Earl Reed

Expectations were high for the United States Men's National Team entering their friendly versus Costa Rica late Friday night. While the Americans dominated large portions of the match, Costa Rica's knife-sharp counterattack yielded them the only goal in the contest, disappointing a quiet, undersized crowd at the Home Depot Center. The lineup provided to the […]

While the result was in doubt deep into the second half, Chelsea rose to earn a 3-1 result at Stamford Bridge. The Torres-Drogba saga was revived in this match. Manager Andre Villas-Boas started both forwards up front. AVB settled on an attacking diamond formation, with John Obi Mikel set back to help out the defenders […]

On Tuesday, Major League Soccer announced that they will be making a change in the Designated Player Rules for the 2012 season. The rules will be augmented to allow overseas players under the age of 23 to sign as Designated Players with a reduced cap hit to the team. For those who are under 20, […]

One of the tactical questions needing answered to start this new Premier League season is what to make of Liverpool's glut of midfielders. On Saturday, we got our first glimpse at Kenny Dalglish's early ideas for his plentiful midfield options; unfortunately for the Reds and their fans, they managed only a draw at home against […]

In an American sports landscape dominated by four primary sports (football, baseball, basketball, and hockey), Major League Soccer has always faced an uphill battle since it's inception in the mid-90's. Some would say that the saturation point may have been reached long ago, especially with the increased popularity of fringe sports such as NASCAR and […]

According to Ives Galarcep, Freddy Adu will return to Major League Soccer after signing with the Philadelphia Union. Soccer By Ives claims that Chivas USA management were unwilling to support the signing of Adu to a designated player deal. Will add details as they become available.

No one should have been looking for redemption in Wednesday night's friendly with Mexico. The next chapter in US Soccer's metamorphosis was opened instead, as Jurgen Klinsmann's squad fought back from an early hole and drew Mexico at 1. Still fresh in many minds was the four-goal collapse against El Tri in Los Angeles a […]

MLS Commissioner Don Garber met with the press on Wednesday evening to discuss more details about the announcement earlier today that NBC Sports Network will begin broadcasting MLS games from 2012-2014. According to Sports Business Daily, the deal is worth close to $10 million per year to MLS — far less than the $20 million […]

For a second year club, the Philadelphia Union have made huge strides in improving their squad. Most Major League Soccer prognosticators considered them a mid-finisher in the Eastern Conference, just missing out on the MLS Cup playoffs. Two key acquisitions have bolstered their defense, former F.C. Koln goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon and Colombian back Carlos Valdes, […]

Real Madrid wrapped up it's American jaunt in the 2011 Herbalife World Football Challenge with a modest 2-1 result in their friendly against the local MLS club Philadelphia Union. Jose Mourinho started the match with their most prolific scorer, Cristiano Ronaldo, on the bench. Their formation was 4-2-3-1. Their squad, however, had quite a few […]

Everton FC opened their 2011 American Tour by squaring off against Major League Soccer's Philadelphia Union on Wednesday night. The match featured a number of the first team Toffees playing a full 90 minutes in a sweltering bowl of heat and humidity, including captain Phil Neville, Phil Jagielka, Leighton Baines, John Heitinga (only cut short […]

Midsummer friendlies are controversial in nature. Fans point to the extra workload on first team players as being detrimental to the league, especially during what are often the hottest weeks of the year. In yesterday's friendly at PPL Park in suburban Philadelphia, a mixture of Union first team and youngsters proved too much for visiting […]

Liverpool-based Everton FC will begin their brief United States Preseason Tour tomorrow night, as they face the Philadelphia Union at PPL Park. In a blow for fans of the US Men's National Team, it was reported this afternoon by Steven Goff (Twitter @SoccerInsider) that goalkeeper Tim Howard would not be appearing for Everton in their […]

The United States twice gave away leads, and series of poor penalty takes opened the door for Japan as they captured the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. The match was dominated for large portions by the United States. The first twenty minutes saw the Americans squander at least 5 quality chances inside the area, only […]

If, for whatever reason, you've dismissed the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup and didn't bother to watch this afternoon's war between the United States and Brazil, you missed one helluva match. Some might call it the greatest finish in US soccer history, regardless of the gender involved. If that paragraph has made you curious enough […]