By Tony Edwards - San Jose, CA (Jan 19, 2012) US Soccer Players -- In today's edition, Tony asks about Everton's tactics and upcoming schedule, looks at Steve Cherundolo's Hannover '96 back in action in Germany, wonders about the Rapids' priorities going into the season, and asks Joe Cannon not to quit his day job.
Now that Germany is back from their winter break, how is Steve Cherundolo's Hannover 96 team doing?
They drew 0 – 0 at Hoffenheim over the weekend and sit in 7th place, five points behind Leverkusen. Cherundolo played 90 minutes this weekend, playing in his eighth game of the season (his team has played 18). His staying healthy is one of Hannover's keys to making a run towards a Europa League spot. Hannover has a -8 goal difference in 9 road games this year, suggesting this weekend's clean sheet was a step in the right direction.
Is Everton the most frustrating team to watch in the EPL?
How many times this weekend did Landon Donovan get the ball and find three or more defenders in his path on the left? Rather than take on the massed defense, Donovan would wisely retreat and find Leighton Baines behind him or initiate a switch in play. Whether not having a forward on the left was by design by David Moyes to have players run onto Donovan and Baines' crosses or a tactic by Blackburn's Steve Keen to neutralize the danger presented by Donovan and Baines, I don't know.
But, over the last 20 league games for Everton, they have scored 0 or 1 goal 15 times. Their leading scorers have only three goals apiece, and Baines is one of them. Don't look now, but Everton's next seven league games are Manchester City, Wigan, Chelsea, Liverpool, QPR, Tottenham, and Arsenal. With Stuart Holden's Bolton and Blackburn Rovers showing signs of life, there's a lot of weight on Everton right now.
Has Houston made a mistake trading former US U-20 player Danny Cruz to DC for a “partial allocation ?”
Give the DC management some credit for being willing to make the deal. This is a young, experienced American, who was thought enough of to be a Generation Adidas player at one time and handled Houston's playoff run well last season. If DC and Cruz can reach a contract (Cruz' GA contract expired, so his salary will now count against the cap), Ben Olsen will have another option Meanwhile, Houston is looking for another solution on the right wing.
Now that the Rapids have a new coach and a new president, what's their top priority?
Gaining ground in a competitive Western Conference? Signing some new players? Sure, but their top priority for new president Tim Hinchey is a shirt sponsor. He also wants to be more transparent and available to Rapids' fans.
That's all well and good, but show me that your president having “office hours” like the Earthquakes' David Kaval does or Hinchey using Twitter actually sells more tickets/branded apparel/etc? And for all this admirable 'transparency,' MLS is a league with arcane draft and acquisition rules, a sell-high (if at all) buy-for-free player movement philosophy, and a league that 17 years in still hasn't solved confounding attendance problems in some of its core franchises. None of those are going to go away by team presidents being more 'available.'
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for increased two-way communication between management and their customers, but how about winning by playing attractive soccer using homegrown players? I know that is easier said than done, but this League seems to get so far away from its core product sometimes that it mistakes basic marketing tools for innovation.
Can Joe Cannon sing?
The Whitecaps' goalkeeper is a thoughtful, competitive player who is active in the community and ranks high in various all-time MLS lists. But, at a recent charity event in Las Vegas, Cannon showed he's better at shouting instructions to his defenders than crooning Duran Duran lyrics.
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