Earl Reed

After sputtering out of the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup in dreadful fashion, the calls for Jurgen Klinsmann's firing as Head Coach further intensified. A Jeckyl and Hyde performance against Peru and the shellacking at the hands of Brazil in suburban Boston only tossed kerosene on the flames. A large contingent of US fans and media […]

Underwhelming is one way to describe Manchester United’s start to the new Barclays Premier League season. Seven points after four games and three ahead of last season’s champions all looks good on paper, but the reality is something altogether different. Whilst the new signings have slotted into the team — Matteo Darmian and Morgan Schnederlin […]

Ever since its inception, Major League Soccer’s primary goal has been growth, trying to cultivate an untapped sports fan group in this country. They’ve been relatively successful in that venture if you look at a variety of metrics, from number of teams to revenue to attendance. A large part of that success can be attributed […]

The one topic that unites almost every segment of the soccer world is the need to reform its governing body, FIFA. Unfortunately, the man who is ringing in the changes, one Michel Platini —who officially announced his candidacy Wednesday, has a murky past. He voted for Qatar in the bidding for the 2020 World Cup, and worked closely with former […]

The United States is a country that stands for freedom, with a hands-off, free market economy. So much so, in fact, that many a rich person has built their fortune using the rather unimposing economic principles that govern our system. It is also a playground for the robber baron, a place where the con artist […]

You will be hard-pressed to find people involved in soccer in the US (aside from a few of the Owners' Boxes) who believe that Major League Soccer's salary structure should remain in it's current form. But yet again, MLS is getting it all wrong, this time introducing yet another ambiguously yawn-worthy phrase: "Targeted Allocation Money." But the worst part isn't […]

Hardcore soccer fans may appreciate the sport for a number of reasons. As a guy who likes to pay attention to the tactical side, the continuum of style and substance runs the gamut in this sport unlike any other. No contrast may be more striking than between the Women's World Cup final on Sunday and the […]

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article about the apparent Russian roulette mission US Women's National Team Head Coach Jill Ellis and her team were embarking upon – riding the disturbingly out-of-form Abby Wambach until either a) she found that form, or b) the team was bounced from the 2015 Women's World Cup. […]

While the Gold Cup is starting a month later than usual, the meaning for this confederation remains the same: who is the big dog between Mexico and the United States. Maybe the other nations in this region will feel aggrieved by that statement, but the results are clear. Since the tournament’s inception, Canada (in the […]

If you went out in the streets and fired off guns in the air on the day Sepp Blatter resigned as FIFA President, you were obviously premature in your celebration. Or mistaken. Or maybe both. You see, Uncle Sepp has become that senile man we all love to invite over for Christmas dinner, allow to […]

I'm a Rochesterian at heart. I went to college there, had family that retired from Eastman Kodak, loved Nick Tahou's, and of course, treasure Abby Wambach. Having said that it's pretty clear that the best forward this generation has known is taking the US Women's National Team (USWNT) on her shoulders, for better or for […]

Good gracious, I feel like I'm somewhere between Cloud 9 and the Nuthouse. And that's a good thing. June is typically a wacky, wonderful month for the soccer fan. Being a year removed from Brazil 2014, it can leave you with a false sense of calm, as if you might be able to have a […]

Last year, Brazil seemed listless at times against Croatia and drew Mexico on home soil. This year, the Canadian Women's National Team has the same 4 points, albeit in even less convincing fashion. Granted, the Canadians aren't the heavy favorites the Selecao were going into the men's tourney last year, but there were definitely those […]

We're two months into the 2015 Major League Soccer season, and it's tough to say that the league's new TV deal has done much to live up to the billing. Last year brought a lot of excitement as MLS locked down time slots on Sunday's at 5pm and 7pm with ESPN and FOX, respectively. Additionally, […]

If I had written a story about the Philadelphia Union a week ago, I might have rightly considered them the worst team in Major League Soccer. However, a victory and a draw over New York City F.C. has at least bandaged some wounds. But a team in 2014 that had a playoff position in their […]