Earl Reed

Mwanga. McInerney. Torres. Okugo. Williams. What do these names have in common? Besides all being under the age of 23, as of today they are the only remnants of the inaugural 2010 Philadelphia Union season. The Union continued with their theme of trading away veteran fan favorites today, as they dealt 32-year old defender Danny […]

The Championship Promotion playoffs began yesterday with West Ham United crossing into Wales to take a massive 2-0 lead in the two-legged tie against Cardiff City. The Hammers, much like their Manager Sam Allardyce, are trying to earn a trip back into the Premier League after a year in exile. The same can be said […]

After a month without a win to start the 2012 season, Peter Nowak's squad took full advantage of a first half penalty to overcome the visiting Columbus Crew, 1-0. Gabriel Gomez scored the lone goal, his second in Union colors. He stepped to the spot and coolly chipped the ball past Crew keeper Andy Gruenebaum. […]

I will continue my attempts to quantify what's happening in Major League Soccer through some statistics discussion. I'm going to put aside the Power Rankings for a week or two, but suffice it to say, Sporting Kansas City has not relinquished their spot at the top yet, especially notching a good away victory at Chivas […]

We're coming upon the end of the first month of 2012 Major League Soccer season action. Heading into this season, MLS Digital decided to completely rebuild their MLS Matchday Live (MDL) setup, and rebrand the product to the simpler title, "MLS Live." In this MLS Live product review, I will share my experiences with this […]

In an instant, an impending stalemate at Ewood Park became another step to the title for Manchester United, as Antonio Valencia broke the deadlock in the final 10 minutes to spur the defending champions onto victory over Blackburn, 0-2. The home side knew that the key for their day would be to secure things defensively, […]

Sebastien Le Toux came back to Philadelphia on Saturday as expected to face his former club. To the relief of Union fans, the defense they saw in 2011 also reappeared, earning the home team their first point of the 2012 season in a 0-0 draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps. The lead-up to the match was […]

Two centerbacks, two fullbacks. The modern convention of "four at the back," is so standard that any time a team adds or subtracts a back, it tends to be towards the end of the match when a team either wants to go for it or protect their advantage. This season, however, two teams in particular […]

Over the last season or so, I've been considering the impact of statistics on the sport of soccer, and especially how we might use the numbers to exemplify Major League Soccer and its teams. If you've read this blog for awhile, I had a post last year which talked about SABR and the way that […]

Beep...Beep...Beep...Beep...Beep...Beep. The morning breaks, and that scenario described by the recently departed Davy Jones in the song, "Daydream Believer," unravels. The feet are placed on the floor, maybe a stretch of the arms, and then it hits you. ", why do I feel like a zombie? Oh yeah...we.....lost...." This has been a periodic ritual […]

The Colorado Rapids found more success against the Eastern Conference on Sunday, as the Union squandered a half-hour man advantage to fall 2-1. After Jeff Larentowicz was sent off after a second yellow card, the Rapids were able to beat Philadelphia on the break. Tony Cascio, 14th overall pick in the 2012 SuperDraft, outfoxed Chris […]

The first ESPN2 match of the season turned out to be a rainy affair from Jeld-Wen Field in Portland, as the Timbers overcame an early second half deficit to put away the Philadelphia Union, 3-1. The hosts began in a compact 4-4-2 diamond formation. New signing Kris Boyd paired up top with Jorge Perlaza. The […]

We're only about 40 minutes away from First Kick! To celebrate, let's have an open thread where we can discuss all 5 matches from this evening's docket. From Montreal's first touch in Major League Soccer, to the beginning of Los Angeles' campaign to repeat as MLS Cup Champions, let's enjoy the night with some good […]

We'd like to take a minute to point out a new feature at MajorLeagueSoccerTalk.com, even though it's a service that readers who also frequent EPLTalk.com will recognize. We now have a page dedicated to the MLS Broadcast Schedule! You should be able to drop in whenever you need to coordinate your domestic soccer consumption, whether […]

Ahh, we’re almost here! Last night’s CONCACAF Champions League showdowns really revved things up for me. There is something unique about the North American game. While not everyone is high on it, give them time...it’s getting there, and last night was proof. We will run a predictions post tomorrow, something that we all like to […]