By Tony Edwards - San Jose, CA (July 10, 2012) US Soccer Players -- In Tuesday’s edition, Tony looks at how long it has been since the Red Bulls won in New England, studies how likely it is that a two-time Player of the Month will win the MVP award, and plays an interesting game of Vermes or Cruyff.
When is the last time the New Jersey MLS franchise won a League game at Gillette Stadium against New England?
Back when they were the MetroStars, in 2002.
Yes, New England had some very good teams over this period of time, but MLS scheduling has given the MetroStars/Red Bulls plenty of opportunity over the years to eke out a 1-0 win against the run of play or have a striker have one of those days when everything goes in. That it hasn't happened is one of those aberrations that gives the broadcasters something to talk about every time the Revs host the Red Bulls.
San Jose’s Chris Wondolowski was named MLS Player of the Month in June, the second time he has been so honored this season. How many other players have won Player of the Month twice in a season?
Four other players have been named Player of the Month twice in a season (Clint Mathis in 2000;, Carlos Ruiz in 2002, Landon Donovan in 2003, and Juan Pablo Angel in 2007). Interestingly, only Ruiz won the League Most Valuable Player Award, although Mathis was a finalist in 2000.
Are the five bottom teams in the Western Conference fighting for one playoff spot?
The Galaxy moved into the 5th, and last, playoff spot this past weekend with their 2-0 victory in Chicago. With 23 points from 19 games, LA is exactly as close to last-place FC Dallas (16 points) as they are to tied-for-third Vancouver and Seattle (30 points). With somewhere between 14 and 16 games left to play, teams have to take a realistic look at where they are. While no team has been eliminated in the Western Conference, the margin for error is considerably smaller than it was a few weeks ago.
Why isn’t Chivas USA contending?
Eleven goals scored in seventeen games.
Which MLS head coach was echoing Johan Cruyff this weekend?
Which statement is Kansas City head coach and former US National Team player Peter Vermes and which is Cruyff?
“…you can’t mistake performance for what the result is at the end of the day.”
or
“Often a result is confused with a situation.”
The first is Vermes from MLSsoccer.com and the second is Cruyff from the brilliant book Ajax, Barcelona, Cruyff. Vermes continued, saying, “We controlled the game in a lot of different respects. We switched the point of attack. I thought our ball circulation was good.”
Tony Edwards is a soccer writer from the Bay Area.
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