DanW

Be careful that you actually GET those more qualified and skillful players next season before you offload talent. I'd hate to see the club get rid of players and then be outbid in the transfer market...resulting in no new faces and missing the old faces just for depth.

The NYC market definitely has room for two MLS teams - that's never been in question. Especially if one team is in Jersey (as the RedBulls are) and the other is in Queens (as NYCFC is likely to be). Think the difference between...I don't know...West Ham and Fulham maybe? So that is fine. But the Man City interest is a bit more questionable other than simply having a legit football owner involved the MLS. What are Man City doing from their perspective, though? They will come to NYC probably annually and that will help them to get a few new fans as it makes a difference to be able to see your favorite players in person (see that sold out image Rut posted above). But most people here who are interested have already been cheering for a specific team (sadly, it's usually ManU, Arsenal, and Chelsea) so trying to get someone to switch over to City isn't likely, right? They will sell some merchandise in the Yankees team store, and sell some NYCFC (and maybe NY Yankees) merch in Manchester, but those profits are pennies compared to TV rights monies. Anyway, I still have no idea "what Man City are doing" other than simply owning a team in the States. From a personal perspective I do think that it's exciting that there's going to be another MLS team in NYC and that MLS will finally get to their stated goal of 20 teams. The quality of play here will never be as good as England/Spain/Germany/Italy/France, but perhaps we can be a 2nd tier nation. If MLS do want to get to that top level, they have to change their ownership rules, so it'd be a significant paradigm shift rather than just "growing their league." It would also help if they adopted a promotion/relegation system to encourage team owners to actually continue investment. But regardless, the new team will be fun for me...especially since I live much closer to wherever the new team will play than to the RedBulls stadium.

Honestly, I'm not sure what Man City are doing with this move. It makes sense from some perspectives but not so much from others. I think the Saints should definitely be trying to grow their brand stateside - there is a lot of potential in those kinds of strategies. Americans love the little guy and the underdog, so if SFC markets themselves that way they could get a ton of new fans on board. The growing economy here means more money for SFC, which means more money for big time players, which means better players and more wins. This is a good strategy. What Man City are doing... is a little more difficult to comprehend. MLS is a successful league with decent crowds, but it's not operated in the same way that European clubs and leagues are operated. I'm not sure of the potential for massive profit (some profit - yes) nor am I sure of the potential for new Man City fans with this purchase. I mean, ManU are owned by the people who own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers - there's almost no one who thought "hey I'm a fan of one, so I should be a fan of the other." Even my Cleveland Browns were owned by Randy Lerner until October, and never did I think that I should root for Aston Villa in that time. Ownership of teams across continents seems to have little resonance in the USA. While maybe there are some TV monies to be split up, I cannot really see Man City's financial incentive in this venture. Personally, I think Man City's owners just like owning football clubs.

You are too fast!

Stoke Away: 3-3 Stoke Home: 1-1 Sounds like a draw to me. edit: Oh. MLG answered that issue.

Saint Scott is actually from the future and has one of those almanac's seen in Back to the Future II. He got one of them wrong on purpose so it wouldn't look like he's cheating. Well done sir!

The Cleveland Indians are on fire right now. Yes, they won one game on a bogus call by the umps but I don't care. This run of games has been great. Too bad they were so far out that they are still in third despite their 10 wins in 11 games. Last night there was an illegal pitching change which, while the team that made the illegal move ultimately lost and therefore no one will care, creates a new round of "don't the umpires even know their own rules?" Until a few days ago, Boston unexpectedly had the best record in baseball. They've now lost three in a row and have dropped to 3rd. The LA Dodgers and their quadrillion dollar payroll (only a slight exaggeration) are in the cellar. I just bought tickets to see the Yankees play the Indians in June. Woo! What fun all around!

Cody Cropper will be the USA Keeper in a few years.

Notable Strengths: 1) Great pitch. 2) ??? Anything else? Weaknesses: 1) Standard bowl 2) Two small screens 3) Lack of information 4) Lack of charm 5) Lack of any sort of notable attribute. I'm not complaining about the place - I'm glad we have a relatively new and modern facility. But what about it makes it great?

That's silly. He doesn't need to learn "English" ... he needs to learn "Spanish" duh.

I love Grantland.com. It's one of my favorite places. And a great article about MLT. Thanks for sharing. I don't think Matt played yesterday, though. Guernsey were supposed to play a game on Friday, Saturday, and then Sunday, but Saturday's game was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. So I'm guessing that the day off spared some of their players, which meant they didn't need MLT. They won, though, 4-3.

I like Portland's fans! They are a fun time.

I would love it if the guy who runs the blog in the original post could redesign our badge. I think he's got an excellent eye for modern design and I've always thought our own logo was rather elementary and feels like design from the 1970s. I support this plan.

He was one of my favorites over the past few years. I really hope the best for him and hope that he somehow heals up quickly and can contribute to the squad in the future. I do recognize the situation though but that doesn't mean I can't hope for a turn around in fortune for him.

We need that 3rd place, at least. Only 3 points away, but still need to earn them.

Here's one I would like to bring in for us: USA International Omar Gonzalez http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Gonzalez He had a cracking game against Mexico in the World Cup Qualifier last week - in the Azteca, too. He only has 6 caps right now, but it's almost a guarantee that he will be capped in every game the US plays for the next few months....probably throughout the Hex. But back on topic... I think our CB's are good but can always be better. So the club will be looking to improve, as they always should. I am content with them but not happy, the way I feel about most positions.

Great article. I love it when someone backs up their points with facts.

It is bad mojo to spread lies. Started against Forest. Started against Burnley. Subbed against Watford. Three games is a lot more than zero games. Regardless, he didn't play in the last few games, and clearly they weren't enamored with him, either.

Is anyone an ESPN Insider? Where does Cody Cropper fall on this list? http://insider.espn.go.com/sports/soccer/blog/_/name/us_national_soccer/id/9018045/us-national-team-top-25-21-prospects He was ranked 12th previously, but after his great showing in Mexico last week I am wondering if he has moved up at all.

It appears he wasn't even disciplined. http://www.ussoccer.com/News/U-20-MNT/2013/03/U20-MNT-Falls-3-1-in-Overtime-to-Take-Second-in-CONCACAF.aspx Unless that game is against a different team, but those look like the Mexico jerseys, right?

What about Sam Hoskins? I think he's been quite good and just because he's out on loan doesn't mean we don't have hopes for the future with him.

I want to name my next pet after him. I love Lambert.

Well, it's official on Bolton's site: http://www.bwfc.co.uk/news/article/de-ridder-signs-on-loan-31.1.13-631851.aspx Not on Saints site yet, though. Probably will be in the morning.

I love Ian Darke. Yes he roots on Pompey but he's still an amazing commentator. I will forgive him his faults.

It should be noted that Sports Illustrated actually has journalistic standards and anything he writes will be fact checked and run by multiple editors. This is not the Daily Fail we're talking about here. Thus, while he did not go to Southampton and interview MP himself, he used publicly available data for a good analysis of what the future could become under MP. Therefore, I'd call this a good article. It's also intended for a national audience in the USA, which means that it has to be explanatory enough for those who don't follow the news closely or weren't heart broken when NA was sacked.