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[NeilJLeonard]

Thanks Buzz....it's a long growing period for the team. For whatever reason they've gone over a year without scoring more than two goals in a game. That's pathetic....

But Klinsi is an offensive coach, so i expect that statistic will change soon.

And add in to this mix that Klinsi is trying out a bunch of new guys, and that's a recipe for a few losses.

I wont get worried unless they play like this next June when qualifying starts.

We'll see. He seems to be getting much more slack than BB ever had. But Bob was never as popular a choice for the job as Jurgen is.

I wonder what the USSF will do in he does not get the USA to qualify for the 2014 WC? Or even gets close to appearing that they wont? He's got until June or so to get his act together. Then it's qualifying time & things get very, very serious and failure is not an option.

I wish him well because I think what he wants to do, and has been hired to do, is something that needs to be done. I really don't see anyone else around that could even try to do it, either.

Rumor has it that BB is getting feelers from a club in Mexico. How wacky is that? How odd it would be if he took it?....

NJL (...about as odd as Landon Donovan going to Mexico's Club America instead of Everton in the run up to the 2010 WC?.......)

[KHenry14]

Just a quick note about my guy Charlie Davies...He gets the hat trick tonight against Chivas USA. To my eyes, it looks like his speed is all the way back from the injuries. Here's hoping he gets a shot soon with the USMNT.

[NeilJLeonard]

Just a quick note about my guy Charlie Davies...He gets the hat trick tonight against Chivas USA. To my eyes, it looks like his speed is all the way back from the injuries. Here's hoping he gets a shot soon with the USMNT.

Maybe Oct 8th in Miami? Maybe he and Jose up top in a 2 man front line?

We'll see.

NJL

[KHenry14]

Maybe Oct 8th in Miami? Maybe he and Jose up top in a 2 man front line?

We'll see.

NJL

Jozy and Charlie have had a fair amount of success together, the next step IMO is to play Freddie Adu underneath the two of them, as Freddie has a good rapport with Jozy. Isn't that what these friendlies are about?

[NeilJLeonard]

Jozy and Charlie have had a fair amount of success together, the next step IMO is to play Freddie Adu underneath the two of them, as Freddie has a good rapport with Jozy. Isn't that what these friendlies are about?

Sounds interesting. We'll see how Klinsmann plays it. He has a few more games to lose before he'll get much more heat. I believe that we have until June, 2012(?) until WC 2014 qualifying starts. If he uses every International date on the calendar for friendlies he should be able to take a good look at a ton of possible candidates. Since he wants a major change to the team ASAP this is going to be a very interesting winter for us to watch. Hopefully he can spin some magic & bring forth a North American beast that can handle not only Mexico but any and all of the pre-WC favorites. Again, we'll see...

BTW, where is Freddie playing, hopefully not sitting......, this season?

NJL

ETA: As a side note - the Ft Lauderdale Strikers defeated FC Edmonton in Alberta yesterday 2-1. This puts my beloved Red & Gold (yellow?) hoops into the NASL (Div 2) playoffs for the 1st time in 5 years. Here's wishing them luck in their last 2 games to, possibly, secure a 3rd or 4th place finish & at least one home play-off game. Who knows? With a decent run of play, and some goodly chunks of good luck, they might actually win this championship play-off. Or not.... We'll see.

[KHenry14]

BTW, where is Freddie playing, hopefully not sitting......, this season?

NJL

Neil, I can't believe you missed Freddie's triumphant return to MLS with the Philadelphia Union! Freddie's played in 5 games, started in 3, and has 1 goal and 0 assists. But he has two(!) yellow cards. LOL

Problem Freddie has is that the Union are bereft of offensive talent. So the lack of assists isn't surprising. Also, Freddie is likely not fully match fit yet, as he rarely plays the full 90. But IMO, he is playing and would make a good choice for the game in Miami.

P.S. Go Strikers!

[NeilJLeonard]

Neil, I can't believe you missed Freddie's triumphant return to MLS with the Philadelphia Union! Freddie's played in 5 games, started in 3, and has 1 goal and 0 assists. But he has two(!) yellow cards. LOL

Problem Freddie has is that the Union are bereft of offensive talent. So the lack of assists isn't surprising. Also, Freddie is likely not fully match fit yet, as he rarely plays the full 90. But IMO, he is playing and would make a good choice for the game in Miami.

To be honest I did not know he was playing anywhere in MLS.......The last few years have been unkind to him & he's actually dropped out of my sight. Hopefully he'll get some minutes here, but I think he'll get more when we play Ecuador on Oct 11th at Red Bull Arena.

P.S. Go Strikers!

Thank you. The thought is appreciated. The same to the Galaxy when they play in Mexico today. Since he is so well loved there I hope Landon scores a hat trick.....

I wonder if you'll say the same if the Strikers propel themselves into MLS some day? It's not out of the realm of possibility. And it is our dream here...

NJL

[Buzz]

CL group stage games starts up today. Chelsea and Arsenal are amoung the clubs playing today. I want to see how Arsenal is going to do with all the new signings they made over the transfer season. My boys are in action tomorrow.

[Buzz]

A good day for English football. Chelsea won 2-0 over Bayer while Arsenal dew 1-1 with Borussia. So if it was a good day for the English, it was not such a great day for German teams. Barca also drew 2-2 with AC Milan and Zenit lost 1-2 to that football powerhouse Apoel of Cyprus. Genk and Valencia drew 0-0, Porto beat Shakhtar 2-1, Olympic M beat Olympiacos 1-0, and Plzen and BATE also drew 1-1. Watched Barca v ACM and saw the sweetest set piece goal but David Villa.

[KHenry14]

Since he is so well loved there I hope Landon scores a hat trick.....

I wonder if you'll say the same if the Strikers propel themselves into MLS some day? It's not out of the realm of possibility. And it is our dream here...

NJL

LOL, yeah Landon has a big fan club south of the border! There are whistling like crazy when he has the ball.

Hey, it might be a couple of years, but south Florida has a history with soccer...the question is, can you get a stadium? No SS Stadium, no team.

[NeilJLeonard]

LOL, yeah Landon has a big fan club south of the border! There are whistling like crazy when he has the ball.

Hey, it might be a couple of years, but south Florida has a history with soccer...the question is, can you get a stadium? No SS Stadium, no team.

Someone will have to do a rebuild or upgrade to Lockhart Stadium, the Strikers home for all 4 times they've existed in one league or another. The ownership of the place is complex. It is currently run by the Broward County School Board and is used for both HS football & soccer when the Strikers are not playing. It is also used for some international soccer matches when the Dolphins Stadium is in use. If upgraded it would be a very good MLS stadium, but a shared one.

Since the Marlins committed highway robbery to get the Orange Bowl destroyed and their new super stadium built on the same spot at public expense I can't see any new stadium of any size being built in South Florida by any political entity for decades. It will be privately built, like the Dolphin's stadium, or not at all. Plus, land is an issue, too. Broward County is built out. There's nothing else available unless something existing is destroyed. Anywhere else is problematical at best. Palm beach County is many miles from Miami-Dade and Miami-Dade is where teams go to die, there is little support there for gringo soccer. Some folks there are actually fighting to destroy the Strikers so Beckham can come to Miami when he retires & start his own MLS team there. Yes, they are that deluded.

We'll see how it works out. I feel that eventually we'll get into MLS, but it will be years before we find someone that is willing to lay down the $$$ to get it going. Plus, we need to show that we can support a team here. That's why the idiocy shown in Miami-Dade is so stupid. They want MLS, but refuse to do the primary thing needed to bring it back: support the sport by supporting their local team.

NJL

[Buzz]

Saw Man U draw 1-1 with Benfica thanks to Ryan Giggs. The guy is still going strong at 37 and kudos to him but I would have preferred a Man U win.

[Buzz]

Here are today's CL results:

Man City + Napoli = 1-1
Villareal + Bayern = 0-2
Lille + CSKA M. = 2-2
Inter + Treb = 0-1
Basel + Oţelul = 2-1
Benfica + Man U = 1-1
Zagred + Real = 0-1
Ajax + Lyon = 0-0

[Buzz]

Manchester United have been cleared to list on the Singapore stock exchange. I am totally convinced this is just another money grab by it's owners the Glazer family and little or non of that money will find it's way to the team.

[Buzz]

Man U plays Chelsea today and as I type this we lead 3-1. Arsenal played Blackburn and thanks partly to two own goals lost 3-4. They have only five points so far this season and better start improving soon. Meanwhile in Spain Barca trashed Osasuna 8-0!!

[NeilJLeonard]

For The Record (and FWIW......): The Strikers 1-1 tie on Saturday coupled with FC Edmonton's loss to Montreal means that the Strikers will play a home playoff game on October 1st at Lockhart Stadium. They are currently 4th in the league and, with a huge touch of luck, could finish as high as 3rd. The 3rd & 4th place teams get a 1 game quarter final game. A win gives them a home & home against the 1st or 2nd place team who get a quarter final bye.

I've got my fingers crossed on this. In a playoff for a championship in any sport anything can happen. Hopefully its a good 'anything' for the red & yellow hoops.

NJL

[Buzz]

Oh yeah and Toronto beat Colorado this weekend 2-1! hehehe

[Buzz]

Inter Milan is looking for a new coach. No surprise there.

[jtpc]

New FIFA World Rankings were released today.

Canada's MNT earned more points in the last month than any other CONCACAF country. Their 76 points in the last month propels them up 15 places, from 102nd to 87th.

Look out Cyprus. Don't get too comfortable in 86th. You're next to be overtaken.

[NeilJLeonard]

New FIFA World Rankings were released today.

Canada's MNT earned more points in the last month than any other CONCACAF country. Their 76 points in the last month propels them up 15 places, from 102nd to 87th.

Look out Cyprus. Don't get too comfortable in 86th. You're next to be overtaken.

CONCACAF's top 3: Mexico = 20, USA = 31, Jamaica = 45.

NJL