cubaricho

2012 is Montreal and then I think 2013 will be the Cosmos but they said after that they would hold off for a while.

A lot of the players left unprotected obviously aren't the best players around but they will definitely make good squad players towards the later rounds. The first three rounds or so will probably be starters or at least on the cusp.

And for anyone who wants a simple run down of the rules involved with an expansion draft in MLS: Every team has to prepare a list of "protected" players, I think it's something like 10-15 players and the lists don't have to include youth team players. Then the two expansion teams (Portland and Vancouver) take turns choosing unprotected players from clubs. Every time a player gets chosen from a certain club that club are allowed to protect one more player and can have no more than two players total taken from their squad. There's lots of strategy between not only the clubs choosing but also the clubs getting chosen from with this which adds an interesting dynamic.

The manager/head coach of Portland wants to have a young, hungry team according to the interviews I've seen with him. A lot of MLS is built around "old pros" to help try and nurture younger kids but I think Spencer doesn't really believe in a lot of that and really just wants a team with a lot to prove (obviously with skill to back it up) because he sees that as the "heart beat of the city" of Portland. It's a really young, hip city and wants his team to reflect that in the style they play with on the pitch. Portland gets the first pick today and it's pretty obvious that Dax McCarthy (young and hungry) will go first even though the only reason he was left unprotected was because he had fallen out with the FC Dallas manager.

The expansion draft starts in about 30 minutes on mlssoccer.com. Portland and Vancouver get their pick of a list of unprotected players around the league. From what I can gather though it's not a guarantee the players that get chosen will actually have to sign (it's really just agreeing personal terms). Looks like an Orlando native will probably be chosen first.

He's comparing the PL and La Liga and uses Blackburn and Stoke as perfect examples of our football. The guy's a fucking retard. That's very much not what he said. He said: He was using them as examples of anti-football, not as examples of the Prem as a whole.

My initial thought when it happened was that he wasn't doing it in any sort of violent manner. Admittedly though I had been drinking. The commentator wouldn't shut up about it though.

Jesus what a miss.

Pace, pace, and more pace. Not really sure there's much else there that will shine through at a Prem level though.

No where near the class of Viduka tbh.

I also really like the idea of a balanced schedule, even if 10 teams make the playoffs, it will at least be a truer representation of the league.

Hah yeah. I always expect a ball to go flying in there and knock your beers off the table.

The only moment of any real class was the goal. A lot of really stupid mistakes and trying to force it.

Someone in the Rapids supporters group has a Newcastle kit on.

MLS Final tonight. Kick-off in about a half hour (8:30 EST 9:00 EST).

Don't know who else watched the match here in the States but who were the commentators? They were the two worst commentators I've heard in a long time. Pretty much clueless.

I personally think Ekotto is one of the better players in the Spurs squad.

Williamson has looked average in the last few matches but then again, so has the whole squad.

I would've elbowed him too. Elmander was a total princess the entire match.

Wow, what a load of shit to have to wait hours to watch. Bad defending coupled with totally shit reffing is a horrible equation. Forgettable match. Total garbage all over the pitch. Let's move on.

What is with British "journalism" and horrible horrible puns? It seems like every article has at least one.

The WC would be huge for the US. I know that we withdrew out 2018 bid to focus on the 2022 after someone at FIFA talked to the US bid group.

Should be us on the basis they had it in 1994 ... and the fact the majority of Americans don't care about football. Yet we bought more tickets than any other country this summer?

Has this been posted in here before? http://www.twitvid.com/VHG9J

World famous BBQ and also known as the City Of Fountains. Other than that, pretty shit. Really great city to have a night out in though.