Sounder At Heart

Peter Wilt has a compromise solution

2010-03-17T18:17:28Z

The former general manager of the Chicago Fire and an active commentator on all things soccer, Peter Wilt has some detailed solutions to the current CBA mess. I have a feeling the owners would probably go for this, I am less sure the players would.

For players, he suggests granting free agency to MLS players, but only after seven years in the league, raising minimum salaries and boosting the salary cap. Status quo would continue in areas such as contract negotiations being left to the league and players not receiving a cut of transfer fees.

My proposal calls for free agency after seven years in MLS and compensation from the signing team to the team losing the player in the form of a SuperDraft pick. For example, if a player finished his second MLS contract (a four year and a three year contract), he could sign with any team in the League. The higher his new salary, the better the compensation pick the new team would provide the former team. Perhaps compensation of a first round pick for a player who signs for more than $200,000, a 2nd round pick if the contract is for more than $100,000 and a 3rd round pick for a player who signs for less than $100,000.

In other strike-related news, Soccer Insider Steven Goff says player reps are meeting to discuss possible actions and that the two sides have returned to their respective corners for the time being. Ives is reporting the non-bombshell that the union is preparing its players to walk out on March 22, a whole day earlier than previously announced. Also, here's the complete Joe Roth interview story from Don Ruiz. Money quote: "I think they’d have a hard time waiting out a billionaire. I just don’t see how it profits anybody, a work stoppage."

Szetela waived by DC United

2010-03-17T03:25:43Z

Szetela waived by DC United

Should the Sounders try to acquire the former US youth national with Euro and MLS experience? He's been a CM, RM and CAM in his time with 4 pro clubs. Szetela and Sigi have experience with the U-20s and the Columbus Crew.

Ives has stated that Szetela is now healthy, but got "Pipped" .

What is a recently injured, but once highly prized player such as Danny Szetla worth in this labor environment? We can't know until it happens. I doubt he makes it through waivers though.

Once a Metro launches on SBNation

2010-03-17T01:27:35Z

Once a Metro launches on SBNation

And now there are 4 MLS sites on the network!

Go over and give them a greeting.

Joe Roth weighs in on the strike.

2010-03-16T19:14:10Z

Here. It looks like the ownership has been told that they are free to comment it up. I happen to also really hope this doesn't get to the stage of a strike as I suspect it will be bad for everyone involved. He makes some arguments that make sense. Of course, he's an owner so he clearly has a serious stake in things being looked at from his point of view. I do think it is potentially hopeful that he points out that both sides will have to lose something to get a new deal hammered out. Unfortunately it seems pretty clear that the free agency thing is what players want and also what the owners won't allow. Uggh. The whole thing is just a mess.

Update: More here.

It's really hard to judge everyone's place on this one, but I will say that it looks like the owners might have a bit of a point in terms of revenue. The problem is the players also have a good point with the free agency thing. There must be some sort of compromise in there somewhere, even if it is just free agency for veteran players.

Management speaks

2010-03-16T16:23:00Z

I share this mainly because it's the first time I've seen a member of team management (as opposed to an MLS head honcho) speak about the strike threat.

AEG's Tim Leiweke essentially threw down the gauntlet today in an interview with the LA Times.

"Here's our issue, and I'm speaking on behalf of AEG," Leiweke said in an interview with The Times on Monday. "We have spent to the tune of $300 million on soccer. We have spent money on facilities. We at one point owned six of the 10 teams to keep the league alive.

"I don't even know how to react when I hear the players now saying that we have treated them poorly and they're going to strike. The fact is, the Galaxy isn't going to make money this year. There are only a couple of [MLS] teams that will make money this year.

"It's not like this league is a work of completion. It's not like we have accomplished what we have to accomplish to be stable and to know we have a great future. It's not like we have reached the potential of a soccer league in this country.

"So when I hear them talk about striking and shutting the league down, I've got to tell you, they're going to lose us when they talk like that.

"We do this out of passion. If this were a business, we would have quit this 10 years ago."

I've certainly said some things here that could be read as pretty pro-management, and certainly pro status-quo. My opinions, for whatever it's worth, are borne out of the belief that a strike would not only be bad for MLS, but bad for the players and their union. As far as future gains go, if players strike and owners are able to essentially break that strike, you can turn back the clock on any serious gains at least another 5-10 years (just look at the NFL and what happened to their union after two horrible defeats in the 1980s).

That said, Leiweke does his side no favors by coming out in this way. If I were a conspiracy type, I'd almost believe that he's trying to goad the union into striking for the precise reasons I laid out above.

I really don't want the players to strike. If they do, though, I hope for their sake that I'm wrong about what will happen.

Anyone else find it strange that a management team that had kept such a tight lid on rogue voices has apparently sprung a leak? Or maybe they're just worried that too much of the press has been pro player and this is an attempt to balance the scales?

While Kasey Keller is the clear starter, there was an open competition for the backup role between...

2010-03-16T04:06:12Z

While Kasey Keller is the clear starter, there was an open competition for the backup role between Boss and Chris Eylander before the team's second season begins.

"It was up for grabs," said Dutra. "It was a position they both competed for, and we believed in Terry ... He was able to win that spot."

Seattle Times Joshua Mayers has more quotes from Dutra as well

I guess the only question left is what happens to Eylander. Could he be kept but on the IL, just for insurance? Or does the club look to a developmental player for keeper #3? Or would you stick with a pool keeper for that insurance?

Freddie talks CBA (a bit) at ESPN

2010-03-16T02:55:33Z

Here's his opening paragraph (read the rest here):

Imagine you work at Burger King and you get sacked. Now, you want to get another job at McDonald's, but you're not allowed to unless McDonald's compensates Burger King. It seems absurd, but that's the way certain things work in MLS at the moment. If your team terminates your contract, it still can demand a trade from another club before you can go and play for that other club.

This, of course, would be absurd in a lot of situations, but there are such things as non-compete clauses, so it's not completely unheard of for an employer to attempt to restrict a former employee's employment options. What is unheard of, though, is for that to last into perpetuity. What this paragraph highlights more than anything, however, is the difference between how sports teams operate here in the US versus the rest of the world.

Here in the US, we talk about owners being awarded franchises, but let's think a bit about what that means. A franchise is privately owned and operated, but licensed by a parent company to use its brands, marketing, and other business tools. The owner of the franchise doesn't have as much freedom as he would have if he were operating a stand-alone business, and the parent company can impose various requirements on the way the business is operated. So Freddie's choice of McDonald's and Burger King is apt, except that in the case of a player for an American sports team, it's like being fired from one McDonald's and trying to get hired by another one. (McDonald's may or may not be able to impose the same kind of rules MLS does on its teams; if there are any labor/employment lawyers who'd like to chime in, please do.)

In contrast, teams in most of the world are independent, stand-alone businesses. Man U and Arsenal are not like McDonald's and Burger King, but more like Alex's Pie Shoppe and Arsene's House of Eclairs (yes, I know Ferguson and Wenger are not the owners). While they are regulated, as all businesses are, they have a lot more freedom than the franchisees.

So what are the implications of this difference? The primary one, and the one that drives all the rest, is the fact that because teams elsewhere are independent businesses, it means that anyone can get into the soccer business if they feel like it. If I wanted to start Carlos FC, I'd just have to go and register my team with my FA and take my spot at the bottom of the hierarchy. That allows a proliferation of teams: basically any place with the mildest interest in a team will have one. I did a count the other day of the professional teams in the state of São Paulo, the most populous in Brazil with about 42 million people (about 13.5% more than California's approximately 37 million). The final tally was 105 professional soccer teams over four levels of competition, or 2.5 teams for every million residents. For perspective, there are 276 baseball clubs for the whole US, with a population of over 308 million, or just about 0.9 teams per million people. If the US had baseball teams at the same rate that São Paulo has soccer teams, it would have 770. Rio de Janeiro's rate is even more impressive: 87 teams for about 16 million residents, for a rate of about 5.4 per million. At the carioca rate, the US would have about 1675 baseball teams.

I know that this isn't a hugely significant comparison, but the underlying point is this plethora of teams allows soccer leagues around the world to operate the way they do. That favorite dream of soccer fans, a promotion and relegation system, is as likely in the US as a unicorn-based taxi service, but it's an obvious step in an environment where there are teams everywhere. Likewise, the impact of a club failing is much reduced. One team out of sixteen going under is a huge blow, but when there are dozens and dozens ready to take its place, it's shrug-worthy, if you're not a fan of that team. Finally, the owners of any given team have no formal connection to any other, and in fact, as independent businesses, the teams have to be careful to avoid improper levels of cooperation, lest they run into problems with anti-collusion regulations.

A situation like what's happening with the CBA is literally impossible in most soccer leagues, so it's understandable that Freddie would be perplexed. Obviously, there's no way that sports leagues in the US will abandon their cartel-like ways for a free enterprise system, but it's useful to think about what it means for us fans that the system works the way it does.

Nkufo returns to service of Twente

2010-03-16T02:47:44Z

Blaise returned to Twente's active roster just in time for the biggest matches of the season. PSV Eindhoven in League action on the 20th and Feyenoord Rotterdam on the 24th to advance to the Dutch Cup Final.

Here's how the Sounders PR staff announced his return

Nkufo Returns, Twente Pulls Ahead

Blaise Nkufo returned to action for FC Twente Enschede last Friday in a 3-1 win over ADO Den Haag. Twente, winner of five in a row, has extended its lead in the Dutch Eredivisie to five points over four-time defending champion PSV Eindhoven.

Twente is seeking its first national title since 1926. It hosts PSV on Saturday in Enschede. On March 24, Twente faces Feyenoord Rotterdam in a Dutch Cup semifinal.

Nkufo, who missed two league matches with a strained hamstring, signed with Sounders FC on March 4 and will join Seattle after completing his commitments to Twente and the Swiss national team.

Nkufo played 13 minutes

But let's look a little more at Twente, as I like some of thier players. They might have a decent guy or two to take on loan here at the tail end of their season who won't figure into McLaren's lineup until next year in the Fall. Now, I can't dream of Bryan Ruiz, but they still aren't using Nashat Akram. Neither of those guys will have international duties this year.

FC Twente have just over a dozen players who haven't started in more than 5 matches. This is a good team, that could lock up its place on the table and in the cup next week, and it will have even less need for depth than it does now.

MLS should be looking for teams like this that need their talent to play, and develop. Not just 18 year old Colombians on Argentine 2nd Division youth squads.

MLSnet.com about to become MLSsoccer.com And how do they tell us about the cool new features?...

2010-03-15T13:25:59Z

MLSnet.com about to become MLSsoccer.com

And how do they tell us about the cool new features? Via a video of talking heads

We have a Piper DOWN! Beckham's 2010 (club and country both) done?

2010-03-15T03:19:39Z

We have a Piper DOWN! Beckham's 2010 (club and country both) done?

He's done with Milan. He's done with England, probably for good.

Likely even done with Galaxy, though just maybe back in time if they can scrape into the Playoffs.

Forward Alecko Eskandarian will be out indefinately for the Galaxy as well.

While Sounders fans bemoan the offense here, let's remember some perspective.

Statistics Update, Battle for Depth in Sounders Rotation

2010-03-14T17:47:58Z

So we know the record of the team (4 wins, 3 losses, 1 draw including the two "reserve" matches). It isn't great, nor does it suck. Over a 30 game season it would mean a MUCH worse defense, a slightly better offense and 48 points on the table.

But MLSpreseason isn't about records, is any preseason? It is about competition for roster slots, for playing time/depth andhere's where what little statistics we have can give us a slightly better idea of what's going on with the team.

Currently I see the competition on offense being for who starts while Jaqua is out (likely at Right Wing), who is the 3rd Center Mid (or 2nd for Match One) and a big old cluster of defenders trying to round out the squad. I'm going to ignore developmental vs senior status on these charts. The upcoming CBA with roster rules and new salary cap are unknowable, but I also must assume that there will eventually be a season.

Battle for the Attack
This is really down to likely 4 guys (unless the Colombian by way of Argentine 2nd division youth team is actually good). A long time Sounder, one of the first MLS signings, a 4th round pick andthis year's first roundpick. Mainly young, each has slightly different skills, but all four can play the Right Wing in the Arrow, as well as spend time at the Withdrawn Forward and Left Wing. Levesque can even play the Center Forward as well.

Offense	PP90	% Time
Estrada	0.00	49.3%
Nyassi	1.51	41.5%
Levesque	2.00	37.5%
Fucito	1.02	24.4%

Yes, there are other players who could be in that mix. Seamon and Perdido are both back at school. McLoughlin would have to go through the allocation lottery system. None of those three are getting playing time though. Souter we've only had glimpses of performance, and while he might be nice cover, he isn't going to crack past the current leader in my mind for that starting Right Wing - Levesque.

Sigi though may use the spot on a case by case basis figuring how to match up while Jaqua nurses his injury.

"Obviously there are options for us there. Roger [Levesque] is healthy as well so Roger could pop up out there also. Sanna [Nyassi] we saw in the game in Vancouver so we wanted to see what [Kevin] Souter could do; if he’s somebody that we felt could help us. We have played [David] Estrada out there. He has had some moments out there as well. Again, it’s the same thing, everybody brings something different there. Roger [Levesque] gives you an honest two-way work rate. Sanna [Nyassi] has great speed but sometimes the decisions of passes that he makes are not the best. [David] Estrada sometimes decides to hold it when he needs to part with it but then his running and his effort and his work is good. He needs to be a little bit stronger at times. [Kevin] Souter is a guy who is a pretty good soccer player. He is not really a wide guy so he comes off the line a little more and gives you a little bit more midfield play from there. It’s a matter of us looking at Philadelphia [Union] and what they are going to bring in the first game and what we think is going to help us be the best as a team."

Yeah, it looks like Nate won't be playing that first match, and one must wonder if he's starting the season on the Injured List.

Central Midfield has Depth
The competition for the two central roles, including who starts against Philly in place of Evans (likely the Right WingBack that day) is a study in tactical styles. The coach has comments on those guys as well.

"We are just trying to look at different combinations. Sometimes it’s not the best individuals that need to play but the best combination of two; the ones that can complement each other. Right now, everybody brings a little bit of something different. [Pete] Vagenas is probably the best passer in terms of finding those little passes. [Osvaldo] Alonso is our best defender. [Brad] Evans, when he plays in the middle of midfield, is the one who will get forward the most. [Nathan] Sturgis is the one who hits the best long ball. [Pete] Vagenas is also the one who talks the most and sometimes you need that because it makes the player next to him better. It’s still something that we are going to continue to look at probably through next week and then make a decision as we go into the first game."

Now, I'm actually surprised that in those two long statements King hasn't been mentioned as he would seem to be CAM, CM, RW material, so I've included him on the chart centrally.

Central	PP90	% Time
Sturgis	0.49	50.7%
Vagenas	0.53	47.1%
King	0.00	46.7%

Alonso is certainly going to start. He's one of the team's best, but I wouldn't be surprised if we see Vagenas in the starting lineup against Philly. Even with Evans on the pitch I think that Sigiwill want a talker out there trying to coach the team. I would go with Sturgis though.

Backline Competition too Crowded
All of the competition for backup centerback, and maybe even as a starter, is among players who can also go wide into a flat four. Parke, Ianni, Scott and Wahl just have enough varied skill that they can change the dynamic of the Sounders system fitting into multiple roles on the squad.

Young Lamar Neagle still has a shot at being deep cover, as he has his youth, and is probably the only Wingback on the squad outside of Riley and Gonzalez. But his playing time is dipping lately, and those other four are just better defenders.

Defense	PP90	% Time
Wahl	0.00	52.9%
Scott	0.00	43.2%
Neagle	1.45	34.6%
Parke	0.00	31.3%
Ianni	1.14	21.9%

All four of the "name" name players there are going to be on MLS squads this year. I would even go so far as to say that they could start in this defense starved league. I actually think that this battle will be most influenced by the new rules of MLS. Taylor Graham looks likely to start the first of the season injured, maybe another IL guy?

So while the focus of the match against the Rapids will be on the offensive third, I am very intrigued by which defenders get to play, and how much?

"To continue to move forward in terms of what we are able to do in the final third of the field. We did a good job of getting the ball to the final third. Now we need to do a good job at breaking down a team. Obviously we expect Colorado might have a little more of the game against us so there is going to be more opportunity for us to play to an open field which makes it easier to attack as well. But I think we just need to continue to work on our attack, work on our movement of the ball and make sure we don’t give up any silly goals. But the main emphasis has got to be on our attack and our movement of the ball."

Here's the latest update on scoring, which does also appear in the sidebar

Player	PP90	G	A
Levesque	2.00	3	0
Gardner	2.00	0	1
Nyassi	1.51	2	1
Neagle	1.45	2	0
Ianni	1.14	1	0
Fucito	1.02	1	0
Zakuani	0.82	1	0
Ljungberg	0.59	0	2
Vagenas	0.53	0	2
Sturgis	0.49	0	2
Montero	0.46	1	0
Riley	0.25	0	1
Alonso	0.23	0	1

There is one more preseason match for these players to win a job. Who do you expect to do so?

The Legend of the Mexican Soccer Fan

2010-03-14T16:14:35Z

I had the great fortune to spend a week in Mexico; Cabo San Lucas down in Baja Sur. No, this was not a soccer trip, I leave those to Steve Davis. This was about sun, and family. So posting slowed down a bit here. You may have noticed, or not. But I did do some soccer reading (Soccernomics), and had conversations with locals about the game they love - which is hard because I don't speak Spanish.

Mostly I did a totally non-scientific survey, because I was curious about how pure the fanbase of a teamless state would be. By teamless, I mean no pro side. And no real amateur side either, not of significance. Sure, there are some local branches of Universities - where I was had one from Tijuana. In all though, this state of less than 1 Million people is 32nd of 32 by population. So why would I think there would be a decent team? Why would I think that the people here would love soccer?

Well, because its Mexico. And like so many things in soccer there is this tradition that everyone in Mexico loves soccer. The reality isn't quite so pure.

Baja California Sur, is young, literate and generally a little more wealthy than the typical Mexican state. But it is a state without history, adding 20% to its population from 2000 to 2005. Many of the people that live there do so to grab a little bit of opportunity by separating American tourists from their money - whether working in shops, bars, hotels or resorts.

But young people love soccer, right? Young Mexicans love it more, right?

Meh, maybe not so much. There are two fields in Cabo San Lucas, with stands that could less than the four teams competing. Few bars actually showed soccer on their TVs, and those that did showed more EPL than anything. Only 1 place knew about the Crew v Toluca match in the CCL.

The pattern of fandom down there was quite similar to a general overview of the sport in Mexico. When I asked, "What is your favorite football, or soccer, team?" and after getting around the answers for all of the NFL teams (Cowboys, Raiders, Colts, Patriots and Packers) it really just came down to the four most popular teams in Mexico.

There was an edge to Chivas de Guadelajara as they got 7 of the 15 mentions (with only 1 title in the last 5 years). Next was America (3 cups) and Pumas (1 cup) with 3 each, and lastly Cruz Azul (no cups) with 2. Yes, BCS pulls a lot of its working force from Guadelajara itself, but overall the answers and discussion were about teams with "history" and not with recent success. Pumas fans were notable because they just tended to like the club because of what it IS - an amateurside in the top division - but for the most part the fans I talked to liked soccer, but their attachments weren't strong. Not even at the national level as several people told me that their favorite teams were non-Mexican National Teams (Italy, Brazil, Germany).

Mainly this little mini-experiment got me thinking that maybe MLS fans are so busy building up other nations' soccer culture they have not done enough focusing on their own. We don't need to compare ourselves to the myths and legends of the "best" fans in the world, nor in our region. We need to recognize what we are, who we are, run with that. Compare MLS to where it was, and where it is now.

So there's a tiny snapshot of my vacation. I will get to updating the statistics for Sounders preseason shortly, and I also have a fairly significant article sketched out from my reading of Soccernomics and how it relates to the MLS Labor Dispute.

The Recession Killed Profits in MLS

2010-03-12T22:16:56Z

So we all know the Forbes study about 2007. We should all know that it did not include the money from Soccer United Marketing. SUM makes a lot of money. That will be true in recession or not, but recently the Timbers had to publicly declare how they as an MLS side would make money and pay back the city for all those great tax breaks, etc.

Let's first look at 2007 though - only 3 teams were "profitable" without SUM money.

THREE - Los Angeles, Toronto and Dallas. One could argue that with SUM money that another 3-6 clubs likely made money in that single year. At least it could be argued. Let's also remember that sports teams almost never make money on a year-to-year basis, but instead are like real estate, and have annual costs past their income, but when sold makes the owner some bank. This is true for all but the top 10% of teams in pretty much any league in the world.

But since 2007 the world has changed. Iceland nearly doesn't exist as a financial entity. Governments in most democracies have changed their ruling party. The WORLD has reached a Recession nearing on depression. How did that hit MLS?

The answer is HARD. It hit MLS very hard. Despite the Seattle Sounders magical attendance numbers the league was still down. This is a league that makes more money off of gate than it does off of TV, and that hurt. The shine of Beckham is gone. The newness of TFC is GONE. Dallas still doesn't know how to market in Frisco.

So I did some math. Really basic stuff, but the Portland release filled in some data points and I could extrapolate a range of profits for MLS sides in 2009 based in part on the 2007 study and in part on how the Timbers plan to make money.

Things in MLS aren't really that good. Revenue is high, but profits aren't following, unless you include SUM. There are some mysteries surrounding how that money is distributed, but let's ignore SUM for a bit.

Only 2 clubs turned a profit in 2009 - Seattle and Toronto. I'm going to have to deal with ranges, because the math is a bit fuzzy, and I had to estimate, but Seattle took in about 36M$ in revenue. No joke. In the down economy Seattle launched to a perfect storm. No other team in any American league will ever do that again. Toronto barely turned a non-SUM profit though. While Seattle had a non-SUM profit of between $10 and 17 Million, TFC only came in at about $1 to 3 Million US.

No one else likely made a profit during the Recession. If we count SUM money the way Portland does (which isn't necessarily the "right" way to do so, as I have heard that it is an incentive rather than even distribution) the following "profits" were made in MLS, accounting for gate, and announced sponsorships since 2007:

The Galaxy had about $2M less in Gate revenue from 2007 to 2009. Dallas still mainly makes money from non-soccer revenue, so it was harder to estimate. Salt Lake will start climbing the revenue ladder as it starts to pay off the stadium.

In all things in MLS aren't good. A 12% reduction in attendees crushes a league that depends on gate.

Seattle	15,322,672
TFC	2,819,697
RSL	934,144
FCD	678,151
San Jose	501,318
LA	259,161
Houston	258,397
C-USA	-612,923
NER	-962,664
CR	-2,079,073
KCW	-2,278,705
DCU	-4,203,862
CCrew	-4,232,625
Chicago	-4,348,156
NY	-6,068,760

Obviously these are ugly estimates. Quite rough. One would likely be better having a range, based on some unknown factors not listed in either report, so let's do some jujitsu on the numbers;

Seattle	10m to 17m
TFC	0m to 3m
RSL	neg2m to 0m
FCD	neg2m to 1m
San Jose	neg2m to 0m
LA	neg5m to 2m
Houston	neg3m to 0m
C-USA	neg3m to neg1m
NER	neg4m to neg1m
CR	neg5m to neg3m
KCW	neg4m to neg3m
DCU	neg7m to neg5m
CCrew	neg6m to neg5m
Chicago	neg7m to neg4m
NY	neg8m to neg7m

There are still teams that despite having labor costs in the $2-3M range are losing twice that much money. At least if the Forbes estimate and Portland numbers are remotely accurate. Yes, a majority of clubs are making money if we COUNT SUM, which is technically a seperate entity, but let's also remember that almost ZERO MLS players are responsible for the earnings from SUM.

SUM holds the rights to the World Cup, the Gold Cup, the WPS, the US MNT, the Mexican NT when in the USA, Barcelona in the USA, Interliga, Superliga and the PanPacific Championship. Those last two are the only ones that MLS players participate in by nature, and they are also the only two that don't exist in 2010. Should MLS players get a portion of that money? Likely no.

On Roles within Formations

2010-03-12T16:03:07Z

A few weeks ago Graham wrote the excellent primer On Formations, but that was really just a primer to establish notation, the "bands" in which many teams play, and as well cover the simple states of the game. It was an introduction that in soccer formations are nuetral, but how they are used changes things.

Even a 5-4-1 can be an offensive formation if everyone pushes up, with a highline and wingbacks and three attacking midfielders. On this site I speak of the roles of players in a specific manner, but often it only makes sense to me.

Well, no longer.

Some of this is adapted from watching the game, from my thoughts on the game, my understanding of other games of posession, a little bit of FIFA'10 and just trying to discover how to write so that the readers will understand me. Most readers here are by now familiar with what I call Sigi's Arrow, or the 4-1-Diamond-1, or a 4-5-1 of types. But the roles available are quite fluid, even without discussing Total Football.

See the chart below for the most common roles.

	Left Forward	Center Forward	Right Forward
Left Wing		Withdrawn Forward		Right Wing
Left Attacking Mid		Center Attacking Mid		Right Attacking Mid
Left Mid		Center Mid		Right Mid
	Left Defensive Mid	Center Defensive Mid	Right Defensive Mid
Left Wingback		UpBack/Libero		Right Wingback
Left Back	CenterBack	CenterBack	CenterBack	Right Back
		Sweeper
		Keeper

Now, it should be obvious that not all of those roles could be occupied at once. Several are almost never occupied. You will also note that I say Center Forward here, but that one could also be called a Target Forward (if they are typically a target of long balls and lofty crosses) or a Striker. Positionally these three are basically the same.

When I speak of the role of a player I am talking about the space they typically occupy in a given match as relates to the rest of their own team. The game is very fluid in nature, and so labeling this role does not mean that said player is always in said space, just that they typically are.

Withdrawn Forward (WF) v Center Attacking Midfielder (CAM)
It could be said that these two roles are quite similar and that's why I will try and clarify with them first. Also, Freddie Ljungberg has been used in both roles during his stay with Seattle, and if we were to chart his position on the field it would likely average the same general placement despite playing two types of games. As a Withdrawn Forward (also noted by some as a Second Striker and Offset Striker) the player plays with the ball at their feet in an effort to shoot. They use the Target Forward (CF, Striker) to help create space for their own runs. They tend not to be the target of the air game. Jaime Moreno and Omar Cummings are two good examples of the WF. Goals scorers that also put up good assist numbers.

The Center Attacking Mid has a very similar position relative to the rest of their teammates, but what they do with the ball changes. When the ball is at their feet they primarily look to pass. This leads many commentators to refer to someone in this role as a "pivot" or "advanced pivot" as in a majority of build-up situations a team will look for this player to change the flow of the game from left to right or forward. If soccer has a point guard it would be this player. Back in the 90s this wasCarlos Valderama, but now is Guillermo Barros Scheletto and Blanco. Except when those last two aren't doing that.

In many situations a team's most expensive talent has been a floater, a player who can do either role effectively and the coach let's that player stick one foot in either role in a given match. This is why you can sometimes see the same team listed as a 4-5-1, a 4-4-1-1 and a 4-4-2. DeRo, GBS, Blanco and Ljungberg all do this at times, and while it seems to take away from the clarity of the situation, it is also part of why they are great players.

The Wide Midfielders
Several different roles can be seen as wide midfielders. I will even go so far as to throw the Wingers of a 4-3-3 into this element as they are in some ways a variant of the midfield as well, though with less defensive responsibilities. From the chart above listed from most attacking to most defensive and only on the Left side - Left Wing, Left Attacking Midfielder, Left Mid, Left Defensive Mid.

Wing(er) - Whether Thierry Henry or Steve Zakuani, this player is both a goal scorer and an assist threat. They come in at the elbows with the ball at their feet attacking the goal or threading a pass to a teammate making a central or far post run. Often these passes are low, aimed at the feet of the player for a one touch goal scoring opportunity. Whether the role is occupied by a nominal Forward or Midfielder neither has great defensive responsibilities, mainly focusing on forward defense and stealing the ball in the attacking third.

Left/Right Attacking Mid - This role isn't seen too often, as a team needs two players capable of being Attacking Midfielders that both belong on the pitch at the same time. It will appear in certain variants of the 4-5-1, particularly the "Christmas Tree" or 4-3-2-1. Each player is like a CAM in nature. They don't provide width typically, but instead control lanes on either side of an imaginary centerline. A team using the LAM and RAM would need its fullbacks to get forward quite a bit in order to keep opposition fullbacks honest in defense.

Left/Right Mid - This is a box-to-box player who plays both ways. It is the difference in ways between a Steve Zakuani on the Left and those times when we saw Seb Le Toux or Roger Levesque on the Left. More defensive in orientation than the previous two wide roles, you often see this player as providing a lot of width in play, and they are well known for the booming cross. Dave ven den Bergh and David Beckham are probably the two clearest examples of this role. You don't necessarily need a fast player here, but as always speed helps.

Left/Right Defensive Mid - These paired roles show up in both 3-5-2 and 4-5-1 formations, so Seattle will almost never use them. But if you think back to the matches against DC United (particularly the Open Cup Final) you will note Rodney Wallace in this role. There are also times where a 4-4-2 can have two defensive mids when both wide players are nearly wingers, and the Sounders toyed a bit with having Alonso and Evans paired in defense like this. In any formation but the 3-5-2 that has two Defensive Mids you will find that the team using that style is playing to hold the current score as they lose offensive punch by having 7 of their 11 players behind the ball in almost all cases.

Fullbacks - WingBacks at Flat Backs
Graham kind of dissected this one already when talking about James Riley early in this site's history on SBN. He then adressed it again a bit in his discussion on the Offside Trap. So I don't need to say much except that the WingBack is more of an offensive threat (think Leo Gonzalez) where the plain Back (Zach Scott) is just a defender, likely better at executing the trap.

Central Defense
There are several roles that appear in the middle of the defense and they appear in both the midfield and along the backline. Some of these have grown more popular over time, and other take someone truly special to make it work.

Center Defensive Mid (CDM) - Any team playing a Diamond in the midfield likely does so in order to have a 5th defensive outfielder. This player provides an extra layer of defensive, counteracts the CAM, and sometimes makes second runs into the offensive third to provide depth in attack. Whether Osvaldo Alonso, or Kyle Beckerman, this is a player that stops the run of play by the opposition, or at the least slows down a break so that other midfielders can get back as well.

Libero (or UpBack) - I don't like to use non-English when talking soccer, because I have enough trouble with my own language. So I invented the word UpBack to represent a central defender that gets forward on occaission like the WingBacks. It is rare to see in the modern game and takes a truly special centerback that can get this done. If the CDM gets into the attack 20% of the time the Libero/UB does so only 10% of the time. Patrick Ianni did this a bit last year, and Jeff Parke seems to have done so last night against the Timbers.

Sweeper - I see this as a nearly dead role. One that is like adding a final backline behind the other CenterBacks. I guess if there were 3 or 5 defenders one may drop closer to the keeper, but this would lose the ability to execute the Trap. Sometimes the Sounders will use Hurtado in a kind of sweeping fashion during a long ball battle as Marshall goes up, Hurtado will then try to capture the second ball if Marshall doesn't get the first.

Central Midfielder/Box to Box Midfielder - While in the top leagues this "non-specialist" is disappearing, I think it is alive and well in Major League Soccer. Whether it is Brad Evans who does go from 18 to 18, Sharlie Joseph who goes from 18 to 6 or even Peter Vagenas who goes from 30 to 30 MLS needs and uses these players to control the pace of a match, to provide a presence within the middle layer and to give just a bit more scoring punch. The CM has to have strong tactical knowledge, good technical skills and a great understanding of the coach's system. It shouldn't be a surprise that the two players with the most experience on Sigi Schmid led teams are the ones that he uses in this role.

Hopefully that new table helps. As always ask questions if you have any. Also the tag "primer" has other introduction to soccer concepts, as well as intro to MLS concepts.

Timbers @ Sounders Open Thread - Your thoughts, your analysis

2010-03-12T01:40:03Z

There is a starting role up for grabs, at least in the early going, in the Right Midfield. Also, the Sounders have plenty of issues with their depth and cover, particularly at LM and RB, while it is likely that a Center back goes to the IL, or just gets cut, but this match is about more than mere roster space.

It is the continuation of a legacy of soccer in America that actually stetches back more than a single generation. It is a rivalry game, regardless of status as a pre-season tuneup, or as a friendly. The Portland Timbers faithful hate Seattle Sounders and the Seattle Sounders supporters laugh at a club that has struggled for trophies.

Tonight though, the MATCH is a bit secondary. First off all tickets sold are for charity. Secondly is the news that the Union is willing to strike.

But tonight, the Sounders look to pass average MLS attendance for a preseason match, when stars aren't likely to see more than a half. If you aren't there, you can catch glimpses on KONG 6/16, or on live blogs on Sounders FC.com, or Seattle Times, or at Prost Amerika.

Here today, we provide your place for instant analysis and dreams of when soccer in American isn't fliriting with Russian Roulette.

		Montero
		Ljungberg
Zakuani				Souter
		Vagenas
		Alonso
Gonzalez				Evans
	Hurtado		Marshall
		Keller

That's the Sounders starting lineup. Your commentary to follow

CBA Update: Talks continue

2010-03-11T22:39:28Z

You may have heard that the players have overwhelmingly voted to strike, according to Steven Goff.

Well, he's updated the story to reflect comments from MLS officials.

In response to comments made by players after the labor negotiations in Washington this week, MLS President Mark Abbott told the Insider on Thursday that "the meetings were productive and we have scheduled a number of additional meetings. While I can't discuss what takes place across the bargaining table, I can say that the players' comments do not accurately reflect the proposals that we have made to address the players' concerns or the productive nature of the discussions between MLS and the union."

Apparently, as part of the mediation agreement, neither side was supposed to be talking to the media. The players are obviously trying to apply as much pressure as possible. And as long as the mediation is ongoing, both sides are barred from calling a work stoppage.

The two sides are scheduled to meet next week, so there probably won't be any big news over the weekend.

Preview: Community Shield, Sounders vs. Timbers

2010-03-11T07:22:03Z

Today's Inaugural Community Shield match ensures that the Seattle-Portland rivalry will continue its 35-year run in which the two teams played every season they both fielded teams. The rivalry has stretched across three leagues.

Although it's being billed as a friendly, the 13,000-plus fans who will be in attendance may not feel the same way. The two teams have met 60 times, with the Sounders holding a 34-21-5 advantage, including wins in each of the past two meetings.

There are reportedly four busloads of Timbers fans making the trip to Seattle. The game will kick off at 6 p.m. with plenty of tickets still available. Proceeds from ticket sales will go to the Boys and Girls Club of Washington State, Seattle SCORES, Soccer Saves and Washington Youth Soccer.

While the match may not have any significance in terms of the standings, it also marks the penultimate preseason game for the Sounders.

There are stil 21 Senior players listed on the Sounders' roster and, if as expected, the roster limit is 20 that means at least one player won't be making the active roster (and that doesn't include Blaise Nkufo, who will join the team after the World Cup). This listing also does not include David Estrada and the battle for the four Developmental Slots

If the players' rhetoric is to be believed, this may also be the last time Sounders fans have a chance to see their team at home, at least for the foreseeable future.

According to Toronto FC defender Nick Garcia, the federal mediator has failed to bring the sides any closer together on a new CBA. Garcia also said the players will not play under the terms of the old CBA.

"We're anticipating not having the season starting [on time]. As of now, for us, we're very far apart — even with the mediator there in D.C. We're hoping things can get done, but quite frankly I don't think we're confident things will."

Will this be a showcase of the League's future when tens of thousands of fans show up for a preseason friendly between long and bitter rivals, or will it be the last time we see Sounders in their home Rave Green for the forseeable future?

Champions League Resumes Tonight - Crew Host Toluca

2010-03-09T17:50:15Z

The Champions League for our region (CONCACAF) resumes this evening and the impossible may be as possible as ever. Mexican Primera side Toluca travels to Columbus in a quarterfinal two-leg aggregate knockout round. Major League Soccer sides tend to hold their own against non-Mexican competition, but against our southerly neighbors it hasn't been a contest.

Columbus only has one significant loss. They can no longer count on Alejandro Moreno to draw free kicks and penalties for GBS. When you watch this game you will see a team more experienced than Seattle, but running a similar style. GBS roams behind the striker and flirts with being both a CAM and Withdrawn Forward at the same time.

Toluca is not a historically strong club and only has a few titles in the past half decade. They are currently struggling in League play more than half way through the Mexican Spring season. Eleventh with 11 pts in an 18 team league they do have a +3 Goal Differential. But they are traveling to cold Columbus, a stadium where Mexico players perform poorly.

They say that "Impossible is Nothing" but in this game, and at this stage of MLS, the impossible is a necessity for an MLS side to advance in the knockout rounds of the CCL. Tonight, on FSC, at 5PM Pacific you have the best opportunity for an MLS club to set up the impossible.

For those of you that want a stronger MLS, with more revenue, you need to watch matches that don't involve your own side. That's why TV ratings are strong for MLB, NFL, NBA, EPL, etc. Higher ratings for all matches involving MLS sides means more revenue, more revenue means more salary cap monies, which means better overall talent.

And let's be honest, this is one of those times that you have a clear rooting interest in an MLS side and their best chance to pick up goals against a club from Mexico. Oh, and it gives you a preview of the Crew's strength in this upcoming season.

Nkufo has serious pedigree

2010-03-08T19:24:14Z

Blaise Nkufo might be the best pure scorer to ever join Major League Soccer.

I realize that's a bold statement, but you should know that it's not just homerism taken to hyperbolic extremes.

Since Nkufo's signing, I've been trying to figure out a reasonable way to set expectations for a soon-to-be 35-year-old player most casual fans have never heard of and won't be joining the team until after the World Cup.

What I found was somewhat startling, even in light of everything I've read about him in the past few days. Not only is Nkufo one of the most prolific goal scorers (on a per-game basis) to come to MLS from a foreign first-division league, but he does so in the midst of a four-season stretch in which he's averaged more than a goal every other game in league matches. Based on what other similar -- and perhaps lesser -- players accomplished in their first seasons in MLS, it's perfectly reasonable to expect six to nine goals and a few assists despite the fact that he'll miss half the Sounders' regular season games.

In other words, it wouldn't be crazy to expect him to be the team's top scoring threat, or even one of the best goal scorers in the league.

Beginning with the 2002 season, I found 13 players who came to MLS in their 30s and could be reasonably classified as goal scorers during their previous professional experience. Based purely on goals-per-game, Nkufo was more prolific than any of them. Over the course of 335 games against first-division competition -- mostly in the Dutch league -- Nkufo has scored 160 goals, or about .48 per game.

The most comparable player in that sense was Juan Pablo Angel, who joined New York in 2007 after scoring 135 goals in 335 first-division games in South America and Europe. Granted, this is not a pure apples-to-apples comparison. While the Dutch league is generally considered roughly on par with MLS, the final seven seasons of Angel's pre-MLS career came in the Premier League -- generally regarded as the world's top professional flight. Angel was also 32 when he signed on with MLS, although he was coming off three consecutive disappointing seasons -- which is why I suppose he was available in the first place.

In any case, Angel probably represents the highest level of potential expectation. During his first MLS season, Angel scored an astounding 19 goals in 24 games and averaged 1.82 points per 90 minutes ({goals x 2 + assists}/minutes x 90).

If we assume Nkufo is able to manage a Freddie Ljunberg-like 83 minutes per game and play all 17 post-World Cup matches, production on this level would result in somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 goals and three assists. (Ljundberg, by the way, registered a .64 PP90 last year as a 32-year-old. Of course, he's more of a creator than goal-scorer, which is why I don't go into a lengthy comparison in this piece. Fredy Montero, the Sounders' top PP90 player last season, registered a 1.28 as a 22-year-old playing in his first MLS season. He scored .54 goals per game as a professional in Colombia.)

On the other end of the spectrum would be players like Andreas Herzog and Edgaras Jankauskas, both of whom plied their trade in Europe before coming to MLS in their mid-30s. Of course, I wouldn't call this a real apples-to-apples comparison, either.

Herzog was a midfielder, for one, and was not nearly as prolific a scorer. During 438 first-division games (his most recent stop before MLS was in the Austrian Futbol Bundesliga), he scored 97 goals, or about one every five games. As a 35-year-old, he scored four goals and had seven assists (.66 PP90) during the 2004 season with the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Jankauskas was a forward, who came to MLS with 21 goals in just 74 first-division games, with his most recent pre-MLS stop coming in the Virsliga of Latvia. He scored two goals and had .67 PP90 during 10 games with New England last season.

Production at this level, still assuming 83 minutes per game over 17 games, would yield a result of roughly four goals and two assists. We could certainly call that disappointing, but that production would have made Nkufo the fourth leading scorer on the team last year in just half a season.

Like I said, though, neither of those players have near the pedigree or scoring touch of someone like Nkufo.

Among the players who scored at least a goal every third game during their first-division careers before joining MLS are Youri Djorkaeff (.35 GPG in the top-flight leagues in England, France and Germany) and Cuauhtemoc Blanco (.37 GPG in Mexico).

Both players averaged better than 1.0 PP90 during their first seasons in MLS, with the 37-year-old Djorkaeff scoring 10 goals with seven assists in 24 games for New York in 2005 and the 34-year-old Blanco scoring four times, while adding seven assists, in 14 games with Chicago in 2007. Those two players scored about a goal every third game for their national teams (France and Mexico, respectively) over 190 contests. Nkufo's national team career hasn't been quite as prolific (.24 goals a game in 29 caps), although he did score five goals during Switzerland's recent World Cup qualifying run.

Combining their performances, gives us a PP90 of 1.17. That kind of production for Nkufo would probably look something like this (with the previously stated playing requirements): seven or eight goals and two to four assists. If Nkufo scores like that, you can bet the Sounders will be very pleased.

Aside from Angel, the two top MLS scorers on my list were Brian McBride and Darren Huckerby, although both players need some explanation since they don't fit my exact criteria.

McBride, as you probably know, started his professional career in MLS before playing for Fulham in the EPL. I included him based on his return to MLS after four years away. And I realize Huckerby didn't actually play in a first-division, but his time in the Championship with Norwich City was at a high enough level for me to consider his experience relevant.

Neither of those players were serious standouts in Europe. Each scored about once every four games over 460 combined contests.

They were much more effective here. In McBride's first year back in MLS, the 36-year-old scored five goals in 11 games for the 2008 Chicago Fire. That same year, the 32-year-old Huckerby nearly carried the Earthquakes into the playoffs with six goals and four assists in 14 games.

Their combined PP90 of 1.18 is essentially the same as Blanco and Djorkaeff, and would obviously result in similar stats, although it probably serves to bolster the case that this may be more of a baseline.

At least one other player deserves mentioning: Columbus' Guillermo Schelotto. Yes, I realize he was more playmaker than pure goal-scorer when he came to MLS, but the Argentine has evolved into more of a scorer, netting 12 goals last year. Plus, he was brought to Columbus while Sounders coach Sigi Schmid was running the show.

As a 34-year-old, Schelotto registered five goals and had 11 assists in 22 games during the 2007 season. Again, that's good for a 1.18 PP90. Sense a theme?

Maybe I'm assuming too much from a playing time standpoint, though. If we settle on this figure of 1.18 PP90 and give Nkufo a couple games off, but still keep him at about 83 minutes per contest, we're still looking at somewhere in the range of six to seven goals and two to four assists. Not bad production for a half season.

Obviously, this production would come at the cost of another player. The smart money seems to suggest it would be either Nate Jaqua or Steve Zakuani that ends up taking a reduced roll. Those two players combined for five second-half goals last year. If we assume that half that production is lost and replaced by Nkufo's seven goals, that's a net of at least four additional goals. Last year, that probably would have been enough to give Seattle the best regular season record in all of MLS.

I realize there are too many assumptions made here to be relevant from a hardcore statistician's viewpoint. Still, I don't think it's a stretch to say the Nkufo signing has the very real potential to be a serious game changer and very much worth the investment.

Note: Admittedly, this analysis totally ignores utter disasters such as the signing of Denilson, who scored just one goal in eight games for Dallas during the 2007 season. As for the sources I used, I'm a bit embarrassed to say that all the international numbers came from Wikipedia. The MLS numbers came from MLSnet.com. The exception being the half-by-half breakdown for Jaqua and Zakuani, which came from ESPN. As always, if anyone has better sources, I'll happily update my information.

Poll

What's your best prediction for Nkufo's production?

Quick Recap of Sounders @ Whitecaps Nil-Nil Draw

2010-03-07T20:13:11Z

Seattle fans got their first live look at a preseason match, but only if they traveled. Emerald City Supporters had 2 busses, Gorilla FC got a van, and of course there were dozens that traveled on their own. Thursday Night ten thousand more will be able to see the action live as well. This will be your last shot to see some of the depth on the team until injuries or the US Open Cup, so if you are intrigued by guys like Fucito, Estrada, Scott, Nyassi, Levesque, Wahl, Parke, Ianni or Graham you may want to get those cheaper tickets. (Yeah, I just tried to sell tickets).

This match seemed to be like one of missed chances, too many offsides, and a wasted opportunity when Fucito passed instead of pulled the trigger;

"I thought in the first half, we put together a couple of good combinations. We got caught offside today, and more so in 20 minutes than we have been called offside in the last five games together. Either some of the runs were really off, some of them were really close, you couldn’t really tell. I thought we had a chance to win at the end of the game, Mike Fucito really should’ve pulled the trigger."

"I thought in the first half we had four or five really good chances. Overall, we’ve put a lot of emphasis on trying to play balls behind the defence. And I think we probably tried to overflow that hand a little bit by trying to do that too much. I think the combination play wasn’t as good as it has been in the past. We got to make sure that we still find the right balance in possession of the ball and get it behind the opposing defence. We just have to become better at our decision making process."

Off and on-ball movement continues to be the message, as the talent on this team is completely capable of having a top 5 offense in this league. Minor injuries continue to clutter the reading of tea leaves, but the image of player rotations continues to gain some clarity.

		Montero
		Seamon (83)
		Ljungberg
		Estrada (83)
Zakuani				Nyassi
Fucito (63)				Estrada (63)
		Sturgis		Souter (83)
		King (78)
		Alonso
		Vagenas (78)
Gonzalez				Riley
Wahl (73)				Scott (87)
	Hurtado		Marshall
	Parke (73)
		Keller

I have noted that Estrada likely slid to the withdrawn forward role when Souter came on, and Seamon stayed forward, but it would be great if someone who was live at the event could talk about how the 4 attacking players were distributed late in the game.

Sigi said that both teams slid into more of a 4-2-4 late, my guess is that the shape changed as each team's Reserves and Substitutes pressed forward to change the game and make the roster. Ideally in the Arrow we would hope that shape would compress and extend like a slinky to maintain width in attack and depth in defense.

From Ljungerg's comments it sounds like the Vancouver side play like a mid-table MLS side already; physical and direct.

"It may have not been the best game to watch, but it was a good game for our fitness. I thought Vancouver played quite well. They played very direct and are a physical side, so it hard for us to play against them today. I think they will do very well when they get into MLS next year.”

You can also read a recap from Bucholtz at Sporting Madness