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    Guest
    The Canadian Press is reporting that Toronto FC have completed a deal for Argentine striker Maximiliano Urruti.
    Urruti is expected to join the Canadian side by the end of the month.
    CP is also reporting that another Argentinian has been signed but there is no indication who the midfielder may be.
    Urruti will likely join on a designated player contract. Toronto had been trying to arrange the deal for the 22-year-old under the young designated player rule, which would only amount to around a $200,000 cap hit.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]


    Guest
    I wrote this yesterday for CBC, entitled: Pro Soccer Pained by Pill-Popping Players. A great headline that I had nothing to do with.
    In the story, three Canadian club doctors spoke out on the abuse of over-the-counter painkillers by soccer players in Canada.
    Two talked about how the practice – which can lead to severe health issues later in life - is common among veteran players. They all spoke about better education of youth players who were taking them en masse without knowing the risks.
    The story garnered less reaction than I had expected.
    The Internet could have been to blame. The Blue Jays just won the World Series yesterday – or so is my understanding. And David Beckham vs Lionel Messi was taking up the remaining virtual head space.
    The other option - and probably the likely one - is that this issue just isn’t that sexy. It didn’t have players getting busted. It didn’t have the words 'steroids' or 'performance enhancing drugs' in the headline. This certainly wasn’t a Lance Armstrong-like undoing.
    In fact, it is all pretty innocuous. Which, in my view, makes it all the more dangerous.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    I spoke to a number of players – current and former professionals – as I prepared this piece. None of them wanted to speak on the record, for which I can’t blame them. Even admitting to abuse of something like Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) is still, potentially, putting your career and breading winning at risk. Not to mention the stigma that can go along with such a thing.
    But while they didn’t want to cop to their own indiscretions – something that, according to those club doctors, a large percentage of veterans are doing – they unequivocally admitted that it is going on. And many more added that the abuse and self-prescribing, or in their words ‘maintenance,’ is worse among college students. Those, who are trying to push past an injury to get noticed by scouts, or those who are trying to make it through the grueling preseason camps.
    In all likelihood, the current veterans are taking as much, if not more, than they took in college (wear and tear and all that) but by deflecting to the college years, it certainly seems to indicate that is where the habits are forming.
    I knew a number of guys through school who would think nothing of popping 7-10 a day to help cope with the pain that comes with the preseason boot camps. For some of them, who were carrying injuries but didn’t want to risk getting cut, it was what they did to help get around after practice was finished.
    My wife, who is now a physiotherapist, and played for York during the Paul James era tells similar stories of players regularly self-prescribing just to get by. His camps – for the men and women – were notoriously intense. (For the sake of clarity, and to avoid legal headaches, James had nothing to do with their self-prescribing)
    Even if you didn’t play the college game, or at a high level, I realize there will still be some weekend warriors saying, ‘So what? I take painkillers all the time and I’m fine.”
    I can admit to having done the same. You don’t think much of it because they’re so readily available and seemingly harmless but the risks (liver, kidney, stomach problems) are real.
    What this new research is showing is that not only are the NSAIDs capable of long term harm, they actually prevent the injury from healing properly. According to the club doctors I spoke to in that piece, you want a certain amount of inflammation to assist the healing. These drugs - which are sold on curing minor aches and pains - can realistically extend it if the injury doesn't heal properly.
    So strip away the once perceived medical benefits of taking an NSAID – reducing inflammation to help the injury heal – and what you have is players, across many age groups in the sport, self prescribing pain medication for themselves.
    That still might not be enough for some to warrant that big, sexy headline but given the context, and the apparent widespread nature of the problem, it should.
    Guest
    Lasers!
    Dramatic music!
    Goal line technology!
    Witness the system that FIFA has approved to save soccer from itself.
    And the one that will undoubtedly come under intense scrutiny when England (or whoever) has a goal disallowed at the first available major tournament.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]


    What do you think? Should MLS adopt the technology? Or are things fine the way they are?
    Guest

    Canada to play Costa Rica May 28

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    The CSA confirmed what many already knew thanks to a FIFA gaffe last month - Canada will host Costa Rica at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton on May 28.
    Canada last faced Costa Rica in 2009 when they drew them 2-2 at the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
    The match will serve as a warm up for Canada as they prepare for this year's Gold Cup, while Costa Rica will use the match to prepare for the next round of World Cup qualifying
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Guest
    In part 1 of our week 5 review of TFC advanced measures we present the raw data. Later this week we will provide some comparables and take our first hard look at the numbers.
    In the meantime tell us what jumps out to you.
    The stats below the jump:
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Possession
    [TABLE=width: 500]
    [TR]
    [TD]Name[/TD]
    [TD]Total touches[/TD]
    [TD]Positive touches[/TD]
    [TD]Negative touches[/TD]
    [TD]Positive touch percentage[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Dunfield[/TD]
    [TD]211[/TD]
    [TD]166[/TD]
    [TD]45[/TD]
    [TD]78.6[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Lambe[/TD]
    [TD]145[/TD]
    [TD]113[/TD]
    [TD]32[/TD]
    [TD]77.9[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Hall[/TD]
    [TD]170[/TD]
    [TD]129[/TD]
    [TD]41[/TD]
    [TD]75.8[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]O'Dea[/TD]
    [TD]159[/TD]
    [TD]120[/TD]
    [TD]39[/TD]
    [TD]75.4[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Earnshaw[/TD]
    [TD]73[/TD]
    [TD]55[/TD]
    [TD]18[/TD]
    [TD]75.3[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Califf[/TD]
    [TD]132[/TD]
    [TD]98[/TD]
    [TD]34[/TD]
    [TD]74.2[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Ephraim[/TD]
    [TD]172[/TD]
    [TD]126[/TD]
    [TD]46[/TD]
    [TD]73.2[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Bekker[/TD]
    [TD]96[/TD]
    [TD]70[/TD]
    [TD]26[/TD]
    [TD]72.9[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Eckersley[/TD]
    [TD]216[/TD]
    [TD]157[/TD]
    [TD]59[/TD]
    [TD]72.6[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Bostock[/TD]
    [TD]159[/TD]
    [TD]107[/TD]
    [TD]52[/TD]
    [TD]67.2[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Russell[/TD]
    [TD]96[/TD]
    [TD]62[/TD]
    [TD]34[/TD]
    [TD]64.5[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]A Morgan[/TD]
    [TD]123[/TD]
    [TD]76[/TD]
    [TD]47[/TD]
    [TD]61.7[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Bendik[/TD]
    [TD]120[/TD]
    [TD]40[/TD]
    [TD]80[/TD]
    [TD]33.3[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Welshman[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]100[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Osorio[/TD]
    [TD]34[/TD]
    [TD]30[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [TD]88.2[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Silva[/TD]
    [TD]8[/TD]
    [TD]7[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]87.5[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]T Morgan[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]50[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [/TABLE]
    Sorted by percentage, minimum of 15 touches per game
    Shooting
    [TABLE=width: 500]
    [TR]
    [TD]Name[/TD]
    [TD]Attempts[/TD]
    [TD]On goal[/TD]
    [TD]Missed[/TD]
    [TD]Shooting percentage[/TD]
    [TD]Goals[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Earnshaw[/TD]
    [TD]8[/TD]
    [TD]6[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]75[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]O'Dea[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Dunfield[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Lambe[/TD]
    [TD]3[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]3[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Ephraim[/TD]
    [TD]3[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]3[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Bostock[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]100[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Russell[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]100[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Osorio[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]100[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]A Morgan[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [/TABLE]
    Dribbling
    There is some confusion about what exactly the dribbling stat measures. Simply, it is a measure of what happens when a player attempts to move the ball past a defender while maintaining possession himself (i.e. not passing or shooting). When that happens there are three possible outcomes: 1) - He can succeed, putting himself in a positive position; 2) - He can be fouled, earning a free kick; or 3) - He loses possession. Dribbling past an opponent is difficult, thus the success percentage is low.
    [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]12.0[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Eckersley[/TD]
    [TD]50[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [TD]46[/TD]
    [TD]8.0[/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]
    Defensive
    [TABLE=width: 500]
    [TR]
    [TD]Name[/TD]
    [TD]Tackles[/TD]
    [TD]Blocks[/TD]
    [TD]Interceptions[/TD]
    [TD]Clearances[/TD]
    [TD]Recoveries[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Eckersley[/TD]
    [TD]18[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [TD]10[/TD]
    [TD]23[/TD]
    [TD]15[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Califf[/TD]
    [TD]3[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [TD]6[/TD]
    [TD]35[/TD]
    [TD]8[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]O'Dea[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [TD]11[/TD]
    [TD]43[/TD]
    [TD]18[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Russell[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]6[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Bostock[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]3[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]8[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Dunfield[/TD]
    [TD]5[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]6[/TD]
    [TD]9[/TD]
    [TD]10[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Hall[/TD]
    [TD]5[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [TD]3[/TD]
    [TD]20[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Lambe[/TD]
    [TD]12[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]5[/TD]
    [TD]3[/TD]
    [TD]25[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Silva[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Osorio[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Earnshaw[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]8[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Ephraim[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]18[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Welshman[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]T Morgan[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]3[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD][/TD]
    [TD][/TD]
    [TD][/TD]
    [TD][/TD]
    [TD][/TD]
    [TD][/TD]
    [/TR]
    [/TABLE]
    In the comments, tell us what you see in these numbers. In part 2, I will break down some of the numbers and offer comparable from other teams.
    *If anyone is interested in helping with this project by tracking certain things with other teams please let me know -- duanegrollins@gmail.com -- it's a time consuming exercise, but the more data we can mine the more insight we can gather.
    Guest
    Another away game. Another away defeat. You sort of start to expect it really.
    And another Whitecaps performance which could have had a whole different complexion on the post game analysis if one or two key moments had played out differently.
    Of course, you can say that about most matches.
    What is it with winning on the road in MLS for some teams? And especially for Vancouver?
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    There were 76 away wins from last season's 323 regular season matches. That's 24.4%, so basically one in four games ended with the away team winning. The 2011 season had 67 away wins for 20.7%.
    This season so far, those stats have remained pretty steady from last year, with ten away wins from the first 42 games - 23.8%.
    The Whitecaps have managed just three in their first 36 away games in their MLS era. That's 8.33%, and we're at zero for 2011 and 2013!
    Obviously it's still very early days this season, but I was wanting to highlight those stats for the simple reason that unless the Whitecaps can manage to unlock some kind of winning formula for road games, it's going to be tough to make the playoffs this year.
    Now the team could do a Houston, go unbeaten at home for the season and maybe make it in that way. That's a lot to rely on. Winning every home game would help!
    Do the current tactics on the road cut it? Is it a case of persevere and wait for it all to click into place, of which there have been signs? Is Martin Rennie playing the right tactics but being let down by the players on the field failing to execute them?
    We have been a lot more adventurous in the two away games so far this season, which has at least been pleasing to watch. Part of that seems to come from playing a more attack minded team, but having some real game changers on the bench this season also helps.
    If it hadn't have been for defensive blunders in both games, and a raft of missed chances, we would probably be looking at some points from our travels.
    We're not though and if you look at the fixtures, it's really hard to see where the next away win will come from.
    We have San Jose, Dallas, Real Salt Lake, New York, Seattle, DC, KC and LA again up to the end of July. That's some pretty strong home teams there. Portland got their first, and only, away win in Vancouver last season. Maybe we'll reverse that and grab ours in August.
    Looking at those fixtures, we may grab a point or two along the way, but it's hard to see much more, so it makes our performances at home all the more key.
    The loss in Chivas wasn't horrible, but it was bad in parts.
    After the Houston game, we looked at some key things which the Whitecaps really needed to work and it's sad to see that things just didn't improve, awareness and marking up being two of them.
    The fact that Eric Avila was allowed to ghost into the box unmarked to hit home what proved to be the deciding goal was shocking stuff.
    Once again the Caps were undone by some shoddy defending. That said, I thought that Andy O'Brien and Alain Rochat had stellar games, but Rochat has to shoulder a lot of the blame for Avila's goal.
    Brad Rusin has looked a little shaky the last couple of games and it would have been interesting to see what Johnny Leveron could bring to that backline if he was ready to go. He's had mixed performances in the recent reserve matches so far, but has a bit more mobility than Rusin, but less aerial threat.
    Jun Marques Davidson had a shocker. As regular readers will know I've been a champion of the guy this season, and last, but he was the worst man on the park for the Caps and I really wouldn't be surprised to see him sit out the San Jose game, possibly for Matt Watson or with Nigel Reo-Coker dropping back.
    The Caps midfield seemed to be posted missing and that is starting to be a concern. Reo-Coker and Gershon Koffie were both poor again. Might be worth giving Koffie a rest and seeing what Russell Teibert can bring to the CM role. For all the hype around Koffie, he has shown for the last two seasons that he does tend to go off the boil for a few games at a time.
    There's been far too many cheap giveaways in the middle of the park these last two games. It surprising we haven't been punished more.
    Up front, we peppered Chivas with an impressive 22 shots. Only six managed to find their way on target and the opportunities have been getting both created and squandered.
    We really need a poacher in there in the six yard box to at least hit the target with shots. Would you want Corey Hertzog on the pitch instead of Darren Mattocks? Overall, no. Would I want him to be the one getting the chances in the area instead of Mattocks? Yes. From what he's shown pre-season and in reserve games, he'll take them more than Mattocks seems to.
    I think Mattocks needs to sit out a week or so, and see what Camilo and Kenny Miller can do together up there.
    What Mattocks can bring to the team is something different and he can stretch the opposition. There was a moment in the first half when he broke upfield (the 35.57 mark of the game) and it wasn't a particularly fast break. In fact it was slow for him. He was left in a 1 on 3 situation, with no Whitecap anywhere near him to support until Reo-Coker casually arrived on the scene. What's he meant to do?
    It goes back to the awareness factor I raised last week. Where were the rest of the team?
    Keeping on awareness, Miller has it in abundance. It obviously comes with experience and it's not something you can magically transfer to team-mates unfortunately. The quick corner he took was a fantastic opportunity, and superb awareness of Chivas being low in numbers at the back, but ultimately wasted.
    The biggest concern I have about all our strikers is their first touch. Erik Hurtado and Kekuta Manneh have shown that sometimes their speed can be their downfall, with some horrible first touches so far this season. It may have been different against the lower opposition they are used to when such touches weren't punished and their speed could save the day.
    Manneh's touch was just inches away on that one on one with Kennedy that could have snatched a point (fantastic through ball by Miller to set him up). He'll learn, but hopefully it something the Caps work on a LOT in training these next few weeks with these guys. It could be the deciding factor between wins and losses.
    It may only be four games in to the season, but the team already looks like it needs to be freshened up a little. The players should not feel that their positions are safe.
    There's no easy answer or quick fix to get wins on the road in this league. The good thing is that we're creating and when we're doing that and not getting the end results, you do have to think that the tactics are right and the personnel isn't.
    We keep hearing about competition for places in the squad. After two defeats, the correct message to give the fringe guys that have been performing well in the reserve games and in training is to let them have a chance to see if they can do better.
    I don't see us getting anything from San Jose, even though they have been a bit up and down this season so far, so it's worth giving a couple of them a shot and see what they can do. They may just surprise everyone.
    'Mon the Caps.
    <center>**********</center>
    <b>AFTN 3-2-1:</b>
    3 points - ANDY O'BRIEN (Solid, but is needing a bit more help in the middle of the defence)
    2 points - KENNY MILLER (Gave the team the attacking boost and spur they needed when he came on. Some great awareness shown)
    1 point - ALAIN ROCHAT (Would probably have got the two points, but have to take into account his role on the second goal. Some good attacking play made up for defensive mistake)
    <p>
    Guest
    A quick update on the latest from the CSL saga.
    As I reported the other night, the exodus from the Canadian Soccer League continues.
    There are strong indications that, in addition to Toronto FC and the Montreal Impact leaving the CSL, there are more teams preparing to leave the CSL.
    Tonight, Filip Rocco, the president of the Windsor Stars, confirmed they were one of the teams who are pulling out for the 2013 season.
    A few hours later, the managing director of the Brantford Galaxy, Gerry Crnic, confirmed to the Brantford Expositor that they too were leaving the CSL.
    There is a third team who is believed to have left just this week but they have not yet responded to request for comment. CSN will update once they have provided their response and will continue to follow this story as it develops
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Guest

    More of this

    By Guest, in It's Called Football,

    As LTPD in Ontario has stumbled along with its roll out, fighting back uninformed general newspaper columnists and hockey blowhards alike, the one thing that has become clear is that the OSA has struggled with its messaging. Whether it's people latching on to half truths or perverting the purpose of this development plan, the benefits of this overhaul are getting lost in the ether.
    Last month, Daniel Squizzato laid out how LTPD proponents needed to win the messaging war. Frankly, the OSA could have just sent out his column as an email blast and it would have done a better job than they were doing at that time convincing districts and hyper active parents.
    More recently however, they've taken a different approach. Last week, they released a pair of videos (which, sadly, have gone unwatched so far) of two very recognizable faces explaining LTPD in simple, straight forward terms.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Diana Matheson on why she thinks LTPD should happen


    Dwayne DeRosario stressing why LTPD can work


    39SyyiSEmSiPAThey get right to the point. And they're exactly what a concerned parent - or more importantly an uninformed journalist - needs to see. Here is LTPD. Here is what it represents. Here is why we need it. Done.
    Experts thoroughly explaining
    and breaking down the misconceptions can be helpful for convincing a few, but the majority are more likely to take one look at DeRo and Diana's support and conclude LTPD - and all that it represents - is what is best for their children. To win the messaging war you don't need to say a lot. You just need to say the right things. So from that vein, to the OSA, I'll just say: More of this.
    Guest

    MLS Week in Review – Round 5

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    Round Five of MLS action has come and gone with all eight matches played on a busy Saturday.
    It was a weekend that featured the long-awaited return of Landon Donovan, the end of the last perfect team, a couple of secondary rivalry games, goal-accounts opened – from both the new and the old - and the surprising continued dominance of Dallas and Chivas.
    The round provided twenty-two goals – two from the spot and one own goal, only two draws - both featuring comebacks from the away-side and a return to normalcy with no red cards, after last weekend’s trio.
    Before the results, a nod to the goal of the round:
    There were several stunners on offer. Whether the interplay between Luis Silva and Jonathan Osorio, the deft touch of Dax McCarty, the screamer from Dillon Powers, the set-piece majesty of Salt Lake, or the sweet back-post volley from Eric Avila, candidates were plentiful.
    But try as one might, it’s difficult to look past Thierry Henry’s first goal of the season, the match-winner, against Philadelphia.
    Coming on for the jet-lagged Tim Cahill after an hour, Henry, still recovering from an MCL sprain, had squandered a pair of glorious chances, most notably sending a sublime bicycle attempt agonizingly off-target, before the eighty-first minute began.
    Heath Pearce sent a long ball up the left-side of the pitch where long-time Henry friend and teammate, Peguy Luyindula, collected, turned and lifted his right-footed service perfectly over the head of Union centre-back, Amobi Okugo.
    Henry, without breaking stride, settles the ball with the touch of his right thigh, before, in one smooth motion, thumping a left-footed volley across Zac MacMath into the right-side netting.
    A wondrous thing; class is permanent.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
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    Results in Brief
    Toronto 2 – Los Angeles 2
    Old problems once more reared their head as Toronto conceded a stoppage-time equalizer to Los Angeles after raring back from an early goal.
    Mike Magee opened the scoring with his league-leading fifth of the campaign - a simple finish at the back-post, touching in a low cross from Marcelo Sarvas. Robert Earnshaw again pounced on a defensive error, beating Carlo Cudicini to a weak Leonardo back-pass to tally his fourth over the retreating Omar Gonzalez. Homegrown signee, Jonathan Osorio put TFC in front with a deft redirection of a Luis Silva ball to the near-post, before Jose Villarreal leveled in the ninety-second, reacting quickest to a poorly placed defensive header from Darel Russell.
    Landon Donovan saw the pitch earlier than expected, playing the final half-hour after his extended sabbatical, and wasted a glorious chance just moments into his return.
    With the Champions League on his mind, Bruce Arena will accept the point and move on to the midweek test, while Ryan Nelsen must refocus his charges and hope the late-concession is a blip and not the beginning of a new bad habit.
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kaxNZYKjolw?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    New York 2 – Philadelphia Union 1
    New York earned their first win of the young season over Eastern Conference rivals Philadelphia.
    Dax McCarty opened the scoring - ending a club scoreless drought of over two hundred and fifty minutes - with a deft, right-footed touch, beating Ray Gaddis to a left-sided Jonny Steele cross, and poking his finish in off the inside of the far-post. Conor Casey quickly drew the Union level with the first for his new employers, outmuscling Marcus Holgersson to a long Sheanon Williams right-sided throw-in to the near-post, before Thierry Henry’s goal of the round decided the match in the final ten minutes of play.
    First-year coach Mike Petke picks up the first MLS win of his career, while Philly coach John Hackworth could only watch as his side’s winless run in New York climbed to six matches.
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    New England 0 – Dallas 1
    Blas Perez returned from international duty with Panama to score the lone goal of his side’s match against the Revolution.
    Patient build-up allowed David Ferreira to find space on the left to deliver a chipped-cross to the back-post. Perez met the service, sending his header back across the keeper and in off the far-post. The late strike, three minutes from full time, earned Dallas their fourth win of the season - and their first in New England since 2003.
    Jay Heaps’ New England have now been held scoreless in two straight home matches – nearly three hundred minutes in total; Schellas Hyndman’s Dallas sit atop the Western Conference and are tied with Montreal on twelve points, joint most in the league.
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    Colorado 2 – Portland 2
    In a meeting of winless clubs, neither could find that elusive victory and are forced to settle for a less-than-satisfying draw.
    Colorado, suffering a torrid run of injuries - shorn of up to seven first-choice starters - surged out to a two-goal lead after fifty minutes of play. Rookie midfielder Dillon Powers opened the scoring with his first in MLS - a powerful right-footed blast from twenty-five yards - before Hendry Thomas doubled the advantage from the spot after Diego Chara clipped the heel of Tony Cascio in the box.
    Portland have made coming from behind a hobby this young season, falling behind in all four of their matches and drawing on three of those occasions. Captain Will Johnson grabbed the first of a brace, from the end of a left-sided Ryan Johnson cross for a header past Colorado keeper Clint Irwin at the near-post, before adding a second from the spot after a weak penalty call – an innocuous Atiba Harris collision with David Horst in the box.
    Portland’s Caleb Porter must sort out the cause of his side’s troubles early in matches; Colorado’s Oscar Pareja has the difficult task of navigating the flood of injuries that have hampered his club’s start to the season.
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    Kansas City 2 – Montreal 0
    Sporting KC ended Montreal’s perfect start with a dominant performance from start to finish in front of their home fans.
    Benny Feilhaber sprung to life - after underwhelming through four matches - with a pair of assists. Claudio Bieler got the first – from the end of a splitting through-ball – to kill the club’s goal-drought of nearly two hundred minutes with a low, curling finish past Troy Perkins just five minutes in and Graham Zusi sealed the result in the final ten minutes, latching onto another perfectly-weighted Feilhaber through-ball, outmuscling Karl Ouimette and lifting a finish that trickled into the Montreal net.
    Peter Vermes’ Kansas City evidenced the sort of display that made them darlings of the league last season; Montreal’s Marco Schallibaum, who was sent to the stands following the second goal, will hope his side can regroup from the loss after a bye week.
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    Houston 2 – San Jose 0
    The old Quakes met the new Quakes in a scintillating match that saw Houston – the old Quakes – continue their impressive home form, stretching their unbeaten run to twenty-eight in the league and thirty-four in all competitions - tying Salt Lake’s record for the latter and moving one shy of the former.
    Will Bruin scored his first of the season, stroking an Oscar Boniek Garcia right-sided cutback into the net after a quarter hour, and Giles Barnes added a second before half-time, rising highest to a left-sided clipped delivery from Brad Davis.
    Alan Gordon returned from injury and Ramiro Corrales made his three hundredth MLS appearance, but their side could not gain a foothold, seeing their three-match unbeaten run ground to a halt.
    Houston’s Dominic Kinnear got one over on his old mentor, San Jose’s Frank Yallop, in their only meeting of the regular season.
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/l1fUgnuVEGo?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    Salt Lake 2 – Seattle 1
    Seattle’s woeful, winless start to the season continued in a rematch of last season’s Western Conference Quarterfinal against regular foes, Salt Lake.
    Robbie Findley pounced on a Sounders error in the first ten minutes, sneaking a loose ball in at the right-post as he fell after Brad Evans’ clearance ricochet off of Ossie Alonso in the box. Findley became the first Salt Lake player not named Alvaro Saborio to score this season – the Costa Rican striker was rested following international exertions, replaced with rookie Devon Sandoval, whose tenacity was crucial on the night.
    Luis Gil added a second ten minutes before the half from a fine bit of set-piece trickery with a diving header after Ned Grabavoy flicked a short-corner sent down the end-line towards the near-post area. Evans grabbed one back in the second stanza with a left-footed volley after Mauro Rosales cushioned a DeAndre Yedlin cross at the top of the box.
    Sigi Schmid’s Sounders can be forgiven for focusing on their involvement in the later stages of the Champions League, but they are digging quite the hole; Jason Kreis’ Salt Lake snapped a three-game winless run with a breakout performance that could propel them towards the upper reaches of the Western table.
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1VTIUW9FQ7A?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    Chivas 2 – Vancouver 1
    The night cap of the round saw Vancouver continue their Southern road trip against in-form Chivas.
    A fortunate opener saw Carlos Alvarez cut in from the left before his right-footed shot caught Joe Cannon off-balance, taking a deflection off of Jun Marques Davidson twelve minutes in. Alvarez played provider in the second half with an excellent left-sided cross to the back-post where Eric Avila sweetly struck a volley that powered under Cannon to double the lead.
    Kenny Miller nabbed a consolation goal less than ten minutes later to set up a tense finale, but it would only be consolation as Chivas held firm.
    El Chelis, madman or prophet, continued to lead his side towards the top of the league; Martin Rennie’s Whitecaps dropped a second straight on the road having opened with a pair of wins at home.
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/A8X2WmAzt5Q?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    Canadian Content
    Will Johnson put in a sublime captain’s performance for Portland, rallying his side from a two-goal deficit with a sixteen-minute brace – first, a powerful near-post header and then from the spot; prompting a primal yell of a goal celebration.
    He was very busy linking play – completing thirty of thirty-nine passes - and putting out fires in the middle of the park – making two interceptions and eight recoveries. He was MLSsoccer.com’s third Man of the Match; Portland’s first nominee.
    Jonathan Osorio entered in the sixty-fourth minute for Terry Dunfield and provided a bright spark in a very impressive cameo appearance for Toronto.
    He scored the go-ahead goal, redirecting a Luis Silva pass at the near-post and displayed some very impressive interplay with fellow sub Silva – completing fifteen of seventeen passes, helping to reassert their club in the midfield and prompting their best spell of the match. He was Man of the Match at dot-com’s recap.
    Terry Dunfield put in another feisty hour for TFC and should consider himself lucky to escape a booking for a near-thigh-high challenge of LA’s Marcelo Sarvas.
    He was particularly clean moving forward, but was caught up-field on the Galaxy opener, arriving too late to help prevent the goal.
    Patrice Bernier was a step behind his usual dominant self in a generally underwhelming display from Montreal.
    He still had genuine moments of class – completing a staggering sixty-nine of seventy-six passes, though most were horizontal or backwards, in search of time and space. He was troubled by KC’s immense pressure, forced to stay deeper than he prefers, and was caught in possession eleven times, taking that fraction of second longer than required to make a pass with options limited and stagnant.
    His fifteen recoveries helped keep the score to a respectable two-goal loss, despite KC bossing the match from beginning to end.
    Karl Ouimette struggled in his second consecutive start, replacing the injured Alessandro Nesta. He was partially at fault on the first goal, drifting off of goal-scorer Claudio Bieler to track the wide run of Graham Zusi, opening up the space for the Bieler to strike.
    He displayed some excellent reading of the game to cut off a CJ Sapong pass that would have split the Impact wide open, but was again beaten by the elusive Zusi lift his finish over some tentative defending to score the second.
    Again he got on the end of a corner kick, only to send his header well over the target.
    Ashtone Morgan, Russell Teibert, Wandrille Lefevre, and Nana Attakora were all on the bench for their respective sides – Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and San Jose respectively.
    Overheard
    LA’s Donovan was rejuvenated upon his return - “I felt like I felt when I was a little kid today; that's the feeling I want back. I was excited to be out there. I was engaged, I was aware and sort of in the moment, and enjoyed it. That was the desired goal when I stepped away and it was nice to be back.”
    Vancouver’s Rennie pulled a move from the Sir Alex Book of Referee-Massaging – though to little avail - with the old “I trust the referee will protect us.” line pre-match.
    Going on to remind, as his side braced for the physicality of Chivas, that “MLS are really big on avoiding violent tackling and violent play and I think the referees all know that, so any bad tackles tend to get punished and tend to get red cards. If there’s bad tackles I’m sure that’ll be the case.”
    To access the gravitas of El Chelis, one must source his precise ramblings in their native Spanish, as the best is not always readily translated: "Soy un muy mal tecnico, malisimo, pero tengo 27 jugadores que tienen la profesion del futbol y en eso estoy muy agradecido de tenerlos. Soy el peor tecnico en esta liga."
    Or, loosely translated: “I’m a very bad coach, terrible, but I have 27 professional players and I’m very grateful to have them. I’m the worst coach in the league.” – He said on ten points from five matches, sitting third overall in the league.
    See It Live (We’re Seeing It Live)
    Montreal’s Schallibaum reportedly threw a water bottle – or splashed water – at the fourth official following KC’s second goal and was duly sent to the stands; he, respectably, put up little argument when confronted.
    The referee in Colorado, Drew Fischer, had a rough afternoon calling two penalties, the second of which was dubious. It all began when he took a spill seconds before the Powers bomb.
    There was a very peculiar exchange in New York between Henry and Steele after the Frenchman scored the winner. He waived Steele away as his teammate approached to join in the celebration and later the perturbed Steele had to be ushered away by Juninho; all quite bizarre.
    Upcoming Fixtures
    Friday: Kansas City-DC; Saturday: Toronto-Dallas; Columbus-Philadelphia; Colorado-Salt Lake; Portland-Houston; San Jose-Vancouver; Sunday: Chicago-New York.
    Seattle and Los Angeles begin their Champions League semifinal series’ hosting Mexican opponents Santos Laguna on Tuesday and Monterrey on Wednesday, respectively.
    Parting Thoughts
    A few questions to ponder and discuss:
    Can Montreal bounce back from such a dispirited performance in KC or is their rise bound to result in a fall? Vancouver’s road troubles continue to offset their home form and they face a third such away fixture, this time at San Jose; have they any hope of points? And Toronto’s old problems of conceding early and conceding late have resurfaced; can they correct those flaws before red hot Dallas come to town on Saturday?
    Kansas City may have struggled to click following the departures of key players – Roger Espinoza and Kei Kamara – but was their comprehensive display against Montreal a sign of things to come? DC has scored two goals through four matches can they muster any offense against a strong KC defense in the first Friday night fixture of the schedule? Chicago, Portland, and Colorado – as well as Seattle – are the only winless teams in the league, who will be the last to win? Salt Lake faces a difficult away test in the second of three Rocky Mountain Cup matches against Colorado; can they build from the strong win over Seattle on Saturday? San Jose has scored only four goals through five matches – perennial golden boot contender, Chris Wondolowski, has two – can they correct that imbalance against Vancouver? Speaking of scoring, Chicago has only one on the season; has the bye week allowed Frank Klopas to focus on what ails his side?
    Seattle and LA face the difficult task of a first leg at home; can either take an advantage down to Mexico in search of regional glory?
    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
    No one wants to hear the positive spin. It’s too much. It’s too hard. It’s too painful.
    When TFC allows another injury time goal to drop points (seriously, is there a team in the world that does it more often?) people just want to rant. They want to place blame. They want to forget any type of positive from the game.
    And, that’s fair. The late game collapses are a major problem. They need to be fixed. They are a buzzkill of magnificent proportions.
    That’s especially the case when, like Saturday, it was the TWELTH time since the start of 2012 that the Reds have allowed after the 85th min.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]“Don’t look now, it’s TFC time!” is a familiar statement around BMO Stadium at about 85 minutes. An argument could be made that you should leave the stadium around that time to maintain your sanity.
    If I, or you, or Aron Winter, or Paul Mariner knew the answer to “why does TFC not know how to close out games in the dying moments" I, you, Aron Winter or Paul Mariner would be sitting behind the podium at the post-game press conference. Since we don’t, all we can do is speculate.
    Is it fitness? That was Mariner’s belief – with a little nod of blame to his predecessor – and there could be something to it. TFC did play a light preseason again in 2013 -- although whenever I brought this point up in the preseason I was reassured by former players that preseason friendly games are not where fitness is developed. Still, if every team is doing it one way and you’re doing it another then, maybe, you’re the one that needs to have a hard look at things.
    Is it simply a lack of skill? This has to play a major role and is something that can’t be easily fixed – at least not over night. Then again, every MLS team has holes. At some point a team needs to learn to overcome weakness in the 11. On paper, TFC really isn’t that far behind most teams (hell, in the standings they aren’t either, but I said this column wouldn’t put a positive spin on things). They don’t need significantly better players to stop the late game bleeding. They just need to stop being so bad late in games (sometimes it really is that simple).
    Is it coaching? Some of it has to be. Why are they playing so deep late? Is that by design? If so then why continue playing that way when it’s clear it doesn’t work? If it isn’t by design then why aren’t the players listening to instructions from the coaching staff? A lot of questions, but no real answers here.
    Is it confidence? This is my theory, but it’s just that – a theory. They play scared in the dying moments of games and provide too many opportunities for teams (teams that are playing with their tail up because they are aware of TFC’s late game tendencies every bit the same as the fans in the stands are). Jose Villarreal tying goal was world class, and it’s unlikely that too many players will score a goal like that against Toronto again this year, but why was he even allowed to be that deep? Why was the ball not in row Z at the moment he spun to hit it?
    Because TFC doesn’t yet believe it is good enough to win games. Fixing that core problem is Ryan Nelsen and Kevin Payne’s greatest challenge.
    Guest

    MLS Musings - Week Five

    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 5 of the 2013 season throw up for us?
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    <b><u>Games This Week:</u></b>
    TORONTO kicked off the weekend by hosting LOS ANGELES in an entertaining game. When LA's early pressure saw them break the deadlock after only 16 minutes, it looked like an easy afternoon was in store for the defending MLS champs. But TFC fought back well and Robert Earnshaw showed once again his top poacher instincts to get the home side back level, with a fantastically taken goal. He was helped of course by the idiotic defending of first Leonardo, and then Carlo Cudicini deciding to go on walkabout. That goal certainly gave Toronto confidence and when they took the lead with just 12 minutes remaining, you really fancied them to hold on. But that old problem of late goals came back to haunt them yet again, even though it was a cracking finish that did the damage. The goal, and the point, means LA are now the only unbeaten team in MLS.
    It was also starting to look like the same old, same old in NEW YORK as the Red Bulls had a host of chances against PHILADELPHIA before finally getting the breakthrough and their first win of the season. They should have been about two up at half time but even after they did take the lead they made hard work of it and the Union fought back well to tie things up, in an enjoyable second half. The introduction of Thierry Henry was certainly the game changer. He looked outstanding in the short time he was on the pitch, with one spectacular goal and an almost more spectacular one with a bicycle kick that went wide. There was an interesting talking point late one when Conor Casey was adjudged to have fouled NY keeper Luis Robles in stoppage time, but the big striker did little wrong for me and it's just more signs of the over protection that keepers get these days. You just can't challenge them without getting a call against you. Bring back the olden days of bundling them into the back of the net!
    If may be a bit too early in the season to go on about crucial wins, but the three points that DALLAS took in NEW ENGLAND could be huge come playoff time. The narrow 1-0 victory keeps Dallas on top of the West, and increased their points over Vancouver to six. It was a game that ebbed and flowed. The Revs had the best of the first half and Dallas weren't too much of an attacking threat, although they should have taken an early lead when Jackson had a horrendous miss in front of goal. Dallas became much stronger in the second half and put the New England defence under a lot of pressure. Kenny Cooper had the ball in the net but was harshly adjudged to be offside. New England came back into the game and looked like the team that would get the breakthrough, only for Dallas to go up the pitch and snatch it with a Blas Perez header that gave them three valuable road points. The Texans are playing some good football just now and importantly turning that into points on the board. It's very similar to what the Whitecaps did last season. Will Dallas have a mid-season slump or are they the real deal this season?
    Two of MLS' five winless teams went in to the COLORADO - PORTLAND game. Two winless teams came back out of it after a 2-2 draw in the cold and wind. Great news for the Whitecaps. Not so great for a Timbers side still struggling to put together a solid game for the full ninety minutes. Portland did well to fight back after going two down to a Dillon Powers wind assisted thunderbolt and an avoidable penalty, and they got a soft penalty of their own as part of a double from Canadian Will Johnson. The Rapids were the better team and will be disappointed at having to settle for a point. Both sides though didn't show much to indicate that their fortunes are going to be changing any time soon in this one, although Portland have been impressing in spurts so far this season.
    From the winless, to the unbeaten, as MONTREAL headed south for tricky trip to KANSAS CITY. The Impact fell behind to an early goal and there was no coming back, with KC bossing the game from then on and ending Montreal's winning start to the season. It was an impressive performance from Kansas City. It felt like everything they did had some output from Graham Zusi in it. It wasn't quite that but Zusi, Chance Myers, Seth Sinovic and Claudio Bieler all had fantastic games. Bieler could have had a hat-trick with a bit more luck and some better finishing. It was the first game this season that I've seen Montreal look a little devoid of ideas at times and they were giving the ball away cheaply and getting caught offside a lot, especially in the first half. They play a lovely passing game though and you always had the feeling that it would just take that one little slip and KC would be punished. The Impact looked stronger as the game entered the second half but were never really at the races and Zusi well taken goal sealed the deserved win for the home side. I'm sure the Impact would have taken 12 points from their first five games. As would every team!
    Having taken care of Vancouver last week, HOUSTON extended their unbeaten home streak to 34 games, and tied the MLS record, with a comfortable 2-0 demolition of SAN JOSE. Now you wouldn't normally count a two goal victory as a demolition, but the Dynamo were just so in control of this game and the Earthquakes were another visiting team just not at the races. Chris Wondolowski wasted their best chance of the night when he completely missed a cross on the edge of the six yard box. It was unlikely to have made any difference. Some of Houston's crosses were just sublime and it puts last week's loss by the Caps into a little perspective. As we said at the time, there's not going to be many Western teams go into Houston and come away with any points. At least San Jose are now one of them.
    SEATTLE remain rooted at the foot of the Western Conference after another defeat. I'm just enjoying it all whilst I can! REAL SALT LAKE should have been out of sight by half time, never mind by the time that the Sounders got themselves back into the game with still over half an hour remaining. Seattle had Michael Gspurning to thank for some important saves, but they once again turned in a bit of a listless overall performance and RSL held on pretty easily for the win. They even had a late penalty shout turned down. As I keep saying every week, I just wish we were facing Seattle before June 8th, as they could be ripe for the picking. Although if the Sounders watched the Caps, they may feel the same way.
    CHIVAS wrapped this weekend up with a 2-1 victory over VANCOUVER. We'll obviously have a lot more on this game than just here, but the Goats continued their impressive run of form. Unbeaten in four now and the Caps still looking for their first away win of the season. The Caps will feel that they should have come away from the game with something and a combination of bad luck, poor marking, a missing midfield and the inability to bury chances was their downfall. Chivas played some nice stuff, but have looked better this season. How you look doesn't matter when you get the job done. The Caps are now four points behind Chivas.
    The weekend's results saw Vancouver fall out of the top five in the West. With Seattle the team most likely to do this year's LAesque comeback during the season, getting the points on the board early and not falling behind those above them is crucial, even at this very early stage. Five points ahead of Seattle is nice. I'd be happy with that come October. Next week in San Jose is going to be tough and it's hard right now to see the Caps coming away with anything.
    <b><u>Outfield Player of the Week:</u></b>
    Sporting Kansas City's GRAHAM ZUSI just seemed to be everywhere in their win over Montreal. It felt that every attack had featured Zusi at some point and he was finally rewarded for his sterling performance with a goal that clinched the match for KC. Even the goal itself earned him plaudits for our search for the player of the week. He could easily have gone down under the attention of Karl Ouimette, but instead he stayed on his feet and showed some neat footwork to bury his chance. A lesson for those players who like to hit the deck more than try to score.
    <center>

    </center>I also want to give a shout out to New England Revolution rookie Andrew Farrell, who really impressed me with his attacking play in the loss to Dallas. He seemed to be another player at the heart of many of his team's moves.
    <b><u>Goalkeeper of the Week:</u></b>
    Now there wasn't really any stand out contenders this week. No-one brought out a string of match winning saves. So we turned to the stats and went with RAUL FERNANDEZ of Dallas who kept a clean sheet and produced five saves to keep New England at bay in their away win.
    <b><u>Goal of the Week:</u></b>
    DILLON POWERS lived up to his name with his long range rocket for the Rapids. It gave Colorado the lead against Portland and had power, placement, swerve and some wind assistance. Really sweet strike, wind or no wind.
    <center>

    </center><b><u>Miss of the Week:</u></b>
    I'm sorry 'Miss' JACKSON but I am for real when I say you had the worst miss of the week for Dallas against New England. Three yards out, great ball across from Kenny Cooper and somehow it managed to go through his legs and not onto his foot. It wasn't to cost his team in the end, but was a shocker. The proximity of it to the goal is what tipped him over the winning post, ahead of Wondo's complete missed cross against Houston.
    (WATCH: http://p.mlssoccer.com/SAu5a/video/1666110/mls_2013-03-30-162910.640hq.mp4)
    <b><u>Save of the Week:</u></b>
    Toronto's JOE BENDIK produced a wonderful reflex save to keep out LA's Mike Magee in the first half of their game, when conceding a second could have been a death blow to TFC's hopes of getting back into the match. Magee met the ball perfectly but Bendik was not only quick to react and strong to keep it out, he managed to quickly pounce on the rebound.
    (WATCH: http://p.mlssoccer.com/SAu5a/video/1665964/mls_2013-03-30-144704.640hq.mp4)
    <b><u>Stat Attack:</u></b>
    After Week 5 - 42 games
    <b>Total goals in week</b> - 22 (90 this season)
    <b>Average goals per game</b> - 2.75 (2.14 ave this season)
    <b>Highest scoring team</b> - 9 teams with two goals
    <b>Penalties awarded</b> - 2 (8 this season)
    <b>Clean sheets</b> - 3 (23 this season)
    <b>Unbeaten teams</b> - 1 (Los Angeles Galaxy)
    <b>Winless teams</b> - 4 (Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, Portland Timbers, 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> - 15 (110 this season)
    <b>Total attendance this week</b> - 120,974 (747,919 total for season)
    <b>Average attendance this week</b> - 15,121 (17,808 average for season)
    <b>Highest attendance this week</b> - 20,359 Real Salt Lake v Seattle
    <b>Highest attendance this season</b> - 40,150 Seattle v Portland (16/3/13)
    <b>Lowest attendance this week</b> - 8,354 Chivas v Vancouver
    <b>Lowest attendance this season</b> - 7,121 Chivas v Columbus (2/3/13)
    <b><u>Fantasy Football Highs and Lows (after Week 5):</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> - Bill Hamid (DC) / Troy Perkins (Montreal) (both 30 points)
    <b>Week's Highest Scoring Goalkeeper</b> - Raul Fernandez (Dallas - 8 points)
    <b>Highest Scoring Defender</b> - Michel Garbini Pereira (Dallas - 34 points)
    <b>Week's Highest Scoring Defender</b> - Matt Besler (KC) / Michel Garbini Pereira (Dallas) (both 10 points)
    <b>Highest Scoring Midfielder</b> - Graham Zusi (KC - 40 points)
    <b>Week's Highest Scoring Midfielder</b> - Benny Feilhaber (KC) / Will Johnson (Portland) (both 13 points)
    <b>Highest Scoring Forward</b> - Robert Earnshaw (Toronto - 28 points)
    <b>Week's Highest Scoring Forward</b> - Four forwards with 7 points
    <b>Overall Highest Scoring Club</b> - Dallas (326 points)
    <b>Overall Lowest Scoring Club</b> - Toronto (142 points)
    <b>Week's Highest Scoring Club</b> - Houston (78 points)
    <b>Week's Lowest Scoring Club</b> - Montreal (29 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 (185 points)
    <b>Lowest Scoring Club Defence (inc GK)</b> - Toronto (54 points)
    <b>Highest Scoring Club Midfield</b> - Dallas (116 points)
    <b>Lowest Scoring Club Midfield</b> - Columbus (47 points)
    <b>Highest Scoring Club Forwards</b> - Columbus (55 points)
    <b>Lowest Scoring Club Forwards</b> - Chicago and New England (17 points)
    <p>
    Guest
    Vancouver Whitecaps headed to Chivas hoping to mirror last year and claim their first away win of the season.
    It was a different Chivas side, in many ways, from a year ago and a mixture of bad luck, poor marking and missed chances cost the Whitecaps dearly as they went down to a 2-1 defeat.
    The home side had taken a deserved 2-0 lead before Vancouver fought back strongly, spurred on by the introductions of Kenny Miller and Erik Hurtado.
    Miller's diving header gave the Whitecaps hope but in the end they came up just short, despite putting Chivas under a lot of pressure in the closing minutes of the match.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Going in to the game, the only decision that Martin Rennie really faced was who would be in for Kenny Miller, who was deemed not ready for a start after being away on international duty.
    That spot went to Camilo Sanvezzo, after the Brazilian had impressed in his substitute appearances this season, with rookie Erik Hurtado returning to the bench in the only change to last week's losing starting line up.
    It was a fairly even start to the game, with Vancouver enjoying some good possession and Chivas showing early signs of their quick attack.
    The Caps had the first real chance of the game nine minutes in, when Gershon Koffie dragged a shot wide right, when the ball broke to him on the edge of the box from a corner.
    Two minutes later and the Caps were one down.
    Carlos Alvarez got the ball wide left, cut inside and was fortunate to see his effort deflect off the shoulder of Jun Marques Davidson and into the net, with Joe Cannon wrongfooted.
    It was the first goal that Chivas had scored in the first half of a game all season and they are unlikely to get another one as easily handed to them on a plate.
    Although the Whitecaps tried.
    The home side had a great chance to double their lead in the 21st minute following a Daigo Kobayashi giveaway. Tristan Bowen found Juan Agudelo in the box with a lovely chip forward that had Brad Rusin all at sea. Rusin recovered but Agudelo showed some neat footwork to slip the ball through the legs of Alain Rochat into the path of Eric Avila, but Cannon did well to reduce the angle and get his fingertips on it as the midfielder fired into the side netting.
    Vancouver should have levelled two minutes later when Rochat's long range shot was parried by Dan Kennedy and the ball broke to Kobayashi right in front of him, but the Japanese playmaker blasted high and over from seven yards out.
    The ball broke quickly to him and took a bounce, but the midfielder should at least be hitting the target from that range.
    Chivas responded immediately and Avila fired a low long range shot inches past the left hand post.
    The action continued apace and Kennedy fumbled a high Nigel Reo-Coker free kick into the box, but was fortunate that the bobbling rebound bounced straight back into his arms as he lay on the ground.
    Vancouver tried to turn up the pressure and Camilo got his head on to a Kobayashi corner but couldn't direct his header goalbound.
    And the Brazilian got another chance in the 35th minute when he curled a shot just past the right hand post from the edge of the box.
    With five minutes of the half remaining, Bowen sent a dangerous ball across the face of the goal but just out of reach from the stretching substitute Jose Correa, who had come on for an injured Agudelo.
    Vancouver must have gone in at the half disappointed to be behind in the manner that they were and they came out for the second half keen to try and get something going.
    YP Lee hit a long range effort over three minutes in, but Chivas came so close to doubling their lead in the 50th minute, when Bowen hit an Avila cross just on the wrong side of the post.
    Chivas weren't to be denied though and they got their second five minutes later when Avila beautifully volleyed home an Alvarez cross, after the Whitecaps defence allowed him to ghost in unmarked at the back of the box.
    And some more sloppy defending nearly cost them further minutes later when Bowen easily dispossessed Davidson on the edge of the box but blasted fiercely over.
    Vancouver tried to make things happen with a double substitution in the 57th minute, with both Kenny Miller and Erik Hurtado coming on.
    Bowen forced Cannon into a strong stretching save in the 63rd minute, with another shot on goal, but the Caps went up the pitch and pulled one back.
    Hurtado received the ball on the wing and ran at the Chivas defence before firing off a shot which Kennedy saved but the rebound came straight onto the diving head of Miller, who finished clinically.
    Rennie's substitutions had the desired effect.
    The goal and the changes gave Vancouver an added spring to their step and Miller was having another strong performance.
    And the Scotsman set up a chance for Mattocks in the 80th minute but the striker's lob just went over the crossbar and landed on the top of the net.
    Mattocks had another chance four minutes later when the ball broke to him inside the six yard box but he skyed his shot over.
    As the game reached the final seconds of normal time, Miller perfectly played Kekuta Manneh through, but the rookie overhit his first touch, allowing Kennedy to come out and close down the angle and the Gambian hit his shot just under the Chivas goalie and wide of the post.
    It was to be the Whitecaps last chance and Chivas withstood the final late push of pressure from the Caps to go undefeated in four.
    The loss saw Vancouver slip to two and two for the season and importantly saw points dropped to Western Conference opposition.
    Despite the danger posed by the speed of the Vancouver attack more missed chances, poor marking and a missing midfield cost the Caps points once again.
    Those are three things which they will need to majorly work on if they hope to take anything from their trip to San Jose next weekend.
    FINAL SCORE: Chivas USA 2 - 1 Vancouver Whitecaps
    ATT: 8,354
    CHIVAS USA: Dan Kennedy; Mario De Luna, Joaquin Velazquez, Bobby Burling; Eric Avila, Oswaldo Minda, Edgar Mejia, Jorge Villafana, Carlos Alvarez; Juan Agudelo (Jose Correa 34), Tristan Bowen (Daniel Antunez 69) [subs Not Used: Tim Melia, Steven Purdy, Carlos Borja, Marvin Iraheta, Giovani Casillas]
    VANCOUVER: Joe Cannon; Young-Pyo Lee, Brad Rusin, Andy O'Brien, Alain Rochat; Jun Marques Davidson (Kekuta Manneh 80), Nigel Reo-Coker, Gershon Koffie (Kenny Miller 57); Daigo Kobayashi, Camilo Sanvezzo (Erik Hurtado 57), Darren Mattocks [subs Note Used: Brad Knighton, Jordan Harvey, Matt Watson, Russell Teibert]
    <p>
    Guest
    The last time Toronto FC faced the LA Galaxy in Toronto many things were different: the match was played in front of over 40,000 spectators at the Rogers Centre, it was a first leg knockout match in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League, and both teams could field a full trio of (and were in many ways defined by) Designated Players. When the teams meet on Saturday in regular MLS league play it’s entirely possible that neither side will have a single DP in their game day line-up.
    The LA Galaxy won two straight MLS championships with the creative axis of David Beckham, Landon Donovan, and Robbie Keane at the heart of their attack. Only Beckham is no longer on their roster but Donovan has only recently returned from a self-imposed sabbatical and Keane picked up an injury while away with the Republic of Ireland’s national team that should see him miss the match.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Fortunately for the Galaxy the base of their team, its stellar defense, has remained stable and, with the addition of former Chelsea regular Carlo Cudicini in goal, probably improved. Omar Gonzalez is returning from a standout performance at the heart of the American international side that took only its second ever point away from Mexico in Estadio Azteca in FIFA World Cup qualifying Tuesday night and should be joined by his regular companions A.J. DeLaGarza, Sean Franklin, and former TFCer Todd Dunivant.
    Brazilian midfielder Juninho has been picking up most of Beckham’s creative duties in the middle of the park while another Brazilian, Marcelo Sarvas, does more of the harrying work of energetically closing down opponents. The Galaxy benefit from the pairing's familiarity with each other: Sarvas was a regular starter during Beckham’s injury absences in 2012 and many observers suggested that LA actually played better, more consistent, football with the two Brazilians in the engine room of the team.
    Even in offense, where the absence of Keane and Donovan should be most felt, the Galaxy solve their problems through continuity and evolution rather than wholesale rebuilding. Most immediately, Mike Magee has continued his breakout performances from the 2012 MLS Cup playoff run that culminated in another championship by already scoring four league goals in just three games in 2013.
    The real excitement though for Galaxy fans has been the emergence of young homegrown player Jose Villarreal into a legitimate MLS starter. Villarreal announced himself to the rest of MLS with a beautiful curling strike in Vancouver last summer and has since gone on to star for the U.S. U-20 World Cup side during their successful qualifying campaign.
    More importantly to the Galaxy, it was his goal that secured their advancement to the semi-finals of the 2012-13 CCL over Herediano of Costa Rica. On that goal Villarreal had the confidence to look off the call for the ball on the break from the more senior Keane, take on two defenders, and make space for himself at the top of the box to perfectly find the side net with a left footed shot.
    Another young striker that TFC-centric supporters may not be familiar with but Galaxy supporters are high on is Jack McBean. McBean signed for the Galaxy at the tender age of 16 and has been steadily progressing towards the first team ever since. Still only 18 McBean was mostly confined to Champions League matches in 2012 but made important contributions there. Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena successfully used the full depth of his squad to secure a place in the knockout rounds without taxing his first team regulars.
    LA’s continued participation in the CCL may provide some additional hope for TFC faithful. The Galaxy face the first leg of their glamour tie against reigning champions Monterrey of Mexico back in Los Angeles on Wednesday night and it’s possible that both Arena and the team could be looking past Toronto to that game.
    Certainly, if the Galaxy are serious about pursuing MLS’s first continental championship in the modern era of the tournament a single league game, away from home, in the opening month of the season should be considered less than vital and thoughts of squad rotation and protecting some players must be on Arena’s mind. That said, the Galaxy are an experienced and professional group who managed two competitions well in the second half of 2012 and will most likely know how to game plan for Toronto even with the Monterrey game lingering.
    The high pressing and workmanlike side that TFC is shaping up as under Ryan Nelsen will likely have a hard time getting the Galaxy to come out of their shell. Arena has a justly earned reputation for not expecting his teams to entertain on the road and home fans, excited for the first game at BMO Field of 2013 with the first signs of spring emerging, should not be disappointed if the game fails to ignite.
    TFC have been harder to beat than expected in 2013 and another competitive performance, even if it ends as a low-scoring draw, would be another significant step in the right direction for a club still firmly in rebuild mode.
    Guest
    <b>KEY PLAYERS</b>
    ATTACKING
    It is not a given that Martin Rennie will hand <b>Camilo</b> his first start of the season but after his performances coming off the bench there is no doubt that he deserves it. If he starts, the Brazilian will play wide on the left side where he will have added responsibilities in defending the opposing wingback.
    At the beginning of the season it looked as though <b>Juan Agudelo</b> was on the outs with Chivas especially with the turnover that was occurring in the offseason. After starting on the bench in the opener, the striker has two goals (a goal away from his 2012 total) and an assist in the three starts since.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    DEFENCE
    With the battle of the midfield being so vital against the Goats, it will be up to <b>Nigel Reo-Coker</b> to lead the charge by maintaining possession more effectively. He will have to do more with Davidson to protect the backline from the opposing midfield who love to bring numbers forward.
    While <b>Dan Kennedy</b> has allowed six goals, three coming in the opener, the majority of them would have been difficult to stop for any keeper. He has kept the club in games early with his spectacular saves and will be difficult to beat for the Whitecaps.
    <b>WHO'S ON FORM</b>
    After a couple of average performances <b>Darren Mattocks</b> finally opened his 2013 account with a strike from distance. He made better runs into the box and showed confidence in his ability after taking the shot even if it was stopped.
    Normally playing a quiet game as the deep lying playmaker <b>Edgar Mejia</b> contributed offensively with a goal and an assist against Chicago. “El Chore” is a loanee from Chivas Guadalajara and is the key for the Goats in building up the attack from the back.
    <b>PROJECTED LINEUP</b>

    Vancouver Whitecaps (4-3-3)
    R to L - Joe Cannon; Y.P. Lee, Andy O’Brien, Brad Rusin, Alain Rochat; Jun Marques Davidson, Nigel Reo-Coker, Gershon Koffie; Daigo Kobayashi, Darren Mattocks, Camilo
    Chivas USA (3-5-2)
    R to L -Dan Kennedy; Mario de Luna, Joaquin Velaquez, Bobby Burling; Eric Avila, Edgar Mejia, Oswaldo Minda, Marvin Iraheta, Josue Soto; Juan Agudelo, Tristan Bowen
    <b>INJURED/MISSING</b>
    Vancouver Whitecaps - Out: FW Omar Salgado (foot), DF Jay DeMerit (Achilles), MF Bryce Alderson (knee)
    Chivas USA - Out: DF Walter Vilchez (knee)
    <b>2013 RECORD</b>
    Vancouver Whitecaps:
    2W-0D-1L-6P
    5th in Western Conference
    Last Match: 2-1 Loss at Houston Dynamo
    Chivas USA:
    2W-1D-1L-7P
    2nd in Western Conference
    Last Match: 4-1 Win at Chicago Fire
    <b>OVERVIEW</b>
    Vancouver Whitecaps will attempt to bounce back, after suffering their first loss of the season, against the surprising Chivas USA at the Home Depot Center. In addition to this being the second straight match on the road it will also be one where they will face a unique formation in the 3-5-2.
    Attempting to breakdown this team the Whitecaps will keep Darren Mattocks and Daigo Kobayashi in the frontline. The third spot will either go to rookie Erik Hurtado or Camilo, with Kenny Miller most likely coming the bench after being away on international duty with Scotland.
    The midfield was disappointing last week but don’t much in change with Nigel Reo-Coker, Gershon Koffie and Jun Marques Davidson manning those spots.
    The two goals allowed last week reflected poorly on the backline but like the midfield, expect little movement, with Andy O’Brien and Brad Rusin partnering while Lee Young-Pyo and Alain Rochat will be the fullbacks. There have been questions about the keeper position, and whilst it is looking like Brad Knighton is getting closer to taking over from Joe Cannon, it hasn't reached that stage just yet.
    Whatever the line-up turns out to be it will be facing a formation that it's not often seen in MLS or other leagues around the world. So how do the Whitecaps take on the 3-5-2 formation and come out with a result?
    The obvious answer is to win the battle in the midfield by keeping possession and not giving the ball away too easily. A giveaway in the midfield will see Chivas quickly counterattack with numbers which could overwhelm the backline. If the wingbacks are caught up the pitch then the Whitecaps will need to use their width to stretch the three man back line. An advantage the Caps can exploit while on the attack is the lack of size for the Chivas defenders with Burling being the only one over 6 feet.
    Martin Rennie has some experience playing against the formation and shared his thoughts earlier this week in the media scrum.
    <i>"Over the years I have, a few times, played against teams with three at the back and it's always interesting how you want to adapt and how you want to go about it. They've certainly caused teams problems up until now, so we have to come up with a game plan we think will work and then of course we have to execute it."</i>
    Vancouver will need to take advantage of their early chances as it seems, through at least three of the four matches, that Chivas get stronger as the game goes on. Eight of their nine goals have been scored after the 60th minute while the other one coming at the 57 mark. There also have to be concerns with the perceived dirty play by Chivas for a couple of reasons. There is a danger of a freak injury as well as players retaliating and getting caught for it which could lead to cards and ejections.
    Prior to the season it was expected that the match against Chivas USA would be the easiest to get the win. While it may not be the walk that everyone expected the Caps need to get a result in order to relieve some of the pressure early in the season and stay ahead of their faltering Western Conference playoff rivals.
    <p>
    Guest
    We've been planning on doing this for a while now, but have finally got off our asses and recorded one. So welcome to Episode One of "There's Still Time", the new AFTN podcast.
    In our inaugural episode, your hosts, Steve Pandher and myself, take a brief look back at the Houston defeat and look ahead to the Chivas game at the weekend. How dirty will the Goats be and should the Caps be worried? We get the thoughts of <b>Martin Rennie</b>, <b>Joe Cannon</b> and <b>Erik Hurtado</b>.
    We look at the Whitecaps scrimmage against Edmonton this week and catch up with former fan favourite <b>Wes Knight</b> to see how he's settling in with the Eddies and his Vancouver memories.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    And although the Caps are away on MLS duty this weekend, there is still a veritable feast of football for you to get out and watch. We preview the Residency's two big Cascadia derby games on Saturday against Seattle and have look at their season and standouts so far.
    And there's still time to introduce one of our many new features that will be popping up in our various podcasts, 'The Bucket List', which this week is all about groundhopping and stadiums around the world.
    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>.
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