Well, this sure wasn't the best way to start a three-game road swing.

I mean, you would expect a team like the Los Angeles Galaxy to hold on to a 1-0 lead after nobodies like Mike Magee become somebodies by connecting on the simplest of set pieces from busybodies like David Beckham.

They had the lead for the lion's share of the match and were even a man down. Solid defending, timely dispossession.

And then tragedy struck.

A penalty conceded to D.C. United and here comes Charlie Davies. The new and improved Charlie Davies, fresh out of FC Sochaux on loan, ready for one swing of the foot because some lout didn't stay on his feet in the D.C. attacking third.

Davies can convert penalties in his sleep. In fact, I bet you that if he wins the Budweiser Golden Boot, it's because he was able to convert his penalties, and his penalties constitute a majority of his goals.

Oh, and just so that Abbey Okulaja wants to make things fair, he decides to red card one of the liabilities to the team, namely Jovan Kirovski. Well done, Dr. Okulaja. You have epitomized the opinion that the officiating in Major League Soccer is disgraceful and in need of an overhaul.

Fantastic. And with that said, I don't know if Los Angeles is going to be able to get a result against Toronto next Wednesday.

I loved the mechanics of that set piece from Mike Magee, and Omar Gonzalez's presence has been stellar, and let's not forget about Donovan Ricketts being Donovan Ricketts.

But Los Angeles needed to add to their lead. And this penalty is a tribute to the one thing that has been missing from the Galaxy the past several weeks: the ability to make more chances to score and finish their chances.

In terms of watchability, this was no different than the others I have seen from this team. I doubt they will be a factor in the hardware races to come if they come out to an early 1-0 lead, then pray to the football gods that the time will pass quicker.

You don't go off on a 1-0 lead and call it a night. And no, Landon Donovan didn't need to be at the match, though he could have been useful; who knows, but that can't be used as an excuse.

Play 90 minutes and stoppage time and get more chances to produce. The Galaxy didn't do that. And that allowed Charlie Davies to continue his comeback story and add another goal to his totals. What a waste, Los Angeles.

Here's hoping that another draw isn't in order over at BMO Field.

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Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy begin a grueling 10-day road stretch starting with today’s clash against Ben Olsen’s D.C. United at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C.

The Galaxy are currently 2-1-1 (seven points) and will look to go on their first winning streak of the season after shutting out the Philadelphia Union 1-0 last Saturday at Home Depot Center.

D.C. United will attempt to bounce back from a 4-1 annihilation at the hands of the defending MLS Cup Champions, the Colorado Rapids.

D.C. is currently 1-2-0 and are lagging behind early in the Eastern Conference race, but a victory over the Union in U.S. Open Cup play-in action may boost morale for tonight's game.

Bleacher Report will provide you with ongoing action in this exciting encounter, as well as other action from Week 4 of the 2011 Major League Soccer season.

Keep up to date with live, continuing coverage of MLS right here.

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As the MLS side gets the new season off and running, their Academy side is like any other in the world of football, bringing through the best young stars from around the state in the hope of providing the senior squad with players to improve the playing 11 on the field.

As Galveston prepare themselves for the HFA season ahead, this is an excellent test of their metal and an expertly timed morale boost for coach Brendan Keyes and his players.

The more competitive and professionally run HFA will prove to be a stern test for the Pirate side as they look to keep improving as a team and increase their fan base within the Galveston Island area.

This match will help increase awareness of the soccer side in the area and hopefully build a larger fanbase for the Pirate side as they look to increase visibility of soccer in the city.

Pirate coach Brendan Keyes sees this as ideal preparation for the forthcoming HFA season and after already defeating them once in their short lifespan, the coach will be hopeful of a similar result.

"This is a great chance for our players to prove their worth against a top class side. We have recently joined the HFA leagues which will prove to be a much better test for us than the SPSL we were playing in previously. This match against the Houston Dynamo Academy side will prove just how far we have came in a very short space of time."

Speaking of his short tenure in charge of the Galveston soccer team he said, "We have came a long way in a very short space of time, and it has had its ups and downs along the road. After losing our top scorer half way through the season to long time rivals, Regals FC, we bounced back and as we transgress through the uncertain soccer ocean, we find ourselves stronger at every turn. This matchup against the Dynamo is just another step in the right direction for us."





Dynamo Director of Youth Development James Clarkson said, "Galveston is a strong club. They are a good, organized team, who have done well in their league. This is a good opportunity for our team to play against a strong club, especially with the competition we are going to face shortly in the Dallas Cup."

The full Dynamo article is available here  http://www.houstondynamo.com/news

The game kicks off at 4 p.m., Courville Stadium, Galveston. be there or miss out on the biggest soccer game in the City to date!

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Chelsea and Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba could be heading for the MLS during the summer.

Drogba is considering a move away from Chelsea because he feels he is no longer a first team regular in the side.

He was substituted in their Champions League defeat to Manchester United for Nicolas Anelka, even though he was Chelsea's hardest working player on the pitch.

Drogba has looked a different player on the pitch in terms of body language since the arrival of Fernando Torres in January. He has struggled to stay on the field, even though Torres hasn't made a big impact at the club.

Drogba has been linked with moves to French side Marseille and Turkish outfit Galatasaray, but his link to America surprises many.

He would leave behind a very successful goalscoring record with Chelsea, and have to find his feet in the MLS amongst attacking players like Donovan, Beckham, Henry, Wondolowski, and Cunningham.   .

But after players like David Beckham and Theirry Henry moved to the MLS from Europe, the MLS chiefs are looking to bring more European stars to America.

Drogba is one of their main targets.

Drogba has reportedly held informal talks with New York Red Bulls star Thierry Henry as he wanted to find out more about the competition and he is thought to be keen on a move to America.

Do you think it will happen? Which club will sign him? Is the move to the MLS a good one?

Let me know what you think by posting some comments: 

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Chelsea and Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba could be heading for the MLS during the summer, according to ESPN.com.

Drogba is considering a move away from Chelsea because he feels he is no longer a first team regular in the side.

He was substituted in their Champions League defeat to Manchester United for Nicolas Anelka, even though he was Chelsea's hardest working player on the pitch.

Drogba has looked a different player on the pitch in terms of body language since the arrival of Fernando Torres in January. He has struggled to stay on the field, even though Torres hasn't made a big impact at the club.

Drogba has been linked with moves to French side Marseille and Turkish outfit Galatasaray, but his link to America surprises many.

He would leave behind a very successful goalscoring record with Chelsea, and have to find his feet in the MLS amongst attacking players like Donovan, Beckham, Henry, Wondolowski, and Cunningham.   .

But after players like David Beckham and Thierry Henry moved to the MLS from Europe, the MLS chiefs are looking to bring more European stars to America.

Drogba is one of their main targets.

Drogba has reportedly held informal talks with New York Red Bulls star Thierry Henry as he wanted to find out more about the competition and he is thought to be keen on a move to America.

Do you think it will happen? Which club will sign him? Is the move to the MLS a good one?

Let me know what you think by posting some comments: 

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In 2007, Major League Soccer introduced the Designated Player rule to allow it's clubs to compete on the international transfer market and sign star players without having an adverse effect on the salary cap.

The rule was nicknamed the "Beckham Rule" as the English soccer superstar became the leagues first DP when he signed with the LA Galaxy.

Since Becks' arrived on the scene in 2007, a total of 27 players have held the DP title throughout 14 different franchises, with varying degrees of success.

Here we are ranking the top 10 Designated Players players based on their overall positive contributions to their respective club.

New players for the 2011 season have not been considered for the list.

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At Ease, Captain...

Los Angeles Galaxy captain Landon Donovan, was given time to recuperate from a grueling set of friendlies for the U.S. Men's National Team, who drew 1-1 with Argentina and lost 1-0 to Paraguay.

"Landon's getting a little rest," said manager Bruce Arena to MLSSoccer.com's Luis Bueno after Wednesday's practice session. “He had a long week last week, with two international [games] and the Philly game. He doesn't need to be out here."

The team leaves Los Angeles today for a 10-day road trip which includes matches against D.C. United, Toronto FC and the Chicago Fire.

Before Arena and assistant coach Dave Sarachan decided to give Donovan the start against the Philadelphia Union (whom they defeated 1-0 last Saturday), they both weighed their options.

"We could have kept him out of the Philly game or just given him some rest this week," Arena said.

"It’s early in the year where we can be more cautious," Sarachan added. "We're hopeful [that he will be in the lineup this weekend]. We’re kind of seeing where that all plays out, but we hope he is [in the lineup]."


Will the G's dominate the East again?

Last year, the Los Angeles Galaxy had been getting their way against the MLS Eastern Conference on the road, in spite of dropping a few matches here and there.

Can they do it again?

"Personally, it’s important just to get these road trips out of the way," said goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts to LAGalaxy.com's Larry Morgan. "On the soccer side, it’s going to be a test."

Los Angeles faces D.C. United this Saturday. They will then clash with Toronto FC on Wednesday, April 13 before battling the Chicago Fire on Saturday, April 16. Victories from all three matches are sure to send a statement throughout the league.

"D.C.’s never an easy place to play in," Arena said. "Being able to beat the heat and humidity this time around is not bad. We’ve been there in July and August the last couple of seasons, I think, and it’s been unbearable. The conditions should be a little bit better."

The Galaxy manager had no complaints about the tough schedule LA faced early.

"We’re in a marketplace where I would have kept us home early," Arena said. "But it is what it is. Then we play in Salt Lake in those conditions at altitude on a fixture date (the U.S. played Argentina that day). That, to me, doesn’t make any sense, but it is what it is. I have enough headaches besides scheduling."

Los Angeles comes into the match against D.C. without the services of Chris Birchall, who was sent off in last Saturday's match against the Union.

"By game three," Arena said, "there’s going to have to be some changes in our lineup. We’re going to have to use more than 11 players, for sure.

"It’ll be interesting to see how we rotate players, and everything will depend on results, injuries, suspensions and conditions. The players need to step in and produce. It’ll be interesting to see."

"Last year, I think our road record was phenomenal," said defender Todd Dunivant. "It might have been better than our home record, I’m not sure.

"We’ve been a good road team the last couple of years and we’ve got a good track record on the road. That’s a good sign going into this trip."


Return of the Big Cat from Montego Bay

Donovan Ricketts' grand return to the starting lineup was punctuated by a 1-0 shutout of the Philadelphia Union at the Home Depot Center on Saturday.

"I was in no rush," Ricketts said to MLSSoccer.com's Luis Bueno. "[Backup goalkeeper] Josh [Saunders] is a good goalkeeper. He did his thing and I took my time, and I’m back."

Arena also noted that the return of Omar Gonzalez turned the fortunes around last week.

"We like to think we have a deep team, but it’s hard to replace your top players," Arena said. "We’ve been without some of them for a number of games and it hasn’t been easy. You see a little bit of a difference with Donovan and Omar in there."

For Ricketts, it was all about continuity, as well as consistency from the back line.

"I’ve been playing for years, so it’s OK," Ricketts said. "Once I get back on, I just get right back in the groove.

“We played pretty solid. As you see, I didn’t have much to do. They didn’t let a ball go through. I like nights like [that]."

Ricketts also credited his own personal tactics as instrumental parts of the result over at Victoria Street.

"I just tried to talk to the back four, yell at the midfield just to keep in touch with the game so I don’t fall asleep," Ricketts added.

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The Vancouver Whitecaps and New England Revolution battled to a 1-1 draw at Empire Field. Perhaps a draw is a fitting result, as both teams were not only competing with each other, but also with a referee who had delusions of grandeur. 

Perhaps if referee Baldomero Toledo wanted to have an impact on the match, he should have been a player, because he certainly affected the course of the match more than any of the players on either side with his heavy-handed and irrational calls.

A total of six yellow cards and three red cards, including two straight reds, were shown in a match that wasn’t overly physical and didn’t have many dangerous tackles I would think worthy of a yellow on most nights. (Disclaimer: I’m not a FIFA referee, but I do watch a lot of soccer, so either most other referees are incorrect in how they call the game, or Toledo is).

Let's take a look at the cards:

Six Minutes: Atiba Harris (Whitecaps)—booked for one of the first tackles of the match. Could have been a yellow, could have been just a foul—heavy-handed to issue a yellow without hesitation this early in the match, especially without any previous warnings or an injury.

14 Minutes: Ryan Cochrane (Revolution)—booked for dissent. There didn’t appear to be anything worthy of a card when viewed from the stands, just the usual complaint about a foul. But only Cochrane and Toledo know what was said, so maybe it was justified. Usually referees have pretty thick skin, though.

25 Minutes: Camilo (Whitecaps)—booked for diving. The card was shown as soon as Camilo went down. Hard to call this one diving, as Camilo (5’7”) was tangled up trying to split a pair of defenders who were six inches taller than him. Shouldn’t the reigning MLS player of the week get a little bit of respect here? Especially seeing as how this was the first time a player on either side was even warned for diving, let alone carded.

40 Minutes: Zack Schilawski (Revolution)—again, another yellow card for dissent. I’m seeing a pattern here.

45 Minutes: Gershon Koffie (Whitecaps)—the first, but not last, red card of the night. Koffie and and Pat Phelan of the Revolution both went up for a header, and there was incidental contact with Koffie’s upper arm and Phelan’s head. Toledo again didn’t show any restraint in immediately pulling out a red card. This wasn’t an elbow to face; just normal contact between two big guys both going for the same ball in the air. At most, it's a foul or yellow card on Koffie, not a straight red. You can see the same sort of contact off any corner kick.

Vancouver is now a man down.

49 Minutes: Eric Hassli is booked for... I don’t know what he was booked for. An elbow? Apparently Toledo didn’t know either, as he originally called a foul on Alston as both he and Hassli were fighting for control of the ball near the sidelines. Toledo called the foul of Alston, and awarded Vancouver a free kick. Then, as Toledo approaches, he noticed that Alston had a bloody (possibly broken) nose, and gave Hassli a yellow. 

Now on replay it seems clear that while they were tangled up, Alston was fouling Hassli, but Hassli did throw an elbow back that caught Alston in the face as he stumbled.

My problem with this scenario is that Toledo did NOT see the foul. If he did, he would have carded Hassli immediately given his quick judgements earlier in the game and not awarded Vancouver a free kick. Toledo didn’t confer with any of the other officials who might have had a better view, he just saw the bloody nose and immediately carded Hassli. 

How can you call a foul and book someone when you didn’t see the actual violation or at least talk it over with one of the other officials who did see it? For all Toledo knew, Alston could have had a bloody nose from hitting the pitch or running into Hassli’s shoulder as he fouled him. 

And the original free kick to Vancouver? Toledo let that stand. And how does that make sense? If Hassli got the yellow, then how did the Whitecaps get a free kick out of it?

56 Minutes: Hassli gets a second yellow and is then ejected. Now this is about the only card shown in the game that I don’t have a problem with. 

Hassli scored a goal off a penalty, and then took off his jersey and threw it into the crowd in celebration. That is an automatic yellow. Stupid move on Hassli’s part, but I can only assume in the heat of the moment after scoring the goal he had a brain cramp and forgot about the yellow he already had.

For those keeping track, the Whitecaps are now up 1-0 at this point in the game, but now are down two(!) men.

74 Minutes: A.J. Soares (Revolution) picks up the second straight red card of the match.  Now keep in mind my obvious bias as a Whitecaps fan. This was not worthy of a red card.

Soares comes in diagonally from behind and on the right side of Atiba Harris along the sidelines.  With cleats down,  he slides in and gets the ball first, then takes down Harris. This was not a scoring play. This was not a dangerous tackle. At most, it could be worthy of a yellow given the precedent set with the first card of the match.

Again, no hesitation or consultation with the other officials, as Toledo shows an immediate red card before Harris and Soares even have a chance to get to their feet.

All in all, this was brutal officiating. 

Six yellows, one ejection from accumulated cards and two straight red cards in a game.  If the referee had only exercised a little judgement, restraint or just a light hand in controlling the match, the game maybe had three fouls worthy of a yellow.

The Whitecaps were down a man for 45 minutes.  For 18 of those minutes, they were down two men. After trading chances in the first half, the Whitecaps sat back in a 4-4-1 formation (later 4-3-1) and defended tenaciously while counter-attacking whenever possible to keep the play in the opposing end.

Eventually, the Revolution scored a goal in injury time to tie it up. 

Giving up any points due to a late goal in injury time hurts. But honestly, when the second half started, and the Caps were looking at a 0-0 score, but down a man, I thought a draw would be a pretty good result. 

Even when up 1-0 but down two men, I was still thinking a draw is the best result possible. 

After all, how many times do you see a team lose when their their opponent has to play two men short?

So as a fan, I can accept the 1-1 draw as a good result given the circumstances. The game was still entertaining, and the Whitecaps and Revolution had to battle not only each other, but also the whims of Toledo.

I’m looking forward to watching the Whitecaps play the Houston Dynamo this Sunday in their second road game of the season. Hopefully this time the referee isn’t determined to be the star of the match.

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The New York Red Bulls just became the strongest team in the Eastern Conference—if not all of Major League Soccer—with the addition of Dwayne De Rosario.

The former Toronto FC captain was becoming a distraction during the 2011 Major League Soccer campaign.  After going to have a trial with Celtic in Scotland without the permission of Toronto, it seemed like there were waves forming between De Rosario and Toronto FC. His contract discussions also were not going very far. Dwayne wanted to become a designated player and make the salary to match his performances for his club.

This deal was not struck.

Instead he got traded to New York Red Bulls, where his goal scoring and distribution ability has made him the perfect link between the back line and Thierry Henry and Juan Agudelo. De Rosario already has shown that he instantly makes the New York Red Bulls a more complete squad.

Within a minute of entering the game on Saturday against the Houston Dynamo De Rosario saw the beautiful run of Dane Richards. He placed a through ball that put Dane in the clear for his goal.  He has proven he will be the centerpiece to the very diverse Red Bulls midfield. He will bring them all together and make them more of a cohesive unit.

He also takes pressure off Tim Ream and Rafa Marquez. They no longer will have to make the long quick pass to start the counter attack. They can make more conservative passes out of the back and know that De Rosario can find the holes in the opposition to create the counter.

It is tough to lose potential players but New York gained a proven piece that has made them one of the strongest forces not only in the Eastern Conference but also in Major League Soccer.

This trade showed the Red Bulls ambition to win and to win now. They want to get the Supporter’s Shield and the MLS Cup too. Red Bulls fans start creating Dwayne De Rosario chants now. It is going to get used a lot.

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Typically an expansion team in North American sports is a brand new franchise without any history. The roster is composed of disparate players deemed expendable by their previous club and exposed in an expansion draft, a handful of journeymen signed as free agents and a few rookies. The expansion team is offensively challenged, and doesn’t really have an identity or chemistry.

That isn’t the case with the Vancouver Whitecaps.

The Whitecaps and their expansion brethren Portland Timbers, like the Seattle Sounders before them, are new to the MLS, but not new to professional soccer. The Whitecaps, Timbers and Sounders all played in USSF-Division 2 (the former USL) prior to moving up to the top tier soccer in MLS. This is a situation more akin to a team being promoted to a higher division in European soccer than a typical North American expansion team. 

14 of the 29 players on the roster were with the Whitecaps last year in USSF D-2. 9 of those players have played significant minutes in the three games so far. 

M Terry Dunfield (270 minutes) 1 goal, 1 assist

M Gershon Koffie (270 minutes)

D Alain Rochat (270 minutes)

G Jay Nolly (180 minutes)

D/M Blake Wagner (180 minutes)

M Nizar Khalfan (160 minutes) 2 assists

D Greg Janicki (154 minutes)

M Russell Teibert (134 minutes)

D Wes Knight (115 minutes) 1 assist

M/F Davide Chiumiento (66 minutes) 3 assists

D Mouloud Akloul

M Philippe Davies

M Alexandre Morfaw

G Brian Sylvestre

Chiumiento would have played more than 66 minutes if he wasn’t hampered by an early injury. Similarly, Akloul would have been starting as a central defender if not hampered by a broken ankle last year that required three surgeries before he was finally able to start training again. 

Another player, D/M Kevin Harmse, played for the Houston Dynamo last season, but is a Vancouver native and played for the Whitecaps in USSF D-2 earlier in his career.

Aside from developing players in USSF D-2 play last year, some of the players, notably Teibert, are also graduates of the Whitecaps residency program for youth players.

When you take a deeper look at the players that have played for the Whitecaps last year and that also have played significant minutes this year, you can see that they are mainly all midfield or defender positions, with the exception of starting keeper Jay Nolly. This gives the Whitecaps experience and chemistry on most of the pitch, and allows them to play with a solid structure that provides great support to the forwards.

The Whitecaps were panned for their offensive ability prior to opening day, as critics and analysts thought they would struggle to put any goals on the scoreboard.

This clearly isn’t the case, as designated player Eric Hassli had two goals on opening day to help crush the visiting Toronto FC 4-2. Brazilian Camilo had two goals in injury time to earn both a 3-3 draw against Sporting KC, as well as MLS Player of the Week honors. Atiba Harris has been the most consistent forward, and he has two goals and three assists in three games. 

Harris and Chiumiento lead the MLS in assists with three apiece. Seven different Whitecaps have hit the scoresheet with either a goal or an assist as the Whitecaps have scored seven goals in only three games, a goal total which is second in the league.

Vancouver has unfortunately given up six goals against in those same three games though, which would appear to argue against what I stated above about the returning defenders and midfielders.

However, injury and national team call ups have played a role in the goals against.

Captain Jay DeMerit (US) and fellow central defender Michael Boxall (New Zealand) both missed week two due to national team duty. DeMerit picked up a groin injury during his two game stint with the US national team, and is currently sidelined. Boxall returned to Vancouver to play against Sporting KC, but was admittedly lacking in energy after battling the flu and jetlag from flying to and from China for the international friendly.

Similarly, Greg Janicki is battling a hip injury, and while he started against Sporting KC, he stood before the media after the game and took the blame for two of the goals against, saying that he should have taken himself out of the game earlier.

Another player who could expect to start as a central defender is Mouloud Akloul, who is currently training after offseason surgery on a broken ankle.

Once even a few of these players are healthy, the backline should be much more solid, as it was on opening weekend.

Aside from the players actually on the pitch, the Whitecaps also benefit from a team identity that is often lacking in expansion sides.

The Whitecaps are the oldest professional soccer club in North America, having been in continuous professional play at various levels from their origins in the NASL in 1974 to the current day MLS incarnation. While winning the NASL Soccer Bowl in 1979 is probably the crowning achievement for the franchise, the Whitecaps also won six other titles in franchise history, including a USSF-D2 title in 2008. 

The 2008 team that won the title, as well as the 2009 team that made the finals only to fall to the Montreal Impact (who will enter MLS next season), contained many of the current Whitecaps, such as Wes Knight.

Coach Teitur Thordarson was also on those teams, having been named Head Coach in 2007. This continuity in coaching and strategy has also helped the Caps in their inaugural MLS season.

Vancouver also has a rabid soccer fan base, with the Whitecaps having regularly sold out their previous (smaller) stadium in USSF-D2, and having drawn an average of 21,555 fans to their two home games to date, placing them third in attendance behind Seattle and LA.

The Whitecaps acknowledged their fans for spurring them on to the improbable comeback from 3-0 to draw Sporting KC 3-3.

“The support was incredible because normally [down] 3-0 after 70 minutes, the supporters start to go home,” said midfielder Davide Chiumiento, who has played in the Swiss Super League, French Ligue 1 and Italian Serie A during his career . “It was a big help from them.”

All in all, the Whitecaps are not a typical expansion team. And while being 1-1-1 is a bit lucky (you can’t count on your opponent to fold a 3-0 lead in injury time every week), teams shouldn’t expect the Whitecaps to be an easy game on the schedule.

Count on the Whitecaps to continue to play entertaining soccer and challenge for a playoff spot.

Game Day Notes:

Tonight the Whitecaps host the New England Revolution at Empire Field.

DeMerit and Janicki are not going to dress for the game, but Chiumiento is healthy and will start on the wing.

For the visitors, starting keeper Matt Reis did not make the trip with an injury.

I'll post a review of the game later tonight.

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