.”
    Upcoming Fixtures
    The Second Legs of the CONCACAF Champions League Semifinals take place midweek with both MLS sides, Seattle and Los Angeles, trailing by a goal – 0-1 to Santos Laguna (Tuesday) and 2-1 to Monterrey (Wednesday), respectively - as the series shifts to Mexico.
    Saturday: Montreal-Columbus; Philadelphia-Toronto; Seattle-New England; Vancouver-Salt Lake; DC-New York; Dallas-Los Angeles; Chivas-Colorado. Sunday: Houston-Chicago; Portland-San Jose.
    Parting Thoughts
    A few questions to ponder and discuss:
    Montreal had the weekend off and face Columbus, who have won two road matches, next round; are they the dominant side who won their first four or the meek side who lost to Kansas City more recently?
    Vancouver returns home to face Salt Lake having picked up a single point from their three-match road trip; do the comforts of home see them return to form against tricky opponents?
    And Toronto are tasked with an away match in Philadelphia, emboldened, perhaps, with a touch more spirit after the rousing comeback; they lost their first two road matches – to Vancouver and Montreal – but how does their first cross-border trip go down?
    Seattle, now the sole winless side in MLS, return to league play on Saturday at home to New England; how will midweek exertions and requisite mourning/celebration affect their future? Los Angeles too returns to MLS play on Saturday will a difficult trip to in-form Dallas, do they suffer a Champions League hangover, regardless of the result midweek?
    Chivas will look to maintain their positive start with a result against Colorado, themselves feeling good after a nice opening win; can El Chelis continue to weave his spell? Portland and Chicago, like Colorado, will look to immediately build on first wins; what odds on one following it up straight away with a second?
    Like Colorado, both will face tough opposition - a fired-up and convalescent San Jose and the dominant at home Houston, who still defend their impressive streak; as will the struggling DC and New York, who face each other for a second match after a scoreless draw on Rivarly Weekend.
    Just what does Round Seven hold? So much to ponder…
    Until next weekend.
    Each week James takes a look at the league as a whole.
    You can follow James on twitter @grawsee or read more of his writing at Partially Obstructed View
    Guest

    MLS Musings - Week Six

    By Guest, in AFTN,

    Our weekly, sometimes offbeat, look at the best and worst of the week's MLS action. We took your suggestions on board and either embedded videos of our best/worst selections or included links. So what did week six of the 2013 season throw up for us?
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    <b><u>Games This Week:</u></b>
    Only seven matches this week, with five teams having byes. All this time off has really helped LA and Seattle in the CONCACAF Champions League of course, so it's been worth it. Imagine how shit they'd have been without it!
    The action kicked off on Friday night as KANSAS CITY hosted DC UNITED in a pretty dour encounter at times. I was expecting so much more from this one the way that both teams have been playing this season, so it was a bit of a letdown. The only goal of the game came from Claudio Bieler and it was a nice finish, after some fantastic work by Soony Saad to dispossess DC and set it up. KC play some nice football. Excellent build up play, good hustling and what comes across as a great team spirit. It's what I want to see from the Whitecaps. They had what appeared to be a vocal and encouraging mid game huddle on the pitch when DC's McDonald was down injured and receiving treatment at one point. KC created some good chances but didn't keep Bill Hamid too busy. DC themselves had a couple of promising moves but again they came to nothing and it was the fourth clean sheet in a row for Kansas City. They're looking a good bet for the Supporters' Shield already I feel.
    The unlikeliest comeback of the weekend came in TORONTO. TFC were awful for most of their match against DALLAS, but came good when it mattered to grab a point that never looked on. Toronto really struggled in the first half, mustering no shots at all to Dallas' six. Although they looked a little better in the second half, they seldom troubled Raul Fernandez in the Dallas goal until the last six minutes. The Texans hit a lovely second goal that capitalised on John Bostock's cheap giveaway with a perfectly flighted ball over the Reds defence for Blas Perez to bury. From nowhere, Toronto got back in to it, helped by some terrible Dallas defending for their first goal and a beautiful strike for their second. They should have had a penalty in that crazy six minute spell as well. Dallas are looking good and that's bad news for Vancouver, so let's hope that this shock collapse has a really horrible negative effect on them. They have so many objectionable wankers on that team. What such a comeback will do the confidence of Toronto is another matter. They could have won it in those last few minutes and that fighting to the end attitude should give their long suffering fans some crumbs of comfort. They just need to do it for longer than a few minutes in a match.
    COLUMBUS at home to PHILADELPHIA isn't really a game on the schedule that sets your pulse racing. As it turned out, it was one of the best games of the weekend. Entertaining end to end stuff, with many missed chances as it ended in a 1-1 draw. The Crew probably did enough to get the win, apart from the important aspect of putting the ball in the net for a second goal. Both sides have shown enough in their first few games to indicate that they will be there or thereabouts in the playoff mix come October. For both teams, consistency is what is going to determine their fate and so far neither side has been able to put together a string of good performances.
    The Rocky Mountain Cup derbies are coming thick and fast early in the season and this one started off as a cracker before settling down into a game in which both teams had chances to add to the one goal that decided the match, but couldn't make those opportunities pay. The previously winless COLORADO took an early lead to the shock of everyone, as ex Cap Atiba Harris actually hit the target in the fifth minute for what proved to be the match winning goal. Sure it was only from six yards out but we've all seen him miss from there before. We saw the Harris we came to know as the game progressed. REAL SALT LAKE should have levelled minutes later but missed a penalty. RSL had the better of the rest of the first half, but the Rapids came out in storming fashion in the second, before the match became a pretty even affair. Nick Rimando had a couple of big saves that kept RSL in the game and the visitors must have headed home wondering how they didn't get anything out of that game. They should have had another penalty late on, but they had their other chances too, as did the Rapids. Their first win of the season brought Colorado to within two points of the Whitecaps, despite their currently horrendous injury situation. They may have unearthed a star in MLS rookie goalkeeper Clint Irwin.
    PORTLAND don't have their troubles to seek right now. Still winless going in to their home game against HOUSTON, they had to make two substitutions to injury in the first 27 minutes of a match that got chippy pretty quickly in the pouring Portland rain. But they showed some great resilience to come back and win comfortably in the end, with some excellent teamwork on the second goal to create something from a forced giveaway deep in their own half. Could have been a lot more than two goals in their second half performance against a Houston side that are so different away from their home fortress. The Dynamo were almost unrecognisable to the team we've seen against Vancouver and San Jose these last two weeks. Despite their combination of horrible early season form and luck, the Timbers have dragged themselves back up the Western Conference and sit one point back of Vancouver and the playoff spots. With the advantage Portland get from their home form, it's something that Vancouver need to emulate and whichever team sorts it out on the road best between these two Cascadian sides and Real Salt Lake could be the deciding factor for which of them make the playoffs.
    VANCOUVER grabbed an unexpected point in SAN JOSE despite being ripped apart at times in the first half. It was a result which will give them a bit of a confidence boost and at least means that they don't head home from a three game road trip completely empty handed. They battled well in the second half and managed to prevent San Jose from providing some more of their trademark last ditch heroics. The point moved the Caps up one spot in the West and into the last playoff position. So no worse, or no better than last season so far and that's in many regards.
    The last game of the weekend took place Sunday in CHICAGO, with NEW YORK heading east to try and do something they've struggled to do there - get a win. And they're still looking for their first win since 2006. I'm sure when ESPN picked this as their 'game of the week' they were expecting a top of the conference clash and not one with two struggling teams. The Fire's 3-1 win heaps even more pressure on Red Bulls coach Mike Petke. His history with the club will buy him a little bit of time but he's in a market that needs success, especially with the money they've spent and the players they've brought in. If he was with some English clubs, he'd probably find himself out of a job one of these coming Mondays. He still might. Thierry Henry's late match winner last week is now looking massive for him. Henry again looked like the spark that New York need when he came on as sub and he nearly scored a beautiful curler, but it crashed off the post instead. Inches away from talking about a different story altogether, then came along Maicon 'Supersub' Santos with his match winning brace. It's not that New York are playing that badly, although any MLS team that has Johnny Steele as a regular starter doesn't fill me with too much hope from the off. They're creating chances but just can't finish them. Another ten in this game, which is low by their standards. The New York defence was terrible. It was Vancouver style marking and awareness out there, and goalkeeper Luis Robles looked such a week link and had a horrible game. Chicago got their first win of the season and climbed above two teams in the process. With the chances they had, they deserved their win.
    So with the dust all settled for this weekend, Vancouver move into the playoff spots in the West again, Montreal stay top of the East without playing, and Toronto move up to 6th spot in what is a very, very tight Eastern Conference.
    There's also word of a new MLS themed Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan movie - "Winless In Seattle". Expect lots of tears. The Sounders are now the only team in MLS still to win this season. Long may it continue.
    <b><u>Outfield Player of the Week:</u></b>
    I'm not always a fan of giving the 'Player of the Week' award to the player that's scored the most goals that week. There's often been better players that just aren't in the limelight and it sometimes just smacks of lazy voting. That's how it often feels with the NASR award in MLS, as with Will Johnson's one last week, who frankly did very little apart from his two goals and one of them was a penalty. This week though, a Portland player does deserve it. Step forward RYAN JOHNSON, who got a brace to give the Timbers their first win of the season and he could have had at least a hat-trick in an excellent second half performance. He covered a lot of attacking half of the pitch and contributed 24 successful passes. Nice finish for the second goal too, and some nice team play in the build up to it.
    <center>

    </center><b><u>Goalkeeper of the Week:</u></b>
    There were no real stand out performances in goal this week. Many keepers did well but not throughout the whole game. Some had good saves and some kept clean sheets, but weren't really tested. Real Salt Lake's NICK RIMANDO may have been on the losing side in the derby against Colorado, but he produced a couple of excellent saves that kept his team in the game till the end and he's taking it for me over his opposite number, Clint Irwin.
    <b><u>Goal of the Week:</u></b>
    Maicon Santos' go ahead goal for Chicago against New York was lovely. Great footwork by Santos and a wonderful finish with the outside of his foot.
    Darrel Russell's 90th minute equaliser for Toronto seemed to come out of nowhere, with both him and his team playing poorly for most of the game. It was a sweet strike and a vital one that could have ended up anywhere but nestled perfectly in the net to give TFC a point.
    And it would have won our GotW if it wasn't for the excellent finish from JAMISON OLAVE for New York at Chicago. Olave's goal did it for us for both the build up play of two fine headers to set him up (especially Tim Cahill, who did fantastic to create anything from Juninho's woefully high corner) and the technique in the final volley.
    <center>

    </center><b><u>Miss of the Week:</u></b>
    Chris Rolfe's horrific penalty miss for Chicago against New York could have taken this award most weeks. You have to at least hit the target from the spot. No excuse for not and when your team is in a funk at the moment, it's even worse.
    The Columbus - Philadelphia game was the gift that kept giving in this category this week though. We could have gone with the Crew's Dominic Oduro blasting over after nicely working his way through on goal. Or Philly's Connor Casey firing high when anywhere on target was likely to have meant the Union went in at the half with a vital two goal lead. Instead the dubious honour has to go to Columbus' EDDIE GAVEN who found himself just needing to make contact and shoot anywhere on goal to bring the Crew level. Instead, as the commentators perfectly described it, it was a swing and a miss. MLS didn't have it as a clip to show you unfortunately.
    <b><u>Save of the Week:</u></b>
    It didn't turn out to the be the game changer it could have been but Nick Rimando acrobatic stop to keep out Colorado's Jamie Smith was a good one, but we can't look beyond JOE CANNON's huge last second point saving stop from Dan Gargan's header for Vancouver against San Jose. Who knows what that save and point earned could mean come the end of the season. It might be one of those moments that we call back to as being pivotal.
    (WATCH: http://p.mlssoccer.com/SAu5a/video/1676528/mls_2013-04-07-004528.640hq.mp4)
    <b><u>Funniest Moment of the Week:</u></b>
    ANDY O'BRIEN pulling up the flopping Steven Lenhart was fantastic to see. In fact O'Brien chirping away and winding up Wondo and other San Jose players was also a joy to behold. For such a quiet guy, he has a great intensity out there. Now some will argue that you can't do that to a player, you should never pull them up by their shirt, put your hands on them blah blah blah. And sure, if it happened to your guy, you would be going nuts, but this was to clownboy, so screw that. Who hasn't wanted to smack him in the face at some point? What made the incident all the more funny was Lenhart's reaction and disbelief to the whole thing. But if you want the letter of the law, then they both should have been booked for their actions and reactions, so Lenhart would have been off for a second yellow. Now that would have been even funnier. Damn you ref, you took <i>that</i> funny moment away from us.
    <center>

    </center><b><u>Cock Up of the Week:</u></b>
    You can't look any further than San Jose's ALAN GORDON and VICTOR BERNARDEZ both going off to change their cleats at the same time, leaving the Earthquakes two men down and allowing Vancouver to grab an equaliser. Fair enough, it was slippy out there and you had the wrong footwear on, but as two very experienced pros you should be very aware to not have both of you doing it at the same time. Not that I'm complaining in the slightest.
    <center>

    </center><b><u>Fuds of the Week:</u></b>
    Carrying on from the above, it has to be the SAN JOSE MANAGEMENT. Surely someone on that bench must have seen that two of their guys were off the field at the same time. That should never, ever be allowed to happen in the first place, never mind when the opposition were attacking. Someone okayed it. Please let us know who, we have a muffin basket here for you. Actually, with all the moaning and whining that they did throughout that second half, let's just give all of the Earthquakes the Fuds award.
    <b><u>Dive of the Week:</u></b>
    Name and shame. That's one way to shame these bastards, but taking points off their team would be our preferred option. This week's cheat is New York's PEGUY LUYINDULA, for his farcical attempt to win a penalty that at least saw him get a yellow card for his antics. He later had to go off injured. Karma truly is a bitch.
    (WATCH: http://p.mlssoccer.com/SAu5a/video/1677380/mls_2013-04-07-183820.640hq.mp4)
    <b><u>Tackle of the Week:</u></b>
    As regular readers will know, I do love a good cruncher and they don't come much better than Vancouver's NIGEL REO-COKER on San Jose's Sam Cronin. Nothing better than when your own man sends an opponent flying through the air and not even a booking, although MLS may take a look at it later. Still worth it though. He'd pretty much done bugger all else for the game.
    <center>

    </center><b><u>Stat Attack:</u></b>
    After Week 6 - 49 games
    <b>Total goals in week</b> - 16 (106 this season)
    <b>Average goals per game</b> - 2.29 (2.16 ave this season)
    <b>Highest scoring team</b> - Chicago Fire (3 goals)
    <b>Penalties awarded</b> - 2, zero scored (10 this season)
    <b>Clean sheets</b> - 2 (25 this season)
    <b>Unbeaten teams</b> - 1 (Los Angeles Galaxy)
    <b>Winless teams</b> - 1 (Seattle Sounders)
    <b>Biggest win this season</b> - LA 4-0 v Chicago (2/3/13)
    <b>Sending offs</b> - 0 (4 this season)
    <b>Bookings</b> - 30 (140 this season)
    <b>Total attendance this week</b> - 104,374 (852,293 total for season)
    <b>Average attendance this week</b> - 14,911 (17,394 average for season)
    <b>Highest attendance this week</b> - 20,674 Portland v Houston
    <b>Highest attendance this season</b> - 40,150 Seattle v Portland (16/3/13)
    <b>Lowest attendance this week</b> - 10,293 Columbus v Philadelphia
    <b>Lowest attendance this season</b> - 7,121 Chivas v Columbus (2/3/13)
    <b><u>Fantasy Football Highs and Lows (after Week 6):</u></b>
    This is mainly my attempt to keep my interest in the competition going beyond the first few weeks this season, which has been my downfall in the past!
    <b>Highest Scoring Goalkeeper</b> - Jimmy Nielsen (Sporting KC - 34 points)
    <b>Week's Highest Scoring Goalkeeper</b> - Clint Irwin (Colorado Rapids - 12 points)
    <b>Highest Scoring Defender</b> - Aurelien Collin (Sporting KC - 43 points)
    <b>Week's Highest Scoring Defender</b> - Aurelien Collin (Sporting KC - 10 points)
    <b>Highest Scoring Midfielder</b> - Graham Zusi (Sporting KC - 45 points)
    <b>Week's Highest Scoring Midfielder</b> - Daniel Paladini (Chicago Fire - 13 points)
    <b>Highest Scoring Forward</b> - Robert Earnshaw (Toronto - 30 points)
    <b>Week's Highest Scoring Forward</b> - Maicon Santos (Chicago Fire - 12 points)
    <b>Overall Highest Scoring Club</b> - Dallas (369 points)
    <b>Overall Lowest Scoring Club</b> - Seattle Sounders (165 points)
    <b>Week's Highest Scoring Club</b> - Portland Timbers (75 points)
    <b>Week's Lowest Scoring Club</b> - Real Salt Lake (28 points)
    <b>Best Weekly Score so far</b> - Los Angeles (94 points - Week 1)
    <b>Worst Weekly Score so far</b> - Chivas (23 points - Week 1)
    <b>Highest Scoring Club Defence (inc GK)</b> - Dallas (200 points)
    <b>Lowest Scoring Club Defence (inc GK)</b> - Toronto (65 points)
    <b>Highest Scoring Club Midfield</b> - Dallas (132 points)
    <b>Lowest Scoring Club Midfield</b> - Columbus Crew (56 points)
    <b>Highest Scoring Club Forwards</b> - Columbus Crew (66 points)
    <b>Lowest Scoring Club Forwards</b> - New England Revolution (17 points)
    <p>
    Guest
    After all these years, Canada fans can't help but have the same lingering thought in the back of their minds, as women's national team games tick towards their conclusions: Somehow, some way, in the dying minutes, Christine Sinclair will find a way.
    Heck, Sincy's flair for the dramatic is so powerful that it's rubbed off on her teammates, as we saw from Diana Matheson at the Olympics and from Kaylyn Kyle a few days ago against France.
    Evidently, her power is so infectious that England's Ellen White caught a whiff of it Sunday, sternly heading home a wayward shot from a teammate in stoppage time to give England a goal that seemed inevitable, and a result that seems, ultimately, pretty fair. Still, had Canada managed to hold on for the scoreless draw, even that wouldn't have exactly been a massively unfair result.
    It's Canada and England, folks. There's lots of fairness to go around.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Now, Big Red likely won't be leaving Rotherham with "fairness" being top of mind, as conceding a 92nd-minute goal to go down to defeat is surely one of the bitterest pills any footballer ever has to swallow. But they'll at least -- theoretically -- be emboldened by the knowledge that after being outplayed in a muddy slop-fest against #5-ranked France, they showed themselves worthy peers of England, with whom they currently share the #7 spot in the FIFA world rankings.
    Erin McLeod was, as was the case against France, blameless in the goal Canada conceded, and had her second straight excellent game. Kadeisha Buchanan, the 17-year-old, continues to impress at the centreback position; she's featured in all nine of Canada's game this year (her first nine caps for the senior squad) and will leave head coach John Herdman with a tough decision when it comes to naming his starting lineup against the USA in June.
    But Buchanan wasn't the least experienced member of Canada's XI on the day; fullback Kylla Sjoman (who featured for Canadian youth teams in the mid-2000s) earned her first senior women's national team cap at age 25, as Herdman seeks to integrate more naturally left-sided players. Meanwhile, stalwart midfielder Matheson earned her 150th cap, just to give you an example of the gulf in experience levels Herdman is working with as the team enacts a partial rebuild ahead of the 2015 Women's World Cup.
    Despite all that, Canada largely held it together against the home side, creating a number of scoring chances through Sinclair, Kyle and Tiffany Cameron -- though none were ultimately dangerous enough to seriously test either of the English goalkeepers on the day.
    Kyle, for her part, looked enlivened by her dramatic goal against France; she came bursting out of the gate against England and played as a de facto third striker for much of the match, despite Herdman's shift to an on-paper 4-4-2 after several games of using a straight-up 4-3-3 formation.
    It was the English, though, who controlled most of the tempo in the second half, routinely moving the ball around in the attacking third. As the game moved into stoppage time, it seemed Canada would escape with the stalemate -- or, as that little voice in the back of our heads told us, that Sinclair would somehow steal one for Big Red -- but alas, it was not to be.
    The result leaves Canada with a record of four wins, two draws and three losses, with eight goals scored, in nine games so far in 2013. Respectable enough, sure, though the goal tally is a smidge worrisome (though it's worth noting Sinclair was suspended for the first four of those nine games).
    Still, the purpose of this year's matches is largely to give Herdman an idea of what he has at his disposal in the likes of youngsters such as Buchanan, Cameron and Adriana Leon. So while a late draw with France shouldn't be cause for celebrating into the stratosphere, a late loss to England shouldn't be sending anyone into the disconsolate dumps. This is a work in progress, with the real test coming in just over two years' time on Canadian soi... err, turf.
    Canada's next test? Well, that one gets a little more personal. The much-hyped, sold-out "rematch" against the United States, June 2 at Toronto's BMO Field. Herdman has said he'll put aside the youth-experimentation for one day, to ensure only those who are "ready" take the field against the world's top-ranked side (he even mused about trying to draw Melissa Tancredi out of quasi-retirement for the match, though Tanc offered a "no comment" to CSN about it).
    So, have players like Buchanan and Leon shown that they're "ready"? And will Canada be able to find another gear against the Americans, of the sort we saw them reach in the Olympic semifinal but which hasn't truly been on display since?
    We'll just have to wait and see. But as the game of soccer often teaches us... what goes around, comes around.
    .
    Guest
    Vancouver Whitecaps came away from San Jose with their first away point of the season after the Earthquakes were heavily punished for having two players leaving the pitch at the same time to change their boots.
    It was an unlikely draw for the Caps, who were ripped to pieces at times in the first half and were lucky to go in at the break just one goal down. A more spirited second half performance from Vancouver saw them battle hard and snatch a draw from a Corey Hertzog goal just past the hour mark.
    As the game threatened to boil over in the closing minutes, San Jose mounted a frantic finish but were unable to pull off their trademark late heroics and Vancouver held on for a vital point.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Martin Rennie was looking to try and find a winning formula for playing on the road, and with Kenny Miller missing the trip to California due to a hamstring injury, Rennie rang the changes.
    It was a surprising three changes in all from last week's defeated starting eleven, with Russell Teibert coming in for the disappointing Gershon Koffie, Erik Hurtado in for Camilo Sanvezzo, and Corey Hertzog getting his first start of the season for the struggling Darren Mattocks, with all three pushing for starting spots with their recent performances in MLS and Reserve games.
    Two of the keys to the Whitecaps having a change in fortunes on the road was more awareness of what was going on around them and better marking and it was evident from the early stages that lessons had not been learned.
    San Jose had a great chance to open the scoring on the five minute mark.
    Alan Gordon sent a dangerous cross into the six yard box and despite the double coverage on Chris Wondolowski from Brad Rusin and Alain Rochat, last year's MLS Golden Boot winner got ahead of both defenders but couldn't get enough power on the ball and Joe Cannon was able to smother the danger from close range.
    The Caps defenders were so focussed on Wondolowski that they never saw Shea Salinas ghost in completely unmarked to the back post. Luckily for Vancouver, neither did Gordon.
    The Whitecaps settled and Teibert had their first effort on goal in the 12th minute, with a high long range shot that was well over the bar.
    More slack defending from the Caps allowed Dan Gargan to break on the right and get a cross over to Gordon on the penalty spot, but it was a weak header from the San Jose striker and Cannon easily held on to the effort.
    Vancouver had another lucky escape in the 16th minute when San Jose pounced on a cheap giveaway from Nigel Reo-Coker and Wondolowski got in a shot from the edge of the box, after some nice interplay between Gordon, Salinas and himself. Cannon got down well to save and the Whitecaps were fortunate that Andy O'Brien was on hand to clear away the rebound before Wondolowski pounced.
    With San Jose picking Vancouver apart, it was only a matter of time before the Earthquakes took the lead. That came in the 18th minute and once again Salinas, Gordon and Wondolowski were involved and it came about as a result of a poor defensive giveaway.
    Rochat tried to play a short pass to Jun Marques Davidson but Wondolowski got his foot in to nudge it into the path of Salinas. The ex Caps winger played the ball across to Gordon on the edge of the box and he played it first time into the path of Wondolowski, who took an excellent first touch and buried it high into the net from ten yards out, giving Cannon no chance.
    It was no more than San Jose's play deserved and you were already starting to wonder just how heavy a defeat Vancouver were going to be on the end of.
    The Whitecaps took a while to realise that the best form of defence was to attack more but they had their best chance of the game so far midway through the half.
    Daigo Kobayashi brilliantly slipped the ball through into the path of Hertzog, who looked offside, but the striker hesitated for a split second and it allowed Jon Busch to come out and close down the angle and Hertzog pulled his shot wide.
    San Jose looked the more dangerous side for the rest of the half but the game calmed down and neither team could create any real chances.
    Vancouver went in at the half lucky to just be one down and they came close to going two down within a minute of the restart when Shea Salinas was allowed to run at the Caps defence and forced Cannon into a save from a tight angle.
    Hurtado had a chance to go one better than Salinas for the Caps moments later, when he gave himself time and space in the box but shot wildly over.
    Cannon had to act quickly on the hour mark to come off his line and smother the ball with two Earthquakes ready to pounce, after a Victor Bernardez free kick somehow got through the wall and sat invitingly in the box.
    Two minutes later and the Whitecaps were level.
    With two San Jose players off the pitch to change their boots and waiting to come back on, Vancouver took advantage and a Kobayashi shot from the edge of the box deflected into the path of Hertzog, who showed nice control before burying the ball low into the corner.
    It was what the striker has been showing in recent reserve games and was the reason he got his chance in this game.
    Both sides made substitutions and San Jose's Steven Lenhart nearly made an immediate impact, flashing a header wide left within seconds of coming on.
    Vancouver had a penalty shout in the 74th minute waved away when substitute Camilo Sanvezzo went down easily in the box under pressure from Gargan.
    The game got feisty and niggly, as tempers flared in the closing minutes, with several hard challenges going in from both sides. Reo-Coker's hard hit on Cronin was a signal that the Caps were not about to be bowled over, but they were forced to hold on desperately in stoppage time as the Earthquakes launched their traditional late surge.
    As the match entered the final minute of stoppage time, Lenhart back flicked a header straight into the path of Cronin, who rattled a shot off the left hand post. The rebound broke to Wondolowski and the usually deadly hitman took too long to control the ball and YP Lee got in a vital last ditch block.
    San Jose kept the pressure on and won a corner. With the Vancouver defence all over the place, Cannon eventually got the ball out for a second one which was perfectly put onto the head of Cronin, but the defender could only look on as Cannon produced a spectacular save on the goal-line to save the day and the point for the Caps.
    It was an unlikely point in the end, as San Jose were left to rue their slew of missed chances and bad decision making by two experienced players.
    The joy of the point earned covers up what was a poor Vancouver performance for about two thirds of the game. Once again the defence seemed to be all over the place and the midfield posted missing.
    It may be a display and a gutsy performance that kick-starts the Whitecaps season, but there is still a lot work to be done to keep pace with the many better teams in the West right now.
    FINAL SCORE: San Jose Earthquakes 1 - 1 Vancouver Whitecaps
    ATT: 10,525
    SAN JOSE: Jon Busch, Dan Gargan, Victor Bernardez, Ty Harden, Justin Morrow, Shea Salinas (Cordell Cato 69), Sam Cronin, Rafael Baca, Ramiro Corrales (Steven Lenhart 69), Chris Wondolowski, Alan Gordon (Mike Fucito 76) [subs Not Used: David Bingham, Adam Jahn, Brad Ring, Tommy Muller]
    VANCOUVER: Joe Cannon; Young-Pyo Lee, Brad Rusin, Andy O'Brien, Alain Rochat; Jun Marques Davidson, Nigel Reo-Coker, Russell Teibert (Gershon Koffie 68), Daigo Kobayashi (Camilo Sanvezzo 65); Erik Hurtado, Corey Hertzog (Tommy Heinemann 82) [subs Not Used: Brad Knighton, Jordan Harvey, Matt Watson, Darren Mattocks]
    <p>
    Guest
    Canada opened its U17 World Cup qualifying campaign with a comprehensive victory on Saturday. Yet, within one week, they will have either booked their ticket for UAE 2013, or their qualifying campaign will be over.
    Such is the cruel reality of the tournament, and the pressure-cooker environment in which these teenagers find themselves. But against Trinidad & Tobago on Saturday, at least, the Canadian youngsters showed they just might be up for the test.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Marco Dominguez-Ramirez, with a first-half blast, and TFC Academy's Jordan Hamilton provided the goals for Canada, while spirited work in the midfield from Whitecaps Academy's Marco Bustos and FC Edmonton's Hanson Boakai provided clumps of other scoring opportunities.
    By the end, the 2-0 scoreline was fully earned -- in fact, you could say it flattered the Trinidadian side. Yes, this is one of those rare times where it could have been 3-0, 4-0 or more... but the team that could have earned that lopsided scoreline is actually Canada.
    Now, as we've learned this year from the Canadian M20 side -- and last year from the W20 and W17 sides -- it is supremely dangerous and emotionally self-harming to become overly invested in one positive result, or some positive individual performances.
    Still, it's encouraging for a Canadian team to barge into a competition such as this with a full head of steam; now it's up to head coach Sean Fleming to ensure his young charges maintain that momentum in their next group-stage match, against Costa Rica on Wednesday.
    Then -- presuming no catastrophic combination of results over the next four days -- Canada will find itself in a do-or-die showdown on Saturday, with a win earning them a World Cup berth and a loss sending them packing. The opponent will almost assuredly be either Jamaica or the host Panamanian side.
    Given what happened the last time a Canadian team played Panama in Panama, here's hoping the kids have some good earplugs for the night before (and, y'know, that the lights stay on in the stadium).
    Canada v. Costa Rica goes this Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. PT / 6:30 p.m. ET, with a live stream almost certainly being provided at sportsnet.ca. (I'll be on a plane at the time, so you'll have to tune in and provide your own profane commentary via social media.)
    .
    Guest
    If the schedule makers of MLS had any idea of trying to be easy on a TFC side in an obvious rebuild mode they probably could not have gone about it in a less competent fashion.
    Not all fans will be quite aware of it but for the second time in just three outings Toronto FC will be taking on the first placed team in all of Major League Soccer. Three weeks ago it was the then undefeated Montreal Impact and this time it is Western Conference leading FC Dallas. Wedged in between were the reigning league champions. In fact, so far in 2013, the Reds are yet to face a team currently sitting in the lower half of the table.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Many would argue that Dallas’ ascent to the top of the league is as surprising as Toronto’s four points before the end of March. Admittedly, there has been more than a whiff of good fortune so far in FCD’s season but, on closer examination, there are plenty of reasons to be wary of this side even beyond the 4W-0D-1L record they’ve posted to date.
    Flush with allocation cash from the sale of American phenom Brek Shea to Stoke City of the English Premier League Dallas went out of their way to solve their problems at the striker position by picking up Kenny Cooper from the New York Red Bulls. It’s Cooper’s second spell at the Texan club and in his first he was regular thorn in the side of Toronto FC.
    While early returns from Cooper have been good it’s really the depth of attacking options that should give Toronto supporters pause. Blas Perez, Fabian Castillo, Jackson, and the all important David Ferreira have been deployed in a variety of arrangements by head coach Schellas Hyndman as he searches for the best way to regularly accommodate four of the five attack minded players. So far, it’s been enough to keep short lived former Red Eric Hassli predominantly consigned to the bench.
    It’s difficult to overstate the influence that David Ferreira has on the side. The tired and seemingly defeated FC Dallas’ team that Aron Winter’s TFC defeated in the fall of 2011 to secure advancement from the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions League was a far cry from the team Ferreira lead to the MLS Cup final in Toronto only a year earlier.
    Ferreira’s injury in the spring of 2011 wasn’t enough to prevent Dallas from making the playoffs that year but was probably the difference between them making and not making the playoffs in 2012. After the Colombian finally returned for a match against Toronto FC in July, over a full year after being sidelined, the Toros proceeded to resurrect their season and nearly succeeded in reeling in the Vancouver Whitecaps for the final Western Conference playoff position.
    For Toronto to be successful against Dallas on Saturday afternoon keeping Ferreira quiet and preventing him from taking over the game will have to be a first priority. Exactly who that duty falls to is now in some doubt as Terry Dunfield is listed as “out” with a knee sprain only weeks after the release of both Julio Cesar and Matt Stinson: two of the only other specialist defensive midfielders on the roster.
    Fans, and now some in the Toronto media, had been clamouring for head coach Ryan Nelsen to break up the central midfield pairing of Dunfield and Jeremy Hall, that has so far started every game, in favour of at least one more creative player. Now, it seems he’ll be forced to.
    Youngster Jonathon Osorio not only impressed with his goal in the match against the LA Galaxy but also exhibited a refreshing comfort and confidence on the ball combined with a willingness to play more ambitious passes. There will be many hoping to see either him, or TFC’s other young Canadian midfield prospect Kyle Bekker, given an opportunity to start alongside Hall.
    All of that is before even considering how to accommodate the return to fitness of Luis Silva who seemed to be preferred as the regular attacking mid/second striker underneath a lone forward in preseason.
    Given Nelsen’s stated predilection towards defensive stability first however it would not be surprising if he still feels the need for starting two more primarily defensive midfielders shielding in front of Toronto’s back four. Particularly when faced by an attacking quartet as dangerous as Dallas’.
    Where exactly he finds those players remains to be seen.
    Guest
    <i>"Sing When You're Winning"</i> is our series looking at the world of football and supporters' culture in music, and it gives us a chance to look back at some of our favourite football related songs.
    Whether that means songs by proper bands about football, songs by themed bands about football, or songs by teams and players about themselves, you'll find them all here. (If you missed them, catch up with <a href="http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/content.php?3847-Sing-When-Youre-Winning-The-Referees-Alphabet-Half-Man-Half-Biscuit" target="_blank">Part One</a>, <a href="http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/content.php?3869-Sing-When-Youre-Winning-2" target="_blank">Part Two</a> and <a href="http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/content.php?4313-Sing-When-Youre-Winning-Love-v-Hate-On-The-Terraces" target="_blank">Part Three</a>)
    Many of the songs give a nice insight into supporter culture from what often feels like such a different footballing time from the modern day game and a whole culture that is so different to what we have over here.
    Following all the groundhopping talk we’ve being doing on our podcast and the Southsiders forum, we continue the series with a 1992 song from two piece (now three piece) south London band <b>I, Ludicrous</b> – <i>"We Stand Around"</i>.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Many people will have first heard the band on the shows of legendary DJ John Peel. He was a big fan of the guys. As is The Fall's Mark E Smith, who got hold of their homemade four track demo when they were unsigned and promptly booked them to support him in London.
    I, Ludicrous have many songs with football based themes on their seven albums, and some others will be popping up later in this series.
    <i>"We Stand Around"</i> was released as a 7" single on Roman Carbage records in September 1992 and features on their fourth album <i>"Idiot Savants"</i> on the Old King Lud label. New Order described the song as their "gloomy but optimistic" single of the week in NME. It was also released in Germany.
    The lyrics capture the experience of being a football supporter in the UK during that time period and the wonderful promo video for the single encapsulates that, with crowd shots, being in the pub reading fanzines and doing your coupon and some nice images of what football grounds should look like. Is there a more beautiful site in football than a lit floodlight on a slightly foggy dark evening?!
    In the meantime, here’s the wonderful promo video of the single, and, as always, the full lyrics are printed underneath.
    A different time and a whole footballing experience which the modern day football fans don’t experience, bar at a few of the lower league grounds in the UK. Here in North American, with our multi million dollar all-seater stadia, it’s like the game on a different planet. That’s not necessarily a bad thing mind you, it’s just some things I do miss. I'm sure that some of the lyrics still resonate with many of us though.
    Enjoy your trip to another time. Another planet!
    <center>

    </center><center><i>We stand around in wind and rain, locked in voluntary,
    All ages, all male, all swearing, all cold.
    We sing and sway, we punch the air,
    We chant out names, we seek a wave,
    In pens we huddle, in corners too,
    We shout out names, we shout abuse.
    We travel every Saturday,
    We go wherever we play and pay,
    spending money we can't afford,
    We are the fans, we go everywhere.
    In groups of two we punch the air,
    We sing and sway and dance and swear,
    We taunt the home fans humorously.
    The policeman eyes us with ill disguised contempt.
    Our best players all get sold,
    Their replacements old and slow,
    The manager raids the Sunday leagues,
    We have no youth team anymore.
    The team defends most of the game,
    We cheer every breakaway, three in the box,
    In goes the cross, we hold our breath.
    Goalkick.
    We stand around in wind and rain,
    Locked in we sing and sway.
    We buy the fanzine its a con,
    Written by some Oxford don,
    who thinks he knows what's going on,
    But we know everything.
    We know how much the players earn,
    where they live what they drink,
    What happened on the Swedish tour,
    and why the left back was transferred.
    We make a scene in every town,
    Our accents sting, our voices loud,
    Old ladies in shop doors cower,
    We are the fans, we have power?
    Some have scars of well aimed boots,
    Some wear scarves, and some wear suits.
    The police escort treats us with ill disguised contempt.
    The keeper does his level best,
    He's overworked and overfed,
    The shots rain in, we hold our breath,
    No offside flag, the bulging net.
    No time to restart.
    We turn up every Saturday,
    We know every motorway,
    We travel miles, we don't complain,
    We stand around in wind and rain.
    We stand around in wind and rain.
    We stand around in wind and rain.
    We stand around in wind and rain.
    With stone cold feet.
    Football fans grow up.
    </i></center>
    <p>
    Guest
    KEY PLAYERS
    ATTACKING
    Whether he starts or comes off the bench, rookie Erik Hurtado is proving to be a valuable piece in the Caps attack. The team will need him to use his pace in order to catch the San Jose backline offguard because they are built more for physical players instead of those with speed.
    Last season's golden boot winner Chris Wondolowski has started with two goals in his first five games. Better finishing from him and the total could be a lot more considering the number of chances he's had which will continue against the Caps on Saturday.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    DEFENCE
    The previous match against Chivas was Y.P. Lee's weakest performance of the year so far. The Whitecaps need the World Cup vet, well most of the back line, to do a better job defending the box against crosses from open play or set pieces.
    San Jose's mean, physical presence in the back line is Victor Bernardez. He is a force in the air when defending the box. The Honduran international has a knack for finding the net as well on set pieces, scoring twice last season.
    WHO'S ON FORM
    The only player who displayed any consistency on the attack against Chivas was Daigo Kobayashi, as a playmaker or attacker. His move to the middle for the final thirty minutes almost helped the Whitecaps come back from the two goal deficit.
    Playing on the left side of the midfield Romairo Corrales is one of the main players who feeds the ball into the box for the strikers. The 36-year-old veteran seems to turn back the clock, already picking up a pair of assists and playing well in each their first five games.
    PROJECTED LINEUP

    Vancouver Whitecaps (4-3-3)
    R to L - Joe Cannon; Y.P. Lee, Andy O’Brien, Brad Rusin, Alain Rochat; Nigel Reo-Coker, Gershon Koffie, Daigo Kobayashi; Erik Hurtado, Darren Mattocks, Camilo
    San Jose Earthquakes (4-4-2)
    R to L - Jon Busch; Ty Harden, Victor Bernardez, Jason Hernandez, Justin Morrow; Shea Salinas, Sam Cronin, Rafael Baca, Ramiro Corrales; Adam Jahn, Chris Wondolowski
    INJURED/MISSING
    Vancouver Whitecaps
    Out: FW Omar Salgado (foot), DF Jay DeMerit (Achilles), MF Bryce Alderson (knee), FW Kenny Miller (hamstring)
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Out: MF Mehdi Ballouchy (knee), DF Steven Beitashour (hernia), DF Tommy Muller (back);
    Questionable: MF Marvin Chavez (knee), DF Nana Attakora (groin), FW Steven Lenhart (knee)
    2013 RECORD
    Vancouver Whitecaps:
    2W-0D-2L-6P
    6th in Western Conference
    Last Match: 2-1 Loss at Chivas USA
    San Jose Earthquakes:
    2W-1D-2L-7P
    5th in Western Conference
    Last Match: 2-0 Win at Houston Dynamo
    OVERVIEW
    Vancouver Whitecaps will attempt to end their three-game road trip on a positive note when they face last season's Supporters Shield winning San Jose Earthquakes. Last season the Caps had success against the Earthquakes, with two wins and a loss. The one loss may have been their best performance on the road except for a ten minute period in which they allowed three goals.
    So far this season their first two matches away from home were duplicate 2-1 results against Houston and Chivas USA. Unfortunately the performance against Chivas has them trending downwards in all aspects of the field when compared to the first one versus Houston.
    Despite the performance there should be little change to the defensive part of their lineup. Joe Cannon should see this start in goal as he returns to his old stomping grounds in San Jose. The backline will get a chance to redeem themselves for their mistakes with Andy O'Brien and Brad Rusin in the middle, while Y.P. Lee and Alain Rochat set up on the ends.
    If there are any changes in the lineup it will most likely be in the midfield and attacking spots. There is a chance that Jun Marques Davidson will see the bench while Gershon Koffie and Nigel Reo-Coker play holding roles, with Kobayashi playing in front of them as a central player. In front of him could be Darren Mattocks with Erik Hurtado and Camilo onb either side, due to a hamstring injury for Kenny Miller that has seen him stay in Vancouver.
    Generating chances on the attack in Houston and Chivas has not been a problem for Vancouver but finishing them off has been. Mattocks in particular could have three or four goals based on the number of chances he has had recently.
    In the final 30 minutes against Chivas, after Miller and Hurtado came on, Rennie moved Kobayashi into more of a central role where he was more of a threat as a playmaker. His assist in the opener and his goal in the second match both came when Kobayashi found space in the middle of the pitch.
    He has proven technical ability and the vision to find forwards in front of him and create dangerous chances for them. In addition, Kobayashi has enough of a work rate and is capable enough as a tackler that he will not be a liability defending for Vancouver.
    The Caps will need to defend the Earthquakes better than they did against their opponents in the previous two matches, especially from crosses. One of the biggest threats will be Chris Wondolowski who is the defending MLS golden boot winner and has already had many chances this season and is just missing the finish.
    The Quakes like to play through the wide areas and cross the ball into the box, especially from the left side where four of their five goals, the fifth coming off a penalty, have come from. It could even get worse for Vancouver if San Jose get Steven Lenhart and his aerial ability back from a knee injury.
    It will be very disappointing for the Caps if they are unable to pick up any results from their first extended stay away from home. They've had periods of good play in their first two matches but will need a full 90 minutes in order to avoid returning home with a losing record and no points from the three games.
    <p>
    Guest
    Now, don't lie. You didn't "know" it was going to turn out the way it did.
    Sure, after the Olympic bronze-medal game, there was always hope that even after 90+ minutes of being outplayed against a superior French side, Canada could find a way to snag a result. So even as the minutes ticked down during an international friendly in soggy Nice on Thursday, hope remained alive that Big Red could escape with something.
    Still... a mistake by the steady French, a quick one-two, a cool-as-you-like finish by Kaylyn Kyle on the last kick of the match to squeak out a draw? Nah, we didn't see that coming.
    But that wasn't the only notable surprise for the women's national team on the day.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    This was, after all, only the second chance Canadian fans have had to see the team play since those Olympics, as head coach John Herdman attempts to revitalize the lineup ahead of the 2015 Women's World Cup. So there was plenty for us to learn -- or, in some cases, to remind ourselves of.

    While she and Karina LeBlanc have been in a 1/1A situation in the Canadian goal for several years, Erin McLeod is helping to stake her claim to the #1 position with performances like Thursday's against France. She was faultless on the excellently-taken goal by France's Elodie Thomis, and single-handedly kept the game with at least three crucial saves.
    It was a rough -- at times, very rough -- day for the Canadian backline against a French team that looked dominant for vast stretches of the game. And though nearly every player on the field for Canada was victimized at some point by a bit of quick movement, crisp passing or tricky footwork by France, a good news story was 17-year-old starting CB Kadeisha Buchanan. While she showed her lack of experience on a number of occasions, she also demonstrated good timing and composure, two elements that are surely a big part of Herdman's decision to integrate her into the starting lineup.
    The number of giveaways by the Canadian team (either through under-hit/mis-hit passes or simply having it stolen away) went beyond surprising -- at times, it was shocking. Now, if it were one or two players we could lay individual blame, but it was so systemic that I can't help feeling it was the massively waterlogged pitch that was at fault. Even so, France seemed to keep things moving fairly briskly, for the most part. Am I being too generous? Let me know in the comments.
    Kaylyn Kyle is always full of surprises, isn't she? While she's often on the outside looking in when it comes to the Canadian midfield, she was at the epicentre of a rejuvenated Canadian attack in the game's final 25 minutes, after she came on as a sub. She got three chances at goal (forcing one good save and a goal-line clearance) before being the one to break French hearts in 2013.
    The much-hyped (mostly by me) attacking triumvirate of Christine Sinclair, Adriana Leon and Jonelle Filigno didn't quite live up to expectations (mostly mine) during their time together in the first half -- although the Canadian side was hardly acquitting themselves well at all in the opening 45. Tiffany Cameron brought some good energy when she came on to start the second half, though I'm certain we haven't seen the last of that Cerberus-like trio.

    Getting a result is always a good thing, of course. And much like after Diana Matheson's winner last summer, there's an element of catharsis that follows seeing your team earn a result (even without any shiny medals at stake). Still, while Kyle's goal has boosted all of our moods for the day, and the Canadian girls surely left the stadium in Nice with smiles on their faces, none of us can pretend that a drawn scoreline represents parity between these two sides on the grander stage.
    Herdman has said repeatedly that he wants his team playing against the toughest competition possible, so that they can learn as many lessons as possible for when the games matter most. To that end, Canada is in the midst of an especially educational couple of months, heading into a friendly against England on Sunday before taking on the #1-ranked Americans and the #2-ranked Germans in June.
    So sure, Kyle's goal was a nice parallel to Matheson's iconic strike at the Olympics. But the Canadian team can't count on against-the-run-of-play last-minute goals forever. They can't count on Christine Sinclair's presence forever. And they can't count on lingering benefits from being an early adopter of the women's game forever.
    Because any team that wants to have ongoing success in the international game needs to learn how to expect the unexpected. Over the course of these four games, we'll get a good glimpse of just how ready Canada truly is.
    Guest
    And they said it wouldn’t last.
    We’re back with Episode Two of "There's Still Time", the new AFTN podcast.
    There’s so many Scottish accents on this week’s show that you’ll feel you’re watching Braveheart.
    We’re joined by Whitecaps Residency Head Coach <b>Gordon Forrest</b>, for a chat about the program and how he’s found the Whitecaps since joining the club late last year. We look at some of the U18s top talent and try not to count our chickens too much by looking ahead to the USSDA playoffs in June.
    Moving a little bit east, we speak with ex Whitecap and current FC Edmonton boss <b>Colin Miller</b> about Edmonton’s NASL season that gets underway on Saturday. How will the Eddies wealth of Canadian talent fare this year? Can Miller transform them from worst to first? And what kind of impact will the strange mid season break have on the League? We chat about all that and more.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    We continue last week’s 'Bucket List' topic, around which football stadiums we want to visit before we leave this mortal coil, with the thoughts of <a href="http://groundhoppingca.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><u>Groundhopping Canada's</u></a> <b>Devon Rowcliffe</b>.
    And there’s still time this week for Steve Pandher and myself to take a look back at Vancouver’s defeat to Chivas and look ahead to the San Jose game at the weekend. Will the Whitecaps away woes continue? Should there be some squad rotation? Or will the Caps’ speed have San Jose quaking in their boots? And just what do we make of Vancouver's month of March?
    Going forward, <i>"There's Still Time"</i> will adopt a number of different formats for forthcoming episodes. Some will be just pure chat, there will be some interviews, some episodes will be a roundtable down the pub style and we're also planning on bringing you some post home game specials. We may even throw in the odd "after dark" episode for those not easily offended.
    So enough waffle, there's enough of that in the podcast. Have a listen, let us know what you think and what improvements we can make or new segments we can include.
    And don't forget to tell us your 'bucket list' suggestions below.
    You can listen to this week's podcast on iTunes <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/aftn/id628306235" target="_blank">HERE</a>, or download it for your later listening delight <a href="http://aftn.podbean.com/" target="_blank"><b>HERE</b></a>.
    Or you could just listen on one of the players below!
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    Guest
    In our first deeper look at the advanced measures for TFC we evaluate the dribbling stats. The reason I chose to track dribbling in the first place was to illustrate a core point about the value of looking at advanced measures – that they take the fan’s eye out of the equation.
    Fans (and managers and scouts and everyone looking to make subjective evaluations of players) are blinded by outliers. The mundane, but needed, aspects of a player’s game gets overlooked in favour of the spectacular – both negative and positive.
    Perhaps nothing illustrates that more than the dribble. When a player nutmegs the defender to create something the crowd goes wild. That play is remembered and the player is viewed as being skillful and therefore useful to the team.
    It doesn’t matter if the player is a one trick pony. If he can do the spectacular – and beating a man on the dribble is just that – then he will be a fan favourite.
    Call it the Joao Plata rule. Plata’s usefulness was overstated tremendously due to his ability to occasionally (rarely, actually, but…see above) beat a man on the dribble.
    As we’ve seen with TFC’s dribbling numbers, it’s an inefficient way to advance the club’s position. But, what if TFC is just bad at dribbling, you might be thinking. Let’s have a deeper look and see.
    We tracked the two other Canadian teams, as well as Plata’s, dribbling stats through five weeks. Below the jump, the results:
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    [TABLE=width: 500]
    [TR]
    [TD]Name[/TD]
    [TD]Attempts[/TD]
    [TD]Successful[/TD]
    [TD]Failed[/TD]
    [TD]Success percentage[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Osorio[/TD]
    [TD]8[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]6[/TD]
    [TD]25[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Earnshaw[/TD]
    [TD]30[/TD]
    [TD]7[/TD]
    [TD]23[/TD]
    [TD]23.3[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]O'Dea[/TD]
    [TD]42[/TD]
    [TD]9[/TD]
    [TD]33[/TD]
    [TD]21.4[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Dunfield[/TD]
    [TD]36[/TD]
    [TD]7[/TD]
    [TD]29[/TD]
    [TD]19.4[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Bostock[/TD]
    [TD]66[/TD]
    [TD]10[/TD]
    [TD]56[/TD]
    [TD]15.1[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Ephraim[/TD]
    [TD]29[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [TD]25[/TD]
    [TD]13.7[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Lambe[/TD]
    [TD]50[/TD]
    [TD]6[/TD]
    [TD]44[/TD]
    [TD]12[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Eckersley[/TD]
    [TD]50[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [TD]46[/TD]
    [TD]8[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Hall[/TD]
    [TD]43[/TD]
    [TD]3[/TD]
    [TD]40[/TD]
    [TD]6.9[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Bekker[/TD]
    [TD]6[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]6[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Califf[/TD]
    [TD]32[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]32[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]A Morgan[/TD]
    [TD]29[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]29[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Russell[/TD]
    [TD]29[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]29[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Silva[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [/TABLE]
    Vancouver
    [TABLE=width: 500]
    [TR]
    [TD]Name[/TD]
    [TD]Attempts[/TD]
    [TD]Successful[/TD]
    [TD]Failed[/TD]
    [TD]Success percentage[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Young-Pyo[/TD]
    [TD]45[/TD]
    [TD]6[/TD]
    [TD]39[/TD]
    [TD]13.3[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Rochat[/TD]
    [TD]55[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]53[/TD]
    [TD]3.6[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]O'Brien[/TD]
    [TD]16[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]15[/TD]
    [TD]6.2[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Rusin[/TD]
    [TD]13[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]12[/TD]
    [TD]7.6[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Kobayashi[/TD]
    [TD]34[/TD]
    [TD]6[/TD]
    [TD]28[/TD]
    [TD]17.6[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Koffie[/TD]
    [TD]53[/TD]
    [TD]8[/TD]
    [TD]45[/TD]
    [TD]15[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Mattocks[/TD]
    [TD]50[/TD]
    [TD]9[/TD]
    [TD]41[/TD]
    [TD]18[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Hurtzog[/TD]
    [TD]3[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]33.3[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Hurtado[/TD]
    [TD]31[/TD]
    [TD]6[/TD]
    [TD]25[/TD]
    [TD]19.3[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Davidson[/TD]
    [TD]24[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]22[/TD]
    [TD]8.3[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Reo-Coker[/TD]
    [TD]44[/TD]
    [TD]3[/TD]
    [TD]41[/TD]
    [TD]6.8[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Manneh[/TD]
    [TD]20[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]19[/TD]
    [TD]5[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Miller[/TD]
    [TD]26[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]25[/TD]
    [TD]3.8[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Sanvezzo[/TD]
    [TD]16[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]14[/TD]
    [TD]12.5[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [/TABLE]
    Montreal
    [TABLE=width: 500]
    [TR]
    [TD]Name[/TD]
    [TD]Attempts[/TD]
    [TD]Successful[/TD]
    [TD]Failed[/TD]
    [TD]Success percentage[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Wenger[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Iapichino[/TD]
    [TD]24[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]23[/TD]
    [TD]4.1[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Brovsky[/TD]
    [TD]39[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]37[/TD]
    [TD]5.1[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Camara[/TD]
    [TD]27[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]25[/TD]
    [TD]7.4[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Ferrari[/TD]
    [TD]22[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]22[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Nesta[/TD]
    [TD]18[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]17[/TD]
    [TD]5.5[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Di Vaio[/TD]
    [TD]40[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [TD]36[/TD]
    [TD]10[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Mapp[/TD]
    [TD]13[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]12[/TD]
    [TD]7.6[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Warner[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Amaud[/TD]
    [TD]42[/TD]
    [TD]7[/TD]
    [TD]35[/TD]
    [TD]16.6[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Romero[/TD]
    [TD]14[/TD]
    [TD]3[/TD]
    [TD]11[/TD]
    [TD]21.4[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Mallace[/TD]
    [TD]7[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]7[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Martins[/TD]
    [TD]59[/TD]
    [TD]6[/TD]
    [TD]53[/TD]
    [TD]10.1[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Bernier[/TD]
    [TD]53[/TD]
    [TD]11[/TD]
    [TD]42[/TD]
    [TD]20.7[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Nyassi[/TD]
    [TD]34[/TD]
    [TD]6[/TD]
    [TD]28[/TD]
    [TD]17.6[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Pisanu[/TD]
    [TD]32[/TD]
    [TD]9[/TD]
    [TD]23[/TD]
    [TD]28.1[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [/TABLE]
    Plata FC
    [TABLE=width: 500]
    [TR]
    [TD]Name[/TD]
    [TD]Attempts[/TD]
    [TD]Successful[/TD]
    [TD]Failed[/TD]
    [TD]Success percentage[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]JOAO PLATA!!1![/TD]
    [TD]49[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]47[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [/TABLE]
    Let's look at the team numbers
    [TABLE=width: 500]
    [TR]
    [TD]Team[/TD]
    [TD]Attempts[/TD]
    [TD]Successful[/TD]
    [TD]Failed[/TD]
    [TD]Success percentage[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Montreal[/TD]
    [TD]429[/TD]
    [TD]53[/TD]
    [TD]376[/TD]
    [TD]12.3[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Vancouver[/TD]
    [TD]430[/TD]
    [TD]51[/TD]
    [TD]379[/TD]
    [TD]11.8[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Toronto[/TD]
    [TD]451[/TD]
    [TD]52[/TD]
    [TD]399[/TD]
    [TD]11.5[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [/TABLE]
    So, Toronto is, in fact, the worst of the three teams -- by 0.8%. Put in perspective, if the numbers hold, Montreal will have 422 successful dribbles at year's end, Vancouver 406 and Toronto 395.
    Is 0.79 less successful dribbles a game as compared to Montreal something Toronto fans should worry about? That's up to you, but when you consider that about 88% of dribble attempts fail it seems like a bit of an overreaction if you do.
    That's especially the case when you look at the overall numbers from an individual perspective. Since dribbling is arguably the most individual of acts in an otherwise team game (passing stats depend on the receiver as well as the passer, shooting stats need a shooter to get good service, etc) then a couple dynamic players can make up for an overall weakness on the club.
    Limiting it to players with more than 15 attempts, the top five individual dribblers on the Canadian clubs.
    [TABLE=width: 500]
    [TR]
    [TD]Player[/TD]
    [TD]Club[/TD]
    [TD]Attempts[/TD]
    [TD]Successful[/TD]
    [TD]Failed[/TD]
    [TD]Success percentage[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Pisanu[/TD]
    [TD]Montreal[/TD]
    [TD]32[/TD]
    [TD]9[/TD]
    [TD]23[/TD]
    [TD]28.1[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Earnshaw[/TD]
    [TD]Toronto[/TD]
    [TD]30[/TD]
    [TD]7[/TD]
    [TD]23[/TD]
    [TD]23.3[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]O'Dea[/TD]
    [TD]Toronto[/TD]
    [TD]42[/TD]
    [TD]9[/TD]
    [TD]33[/TD]
    [TD]21.4[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Bernier[/TD]
    [TD]Montreal[/TD]
    [TD]53[/TD]
    [TD]11[/TD]
    [TD]42[/TD]
    [TD]20.7[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Dunfield[/TD]
    [TD]Toronto[/TD]
    [TD]36[/TD]
    [TD]7[/TD]
    [TD]29[/TD]
    [TD]19.4[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [/TABLE]
    To me the most interesting player on that list is O'Dea. For a defender to be that successful is saying something, as his dribbles aren't generally in the attacking zone, trying to create. Rather, they are dribbles while under pressure in the defensive zone to maintain possession. Generally in MLS defenders take the row z approach to things -- as reflected in the defensive stat of "clearance."
    The clearance approach was one TFC used almost exclusively last season, much to the distane of many fans (HOOFBALL!). Does O'Dea's numbers indicate a change in philosophy under Ryan Nelsen as compared to Paul Mariner's dumbed down approach to defending?
    Using a four game sample from last September, let's look.
    [TABLE=width: 500]
    [TR]
    [TD]Year[/TD]
    [TD]Attempts[/TD]
    [TD]Successful[/TD]
    [TD]Failed[/TD]
    [TD]Success percentage[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]2012[/TD]
    [TD]28[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]26[/TD]
    [TD]7.1[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]2013[/TD]
    [TD]42[/TD]
    [TD]9[/TD]
    [TD]33[/TD]
    [TD]21.4[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [/TABLE]
    Clearly there has been a change in direction under Nelsen with O'Dea given more of a green light to dribble out of trouble.
    Finally a word on Plata. As I've argued in this space before, Plata's numbers continue to demonstrate that he's overrated -- even just looking at the one area of his game that is perceived to be his strong suit. A 4% success rate with an above average amount of attempts (49) is a net loss for any team
    And those numbers are being put up in Salt Lake, which plays a positive game. There was some suggestion that Plata was being misused by Mariner last year and thus his poor numbers. As we see with O'Dea, Mariner's style did impact some numbers, but the consistency of Plata's lack of production suggests that he is what he is.
    What do you think of the numbers?
    Guest
    I am still waiting on the third team (fifth in the last month) who has left the Canadian Soccer League this week to respond to my request for comment. Several requests have gone unanswered. Out of respect to that club, I'm trying to wait until they comment to report it, but if you're sick of waiting, much like I am, that information (albeit in bits) is out there.
    In the meantime, I did hear back from Sport Resolution on CSL vs CSA. And by that I mean they responded to the email.
    I had asked when the hearing was to be held - a simple question - but instead I got this:
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    That was the longest 'no comment' I have ever received.
    And frankly it's silly that the soccer community will know nothing (officially) about this matter until it is resolved. As it is with other government agencies I can, and regularly do, apply to get information and they're usually pretty helpful.
    I respect the need for there to be independence - and agencies like this do have a place when conflict inevitability comes up - but there is no good reason for the entire process to not be transparent. This is soccer, not military secrets.
    Guest
    A few questions following a first loss this season for the Montreal Impact.
    You will hear from head coach Marco Schällibaum, captain Davy Arnaud, Patrice Bernier, Karl Ouimette, and Sporting KC's French defender Aurelien Collin following Saturday's match in Kansas.
    Marc Tougas revisits Les Bleus' first loss, talks about Andrew Wenger's future (or not) with Montreal and from former Canadian MNT member Greg Sutton's new soccer responsibilities in Quebec. Jonathan Tannenwald chats on the smaller crowds after five weeks in MLS and looks at Seattle and LA's chances in the CONCACAF Champions League.
    We close this show with a little surprise for our English listeners. A round table with former Impact and National Team member Grant Needham and radio host Tony Marinaro on the UEFA Champions League quarter finals, a little taste of an upcoming project available soon from SoccerPlus.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Click here to listen: SoccerPlus - April 2, 2013
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